The Dancing Bear Pub and a Beer Fest

Located in the most unlikely of spots possible is one of the best beer-focused pubs in the state of Texas, The Dancing Bear Pub. On a corner sharing a small freestanding building with a sandwich and pizza shop in Waco, this establishment has found a way to thrive amid both the Southern Baptists and the swilling college students mere blocks away at Baylor University.

Last week, The Dancing Bear Pub dared to host their first annual Texas Craft Brewers Festival in the lot just behind the pub. It was a small and almost local affair, far from the last state-wide event of the same name held in Austin back in 2003–2005. Only a handful of Texas brewers were represented but, in light of nothing equivalent elsewhere, it was a good start to a much needed tradition in this state.

Established in 2006, The Dancing Bear Pub is a true craft beer house. The interior has plenty of room to sit and socialize, with only a tiny bar at the end beneath the single television. Just 16 taps line the wall, which is close to an optimum number for serving beer at its highest quality and allowing selections to change frequently. Likewise with the bottle selection, featuring daily specials throughout the week intended to keep the stock always moving.

Owner and Waco native Paxton Dove is the one responsible for creating this oasis of a beer bar within a college-town environment—which is not always easy. Dove is not only a fan of craft beer, he is a seasoned homebrewer and organizer of a couple of central Texas homebrew clubs. He also has plenty of friends and contacts within the commercial brewing industry at both ends of I-35 and across the country.

In fact, Dove has his eyes on eventually converting to a brewpub model and brewing commercially through his place in Waco. He even went so far as to acquire all the necessary state and federal licensing to brew on-site before a paperwork snafu as the ATF transitioned to the TTB threw cold water on that idea. Now, with proven beer recipes already selected, finances and space limitations have the brewpub idea currently on hold. A small (10-gallon) brewing system may be the next step with this idea.

Naturally, and with a competing event the same day just down the highway in Temple, this Texas Craft Brewers Festival did not reach the size or scope of the aforementioned Austin event. However, this allowed for the 5-oz sample pours to be a little more generous, hourly raffles to award pub and brewery swag, and lines for the beers and the terrific pizzas from the shop next door to be much shorter. A local animal rescue organization was sponsored by the pub, who in turn was helped by ESPN Radio giveaways.

With an army of new craft brewers amassing in Austin, Waco may seem an unlikely place to host an “official” Texas Craft Brewers Festival—or is it an even better locale for this event? Resurrecting the festival in Austin may see it dominated by the new local Austin brewers, possibly to the point of discouraging Texas brewers outside of Austin from participating. The central location, reduced costs and neutral ground of Waco may be an ideal spot to promote this event annually.

But the success of the Dancing Bear is in the environment that is created not only by Dove but also by his staff, all of whom are just as knowledgeable about the products they sell. A similar Oktoberfest event is held at the same spot each year, featuring food from Kuby’s in Dallas. This is not a bar; it is a true local pub—an important distinction, and one surprisingly in touch with the larger modern craft beer movement outside of this minor Texas town.

The Purpose of Beer Festivals

As long as the American craft beer movement has been around, there have been beer festivals. Some are organized by individual breweries, some by consumer advocate groups, most by third-parties to the brewing world such as distributors, retailers or other organizations. Festivals are generally planned for the good weather months of summer but may be found at any time. They can be of any size or held at any setting, some with a specialty focus, and in almost any state across the country.

But what is the purpose of these festivals? What can the organizers hope to accomplish by putting beers and beer drinkers together in the hot sun or the occasional summer shower? The immediate and cynical answer would be to earn a little cash but there are many easier routes to that end. The legal liabilities and licensing alone quash most proposed festivals at the concept stage.

What do the brewers and brewery representatives get out of the experience? For them, the festival provides a showcase for their beers, a means to get samples into the hands of a potential consumer base. Yet the fans of craft beers are already loyal followers of many of these same breweries, and exposure to these consumers is either a foregone conclusion or future certainty. Craft beer regulars tend to seek out the beers and brewers that interest them, so using festivals as an advertising medium is a wash.

Likewise, what does the public gain from beer festivals? Although a festival can draw the uninformed beer-curious, the primary attendees at festivals are already craft beer consumers. They may encounter beers they have not seen or tried previously but these customers are already the target market. They are the most likely candidates to make a purchase from a retailer and need no further convincing to make the sale.

Are beer festivals about educating the public? Possibly, although the primary draw and audience for beer festivals is already the craft beer fan. Macro beer drinkers tend to tire of craft beer quickly, and easily revert to their favorite mass-produced products. The craft market demographic is usually already well educated about craft beer styles and flavors, so the festival as a venue for public education is not a substantial argument.

The real purpose behind beer festivals is community. The average craft beer consumer rarely, if ever, encounters a professional brewer or brewery employee face to face. They know their products, they follow their business and history online and through other publications, but personal interaction is rare. Breweries are industrial workplaces and although most welcome the public with regular tours, the restrictions are many — primary among them being time and location.

The point of the beer festival is to put the brewer at the tap handing a sample glass to one of their patrons. This personal arrangement allows the brewer to feel rewarded about their hard work and vision and receive direct feedback from the consumer. It also allows the public to meet the tireless employees behind the label and brand, demystifying the industry for the customer living outside the system.

Beer festivals bring people together from all aspects of the craft beer industry, from brewers to distributors to retailers to shoppers. They provide a basis for relationships and communications in an industry that can be professionally isolated but also uniquely personal. No matter the organization behind them, festivals are collectively the craft beer village that everyone gets to visit for a short while every year.

American Craft Beer Week

The craft brewing industry is currently enjoying its most robust and healthy period since all but disappearing during Prohibition. So healthy are the craft brewers of the US that a couple of years ago, Congress established American Craft Beer Week, May 12th through the 18th. The big event is being called SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience, a multi-brewery exposition of food and beer to be held in Washington, DC. Let us examine the current state of the US craft beer industry using the language of the congressional record itself, House Resolution 753 of the 109th Congress.

Whereas American craft brewers are a vibrant affirmation and expression of American entrepreneurial traditions. Craft breweries are models of the values of American small business. Very few are publicly owned, with most owned by individuals who are usually also elbow-deep in the work and sweat themselves.

Whereas the United States has craft brewers in every State and more than 1300 craft breweries nationwide. At the turn of the 20th century, it is estimated that the US had somewhere around 2000 independent breweries nationwide. Prohibition essentially destroyed the industry, with the only brewers surviving being those with the deepest pockets. But the industry has been rebounding ever since, especially in the past few decades.

Whereas American craft brewers support American agriculture by purchasing barley, malt, and hops grown, processed and distributed in the United States. Craft breweries are often a farmer’s best friend. Not only are they constant purchasers of domestic grains and hops, the spent grain — the used byproduct of the brewing process — is often sold or donated for livestock feed.

Whereas American craft brewers promote the Nation’s spirit of independence through a renaissance in hand-crafted beers like those first brought to colonial shores. Craft brewers are often amateur historians, at least with regard to the brewing industry, and microbreweries are miniature museums of local and regional history dotted around the country.

Whereas American craft brewers strive to educate legal drinking-age Americans. Just as they preserve their industry’s heritage with their work, craft brewers are eager ambassadors and teachers of beer’s flavors, qualities, ingredients and alcohol issues.

Whereas American craft brewers champion the message of responsible enjoyment to their customers. Ironically, craft brewers should never face the opposition they do from anti-alcohol groups, as they are among the firmest supporters of responsible consumption, and are quick to police themselves and the behavior of their fans.

Whereas American craft brewers produce more than 100 distinct styles of flavorful beers, the quality and diversity of which have made the United States the envy of every beer-drinking nation in the world. The varied and adventurous tastes of the American consumer has today created the most diverse beer market in the history of the brewing industry. ‘Nuff said.

Whereas American craft brewers are vested in the future, health, and welfare of their communities as employers providing a diverse array of quality local jobs. One aspect of local breweries that is often overlooked is that they are not only good employers and municipal friends, they also support a myriad of associated business and local merchants that depend on their product for their own business.

So, how will you celebrate American Craft Beer Week? Hopefully, the same way you celebrate every week, with a fine American-made craft beer in hand.