Best Craft Breweries and Distilleries in Fredericksburg, Texas
Fredericksburg, Texas — updated August 21, 2026
Fredericksburg's craft drinking scene runs to German-style beer on US-290, a whiskey distillery on Luckenbach Road, and a brewpub half an hour east in Johnson City. Here is how the three compare on ratings, hours and what they actually make.
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Fredericksburg has far more tasting rooms pouring Hill Country wine than it has brewhouses, so the list of places actually making beer here is short. The town's one large brewery sits east of the center on US-290, the closest brewpub alternative is a half-hour drive toward Johnson City, and the third entry below makes spirits rather than beer. Ratings, review volume and posted hours are what separate them.
1. Altstadt Brewery
This is the brewery in Fredericksburg proper, at 6120 E US-290, and the only entry here with a large enough review base to call its rating settled: 4.4 across more than 2,800 reviews. The brewery's own site bills it as Brewery of the Year. Posted hours run Wednesday 11:30 to 6, Thursday 11:30 to 8, Friday 11:30 to 9, Saturday 11 to 9 and Sunday 11 to 6, so plan around a closed start to the week. Happy hour is Wednesday through Friday, 3 to 6 pm, with $4 draft pints, $7 draft liters, $20 pitchers, $6 house wine and $8 appetizers. Growler fills are $10 during that window. There is a lunch special Wednesday through Friday from 11:30 to 3, Sunday brunch 11 to 3, and a Friday prime rib special.
2. Old 290 Brewery & Restaurant
The best-rated brewery of the group at 4.6 from 448 reviews, a smaller but reasonably solid sample, and the trade-off is the drive: it sits at 4064 US-290 in Johnson City, east of Fredericksburg, as part of the Carter Creek property. Check the calendar before setting out, because it is closed Monday through Wednesday. Thursday through Sunday it serves lunch and dinner, and on weekends it opens for a late breakfast starting at 9 am. Hours for the smokehouse and the restaurant differ, so confirm which kitchen you are counting on.
3. 1693 Distillery
Not a brewery: 1693 makes whiskey and other handcrafted spirits, and it earns a spot here because it is the strongest craft producer inside Fredericksburg after Altstadt. The rating is the highest on this list, 4.9 from 797 reviews, which is a large enough base to take seriously. It is at 21 Luckenbach Road, and the draw is the tasting side of the operation, with whiskey tastings and a range of house spirits including a pickle tequila. Yelp lists Monday and Tuesday hours of noon to 6 pm, so early-week visitors have somewhere to go when the breweries are dark.
What we left off
The previous version of this guide included Brooke's Bubble Bar, a champagne bar on East Main Street, and Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park, a 330-acre city park. Both are well reviewed, but neither brews or distills anything, so they do not belong in a guide to craft breweries. No chains or closed businesses were removed.