San Antonio was once the brewing capital of Texas. Of course that was well over a century ago, and then along came Lone Star, Pearl…and finally even they moved out, though the demise of big breweries did leave some great buildings for recycling. Freetail Brewing, a serious brewpub with a somewhat less serious food menu, will never be a candidate for transforming into a museum or culinary school; it has no inherent charm, and even the patio is unappealing. But the beer is another matter.

There’s a core beer menu here around which specials seem to rotate like so many moons. The best approach for first-timers might be the five-beer, bartender’s-choice flight. You’re unlikely to love them all (for us, the darker they got the better), but that’s not the point; the point is to support local brewing by ordering pints, buckets even, of your favorites once you determine which they are. There will be much time to experiment as you wait for, say, an order of roasted red pepper hummus dip way less earthy than the “3Tail Belgian Tripel” or the “Mucho Mushroom” pizza that was shamed by the “Phantom of the Hopera Imperial IPA.” So, yes, it’s about the beer.