The Jester King Brewery is located on 165 acres in the Texas Hill Country approximately 20 miles west of Austin and along the scenic Hwy 290 route. Jester King focuses on, producing, 85-120, different beers, annually, often, featuring, local, fruits, and, barrel-aging.
Jester King is a family-friendly experience that includes food and drink (beer/cocktails/wine/cider/THC drinks), hiking trails, and a resident herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats. Hours of operation are seven-days a week.
There are brewery tours (typically Saturdays at 1:00 PM, 3:00 PM, and 5:00 PM; Sundays at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM) for $5 per person, an occasional live music event, holiday markets, and specialized festivals. The brewery grounds are dog-friendly (on leashes), kid-friendly (on leashes), and free onsite parking.
If you like innovative, then Jester King is renowned for pioneering American spontaneous fermentation and mixed-culture farmhouse ales, creating a unique sense of place through native, wild yeast. Their innovation lies in blending old-world Belgian techniques with local Texas ingredients, resulting in terroir-driven, tart, and, dry beers.
Key aspects of Jester King’s processes include:
- One of the few U.S. breweries utilizing a “coolship,” they allow native air-borne yeast and bacteria to inoculate their beer making each batch a unique, uncontrollable expression of the Texas Hill Country.
- They utilize well water, local grains, and forage for ingredients on their ranch emphasizing that their beer is “alive” and tied to time, place, and people.
- They are leaders in fermentation with diverse yeasts and bacteria producing complex sour and farmhouse ales rather than a standard lineup.
- While deeply rooted in tradition, they have, experimented with advanced techniques such as using supercritical CO2 extraction to isolate hop terpenes.
- The brewery operates a farm-based brewery utilizing rainwater harvesting, solar power, and preserving 165+ acres of land with walking trails.
About Jester King’s The Wytchmaker Rye IPA
The beer’s name, Wytchmaker, is a historical nod to the Salem Witch Trials; the label mentions a theory that the “possession” was actually caused by ergot-infected rye.
- Style: American-style Rye IPA (bridges the gap between a traditional, hoppy West Coast IPA and a more rustic, funky farmhouse ale.)
- ABV: 6.7% to 7.1% (Depending on the batch and release date.)
- IBU: 55
- Appearance: Hazy orange-gold with a thick, frothy head.
- Flavor Profile: Dank and piney hops, citrus (grapefruit/orange), spicy rye, and a dry, bitter finish.
- Aroma: Pronounced notes of orange zest, grapefruit, and tropical fruit mixed with earthy, woodsy pine.
- Hops: Citra, Mosaic Cryo, Simcoe, and Amarillo.
- Mouthfeel: Smooth with a medium body and a medium to high carbonation level.
- Overall Impression: We liked this version of The Wytchmaker and found it to be a close resemblance of a West Coast IPA…hint of woodsy pine, citrus and tropical fruit, earthy, and peppery which are common characteristics of a rye malt.
Hopinionated Rating 3.25/5
Sip or Skip – Skip
Community Reviews and Comments
- RBorsato: Light hazed yellow gold. Nice citrusy and piney hop aroma and flavor with a touch of spiciness from the Rye. Good balance with moderate bitterness. Light to medium bodied with a dry bitter finish.
- ttoadee: Taste is sweet citrus, spicy resin, hearty rye, light floral, lightly kilned malt, pine needles sneaking in. Mouthfeel is medium, but the oats offer a pillowy feel. Finish is spicy with clean malt holding it down. This might have been one if the first beers I had from these guys back in the day. Loved it then, love it now.
- Sinfull: Hazy, yellow color. Big, white head. Grapefruit, dunk hops, rye malt, and light funky notes in the aroma.Hoppy taste with a slightly astringent finish. Interesting.
- detgfrsh: Cloudy golden color with a couple inches of foamy white head. Citrusy aroma. Light body with a slight stickiness. Tastes of grapefruit and lemon with a peppery rye note. Definitely different from any IPA I’ve had recently.
- MutuelsMark: Thick, thick white frothy head. Left over head sticks to glass leaving gracious amounts of lacing. Nose is very much pine, zest, almost like it is wet hopped.
Explore Similar Beers to Wytchmaker
- Jester King Highlorde: Jester King’s own follow-up to Wytchmaker, focusing on a lower ABV farmhouse IPA with rye and oats.
- Austin Beer Works Soft Ghost: A 7.5% ABV seasonal Hazy IPA with a smooth, “silk sheet” texture and prominent fruit notes of peach, melon, and mango.
- Hop Butcher For The World Chicagohenge: A Double India Pale Ale, 7.5% ABV with Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Motueka hops.
- WeldWerks Extra Extra Juicy Bits: Weldworks flagship IPA features a huge citrus and tropical fruit hop character from the Mosaic, Citra & El Dorado hops.
- Bam Biere: A classic farmhouse ale from Jolly Pumpkin Brewery often cited as being in the same “kindred spirit” as Jester King. It offers similar yeast complexity and dry finish.
- Ruthless Rye: A highly accessible example of the style that balances peppery rye with citrusy hops from Sierra Nevada.
- Tank 7: A widely available Belgian-style Farmhouse Ale that, while not a Rye IPA, hits many of the same peppery and citrusy notes.
Have you tried The Wytchmaker? If so, let us know what you think about it and we’ll include your comment in our Community Reviews and Comments section.
Send us an email at justabeerblogger@gmail.com.
Cheers!
Leave a Reply