Beer Wheeling
The Scenic Route
Words by Sam Lauron Photos by Bike & Brew
Strolling through the city’s streets by foot is one way to see the sights or stop by a favorite locale. However, in a city as bike-friendly as Austin, why not travel on two wheels instead? Bike and Brew makes this concept effortless and entertaining with their interactive bike tours.
After spending years traveling and working everywhere from Spain to Utah, Adam Watt, founder of Bike and Brew, “quickly realized that a lot of culture revolved around the pub and beer scene.” With plenty of travel experience under his belt, he eventually put down roots in Austin. But what stuck with him after all of his traveling was the importance of tourism being connected to a city. This passion soon became the fuel he needed to start his own company.
With 12 bikes, a van, and “a couple grand,” Adam founded Bike and Brew in 2016 with a simple mission. The goal was to give visitors and locals a taste of everything that can be found in Austin with the hopes of providing a unique and lasting experience: all on two wheels.
Tour-goers have four routes to choose from when embarking on a Bike and Brew adventure: art, history, food, or urban farming. Simply hop on a bike and explore an array of sights, culture, and experiences East Austin has to offer. The tours make stops at a variety of places from food trucks to street murals, with breweries woven in along the way. There’s even an opportunity to hang out with animals and get hands-on during the urban farming route. A few hours and several miles later, Adam hopes that riders end the tour with a renewed perspective on Austin.
“We’re hoping that they’ve learned some really cool history, they enjoyed some awesome beer, and they’ve learned a lot about what to do when they leave the tour,” he explains.
While Bike and Brew accommodates many tourists, they also love to see Austin transplants, or even people who have called the city home for a decade, joining in the fun. “It’s nice to be able to show [locals] certain areas and different lifestyles so they can appreciate the Eastside,” he says.
The ease of East Austin makes these tours open to all experience levels. Originally touring east and downtown, Adam quickly realized that the urban infrastructure of the downtown area was not for everyone. So he moved the tours to the Eastside, which he says is calmer, more bike-friendly, and provides the perfect amount of “feng shui” needed to enjoy the ride.
Bike and Brew has seen tremendous growth over its last three years. The team now has five staff members, two bike shops, and 99 bikes. But no matter where their growth takes them, the mission remains the same: to create a lasting memory for those who are experiencing Austin. “We have two to three hours with these people, and they’re going to leave remembering this as the highlight of their trip,” he says. “We want people to come back…because of the places they visited and what they experienced.”
Native Knowledge:
All tours start and end at Hops & Grain, Bike and Brew’s “unofficial” headquarters. Just look for the Bike and Brew van that’s parked out front, along with the bikes and friendly tour guides.
Contact:
507 Calles St.
bikeandbrewatx.com
@bikeandbrewatx
