Since their founding in late 2011, Peticolas has demonstrated a commitment to quality and consistency that has placed them in the conversation for best craft brewery in all of the metroplex. They can also proudly claim to be one of the trailblazers in the Dallas craft beer scene; only Deep Ellum Brewery has been in Dallas proper longer. Michael Peticolas, a former attorney who inherited a passion for craft beer from his mother, a homebrewer herself, is the brewery’s founder. Following in his mother’s footsteps, over the past four plus years of Peticolas Brewing Company’s existence, Michael has become not only a creator of beloved brews, but an ambassador and advocate for Texas’ burgeoning craft beer industry.

“Velvet Hammer”, Peticolas’ aptly named staple beer, is one of DFW’s most popular local brews. Hard hitting initially, at 9% ABV and 85 IBU’s, this big, boozy imperial red ale finishes smooth and balanced, the floral hops cooperating with subtle notes of caramel and brown sugar to create a complex, distinct, and damn satisfying beer drinking experience. We drank a Velvet Hammer (or two, who’s counting?) with Chris Martinez, a Peticolas’ brewer affectionately nicknamed “burnleg” (yes, there’s a story there), and learned all about the genesis of Peticolas’ most famous brew.

“Velvet Hammer was supposed to be brewed maybe once or twice and then rotate through.” Chris tells us. When the brewery first opened, Peticolas never envisioned having a lineup of “core beers”. “Just let the market decide what our best seller was going to be, don’t try to force it down somebody’s throat.” Chris says. It just so happened that Velvet Hammer was an immediate sensation upon release. As soon as DFW beer drinkers got a taste, demand for the imperial red ale skyrocketed and the rest is history. To this day, Velvet Hammer is Peticolas’ best seller, their “cash cow” as Chris terms it.

Alongside Velvet Hammer, Peticolas’ other two core beers are a kolsch called “Golden Opportunity” and an English pale ale called “Royal Scandal”. It’s difficult to avoid having a core lineup when you keep brewing wildly popular, even award winning beer, and with Golden Opportunity and Royal Scandal, Peticolas did just that. Golden Opportunity won an award of excellence at the 2014 U.S. Beer tasting Championship, and Royal Scandal took home the gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2012, the first year Peticolas was in business. Snagging gold in your first year is a rarity to say the least, as Chris informs us, “That never happens.”

If you’re even casually interested in drinking good beer brewed in Dallas, you owe it to yourself to find Peticolas on tap at your watering hole of choice. This shouldn’t be too difficult, as Peticolas is ubiquitous in Dallas bars/pubs, and for good reason. Between their core beers and their various limited releases (one of our favorites is “Great Scot!”, their award winning Scottish ale which happens to make for a fantastic brisket marinade), Peticolas’ line of beers is numerous and more importantly, delicious. Chris “burnleg” Martinez’s favorite limited release beer? A 12% ABV barley wine called “The Duke”. They don’t brew it often, but we certainly wouldn’t mind stopping in to sample some whenever the next batch is ready. If you’d like to take a tour of Peticolas yourself, they’re open for tours every first and third Saturday of the month from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at the cost of ten dollars. Well worth it if you ask us.