Leopold Bros.-
I’m not a regular at Leopold’s, though you might think that with my eco-friendly preferences I’d spend many happy hours swigging organic libations and playing board games with fellow green-thinking friends. Leopold’s has a loyal following for good reason – the following are just a few elements that make it a good fit with our ideals.
Leopold’s is an organic brewery – the beer ingredients and the distilled liquor such as gin – are entirely organic. A huge amount of beer hops, grains, and other materials are expended in regular brewing processes – as well as enough water to fill your same pint glass 15 times over. That makes for a lot of waste! To remedy this, the ingenious partners designed their own brewing system. This means that Leopold’s has reduced the material inputs by about 1/3, and reduced the water usage to almost 1:1. That’s pretty amazing!
Unfortunately, what are not amazing are the beer and the smoky atmosphere. As for the brew, the darks are ho-hum, and the lights and reds a little off taste. Perhaps it’s because many of the ingredients have to be shipped from England, as we don’t grow these crops organically here in the US. Happily, though, the gin, vodka and whiskey are quite tasty, and the bartenders make a decent margarita (as a Texan, that’s a complement). The smoke is the inevitable result of a bar that needs its customers, and gives the otherwise placated hippies (such as me) something to complain about.
The pub has all the comforts you would like in a bar – pool tables, big seating areas, no obnoxious table staff (get all your drinks at the bar), and an impressive juke box. There are nightly drink specials listed on the boards behind the bar, and they alert you by phone to let you know when it’s time to pick up that half-price beer or inexpensive but effective long island iced tea. The food is nothing fancy (quesadillas, nachos, wings, etc.), but it’s reasonable in price and made with primarily organic ingredients or hormone-free meat.
Leopold’s is on the south side of the Main Street drag, just before all the lights of town fade away into daytime shops and housing. Established in an old brake factory, the building has been fitted with a super-efficient (and fun!) air system that creates a rippling noise to interrupt any games that may have gotten too competitive. They occasionally give tours of their facility – join in if you have the opportunity, and see one of the few and possible the most efficient organic brewery in the nation.
Check out their newly updated site Leopold Bros Homepage