In our last column on how an Aggie (or a soon-to-be Aggie) should eat, we talked about Zand’s Persian Kebabs and how that restaurant has been a beloved member of our community for years now. This time around, we want to tell you about one of the newer eateries to be found here but one that is already accumulating a solid reputation for the best burgers and beer in all of Aggieland. Where would that be? Why, Blackwater Draw Brewing Company, of course.

Naturally, it isn’t a new deal for the bars that you visit to serve some sides in addition to their alcoholic beverages; but Blackwater Draw Brewing Company is what might be called a ‘brewpub’, a term that makes it drastically different from all the other saloons in our area. Wouldn’t a ‘brewpub’ be the same as a brewery, though? Not exactly, Merriam-Webster defines a ‘brewpub’ as “a restaurant that sells beverages brewed on the premises,” and that is Blackwater Draw in a nutshell. There are a multitude of reasons to try them out, but we will run down a few of them to get your taste buds tingling right and proper.

When you buy a burger from a chain like Jack in the Box or Burger King, there isn’t a way to know whether it had been a frozen slice of meat hours earlier or not. However, with Blackwater Draw Brewing Company, all their burgers are made with beef from Akaushi cattle. What are those? Ever since 1994, one collective of farmers in Texas has been the sole handlers of Akaushi cattle; cows that have been bred over the last ninety years to taste better than most other breeds. There is a significant amount of interesting science and history involved behind Akaushi beef but we will save that for another column. All that it comes down to is that Blackwater Draw Brewing Company grills the absolute best beef to be found in College Station for their customers (on a wood-fire grill, no less), while helping out Texas farmers while they’re at it. Like we’ve said before in an older article, Texans helping Texans and Aggies helping Aggies is what Century 21 is all about.

It doesn’t end there, though. Order a salad from them, and you’ll taste the difference between theirs and others offered around town. That’s because Blackwater Draw buys all their vegetables from local sources like Howdy Farm, right here in the Brazos Valley. Then right down to the condiments, most of their food is made fresh by one of their cooks. “Pretty much everything that can be made in-house is made in-house,” said one of the owners of Blackwater Draw in an interview, “including mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and even bacon. So a lot of stuff goes into it, and it’s a little more effort than just buying some Heinz and using that for ketchup.”

Last but not least is their beer selection. It would be enough to tell you that Blackwater Draw lets you buy or bring in bottles called ‘growlers’ that can be refilled with their beers every time you return with the ‘growler’ in hand to their College Station brewery, but there’s more to it. It would be more than enough to tell you that their selection is exclusively Texas craft beers and rotates on a regular basis, but there would still be better news to tell you. My friends, Blackwater Draw Brewing Company brews their own beers right there in the restaurant. Not only does their beer taste smoother because it hasn’t had to travel across several states in the back of an eighteen-wheeler, but being able to see all those vats that are used to brew it is a treat within itself. Be sure to tell them Century 21 referred you, and contact us when these articles make your mouth water enough to move here!