When temperatures start hovering around 100 degrees (like now), finding refreshment in a room temp beer just won’t do. Imbibers want ice chip-glazed schooners spilling over with frothy pours — but not all cold beers are created the same. Some restaurants and bars achieve cold beer status by dipping glassware in water before storing in freezers, creating an icicle glaze. Others serve their beer at sub-freezing temperatures using high-tech chilling systems. Just in time for summer’s steamiest heat wave, here are five cool spots for some of the coldest beer in town.
Eagle’s Nest Sports Grill
Head to Boat Club Road in northwest Fort Worth to this longtime neighborhood dive, which offers 16 draft beers on tap — a mix of domestics, imports, and local varieties — dispensed at 29 degrees, thanks to a high-tech glycol cooling system. The spacious sports bar offers bar seating, booths and tables, along with an enclosed, wraparound, climate-controlled deck to further keep cool. Sports fans will find more than three dozen TVs along with a 182-inch video wall for prime game viewing. Note that live (and loud) bands are booked on Saturday nights and many Fridays, too.
White Elephant Saloon
Though the present incarnation opened in the 1970s, this iconic Stockyards bar has roots dating back to the late 1800s, when it was located in the heart of Hell’s Half Acre, catering to rowdy cowboys and gun-slingers. Back then, the beer was likely not so cold, but today tourists and locals alike frequent the historic watering hole for cold draft pours in frozen mugs and frigid longneck bottles. (Lone Star Beer is a popular choice). The brews often lead patrons to the wooden dance floor for a boot-scoot or two to live music nightly. Others belly up to the bar, which is surrounded by dozens of cowboy hats belonging to famous guests, hanging from the ceiling and walls.
Boomerjack’s
The Bedford-based wing, burger, and beer chain has locations all over the Metroplex (13 total now), and each one serves beer at a sub-freezing temp of 29 degrees — necessary to wash down wings in sauces like ghost pepper, Carolina reaper, and mango habanero. The brews (more than a dozen on tap) will keep frosty even on the backyard-style patios. The cozy seating areas are unique by location, with features like roll-up garage door bars, cooling misters, oversized fans, comfy furniture, and fire pits. Stay for the game, as many locations boast more than 100 TVs.
Angelo’s Barbecue
Barbecue joints top the list for serving ice-cold beer, and this one has been doing it for more than 60 years. With its lodge-like setting and taxidermy-adorned, wood-paneled walls, Angelo’s offers both order-at-the-counter service and table service — so walk straight to the bar, or pick a table, and a waitress will check in. Jason George, grandson of founder Angelo George, has taken over the reins of this Texas institution, and he and his wife have expanded the menu as well as added local craft beer options on tap, like Rahr & Sons, Revolver Brewing, and Wild Acre. But the easy-drinking domestics are most popular here. Order like a regular and ask for a “large” (that’s a schooner) and make it “light.”
Railhead Smokehouse
A country club of sorts, the Railhead stays busy with regulars both young and old who patronize the Montgomery Street restaurant most weekday afternoons, filling the bar area with laughter and conversation. They might have some barbecue, but they’re mainly there for the cold beer. Hefty goblets run cheap here — around $2 for domestics — making them go down even smoother. Owned by state Rep. Charlie Geren, the old-school barbecue favorite has been going strong for more than 30 years and is famous for coining the motto “life is too short to live in Dallas.”
Angelo's is as popular for its cold beer as it is for barbecue.
Oomi Kitchen in downtown Dallas has transformed itself into a Spongebob pop-up.
Oomi Kitchen