Sports lovers know: The best teams have a mix of young talent and experienced veterans. Apparently, that’s true of brewpubs, as well. At Belly Up Brew Pub, owner Angela Mancino brings the experience, while her younger brother, brewer Michael Mancino, supplies the youthful talent.
Those who have spent time in Fredericksburg have likely eaten at one of Angela’s dining establishments. She opened Sunset Grill in 2009, followed by the Woerner Warehouse Cafe, and during the covid pandemic she began making the Granite House Lounge happen.
While she was building up this entrepreneurial resume, Michael was working in the oil industry, first in their native California and then in the resurgent oilfields of Midland. And like many when the pandemic ground the world to a halt, he explored his hobbies, going from an occasional homebrewer to getting “heavy into it.”
And he was getting good at it. He developed his taste for craft beer in San Diego, legendary among hop-heads for its India Pale Ales (IPAs).
“My hometown brewery was Stone,” Michael says, referring to the producers of the infamously named Arrogant Bastard Ale. It took him a while to acquire a taste for the bitterness of IPAs. “I remember my first drink of Arrogant Bastard, I thought, ‘This stuff is terrible,’ but I just kept drinking it,” he laughs. “I really got a taste for the flavor of hoppy beers.
“I did some extract brewing when I was younger,” Michael said. “But during Covid I joined a brewing club in Midland called Basin Brewers. With my buddy Rob, we started brewing and got really infatuated with it.”
“He wanted to pursue his passion,” said Angela. “I owned three other restaurants here in town and I said, ‘When you move here, let’s make your dreams come true.”
Thus was born Fredericksburg’s newest — and possibly smallest — food and suds experience.
“I stumbled upon this little place, and I showed it to him and thought it would be perfect for a little micro-brewpub,” Angela said. “Michael wanted to move from Midland — a lot of our family lives here. He wanted to be closer to us and raise his family. I said, ‘Let’s just make it happen.’ We worked on this place for about six months, really hard, every day. It was a lot. We opened in February and have been going non-stop.”
Located in a tiny former auto shop one block south of Main Street, you could easily go past it without noticing — and that would be unfortunate. Awaiting inside (or on the patio when the heat isn’t so brutal) is a small but quality selection of beers and a diverse, delicious menu.
Since restaurants always start with the drinks, the first thing you’ll notice is that Michael figured out the art of brewing pretty quickly. Belly Up has some guest taps, but you’ll be cheating yourself if you don’t try one of the three taps devoted to his creations. On the day we visited, Belly Up offered the crisp, heat-beating Peach Wheat, the flavorful Honey Badger Blonde, and the full-flavored Pecan Porter.
Given that Michael’s tiny brewhouse only allows for a small selection, his philosophy is to just keep things simple. “I just try to make solid beers,” Michael says. “Sometimes I do exotic stuff, but mostly I try to keep it simple. I feel like in brewing, sometimes the waters can muddy with too many ingredients. Sometimes if you just keep it simple, the best beers come out.
“Brewing’s crazy these days. I think about as most exotic as I’ve gotten is a peanut butter milk stout. But I try not to overcomplicate things. It’s pretty straightforward.”
The Peach Wheat has been a hit for Belly Up, he says. He’s been making it even before moving to Texas. “I had a six-tapper [beer cooler] at my house and a lot of the neighborhood husbands would come over and they loved the peach,” he laughs. “Obviously it clicks here in Fredericksburg because this is peach country.”
One might think the Pecan Porter was inspired by the stellar version produced by Austin’s 512 Brewing, but he cites other influences. “I used to drink Real Ale’s Coffee Porter,” he says, referring to the successful Blanco brewery. “And I really like H-E-B’s pecan coffee. So I married the two. I used legit pecans in the mash, and roasted them myself in the kitchen. I just found a grove near Llano and I’m using their pecans.”
He also had some help. Right about the time Michael discussed how he learned the trade, brewer Peter McFarland — of Fredericksburg’s late, lamented Pedernales Brewing — coincidentally walked in. “He helps us out,” Angela says. “He’s amazing. He’s great, he’s really been wonderful.” (If you see a sign in Belly Up reading, “Do not step on the hoses!” that’s an inside joke between McFarland and the Mancinos.)
Then the food will arrive, and newcomers who don’t know Angela’s background may wonder how such a new place could already have developed such a stellar menu. We sampled from the appetizer menu, including the perfectly spicy Nashville Hot Shrimp, satisfying Big Belly Pork Nachos, and a cheese board that included smoked sausage, bacon jam, pickled veggies, Tex-Mex cheese dip and pretzel bites with spicy mustard.
“These are the things I wanted to create,” says Angela. “I felt like in Fredericksburg there wasn’t that neighborhood bar and grill. I know I’m limited on the small kitchen space that I have, so I created a bar-friendly menu with items that are not overly priced.”
She takes pride in the many items made in-house, including the roast beef in the French Dip sandwich, the corned beef, the bacon jam, the sauerkraut, and even the tortilla chips. “For the hot and spicy shrimp, we created a sauce that has Mike’s Hot Honey and Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and mixed it with cayenne.” And the most popular item has been the Kobe beef hot dog. “We make our own chile and queso, and top it with that and then pickled jalapenos on top. The menu has a lot of Tex-Mex stuff on it, so that’s what we were going for.”
Serious beer nerds might notice the whiskey barrels near the ceiling. Sorry nerds, those are just for decoration. However, Michael said there might be a Christmas surprise coming. “I’ve been talking to [Fredericksburg’s] Iron Goat distillery, and the owner said he might have a couple of barrels for me. I would like to do some barrel-aged stuff for the wintertime.”
He didn’t make any promises, but maybe you should start planning your Weihnachtszeit trip now.
Belly Up Brew Pub
207 S Llano St.
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
bellyupbrewpub.com
830-383-1233
Wed-Sat 3-9 pm / Sun 11 am-5 pm