Big Hops - The Bridge

Want craft beer? This is your place.

With a rotating selection of local and non local craft beers, you usually can find a gem or two that other places (or the other don't carry.

Situated next Hays St. Bridge, the setting is perfect for outdoor drankin and people watchin'. The outside area, while a decent size, has plenty of seating - from tables to limestone blocks.

The dudes and ladies there have never steered me wrong, especially when I'm indecisive.

Pricing is reasonable and there's sometimes have a food truck outside.

While all three BHs are pretty chill, this one is probably the most laid back, even more so for being downtown.

Great spot to relax and enjoy a cold pint of suds. Stopped by yesterday and meet the Community Beer Co. rep. She was kinda cute, but I have a thing for gingers. Anyways, the beer was refreshing and the regulars were friendly. The beer pictured is the Passiflora, their White Passion Fruit Flower IPA.

Had to try every Big Hops. This one is very cool with lots of outdoor seating.
Beers constantly change. Bartenders always friendly and willing to pour a taste of any of the 30+ taps.
Lots of specials for different days. A good choice for an adult beverage. Be sure to give Saint Arnold root beer a try.

I love this place. It's never too busy but always busy enough I'm not worried about it closing which is just how I like my craft beer bars. The bar tenders are awesome, nice, and knowledgeable. I come her for an "after work beer" pretty regularly and have never been disappointed by the service or beer selection.

Speaking of the beer selection.. it's top notch. I've been to plenty of places with more taps but this place makes good use of the 25 taps they have. They seem to always have that new release everyone is looking for. They also have a good selection of cans/bottles available.

A bridge by definition is any structure that serves as a path across an obstacle, to bring a traveler to safety. For me a bridge is any structure that has the ability to merge different worlds together. The Bridge, the latest addition by the ever expanding Big Hops Growler franchise is seamlessly doing this.

The Big Hops Growler, with The Bridge is now four locations wide. In each unique vision each space reflects the area where it resides. In this configuration it is in an urban area, taking the old Boneshaker's facade and putting their own spin on it. Unlike the other locations that are sleek and industrial feeling, this one seems tattered and worn. Its like you can almost sense the hands that have put this all together.

An old garage door opens the interior of this place and patrons move freely in and out. From the side of the building you can see The Hay's Street Bridge, full of history and symbolism. Inside the bar folds into an L-shape, with servers on all directions to get your drink on.They carry all the taps much like the other locations: local, regional, Freetail Brewing Co., Prairie Artisan, Ranger Creek, stouts, IPA's, sours, ciders etc.

Beer nerds, business people, the downtown culture, hipsters and bike riders congregate and converge. People with glasses and people wearing glasses commiserate or unwind after a hard day's night. The room opens up and patrons spill onto the outside. You can still score a growler or buy beer by the glass. The prices are much like the other locations, but still they are reasonable considering it is closer to downtown. While I do like this vision, especially in its newest location I do have a few critiques.

My first critique is that the tap selection are all on one part of the wall, which makes it inconvenient for the patron and server. Since the action is located in one area it does have the potential to create traffic. They need to find a way to spread patrons out, as they are ordering their drinks to alleviate traffic.

Another issue I had was in the visibility of available tap selections. Since the selections are presented on a screen with small print I had to squint my eyes just to make out what they exactly had. While they do have an app for your phone that has the taps they are carrying that day, it didn't reflect what was actually there.

While I do like that this location's room opens up with benches/tables for seating the space outdoors feels like an afterthought and still needs some reconfiguration. What I mean to say is that they need to place seating or makeshift pub tables so people can drink comfortably. The Bridge should not be just a name but a mission statement. Why not have a milieu that showcases its proximity to The Hays Street Bridge thus exemplifying this idea?

Given all this why do I give it five stars? Well:

1.) The tattered facade gives it a sense of authenticity and realness.
2.) The people that go here and work here are friendly and awesome! There is a sense of community.
3.) I like that they employ women as tapmasters, for example I had a server named Dorothy who was absolutely wonderful, knowledgeable and above all, professional.
4.) It is really cool to see the owner in all his metal t-shirts making the rounds and surveying the room. That is the hallmark of any successful business.
5.) It's truly inspiring to see a business of this caliber in an area of this city overlooked and underdeveloped. It has the potential to heighten the profile of this neighborhood.

The newest location by The Big Hop's Growler is both bold and necessary. By proxy its location will bring people that never make their way to this side of the city. It's facade is worn and tattered which gives it a sense of authenticity and genuineness. The staff are friendly and the people that come are equal to that. The vibe is vibrant but laid back. It is the perfect place to unwind or to engage in conversation over a beer. This location will test if The Big Hops Growler is truly ready to become a franchise or just a fixture in our city.

ps. The parking is interesting. Choose wisely where you situate your vehicle.

Was headed to Burleson yard when I decided to stop at Big Hops for a few drinks. This place is very casual and laid back. We went in around 730 on a Friday and there were only a few people scattered at the bar, tables inside, and outside.

The bartenders were super helpful (shout-out to Chris!) and suggested a few beers to try. We were able to buy a crowler and take our drink to the Hays street bridge. Chris even kept our beers in the fridge so they wouldn't get warm.

Overall, this is a very chill place if you're looking to try a few beers in a less crowded environment. Definitely going back.

What a great new addition to the Big Hops family!
The Hays Street Bridge has been a sad, sad (beautiful, but still sad) bridge to nowhere since the demise of Boneshakers (RIP, beer ice cream! )
Now though, it's got 2 great cornerstones. .. the newly-opened Alamo Brewery and beer garden at one end, and now, in the space once occupied by my beloved Boneshakers, Big Hops at the Bridge... sweet hoppy
gentrification!

It's still just soft-open for the next weekish, so all of the finishing touches aren't 100% yet, but all of the standard Big Hops goodness is already in place... plenty of mostly-local all-craft taps, reasonably priced growler fills, great music/vibe/patio, cool staff & crowd. Beer highlights of the weekend for me: they featured the debut of Freetail's bourbon barrel aged version of the phenomenal Local Coffee Stout; Prairie's Apple Brandy Barrel Noir was available by the bottle - and that's nowhere else to be found in San Antonio; and the best IPA in Texas, Lone Pint's Yellow Rose, was flowing on draught.
This will definitely be our go-to joint for Spurs game pre-flight.

I love that there will be a regular rotation of food trucks, leaving The Hops itself more focus on the taps instead of trying additionally to run a kitchen. (Crossing my fingers that Rickshaw Stop, Slider Provider, and Say.She.Ate will be common fixtures on that rotation! )
The patio area is still a bit of a work in progress, but it's pretty great even right now - several picnic tables for ample seating, and between the awesome bikes rolling off the bridge and the procession of horses down the street (city carriage horses live in the building next door), the view is neato.

The road to 5 Stars is paved with. ..
*Production/availability of beer ice cream
*CROWLERS!
*Purse hooks in the ladies room and under the bar
*Parking that's a bit more monitored/secure

Worst place in San Antonio ever!
I start a tap witch my card but paid in money!
And it has been 4 days and didn't answer my requests, didn't answer my calls.
If you not a local be away from this place!!!!

Stumbled upon this place while staying in San Antonio. Really chill, lots of beer on tap, great specials, awesome bartender. Off the river walk strip so not so crowded. Check it out!

The nostalgia from the decor gets me gitty. Then there's beer and good people inside.