Background
Varian and Laura Criser founded Lorelei Brewing Company. The couple repurposed the buildings that once housed their real estate investment and construction business into a brewery. Remodeling began in the summer of 2015 and their grand opening on February 6, 2016.
The family background led to the name Lorelei Brewing Company. The family is from Wiesbaden, Germany, approximately 2 km from the Rhine River. The Rhine has a very large rock towering over the river known as the Lorelei. As the legend goes, a beautiful woman stricken with grief of a lost lover at sea, threw herself from the top of the rock, plummeting to her death. Many sailors have heard a woman’s beautiful voice singing, luring them to the rock where they inevitably wreck their ship.
In 2017, Lorelei began canning two of their most popular beers. Lorelei produces approximate 2,000 barrels of beer a year.
Experience
We arrived at Lorelei Brewing on a Wednesday afternoon to join a few other people. The entry to Lorelei is completely accessible. They have a great patio with several seating options. There is a separate building that has multiple long tables and board games. The tap room contains 4 -5 tables and an order bar. The brewing equipment is visible through a window in the tasting room. It is amazing how much equipment they have carefully packed in their brew room.
The beertender was offering eight different beers to try. As a result we opted for a flight that included Manatus-NEIPA, Galaxy Smash-IPA, Celly-Kolsh & Jurate-Baltic Porter. Our favorite was probably the Manatus. We also enjoyed the Mer-Dude, a big Russian Imperial Coffee Milk Stout. There is a clever mermaid theme going on in the brewery and several of the ales bear names of the mythical creatures. It was a great place to hang out.
Lorelei Brewing recently obtained a Crowler and can fill 16 ounce cans of whatever is on draft. Therefore, we could not leave without tall boys of Manatus. They also offer growler fills. Several of the brews are also canned and six packs can be purchased on site or in local stores.
No nearby lodging noted. When in Corpus Christi also check out Nueces Brewing.
