Four Corners Brewing Changes Laws To Bring Beer to West Dallas

(Dallas, Texas) October 15, 2012 – It’s unusual for any new business to have a strong fan base before it opens. But even though its crafty brews have only been sipped by a handful of preview tour groups and local chefs, Four Corners Brewing Co. has already proven its leadership in Dallas’s growing craft beer market.

“Dallas has a blossoming beer culture, but there were regulations that made it hard to open a brewery. My partners and I had a dream of helping shape and develop the local brew scene, so we started working to change the rules,” said co-founder George Esquivel, who also serves as Four Corners’s director of sales and marketing.

Like so many forbidden loves, Four Corners began with an underdog neighborhood, a law that was holding progress back, and an inspired idea. Dallas natives and longtime friends George Esquivel, Greg Leftwich, Steve Porcari, and brewmaster John Sims had always talked about their dream brewery. It would serve world class craft beers, be grounded in Dallas roots and heritage, and take part in the revitalization of underdeveloped parts of Dallas.
The friends made their wish official as they shared a beer on an intersection where they grew up. Each corner was completely different, but also completely Dallas: a family-style Salvadoran restaurant, a hip, farm-to-table joint that boasted no refrigerators, a ”hidden-gem” taqueria, and a rustic tire shop.

The scene ran the full gamut of local flavor, from longtime natives to recent arrivals, glitter and glam to grassroots. Though everyone was different, the culture was inclusive with every person belonging and feeling welcome. The corner had character, and the character was Dallas. Their brewery was going to be the same way.

But there was a problem. The road to Four Corners was littered with red tape. Though a handful of brewers had hit the Dallas scene to start new ventures, the law wasn’t in their favor. The rules mandated special use permits and a long, complicated zoning process to get taps flowing.

Esquivel and his partners began working to overhaul the rules, attending city council meetings and lobbying with locals and leadership alike. In June, revamped rules were passed to make the city friendlier for all Dallas brewers.

True to their concept, the partners unearthed an old truck repair shop on the corner of Singleton Boulevard at the base of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Like the neighborhood, it just needed a little attention to shine. Now the building is scrubbed clean and painted a blazing blue with a massive, tri-colored rooster crowing a call to beer lovers everywhere. The rooster, of course, represents Dallas’s roots, plus a weathervane perched on the group’s favorite corner.

Now that it’s fall, taps are primed to serve and thirsty beer lovers are pining for a pint of the brand’s trademarked All Day Ales. The four year-round ales are brewed for refreshment in warm Dallas weather. They’re loaded with flavor and have a tolerable alcohol level so revelers can enjoy a few without going overboard. It’s a group of beers for baseball games, a casual lunch meeting, or relaxing after a long day.

Classic All Day Ales include American red “Red’s Roja,” a robust “Block Party Porter,” and “La Bajada Brown,” a brown ale. “Local Buzz” is a golden pale ale made with locally sourced honey to give the brew a signature sweetness and aroma.

Limited release beers are offered based on the time of year, but each of the brewery’s beers will soon be available at local bars and restaurants as well as during special collaborative events with neighborhood chefs and partners. True to character, the brewery also customized a Paletera bike, a Mexican ice cream cart, to tote to bars and events around town. The Paletera, in other words, doubles as a P-ale-tera.

“West Dallas is often the unsung side of town, and we think of ourselves as the unofficial ambassadors. When we roll up to events with a smile and fresh handcrafted beer from our Paletera, we’re extending an invitation to try something creative inspired by the city we all love. It outlines how we’re all different, but also what we each have in common. Beer brings people together, and that’s what Four Corners is all about,” said Esquivel.