An East Sixth brewery crawl that actually works
Four stops, in this order: Lazarus at 1pm, Zilker at 2:30, Blue Owl at 4, Nickel City at 5:30. Do it on a Saturday, eat at the first stop, and be done by seven. East Sixth only has two actual breweries, which is why the order matters so much.
The crawl
- Lazarus Brewing, 1902 E 6th — lagers and a real taqueria kitchen.
- Zilker Brewing, 1701 E 6th — three minutes' walk, hazy IPAs.
- Blue Owl Brewing, 2400 E Cesar Chavez — fifteen minutes on, everything sour.
- Nickel City, 1133 E 11th — not a brewery. Finish here anyway.
- Wednesday to Sunday only. Blue Owl shuts Monday and Tuesday.
First, which East Sixth do you mean?
There are two, and mixing them up ruins the afternoon. The breweries are on East 6th east of I-35, in the 1700 and 1900 blocks — a residential-edge neighborhood of patios and food trucks.
The East Sixth in the news is the downtown entertainment strip west of the highway, where the bars close at 2am and the street shuts to cars on weekend nights. Same street name, entirely different evening.
This crawl is the eastern one. It runs in daylight, it is walkable, and nobody hands you a shot at the door.
Why start at Lazarus?
Because it is the only stop with a kitchen, and because drinking four rounds on an empty stomach is how good afternoons end early. Lazarus at 1902 E 6th runs a scratch taqueria and roasts its own coffee alongside the brewery.
Order the Crazy Horse Czech lager and a plate of tacos. They brew on a ten-barrel system and don't distribute anywhere, so a pint here is genuinely a pint you cannot get elsewhere.
The shaded patio is the largest on the crawl and dogs are welcome on it. Two warnings: it packs out on Sunday afternoons, and there is essentially no parking, which is a theme you will notice.
What to drink at Zilker
Walk two blocks west to Zilker Brewing at 1701 E 6th — three minutes, which is the entire walkable brewery scene on this street.
This is a hazy IPA house and it is very good at that one thing. Get Marco, their flagship IPA at 7%, or Primos if you want the lighter Mexican lager. Happy hour runs Monday to Thursday, 3pm to 6pm.
Two food trucks live in the yard, including the original Spicy Boys fried chicken. They do not allow outside food, so do not turn up carrying a taco from Lazarus.
Which stop is overrated?
Zilker, and only on value. The beer is fine and the crowd likes it, but the cocktails are the worst deal on this crawl — one reviewer clocked $30 for two small margaritas, and that complaint recurs.
It also has the most awkward hours of the four, with its own website publishing two different schedules and possibly no Tuesday service at all. Call before you build an evening around it.
And if you like sour or dark beer, you will find nothing here. Drink one IPA, enjoy the patio, and put your money down the road.
Where the sours are
Down at Blue Owl Brewing, 2400 E Cesar Chavez, fifteen minutes' walk south of Lazarus. Every beer they make is sour-mashed — not a sour list, an entirely sour brewery, which is rare anywhere.
Go on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday between 3 and 6 and pints run $3. That is the best price in East Austin and roughly a third of what a taproom pint costs elsewhere in town.
Practical wins: dogs are allowed inside, there is a pizza kitchen, and it is the only stop with easy free parking. One caveat worth knowing — the founders have the business listed for sale, though they have said publicly it is not closing.
Where to finish
Nickel City at 1133 E 11th. It is a bar, not a brewery, and it is the best room on this route by a distance — it made North America's 50 Best Bars in 2026 and it is open until 2am daily.
Have the frozen Irish coffee. Then decide honestly whether you want a fifth drink or a taco, and pick the taco.
When should you stop?
Around seven. Both breweries close between 10 and 11, well before the street does, and the East Sixth bar crowd arrives roughly as the taprooms are shutting down.
A crawl that starts at one and ends at seven gets you daylight patios, both happy hours, and a walk home. A crawl that starts at six gets you two rushed pints and a bar strip you did not come for.
Which places should you skip?
Several guides still send people to breweries that no longer have taprooms. Hops & Grain closed its taproom on Calles Street and now only sells through shops. Friends & Allies poured its last beer in December 2023. Craft Pride on Rainey has been "relocating" since 2021.
Also skip Hold Out Brewing on this particular afternoon. It is excellent and the food is better than most brewpubs manage, but it sits at 1208 West 4th Street — across the highway, forty-five minutes' walk, and a separate trip despite every list that files it under East Sixth.
The honest structural point: East Sixth has two breweries, three blocks apart. Anything longer than that needs either non-brewery stops or wheels between clusters.
The wheels part
The Lazarus-to-Zilker leg is a walk. The legs to Blue Owl and Nickel City are the ones people skip because it is 98 degrees and nobody wants to drive. That gap is most of what we do on a Saturday afternoon — short hops between patios, no parking, no keys.
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