Good Neighbor Brews Brings a Family-Friendly Brewery to Wylie

Good Neighbor Brews patio was packed during their grand opening. Brent Nuss

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When Darin Peterson and Jill Bresnan returned from Europe a few years ago, the two homebrewers, who met through their shared love of beer, decided that they wanted to start a brewery. Shortly after, the idea for Good Neighbor Brews was born. After doing some research, the two decided to open their brewery in a 6,400-square-foot warehouse in Wylie, where they brew, distribute and operate a simple taproom that's open 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Located in an industrial park in Wylie, about 35 minutes from downtown Dallas, the unassuming building is easy to miss for those not looking for it. Saturday's grand opening event, however, drew a large number of local residents who made up the vast majority of the crowd.

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Good Neighbor Brews offered free food to patrons on the half-wall that separates the brewing tanks from the taproom

Brent Nuss

Good Neighbor Brews gets its name from the owners, who are only outgoing and friendly, and it represents the atmosphere that they hope to establish with their brewery; a place where people can bring their dog or kids while sitting on the patio having a beer with their neighbor.

One side of the building is a large patio with a number of picnic benches that were filled with drinkers for Saturday's grand opening. Inside the brewery, there were a couple more picnic benches, as well as free offerings of food, cotton candy, along with popcorn and soda for the kids.

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Good Neighbor Brews's tiny taproom bar

Brent Nuss

The bar in the center of the taproom is no more than a few taps as Good Neighbor is only currently offering three beers: Nickelville IPA is amber in color, with a hoppy smell, medium body, and a smooth feel that balances the malt and hop flavors well, despite being 8.65 percent ABV. Slim Sweetness is a blonde ale that smells almost wheaty; the flavor is a great balance of hops and citrus that do not overwhelm the 5.5 percent ABV, medium-bodied beer. The third offering at Good Neighbor was the Jackalope Stout, a medium-body oatmeal stout coming in at only 4.2 percent ABV. It smells like roasted oats and tastes of coffee and chocolate.

While publications have written ad nauseam of the craft beer bubble and its eventual bursting, the suburbs of DFW seem prime for small-scale operations like Good Neighbor, where locally made craft beer can be enjoyed by people looking for family-friendly communal settings to kick back and have a beer.

Good Neighbor Brews, 211 Regency Drive, Wylie