Did you know the Trinity Football Club’s beer was brewed by the Dallas Trinity River? Did you even know that Dallas Trinity FC has a partnership for their own lager?
The beer tanks that bring the Trinity Mexican Lager to the Cotton Bowl tap are housed in White Rock Brewing Co., which began operations on North Beckley Avenue in 2023.
White Rock Brewing Co. came about from Lake Highlands neighbors Greg Nixon and Dave Kirk about six years after opening their first concept, White Rock Alehouse & Brewery, located on Gaston Avenue.
Shortly after opening White Rock Brewing Co., Kirk passed after a brief battle with cancer in March 2024.
That’s when Old Lake Highlands neighbors Jennifer and Rob Macalik joined Nixon on the White Rock Brewing Co. venture, having connected through St. Patrick Catholic Church.
“The reason Rob got involved is because he loves community, and he wanted to be a part of something where you can build community,” Nixon says.
Rob Macalik says that Oak Cliff is a meaningful part of his life, with his dad having grown up in our neighborhood.
“Even though I don’t necessarily live here now, I love being over here and trying to find a place that can just establish (as) a place that the community can come to; we try to be,” he says. “When people ask me about this place, I say, ‘We are trying to be a little bit for everybody.’ Just a place that people can come and enjoy each other, whether they like beer or they don’t like beer.”
He adds that their food is meant to be “very approachable” and pair well with the cocktails, wine and over a dozen beers on tap, which are now entirely brewed at White Rock Brewing Co.
Some of those are award-winning beers, which range from $3.50-$4 for a half pour and $6-$7 for a full pour. Their first silver medal at the 2019 U.S. Open Beer Championships was for the IPO IPA, which is a hazy IPA with “a little bit of fruit to it,” Rob Macalik says. Their first gold medal was for Dave’s Perfect Pilsner at the U.S. Open Beer Championships in 2021. There is also a Czech dark lager called Shadow Cat, which won a silver medal from the Texas Craft Brewers Cup this year.
For food, the White Rock Brewing Co. and White Rock Alehouse & Brewery menus are similar, but there are some options only available at White Rock Brewing Co., including the cauliflower bites ($10) and the mozzarella bread ($7).
According to Rob Macalik’s brother, White Rock Brewing Co.’s fried chicken sandwich ($13) is “the second best fried chicken sandwich in the world.”
“What’s special about this one is they toss it in the wing sauce of your choice,” Jennifer Macalik says.
One White Rock Brewing Co. exclusive is the Yolk Cliff Burger ($16), made with a charbroiled Angus beef patty, garlic aioli, fried egg, arugula and milk cheddar on a brioche bun.
“The focus over here was pizza,” Rob Macalik says. “It’s not over there.”
“They have some flatbreads at the Alehouse,” Jennifer Macalik adds. “But this was all about the pizza, and then you could build your own. … There wasn’t anything else, and then these other items have been added because people came from over there and were like, ‘I want a burger,’ and so we’re like, ‘OK, we’ll add a burger.’”
Nixon says at White Rock Alehouse & Brewery the focus was “just general pub food.”
Having been friends for 30 years, Kirk and Nixon used to spend time together taking brewery tours. At one point, Kirk mentioned to Nixon, “I think we could do this.”
“I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’” Nixon says. To which Kirk replied: “I think we could pull this off. East Dallas needs something like this.”
The pair enlisted Blake Morrison to help create a better brew and grew from home brewing into White Rock Alehouse & Brewery, which was originally planned to be Lake Highlands Brewing Company. But since the location isn’t Lake Highlands proper, they changed the name before opening in late 2017.
Bringing food into the mix was also an unexpected change.
“We had some concepts of food trucks or ‘let’s go somewhere close to other food where we let people bring food in,’ and as we were starting to get the payment to solicit investors, everybody said food has to be a part of it,” Nixon says. “And so we reluctantly pulled that in. It saved us during COVID when they shut down. If you didn’t have over 50% food, you were completely shut down.”
He adds that the majority of breweries that are suffering or failing are places that don’t serve food. Now, Nixon describes the food as a vital part of their business.
“We have fish and chips on the menu over there, sandwiches and wraps over there,” Nixon says. “More here, again, is pizza, and then we added some sandwiches.”
Some of the popular pizzas are the Savory Onion Burger, which includes bacon jam, ground beef, caramelized onions and shredded cheese and the Texas Heat with red sauce, sausage, jalapeño, a cheese blend and red pepper flakes, each available for $16.
As for the future, Rob Macalik says he is excited for what Harold Simmons Park will bring to White Rock Brewing Co., which is just steps away from the West Overlook section of the park expected to open in late 2028.
But before the Harold Simmons Park guests arrive, White Rock Brewing Co. is already hosting groups and local organizations, like the Dallas County Young Democrats and official Dallas Trinity watch parties.
“I mean, look, sales are up pretty significantly year over year, and I think one of the main reasons that happened is that during Christmas last year, a lot of people came out here and had their Christmas parties here, and I think people really enjoyed it,” Rob Macalik says. “And I think that’s what drove a lot of those people to come back, during the year with their friends and their families. And so, yeah, really looking forward to the holiday season for sure.”
White Rock Brewing Co., 2477 N. Beckley Ave., 214.484.1668, whiterockbrewingco.com
