Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Abary.
Jonathan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
A few years ago, we were just casual bystanders watching the Houston craft beer scene start getting a lot of momentum. We got really excited seeing more and more local breweries pop up, and we wanted to find a way to connect them to our community. We started Fresh Tap Tours back in June 2015 with the hope of helping Houstonians learn about Houston breweries, find a new favorite Houston beer, and have a fun time doing so. It’s been an awesome ride–we’ve found that our tour guests are curious, super fun, and really thirsty! As we’ve grown, we’ve found that one of the coolest parts of our job is being able to educate our guests around beer in general so that when they visit a local craft beer bar they’re able to understand the tap list, know their personal tastes, and pick one that they’ll love (and by that point they’re partial to drinking local!). We look forward to all the new and upcoming Houston breweries on the horizon, and are excited to see Houston emerge as a premier spot for really good craft beer.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
At the beginning of our journey I think we were still trying to find out who we were as a company. The brewery tour concept is relatively new for Houston, so we didn’t really know who’d be interested in the tours. After experimenting with different group sizes, modes of transportation, and other tour aspects, we finally landed on a niche that we really love. Our tour guides are the most knowledgeable in Houston, and we’ve honed in on creating an intimate experience where our tour guests truly learn about and grow an appreciation for local craft beer. We have limited tour offerings and host very small tours so that each tour guest gets personal attention not only by our tour guides but also by the brewers and staff. It’s taken a while to get to where we are today, but each road bump along the way helped shape us into knowing who we are and what experience we want to offer.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Fresh Tap Tours – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We help people learn about Houston’s local craft beer scene. Our tours are the most educational tours in Houston. We think that if you develop an appreciation for craft beer, you’ll know what beer is really supposed to taste like and you’ll be more inclined to explore more craft beer instead of settling for something lesser. We work as hard as we can to help people have a solid foundation of craft beer, so that they are more educated and comfortable when they’re trying to order from a beer menu on their own. In addition to the fun of exploring Houston while drinking really good beer, we stand apart from others in that we invest in our customers by helping them understand different beer styles, how to taste beer, and what their individual preferences are.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We’re glad to be where we are currently. We want to continue educating people around craft beer, and will continue to offer our services in a way that attracts those that are curious and thirsty!
Pricing:
- All-inclusive tour price is $99 ($69 covers the transportation, tour guide, and other goodies and $30 covers the beer, brewery entrance fees, and commemorative glasses for the breweries throughout the day)
Contact Info:
- Website: freshtaptours.com
- Phone: 409-BEER-BUS
- Email: info@freshtaptours.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshtaptours/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshtaptours
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/freshtaptours
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fresh-tap-tours-webster-2
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
