Review: Jester King Pizza and Brewery - Dripping Springs, TX

Dripping Springs is a charming Texas town about 30 minutes west of Austin. Much like a wave of new hipster restaurants (including Roberta's Pizza) led the revival of Brooklyn's downtrodden Bushwick neighborhood, the arrival of breweries, distilleries, and great pizza has propelled the rapid growth of Dripping Springs from sleepy rustic backwater to trendy bustling suburb.

I discovered Dripping Springs almost 10 years ago on a visit to Austin when I googled "best pizza in Austin." My search led me to Pieous, one of the pioneers bringing legit Neapolitan pizza (cooked at around 1000 degrees in under 2 minutes) to cities across America.  

Jester King Brewery

I've since visited Dripping Springs for its lovely singer-songwriter festival, but for much of my 3+ years as a Texan, I've had my eye on Jester King Brewery. While the primary draw is the beer, I learned that they enjoy a good reputation for their Neapolitan pizza. If that's not reason enough to visit, they have a baby goat pen where you can interact with the goats and even give them beer to drink.

Open and airy dining area

On my first visit I enjoyed the beer and the goats, but we didn't try the pizza because it's available only during limited hours and days of the week. But the beer and the space were sufficiently compelling to prompt a return visit for the pizza.

We ordered our beers and chose two different pizzas. The Pepperoni is made with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh Lioni mozzarella, and of course pepperoni. The Citron is made with garlic oil, basil, Lioni mozzarella, Calabrian chilies, sliced lemon, dill, and hot honey.

The pepperoni pizza

Both pizzas sported an impeccable iconic Neapolitan crust; thin in the middle, puffy at the cornicione, and leopard spotted all over. Beyond its look, the crust was tasty by itself, it had a tenderness and nice chewiness while sporting a subtle but important element of crunch.

The Citron

The pepperoni pizza was excellent, although it didn't outshine the nearby competition like Pieous or Sorellina. The red sauce was bright, forward, and well mated to the creamy fresh mozz and the large rounds of pepperoni. This pie alone was plenty of justification to return for more pizza and beer in the large and open barnlike dining area.

The star pie, though, was the Citron. I ordered it specifically because I thought that lemon on pizza was an odd choice, but I trusted the pizzaiolo to get it right. This pie had more depth and layers of flavors than the comparatively straightforward pepperoni pizza did. The spice of the chilies and the sweet heat of the honey mated beautifully with the umami-rich base of garlic oil and the cheese.

I've had that hot-sweet combo on plenty of Neapolitan pizzas and it usually works really well, but the subtle acidic jolt from the lemon added another dimension to the flavor mix. I can only imagine that lemon isn't a frequent pizza topping because so few people might choose to order it; I'm so glad we did. You can make bold choices when you're ordering multiple pizzas.

Intense and appropriate char underneath

For my own taste, the volume and the heat of the Calabrian chilies was overwhelming; I enjoyed the pizza much more when I removed most of them, even though plenty of heat remained. Next time I order this pizza, I will request that it be made with 75% fewer chilies on top. But if you love intense heat, go for it.

Jester King is a winner on four important levels. The beer is excellent (we enjoyed the more traditional varieties over the sour fruit mash types). The pizza is top rank authentic Neapolitan and the Citron is a terrific new twist. The space is large, open, airy, hip, and inviting. And of course, baby goats!

It took me way too long to get to Jester King, but it won't be long before I return.