Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Made in Washington County, TX, USA

We are fortunate to have a large variety of wonderful products made right here in Washington County. Everyone knows about Blue Bell ice cream, but do you know about Bliss Toffee? What about Independence Coffee? Below you will find locally made products and where you can buy them!

The hub of many things locally produced is Home Sweet Farm's downtown Market on Baylor Street. Open Sun-Fri, you can find fresh produce, dairy, meat, cheese, canned goods, bread, alpaca yarn, chocolate, candles, honey ... all kinds of locally made & organically grown goodness, all from within 50 miles of Washington County.

Independence Coffee has a roastery on Hwy 105, about 8 miles outside of Brenham. They've been in business for 10 years now and have some of the most wonderful coffee and tea. Locally you can purchase their coffee as whole beans or ground in H-E-B, Kwik Kopy's Local Market, Must Be Heaven, and Yumm!, to name a few. You can also find it in Whole Foods and Central Markets around the state. Most recently they opened a coffee bar inside Brenham's H-E-B so now you can enjoy your favorite hot or cold beverage as you shop!


Bliss Candy Company makes the best toffee you've ever eaten. Buttery, crunchy, and topped with chocolate - it doesn't get much better! And now they have a retail store open Tues-Sun in addition to being sold at Ant Street Inn. They also make delicious lemon bark, peppermint bark, chocolate and honey-glazed hams. Yummy!

Speaking of sweets, the Caramel Candy Company produces wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth caramel. Located in Chappell Hill, this company has created eight fantastic varieties of caramel, two of which are sugar free! You can purchase online and at Kwik Kopy's Local Market in Brenham.

Brianna's salad dressing, produced by Del Sol Food Co, is made right here in Brenham! Bet you didn't know that! You can find their specialty salad dressings all over the nation and even in some countries abroad. Brianna's holds the title for the # 1 selling specialty dressing. Do you know what flavor it is?

Kountry Boys Sausage started in 1998 with a family recipe. All their sausage begins with lean cuts of meat and the freshest herbs and spices. It is then stuffed into natural casings and hickory smoked to perfection. So it is ready to eat and full of bold, gourmet flavor. Online sales are available through their website in addition to finding their product sold in major grocery stores in Brenham, Houston, Dallas, Austin & San Antonio.


Chappell Hill Sausage is a family owned company established in 1968. They make a smoked link sausage in many varieties of flavors and also produce bacon, summer sausage, and a special spiral honey glazed ham for holidays and family gatherings. You can find their products in grocery stores around the Brenham and the Houston area, in their market on Hwy 290 just east of Chappell Hill and you can purchase online!

Chappell Hill Lavender Farm makes all kinds of things with lavender grown in their fields. Soap, lotion, sachets, candles, tea, and more! The farm and gift shop is open on the weekends March-October. You can find their products at Ant Street Inn and Kwik Kopy's Local Market in Brenham, and online sales are also available.

We have three wineries in Washington County and a fourth that hopes to open in Oct or Nov! Tastings can be enjoyed Tues-Sun and Grape Stomps each July/Aug.
Pleasant Hill Winery is open Sat & Sun and major Monday holidays, and right now they are open for Wine Down Fridays (through May 30)! First tasting starts at 3pm on Fridays and last call is at sunset. Their annual Crush for Fun is coming up in July/Aug. You can find Pleasant Hill wines in local stores.
 
Windy Winery is open Fri-Sun and uses only Texas grapes to produce their wines. They are also host to the annual Wine & Lavender Fest, in addition to their Harvest Grape Stomp in July/Aug. Call them to order wines directly, or go to H-E-B in Brenham and surrounding stores to find their wines in stock.

Saddlehorn Winery is open Tues-Sun for tastings in their beautiful tasting room which was built in their renovated horse barn. As part of the Bluebonnet Wine Trail, Saddlehorn Winery participates in all Bluebonnet Trail events throughout the year. Their wines can be found in local stores as well as purchased from them.

We have beer, too! Brazos Valley Brewing Company was founded in 2013 by a 5-man team of craft brewing enthusiasts. They make high quality craft beers for the people of Texas and have a variety of styles thoughtfully created with passion for tasteful ales. The brewery, just steps from Downtown Brenham, has a partially covered tasting patio which is currently open every other Fri & Sat. Their beer can be found in more than 40 bars/pubs/restaurants in Chappell Hill, College Station, Houston, Galveston, and Waco.

While Budweiser and Bud Light beer isn't made in Washington County, it IS distributed from Brenham through the Mike Hopkins Distributing Co. In fact, they distribute all Anheuser-Busch products to 500 retail customers in seven surrounding counties. So, yeah, we'll count that! :-)

And last but not least, we are home to Chappell Hill Chocolates - specialty chocolate truffles and caramels... ooooh la la! The owner of this delicious company creates beautiful chocolate creations by special order only for any reason you want chocolate.

1 comment:

Bobbi Jo Supak said...

We love Brianna's Poppy Seed dressing! You forgot to mention Burton Sausage as well!