Business Highlight of the Week: The Dodging Duck Brewhaus

A note on sourcing: every fact in this feature, including the address, the phone number, the owners' names, the founding date, the hours, and the brewery's history, was verified this week against the brewery's official website, the MySA 20th-anniversary feature on the brewhouse, the City of Boerne's community page, and Backroads Texas. Hours, specials, and the live-music calendar can change, so call ahead before you plan your visit.

This week's Business Highlight of the Week is The Dodging Duck Brewhaus, the family-owned brewpub at 402 River Rd in Boerne. When Keith and Chandra Moore opened the doors on August 1, 2002, they gave Boerne its first brewpub, and more than two decades later it is still the one the town points newcomers toward. Part turn-of-the-century home, part working brewery, part riverside gathering place, the Duck has quietly become one of those institutions that defines what a Hill Country evening is supposed to feel like.

Boerne's first brewpub, still pouring

The Dodging Duck opened in 2002, which makes it the place that brought craft beer to Boerne. Nothing on the beer scene here predates it: what is now a full Hill Country craft-beer landscape starts with this building on River Road. The 10-barrel, 320-gallon Bohemian-style brewing system lives in its own building on the property, and the beer is piped straight to the wrap-around bar, so the pint in your hand was brewed a few dozen steps from your seat. The brewhouse has collected three gold and three silver medals at the World Beer Championships, honors that the regulars will tell you were a long time coming for a place that has brewed its own since day one. It is the kind of track record that earns a town's trust one batch at a time.

Keith and Chandra Moore, the family behind the bar

The Duck is a true family business, run by Keith Moore and his wife Chandra. Keith grew up in New Braunfels and Chandra in Houston, and the two met as students at the University of Texas. Keith's path to brewing was wonderfully roundabout: he started homebrewing in the 1980s, then spent years as vice president of sales and marketing for a Swiss manufacturer, living in Switzerland for five years before returning to the United States in 1999 and settling in the Hill Country. That is the whole story of the brewhouse in one arc: a Hill Country kid with a homebrew hobby, a world-class career, and a decision to bring everything he learned back home. Chandra has been beside him for all of it, and the place they built reads as exactly that, a business run by a family that wanted to build something worth sharing.

A name with a story

The name is pure Boerne. During construction, Keith had two pages of possible names for the place when, one afternoon on the front deck, a car slammed on its brakes to avoid a duck crossing the road. That was it, the Dodging Duck, a name that has made sense to everyone who has ever watched a duck waddle across River Road while traffic politely waits. It is a small moment, but it is the kind of detail that lets you know you are somewhere real, and it is the first thing most locals tell you about their favorite brewpub.

What you will find inside

The Duck is a renovated turn-of-the-century home, which means the dining rooms feel like rooms rather than a dining hall, and the wrap-around porch and decks hand you the Hill Country outside your window. The kitchen leans fresh and regional: Thai lettuce wraps, chimichurri-grilled beef tenderloin, bratwurst and sauerkraut that would make the original German settlers proud, burgers, sausage plates, and salads, all paired with beer brewed on site or a glass of wine. Heated decks and a dog-friendly patio sit right over Cibolo Creek, live music fills the weekends, and Ducky Hour brings the after-work crowd in for specials on weekdays. As of this writing the brewhouse holds a 4.2-star average across more than 650 online ratings, a number that reflects how consistently it has shown up for the town across two decades plus.

Why we are shining the spotlight here

Every week we feature a local business that makes Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, and the surrounding Hill Country a better place to call home. The Dodging Duck is exactly that. For families new to the area, it is the perfect introduction to the Hill Country way of relaxing: creek water, cold beer, and food that does not try too hard. For longtime locals, it is proof that a place can stay independent, family-owned, and excellent for more than twenty years without changing what made it great. You can follow the whole series on the Business Highlights page, and we hope the Duck becomes part of your own Boerne routine.

Visit The Dodging Duck Brewhaus

You can find the Duck at 402 River Rd, Boerne, TX 78006. Give them a call at (830) 248-3825, or check dodgingduck.com for hours, the beer list, and the live-music calendar. Go for the creek-side deck on a fair-weather afternoon, order a pint of whatever is on the kettle, and let the ducks on the water settle the debate about where to eat. And when you go, tell them Bill Ross sent you. Supporting the places that make the Hill Country home is good for all of us.

Sources

1. The Dodging Duck Brewhaus, official website. Business description, location, contact details, hours, and menu. dodgingduck.com
2. MySA, "Dodging Duck Brewhaus celebrates 20 years in Boerne." Founding date, Keith Moore's biography, the story behind the name, and the brewhouse's history. mysanantonio.com
3. City of Boerne, Dodging Duck Brewhaus community page. Community description of the brewpub and its place in Boerne. ci.boerne.tx.us
4. Backroads Texas, "The Dodging Duck Brewhaus." Experiential profile covering the building, the brewing system, the patio, and the menu. backroadstexas.net

Last verified: October 23, 2026