Well, its been quite a while since I posted anything on the blog. But know that I haven't just been sitting around drinking beer (well ok, I didn't do just that). Instead, myself along with some other Houston Beer enthusiasts have started Open The Taps. I won't use this blog to talk to much about them, but I wanted to post the formal press release here so that you can see what we are trying to do and have the contact information to get to our website.
(Houston, TX) - The recent demise of two House Bills (HB 602 & 660) that would have significantly improved the horizon for the Texas craft beer industry, coupled with the outdated restrictions on the industry, led a few citizens to band together to garner real change in our state laws to benefit the craft beer community. Thus, Open The Taps was born-- not only because the restrictions of the current system are stifling our craft beer community, but from the realization that the Texas craft beer industry could be so much more vibrant.
By approaching legislative change from the consumer side, as opposed to from within the industry, Open The Taps hopes to reach more Texas residents on a personal level in order to bring change from the ground-up, unifying voters and consumers into one voice.
With the recent boom in new breweries and brewpubs in the state, now more than ever is the time to make meaningful change in Texas as it relates to the beer industry. From allowing sales at breweries and lifting restrictive limitations on production and distribution for brewpubs, to reaching outside of our state to make entering the Texas market more feasible by easing antiquated labeling restrictions, Open The Taps wants to advocate craft beer in a complete, holistic sense.
Open The Taps will have a launch party on Saturday, July 23rd, at 4PM at Moon Tower Inn (3004 Canal St.). Moon Tower features a great craft beer selection along with some amazing hot dogs, the perfect setting to introduce Open The Taps to the general public. Open The Taps will also be at the Bay Area Mashtronauts’ homebrew competition, the Lunar Rendezbrew, on Saturday, August 6th, 2011. The Lunar Rendezbrew is an AHA (American Homebrewers Association) approved homebrew competition and a member of the Lonestar Circuit. See their website, http://mashtronauts.com, for more details. Open The Taps will be accepting memberships and the board members will be on hand to discuss their plans for the future of the organization.
The Houston citizens that founded Open The Taps and sit on the board are Ted Duchesne (President) of the beer blog Barley Vine, Leslie Sprague (Secretary/Media Relations) of the beer blog Lushtastic and Chris White (Treasurer/Controller), an avid craft beer enthusiast and home brewer. Also part of the Executive Committee are Cathy Clark Rascoe of the beer blog Brewtiful and John Speights, another craft beer lover and home brewer.
About Open The Taps:
Open the taps is a grassroots, non-profit organization that will act as an advocate for craft beer enthusiasts in Texas within the bounds of the multi-tier system and the legislative process. We are incorporated in Texas and are operating as a 501(c)(6). The organization is headquartered in Houston, Texas, but regional branches will be established as support grows. More information on Open The Taps is available at http://openthetaps.org, on Twitter at http://twitter.com/OpenTheTaps and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/OpenTheTaps.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
What are you going to do about it?
Its been a little over a week since we learned that HB 602 was dead in the Senate and that once again micro breweries in Texas were given the short end of the stick. Its been interesting to see the local reaction to the death of the bill. Many folks are blaming ABInbev. In fact in an article on the Houston Press, they report that some restaurants are removing ABInbev products. That's a great idea only if they are replacing those beers with local Texas Craft ones. But if anyone really things boycotting ABInbev is the answer to all our problems, I think your wrong, we must do more.
I'm also happy to hear that both Brock Wagner of Saint Arnold and Scott Metzger of Freetail Brewing are not giving up, that they are going to continue the fight in two years. I think that's great, but unfortunately I do not believe its enough. If any Texas Craft beer lover out there truly believes that with only the breweries fighting the fight that things in this state are going to change, they are very sadly mistaken, we must do more.
I think the only way things in this state change are if the consumers stand up and demand a change. Its that line of thinking that brings me to this post today. I received some inspiration from this post from the wonderful Cathy Clark (founder of Live It Big, Camp Beer, Monsters of Beer, and Houston Beer Week). Here is a beer enthusiast that gets it, she is involved, and I encourage everyone to read the whole post, but I do want to highlight a few points.
In her blog, Cathy states she would like to see the following done:
Un-elect Those Not With Us: who the heck are these TX legislative people? I’d like to find out exactly how these people feel about craft beer in Texas. If they don’t feel as we feel, let’s start by getting them tossed out. Take it to The Man.
Shame Those On the Fence: since politicians aren’t exactly known for their forthrightness and honesty, let’s ensure their support with ads and active campaigns in their hometowns. It’s easy to lie to someone who isn’t your neighbor. It’s hard to go to church and look at someone you stabbed in the back. Shame, and fear of shame, are pretty good motivators. Again, Take it to The Man.
Commission a Study: let’s get some better numbers behind what we all believe is the truth – that more small breweries/brewpubs = more jobs/income to Texas.
Those are all great ideas, and things we should be doing. I want to add a few of my own.
1) Educate our Legislatures. Here is some talking points: Texas is number 2 in beer consumption. Let's get more Texans drinking Texas beer, and keep more money in state helping local economies. Speaking of the local economy, a strong micro brewing culture can increase tourism. In Colorado alone (a state with a much smaller economy, but much larger craft beer culture), craft beer brings in $12 Billion. You don't think that would help the state coffers some?
2) Support those that support Craft Beer. Now that you've educated your legislatures. Support those like Jessica Farrar that have been supportive of Texas Micro breweries. Fund raise for them, campaign for them, etc. Support the restaurants and bars that support craft beer. I mentioned above that some restaurants are getting rid of ABInbev products, that's OK, but if they aren't carrying Texas craft beer, then whats the point? There are many local restaurants that promote a local, and seasonal menu, yet carry either macro brews, or imports exclusively. Don't let them get away with it, ask them to carry local beer, it will go with their menu much better.
3) Educate your friends. Texas has a lot of folks that drink BMC products. Hey I understand that not everyone loves a Double IPA, Sour, Barrel Aged Quad. Many folks just like lighter tasting beers. Well, thats OK. Steer your friends to something local. Texas Craft Breweries make some great easy drinking, very approachable, sessionable beers. Here is a short list, but if you have others leave them in the comments: Southern Star Bombshell Blond, Saint Arnold Lawnmower and Weedwacker, Rahr and Sons Blond, Summer Wheat, Independence Freestyle Wheat, Live Oak Hefeweizen, No Label Brewing El Hefe to name a few.
4) Invite your friends. Houston is pretty lucky, there are a ton of beer events in this town. Heck Rudyards has a monthly beer dinner (3rd Thursday of the Month). Thinks like Camp Beer, Houston Beer Week, Vic and Anthony Beer Dinners, Flying Saucer or Petrol Station Anniversary parties. There are plenty of opportunities to invite your friends, whether or not they are into craft beers, they will have a good time. Craft beer lovers are good people. We'll make you welcome.
Lastly, a question to you. Will you put your money where your mouth is? Its easy to say that you support craft beer, and that you want the Texas Craft beer scene to be better. But other states, like Mississippi (Raise your Pints) and Alabama (Free the Hops) had Consumer Advocacy groups that banded together to help change the laws in their states. Let me be clear, I believe that is the only way things will change in our state. Texas State laws need to change. They need to be changed to support local breweries, and brew pubs, to get rid of antiquated labeling laws, and to help create an environment that will allow local businesses to thrive. My question then is, will you support a Consumer Advocacy group that worked to change these laws?
I'm also happy to hear that both Brock Wagner of Saint Arnold and Scott Metzger of Freetail Brewing are not giving up, that they are going to continue the fight in two years. I think that's great, but unfortunately I do not believe its enough. If any Texas Craft beer lover out there truly believes that with only the breweries fighting the fight that things in this state are going to change, they are very sadly mistaken, we must do more.
I think the only way things in this state change are if the consumers stand up and demand a change. Its that line of thinking that brings me to this post today. I received some inspiration from this post from the wonderful Cathy Clark (founder of Live It Big, Camp Beer, Monsters of Beer, and Houston Beer Week). Here is a beer enthusiast that gets it, she is involved, and I encourage everyone to read the whole post, but I do want to highlight a few points.
In her blog, Cathy states she would like to see the following done:
Un-elect Those Not With Us: who the heck are these TX legislative people? I’d like to find out exactly how these people feel about craft beer in Texas. If they don’t feel as we feel, let’s start by getting them tossed out. Take it to The Man.
Shame Those On the Fence: since politicians aren’t exactly known for their forthrightness and honesty, let’s ensure their support with ads and active campaigns in their hometowns. It’s easy to lie to someone who isn’t your neighbor. It’s hard to go to church and look at someone you stabbed in the back. Shame, and fear of shame, are pretty good motivators. Again, Take it to The Man.
Commission a Study: let’s get some better numbers behind what we all believe is the truth – that more small breweries/brewpubs = more jobs/income to Texas.
Those are all great ideas, and things we should be doing. I want to add a few of my own.
1) Educate our Legislatures. Here is some talking points: Texas is number 2 in beer consumption. Let's get more Texans drinking Texas beer, and keep more money in state helping local economies. Speaking of the local economy, a strong micro brewing culture can increase tourism. In Colorado alone (a state with a much smaller economy, but much larger craft beer culture), craft beer brings in $12 Billion. You don't think that would help the state coffers some?
2) Support those that support Craft Beer. Now that you've educated your legislatures. Support those like Jessica Farrar that have been supportive of Texas Micro breweries. Fund raise for them, campaign for them, etc. Support the restaurants and bars that support craft beer. I mentioned above that some restaurants are getting rid of ABInbev products, that's OK, but if they aren't carrying Texas craft beer, then whats the point? There are many local restaurants that promote a local, and seasonal menu, yet carry either macro brews, or imports exclusively. Don't let them get away with it, ask them to carry local beer, it will go with their menu much better.
3) Educate your friends. Texas has a lot of folks that drink BMC products. Hey I understand that not everyone loves a Double IPA, Sour, Barrel Aged Quad. Many folks just like lighter tasting beers. Well, thats OK. Steer your friends to something local. Texas Craft Breweries make some great easy drinking, very approachable, sessionable beers. Here is a short list, but if you have others leave them in the comments: Southern Star Bombshell Blond, Saint Arnold Lawnmower and Weedwacker, Rahr and Sons Blond, Summer Wheat, Independence Freestyle Wheat, Live Oak Hefeweizen, No Label Brewing El Hefe to name a few.
4) Invite your friends. Houston is pretty lucky, there are a ton of beer events in this town. Heck Rudyards has a monthly beer dinner (3rd Thursday of the Month). Thinks like Camp Beer, Houston Beer Week, Vic and Anthony Beer Dinners, Flying Saucer or Petrol Station Anniversary parties. There are plenty of opportunities to invite your friends, whether or not they are into craft beers, they will have a good time. Craft beer lovers are good people. We'll make you welcome.
Lastly, a question to you. Will you put your money where your mouth is? Its easy to say that you support craft beer, and that you want the Texas Craft beer scene to be better. But other states, like Mississippi (Raise your Pints) and Alabama (Free the Hops) had Consumer Advocacy groups that banded together to help change the laws in their states. Let me be clear, I believe that is the only way things will change in our state. Texas State laws need to change. They need to be changed to support local breweries, and brew pubs, to get rid of antiquated labeling laws, and to help create an environment that will allow local businesses to thrive. My question then is, will you support a Consumer Advocacy group that worked to change these laws?
Monday, May 30, 2011
Anvil and New Belgium
Happy Memorial Day everyone. While Anvil is celebrating Texas Brewery Ranger Creek today at 5pm, they have already announced their next beer event. On June 1, they will be hosting a New Belgium event starting at 5pm.
On Wednesday they will be pouring the following beers:
La Folie 2011 -- La Folie Wood-Aged Biere, is the brewery’s original wood-conditioned beer that rests in French Oak barrels between one and three years before being bottled. Our La Folie emulates the spontaneous fermentation beers of the brew master’s Flanders with sour apple notes, a dry effervescence, and earthy undertones.
Fat Tire -- Named in honor of New Belgium’s owner’s bike trip through Belgium, Fat Tire has won fans with its sense of balance: toasty, biscuit-like malt flavors coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness.
Super Cru – brewed to celebrate New Belgium’s 20th Anniversary, think “double version” of Fat Tire!
With the exception of Fat Tire the other two are pretty rare to see on tap, so it will definitely be a good opportunity to try some great beers from the third largest craft brewery in the US. Additionally a New Belgium rep (I am thinking a regional sales manager) will be on hand to answer any questions. For a cocktail bar, Anvil continues to put on some great beer events, makes my high hopes for the upcoming Hay Merchant even higher.
On Wednesday they will be pouring the following beers:
La Folie 2011 -- La Folie Wood-Aged Biere, is the brewery’s original wood-conditioned beer that rests in French Oak barrels between one and three years before being bottled. Our La Folie emulates the spontaneous fermentation beers of the brew master’s Flanders with sour apple notes, a dry effervescence, and earthy undertones.
Fat Tire -- Named in honor of New Belgium’s owner’s bike trip through Belgium, Fat Tire has won fans with its sense of balance: toasty, biscuit-like malt flavors coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness.
Super Cru – brewed to celebrate New Belgium’s 20th Anniversary, think “double version” of Fat Tire!
With the exception of Fat Tire the other two are pretty rare to see on tap, so it will definitely be a good opportunity to try some great beers from the third largest craft brewery in the US. Additionally a New Belgium rep (I am thinking a regional sales manager) will be on hand to answer any questions. For a cocktail bar, Anvil continues to put on some great beer events, makes my high hopes for the upcoming Hay Merchant even higher.
Friday, May 27, 2011
A Sad Day
Yesterday was a sad day indeed for the Texas Craft Beer industry when via Twitter, Saint Arnold's Brock Wagner announced that HB 602 was dead. Ronnie Crocker has more on how this happened here. Here is the gist of it though, to get HB 602 through committee, a cap was placed that limited the size a brewery could be and also sell direct to the public. This deal was requested by the Wholesalers Distributors lobbying group in exchange for their support of the bill. It was this same deal though that caused A-B to pull their support of the bill and thereby causing its death. A-B requested the cap be pulled in the event that they wanted to do tours and allow on premise sales. Note though that the A-B plant here in Houston doesn't offer tours and hasn't done so in years and years. Also note that the Texas Legislature, by not passing this bill is supporting a huge international based company over local Texas businesses (don't ever let them get away with telling you they support small local business, its a lie). Lastly note that the Wholesalers would have you believe that they had to pull support because allowing A-B to sell beer direct would hurt their sales (again a lie, the pittance that A-B would be allowed to sell direct would in no way have an affect on their bottom line).
In reading tweets and other blogs, a lot of folks are pointing fingers and wanting to blame someone, which begs the question, who is to blame for this failure and what can we do to help get this to pass next time? Well, here is my two cents. As much as I want to, I can't blame A-B, even if they don't do tours currently, they want the opportunity, therefore they want a level playing field, just as they have in other states (yes you can go to other A-B plants or even Coors plants and buy beer direct, but why would you?). You could blame the Wholesalers for pulling their support of the bill without the cap. I think they do share a bit of the blame, as stated above, allowing A-B to sell direct would not impact Wholesalers at all. In fact allowing tourists to buy beer at local craft brewers would increase demand, thereby allowing Wholesalers to distribute more beer, and increasing their bottom line. How they don't see this is the definition of ignorance. You could even blame the Texas Craft Beer industry. Many folks including me, point to the hypocrisy of Texas Laws that allow wineries to sell direct, but not breweries. However there is one difference. Over 15 years ago Texas Wineries got smart and created a very effective and successful lobbying group. They spoke with one loud voice (and money) and that helped change the winery laws in this state. I have yet to see that with the Craft Brewing industry. It seems to me that the lobbying groups for Texas Craft Brewers like the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, lack focus and cohesion. I believe they do a very pour job of promoting Texas craft beer and helping raise the massive amounts of money that will be needed to defeat the other lobbying groups. Until they do those things, it will continue to be unlikely that laws change. Lastly, and who I think deserves the lions share of the blame is our honored Texas Legislature. They are the ones that continue to promote large international companies at the expense of small local Texas businesses, all the while filling their pockets with the massive donations they receive from those very same companies. They listened to the lobbyists, not the people and that is disgraceful.
Now we've directed blame, what can we do about it. Well we have 2 years to put a plan in place and act on it, but lets not wait, we can start to day. We as craft beer lovers need to promote Texas Beer. Cathy Clark on her blog had an awesome post about how we can do that very thing, especially out side the state borders. I'll add something else. Demand Texas Craft beer at your favorite restaurant. Demand that where you eat carries local beers. In Houston we have a lot of restaurants that talk big about serving local food, but then don't carry any Texas beer. Don't let them get away with it. Write letters to the restaurants, send them messages via Twitter, and Facebook, talk to the manager, do it respectfully, but if they don't listen, then maybe they don't deserve your business. Talk to your friends. We all have those that still drink only BMC products. Introduce them to the lighter side of craft beer like Saint Arnold's Lawnmower and Weedwacker, or Real Ale Fireman's 4, or Southern Star Bombshell blond, etc. Educate your friends and family, the more we educate, the closer we all get to the Texas Craft Beer industry we want. Lastly vote, and really look at who you are voting for. Ask your local rep the tough questions when they are asking for your vote. If they aren't supportive of something that you are passionate about then vote for someone who is. Until we change the mindset in Austin, things aren't going to change. If you do have a local state rep that is supportive of the Craft Beer industry set up a fund raisers, featuring Texas Craft Beer, be as supportive of them as you can be. We can no longer sit on the side lines. If you haven't yet, its time to get off the couch, get in the game do what it takes to get the bill passed next time. If you don't, then you can't complain if it doesn't pass.
In reading tweets and other blogs, a lot of folks are pointing fingers and wanting to blame someone, which begs the question, who is to blame for this failure and what can we do to help get this to pass next time? Well, here is my two cents. As much as I want to, I can't blame A-B, even if they don't do tours currently, they want the opportunity, therefore they want a level playing field, just as they have in other states (yes you can go to other A-B plants or even Coors plants and buy beer direct, but why would you?). You could blame the Wholesalers for pulling their support of the bill without the cap. I think they do share a bit of the blame, as stated above, allowing A-B to sell direct would not impact Wholesalers at all. In fact allowing tourists to buy beer at local craft brewers would increase demand, thereby allowing Wholesalers to distribute more beer, and increasing their bottom line. How they don't see this is the definition of ignorance. You could even blame the Texas Craft Beer industry. Many folks including me, point to the hypocrisy of Texas Laws that allow wineries to sell direct, but not breweries. However there is one difference. Over 15 years ago Texas Wineries got smart and created a very effective and successful lobbying group. They spoke with one loud voice (and money) and that helped change the winery laws in this state. I have yet to see that with the Craft Brewing industry. It seems to me that the lobbying groups for Texas Craft Brewers like the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, lack focus and cohesion. I believe they do a very pour job of promoting Texas craft beer and helping raise the massive amounts of money that will be needed to defeat the other lobbying groups. Until they do those things, it will continue to be unlikely that laws change. Lastly, and who I think deserves the lions share of the blame is our honored Texas Legislature. They are the ones that continue to promote large international companies at the expense of small local Texas businesses, all the while filling their pockets with the massive donations they receive from those very same companies. They listened to the lobbyists, not the people and that is disgraceful.
Now we've directed blame, what can we do about it. Well we have 2 years to put a plan in place and act on it, but lets not wait, we can start to day. We as craft beer lovers need to promote Texas Beer. Cathy Clark on her blog had an awesome post about how we can do that very thing, especially out side the state borders. I'll add something else. Demand Texas Craft beer at your favorite restaurant. Demand that where you eat carries local beers. In Houston we have a lot of restaurants that talk big about serving local food, but then don't carry any Texas beer. Don't let them get away with it. Write letters to the restaurants, send them messages via Twitter, and Facebook, talk to the manager, do it respectfully, but if they don't listen, then maybe they don't deserve your business. Talk to your friends. We all have those that still drink only BMC products. Introduce them to the lighter side of craft beer like Saint Arnold's Lawnmower and Weedwacker, or Real Ale Fireman's 4, or Southern Star Bombshell blond, etc. Educate your friends and family, the more we educate, the closer we all get to the Texas Craft Beer industry we want. Lastly vote, and really look at who you are voting for. Ask your local rep the tough questions when they are asking for your vote. If they aren't supportive of something that you are passionate about then vote for someone who is. Until we change the mindset in Austin, things aren't going to change. If you do have a local state rep that is supportive of the Craft Beer industry set up a fund raisers, featuring Texas Craft Beer, be as supportive of them as you can be. We can no longer sit on the side lines. If you haven't yet, its time to get off the couch, get in the game do what it takes to get the bill passed next time. If you don't, then you can't complain if it doesn't pass.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Stone Old Guardian Belgo
Not surprisingly I enjoy Stone's some times over the top beers. They push the limits of being off balance, but occasionally I want that explosion of hops, or booze. One of my favorite beers that they make is their barleywine Old Guardian. Very boozy when young, it ages incredibly well. Starting this year, Stone is doing something a little different. Along with their Russian Imperial Stout they will be releasing version brewed with Belgian yeasts, a little twist on an old standby, that I was excited to see at my local Spec's. Its all the same ingredients before with the exception of the yeast used, which as we've seen with Saint Arnold's moveable yeast series can change a beer significantly.
The beer: This one weighs in at a very robust 12% and pours an orangish amber with a thick off white head. The nose is full of fruity esters, white grapes, peaches, a bit of boozy notes. A full mouthfeel, fruit yeasty notes up front, followed by some malty, caramel, toffee notes, some alcohol burn on the back of the throat, then ending and lingering with resinous citrus-y hops. As expected, this one needs some time. Its boozy. Big flavors which is what I expect from Stone: yeasty fruity esters, booze, hops. A bit on the sweet side, but as it lingers and warms, notes of white pepper show up lending some spiceyness to the beer. Its a sipper to be sure, and I can't wait to see how this one changes over time. A good beer and one recommended to pick up if you enjoy big beers.
The beer: This one weighs in at a very robust 12% and pours an orangish amber with a thick off white head. The nose is full of fruity esters, white grapes, peaches, a bit of boozy notes. A full mouthfeel, fruit yeasty notes up front, followed by some malty, caramel, toffee notes, some alcohol burn on the back of the throat, then ending and lingering with resinous citrus-y hops. As expected, this one needs some time. Its boozy. Big flavors which is what I expect from Stone: yeasty fruity esters, booze, hops. A bit on the sweet side, but as it lingers and warms, notes of white pepper show up lending some spiceyness to the beer. Its a sipper to be sure, and I can't wait to see how this one changes over time. A good beer and one recommended to pick up if you enjoy big beers.
News and Notes
Whew, its been a whirl wind couple of weeks me, but there is some upcoming events, as well as some local beer news that I'd like to finally post on this here blog.
- First up, for anyone looking for something fun to do on Memorial Day, Anvil has you covered. As they did with Jester King a few months back so too will they do with Ranger Creek Brewing. Starting at 4pm on Memorial Day, Anvil will be tapping 8 special Ranger Creek Beers:
1. South Texas Lager - Dortmunder Export Style Lager
2. La Bestia Amaible
3. La Bestia Amaible aged in Port Barrels
4. La Bestia Amaible Cask aged for 5 months in Cabernet barrels.
5. Oatmeal Pale Ale
6. Cask Oatmeal Pale Ale
7. Mesquite Smoked Porter
8. 6 Month Cabernet barrel aged Mesquite Smoked Porter
Additionally Mark and Rob from Ranger Creek will be on hand to answer any questions. That should be enough to get local beer geeks excited.
- Speaking of excited, one of the few things that Houston is missing to make it a top beer city is a good beer pub. Well it looks like that is coming to an end. Thanks in no small part to the local beer community and social media, Freetail Houston has announced its second location will be in Downtown Houston. Read more here in Ronnie Crockers Beer, Tx Blog.
- Speaking of Beer, TX Ronnie also has the latest and greatest on HB 602. Will it pass? Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath, thanks to some interference from ABINBEV.
- Last but definitely not least, Leslie at local beer blog Lushtastic has done an absolutely amazing job posting a round up of all the new and soon to be Texas Breweries. The list is amazing, and shows that Texas has to be on of the best up and coming markets for craft beer. Go check it out, and if you see any missing from the list, leave a comment on her blog and she'll update it as necessary.
- First up, for anyone looking for something fun to do on Memorial Day, Anvil has you covered. As they did with Jester King a few months back so too will they do with Ranger Creek Brewing. Starting at 4pm on Memorial Day, Anvil will be tapping 8 special Ranger Creek Beers:
1. South Texas Lager - Dortmunder Export Style Lager
2. La Bestia Amaible
3. La Bestia Amaible aged in Port Barrels
4. La Bestia Amaible Cask aged for 5 months in Cabernet barrels.
5. Oatmeal Pale Ale
6. Cask Oatmeal Pale Ale
7. Mesquite Smoked Porter
8. 6 Month Cabernet barrel aged Mesquite Smoked Porter
Additionally Mark and Rob from Ranger Creek will be on hand to answer any questions. That should be enough to get local beer geeks excited.
- Speaking of excited, one of the few things that Houston is missing to make it a top beer city is a good beer pub. Well it looks like that is coming to an end. Thanks in no small part to the local beer community and social media, Freetail Houston has announced its second location will be in Downtown Houston. Read more here in Ronnie Crockers Beer, Tx Blog.
- Speaking of Beer, TX Ronnie also has the latest and greatest on HB 602. Will it pass? Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath, thanks to some interference from ABINBEV.
- Last but definitely not least, Leslie at local beer blog Lushtastic has done an absolutely amazing job posting a round up of all the new and soon to be Texas Breweries. The list is amazing, and shows that Texas has to be on of the best up and coming markets for craft beer. Go check it out, and if you see any missing from the list, leave a comment on her blog and she'll update it as necessary.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Texas Beer Fest Beer Wall
As mentioned in a previous post this Saturday is the Texas Beer Fest in Spring Texas. Tickets for the event are $34.00 now, or $40.00 at the door. Ticket price gets you 12 coupons for 2 oz tasters. A lot of folks have complained that they don't want to shell out 40.00 for a bunch of beer they can get a lot of other places for much cheaper. A fare argument to be sure. As much as I want to say that this is due to TABC laws for Beer Festivals and that if we don't support the ones that are occuring things will never change, I get the financial argument. However, the beers being served Saturday aren't just any old beers that you can get at your local bar, even if your local is Flying Saucer, Anvil or Petrol. Texas Beer fest has released their specialty beer wall list and its quite a doozy:
No Label Panamanian Coffee Milk Stout
Avery Hog Heaven
Southern Star Jasmine Infused Bombshell Blonde Cask
Petrus Barrel Aged Sour
BrewDog Tokyo
Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve Main Engine Start
Thirsty Planet Double Buckethead
Ommegang Rare Vos
Independence Brewluminati
(512) Casabel Cream Stout Firkin
Stone Old Guardian Belgo
Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve No. 11
Dogfish Head Bitches Brew
Cask Conditioned Bear Republic Racer 5
Rahr Barrel Aged Winter Warmer
Real Ale Pheonixx Double ESB Cask
Now some of these beers are available now and then and here and there, but rarely if ever have all these beers been at one place. There is a catch of course, you have to stick around for a bit as these brews will be tapped every 30 minutes. Sounds like a great time to listen to some local Texas Bands, and drink some great beer. Some of these breweries are new up and coming ones from Texas like Thirsty Planet that we have yet to taste in Houston. So have a great weekend and head up to Humble and the Humble Convention Center to drink some good beer.
No Label Panamanian Coffee Milk Stout
Avery Hog Heaven
Southern Star Jasmine Infused Bombshell Blonde Cask
Petrus Barrel Aged Sour
BrewDog Tokyo
Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve Main Engine Start
Thirsty Planet Double Buckethead
Ommegang Rare Vos
Independence Brewluminati
(512) Casabel Cream Stout Firkin
Stone Old Guardian Belgo
Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve No. 11
Dogfish Head Bitches Brew
Cask Conditioned Bear Republic Racer 5
Rahr Barrel Aged Winter Warmer
Real Ale Pheonixx Double ESB Cask
Now some of these beers are available now and then and here and there, but rarely if ever have all these beers been at one place. There is a catch of course, you have to stick around for a bit as these brews will be tapped every 30 minutes. Sounds like a great time to listen to some local Texas Bands, and drink some great beer. Some of these breweries are new up and coming ones from Texas like Thirsty Planet that we have yet to taste in Houston. So have a great weekend and head up to Humble and the Humble Convention Center to drink some good beer.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
English Ale Tasting
I've mentioned a couple of times, but back in February I had the opportunity to spend some time in London, and lucky me brought a few beers back. Since then I've been looking for time to sit down and have a few of them, and well that time turned out to be last week. Joined by fellow beer geek Chris, we sat down to 5 different English Ales.
Adnam's Innovation: First up was this beer from Adnam's who are very well known for their solid best bitter. Innovation is labeled as a Strong Amber Pale Ale and weighs in at 6.7%. Its made with a blend of wheat and pale malts as well as a blend of American, English and Solvenian hops: Columbus, Stryian Goldings, and Boadicea (A welsh hop that I''m not very familiar with). The beer poured a golden amber color with a thin white head. The nose has some earthy funky, citrus, and some wheat notes. The mouthfeel is smooth, citrus flavors, earthy notes, a little bit of funkyness, but I think that's from the wheat malt. Some resiny qualities show up on the finish and linger. Chris thought (and I agreed) that was a Cider like edge up front before falling off into a more hoppy beer. Light bodied, a good interesting beer.
Fraoch Heather Ale: This is probably one of the brews I was most excited to try. Heather ales have a very long history in Scotland. Hops have never grown well in Scotland and therefore most of their beers are very low hopped, but to add some bitterness to brews they would often use herbs, and flowers in making beer. Heather Ale was one of the most famous and there are many popular stories told about long lost Pict recipes that I won't get into in this post (maybe some other time, or better yet over a beer). Fraoch is owned by Williams Brothers Brewery in Scotland and makes a few different Historical Ales, this being just one. This Heather Ale is made in the traditional method, with sweet gale and heather added to the hot wort, then upon cooling its poured into a vat of fresh heather where the mixture is then left to infuse for an hour before entering the fermenter. This is a lighter beer at 5% and pours a pale golden color with a thin head. The nose is sweet syrupy, some roasted malts, some scotch ale characteristics. The mouthfeel is medium, flavors of crystal malts, light floral notes, wine-y notes. Flavors of white grapes, herbal, sweet. A very interesting beer. A weird blend of what we think of a typical scotch ale, with other wine-y herbal notes.
Kernel Brewing Black IPA: Yes everyone is getting into the Black IPA, Black India Ale, Dark Cascadian Ale, whatever you want to call it. This beer is from what has quickly become my favorite British Brewery weighs in at 7% and brewed with lots of American hops. The beers a very very dark brownish black, almost opaque with a taupe colored head. The nose is greeted with a wallop of Cascade and maybe a hint of malts, but its hard to break through all those hops. The mouthfeel is chewy, you get some good English malts like maris otter before being blind sided by American hops. There is some astringency, but its not unpleasant and adds a balance between the plethora of hops and the hint of a malt backbone.
Brewdog Nanny State: This next beer from the Brewing Bad Boys of Scotland has a funny story behind it. When Brewdog brewed Tokio an 18% behemoth it caused the British Government to go into an uproar about responsible drinking and that high abv beers would cause alcoholism, public lewdness, and basically the end of the world. In answer to this outburst the folks at Brewdog released this beer, a 0.5% beer with 1000 ibu's. As much as I was looking forward to trying this beer, I did not hold any illusions that it would actually taste good (foreshadowing alert!). The beer poured a reddish amber with a slightly off white head. Hops and more hops, and what is that, oh yes more hops on the nose. The first sip is hard, its like hop tea, hop tea that's been steeped waaaaaayyy to long. Very tannic tasting. Chris mentioned boiled celery but I couldn't get past the tannins. For reference, take a couple of those hop pellets you can get at the home brew store. Make sure you are really thirsty, and your mouth is dry. Now eat the pellets...don't drink any water. That about sums up the experience. Which it was an interesting one, but interesting experiences don't always make good beer.
Robinson Old Tom: Probably one of the beers I was most looking forward too. Old Tom is widely regarded as one of the great beers of England and at the top of the list for anyone that wants to try a great Old Ale. Hefty for your typical British beer, this one weighs in at 8.8% and pours a dark brown with ruby highlights. The nose has notes of toffee, plum, fruity and some alcohol esters, some chocolate even. The mouthfeel is chewy, notes of cherry, figs, plums. The beer finishes like a port, leggy when swirled in the glass. Dark fruits, concentrated dark cherries, molasses, vinous, and a little coco. This is a wonderful beer and a great representation of the Old Ale style. Some sweetness, but not cloyingly so..
Well that finishes up a great British Ale session. A wide range of English ales. Traditional, historical, cutting edge, and one blending the best of American and English brews. English Ales are some of the best in the world and their micro brew culture is growing in leaps and bounds with folks producing some out standing brews.
Adnam's Innovation: First up was this beer from Adnam's who are very well known for their solid best bitter. Innovation is labeled as a Strong Amber Pale Ale and weighs in at 6.7%. Its made with a blend of wheat and pale malts as well as a blend of American, English and Solvenian hops: Columbus, Stryian Goldings, and Boadicea (A welsh hop that I''m not very familiar with). The beer poured a golden amber color with a thin white head. The nose has some earthy funky, citrus, and some wheat notes. The mouthfeel is smooth, citrus flavors, earthy notes, a little bit of funkyness, but I think that's from the wheat malt. Some resiny qualities show up on the finish and linger. Chris thought (and I agreed) that was a Cider like edge up front before falling off into a more hoppy beer. Light bodied, a good interesting beer.
Fraoch Heather Ale: This is probably one of the brews I was most excited to try. Heather ales have a very long history in Scotland. Hops have never grown well in Scotland and therefore most of their beers are very low hopped, but to add some bitterness to brews they would often use herbs, and flowers in making beer. Heather Ale was one of the most famous and there are many popular stories told about long lost Pict recipes that I won't get into in this post (maybe some other time, or better yet over a beer). Fraoch is owned by Williams Brothers Brewery in Scotland and makes a few different Historical Ales, this being just one. This Heather Ale is made in the traditional method, with sweet gale and heather added to the hot wort, then upon cooling its poured into a vat of fresh heather where the mixture is then left to infuse for an hour before entering the fermenter. This is a lighter beer at 5% and pours a pale golden color with a thin head. The nose is sweet syrupy, some roasted malts, some scotch ale characteristics. The mouthfeel is medium, flavors of crystal malts, light floral notes, wine-y notes. Flavors of white grapes, herbal, sweet. A very interesting beer. A weird blend of what we think of a typical scotch ale, with other wine-y herbal notes.
Kernel Brewing Black IPA: Yes everyone is getting into the Black IPA, Black India Ale, Dark Cascadian Ale, whatever you want to call it. This beer is from what has quickly become my favorite British Brewery weighs in at 7% and brewed with lots of American hops. The beers a very very dark brownish black, almost opaque with a taupe colored head. The nose is greeted with a wallop of Cascade and maybe a hint of malts, but its hard to break through all those hops. The mouthfeel is chewy, you get some good English malts like maris otter before being blind sided by American hops. There is some astringency, but its not unpleasant and adds a balance between the plethora of hops and the hint of a malt backbone.
Brewdog Nanny State: This next beer from the Brewing Bad Boys of Scotland has a funny story behind it. When Brewdog brewed Tokio an 18% behemoth it caused the British Government to go into an uproar about responsible drinking and that high abv beers would cause alcoholism, public lewdness, and basically the end of the world. In answer to this outburst the folks at Brewdog released this beer, a 0.5% beer with 1000 ibu's. As much as I was looking forward to trying this beer, I did not hold any illusions that it would actually taste good (foreshadowing alert!). The beer poured a reddish amber with a slightly off white head. Hops and more hops, and what is that, oh yes more hops on the nose. The first sip is hard, its like hop tea, hop tea that's been steeped waaaaaayyy to long. Very tannic tasting. Chris mentioned boiled celery but I couldn't get past the tannins. For reference, take a couple of those hop pellets you can get at the home brew store. Make sure you are really thirsty, and your mouth is dry. Now eat the pellets...don't drink any water. That about sums up the experience. Which it was an interesting one, but interesting experiences don't always make good beer.
Robinson Old Tom: Probably one of the beers I was most looking forward too. Old Tom is widely regarded as one of the great beers of England and at the top of the list for anyone that wants to try a great Old Ale. Hefty for your typical British beer, this one weighs in at 8.8% and pours a dark brown with ruby highlights. The nose has notes of toffee, plum, fruity and some alcohol esters, some chocolate even. The mouthfeel is chewy, notes of cherry, figs, plums. The beer finishes like a port, leggy when swirled in the glass. Dark fruits, concentrated dark cherries, molasses, vinous, and a little coco. This is a wonderful beer and a great representation of the Old Ale style. Some sweetness, but not cloyingly so..
Well that finishes up a great British Ale session. A wide range of English ales. Traditional, historical, cutting edge, and one blending the best of American and English brews. English Ales are some of the best in the world and their micro brew culture is growing in leaps and bounds with folks producing some out standing brews.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sierra Nevada Ovila Dubbel
I've always had a soft spot for Sierra Nevada Brewing. Their Pale Ale introduced me to hoppy beers many years ago and the first beer I ever brewed was a clone of that beer. Their Bigfoot is one of the best American Barleywines around and I always pick up a six pack when it comes out. Over the last year they've really upped their game. Last year it was the release of their special 30th anniversary beers. This year they've come out with a series of beers called Ovila Abbey Ales.
Ovila Abbey ales are a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and the monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux. SN's goal is to brew beers based on monastic tradition, similar to many abbey ales in Belgium. While these aren't Trappist Ales (they aren't brewed at an abbey), they closely follow traditions set forth by them. A portion of the proceeds from each Ovila beer sold will go towards restoration projects at the abbey. Its very cool project by a great brewery and its one that I fully support. SN plans to brew a Saison (release in June) and a Quad (release in Nov), but the first release is their Dubbel.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at 7.5% and pours a chestnut brown with a thin taupe colored head. Malty, fruity, figs, caramelized sugars, yeast esters on the nose. Mouthfeel is full bodied with a creaminess to it. Fruity esters, caramel, brown sugar, figs, spices, cloves (from the yeast?), peppery. Very fruity a little bit on the sweet side, a little too sweet in my mind. Its not a bad beer, but the sweetness has nothing to balance it really. This one gets a B- from me. Worth picking up, but not sure I would pick it up again.
Ovila Abbey ales are a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and the monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux. SN's goal is to brew beers based on monastic tradition, similar to many abbey ales in Belgium. While these aren't Trappist Ales (they aren't brewed at an abbey), they closely follow traditions set forth by them. A portion of the proceeds from each Ovila beer sold will go towards restoration projects at the abbey. Its very cool project by a great brewery and its one that I fully support. SN plans to brew a Saison (release in June) and a Quad (release in Nov), but the first release is their Dubbel.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at 7.5% and pours a chestnut brown with a thin taupe colored head. Malty, fruity, figs, caramelized sugars, yeast esters on the nose. Mouthfeel is full bodied with a creaminess to it. Fruity esters, caramel, brown sugar, figs, spices, cloves (from the yeast?), peppery. Very fruity a little bit on the sweet side, a little too sweet in my mind. Its not a bad beer, but the sweetness has nothing to balance it really. This one gets a B- from me. Worth picking up, but not sure I would pick it up again.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Texas Beer Fest
One of the most exciting things that happened locally in beer culture was the amazing amount of beer festivals being held in Texas and locally in and around Houston. It seems that 2011 will be no different. We know that Houston Beer Week and Monsters of Beer will be held later this year, but fret not beer lovers, we don't have to wait that long for a great festival dedicated to our favorite beverage. The Texas Beer Festival is held up in Humble on May 7th however there will be plenty of events in Houston.
- First up will be a Pub Crawl on April 30th starting at 1pm. Stops include:
The Ginger Man Pub (5607 Morningside Dr.)
Liberty Station (2101 Washington St., Houston, TX)
Petrol Station (985 Wakefield Dr., Houston, TX)
Rudyards Pub (2010 Waugh Drive, Houston, TX)
Food will be available at Petrol and Rudyards as well as food trucks at some of the stops.
Ticket price for the Pub Crawl is $20.00 which includes transportation (via The Houston Wave), a special pub crawl T-Shirt, and access to a special selection of beers at each bar. Our first stop, The Ginger Man, will make Real Ale Barrel Aged Highlander and Real Ale Anniversary and (512) Cascabel Cream Stout and (512) Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter available.
- The following 2 weeks there will be quite a few beer dinners in Houston:
May 2nd, 2011: Beaver’s and Independence Brewing Co. (ticket price: $75)
May 2nd, 2011: Feast and Paulaner HP (ticket price: $50)
May 2nd, 2011: Moon Tower Inn and New Belgium Brewing (ticket price: $50)
May 3rd, 2011: Public House (Katy) and No Label Brewing Co. (ticket price: $55)
May 4th, 2011: Rudyards Pub and Jester King Craft Brewery (ticket price: $75)
May 4th, 2011: Le Mistral Restaurant and Shiner Beers (ticket price: $75)
May 5th, 2011: Brookstreet Barbeque (Missouri City) and Kreuz Creek Brewing Co. (ticket price: $35)
May 8th, 2011: Brasserie Max &Julie and Real Ale Brewing Co. (ticket price: $70)
May 10th, 2011: Bootsie’s Heritage Café and Southern Star Brewing Co. (ticket price: $75)
May 10th, 2011: Quattro Restaurant and Stone Brewing Co. (ticket price: $75)
May 11th, 2011: Backstreet Café and various Texas Beers (ticket price: $72)
May 11th, 2011: T’afia and Southern Star Brewing Co. (ticket price: $55)
May 11th, 2011: Cinq at Columbe d’Or and St. Arnold Brewing (ticket price: $70)
May 12th, 2011: The Tasting Room at CityCentre and Chimay Trappist Beers (ticket price: $65)
- Of course on May 7th in Humble is the actual beer festival itself. The event is at the Humbel Convention center and tickets cost $34.00 pre-sale and $40.00 the day of the event. There will be 70 breweries represented from around the country as well as 17 Texas breweries. Their website is up and running here. The cost of the ticket gets you 12 coupons for beers, with 25% of the proceeds going to Houston Food Bank (drinking for a cause is something I can get behind).
All in all this sounds like a great addition to the Beer Festival scene in Texas and Houston in particular. If this one is as successful as Houston Beer week, it will be pretty nice to have one great beer festival in late Sprint and another in Fall. I am planning on going to some of the beer dinners if I can so hopefully I'll see you there.
- First up will be a Pub Crawl on April 30th starting at 1pm. Stops include:
The Ginger Man Pub (5607 Morningside Dr.)
Liberty Station (2101 Washington St., Houston, TX)
Petrol Station (985 Wakefield Dr., Houston, TX)
Rudyards Pub (2010 Waugh Drive, Houston, TX)
Food will be available at Petrol and Rudyards as well as food trucks at some of the stops.
Ticket price for the Pub Crawl is $20.00 which includes transportation (via The Houston Wave), a special pub crawl T-Shirt, and access to a special selection of beers at each bar. Our first stop, The Ginger Man, will make Real Ale Barrel Aged Highlander and Real Ale Anniversary and (512) Cascabel Cream Stout and (512) Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter available.
- The following 2 weeks there will be quite a few beer dinners in Houston:
May 2nd, 2011: Beaver’s and Independence Brewing Co. (ticket price: $75)
May 2nd, 2011: Feast and Paulaner HP (ticket price: $50)
May 2nd, 2011: Moon Tower Inn and New Belgium Brewing (ticket price: $50)
May 3rd, 2011: Public House (Katy) and No Label Brewing Co. (ticket price: $55)
May 4th, 2011: Rudyards Pub and Jester King Craft Brewery (ticket price: $75)
May 4th, 2011: Le Mistral Restaurant and Shiner Beers (ticket price: $75)
May 5th, 2011: Brookstreet Barbeque (Missouri City) and Kreuz Creek Brewing Co. (ticket price: $35)
May 8th, 2011: Brasserie Max &Julie and Real Ale Brewing Co. (ticket price: $70)
May 10th, 2011: Bootsie’s Heritage Café and Southern Star Brewing Co. (ticket price: $75)
May 10th, 2011: Quattro Restaurant and Stone Brewing Co. (ticket price: $75)
May 11th, 2011: Backstreet Café and various Texas Beers (ticket price: $72)
May 11th, 2011: T’afia and Southern Star Brewing Co. (ticket price: $55)
May 11th, 2011: Cinq at Columbe d’Or and St. Arnold Brewing (ticket price: $70)
May 12th, 2011: The Tasting Room at CityCentre and Chimay Trappist Beers (ticket price: $65)
- Of course on May 7th in Humble is the actual beer festival itself. The event is at the Humbel Convention center and tickets cost $34.00 pre-sale and $40.00 the day of the event. There will be 70 breweries represented from around the country as well as 17 Texas breweries. Their website is up and running here. The cost of the ticket gets you 12 coupons for beers, with 25% of the proceeds going to Houston Food Bank (drinking for a cause is something I can get behind).
All in all this sounds like a great addition to the Beer Festival scene in Texas and Houston in particular. If this one is as successful as Houston Beer week, it will be pretty nice to have one great beer festival in late Sprint and another in Fall. I am planning on going to some of the beer dinners if I can so hopefully I'll see you there.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Stone Double Bastard
I mentioned not to long ago, that we are getting a lot of new beers from some very familiar breweries and today is one of those beers. Double Bastard is kind of an iconic brew from Stone. First released way back in 1998, it is for the first time available in Texas. It was supposed to be released in 2010 however due to some TABC Labeling issues (shocking I know), it is just now appearing on the shelves. Note that the bottles you are seeing on the shelf are from 2010 and not a new 2011 release. For those familiar with the arrogant releases of Stone, this is the forth version: Regular old Arrogant Bastard, Oaked Bastard, Lucky Bastard (a blend of the other 3) and now Double Bastard. This is the definition of a big beer weighing in at 11.2%.
The Beer: I actually poured this into my Double Bastard glass that I picked up during my visit to Stone a few years back (you can see a pic here). The beer is a chestnut color with a thin taupe colored head. Very malty on the nose, lots of toffee and caramel, with some hops in the aroma. The first sip however is a punch in the mouth of hops. A ton of flavors, this is now weak or subtle brew. Malts, sweet malts, and a wallop of hops, with a bit of alchol burn. Toffee and caramel, piney resin, Grapefruit pith, peel, and wedges. Lots of barleywine characteristics. This beer is young, and kind of unbalanced. It needs some age, and with it, will be a wonderful sipping nectar. It gets a B from me now, but I have bottles stored and will come back and see how it ages.
The Beer: I actually poured this into my Double Bastard glass that I picked up during my visit to Stone a few years back (you can see a pic here). The beer is a chestnut color with a thin taupe colored head. Very malty on the nose, lots of toffee and caramel, with some hops in the aroma. The first sip however is a punch in the mouth of hops. A ton of flavors, this is now weak or subtle brew. Malts, sweet malts, and a wallop of hops, with a bit of alchol burn. Toffee and caramel, piney resin, Grapefruit pith, peel, and wedges. Lots of barleywine characteristics. This beer is young, and kind of unbalanced. It needs some age, and with it, will be a wonderful sipping nectar. It gets a B from me now, but I have bottles stored and will come back and see how it ages.
Friday, April 22, 2011
News, Notes, and Upcoming Events
Its been a while since I've done a news round up, but there has been a few things that have occurred this week that I wanted to post on.
- First off, in some awesome news, HB602 has passed!!!! For those that have been reading this blog, this is something we've been hoping for for many many years. Now, this is the updated version of HB602 that answered some of my earlier concerns. It's still tied to tours and there is still a limit, but its worded as such that you can go to Live Oak and pick up a growler of their amazing Hefeweizen. Next up is the Senate, where SB1863 is the companion bill to the bill that passed the house. This bill was sponsored by Ft. Worth, State Senator Wendy Davis (anyone notice that the folks that are championing small business are Democrats?). It is currently in committee, but hopefully it will pass and Governor Perry will sign it in to law. If all goes smoothly, this September, you will be able to go to a local brewery, go through a tour and pick up some beer while there.
- In not so good news, I think that HB 660 is dead. This is the bill that would allow brewpubs to sell their beer through distributors. However this beer is sitting in committee, which in my experience in following these things is code for its dead and the committee is full of too many cowards that won't even put the bill up for a vote. Having said that, those that supported this bill, don't ever give up hope. It took 3 separate session to get the brewery bill passed, and HB 660 got much further on their first try then the original brewery bill did back in 2007.
- In one more example of why I am extremely excited at what Jester King Brewery is doing, they write this post on farmhouse ales. A great post on what farmhouse brewing is, what it takes to make a great farmhouse ale, and how Jester King is going about creating some truly unique Texas Hill Country beers.
- Finally in the upcoming events announcements, Real Ale will be finishing up their local tour tomorrow at Anvil. They've hosted tappings at The Flying Saucer on Thursday, and Petrol Station today. Tomorrow at Anvil, Real Ale brewer Erik Ogershok will be available to answer questions (just as he was at Saucer and Petrol), on tap though is where it gets really exciting: Lost Gold IPA, cask-conditioned Lost Gold IPA and the barrel-aged version known as Empire. So if you want to get your fill of Lost Gold in all of its many different version, head over to Anvil, for its 5pm Tapping.
- First off, in some awesome news, HB602 has passed!!!! For those that have been reading this blog, this is something we've been hoping for for many many years. Now, this is the updated version of HB602 that answered some of my earlier concerns. It's still tied to tours and there is still a limit, but its worded as such that you can go to Live Oak and pick up a growler of their amazing Hefeweizen. Next up is the Senate, where SB1863 is the companion bill to the bill that passed the house. This bill was sponsored by Ft. Worth, State Senator Wendy Davis (anyone notice that the folks that are championing small business are Democrats?). It is currently in committee, but hopefully it will pass and Governor Perry will sign it in to law. If all goes smoothly, this September, you will be able to go to a local brewery, go through a tour and pick up some beer while there.
- In not so good news, I think that HB 660 is dead. This is the bill that would allow brewpubs to sell their beer through distributors. However this beer is sitting in committee, which in my experience in following these things is code for its dead and the committee is full of too many cowards that won't even put the bill up for a vote. Having said that, those that supported this bill, don't ever give up hope. It took 3 separate session to get the brewery bill passed, and HB 660 got much further on their first try then the original brewery bill did back in 2007.
- In one more example of why I am extremely excited at what Jester King Brewery is doing, they write this post on farmhouse ales. A great post on what farmhouse brewing is, what it takes to make a great farmhouse ale, and how Jester King is going about creating some truly unique Texas Hill Country beers.
- Finally in the upcoming events announcements, Real Ale will be finishing up their local tour tomorrow at Anvil. They've hosted tappings at The Flying Saucer on Thursday, and Petrol Station today. Tomorrow at Anvil, Real Ale brewer Erik Ogershok will be available to answer questions (just as he was at Saucer and Petrol), on tap though is where it gets really exciting: Lost Gold IPA, cask-conditioned Lost Gold IPA and the barrel-aged version known as Empire. So if you want to get your fill of Lost Gold in all of its many different version, head over to Anvil, for its 5pm Tapping.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Left Hand TNT
Two posts in one day, its catch up day!!! Another new beer from a brewery that's been in our market for a quite a while. This one is interesting: Weizen Dopplebock brewed with Lapsang Souchong tea. From the wiki page (so take it with a grain of salt), Lapsang Souchong is a smoked tea traditionally over pinewood fires. I love Weizen Doppled bocks, one of my favortie beers is Aventinues, however I also feel that it is really an underbrewed style. Very happy to try Left Hands version with the twist of smoked tea added. The Beer: The beer weighs 7.9% and pours a cloudy chocolatey brown, with a thin colored head. A very unusual nose, smokey, notes of tobacco maybe? Then the familiar banana and cloves show up, along with some fruity earthy notes. Medium bodied, but creamy, banana and cloves on the flavor profile. Tobacco maybe? Chocolate, some fruity earthy smokey flavors. As it warms, tea flavors come out, more tobacco, dried leaves, earthy flavors, some more smoked. Not smoked meat like a German Rauchbier, more of a earthy smokiness if that makes sense. A interesting and enjoyable twist to a weizen dopplebock. Its a unique mix of flavors that I've not seen before in a beer. Eye opening. I liked it, but not sure how many of these I could drink. This gets a B from me.
Stone/Port/Green Flash Highway 78
In the last week Houston has received quite a few new beers, some completely new breweries to the area like Maui brewing (go try to the coconut porter!), others like this beer, new offerings from breweries that have been in the area for years. This particular brew is a collaborative beer from Port Brewing, Green Flash, and Stone, all from the San Diego area. A collaborative effort this Scotch ale was brewed at Stone. I found it ironic that 3 breweries who are known for some pretty hoppy beers, brewed a style with very little hops. In fact this one has around 30 IBU's. As with most scotch ales this one is brewed with some peat smoked malt. The Beer: The beer weighs in at 8.8% and pours a reddish brown with a thin head. The nose is smokey malts, raisins, figs, and a hint of coco. Rich and smooth on the mouthfeel, medium bodied. Smokey peat flavors. Dark dried fruits, plums, raisins, figs. Dry finish, with some sweetness up front from the dark fruits along with notes of caramel and toffee.. A sipper for sure, as its pretty rich, but not overly heavy in boozy notes. I liked this one and it gets a B+ from me. Folks on BA tend to agree with the assessment.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
No More Texas Wheat
A few days ago on twitter, someone mentioned seeing a new Saint Arnold label approved for Weedwacker ale, and that this beer was going to replace Texas Wheat. Well today the Chronicle's Ronnie Crocker posted confirmation, that yes Texas Wheat is gone and Weedwacker will replace it. For those that remember, Weedwacker was the first release of Saint Arnold's moveable yeast series. To brew the beer, Saint Arnold took their Kolsch style beer Lawnmower and changed the yeast to a Hefewiezen yeast. I have some pretty strong opinions on this move, and it has nothing to do with eliminating Texas Wheat. Frankly it was my least favorite of all Saint Arnold beers. I'm not a huge fan of American Wheat beers, and I never could get into this beer. Having said that I don't really get replacing it with Weedwacker. I know in Mr. Crocker's post he quoted Brock as saying "Everybody loves it", but most of the folks I talked to didn't really like the beer. Oh sure they appreciated the educational experience of seeing how yeast changes the flavor of beer, but no one I'm aware every said "Gee, I'd love this to be available year round." I'm a staunch defender of Saint Arnold, and have never understood why some "Beer Nerds" talk bad about them. They make a solid range of regular beers, very good seasonals, the Divine Reserve series is extremely good, and the moveable yeast series is one of two being done in the world as far as I know. All in all Saint Arnolds is a great award winning brewery. But (you just knew there would be one), I really don't get this move. If your going to add a new beer to the line up to replace TX Wheat, why not go one of two routes: 1) I get the desire to have a ligther beer in the lineup, and yes weedwacker does that, but why not produce a wit, something that I think would go great in TX. The only other brewery in TX that brews one is (512) but they don't bottle it, so Saint Arnold would be the first bottled offering by a TX brewery. 2) Why not go big? They just finished brewing a very good double IPA in Divine Reserve 11, why not turn that into a year round offering. The first and only year round DIPA by a Texas Brewery. Offer it in Louisiana where Saint Arnold's is just expanding and really make some in roads into that market. I would bet good money that a well made DIPA sold year round would sell more than TX Wheat did and Weedwacker will. I know its my two cents, and Saint Arnold will do what they want, but that's the beauty of a blog, a place to write down my opinions. What do you think? Did Saint Arnold make the right decision?
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Texas Three Step
No, its not a new dance that you'll see folks doing at your favorite honkey tonk. Instead this post will be about three beers newly available in bottles from some exciting new breweries from Texas. The breweries I'm talking about are Jester King out in the Hill Country and Ranger Creek in San Antonio. Jester King excites me for a couple of reasons. The first being is that they are taking an aggressive approach to being a Farmhouse brewery, starting from day one on developing a barrel program, and harvesting local wild yeasts from the surrounding hill country. Additionally, they are not only making the extreme high alcohol beers that craft brewers love, they are making amazingly flavorful lower alcohol beers. The first up was Commercial Suicide a English Dark Mild ale weighing in at 3.8%. However they are also making a Belgian tafelbier (or table) that I'll be excited to try. Another interesting thing that Jester King does is that all the beers are partially made with harvested rain water which is pretty cool. I'm excited about Ranger Creek for different reasons. They are not only a craft brewer, but a craft distillery as well. My hope for them is that as they produce great bourbon, they'll re-use those barrels to age some amazing beers. Jester King Wytchmaker: A bottle conditioned rye IPA weighing in at 81 IBU and 6.1%. An amazing looking label, I love the art work that Jester King uses. I enjoy that all the ingredients the beers use are on the label, each malt, each hop, each yeast (English ale in this case). Hops used were Warrior, Simcoe, Amarillo, Cascade, and Centennial. Malt bill contained 15% rye. The beer pours a cloudy hazy copper brown, with a thick off white head. Lots of hops on the nose, citrusy with just a hint of pine and some pale malts. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, spicey, grapefruit, citrus peel, piney. Some notes of white pepper, spicey. Lots of rye bread notes. A very good beer, I give an A to. Jester King Black Metal: A bottle conditioned Imperial Stout, yes please! 10.4% and 60 IBU's this beer pours a viscous oily black with a quarter inch reddish cafe colored head. Dark chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts on the nose. Thick chewy mouthfeel, denser than I remember from having this on draft previously. Notes of chocolate, dark and milky. Coffee with creamer, some roasted malts. Earthy hops at the finish. Its a huge beer, but highly drinkable. Another wonderful beer that gets an A from me. Ranger Creek La Bestia Aimable: This is Ranger Creek's take on a Belgian Strong Ale, named after the Aimable, the ship La Salle used, landed at Matagorda Bay to claim Texas for France. The beer weighs in at 9.4% with 25 IBU's and pours a hazy cloudy brown with a thin frothy head. Very malty nose, full of raisins and figs some caramel and yeasty notes. Medium bodied, rich concentrated dark fruits like figs and raisins. Caramelized figs with balsamic. Notes of honey, creme caramel, very smooth and easy drinking. A thoroughly enjoyable beer.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 11
Today is the day that Texas beer lovers go insane, its Divine Reserve day. A day that twitter goes crazy with #dr11 hash tags with people informing the world where they could score some of this beer. Its the day that Saint Arnold's releases there inconsistently scheduled special brew. Each DR a different recipe, some based on winning recipes from home brew contests, others like DR11 are done in house. The Divine Reserve release today is a Double (or Imperial) IPA (DR3 also was a DIPA, but this is a different recipe). For those looking for DR you may have more luck then previous releases: production for DR 10 was 1800 cases, for DR 11 it's 4100 cases, so more than double. Also various places around the state will be tapping kegs and/or casks. In Houston I know Petrol Station, Anvil, Flying Saucer, and Stag's Head are tapping tonight. Down in my neck of the woods in Clear Lake, Boondoggles will be tapping a keg tomorrow. Like all DR's this one is higher in ABV weighing at 9% and with a lab tested 76 IBU. Believe it or not the lab tested is an important note. Many breweries that state 100 IBU's or more are basing that off of calculations and not an actual lab test (its more expensive). Lab tests have shown calculated IBU's to be significantly off (there really are a lot less 100+ IBU beers than you think). As it should be hops are the show case here and this DIPA is brewed with Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial hops. The Beer: This one pours an orange-y copper color with a thick white head. Before I even poured it in the glass you could start to get notes of hops. Its massive, tons of grapefruit, just massively hoppy on the nose. The first sip is an explosion of citrus pith, grapefruit rind, tongue coating, sticky hops. Its brightly hoppy, lots of citrus, but underneath, just kinda hiding out there, is some carmel-y notes, that add just touch of sweetness. Its this touch that makes me think the brew will age some what well. Most DIPA's are made to drink fresh and this should be no exception, however, as the hops fade, I think (and yes I could be way off) there is enough malt in the back ground that it will come forward with time and create a sweeter more concentrated beer. Now off of the tangent and back to the now, this is a great DIPA, to me its not Avery Maharaja, but its very damn good. It gets an A from me.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Fight Night Beers
A little late in posting this, but a week ago last Saturday was Fight Night, and as I'm likely to do, I sat down watched some fights and had some great beer. A local beer, and English Beer, and a barrel aged beer made it a good night.
Real Ale Phoenixx: First up is a local beer, a juiced up version of an English ale, this is Real Ale's Double ESB. The beer weighs in at a very un-English 7.2%, but made with English Malts and English Hops including Phoenix. Phoenix is a high alpha hop that is similar to Challenger. This beer pours a cloudy chestnut brown with a thick taupe colored head. Plenty of caramel malts, on the nose along with earthy musty notes and light on the hops. The mouth is much more hop-centric, medium bodied, with some caramel malt undertones. Earthiness, but some tongue coating resin. Let me repeat, highly resinous. Lots of caramel malts, this one is a great beer, that highlights some great English Ale flavors on steroids. A very enjoyable beer.
Kernel S.C.C.A.NS: Next up the English Ale, this one a version of an American brew. An IPA weighing in at 6.9% hopped with Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo, and Nelson Sauvin. The beer pours a bright golden yellow with a thick white head. Lots of sediment in the pour, but thats OK. All hops on the nose, bright, big hops. Citrus, grapefruit peel, some piney noes, and just a hint of toasty pale malts. Medium body, but the tongue is met with an explosion of hops, tongue coating resinous hops. Like biting into a grapefruit peel and all. There's more, and its hard to pick out all the flavors but this unique blend of hops creates a very complex flavor profile. There is spicy pepper notes along with citrus and earthy notes. A great beer that really shows some of the amazing beers that the English Microbrewer's are producing.
Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout: We end he night with a the barrel aged beer, Bourbon barrel to be exact. This is Central Waters Imperial stout. It pours an incredibly rich dark black with a thick taupe colored head. The nose is heavy on bourbon and vanilla notes, chocolate, roasted malts, charred oak, some caramel sweetness. The mouthfeel is thick, chewy, luscious is a good word to describe it. Lots of bourbon and vanilla and chocolate up front. Some booziness that would mellow with age (which this beer should do beautifully). If I had to compare this beer to food I would say Chocolate vanilla bread pudding with a bourbon sauce. Don't get me wrong though it's not sweet, but there it is rich. Very creamy, milk chocolate is also there, and more bourbon notes as it warms. A great beer, I've really enjoyed the Central Waters beers I've had so far.
Real Ale Phoenixx: First up is a local beer, a juiced up version of an English ale, this is Real Ale's Double ESB. The beer weighs in at a very un-English 7.2%, but made with English Malts and English Hops including Phoenix. Phoenix is a high alpha hop that is similar to Challenger. This beer pours a cloudy chestnut brown with a thick taupe colored head. Plenty of caramel malts, on the nose along with earthy musty notes and light on the hops. The mouth is much more hop-centric, medium bodied, with some caramel malt undertones. Earthiness, but some tongue coating resin. Let me repeat, highly resinous. Lots of caramel malts, this one is a great beer, that highlights some great English Ale flavors on steroids. A very enjoyable beer.
Kernel S.C.C.A.NS: Next up the English Ale, this one a version of an American brew. An IPA weighing in at 6.9% hopped with Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo, and Nelson Sauvin. The beer pours a bright golden yellow with a thick white head. Lots of sediment in the pour, but thats OK. All hops on the nose, bright, big hops. Citrus, grapefruit peel, some piney noes, and just a hint of toasty pale malts. Medium body, but the tongue is met with an explosion of hops, tongue coating resinous hops. Like biting into a grapefruit peel and all. There's more, and its hard to pick out all the flavors but this unique blend of hops creates a very complex flavor profile. There is spicy pepper notes along with citrus and earthy notes. A great beer that really shows some of the amazing beers that the English Microbrewer's are producing.
Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout: We end he night with a the barrel aged beer, Bourbon barrel to be exact. This is Central Waters Imperial stout. It pours an incredibly rich dark black with a thick taupe colored head. The nose is heavy on bourbon and vanilla notes, chocolate, roasted malts, charred oak, some caramel sweetness. The mouthfeel is thick, chewy, luscious is a good word to describe it. Lots of bourbon and vanilla and chocolate up front. Some booziness that would mellow with age (which this beer should do beautifully). If I had to compare this beer to food I would say Chocolate vanilla bread pudding with a bourbon sauce. Don't get me wrong though it's not sweet, but there it is rich. Very creamy, milk chocolate is also there, and more bourbon notes as it warms. A great beer, I've really enjoyed the Central Waters beers I've had so far.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Camp Beer VI Recap
Sunday brought us the sixth installment of Camp Beer. For the unfamiliar, Camp Beer is an organized beer tasting event for charity (yes drinking for charity!!). Camp Beer is hosted by the amazing beer enthusiast Cathy Clark, founder of LIVE IT BIG, and Kevin Floyd, owner of Anvil Bar and Refuge as well as the upcoming Hay Merchant. Cathy brings the beer, and Kevin brings his knowledge to give participants some education. Each Camp Beer gives the participants an opportunity to try rare beers that are many times not available in the state. Each tasting has a theme, and this one was no different. The theme for Sunday's tasting was "From Scandinavia with Love" featuring, you guessed it, beers from Scandinavia. The countries represented Sunday were Norway and Denmark with 4 different breweries between the two.
Mikkeller: Mikkeller brewery is technically from Denmark, however they don't actually own a brewery. Mikkeller is actually a Gypsy brewery that goes around the world brewing beers at a different brewery's. As Kevin pointed out, in 2010 alone, Mikkeller produced 76 new beers. A pretty amazing feat. One of the neat things that Mikkeller has done is produce a series of single hop beers. Each of these beers are the exact same, just with a different hop. This series is where we started our tasting.
The base for each of the single hop beers has a base malt bill of pilsner, cara crystal along with English ale yeast and each weighs in at 6.9%.
East Kent Golding: East Kent Golding is a traditional hop used in many British beers. Kevin points out East Kent is just one of many different types of Golding hops each marked by the location they are grown. This beer as all the others pour a light pale golden color. Lots of floral earthy notes on the nose. The taste is the same, a little sweetness on the pallete, tastes just like many of the British beers I had in London minus the Maris Otter malts.
Centinnial - Kevin reports this is a cross between a Brewer's Gold and another hop variety, a true American hop. Spicey, citrusy, some grapefruit pith in the beer. A very resiny finish.
Chinook - This beer started out with a sweet taste with a very bitter finish. Not overly citrusy or earthy, just very high amounts of resin left over on the tongue.
Nelson Sauvin - A New Zealand variety that gets its name for being similar to Sauvignon Blanc. I didn't know what to think about this one. Its very unusual, some flavors of earthy sweetness, but an underlying flavor that I couldn't place. Interesting.
Warrior: A trademark variety of hops, and another truly American hop. The nose is sweet, earthy, the mouth is lots of grapefruit and citrus at the end. This one really show cased the hop well.
Simcoe: Very intense beer, lots of aggressive floral notes, dry bitter at the finish. This one very similar to the cascade hop.
Nugget: Kevin points out that this one was one of the first hybrid hops available in the states. The beer has a sweeter nose up front than others, not a lot of hop aroma up front. The finish however is all hops lots of grapefruit.
We took a short break here, before moving on to more Mikkeller beers, this time tasting the Beer Geek Breakfast series of beers. This series is all Oatmeal Coffee stouts each with a little twist.
Beer Geek Breakfast - The original weighs in at 7.5% and pours a very rich deep dark brown. Notes of coffee, chocolate and toffee on the nose and mouth. It's smooth with not very bitter coffee (I would guess cold extracted?). Silky smooth, rich and full bodied. This was a great stout.
Rauch Geek Breakfast (AKA Bacon Beer Geek Breakfast) - This version is made with smoked malts and again weighs in at 7.5%. It pours very dark, the nose is incredibly smokey, smoked meats and a semi-unpleasant band-aid smell. The mouth is full of smoked malts, a hint of smoked meats, silky, and it seems just a bit lighter bodied than the original.
Beer Geek Breakfast Weasel - This is an Imperial version of beer geek breakfast, and is brewed with a special coffee. The beer is brewed with the famous Civet coffee. Civet coffee is made from raw beans that were picked up after passing through the digestive system of the civet (a weasel like mammal), so yes this is pooped coffee. Since this is an imperial version it's a little bigger weighing in at 10.9%. It pours a really dark black with a taupe colored head. Some alcohol, coffee, chocolate notes on the nose. There is some acidity on the mouth, just a tad bit of alcohol heat along with roasted coffee beans, chocolate, slightly burnt malts, hints of bourbon and vanilla. This was one of my favorite beers.
Black Hole - A huge coffee stout weighing in at 13.9% made with honey and vanilla. Strong nose, you smell this and know it's big. Very roasted malts (black patent?). The mouth has some astringency, very rich, slightly sweet, lots of dark fruits, very strong, needs some age.
Nogne O: A Norwegian brewery that is known for producing strong unique beers. Nøgne Ø means naked island.
Andhrimir Barleywine - Of course one of my favorite styles, this one weighs in at 10.0% and pours a cloudy amber. It smells syrupy, caramel and toffee, biscuity. The mouth is rich on this one, biscuity, toffee, caramel, syrup, some sugars. Not a lot of alcohol, but it is sweet, I would love to see this with some age.
Imperial Dunkel Wit - If you read my recap of the beer dinner at Catalan, you know I love this beer. This is from the same batch as the ones we had at the dinner, and it has changed quite a bit actually. Much spicier, a lot more coriander and less sweetness than before. Still a great beer. I would compare it to a rich dark bread baked with coriander seeds.
Winter Ale - I've had this 8.5% beer once before. This is good, but its not great. There is some dark fruits, rich malts here. It's similar to a good porter.
HaandBryggeriet: This is a very small brewery out of Norway, its basically four friends who are part time brewers. However they are making some unique farmhouse beers as well as some traditional ales with a Norwegian twist.
Dark Force - This is a 9% wheat stout. Very dark, with lots of roasted malts, and well hidden alcohol. Some fruitiness from the wheat maybe. Also some black patent malts. A smoother beer than I would have expected for 9%.
Norse Porter - A 6.5% porter that is quite good. It pours a dark brown with ruby red streaks, sweet and effervescent. Some vanilla extract and brown sugar notes. Coffee. Its got quite a lot of effervescence which would be the only thing keeping this from being easy drinking.
Akevitt Porter - A beer unlike anything I've had before. The same porter as above aged in aquavit barrels. Aquavit is a Norwegian alcohol that is aged in used sherry barrels. The beer weighs in at 10.0%. Lots of roasted malts, some notes of licorice, and wood. Smooth, licorice notes in the mouth at the front and at the finish. Oaky, vanilla, chocolate and just a tad bit of alcohol heat. A wonderful beer that I would love to have more of.
Beer Here: Our last brewery of the evening. Another very small brewery that does a lot of their brewing out of Nogne O.
Morke Pumpernickel Porter - A 7.5% porter that pours a dense black, spicy, bready with chocolate notes on the nose. The mouth is more of the same, spicy and dark bread notes. But that's about it, there isn't much more complexity and would like a little more oomph on this one.
Dark Hops - A Scandinavian brewery hopping on the Black IPA bandwagon is OK with me. This one weighs in at 8.5% and pours a rich black color. The nose is of massive hops and slight dark chocolate. The mouth is all grapefruit with maybe just a bit of roasted malts. Its mostly crisp bitter hops though. A good version of the style.
Well that wrapped up a great tasting. I enjoyed this one as much as any I had been to previously as I felt it balanced stronger ales with ones that weren't so high in alcohol. I didn't leave this session feeling over served which I have felt in the past. A good time and a big thanks to Kevin and Cathy.
Mark you calendars as the next Camp Beer will be June 12.
Mikkeller: Mikkeller brewery is technically from Denmark, however they don't actually own a brewery. Mikkeller is actually a Gypsy brewery that goes around the world brewing beers at a different brewery's. As Kevin pointed out, in 2010 alone, Mikkeller produced 76 new beers. A pretty amazing feat. One of the neat things that Mikkeller has done is produce a series of single hop beers. Each of these beers are the exact same, just with a different hop. This series is where we started our tasting.
The base for each of the single hop beers has a base malt bill of pilsner, cara crystal along with English ale yeast and each weighs in at 6.9%.
East Kent Golding: East Kent Golding is a traditional hop used in many British beers. Kevin points out East Kent is just one of many different types of Golding hops each marked by the location they are grown. This beer as all the others pour a light pale golden color. Lots of floral earthy notes on the nose. The taste is the same, a little sweetness on the pallete, tastes just like many of the British beers I had in London minus the Maris Otter malts.
Centinnial - Kevin reports this is a cross between a Brewer's Gold and another hop variety, a true American hop. Spicey, citrusy, some grapefruit pith in the beer. A very resiny finish.
Chinook - This beer started out with a sweet taste with a very bitter finish. Not overly citrusy or earthy, just very high amounts of resin left over on the tongue.
Nelson Sauvin - A New Zealand variety that gets its name for being similar to Sauvignon Blanc. I didn't know what to think about this one. Its very unusual, some flavors of earthy sweetness, but an underlying flavor that I couldn't place. Interesting.
Warrior: A trademark variety of hops, and another truly American hop. The nose is sweet, earthy, the mouth is lots of grapefruit and citrus at the end. This one really show cased the hop well.
Simcoe: Very intense beer, lots of aggressive floral notes, dry bitter at the finish. This one very similar to the cascade hop.
Nugget: Kevin points out that this one was one of the first hybrid hops available in the states. The beer has a sweeter nose up front than others, not a lot of hop aroma up front. The finish however is all hops lots of grapefruit.
We took a short break here, before moving on to more Mikkeller beers, this time tasting the Beer Geek Breakfast series of beers. This series is all Oatmeal Coffee stouts each with a little twist.
Beer Geek Breakfast - The original weighs in at 7.5% and pours a very rich deep dark brown. Notes of coffee, chocolate and toffee on the nose and mouth. It's smooth with not very bitter coffee (I would guess cold extracted?). Silky smooth, rich and full bodied. This was a great stout.
Rauch Geek Breakfast (AKA Bacon Beer Geek Breakfast) - This version is made with smoked malts and again weighs in at 7.5%. It pours very dark, the nose is incredibly smokey, smoked meats and a semi-unpleasant band-aid smell. The mouth is full of smoked malts, a hint of smoked meats, silky, and it seems just a bit lighter bodied than the original.
Beer Geek Breakfast Weasel - This is an Imperial version of beer geek breakfast, and is brewed with a special coffee. The beer is brewed with the famous Civet coffee. Civet coffee is made from raw beans that were picked up after passing through the digestive system of the civet (a weasel like mammal), so yes this is pooped coffee. Since this is an imperial version it's a little bigger weighing in at 10.9%. It pours a really dark black with a taupe colored head. Some alcohol, coffee, chocolate notes on the nose. There is some acidity on the mouth, just a tad bit of alcohol heat along with roasted coffee beans, chocolate, slightly burnt malts, hints of bourbon and vanilla. This was one of my favorite beers.
Black Hole - A huge coffee stout weighing in at 13.9% made with honey and vanilla. Strong nose, you smell this and know it's big. Very roasted malts (black patent?). The mouth has some astringency, very rich, slightly sweet, lots of dark fruits, very strong, needs some age.
Nogne O: A Norwegian brewery that is known for producing strong unique beers. Nøgne Ø means naked island.
Andhrimir Barleywine - Of course one of my favorite styles, this one weighs in at 10.0% and pours a cloudy amber. It smells syrupy, caramel and toffee, biscuity. The mouth is rich on this one, biscuity, toffee, caramel, syrup, some sugars. Not a lot of alcohol, but it is sweet, I would love to see this with some age.
Imperial Dunkel Wit - If you read my recap of the beer dinner at Catalan, you know I love this beer. This is from the same batch as the ones we had at the dinner, and it has changed quite a bit actually. Much spicier, a lot more coriander and less sweetness than before. Still a great beer. I would compare it to a rich dark bread baked with coriander seeds.
Winter Ale - I've had this 8.5% beer once before. This is good, but its not great. There is some dark fruits, rich malts here. It's similar to a good porter.
HaandBryggeriet: This is a very small brewery out of Norway, its basically four friends who are part time brewers. However they are making some unique farmhouse beers as well as some traditional ales with a Norwegian twist.
Dark Force - This is a 9% wheat stout. Very dark, with lots of roasted malts, and well hidden alcohol. Some fruitiness from the wheat maybe. Also some black patent malts. A smoother beer than I would have expected for 9%.
Norse Porter - A 6.5% porter that is quite good. It pours a dark brown with ruby red streaks, sweet and effervescent. Some vanilla extract and brown sugar notes. Coffee. Its got quite a lot of effervescence which would be the only thing keeping this from being easy drinking.
Akevitt Porter - A beer unlike anything I've had before. The same porter as above aged in aquavit barrels. Aquavit is a Norwegian alcohol that is aged in used sherry barrels. The beer weighs in at 10.0%. Lots of roasted malts, some notes of licorice, and wood. Smooth, licorice notes in the mouth at the front and at the finish. Oaky, vanilla, chocolate and just a tad bit of alcohol heat. A wonderful beer that I would love to have more of.
Beer Here: Our last brewery of the evening. Another very small brewery that does a lot of their brewing out of Nogne O.
Morke Pumpernickel Porter - A 7.5% porter that pours a dense black, spicy, bready with chocolate notes on the nose. The mouth is more of the same, spicy and dark bread notes. But that's about it, there isn't much more complexity and would like a little more oomph on this one.
Dark Hops - A Scandinavian brewery hopping on the Black IPA bandwagon is OK with me. This one weighs in at 8.5% and pours a rich black color. The nose is of massive hops and slight dark chocolate. The mouth is all grapefruit with maybe just a bit of roasted malts. Its mostly crisp bitter hops though. A good version of the style.
Well that wrapped up a great tasting. I enjoyed this one as much as any I had been to previously as I felt it balanced stronger ales with ones that weren't so high in alcohol. I didn't leave this session feeling over served which I have felt in the past. A good time and a big thanks to Kevin and Cathy.
Mark you calendars as the next Camp Beer will be June 12.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Texas legislature Update
Its been a while since I've posted anything on the Texas Beer bills. I've been out on vacation (more on that in a day or two) and a lot has happened. I hope that you have been able to make it out to one of the rallies either supporting hB 660 or HB 602. The good news is that both bills have been submitted to the appropriate committee for hearings. The oversight committee will be the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee. Below is the list of each committee member, with a link to their webpage so that if you feel moved you can write them a letter telling them how important these two bills are. Not only for the craft beer movement, but both bills I believe will increase state revenues. I've also added a link to their ballotpedia page that will allow you to see who their top contributors are. You will not be surprised to see that many times big beer distributors or their lobbying arm are filling the coffers of your local politicians.
Mike Hamilton (R) - Serving since 2003 - Chair of the Committee - Click here for list of donors.
Chente Quintanilla (D) - Serving since 2003 - Vice Chair of the Committee - Click here for top donors. Licensed Beverage Distributors was one of his larger donors.
Joe Driver (R) - Serving since 1993 - Click here for list of top donors. Has received money from Licensed Beverage Distributors in the past.
Charlie Geren (R) - Serving since 2001 - Click here for list of top donors.
Roland Gutierrez (D) - Serving since 2008 - Click here for list of top donors. Interesting note is he is for repeal of blue laws, he states that its to help level the playing field for small business...
Patricia Harless (R) - Serving since 2007 - Click here for list of top donors.
John Kuempel (R) - Serving since 2010 - Mr. Kuempel is replacing his father who passed away last year.
Jose Menendez (D) - Serving since 2001 - Click here for list of top donors.
Senfronia Thompson (D) - Serving since 1973 - Click here for list of top donors.
Hopefully this gives you more information on the folks that will be deciding HB 660 and 602. No date has been scheduled but I'll post that once I know. Again I encourage you all to write not only your local representative, but all these members on the board.
Lastly I'd like to point everyone to the Texas Beer Freedom website. A one stop shop for news on HB 660. You can sign a petition to help get this bill passed, you can also donate funds to help lobbying efforts. Obviously the backers behind this bill don't have the money that the big distributors have, so every little bit will help.
Mike Hamilton (R) - Serving since 2003 - Chair of the Committee - Click here for list of donors.
Chente Quintanilla (D) - Serving since 2003 - Vice Chair of the Committee - Click here for top donors. Licensed Beverage Distributors was one of his larger donors.
Joe Driver (R) - Serving since 1993 - Click here for list of top donors. Has received money from Licensed Beverage Distributors in the past.
Charlie Geren (R) - Serving since 2001 - Click here for list of top donors.
Roland Gutierrez (D) - Serving since 2008 - Click here for list of top donors. Interesting note is he is for repeal of blue laws, he states that its to help level the playing field for small business...
Patricia Harless (R) - Serving since 2007 - Click here for list of top donors.
John Kuempel (R) - Serving since 2010 - Mr. Kuempel is replacing his father who passed away last year.
Jose Menendez (D) - Serving since 2001 - Click here for list of top donors.
Senfronia Thompson (D) - Serving since 1973 - Click here for list of top donors.
Hopefully this gives you more information on the folks that will be deciding HB 660 and 602. No date has been scheduled but I'll post that once I know. Again I encourage you all to write not only your local representative, but all these members on the board.
Lastly I'd like to point everyone to the Texas Beer Freedom website. A one stop shop for news on HB 660. You can sign a petition to help get this bill passed, you can also donate funds to help lobbying efforts. Obviously the backers behind this bill don't have the money that the big distributors have, so every little bit will help.
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