GABF 2008 Roundup

Before I get into the meat of this post, I have to say that I am a lucky lucky man. For my first wedding anniversary, what did my wife do? She flew us to Denver, and got me tickets to Saturday's GABF session! How awesome is that? An amazing woman if I do say so myself.
Yes I got to go to GABF, my second time to go, and it was a blast! I got to taste a lot of beers that we don't get down here in Houston and even visited the booths of Real Ale, Southern Star, and Saint Arnold's. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Texas had a couple of winners too. Below is a list of some of the breweries I visited, some of the beers I tasted and a few of them have some notes as well. The notes are my quick impressions since the 1 oz pour we get is not nearly enough to make a strong judgement on a beer (plus your palate gets saturated with all those different beers).

Firestone Walker - Tried their amazing double barrel ale.

Shmaltz Brewing - Had their RIPA which was sweet malts and very hoppy, very good.
- Jewbilation 12 Anniversary ale. This was pretty cool beer as it had 12 hop varieties, 12 Malts and 12 percent alcohol to celebrate Shmaltz's 12th anniversary. This was a dark rich creamy ale. My wife noted that this would be awesome with some vanilla ice cream.

Portsmouth Brewing - Had their Kolsch (not impressed), and oatmeal stout.

Six Point Brewing - Double Belgian IPA was hoppy and malty, very well balanced, very good brew from this New York brewery.

Pelican Pub and Brewery - Doryman's Dark.

Walking Man Brewing - I had their Awesome Stumblefoot Barley wine. The name's appropriate, too many of these and you would be stumbling.

Weyerbacher Brewing - Imperial Pumpkin Ale. This was one of the best pumpkin beer's I've had and hides its 8% abv very well. The other beer I got to have was their rich, complex 13th anniversary ale. Very tasty although the alcohol level was definitely apparent.

Troegs - I was really excited to try this brewery as I've heard so much about their dopplebock. Everything I've heard was well founded. this thing way rich and smooth, really hid the 8.2% abv. This was a beer I could drink all night. Also tried their Scratch 14 Saison which was very good as well.

Carter's Brewing - Tried their Saison and De Railed IPA. Neither of which impressed me.

New Belgium - Yeah I know we get most of their brews, but what we don't get is their Eric's Ale which was probably one of the best sour beers I've ever had.

Dillon Dam Brewery - Some really good beers, that I forgot to write down!

Fort Collins Brewery - I've had a few of their beers before but this was the first time to try their Doplebock Rauchbier. In one word: amazing. In a few more, this had all the chewy sweetness of a dopplebock with a back bone of smokiness.

Grand Teton Brewing - I had their XX Bitch Creek which was thick, and syrupy, and hoppy. I couldn't have a bunch of these but the little that I did have was really good, complex. A great sipping in front of the fire beer.

Barley Brothers - Double Espresso Stout. This was one of my favorite beers I had at the festival. Incredibly rich and complex, it was like drinking an espresso shot so rich and creamy.

Lakefront Brewery - I tried their very rich and smooth Octoberfest.

Jolly Pumpkin - Hmm sour ales. I had the La Roja which was sour and tart, extremely well done from the brewery that's an expert on the style. Also had their Oro de Calabaza.

Goose Island - Very solid Saison, and the Matilda which is their version of a Belgian Strong ale. An interesting beer as it was also extremely malty.

Flossmoor Station - I had a beer called the CollabEvil which was a collaborative beer and weighed in at 10% abv.

Boulevard - Again I know that we get a lot of their beers here, but for whatever reason I haven't seen any of their special Smokestack series down in Houston so that's what I went too. They had two version of their Saison. One made traditionally, the other infected with Brett. This was a really interested study to do the side by side's to see the impact that Brett has to a beer. Also tried the double wide IPA, which while fairly standard IPA was very tasty.

Russian River - At this point in my tasting, my palate is starting to go, and my pen is finding the paper a little less often. I did get to try Supplication.

Deschuttes - I was hoping to try their Dissident, but by the time we got to their booth they were out so I settled for their very good Anniversary Ale.

Moylan's - They were out of their Triple IPA unfortunately, so I tried their Double IPA. What I wrote in my tasting book was basically HOLY ^*#$ Hop Bomb. I think that about sums it up.

Dogfish Head - This is where we finished it up. Tried the Theobrama which I thought suprisingly tasted a lot like Midas Touch, with a bit of spice, and the Palo Santo which was sweet and rich.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the festival. Afterwards we headed to the Falling Rock taphouse for even more beer. Saw quite a few folks their, including the Alstrom Brothers of Beer Advocate, and Jay Brooks of the Brookston Bulletin (actually introduced myself to him, nice guy). A few quick observations from the festival that may not be evident by my tasting notes above. While IPA's and other hoppy beers were out in force I also saw a lot of branching out. There were quite a few Saisons, Kolsch's (although not many good ones) and more smoked beers than I remember seeing before. The question I discussed with my wife and brother In-Law is the hop shortage and hop prices having an impact, and are we seeing the ramifications? Don't get me wrong I think this is a great thing, seeing American brewery's branch out away from IPA's and towards other complex unique styles of beer. I can't wait till next year.

GABF Winners Announced

The Great American Beer Fest is this weekend in Denver, and as luck would have it I'm actually here and got to go to the festival. I'll have a lot more on my day at the Fest and all that goes along with it, but I wanted to drop a special post congratulating those Texas Breweries that were awarded.
- In the Kellerbier/Zwickelbier category Texas had two winners:
Gold: Helles Keller from Fredicksburg Brewery
Silver: Hell In Keller from Uncle Billy's Brew and Que
- In the Munich Helles Category Texas had one winner:
Silver: Saint Arnold's Summer Pils

Congratulations folks.

The Session # 21

Fresh off of a very successful Session 20, I received an announcement for the next one. This time The Session is legal! For the uninitiated, the Session is a monthly virtual beer tasting. Hosted each month by a different blog with a different theme. On the first Friday of the month beer bloggers the world over post their response to the theme, sending a link to the host. The host then posts a round up so that everyone can see all the different entries.
This month the host is Matt over at A world of brews. The theme this month is to answer the question: What is your favorite beer and why? A little more info from Matt:

Before you say I don't have a favorite beer or how do I pick just one. I say BS everyone has a favorite. There will always be a beer that you would grab above all others, your go to beer per say. The one beer you will almost always choose over the others. When I get asked that question I almost always say I don't have one but then when I came up with this topic I realized I did and I know you do too.

I would like to take this topic one step farther for purely selfish reasons. I am trying to do better reviews on beers that I drink and I would like to see how other rate and review their beers. So put on your BJCP hat and Review and Rate your Favorite Beer.

This should be an interesting one. I know its really going to get me to thinking of what is my favorite beer. Of all the beer's that I've had which one do I consider my go to, or beer that I have to check out every season when it comes out. What will it be? Well check back on Nov 7th, due date for the next session.

A divine dinner

If you're in the mood for a good beer and food post, head over to my wife's blog Green Grazing. Last Sunday, we made chicken burgers, but these weren't just any chicken burgers, they were divinely inspired by Saint Arnold's. My wife made beer bread using the latest Divine Reserve, and the chicken burgers themselves were topped off with some Redneck Cheddar made with Divine Reserve 5. It was an amazing dinner.

The Session # 20 Roundup

The folks over at Bathtub Brewery has posted the roundup from the lastest Session, Beer memories. Lots of great participation to go with those memories. As I stated in my post, this was a really fun session, and I am looking forward to the announcement of the next one. This time, The sessions legal!

The Session 20: Beer and Memories

Its Friday October 3rd, the first Friday of October and what does that mean? Its time for The Session, the virtual beer tasting where beer bloggers the world over unite under a common theme. The host this month is the Bathtub brewery and as the title says the theme this month is Beer and memories.
I personally looked forward to the Session this month as I really liked the theme. If nothing else I think beer brings people together and helps create memories. Whether its a finely crafted beer that when tasted with close friends offers a one of a kind memory, or whether it's a cold brew enjoyed with friends at a baseball game, the theme is good times, good friends and hopefully good beer. This specific post is about my memories of beer as I grew up. Unlike a lot of people my mom didn't have a huge issue with me having a beer (yes even if I was under 21) as long as I was at home and didn't go anywhere afterwards. This allowed me to understand what a beer would do to my senses without being at a bar slamming drinks back as fast as I could. Anyways I don't want to get on an Under 21 tangent, that's not the purpose of this post. The point is that I remember often me coming home from college and my mom having a 6-pack of Shiner waiting in the fridge. Not Bud, not Coors, not Miller, but Texas's own Shiner Bock. This beer was my introduction into things not named BMC. It let me know that beer wasn't just yellow, it had different colors!!! Who knew? Now my mom is not a beer drinker, but she knew that this is what I liked so she always made sure there was a sixer in the fridge waiting for me when I arrived. I really enjoyed that, coming back home from being away months at a time and visiting my mom, popping open a Shiner, having a BBQ, or if it was 4th of July weekend, climbing on top of my roof to see the local fireworks Drinking Shiner just reminds me of simpler times, fun times with my family and friends. Shiner became my gateway beer to the greater world of Craft Beer and all it has to offer. To be honest I haven't cracked a Shiner open in quite a few years, so what better time than today when I'm in a reminiscing mood than to try one out.
The Beer: Ahh its been a long long time. Pouring it into a pint glass (is there any other serving vessel you could use?) it pours a nice copper amber with a thick off white head that quickly dissipates. You can really see the carbonation in the liquid. The nose is malty, sweet roasted malts and caramel. The mouth has some tin-y notes, like from an aluminum can. There's a lot of carbonation (maybe a bit too much), notes of caramel and sweet malts. Its not a complex beer, but its an easy drinking, smooth, decent tasting beer. Maybe its not everything I remember it to be, but it's still a nice beer. It gets a C+ from me.

The folks at Bathtub Brewery will be posting the roundup in the next few days so check back and see all the other memories.

Upcoming Octoberfest Events

Yes I know that this weekend is actually the end of the Oktoberfest celebration in Germany. However over here I don't really think Oktoberfest really gets into swing until this weekend. With that, our local breweries are holding some events to celebrate:

- This weekend is Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest Pub crawl. Check out their latest newsletter for details.
- Speaking of Saint Arnold's they'll be having their HUGE annual Oktoberfest celebration on Oct 17th and 18th. Click here for more details.
- Other local brewery Southern Star Brewing will be holding their first Oktoberfest celebration on October 25th. Price of admission gets you a special commemorative glass.

A Divine Vertical

As I mentioned Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve 7 has been released and I decided to celebrate that release in a special way, by doing a tasting of several DR's. For the tasting I got together DR's 7, 6, and 5. I figured this would be a great way to experience the new DR and at the same time seeing how other DR's have aged over time. So let's get to it.
Divine Reserve 7: This is of course a weizenbock that weighs in at 8.7%. It pours a deep almost pitch black (see pic on the right) with a tan colored thick foamy head. The nose on this one has lots of banana, wheat, roasted malts and nutmeg. The mouth is chewy and thickly coats the tongue. There are flavors of banana's, munich malts, nutmeg, and rye bread flavors. There is a little bit of alcohol burn. As I mentioned yesterday I got to try this on tap at Gingermans, I actually think its much better out of the bottle, smoother, less harsh. Its a very rich beer, something that I think will lighten up as it ages. This is a great beer and gets an A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.
Divine Reserve 6: This is the American Barley wine. Here is my review from when I tasted it on June 12, 2008. The beer pours a cloudy brown with a thick taupe colored head. The nose is of hops and sweet roasted malts, citrus and earthy notes, yeasty even. The mouthfeel is thick, resiny from the hops with a great big wallop of roasted malt flavors, raisins and figs. There is some caramel sweetness but not as much as I remember before. While hops are still at the forefront, malt flavors are coming up in a big way with this beer. I actually would LOVE to have this beer aged in oak and try it in a year, I think it would be absolutely amazing. Continuing my local eating and drinking I actually had this particular beer with some local cheese, the Veldhuizen Bosque Blue Cheese and it paired really really well.
The Divine Reserve 5: The last one and its the famous Russian Imperial Stout. Again here's my review from the first time I had it on September 09, 2007. Yes it's made it a year, it was difficult not to drink it! This one pours an absolutely pitch black with a dark crema colored head(sorry about the picture quality on this one). The nose has an extreme amount of roasted malts, coffee, dark bitter chocolate. It has a chewy mouthfeel a little chalky with flavors of cocoa, burnt malts, dark chocolate covered espresso beans. Very malty. There was no alcohol burn this was one smooth beer. There is some bitterness from the richly dark roasted malt flavors but it adds such a deep complexity. This may have been one of the best beers I've ever had, better than the first time. My wife and I shared this beer with some local cheddar that was actually made with this Divine Reserve. Unsurprisingly this was an absolutely wonderful pairing.

This was a really interesting tasting, not a true vertical of course, but extremely insightful for me as it was the first time for me to taste a beer that I had aged. It was my last DR5 which makes me sad, but I've hopefully put enough DR6 and 7 away to continue these tastings as subsequent Divine Reserves come out.

Southern Star Logger

What better way to start off my month of drinking locally, then well, drinking something really local. In this case I'm talking about a draft only release from our very own Southern Star Brewery. This particular beer is Southern Star's summer seasonal brew, its a Dortmund Export style lager (get it: Lager; Logger!). My first time to try this beer, heck it was actually the first time I'd seen it (got to get this on tap at my local watering hole Boondoggles!).
The Beer: This one weighs in at 6.0% abv and pours a cloudy straw color with a thin but foamy head. The nose is sweet pale malts and a bit of bitter hops on the nose. The mouth is crisp with bitter hops and sweet pale malts. Reminds me a bit of a North German Lager like a Jever or something. Very smooth with a nice crisp slightly bitter taste. A very refreshing brew. This one gets a strong B from me.

Eat Local, Drink Local

My wife and I have been trying to eat local as much as possible. Just something to do our part to support the local economy (which in this day an age is important) and being able to know where we eat our food and how its grown/produced. Well it just so happens that there is a challenge for the month of October to eat local. My wife's blog has detailed out the food part and how we plan to eat as local as possible for the next 31 days. As part of our effort I've decided to only drink local for the next 31 days. That's right no wine, liquor, and most importantly, no beer unless its local. There are of course some caveats so here they are:
1) Local for me is Texas
2) If I picked it up in the brewery on travel then I can drink it during October.
3) I can not pick up anything from the liquor/grocery store that's out of state, period.

For me this will be a good reason to try some Texas beers that for whatever reason I haven't. As the month goes I'll be posting my tasting notes as always, however at the end of the month I'll talk about how easy or hard it was to drink local (I think the drinking part will be very easy, Texas has some great beers).

Tuesday Quick Hits

Just a two very quick notes for today.
- A week late for Houston due to Hurricane Ike, but Saint Arnold's latest Divine Reserve has been released! The wiezenbock is out in bottle at local liquor stores and grocery stores and already out in draft in a couple of places. My local Spec's had 8 cases sell out in 30 minutes. Not to worry I picked up 2 six packs today and was able to try a pint of this incredible beer on draft at the downtonw Gingerman's. I gotta say its an amazing beer, tasting notes to come.

- Secondly, a reminder that the next Session is this Friday. Theme is Beer memories.

Two new beers from another brewery new to Texas

It seems every week we are getting either a brewery new to the Texas scene, or a brewery that has had some products in the state, expanding their repertoire. There's been Oskar Blues, Boulevard, Green Flash, expanded selection of Stone's, Brooklyn Brewery, and on my most recent visit to Central Market, Pike's Brewery. Pike's is based out of Seattle and was started in 1989. It was founded by Charles Finkel (as an aside he also founded Bon Vin a boutique wine distributor) in the famous Pike's Place Market. They've been making great unique beers ever since. They had a pretty good selection of them at CM all in bombers so I picked two that I thought I might like.
Kilt Lifter Scotch Style Ruby Ale: This one is extremely interesting. It's made with peated malt that gives it a smoky flavor. The beer weighs in at 6.5% and 27 IBU's and pours a cloudy brown with a thin head. The nose is smoky, malty, raisin-y, figs, and a bit of chocolate. The mouth is reach and creamy, notes of raisins, honey, and yeast with an underlying smokey maltyness. Not like a rauchbier but more like a scotch which I guess is the point. A really great smooth, yet complex beer. This one gets a B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
IPA: Ahh yes, you know I had to get a hoppy beer! This one is 6.5% and 60 IBU's. It pours a cloudy hazy orange with a minimal head, but plenty of lacing. The nose has great floral notes, orange, grapefruit, honeysuckle and pale malts. The mouth is really amazing, saturating in its resinyness. There are notes of orange marmalade, grapefruit, and a pinyness. Very very nice a great IPA in my opinion. Nothing earth shatteringly new here, just incredibly solid and tasty. This one gets an A- from me. The folks at BA like it as well.

Well I gotta say even with just two beers, I'm pretty impressed by Pike and I can't wait to try some more of their offerings.

Stone Brew's

As I mentioned before, while I was in San Diego I had the chance to stop by the Stone Brewery for a tour, tasting and dinner at their awesome restaurant. While there I of course picked up a couple of their beers and drank them during the remainder of my week in So Cal. I tried to pick up the Stones that aren't available here in Texas so no Arrogant Bastard (oaked or otherwise), no smoked porter, no Ruination. So what else is there? Glad you asked.
Belgian Style Tripel/Collaboration: This is made by Stone Brewing along with Alesmith (another California Brewery) and Mikkeller (a brewery from Denmark). These type of beers always interest me in that they show how different brewers can come together and create something that represents each of their personalities. This one is a tripel style ale weighing at 8.7%. It pours a clear orange color with a quarter inch white head. Hops and white fruit on the nose along with honey and citrus (orange and lemon). The mouth is bitter, much more so than I expected. There are sweet notes of honey and white fruit as I would expect from a good tripel but the flavor is incredibly subtle. The nose on this was really aromatic and I expected that to translate into a stronger flavor profile. While the flavors were there, they weren't there in the strength I would have preferred, they felt muted. This one gets a B- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
Cali-Belgique IPA: This is Stone's version of an IPA made with a Belgian yeast. Its a standard Stone IPA where the yeast flavor will hopefully take a stronger presence than normal. It has 77 IBU's and weighs in at 6.9% abv so its no light weight. Pours a bright orange clear color with a thick frothy white head. The nose is hoppy with tropical fruit notes. The mouth is effervescent, bubbly, hoppy with notes of white fruits and some fruity sourness from the yeast. A very interesting beer. You can definitely taste the difference the yeast makes which is the point of the beer I guess. There's a certain funkiness to the beer that adds complexity to an otherwise standard IPA. This one gets a B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Now that's not quite the last Stone beer I bought from the brewery just the ones I had while in California. The other one I grabbed was Stone's 08.08.08 Vertical Epic release. This a beer that's released every year by Stone, starting at 01.01.01 and will continue through 12.12.12. Each is a different style of beer (this one is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale) and each made to age so that when the last one comes you can have all 12 and do a vertical tasting. Not sure I'll be able to hold on to this one for that long, but I'm going to let it sit for a while at least.

Lost Abbey Lost and Found

This is the last Lost Abbey beer that I had while I was in California (fear not, I brought a couple back home). I got to say I've been impressed by Lost Abbey's solid offering's. So far neither of the previous two weren't anything spectacular, but they were quite good. That was about to change.
The Beer: This is Lost Abbey's version of a Belgian Style Dubbel. Its made with added dextrose and raisin puree. It weighs in at 7.5% abv. The beer pours a dark cloudy brown with a quarter inch cafe colored head. Raisins, figs, candied sugar. A thick mouthfeel with figgy notes and raisins, brown sugar, molases and plums. This is an awesome beer, rich, toasty, complex. Great malt flavors balanced with dark fruits. Great great beer, gets an A+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

Back Home

A week after Ike hit, I'm finally home to survey the damage. It actually not all that bad, a little damage to the roof, subsequently a little water damage inside, and I've lost 80% or so of my fence. All in all I'll count my self lucky compared to many. My biggest hit? The loss of power and my fear that I lost some of the beers I've been aging (a few Bigfoot and Foghorn barley wines and a few Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve). I haven't opened any yet, scared I guess. I have a few more beers from my trip to San Diego to post about but before I get to those a couple of beer related topics:
- Southern Star Brewery had a little bit of damage to their facilities. Loss of power which could mean loss of some of those items in their cool box. Check out their blog for more details.
- Sounds like Saint Arnold's was much luckier and survived Ike unscathed with no stoppage of their tours.
- Lastly the announcement for the next Session, the 20th, can you believe it? The hosts this month is the Bathtub brewery, the theme is Beer memories. The website asks "Is there a beer that reminds you of a specific memory?" if so write about it. Due date is Friday October 3. Should be fun.

Well thats it for me today. I've got some clean up to do, but I'll be back tomorrow with some more beer related posts. Take care and if anyone in Houston is reading I hope everything finds you safe, but if you all need anything drop me an email.

Lost Abbey Witch's Wit

This brew is another one from Lost Abbey that I picked up during my recent visit to the brewery. The Witch's Wit is their version of a Belgian Wit Beer but done in the unique Lost Abbey way.
The Beer: This one weighs in at a light 4.8% and pours a very pale straw color. Very strong nose full of honey, white grapes, cardomon, oranges and other citrus flavors. The mouth is effervescent with honey, citrus and grape along with some lemony notes. This is a great refreshing beer. It shows that you don't have to go to extreme limits of alcohol levels to create an incredibly tasty beer. This one gets an A- from me.

Lost Abbey Devotion Ale

I had the opportunity to pick up this beer during my recent trip to the brewery (along with a few other, but we'll get to that later). Lost Abbey specializes in unique Belgian style ales. Many aged in oak, many with different ingredients, and some infected with bacteria. Sounds like my kind of place! The Devotion Ale is Lost Abbey's version of a Belgian Blonde ale.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 6.75% with the only adjunct being dextrose. The beer pours a very hazy orange color with a thin head that dissipates to a film along the top of the beer. The nose is of hops, honey, and orage. The mouth is effervescent, with more hops and orange, apricots and honey. Lots of white fruit. A great summer beer with some good hop bitterness. This one gets a strong B+ from me.

Evacuating to San Diego

Well, not exactly, but with a family vacation already planned we got out of Houston early well ahead of hurricane Ike and headed to San Diego, well out of Ike's path. Over the past days we've learned that our neighborhood is a mess, our house is not. With the exception of some lost shingles and a blown down fence our house made it through relatively unscathed. The other good news is that having a couple of extra days in San Diego allowed us to visit some breweries which we didn't have in our original plans. What better way to take your mind off of a Hurricane than trying out some tasty craft brews. So where'd we go? So glad you asked.
Friday morning we headed out of SD and up the coast to Salana Beach to hit up Pizza Port for lunch. For those that don't know Pizza Port at Solana Beach is a craft brewer pub that serves good beer and tasty food. The head brewer used to be Tomme Arthur who now runs Port Brewing along with the great Lost Abbey Brewing Co. There three Pizza Ports each with a different head brewer free to brew the beers they want. Besides serving their own beers Pizza Port also serves guest taps featuring some of the best beers from the SD area. At the restaurant my wife and I shared a rather tasy pizza with shrimp and clams along with a couple of beers. I started out with the Big Wednesday Belgium, a Blonde IPA that was quite taste. My wife had the Hefe which was oustanding. I washed down the rest of my pizza with the amazing Russian River Pliny the Elder, an oustanding IPA. Absolutely wonderful.
Being filled with food we headed to the beach where we walked around for a while before walking through the Solana Beach shops. Afterwards and feeling thirsty we headed further north to the Lost Abbey brewery. I've heard so much about this place and it's one so many awards that I couldn't pass up an opportunity to check it out. Needless to say this place deserves all of its accolades. We tasted many beers (and I bought quite a few so detailed notes will come later) and chatted up the folks about the place. All in all a good time.
By this time it had gotten late in the afternoon and we learned from the folks at Lost Abbey that Stone Brewery wasn't too far away. My wife looked at me with a smile and asked if I wanted to go. I said HECK YES!!! and off we were. When we got there we were amazed, I didn't realize how big the brewery would be and that it was not only a brewery but a restaurant and a bier garten. As soon as we arrived we found out they were doing a tour in 30 minutes so we headed to the bar where I got a taste of Ruination on cask. Not having my notes, all I can say is WOW, so good. The tour was really good and our guide was petty knowledgable. Its amazing to see how big Stone is, only now is Houston getting many Stone beers so I've always thought of them as a smaller craft brewery so this experience was pretty eye opening. After the tour we were hungry again so we headed to the restaurant. This isn't just pub food, this is up scale American Cuisine. Very well made food. For an appetizer we had home made kimchi, for dinner I had Duck tacos that were absolutely amazing along with a craft beer from California brewery (yes they serve more than just Stone). This capped off a an outstanding day of craft beer drinking in So Cal. Even though worried about my house, I was able to enjoy myself and am really glad that I got to come out here a little early. Now that I know my house is ok, and I have another week in So Cal I plan on enjoying the beers I bought from Stone and Lost Abbey. For everyone else in the Houston area that checks out this blog I hope that you all are as lucky as I was and things find you safe and your house ok.

Green Flash West Coast IPA

Another one from the San Diego Brewery. I've become a big fan of their beers as I've had the opportunity to taste those that are in the Houston Market. This IPA is no different, although at 95 IBU's it seems almost like a DIPA (Compare to Avery's DIPA that had 102 IBU's). However high the bitterness the alcohol remains somewhat low at 7% (compared to 10.2% for the Maharaja).
Enough with the stats on to the beer.
The Beer: Pours a hazy cloudy orange with a thin taupe colored head that leaves plenty of lacing in its wake. The nose is as expected plenty of hops, notes of pine needles and grapefruit. The mouthfeel is thick with hops everywhere, coating the tongue saturating my tasted buds. Its resin-y grapefruit, apricots with little to no malt balance. This is an out and out hop bomb. A good beer, and I love a Hop Bomb, but I also appreciate the malt balance that can make this style great. This one misses the mark on that, but is otherwise a very solid beer and gets a B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

The Session # 19 Roundup

Just a few days after posting my entry to the latest Session, this time on German Beer, the folks over at lootcorp have started posting the roundup. They should finish it up today so check back often to see all the entries.
The Session #20 announcement is sure to come soon.

Start the Hype

That's the title of a post on the Beer Advocate website. Hype for what you may ask?
Why Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve 7. The most talked about beers that are locally produced. Saint Arnold's announced today that DR7 a WeizenBock will be released on September 23. Get'em while you can, because they go fast and when their gone, their gone. I can't wait, just a couple more weeks!

The Session # 19: Deutches Bier

Its hard to believe but yes its the first Friday of the month, and that means its Session Time. The theme this month is German Beer, but not just the beer, the culture as well should be discussed for this theme. The host are the folks over at lootcorp 3.0.
For this session I'm going to do something a little different, and something I've never done before. First things first the beer culture. I don't think that any country has the beer culture that Germany has, its very unique from those in Belgium or England, or even here in the US. To me its a family thing that makes it special.
Anyone that has read this blog for any length of time knows that I spent a few months living in Cologne Germany last year and got to experience this first hand. Living in Cologne I got to see the two faces of German Beer Culture. The first is that they love their beer, the second part of that is that they love THEIR beer, and sometimes this comes at the cost of experiencing other styles. I'll give you an example. Every bar/restaurant in Cologne served a specific Kolsch, usually from only one company, and maybe, maybe a pilsner. No other styles were really represented beyond the occasional Weizen offering. Having said that, they really loved their Kolsch, and could sit around a table drinking it for hours and extolling its virtues. Some of my favorite memories of my time there was of sitting in a Kolsch pub, drinking Kolsch, talking with my friends and the Kolsch waiter who would come by periodically to slam a new 0.2L glass on the table scratching out another mark on my coaster until finally having had a enough I placed my coaster atop my glass stumbling around the corner to my apartment. These were great times, times where I felt that we not only appreciated the fine beer but the better company. To make my point about German Beer culture being a family thing, let's look at another example. Taking really any Sunday you can see why they hold especially fond memories for me. These were the days when every thing was closed except for the pub's and restaurants. It was on these cold Sunday afternoon's that me and some friends would head to the pub for some Kolsch and maybe some goulash to warm ourselves up. We'd see lots of families here eating lunch dinner, or maybe just a snack of bread and cheese, sitting their all day with kolsch's in one hand and talking and just being together.
Seeing this family enjoyment is when I realized what may be biggest issue with American Beer culture. We see the pub independent from a family experience and I don't think that's the right way to look at things. Pub's can be a great place to relax the Sunday away with good food and a good atmosphere. I'll tell you one thing I'd much rather be doing that on Sunday then succumbing to our more commercialistic nature and shopping til I dropped.

Now for the thing I've never done before. I'm not going to post on a new beer. I'll point you all to the list of Kolsch's I've had and highlight one that I think is the best Kolsch in the states. The following is my entry from Saint Arnold's Lawnmower:
he Beer: The beer is Kolsch Style, so that obviously got me excited as I feel a bit of an expert on the style since my recent trip to the land of all things Kolsch. Having gone to a few of the wonderful Saturday tours at Saint Arnolds I have quite a few of their tasting glasses which are basically Kolsch style glasses, so that's what I poured this beer into. This version weighs in at 4.9% slightly higher than the typical Kolsch which is usually closer to the 4.5 mark. The beer poured a pale golden straw color capped by a typical thick white head. Plenty of tiny champagne bubbles rising to the top. So far so good with Kolsch Comparisons. Sweet malt and floral hops on the nsoe. The mouth was full and bubbly, more sweet malts being the predominant flavor with a nice crips hop bite from the Hallertauer variety used. If I could compare it to anything I had in Cologne it would be Pfaffen. A bit sweeter than the typical Kolsch but still a very fine example. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

I still say that this one is by far the best Kolsch I've had in the States.
Head on over to lootcorp and see what other folks are writing about.

Brew News Around Texas

A few short notes on what's going on with Texas Brewery's.
- First and foremost Rahr and Son's of Ft. Worth is releasing their Octoberfest brew this Friday at an arts event at the brewery. They's also be selling 1 Liter and Half Liter Steins to enjoy the brew in.

- Second from our local Houston Brewery Saint Arnold's is sponsoring a party at the Orange Show. from Saint Arnold's most recent newsletter:

The Orange Show, a Houston institution, is a labyrinthine space with lots of nooks and crannies to explore and many celebrations of oranges. And being able to do this exploration with a tasty beverage in your hand will only enhance the experience! There will be excellent refreshments (free!), music (free!), and a taco truck (cheap!) in case you get hungry.

The purpose of the event is a fundraiser for the Orange Show, an organization that in addition to maintaining the Orange Show Monument also supports a variety of folk art, including the Art Car Parade.

We want to show this organization a lot of support so please get your tickets now! Here are the full details:

Event: Orange Show Foamraiser
Date: Saturday, September 6
Time: 7 PM to 10 PM
Where: At the Orange Show
Address: 2402 Munger St.
Admission: $20 in advance, $25 at the door ($10 for kids 14 & under, available for purchase at the door) For tickets in advance: https://tix.cnptix.com/tix/SilverStream/Pages/pgIndex.html?siteID=1734
The Music:
Sideshow Tramps: http://www.myspace.com/sideshowtramps
The Grass Skirts: http://www.myspace.com/grassskirts

So go check out this Houston institution, go enjoy local music, local beer, and celebrate a local institution.

Avery Ale to the Chief

The Democratic National Convention ended last week and this week we're already in the middle of the Republican one, so yes dear friends we're neck deep in political season. As you all know the DNC was held in Denver, home (or near) many a craft brewery. Many of these folks made special beers for the event, but Avery Brewing went a step further and made one to celebrate the political season as a whole. They also made enough to bottle and distribute around the country. But unlike the Maharaja its not an Imperial IPA, but a Presidential IPA (PIPA?).
The Beer: This one weighs at 8.75%, much lower than their DIPA. It pours a cloudy amber with a thick white head and plenty of lacing. Hops, grapefruity and earthy, on the nose, with not as much malty smell as the Maharaja. The mouth is thick and creamy, with hops up front and spiciness and again not as much malty character. This is much more of a straightforward hop bomb. One of the more interesting characteristics was the spiciness of these beer, it was pretty intense white pepper notes among other things that I couldn't place. It added a different flavor profile than what I'm used to, it was rather pleasant though. There's also some citrusy bitterness, that along with the hoppy resin really saturates ones mouth. Even with all this intense character it went well with our dinner of hatch chili turkey burgers on ciabatta bread with fried potatoes. It was a good match with the PIPA really standing up to the spice and even helping reduce the intensity of the spice on the tongue. All in all this is a fine beer, while not as good in my opinion as the Maharaja, its pretty close. This one gets an A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Avery The Maharaja

After my recent binging on German style beers, I've gone back to something that is definitely American in nature, BIG and Powerful Imperial IPA's. This one in particular is part of Avery Brewing's Dictator series (of which the Kaiser is also a part of).
The Beer: This one weighs in at a powerful 102 IBU's and 10.2 % abv. It pours an orangish amber with a thick white head that sticks around, sliding down the glass leaving a thick resin of lacing. The nose is unsurprisingly massive hops. I could smell the grapefruit as soon as I started pouring the bottle into the glass. There's also some candied apricots and mild notes of malt. The mouth is more of the same. Lots of hops, grapefruit, and some piney qualities as well. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy a little bit resiny. What makes this beer great though is its malt. This is a incredibly well balanced DIPA. With nice malt backbone that keeps this beer from being overly astringent. My wife who dislikes most of the DIPA's that I love really enjoyed this one due to its maltiness. Avery has made a very drinkable DIPA. Well rounded with not a lot of alcohol burn, just enough for you to know its there. A great DIPA, this one gets a strong A from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

New Bar Coming To Houston

And the folks behind this bar isn't just anyone but its the bar team from Beaver's. Bobby Huegal and Kevin Floyd are leaving Beaver's and will be opening up their own place on Westheimer. The name will be Anvil and the concept is pretty simple: Great wine, Great Cocktails (of course) and a great beer list. Of course its this last bit that has me interested. On Drink Dogma, Bobby gives a few details:

Our beer list will include the best microbrews in the country, and we will offer alternative taps at all times that will change every week.

This gets me a bit excited....What type of beers will they have that will set them apart from Gingerman and the Saucer? Will they have Casks? Will they work with the local brewery's and offer special one of a kind beers? I don't know the answer to any of these questions yet, but I can't wait to find out. Anvil is hoping to open in Mid-November. I'll update their progress as I can.

Boulevard Bob's 47

Just recently I had my first Octoberfest of the year and I'm seeing more and more of them and other Fall seasonals on the shelves. What's excited me this year is that with all the new breweries that have come in to Texas this past year I'm getting to try versions that I've never had before and this is one of the first. Bob's 47 is Boulevard's fall seasonal Munich Style Lager.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 5.5 % and pours a nice amber with a thick taupe head. The nose is malty and spice with a caramel sugary sweetness. The mouth has a rich flavor up front with maltiness, caramel, and honey with just a bit of toastyness and bready rye notes. For all the flavor that's up front it weakens at the finish leaving me wanting something a little more, little more robust. A good beer, not a great one. This one gets a B- from me.

Another Blog in the family

Just a quick post and a little bit of in family advertising. My amazing wife, the one that has not only endured, but encouraged my love of craft beer has her own blog. This one not on beer, but our other love, eating local, growing local. This will be a blog about how we are attempting to grow some of our own vegetables out here in the Houston Suburbs as well as working with local folks, getting food from CSA's, cooking and eating the food. Seeing what we can do to not only support our local brewers, but to support our local growers. So if your of the mindset, go check it out.

Beer News

A couple of good Beer related articles in the main stream news today.

- First is this article from the New York Times on lower alcohol beers. As I've stated numerous times, one can not live on extreme beer alone. I love session, or lower alcohol beers, and they are absolutely perfect for the hot Texas summer. Great article with some really good insight. Low alcohol definitely doesn't mean low flavor.

- Secondly an article from MSNBC on canned beers. Now if you've been reading this blog you know I love the method of packaging beer. It eliminates any chance of light getting to the beer, plus let's face it...its cool. Unfortunately there are quite a few beers I wish they had mentioned, not the least of which is the home grown Southern Start Pine Belt Pale ale.

Southern Star Follow Up

After my post yesterday about Southern Star's newest brew, I wanted to find out the answer on how they plan on packaging the beer. I sent an email to the brewer David who was kind enough to reply today:

The Rauchbier will be only available on draft. I will post the list of locations on the website as they become available. It is going under the moniker "Southern Star Rachbier".

Ahhh sad that it won't be called 'Pork Soda' but I'm pretty sure that's do to legal issues. Can't have someone mistake a beer for soda......Now I can't wait to find where this beer is going to be on tap.

New Southern Star Brew

Its Monday, and I've got some pretty exciting news. According to their website Conroe's own Southern Star Brewery is getting ready to start brewing their fall beer. A Rauchbier! While certainly not for everyone a Rauchbier is a smoked beer, or a beer made with smoked malts. This beer that they call Pork Soda (because it tastes like ham in a glass!) is made with 100% Wyermann Malt from Hamburg Germany, the home of Rauchbier. Why am I so excited about this? For a couple of reasons. One, I think its a very under utilized style of beer that very few microbreweries in the country attempt to make. Second, this is Texas the home of BBQ and smoked brisket. What goes better with smoked brisket than smoked beer? Nothing I tell you. Third, Southern Star will be the first microbrewery in Texas to brew this style of beer (although a brewpub Covey has brewed a solid version). This is the type of stuff I was really hoping that Southern Star would do. Step out from the typical beers and make something unique, and more important something that could be unique for Texas. No word on whether this will be tap only or bottled (or canned).

The Amethyst Initiative

No its not some top secret cloak and dagger mission. Instead its a group of 100 college presidents that are concerned about the abundance of underage binge drinking that occurs when a student gets to University. Their goal simply is to start a debate on whether legal drinking age should be lowered from age 21 to 18. I've stated my opinion before and it hasn't changed. I think we should seriously consider lowering the age of drinking. I truly believe that it will help decrease the binge drinking in this country that occurs when a kid leaves their parents home and for the first time is introduced to alcohol. However the goal here is to start a debate to get people to open up to new ideas. So with that I'll give you some information so that you the reader can make up your own mind.
- A good post by Rick Lyke which also lists the colleges involved.
- Choose Responsibly, and organization that's purpose is to start the debate we are having now.
- Amethyst Initiative.

Avery Kaiser 2008

Yes I know its Mid-August and the last thing it feels like here in Houston is Fall, but that doesn't stop brewers from getting an early start and releasing their Octoberfest beers. This fall style beer is one of my favorites, and this Imperial version from Avery brewing has been a solid one in the past. I've tried their previous versions and posted them here and here.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 10.03% which is higher than the previous two years. The beer pours a reddish orange color with a thick white head. The nose is rich and malty with notes of caramel. The mouth is very malty up front with a bit of alcohol burn mellowing into a nice rich sweetness, notes of caramel and earthy hop notes finish it off. For a big beer this is rather drinkable, mellowing out the richness of last years. Even with a bit of alcohol burn this one gets rated higher by me, give it a B+.

Steamworks Colorado Kolsch

Leading up to this month's Session and its theme of German Beer, I'm trying to drink more German styles, instead of my overly hoppy beers that I love so much. Nothing wrong with drinking German styles as there are a lot of very solid ones being made by American Craft Brewers. One of my favorite styles of beer, but one that is rarely made over here is Kolsch. Anytime I make it to Spec's or Central Market I'm on the lookout for a beer that calls itself Kolsch to see how it pairs up to those from Cologne. You can imagine then how happy I was to see a Colorado Kolsch from Durango, Co brewery Steamworks on the shelf.
The Beer: This one weighs in at a 4.5% abv and pouring into a traditional Kolsch glass is a straw yellow colored beer with a nice white head. The nose is yeasty, low on malts and hops. Even in the mouth the yeast and bready character seem to be the focal point over the hops and malt. There isn't a malty sweetness but you do get some pale malt characteristics in the flavor profile. But over all this beer misses some body to it. There is some flavor but its light, nothing substantial to this brew. Good but nothing spectacular and it gets a C+ from me. The folks at BA are a little kinder than I am.

Quick Hits: Texas Brewery Edition

Just a couple of quick notes on this Thursday evening.
The first two from Saint Arnold's.

- Houston Press's Robb Walsh had a sit down interview with Saint Arnold's Brock Wagner. Main topic revolving around SA's new downtown digs.
- In Saint Arnold's latest newsletter they mention their fund raiser for the Houston's Orange Show. The Orange show is a Houston institution and needs as much help as possible. They also run the amazing Houston Art Car Parade the largest of its kind in the nation. These are the type of things that makes Houston a great (if under appreciated) city.

- Lastly news from Ft. Worth's Rahr and Sons brewery. They've got a shiny new website. A marked improvement over their old one. Go check it out and see what their doing to reduce their carbon foot print.

This Won't be the last time this happens

It was announced this week that A-B will start working towards reducing its workforce by 10 to 15 % by the end of this year. While this may not all be a direct cause of the recent InBev buyout I'm sure that didn't help matters.
As stated don't put all the blame on InBev for this maneuver as A-B was already working to reduce costs, but as I stated in my earlier posts let's not kid ourselves either. As I've said many times, the biggest loss in this InBev situation isnot A-B, it'sthe workers that are going to lose their job's, and in today's economy thats a shame. I'm sure that InBev will be instituting their own cost cutting manuevers, but let's hope its not too extreme.

Quick Note on a new Texas Brewery

I haven't posted anything on them for a quite a while, but Austin's newest brewery (512) is open for business and they are brewing a Pale Ale, Wit and an IPA. So far all the beers are available only on tap and only in the Austin area. The brewery is owned and operated by Kevin Brand who has a wealth of home brewing experience and like so many wanted to open his own brewery. Well it looks like he's done a good job so far. I sent him an email a bit ago inquiring as to whether or not they would make it to Houston. He responded that he is extremely busy just filling orders for the taps that he has in Austin but hopefully if they grow like he wants in the next few months (or years, hopefully not!!!) they'll make their way outside of Austin.

I know I've written about it before, but as nice as it is to have so many breweries coming into Texas its 10 times better seeing the number of new breweries that are starting up in our great state.

Boulevard Zon

After many recent posts on Green Flash I'm going back to another brewery thats new to the Texas scene, Boulevard Brewing. This one is their seasonal wit beer (Zon is Flemish for sun).
The Beer: Weighs in at 4.45% and pours a cloudy hazy straw color with a decent sized stark white head. The nose is citrusy and vibrant, bready, oranges, and grapefruit. The mouth was all of these things with a bit of the corriander spice coming through. Crisp and clean, a great hot Texas summer time beer. I'm a huge fan of wit beers for summer, not only for their drinkability but for their ability to pair with summer foods, whether grilled chicken, or a salad of summer greens with a light vinaigrette, a wit can hang with them all. Boulevard's version is right up there with one of the better wit's I've had. This one gets a strong B from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

Green Flash Barleywine

This post marks a bittersweet moment for me. Over the past week I've been plowing through Green Flash beers, left and right. This post will be the last of them for now as its the final beer from the San Diego brewery that I've been able to find at my local Spec's down in Clear Lake. Maybe there is more up in downtown, or maybe, just maybe Green Flash will be sending more of their beers to the Lone Star State. I can say that I'm happy to end it on a high note as barleywines are one of my favorite styles.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 10% and pours a cloudy brown with a thick white head. Sweet caramel malts on the nose with the slightest hints of citrusy malts. This nose is awesome, I could bury my face in this snifter glass all night. The mouth feel is thick, with notes of toffee, caramel, and a good smack of hoppy bitterness. Creamy, sooth, this a great sipping beer, and while it seems out of place for the Texas heat was quite tasty. Its got notes of cherry and whiskey that correlate to a tad bit of alcohol burn, but in a beer like this I don't mind it. I really enjoyed this one, and it gets a strong A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale

What better way to celebrate this months Session Theme of German Beer than partaking in a German style beverage. I've had almost everything Flying Dog has to offer, and posted on most of them. This one is a beer I've had before but its the first time I've had the opportunity to do a write up of my thoughts. The Tire Bite is Flying Dog's version of a Kolsch Beer, a beer that I am rather fond of. For this beer instead of using a chalice or pint glass I used the traditional Kolsch style glass.
The Beer: Weighs in at 5.0% just right for a Kolsch and pours a golden straw color with a rather thin stark white head. Lots of tiny bubbles evident, like a fine champagne. The nose is yeasty and bready. There is a lot of carbonation in the mouth, a good yeasty taste with a bit of hoppy bitterness. A solid if not spectacular example of the Kolsch Style. I still say Saint Arnold's Lawnmower is the best American example I've had. This one still gets a B- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

The Export of American Beer

After a long time of Americans importing other countries beer whether it be German Lagers or British Stouts and Porters it seems tides are turning. The countries that love good beer are now looking to America for inspiration. While this has happened in the past this year's Great British Beer Festival will feature more American Beers than ever before. A total of 17 American Craft Beers will be represented at the Festival which starts this week. While the article doesn't state which breweries will be among the 17 this its exciting to see other countries appreciating our craft beer movement.

A Quick Note on Saint Arnold's

With Tropical Storm Edouard coming ashore today I've got the day off work. No worries the storm's not that bad, but hey who's going to argue with a free day off? Not me! Today is as good a day as any to peruse the Internet for interesting beer related notes so I may be posting a few more times today. This first one is just a quick note on Saint Arnold Brewery and their new building they've purchased in downtown. They have got a bunch of pictures up along with a description of what the new place is going to look like. More bathrooms and A/C....heck that's good enough for me, everything else is just lagniappe.

The Session # 19 Announcement

Literally just posted on why I didn't participate in the Session # 18 and now we get the announcement for The Session 19. The host for this months virtual beer tasting session is Lootcorp a brewing blog. The theme this month is Deutches Beer, or German Beer. Here are the rules straight from the blog:

I want you all to focus on the wonderful contributions our German neighbors have made to the beer world. You can write about a particular German style you really enjoy, a facet of German beer culture which tickles your fancy, or any other way in which Germany and beer have become intertwined in your life. Bonus points for Bavarian-themed posts.

As someone who lived there for a short time and loves German Beers and the culture of beer over there I am extremely excited for this one. I'm already forming an idea of what I want to post so it should be a good one this month and one that I am definitely going to set some time aside to participate in. Due date is September 5th.

The Session #18 Roundup and my Participation

Well The Session 18 has passed my by and I didn't get a chance to participate. The Theme for the event this month was Anniversary Beers and frankly I haven't been drinking to many of those, instead delving into the new breweries that have been making their way to Texas. For instance I had a new one from Green Flash on Friday instead of popping open a special anniversary beer. So far I've had their Trippel and their Imperial IPA, both very good beers, Friday I bought the first six pack of beer, their Hop Head Red.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 45 IBU's and 6.0% abv, is dry hopped with Amarillo hops. It pours a reddish brown with a THICK taupe colored head. Hops floral and spicy on the nose with hints of sweet malts. The mouth is much maltier than anticipated and it was a nice surprise. I'd guess Viennese and maybe some crystal malts used in the fermentation both adding a nice flavor profile. Notes of caramel and then hops on the finish. Smooth and easy drinking. Very tasty, this one gets a strong B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

Now that my non-anniversary beer post is up, head over to the Barley Blog for the Session 18 roundup.

Beaver's Revisited

I've been to Beaver's Restaurant many times since my first visit and I've never left disappointed. The food is always top notch, the beer selection is great, and of course the cocktails are amazing. Their mixologist Bobby Heugel even has his own blog on cocktails, the well put together Drink Dogma. My wife and I went over to Beaver's on Wednesday for their Green Evening. The gist of the idea is that on Wednesday they'll offer an appetizer, a beer, and a cocktail that are all "green" and proceeds go to Green causes. Ahh a good excuse to drink! Not that I need one. The main purpose of this post though is to tell about an amazing beer related experience. Bobby is a pretty insane mixologist when it comes to developing ingredients for his cocktails, and he has a new one (well new to me) that blew my socks off: Stout Liqueur. He took Guinness, Victory Storm King and a porter whose name escapes me this morning, and created a liqueur with them. A little sip was all we were given and it was amazing, the flavors of the beer were still there, extremely concentrated notes of stout and roasted malts, mixed with the liquor. It was incredible to think that this nectar started out as three different and distinct beers. It was something that I never would have thought of and an industrious use of putting beer into cocktails.

Monday Afternoon Quick Hits

A few notes around the world of beer this beautiful Monday afternoon.

- The Today show talks craft beer. Specifically good summer beers, with a nice focus on one of my favorites, Kolsch.

- In my recent interview with Brock Wagner of Saint Arnold's we talked about him getting involved in the community. Well they will be participating in the upcoming White Linen Nights in the Heights. A unique outdoor event in the Houston Heights "Championing art, culture, and community." Saint Arnold's will be providing some much needed refreshments. Needless to say I'll be attending.

- Lastly, don't forget that this Friday is The Session # 18.

Green Flash Trippel

Just a few days ago I had my first Green Flash and I'm already a big fan. Such a fan in fact that I have eagerly picked up another one of their beers to try out. Another one of their big bottled beers, this time going from an American staple to a Belgian one.
The Beer: Pouring this one into a Duvel glass it weighs in at 8.5% (a little low compared to other trippel's) and looks a golden orange color capped with a thick frothy dense bright white head. The nose is fruity, hoppy, apricots, and white grapes along with other citrusy notes. The mouth is full of effervescence, like pop rocks going off in your mouth. There are notes of honey, lemoncello, caramel, candied sugar and white fruits. This one is NICE! Very crisp. The only negative is there is a bit of astringency and alcohol burn at the finish. A great trippel. This one gets a strong B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Green Flash Imperial IPA

You know I gotta say it, I love my wife. I come home the other day from a long day at work and I find a note on the door saying there's a surprise in the fridge. I head on over to the kitchen and open the door to find a wonderful bottle of Green Flash IIPA. How awesome is that??? Green Flash Brewery is one more brewery that has made its way into Texas to distribute their beers. I've heard a lot about this San Diego Brewery but never had the chance to try their beers, until now! I've said it once I'll say it again, it seems like there is a new brewery coming into Texas every month and I don't think there has ever been a better time to be a lover of craft beer in the Lonestar state than right now.
The Beer: Pouring this one into a snifter. It weighs in at 9% and 101 IBU's and pours a golden honey color with a half inch frothy white head. The nose unsurprisingly is all hops....make that HOPS. Citrus, pine, and lemon custard. The mouth is hoppy but it doesn't pop you over the head, instead it slowly penetrates your taste buds, slowly and sip by sip leaving them saturated with hoppy goodness. Its got a great mouth feel, full of citrus, apricots along with some earthy notes. Surprisingly this DIPA is drinkable, I mean you couldn't have multiple in one sitting, but this one doesn't hit you over the head, the affect is there, it's just slower in creeping up on you. Great great beer, this one gets an B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Full Sail LTD 02

The week starts with a special offering from Full Sail Brewing out of Hood River, Oregon. They're known for making pretty solid beers and I'm a HUGE fan of their Session beer which is exactly what its name says it is. Lately they've started to release a limited series of beers Each beer a special one time only recipe (sound familiar?). Now these aren't necessarily extreme beers, just good solid ones. The O2 LTD is a limited edition lager made with Saaz hops, Viennese malts. wheat malts and caramel malts.
The Beer: This one weighs in at a slightly high 6.4% and pours a nice clear copper color with a thick off white head. The nose is roasty Viennese malts. Rich and caramel-y on the nose with slight coppery notes. On the mouth its rich, tasty, malty, slightly sweet of caramel. Light notes of honey and molasses. A good solid beer almost like a bock. Smooth and crisp. The only turn off here is that its a little sweet for me. Regardless this one gets a solid B from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.