Beer Wars: A review

Just got home from seeing the movie Beer Wars. Its the craft beercentric movie being labeled a David vs Goliath story. If you are in the craft beer scene it seems that you have been inundated with advertisements to this film (which is a bit like preaching to the choir don't ya think?). Well I went to my local theatre down here in the CLC, and if you've been following me on Twitter, you know that the theatre wasn't packed at all. In fact I'd put the number of people there at right around 20, so very very sparse. I'll be interested to hear if the theatres that were down town had a bigger crowd. Before the movie started, they showed a series of clips, and some beer trivia and 'beertoid's' which was kinda fun. Then when the LIVE event started it was at a theatre with writer, director, producure Anat Baron. She gave an intro to the film and thanked those that worked on it. Let me say she is not very comfortable in front of the camera and was pretty stiff (this should have been a warning for the film). Then the movie started. I won't go into every detail of the film, but I'll hit the highlights.
It mainly followed two people in the beer industry showing how they competed against the big guys. One was the great Sam Calagione of Dogfish, the other was Rachel Kallman who I think is the owner or marketing person for Moonshot Beer a beer made with caffeine. The documentary really shows her struggle of trying to get this product off the ground and into stores. They use the struggle to show the issues that all craft beer's have in wedging their products in between the ever expanding line up of Macro Brewers as well as the issues of getting beer distributors to pick up their products in the first place. Dogfish was shown as the brewery that has made good. That struggled and has overcome and is expanding beyond peoples wildest imagination. Throughout the film there are interview with 'beer people'. The great Charlie Papazian, Todd Alstrom of Beer Advocate, Greg Koch of Stone, Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew. The main points the film gets across is 1) The fact of Macro Breweries marketing beer, but not letting consumers know that they are behind it (think Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale. Can you tell that's an A-B product by the label?); 2) How the three tier system has made it hard for craft brewers to get into the market; 3) How the Macro Breweries work the retail stores to ensure they get the most space and the best location in the cooler; 3) How much power the Beer Industry/Distributors have in DC. All in all its an interesting film but one that I have a lot of issues with.
1) The pacing and narration of the film is pretty bad. Anat may be passionate about the subject but her narration is incredible stiff and almost jerky in its delivery.
2) I have to agree with Mr. Alstrom, why is a 'beer' like Moonshot in this film anyways? They could have chosen a much better subject to showcase a struggling brewer just trying to survive. There is a reason Ms Kallman is finding it difficult to market her beer, its crap. I hate to say it, but there it is, no one wants a Caffeine Beer.
3) I said it before, I'll say it again. I feel like its preaching to the choir. I don't think I really learned anything I didn't already know, and I'll bet for the most part that the people that went to see this film are already converts to the Craft Beer scene and support 'the little guy'. So whats the purpose of this film?

That about wraps up my review of the film itself, however next was the LIVE part of this event. After the film there was a panel discussion moderated by Ben Stein. The panel consisted of Mr. Papazian, Greg Koch, Sam Calagione, Rachel Kallman, Maureen Ogle, Todd Alstrom, and Ms Baron. This was a very interesting idea that was pretty shaky throughout and never really seemed to hit a good rhythm. Mr. Stein trying to guide the discussion was at times uncomfortable because it was evident he had no idea what he was talking about. At times he and Ms Baron didn't seem to have a clue as to what the next thing to do was. Were they going to show a clip or ask one of the panelists a question? After a while it got into a better groove and they actually had some good discussion. One of the better debates was between Ms. Ogle and Mr. Koch and Calagione. On one side you had Ogle saying that in America everyone strives to be the biggest and the best and that's historically how its been. Even A-B started small before they became this monolithic creature. On the other side you had the folks from Stone and Dogfish saying they didn't want to be big, they wanted to be able to be artisan and smaller. I think in a way Ogle is right and had one of the better lines of the night when she told them to come talk to her in 10 years and we'll see if they still think they won't grow to be huge companies.

All in all it was a good event and a rather decent documentary. It was shaky at times, but it had a very important point, especially in today's time. The point being at least in my mind is that it is hard for the small guy to make it in this world of huge corporations, and that as consumers we do have a choice. As American's a place where entrepeneurs have florished, don't we as consumers have an obligation to help support the little guys. Those people whether they are making bread, or cheese or beer and making it in a craft manner, isn't it better to support those people than the large corporations? The problem is, did the point get to the right people? Only time will tell.

Abita Abbey

This past Easter my wife surprised me with a special beer to celebrate the day with. A beer from Louisiana's Abita brewing. This is the second of Abita's Big Beer series and I enjoyed the first so I was pretty excited to see this one, their Abbey Ale. There is more to this beer than just whats in side though. For every bottle sold 25 cents goes to St. Joesph's Abbey, in Convington, LA. Personally I think that's pretty neat. Having said all that, I know you want to know how whats in the bottle tastes.
The Beer: This Dubbel style ale comes in at 8.0% abv, and pours a slightly cloudy brown with hints of red streaks throughout. Its capped by a very stark white head. The nose is of candied sugar, plums, brown sugar even, cloves, caramel. The mouthfeel has some effervescent quality to it. There are notes of candied sugar, yeast, breadyness, apricot, some cloves in there. There a sourness and tartness there. There are some dark fruits like raisins, and plums, but not much. I would have liked to have seen a little more of that. There's a sense of burnt sugar in the mouth as well, that's not unpleasant. A good beer that gets a B from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Top 50 Breweries

Today the Brewers Association released a list of the top 50 Craft breweries in the country and the top 50 over all breweries. An interesting list to be sure. Its ranked by beer sales volume (based on 2008 sales. The link to the list is here. However I did want to point a couple of interesting things out. The larges craft brewery Boston Beer Co is also the 4th largest brewery overall. In the craft brewery list there are two Texas breweries represented, Spoetzl maker of Shiner and Pete's brewery in San Antonio. Spoetzl is also the 10 largest brewery over all. Nice to see some Texas representation. One complaint with this list is I would have liked to see the volume numbers listed. It would have been nice to compare a Boston Beer Co, with a A-B, or a New Belgium with a brewery like North Coast out of California. Still an interesting list.

Real Ale Sisyphus 2008

On December 7, 2007 I posted my tasting notes on the 2007 version of Real Ale's barleywine Sisyphus. It was rather outstanding. Through December I waited, and waited for the 2008 to make it my local Spec's, my only reprieve coming in late January when I was able to have a glass of the well aged 2005 Sisyphus. Where or where was the 2008? Rumors came that it wasn't going to be bottled, but those were quickly squashed, but still no Sisyphus. Finally I made it to the downtown Spec's a couple of weekends ago and what did my wondering eyes find? Sisyphus 2008! Yes! I picked up a bottle or two (ok ok, more than that) putting one in the fridge. It took a while, but I finally had time to crack it open, sit down and really enjoy this beer.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at around 10-11% abv. It pours a slightly cloudy orange along with a thin off-white head. Up front there is an abundance of hops, citrus, apricots, bready. The mouthfeel is thick and tongue coating. Hoppy, resin-y, citrus, grapefruit peel. Apricots with a lot of malt backbone. Yes hops are the king here, but its balanced. Not a lot of alcohol burn with this one, it only showed up later as the beer warmed. There is a marmalade like sweetness to the finish, really good. I'm interested to see how this one will age. The hops may start to dissipate, and the malt become more concentrated with some raisin notes or some bourbon feel to it. We'll see, as I have a few bottles that I'll be aging. This one, the current fresh year, is very good and gets an A- from me.

Schnoor Brau Dunkel

My wife just returned from a week and a half business trip to Bremen, Germany, and brought back some beer for me (what a great wife). Now Bremen is the home of Beck's and St. Pauli Girl so I wasn't quite sure what my wife would be able to bring back that would be a local beer. I sure didn't want Bremen's big local beers! However, I shouldn't have worried the particular beer she brought me was from what seems to be a pretty small brewery in Bremen called Schnoor. From what I can find out about it the only beer they make is a Dunkelbier, so no euro pale lager's! Sounds good so far, let's see how it tastes.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at 5.2% and pours a brownish amber with a good half inch off white head. The nose is primarily of roasted malts, caramel, then a wave of floral hops. The mouthfeel on this beer is medium body, a little carbonation. There are flavors of caramel, roasted malty sweetness, rye bread, an earthiness and mineralness to the taste as well. Its somewhat light, very drinkable beer. It shows that a lighter beer can have a great amount of flavor. This is a beer that one could drink many of in a beer hall in Bremen (and I'm sure they do). I enjoyed this one, it gets a B from me.

Upcoming Houston Beer Events

April is shaping up to be a pretty good month for craft beer lovers as there are several events worth checking out.
- This week is Cask Appreciation week and in celebration Saint Arnold's is hosting a special Twitter crawl this Thursday. The crawl will be held downtown and at the end a special cask ale will be tapped. The event starts at the Brewery Tap (717 Franklin St). There will be 3 stops total the subsequent ones being sent out via Twitter. However, I think Flying Saucer has let the cat out of the bag so to speak as they are tapping a cask of Saint Arnold's Bourbon Barrel Stout that same night, so unless there are two cask tappings I think that will be the final stopping point. Unfortunately me working the night shift this week at my real job will keep me from participating, but if you have the chance you should definetely check it out.
- As mentioned many times, next Thursday the 16th of April, THE craft beer move Beer Wars will be released one night, and one night only. Please go and support this movie, there are quite a few places that its showing in our fair city.
- On the 17th of April Blanco, Tx's own Real Ale will be hosting a very special event at the Alamo Drafthouse to tap an exclusive cask of their new Drafthouse ESB.
- The very next Saturday April 18th, Gingerman is hosting a Belgian Beer tasting, with food provided by Chef Michael O' Connor. Cost is $35.00, reservations are highly recommended.
- Lastly, and as previously mentioned Saint Arnold's and Brenner's will be hosting what looks to be an amazing Beer Dinner on April 23rd. Its not cheap, but it should be a wonderful evening of great food and beer.

These were just the special events, but there are numerous weekly things always going on in Houston. In addition to the special cask being tapped this Thursday, the Flying Saucer is tapping a special keg every Thursday. A when its gone its gone special. Past kegs have been DFH 120 minute IPA and DFH FORT. Wednesday nights at both the Saucer and Gingerman is Pint glass night, buy the pint keep the glass.

Like I said April looks to be a great month to support craft beer in Houston.
You also may notice I've added a list of the upcoming events. If anyone finds out something that should be added let me know.

The Session # 26 Round Up

Lew over at his Seen Through a Glass blog has posted a wonderful write up from the past session. This month saw around 30 folks trying Smoked Beers, some for the first time. That's in a nut shell why I think the Session could be a great thing, it opens folks up to new beers. Go check out the session (where you're truly got corrected, Rauchbiers are from Bamburg and NOT Hamburg, DOH!, I knew that, I just had Hamburg on my mind for some reason).

As for the next session? The host for next month is Joe and Jasmine of the Beer at Joe's Blog. The theme looks rather interesting: Beer Cocktails, Beyond A black and tan.
Here's the question they want you to answer:

What’s your favorite beer cocktail (and yes, despite the title of this post, it can be a black & tan or a shandy)? Find a recipe for that or a new one, try it, and tell us why you did or didn’t like it–even if you think beer cocktails are nothing but a good way to waste a beer. Have fun and try something new!

Off the top I must say I'm not a huge fan of beer blends, or beer cocktails, but as I said at the beginning of the post The Session should be used to open your mind to new things, so I'll go into this session with just that, hoping to find something new. (Plus it will give me an excuse to go to Anvil and see what those folks can make me). Due date for the session is May 1st. Check back then and see how it all turns out.

Avery Brabant No. 1

If you've been following my twitter feed you know that I made my way to Houston's Flying Saucer for a very special beer this past Friday: Avery's Brabant No 1. This is the first in a series of beers that Avery brewing will be doing. Each beer will be unique and barrel aged. This one is definitely an anything goes kinda beer. A beer made with two strains of Brett then aged in Zinfindel barrels for 8 months. You can see why I was excited to try this beer. First though a note on what a Brabant is. A Brabant is a work horse and is also called the European Belgian horse. Looking at some of these pictures, one could just imagine a slew of these magnificent animals carrying a wagon full of Belgian ale through the streets.
The Beer: This came in a 12 oz bottle and weighs in at 8.7% abv. It pours a deep dark brown almost black color with a thin taupe colored head. My first impression was "wild and funky". There are yeasty bretty notes in the nose, barnyardy, sour cherries, then finally roasted malts, raisins and even figs. My friend who was with me said it reminded him of being back home in Iowa. The mouthfeel is thick, tart and sour cherries. Horsey. Its rich, there is a wave of malts and raisins, figs and a bit of oakiness underneath the funk. Its actually surprisingly smooth finish. As it warms notes of sour bitter dark chocolate come out. Then may be one of my favorite Brett beers. This is not a beer for the faint of heart, for someone just getting into craft beer, its an acquired taste to be sure, but once you acquire it, its amazing. This is a beer that if presented to one who knows only BMC it would blow their minds. It shows everything a beer can be, and how amazingly complex it is. Its solid and gets an A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

The Session # 26: Smoke 'em if you've got 'em

Its the first Friday of April which means its Session time. For the unititiated the first Friday of every month is designated as The Session. A virtual beer tasting hosted each month by a different blogger of beer, and each with a different theme. This month's host is Lew Bryson, the theme is Smoked Beers.
I gotta say I was pretty excited about this month's theme. The style is somewhat rare, and there aren't many to choose from in the Houston market, but it shows how complex beers can be even when made with 4 simple ingredients: hops, yeast, water, and malt. Its malt in this case that is the important ingredient. No matter what style of smoked beer you sample this month, the malt is the key, its the part that gives it that smokey flavor. One of the flavor components that I always uses concerns the malty flavor of a beer, it may be toasty, or roasted malts or even choolately. This comes from the way that malts are dried, which today is mostly through roasting. However this wasn't always the case, malts used to be smoked over wood fired. This is still the traditional method used in Hamburg, Germany, the center of the world for smoked beers (or rauchbier). Hamburg not only makes many different smoked beers, they also produce most of the smoked malts that are used by breweries around the world. Smoked malts give beer a unique flavor (think of Scotch where the whiskey producers use peat smoked malt), that can range from smokey, woody, and even smell like bacon (my personal favorite). I've been fortunate to have a rauchbier from Hamburg, and I've been able to compare it to some American versions as well. For this Session I sampled an American version of smoked beer: Stone Smoked Porter.
The Beer: This beer weighs in at 5.9% and pours a rich dark dark brown almost black with a thin taupe colored head. The nose is rich and malty, initially more chocolately notes before noticing a slight smokyness a little bit of brisket. The mouthfeel is thick and chocolatey, roastey, and woody. Its very dry, it seems to suck the moisture from my mouth. There is some smokeyness, but its subtle, a little too subtle for me. There are notes of raisins, and figs and light coffee notes. A very solid porter, but lacking in much smokeyness. I was really hoping for something a little bit more in my face, especially from Stone who is known for putting some potent beers out there. Its good, but not great, and gets a B- from me.

Well that's it for me for this month's session, check back later this weekend for a link to the roundup.

Beer Wars, A reminder

A quick note to all who read this here blog. If your a lover of craft beer, or your getting interested in it, one of the most important movie releases is just two weeks away. Beer Wars, a movie detailing the rise of Craft Breweries and their fight against the big boys. This movie could be HUGE for spreading the Craft Beer word Unfortunately it's distribution is such that it will only be released one day, and one day only, April 16 at select theatres. For those like me that live in Houston here are the theatres its playing at:
AMC Gulf Point 30 Houston, TX
AMC Willowbrook 24 Houston, TX
Houston Maq*E Stadium plus IMAX Houston, TX
Cinemark Memorial City Hall Houston, TX
AMC Deerbrook 24 Humble, TX
Cinemark 19 Katy, TX
Cinemark 18 Webster, TX

For info on buying tickets go here.
I encourage everyone to go, and if you want to meet up at a particular theatre let me know and maybe we can get a group to attend.

Sam Adams Imperial Stout

I'm a fan of the Boston Beer Co, makers of Sam Adams brews. I think they make an incredibly solid line of beer (even if they make the worst beer I've ever had). From their ubiquitous Sam Adams Lager (always an easy choice when its that or BMC products) to their boundary pushing Utopia they are a brewery that is at the forefront of ingenuity in my mind. Plus they do a lot of good for the beer community. From the Longshot Series of beers that allows home brewers the chance to have their recipe made and distributed by BBC, to the Hop Sharing program which allows those breweries who are running short on hops to buy some from BBC at a fair price. These show that Jim Koch is conscientious owner. The latest thing that has gotten me excited about Sam Adams is their Imperial Series of beers. All released in four packs they are an Imperial White, Imperial Stout and a Dopplebock. All have made it to our local Spec's so it was with great excitement that I picked up a four pack of Sam Adams Imperial Stout. Before we get into my tasting notes, a bit about the style.
The Style: First the technical bits (taken from the Beer Judges Certification Program). Aroma should be decidedly roasty with notes of fruity esters, hops, dark fruit and alcohol. The roasted malt usually takes on characteristics of coffee or dark chocolate. Color of course is dark black ranging from Jet black at its darkest to a slightly lighter dark reddish brown. The head is thick and usually very dark. Finally you're looking for a strong malty intensely roasty and bitter flavor. Hop bitterness can be mild (although not always the case) therefore the heavily roasted malts is what creates this bitterness. The beer can taste burnt at times like burnt espresso beans at it most intense. Alcohol content is usually between 8-12 percent and these are beers that can be aged. The history of this ale is pretty unique. When visiting England Russian Czarina Catherine the Great fell in love with British Stouts. When she left to return to Russia she brought back barrel loads, however, upon arrival these stouts had soured and spoiled. Needless to say Catherine the Great, was greatly pissed, so upon hearing of this a British brewery brewed a higher octane Stout, something that would be strong and hopefully survive the trip from England to Russian. Well it survived alright and Catherine the Great loved it, which is why we have a beer called Russian Imperial Stout that wasn't brewed in Russian, just brewed for them (well at least one Russian in particular).
The Beer: This one weighs in at 9.2% and pours an oily jet black with a good sized cafe colored head. Dark chocolate, raisins, figs are all apparent in the nose. The mouthfeel is thick, and chewy. I tasted burnt espresso, dark coco nibs, molasses, raisins, toffee. There is almost a chalky texture to this one that makes me feel like I am tasting a little bit of coco dust. A sense of a chocolate souffle. Very nice. Very little alcohol flavor to this one. Lacing up and down the sides of this glass. This is a good one for sure. It gets an A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

Monday Quick Hits

Today marks what has become a rare dose of quick hits. Newsy bits around the web abound!
- First, Anvil Bar and Refuge is OPEN! I've mentioned this place in the past as I tracked its progress. It's run by some of the bartenders that used to work at Beavers. Their concept is to serve the freshest cocktails around specializing in prohibition era drinks. They also serve a good wine list and an amazing beer list (or what will be an amazing list). Currently they only have beer by bottle, a great selection of Texas and national craft beers as well as some Belgian. Soon they will have their tap system installed of 12 rotating taps. I've already been there a couple of times, but will wait until their tap system is in place before giving my review of the place. I will say for someone that doesn't drink a lot of cocktails, the things they do at this place are amazing. For a good interview with one of the bartenders Bobby Heugel, check this out.

- Secondly comes a case of tooting my own horn. I don't normally do this, but it points out some other really interesting blogs as well. Over the past two weeks your humble beer correspondent has been written up in various food blogs of Houston. First two mentions in back to back weeks at the Houston Chron's A Cooks Tour. Lastly a mention in She Eats another Houston based food blog. Go check these out, not for mentions of me but for the other really great blogs that folks in Houston are writing.

- Lastly a reminder that The Session #26 is this Friday. The theme is Smoke 'em if you got 'em. That's right Smoked Beers! The host is beer writer Lew Bryson.

Flying Dog's Canis Major Mix Pack

I've been a fan of Flying Dog's beers ever since I was introduced to their wares at their original brewery in downtown Denver. For whatever reason I haven't had many of their beers since they moved across country to Maryland. Well that has now changed. This past weekend I made a journey up to Spec's Downtown and saw Flying Dog's Canis Major Mix pack. Now this is not just any mix pack. It contains two bottles of Flying Dog's Big beers. Big as in high alcohol. Two each of Horn Dog Barley Wine, Kerberos Tripel, Gonzo Imperial Porter, and Double Dog Pale ale. However, the coolest part of this pack was the bottles. These were packaged in 7.0 oz bottles instead of the traditional 12 oz. I think this is a brilliant way to package stronger beers as you can have a couple of bottles and not be plastered so kudos to Flying dog as they are the only brewery that I know of that packages in this way. Another reason that I was excited to see this mix pack is that its the only way we can get Gonzo Imperial Porter and their Tripel as for whatever reason they don't ship those two to Texas. So as I've had the Horn Dog and Double Dog before I dove into the mix pack for the other two.
Kerberos Tripel: I love tripels as I believe they are the Champagne of beer (no that is NOT Miller High Life), and have a lot of similar characteristics of toasted bread, bubbles, yeasty notes, etc. So let's see how this one pairs up. It weighs in at 8.5% and pours a golden orange color with a quarter inch bright white head. The nose is of honeysuckle, pears, fruity sweet yeast notes. The mouth feel is poppy, but not much a little flatter than expected. There are peppery notes, honey, pears, candied sugar. A little boozy. Its missing some of the biscuity flavors and some of the bubbly mouthfeel I love in a tripel. The flavors are good, but its just missing a little oomph. It gets a B- from me. Here's what the folks at BA have to say.
Gonzo Porter: The label calls this an Imperial Porter, but most would call it a Baltic Porter. These are named after the Baltic area in Eastern Europe where they took English Porter and amped it up quite a bit to higher alcohol levels. This one weighs in at 7.8% and a hoppy 85 IBU's. It pours an inky dark brown with a thick rich brown colored head. The nose is full of molasses, chocolate, citrusy hops, and coco nibs. The mouthfeel is think and tongue coating. Rich dark chocolate, raisins, and grapefruityness. Its a bitter beer, bitter times 2. One level of bitterness hits you from the deep dark chocolate malts, the other bitterness hits you from the citrusy hops. Very different, but they compliment each other. Think of dark chocolate covered orange peel and you get the idea (not quite as citrusy as that though). Some vanilla flavors show up as it warms. Very nice. This one gets a B+ from me. Lots of BA praise for this one.

Boulevard Saison

I'm a huge fan of this brewery from Kansas city, especially their Smokestack Series. All of these are bottle conditioned, packaged in a Champagne like bottle with a cork and cage closure. There are four in the Houston market and this is the last and latest one I've had the opportunity to try. This will be a pretty short post today, but I wanted to point out that I love Saison's as a style because they are generally very food friendly.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 6.2% and pours a cloudy golden honey color with a thick white head. The nose is apples and pears with fruity yeasty notes and spice. The mouthfeel is bright and bubbly and effervescent. There are peppery notes, tartness. Crisp and clean, and a small mild sourness a little bit of hoppy bitterness. Some pear and apple notes in the taste as well. A very palate pleasing beer this one gets a a B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Indpendence Brewing Jasperilla Old Ale

This beer is from a small brewery in Austin. They only make a few beers, and by all accounts most of them are pretty run of the mill, however one beer they do make that's special is their Jasperilla Old Ale. Named after the brewers dog, its packaged in a bomber bottle. I've had this beer once before and found it to be lacking. But that was back in September of 07 and I haven't tried another one since then. When I saw that Independence had released it again I thought what the heck let's give it another try. First though a little bit on the style.
The Style: As before I take the style notes from the Brewing Judges Certification Program guidelines. The aroma should be matly sweet with dried fruit, kind of like a sherry or port. It usually pours a darkish amber with a limited head. The taste should be nutty, malty, with some alcohol evident. One of the more curious things about Old ale is its name. It doesn't mean the beer is old. At one time Old Ale and barleywine were synonymous however those two styles have diverged to mean and represent two different styles. These beers are what used to be known as 'malt wine's' back in the mid 1800's. While most are agable, very few of them are well aged when released.
The Beer: This particular ale has been aged for 6 months and weighs in at a hefty 9.3% abv. The beer pours a copper color with at thin taupe colored head. Biscuity notes on the nose, yeasty, caramel, fruityness and a bit of alcohol burn in the nostrils. The mouthfeel is thick, with notes of slightly sweet fruit, dried fruit, berries, plums, raisins, a tartness before finishing with a slight alcohol burn. As it warms I get the impression of biscuits with marmalade and some bourbony oaky vanilla woodiness. Although not aged in wood as far as I can tell from the Independence Brewing Website it definitely has that feel. A little boozy may be my only real complaint here. This one get me back interested in Independence Brewery again, maybe the last bottle was bad, maybe my palate wasn't good, who knows, but this bottle was very nice and gets an A from me. Its been a while since I've had an Old Ale and I think additional research is necessary. As shocking as it may be I've never had one of the more classic examples of the style: Theakston's Old Peculiar. I'll have to find it now.

A quick Beer and Food Post

Well fresh off my rant from earlier today about the lack of a quality beer and food scene in the fine city of Houston, I receive some wonderful news. On April 23rd Saint Arnold's will be hosting a 7 course Beer dinner at Brenner's Steakhouse. This is not just any food and beer pairing, this will be some really good food, paired with great Saint Arnold's beers. No word if it will be only the regular line up or if Saint Arnold's will have something special for the occasion. Stay tuned because as I find out more I'll post on it.

Houston Wine Scene vs. Houston Beer Scene

As most of you know by know I have started to twitter, one of the more interesting aspects of doing that is the folks I have had the pleasure of following and finding out what they are doing/thinking/reading. A lot of the folks I follow are in the local Scene, whether they be Houston bar owners, chefs, or food writers. It's this last category that has me writing today. Yesterday a local food blogger wrote this article about the state of Houston's food and wine scene. Its an article that I pretty strongly disagree with. The basis is that we are trying to be New York, or other food centric cities and are failing. I say thank God we are failing. I don't want us to be like other cities, and I think the author overstates that Houston tries. I think a lot of the food people in this town celebrate the things that are great in this city, good seafood, oysters, taco trucks, beef (this is Texas, we love our meat). Could you say that some restaurants try to emulate other more famous ones in other cities? Yes? Can you say that Houston has no zoning laws and has miles and miles, and miles of eye sore strip malls? Yes, but that's Houston. Love it or don't that's part of the soul of Houston. Go pick up Houston Its Worth It. But the point of this post is not to belabor the twittering back and forth the above article created on the Houston Wine scene, but to discuss how it relates to the Houston Beer scene. I think Houston's wine scene is pretty good. You have some good retailers in Spec's, Richards, and Houston Wine Merchant, some great places to sit, relax and have some wine, Tasting Room, Wine Bucket, Cork, Sonoma, Corkscrew, 13 Celsius, and many more. Finally you have some restaurants with great wine lists, and finally restaurants like Feast, and Reef that fight for good wines and lower costs. So while its not perfect its far from horrible even for a city this size.
Now let's compare that with beer shall we. Not counting grocery stores (which have decent wine selections) you have one retailer with a good beer selection and that's Spec's. Yes you do have some great places to have a pint: Gingerman (by the way something New York got from Houston), Flying Saucer, Stag's Head, Little Woodrows, Petrol Station, and a few more. Then you have those restaurants that serve good food and good beer...wait what restaurants. Now we get to the crux of the matter. For there are none. Places like Woodrows and Gingerman its all about the beer (and hey that's OK), for others like Stag's Head and Mucky Duck its the British food theme, and lastly places like Saucer its bar food, sandwiches and pizza that's nothing to write home about. Where is the great food places and beer? Even though Texas Micro Brew scene is small many restaurants could have a diverse beer menu with just Texas brews available. Complex and tasty beers like Saint Arnold's Elissa IPA to go with spicy foods, Live Oak's Hefeweizen for lighter fare like salads, or cold served fish, Southern Star's new Buried Hatchet Stout with desert or oysters (mmm stout and oysters), Real Ale Rye Pale Ale, Rahr and Sons Ugly Pug, Real Ales Coffee Porter (made with Katz's coffee), the list goes on and on of beers that should be in fine restaurants and would compliment their foods, but for whatever reason chef's and restaurateurs won't step up. If Houston was just a 'trendy' city wouldn't they have already done this? From coast to coast, and places in between (including Dallas) restaurants are creating beer lists, they are having beer dinners, creating perfect matches between their food and craft beer. When will Houston Restaurants do the same? Reef, one of the best restaurants in Houston one that has fought for lower wine prices, their beer list is atrocious, with only Shiner being locally made and semi-craft. Feast? Another great restaurant with a good food friendly wine list? Fuller's is about as good as it gets. Why won't a Houston restaurant/Chef step up and serve great beer next to their great food?

Abita Andygator

Tonight's beer is from semi-local, and near to my hear brewery Abita from Louisiana. As I've said before along with Texas's Shiner, Abita as my go to beer in college as it was one of the few non BMC products available to me. Plus I always liked that they said the water used in brewing was from Abita Springs...hey as hokey as it might sound beer brewed from spring water was a good hook line for a college kid. This particular beer Andygator, is part of Abita's expanded line into Texas which now includes their big bottle series of which this is one of them. I have actually had this one, on draft on Bourbon St., a few years back so I was eager to try it again when I could actually focus on the beer. However before I get to the beer, let me digress into discussing the style this beer represents. As the brewery states this is a Helles Dopplebock an interesting combination of styles. Let's discuss each one separately before putting them together. First off Helles, as the Beer Judge Certification Program Guidelines tells us, Helles, or Munich helles is usually a low IBU, low alcohol, pale golden lager. Primary scents include cereal grains, and pale malt flavors. The beer was first brewed back in 1894 in Munich (hence the name) as an answer to the influx of Czech Pilsners. However unlike Czech Pilsners that had more of a hoppy note, these beers were maltier with a bready flavor. Now onto the second part of this beer, Dopplebock. Again the BJCP Guidelines let us know to expect a strong malty flavor with virtually no hop flavor, usually deep gold to brown in color, with rich malty, maybe chocolately flavors and a full body. Dopplebocks were traditionally brewed in Germany by monks to be drunk during Advent and Lent, when people were fasting and needed nourishment from the beer they drank instead of the food they weren't eating. The first Dopplebock was released in the 1700's and most traditionally have had the suffix -ator (think the traditional Celebrator, Optimator, or the original Salvator from Paulaner). All of these are deep rich, hearty brews of high alcohol and dark in color.
At first glance it seems that these two styles the golden pale lager Helles, and the rich deep brown Dopplebock are contradictory. How did Abita combine these two?
The Beer: This one weighs in at 8%, more like a Dopplebock than a Helles, but it pours a golden orangish yellow which is more like a helles. The IBU's are low at 25 which is par for both styles. The head is white, and thick, and frothy. The nose is of cereal grains, pale malts a slight bit of hops on the nose, snappy, floral. The mouthfeel is chewy, creamy. Notes of pale toasted malts, sweet honey and just a bit of alcohol. Not a lot of effervescent, bready, even biscuity flavors, but strong and sip worthy, much stronger than you think. A very tasty brew with a lot of bready type flavors. Like bready with honey butter. A very nice unique style of beer. This one gets a B from me. Here's waht the folks at BA had to say.

Collaboration not Litigation

Its seems I've had more and more collaboration beers, those beers that offer a taste of a beer made by two different breweries. This beer Collaboration not Litigation is a joint effort of Avery Brewing and Russian River. This is batch 3.
The Beer: This beer weighs in at 8.97% and pours a cloudy brown with a tan colored head. The nose is fruity, yeasty, grapes. The mouthfeel is creamy, and is effervescent, white grapes, candied sugar, smooth, yeasty, biscuity with a slightly sweet notes. Pears and honeysuckle finish this beer out. Very good. This one gets a B+ from me.

A very quick update on HB 2094

As stated earlier this week the new HB 2094 regarding the Texas Brewery Parity Amendment allowing brewers to sell a certain amount of beer direct to the public had a hearing in front of the Texas. Now I haven't heard much on how it went and unfortunately due to my day job (No its not writing about beer) I haven't had time to do to much research. However a great poster on Beer Advocate did have a good update so I will be posting his comment here:

The Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures today heard testimony on House Bill 2094, Rep. Jessica Farrar's bill that would allow Texas microbrewers to sell their product on the premises of their breweries as part of a tour package. The state's brewers were united in their support of the bill while the distributors were split -- one group testifying in support and one against. No action was taken and the committee has discretion to vote on the bill at a future meeting -- or not. The people who understand the poltical cogs that make the system work have identified two specific committee members that need a little extra convincing:

Representative Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton from Southeast Texas ( http://www.house.state.tx.us/membe ... ilton.php) and Representative Charlie Geren from NW Tarrant County ( http://www.house.state.tx.us/membe ... eren.php).

If you live in their district or know anyone who does, please make sure these two legislators know of your support for HB 2094.

You can watch today's testimony beginning at the 54 minute mark at this link (you need Real Player):

http://www.house.state.tx.us/fx/av ... 318a22.ram

As stated above I continue to urge everyone that cares about this issue to write to the two congressmen above. Let them know how important this is, beyond just beer drinkers, but how it will help the Texas economy in the long run.
More when I have time.

Update to Texas Beer Parity Law

Today brings a bad news, good news, ehhh news post on the Texas Beer Parity Amendment that has been discussed of late. First the bad news, at least what I think may be bad news. It seems that HB 1062 has stalled out in Committee. Even with the effort of writing our state reps it seems that this bill may be DOA. Not sure its a fact, but rumors are that its not going to make it out of committee, and that's a shame and continues to show how much power beer distributors (more on them in a second) have and how money talks and peoples wants don't.
Now for the good news. It seems State Rep Jessica Farrar (her of the HB 1926 fame) is at it again and has sponsored another beer parity amendment. HB 2094 has been written to allow breweries to sell their wares on site (sounds good doesn't it? and familiar?). The good news is that this bill seems to be moving through committee a little quicker and a public hearing has already been scheduled. The committe is the same as the one that HB 1062 went to, but as a refresher here is a list of the members. I encourage everyone to write to each member. But be quick, the hearing is scheduled for the 18th, yes I know its a quick turnaround. No idea what time of day, it will depend on how the other things discussed go.
Now for the last piece of news, the ehhhhh news. It revolves around the aforementioned HB 2094. While at first glance it looks an awfully lot like the previous bill, its not. It is of course more restrictive. For a full read here is the pdf version of the bill. If you don't want to read here are the highlights:
- The first section only applies to those that produce less than 75,000 barrels a year.
- The second second applies to those that produce less than 250,000 barrels a year. It allows those to sell ale or beer for on premise consumption or in unbroken packages for off premise consumption, however this may not exceed 5,000 barrels annually.
I have also heard although i can't tell by reading the bill that Breweries would only be able to sell beer during posted tour hours.
So why don't I like this bill? One it limits the amount of beer being sold, second it limits when beers can be sold. Again I ask why are breweries held to different and stricter standards than Texas Wineries? They have none of these restrictions, I just don't understand the difference. Now I will state that HB 2094 seems to have some Beer Distributor backing so it will probably pass. I can understand why they would support this bill over the less restrictive HB 1062 since it limits the amount any one brewery could sell. Having said all that I still encourage everyone to write the committee as getting something on the books is a start and if we can show we are not damaging Distributor's profits maybe they will be open to additional changes in the future. It may not be as good as we'd all like, but it is a start.

Beer Dinner's

A good food and beer article in the Dallas Morning News today, documenting the trend of having beer dinners. While this has been going on for quite some time on the East and West coast it has taken its sweet time making its way to the central part of the country. From the article it looks like Dallas is getting in on the trend and some restaurants are setting up some really fine beer and food pairings. One question: What about Houston? I know Saint Arnold's does some really good beer and cheese pairings with Houston's own The Dairy Maids, but I only know of one recent beer and food dinner and that was Beaver's and Real Ale, and that was months ago and not on a regular basis. Most of the Texas Breweries are in South Texas (Austin, Blanco, Houston, Conroe) not to far from Houston, why can't a Houston Restaurant step up and do a series of dinners based on beer (whether from Texas or not), but not just one, how about a monthly one, just as many restaurants do a big monthly or even weekly wine pairing menu? There's more to food and beer than just pub grub, why not show case that?
Ok enough with the rant, but go checkout the article.

The Session Roundup and Annoucnement

Fresh off of last weeks Lager centric session #25, the Beer Nut has posted his round up. 47 entries, very solid representation.
As always is the case, the Roundup of one session brings us the announcement of the next. Session #26 is being hosted by Beer writer Lew Bryson, the theme? Rauchbier. So as Mr. Bryson says Smoke em if you got em.
If only this theme had happened earlier as I just tried our local Rauchbier not to long ago. Oh well, it means I'll have to search something new out (and isn't that half the fun of the Session?).

Two years and two Foghorns

I guess the theme this week is two. Yesterday I posted on two beers from Boulevard's awesome smokestack series. Today its taking a look at two years of Anchor's Foghorn barleywine. I've been aging last years for well, a year, and did a comparison to the fresh version. For reference here is the link to my notes on last years Foghorn when it was fresh.
'07 Foghorn: Pours a dark chestnut with only a thin film of a head. The nose is of roasted malts, molasses and licorice. Mouthfeel is thick and tongue coating. Earthy, musty, hops, cherry, figs, licorice, prunes and molasses all find a place. Slightly sweet. Aged well, I wish I had more. This year I need to buy more and age them longer as this has held up very well and I think could hold up for a couple more years. Very nice. An A-.
'08 Foghorn: Cloudy brown with streaks of red capped by a taupe colored head. Floral hops, sweet roasted caramel malts, raisins, figs and molasses all show up on the nose. Creamy rich mouthfeel. Strong hop notes, much stronger than the aged version, less of the dark dried concentrated fruit flavors (although its there its much more subtle). Notes of caramel and toasted biscuits. A fine fine barleywine, one of my favorites. This one gets an A- from me.

Two Smokestacks

Boulevard Brewing, one of those breweries that entered the Texas market last year has two sets of beers. The first is their solid every day six packs, a wheat, a pale ale, a brown ale, seasonals etc. The second set is their big beer series, all corked, all bottle conditioned, called The Smokestack Series. It is from this set that I was able to enjoy two rather fine beers.
Double Wide IPA: This IPA weighs in at 8.5% and pours a brownish amber with a thick dense head of taupe colored foam. The nose is chock full of grapefruit-y citrus hops with malty sweetness and caramel. The mouthfeel is thick dense, tongue coating. Grapefruit hops up front, citrus peel tartness with hints of caramel sweetness, then flowing into a malty breadiness, before finishing up with a smack across the tastebuds of bitter citrus peel. A very nice IPA. This one gets an A from me. Here's what the folks at BA say.
The Sixth Glass Quadrupel: Ahh one of my favorite styles. This one weighs in at 10.5% pouring a cloudy chestnut brown with a thick dense cafe colored head. Malty raisins, figs, yeasty, fruity. Creamy tongue coating mouthfeel. Their is a fruity tartness from the yeast and dark fruits. Figs, raisins, candied sugar. The alcohol is hidden very well. Rich and sweet, and conentrated flavors. This one is another A- from me. The folks at BA enjoy it as well.

The Session # 25: Love Lagers

Its the first Friday of the month, which can only mean its Session Time! The host this month is The Beer Nut, the theme is Love Lager, to focus on those beers that no one does seem to love and why not. Initially I was excited about this month's session, I actually like lagers, and think that there some really special ones made. However, I got a note from the host, the Nut himself:

Nooooo! Don't go looking for a fancy, complex, connoisseur's lager. Or at least, compare one to those mass produced lagers you mention -- remember they're exotic foreign beers to me and lots of others. What do they taste like? What's wrong with them, and why do so many beer drinkers not care about what's wrong with them? That's what I'm trying to get at: those lagers which are part of the scenery where most of us live, but which almost never get a proper treatment in beer blogs.

Now as a former host of this amazing event, I' hoping I am not stepping on the hosts toes, but I guess I have problems with the above statement. I love to celebrate beer, beer that is art, beer that is craft, beer that has meaning, and of course tastes good. I have a hard time wrapping my head around why in the world would I want to taste a mass produced lager that isn't any of those things I just listed. It would be like having a cheese paring and tasting a great Stilton or Gouda with a slide of Kraft American Singles...why would you? I mean could I go out and find a lager in this state to do a tasting? Heck yes, besides the ubiquitous BMC products, Texas is also home to Lonestar and Pearl, two lagers that while not quite mass produced like BMC, taste like. The Beer Nut asks whats wrong with them? They don't taste good, they use cheap adjuncts and they lack any discernible complex flavor. They give beer a bad name.
So as you may have been able to tell I didn't want to do a tasting on some standard lager, luckily I got a chance to try something while not one of those fancy lagers, is not quite one of the every day lagers we beer advocates see in stores and quickly pass by.
The beer this month is Shiner's new Kosmos Reserve. This beer is available only in Shiner's new Family Reunion mixed six pack. Initially folks around Texas were hoping that this was the same version that was discontinued in the mid 90's, an all malt tasty thirst quenching every day lager. Well I'm not sure how much the recipe over all has changed since this, but this one is different its dry hopped which does add a whole new flavor to this beer (I would assume having never had the original). The beer is named for Kosomos Spoetzle the founder of Shiner a hundred years ago. He started the brewery making traditional German Lagers so I've always found it funny that Shiner didn't have one in their line up. So enough with the introductions, how does the beer taste?
The Beer: The beer pours a bright golden yellow with streaks of orange color throughout and a nice sized stark white head on top. The nose has honey and floral scents, toasted buttered bread, yeasty and doughy. The mouthfeel is vibrant, crisp and clean, but rather heavy for a lager. Toasted bread, and mild hop bitterness, floral like. A very smooth beer. There is a slight coppery taste in the beer. Over all the beer is very nice, a nice although short lasting hoppy bitter finish. Missing some depth, but I guess I don't really expect that from Shiner beers, just good solid drinkable brews and this one hits that mark solidly. This is a lager that Texans should be proud to call their own and if gets them away from drinking Lone Start as the beer of Texas that would be even better. Hopefully Shiner releases this one fully. Gets a B from me. The few folks that have reviewed it on BA tend to agree.

Well I'll be sending this on to the Beer Nut and while not perfectly within the scope of his Session I'm still very glad he hosted as it does get us thinking about why we don't choose our every day lagers and instead reach for something else, something better in my mind. Once he posts the round up I'll post a link to it.

A couple of updates to the Blog

Just a quick note to highlight some small changes to the blog.
- Under the misc Beer Links you'll see some additional links. Trying to add links to pubs/bars that have good beer lists. If you think I've missed one let me know and I'll add it.
- I've added a Twittering section at the top of the right side. Yes I am twittering (still not quite sure what that means, I'm learning) so if you want to follow you can click the follow button over on the right.

- A little background as to why I started twittering. Saint Arnold's is getting really into it and it was the only way I could follow some of the things they are doing. For instance a couple of weeks ago they did a twitter crawl, and yesterday they announced a very limited keg taping of a Belgian Amber ale that they brewed (unfortunately didn't get to try it, they are doing another tapping on Thurs so all hope is not lost). I like that Saint Arnold's is using other technology than just email to get the word out, plus it makes things a little smaller so you can have a chance to talk to Brock and the rest of the fine folks from Saint Arnold.

Avery Hog Heaven

I've had this beer once a long time ago on tap and I loved it, shocked by the hops from a barleywine. Its a year round beer from Colorado brewery Avery Brewing, but for whatever reason I've always found something else to pick up first before reaching for this barleywine. Well last week I saw it and couldn't resist its temptation.
The Beer: This barleywine weighs in at 100IBU and 9.2%. It pours a hazy brown with a thing taupe head. Malts (surprisingly) hoppy, sweet caramely. Mouthfeel is creamy. There is an abundance of grapefruity hops, and earthiness as well. A lot of citrus peel on the finish. This beer is as much of a DIPA as it is a barleywine. There is some malt notes it was my initial impression as I first sipped before the wave of hops comes crashing down on your tastbuds leaving one with that as the only impression. Very good beer, gets a B from me. Here's how the folks at BA feel.

A new Beer movie: Beer Wars

We've all seen beer portrayed in movies, but its usually not in a positive light, nothing more than somthing to guzzle in a teeny bopper movie. However that is not the case any more as there is a new movie out on beer. Not just any movie, this one could be the end all be all of beer movies. Director, produce documentarian Anat Baron has created a movie titled "Beer Wars." Its movie about the emergence of Craft Beer as they take on the big guys, BMC. From looking at her website and stuff being written about the movie (see this post in the Brookston Bulletin), this looks like an amazing film, something every lover of craft beer should go to. Except there is one catch. Right now it will be a one day showing: April 16th. One day only, for folks like you and me to have our voices heard and to see a film about a topic we love. She didn't get a huge rich distrubution deal, she's is doing this on her own. As she states in her blog we craft beer lovers are a passionate bunch so let's show the movie suits how passionate we can be by selling out every show on April 16th. For a complete list of theatres showing this film click here. For more on the flim, here's how Beer Wars website sums up the film:

In America, size matters. The bigger you are, the more power you have, especially in the business world.

Director Anat Baron takes you on a no holds barred exploration of the U.S. beer industry that ultimately reveals the truth behind the label of your favorite beer. Told from an insider’s perspective, the film goes behind the scenes of the daily battles and all out wars that dominate one of America’s favorite industries.

Beer Wars begins as the corporate behemoths are being challenged by small, independent brewers who are shunning the status quo and creating innovative new beers. The story is told through 2 of these entrepreneurs – Sam and Rhonda – battling the might and tactics of Corporate America. We witness their struggle to achieve their American Dream in an industry dominated by powerful corporations unwilling to cede an inch.

This contemporary David and Goliath story is ultimately about keeping your integrity (and your family’s home) in the face of temptation. Beer Wars is a revealing and entertaining journey that provides unexpected and surprising turns and promises to change the world’s opinion on those infamous 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

And the trailer:

Beer and Sorbet Quick Hit

Yes you read that title correctly. It seems that Houston's local gelato maker Marcelo Kreindel of the great and wonderful Trentino Gelato has paired with Houston's own Saint Arnold to create something amazing: Saint Arnold Sorbet! Marcelo makes three different sorbets, one with Spring Bock, one with Brown Ale, and another with Saint Arnold's Root Beer. Not sure where all you'll be able to get this, but Coffee Groundz in Midtown will have some. If this hasn't wetted your appetite enough checkout this video from Saint Arnold.

Update on Texas Beer Parity Amendment

A very quick short update on the two bills that will allow Texas Brewery's to sell their beer on site. First HB 1062 has been submitted to the Texas House and has been referred to Licensing and Administrative Procedures.
Secondly the same bill in the Texas Senate SB 754 has been officially received by the Secretary of the senate.
Neither of these are ground breaking, but what it does mean is that the bill continues to move through the proper steps and hopefully we should be getting more news updates soon.
And if you haven't already please notify your Texas Rep and Texas State Senator about how important this bill is.
I for one have notified both my State rep, John E. Davis and State Senator, Mike Jackson. Both of which have not deemed it necessary to reply back. Maybe they are too busy to speak with their constituents, but regardless I truly hope that they will support this bill.
Even if you have written your own State Rep or Senator you can do more! As stated above HB 1062 has been referred to Licensing and Administrative Procedures. Here is a list of the committee members. Write one, write all, write as many as you can. Let them hear from the Texas Beer Advocates.

De Proef Imperial Saison

My previous experience with De Proef has only been through their collaborations with US brewers, so this is my first standalone brew from this very experimental Belgian Brewery. A saison can be a great thing, its probably one of the best beers to pair with foods. This one is an Imperial version which means what exactly? I'm assuming just a bigger, more flavors, more alcohol, just MORE....
The Beer: This one weighs in at 8.5% and its mixed fermented. It pours a cloudy brown with a thin taupe colored head. Malty and bretty on the nose, funky with a tartness. The mouthfeel is chewy with notes of honeysuckle, fruity, earthy, floral, and spicey. This is very funky with copious amounts of brett, kind of overpowering everything else. However as it warms, subtle chocolaty notes, and white fruits start to show up. A very interesting beer, a beer to have with some strongly flavored cheeses that could stand up to the funk. This one gets a B from me. Here's what the folks at BA say.

Craft Beer Numbers Released

The Brewers Association which tracks these kind of things have released numbers from last year. With regards to straight dollars sales by craft brewers were up by 10.5 percent, and 5.8 percent by volume. However compare to last year which showed 16 percent by dollars and 12 percent by volume. You see that while it was a good year, it was not a great year compared to the past. However looking on the bright side it shows that even in the hard economic times that the last half of the year brought, folks were still buying craft brew. See below for a chart provided by the Brewers Assocation showing Craft beer growth over the year. What you'll see again is an increase over last year, but not as big as recent yearly increases, but still going up. What does this mean? Does it mean that craft beer is recession proof? I don't think so, not yet anyway. I'd have to see the numbers from the first quarter of this year before believing that statement. What it does show is that while big brewers have been losing an audience, craft brewer's continue to grow.

Saint Arnold's Twitter Crawl

A what you say? A twitter crawl. Whats that?
Its a pub crawl where in stead of sending out the locations via a cryptic email before hand, the locations are sent out using the social network instant messaging site Twitter. A very neat concept that Saint Arnold Brewery put to good use last night. A few weeks ago they put out on their email newsletter that they would be doing something like this and to sign up for twitter if you wanted more information. Then this week they let you know the first stop, and throughout the evening last night they gave you the subsequent locations (although I don't think they ever sent anything out via twitter on the last location, you were just verbally told at the second place). The prize at the end of the crawl? A nice pint glass but more importantly the last cask of the year of their Christmas Ale. It was my first time to have Christmas on Cask, and I must say it was delicious. Overall it was a nice evening, and much less crowded than a typical Saint Arnold's pub crawl, whether that was due to using only Twitter or the fact that it was on a Thursday instead of a Friday remains to be seen. Either way, kudos to Saint Arnold's to using things like Twitter to find unique methods of reaching out to their fans.

Great Divide Old Ruffian

Old Ruffian was one of the first Barleywine's I had on draft. I was expecting a strong beer sure, but something maltier in the British style. What I wasn't ready for was to be smacked hard over the head with hops which this one did to me. It took me a while to understand that American Barleywines were very different than the British versions. This one to me is a prime example of the American version.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 10.2% and pours a ruby red with a thick tan head. Very hoppy on the nose with some good roasted malts. The mouthfeel is creamy with citrus, floral and spicy hoppy notes. There is some really nice grapefruit and orange peel here. But some really nice roasted malts, caramel notes. Rich and smooth. Very hoppy just as I remember, but there seems to be more balance there than before, or maybe my palate has changed, hmmm, very nice. There are some notes of creme brulee in the mix that make this such a wonderful sipping beer. This one gets an A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

HB 1062 Update

Very quick update on HB 1062 that I know all Texas Beer lovers are following. A second bill has been submitted, this time its in the Senate. SB 754 submitted by Wendy Davis was received by the Secretary of the Senate on Feb 10th. This is mainly a formality but its nice that this bill continues to move along. So go, write not only your State Rep, but write your State senator. As for what to write? Here is what we were asked to write last time a bill like this was in the senate:
-You are a supporter of Texas microbreweries.
-It would enhance your visit to Texas microbreweries if you could purchase a pint or six pack, just like you can when you visit microbreweries in other states.
-It will make you even more likely to purchase the beers of Texas microbreweries when you are at stores and restaurants.
-It will make Texas microbreweries stronger.
-Such a change in the law would make it more likely for more microbreweries to open in Texas.

Be respectful, but be honest about how you think microbreweries are important to our great state.

De Proef Les Deaux Brasseurs

This is the second is a series of collaborations between the Belgian brewery De Proef and a US brewery. The first was with Tomme Arthur and Port Brewing. This one, the second is with Jason Perkins of Allagash. I've been a fan of this Portland, Maine based brewery for quite some time. They make some amazing Belgian style beers. We don't get much of their more unique offerings down in Houston, other than a couple of their oak aged beers, that I've had the opportunity to try.
This one which means The Two Brewers is an incredibly unique beer. Its a Golden ale fermented with two different strains of Brettanomyces, one from each brewery. It was also dry hopped with Czech Haas hops. Yes its unique, but how does it taste?
The Beer: This one weighs in at 8.5% and pours a rich hay golden color with a frothy thick white head. The nose is of sour yeast, pear, their is a sourdough funkiness here along with some white fruits. The mouthfeel is creamy and thick. Funky notes of hay and barn, but also fruity notes of pear and pineapple. Pale malts and a bit of floral hop notes show up. The funk is the king here, though. The strains of bret have created a monster, that can at times be distracting from the other fruitier flavors of the beer. I like it, not my favorite, but an incredibly uniquely fruity funky beer. This one gets a B from me. Here's what the folks at BA say.

Texas House Bill 1062

The time has come, pick up the phone and call your Texas Legislature!!
Why do you ask?
State rep Lon Burnman (Ft. Worth) has introduced House Bill 1062. If passed this bill will give breweries who brew more than 1000 barrels of "ale or malt liquor" a year to sell no more than 35,000 Gallons annual on site. The goal is to make this effective by Sept 1 of this year. For long time readers of this blog this is similar to the failed house bill 1926 that Brock Wagner of Saint Arnold's was advocating back in 2007. In 2007 this bill failed wholly due to the fact that the Beer distributors were against it, and since they give millions to politicians (especially the Chair of the committee went to). Hopefully this time the bill will pass. What can you do to help out? Well write your local State Representative, tell them that this bill must pass. Click here to find who your House Rep is.
Now let's be very clear on what this bill does and does not do.
It will only affect those with Brewer Permits (Brewpubs have different permits so they are not affected).
It will allow brewers to sell some of their beers in tasting rooms (some may be allowed for on site consumption) similar to what wineries in our state can already do.
It will hopefully foster a greater appreciation for Texas Breweries and help make them tourist destinations for out of state folks. This is a big one for me. I love going to CO or California breweries and buying beer there that I can't get here.
What will it not do?
It will have zero effect on Beer Distributors. Regardless of what they may say, the amount of beer that these brewers will be allowed to sell on site will not make much of a dent in their sales, if anything it might create more demand at stores.
It will not dismantle all financial obstacles to opening a brewery in Texas. There a lot of issues that make opening and running a successful brewery in our fine state. This is one of them, but its not the only one, not by a long shot. It will however give them a bit more financial security (no numbers) and every little bit helps.

This bill can only help foster Texas Beer Culture, and hopefully help promote Texas Beer tourism.
In closing I'll reiterate to please write your local House Rep.

The Session Round Up and Announcement

David over at Musings over a Pint has posted his Session Round up: A Tripel for Two. If anyone doubted that his choice of theme was a good one, doubt no more as there were 33 entries this month. That's very nice and hopefully will get more beer themed sessions.

And off we go. The Beer Nut is hosting next months Session and again we are hit with a strong beer theme. The theme is Love Lager. From the host:

So for this Session, let's get back to basics. I'm sure I'm not the only one whose early drinking career featured pale lager in abundance, so consider this a return to our roots as beer drinkers. Don't even think about cheating the system: leave your doppelbocks and schwarzbiers out of this one: I want pilsners, light lagers, helleses and those ones that just say "beer" because, well, what else would it be?

I like this theme. Due to the big mass produces lagers, they really have gotten a bad rap. I really think its unfair as there are some amazing German Pilsners out there with a ton of depth and flavor. I for one will be on the look out for a good pilsner over the next month, one that can show how tasty and complex this style can be. Come back on March 6th to see how it all turns out.