The unlikely duo of Justin Gyorfi, a urologist from Clear Lake, and Mike Broderick, an award-winning Pennsylvanian home brewer and former IT professional, have faced some formidable obstacles to opening Ingenious since we began reporting on the brewery’s progress in February 2017. The business partners weathered construction hurdles, Hurricane Harvey, and shortly after Harvey’s devastation, Justin’s first child was born, and Mike suffered a ruptured appendix on the same day.

The Ingenious Brewing taproom is full of hop themed decorations. | Photo: Shawn McDermott

During the delays, venues around the Houston area from Webster to Katy hosted events showcasing Ingenious brews. Justin said he is thankful for the support of these establishments, including Craft Beer Cellar downtown and Humble’s the Hop Stop, who were among the first locations around town to receive kegs and are currently serving Ingenious beers on tap.

A passion for craft beer, particularly IPAs and stouts, bonded Justin and Mike, who met when Justin was doing his residency at Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania. The two formed a plan to open a brewery, and in 2014 Mike sold everything he had and moved to Houston.

“We are trying to bring in elements from breweries around the country that we admire, then combine that with our own thoughts and ideas to create a distinct Ingenious experience here in Houston,” Mike said.

The bookcase bar at Ingenious Brewing Company. | Photo: Shawn McDermott

They have succeeded in creating a unique atmosphere with a very smart-looking bookcase bar and a wide array of brews, heavy on New England IPAs inspired by Tree House and Trillium, and complex stouts in the vein of Cigar City, one of Mike’s favorite breweries. A fan of Tired Hands’ milkshake IPAs, Mike also brews his own twist on lactose IPAs, FroYo beers.

Though the taps rotate often, Ingenious has a few beers that have consistently been on the menu. I tried the creamy Vanilla Coconut FroYo IPA, which features a vanilla aroma, subtle coconut flavor and light bitterness. My favorite beer was the Bigger in Texas New England IPA, an imperial version of their Made in Texas IPA. It is juicy, a little floral and has a velvety soft mouthfeel.

I also enjoyed the stouts I tasted, particularly the rum barrel-aged ones. All of them were well-balanced and very smooth. With no heavy booziness, they went down very easily – a little too easily for me as most of them ranged from 11-13% ABV.

Mike said he feels Ingenious’ variety of styles sets their beers apart from other Houston-area breweries. I agree. In addition to the IPAs and stouts, in their short existence Ingenious has also produced brown, cream, English mild, amber and wheat ales. I tried the Vanilla Coffee Cream Ale, which has a delicious candy nose. Heavy vanilla at first sip, the beer finishes with a slight coffee flavor.

Ingenious IPAs ready to drink | Photo: Shawn McDermott

Ingenious is working on having an on-site food truck full-time. Meanwhile, the brewery is hosting pop-up kitchens, most notably GastroCraft, featuring local chefs. GastroCraft’s Dennis Feray has created some insanely delicious culinary delights such as mouth-watering chili verde pork tacos featuring slow-simmered pork shoulder, fire-roasted poblanos and jalapenos, and dishes which showcase beer like “hopped-up nachos” made with IPA-infused queso. Hungry brewery patrons can finish their meals with April “Ape” Feray’s luscious, chocolately cupcakes, cookies and brownies baked with stout.

Additionally, Ingenious will soon offer ¼ lb. hot dogs on a fresh bakery roll, chips, and sodas, which patrons can enjoy inside, or on its kid- and dog-friendly patio. Outside food and food delivery to the brewery are also allowed.

On Mondays, Ingenious will offer full pours of many of their beers at half-pour prices. Thirsty visitors can take home brews in growlers or crowlers. The brewery recently began canning and plans to have fresh four-packs offered monthly.

The prolific brewery has scheduled releases of one to three new brews a week, one of which will typically be a barrel-aged offering. This constant variety should ensure patrons have the distinctive Ingenious experience that its founders desire.

“Each time a patron comes to the brewery, we would like to give them a unique beer drinking episode,” Mike said. “We want to give people a reason to come back again and again.”

Ingenious Brewing Company

1986 S. Houston Ave.

Humble, TX  77396

Hours: (as of the publishing date)

Monday, Wednesday-Friday 4-10 pm
Saturday 12-10 pm
Sunday 11-7 pm
Closed Tuesdays

Photographer Shawn McDermott is an IT engineer born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has been into photography for over a decade and loves traveling the world trying new beers!

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Photo: Nathan Kiergaard

While Thistle Draftshop Owner Mary Thorn never planned to become an entrepreneur, she says the thought was always in the back of her mind. An accountant, her interest in beer led her to apply for a position at Saint Arnold Brewing Company several years ago. She worked there for seven years, sparking a passion for the beer industry.

“I fell in love with the craft beer industry. I thought it would be complementary to combine interests when it came time for something new to do, and the shop became my next adventure,” Mary said.

The adventure officially begins today as the new craft beer bar and retail market celebrates its grand opening with a ribbon cutting by the Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerce at noon at 5210 FM 2920 #100.

Just a few of the tap handles at Thistle Draftshop. | Photo: Nathan Kiergaard

Part bar, part bottle shop, and part restaurant, Thistle Draftshop keeps the emphasis on local. Houston-area beers are heavily represented on the shop’s 60 taps, including 2017 GABF Gold winners Eureka Heights Buckle Bunny and Saint Arnold Pumpkinator, and the refrigerated case features bottles and cans from almost every local brewery.

You can check out Thistle Draftshop’s taplist on Untappd: untappd.com/v/thistle-draftshop/

Thistle Draftshop’s local-first philosophy doesn’t end there. Locally sourced produce and meats are prominently featured on the menu. The shop’s fare includes crispy Brussels sprouts, broiled oysters, artichoke hummus, burgers and wings crafted by Chef Ernesto Villareal, formerly of The Grove.

Thistle Draftshop Chef Ernesto Villarreal and Owner Mary Thorn | Photo: Nathan Kiergaard

The shop’s local cred is furthered by the addition of General Manager Jake Thorn to the team.  Mary said she thought hard about hiring her son as GM, but his experience at Ritual and strong leadership skills made him a natural choice.

Unique to the bar and take-home beer concept, Thistle Draftshop also features an event space which Mary plans to use for talks with local brewers, beer tastings, hosting beer podcast recordings and Beer Judge Certification Program classes, in addition to parties.

Grand Opening – December 29th

Thistle Draftshop is opening their doors full time on December 29th. The ribbon cutting begins at noon, but festivities continue until midnight. They’ll have complimentary appetizers and beer specials. Many Houston-area brewery representatives will also be on-site to answer questions and mingle with patrons.

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Image courtesy of Love146

“The purpose of Hope is Brewing is to bring a community of people together who are already involved in trafficking abolition and activism who might want to get together or bring friends who are interested in a fun environment to learn more,” Love146 Spokesperson Josh Mamis said.

The event will feature a chicken fajita buffet catered by Guadalajara Hacienda, pub games, trivia, and, of course, beer. Love146 is offering three ticket levels. The $35 General Admission level includes the fajita dinner and beer. The Summer Pils level offers dinner, beer, and a custom Hope is Brewing pint glass for $50. The highest level, appropriately named Divine Reserve, includes dinner, beer, custom pint glass, a brewery tour, and a gift bag with items from Love146 and its sponsors.

Tickets can be purchased on Love146’s website https://love146.org/hope-is-brewing/houston or at the door for an additional fee. Divine Reserve level tickets will not be sold at the door. The event is family-friendly–root beer will be on tap–and the organizers encourage attendees to bring board games.

Ultimately, Josh says Hope is Brewing is as much about inspiring as it is about great beer and food.

“We can choose to be hopeful even given the horrific nature of our work,” he said. “This is something we learn from the children we work with–they have experienced some truly horrible things, but they are hopeful. We see them singing and dancing and looking forward to living happy, productive lives.”

Where: Saint Arnold Brewing Company
2000 Lyons, Houston, TX 77020
When: Tuesday, September 13, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

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The tap list includes the new Brash Double IPA, Pussalia, which I hear is dry-hopped and “the dankiest beer” they’ve ever made; I can’t wait to try that one. A couple of my personal favorites, Deschutes Abyss and Real Ale Four Horsemen, will also be on tap. New kids on the block Eureka Heights will be represented with their Space Train IPA and Buckle Bunny Cream Ale.

Locally beloved Lone Pint Yellow Rose will be on cask, and La Muerta, Elijah Craig 12 La Muerta and Elijah Craig 12 Coconut La Muerta from our friends in San Antonio, Freetail, will also be available. I’m excited for the three different casks of my favorite Houston IPA, Saint Arnold Art Car. Other beers on the tap list include: Ballast Point Barrel Aged Indra Kunindra, Deschutes Black Butte XXIV & XXV, Real Ale Benedictum, Great Divide BA Hibernation, Nebraska Coffee Fathead and Vanilla Fathead, Destihl Blueberry Gose and, last but not least, I’m really looking forward to trying the new-to-Texas Tallgrass Wooden Rooster and Buffalo Sweat.

The party starts at noon. Hope to see you there!

For more information visit Flying Saucer Houston’s website: http://www.beerknurd.com/locations/houston-flying-saucer.

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The Victorian-style City Acre “castle.”

On Thursday night I attended a preview of the much anticipated City Acre Brewing Co., a brewpub located about 10 minutes north of downtown off U.S. 59 at 3418 Topping Street. Originally slated to open four years ago, but delayed due to complex city regulations and beer laws, City Acre will hold its long-awaited grand opening on July 7.

Offering intriguing food and drink menus, eclectic background music and charmingly eccentric decor, there truly is something for everyone at City Acre.

Veteran homebrewer Matt Schlabach and his wife, Meredith Borders, purchased the nearly one-acre parcel of land off the Eastex Freeway in 2009, and had hoped to open a brewpub on the property in 2012. While waiting on permit approvals and facing construction interruptions, the space, which features an expansive garden and fantastical, gargoyle-guarded, Victorian-style “castle,” has served as a special event venue and de facto tasting lab.

The stalled progress of the brewpub had one advantage: it allowed time for perfecting beer recipes. Some took longer than others to get right. While the Sneaky Wheat Stout was a hit right out of the gate a year and a half ago, Matt says he test batched more than 30 IPAs before arriving on the final Bayouwulf base.

The City Acre Crew: (L-R) Rick Kelsay, Meredith Borders, Matt Schlabach, Jeronimus.

The extended wait also allowed for other, unexpected benefits, according to Matt. “It definitely gave [us] a chance to hone our vision,” he said. “When you’re doing nothing but thinking all day, you can really focus on what you want.”

This mindset definitely shows. The City Acre crew has created a unique, intimate place for beer geeks, foodies, friends and families to share their diverse tastes and discover new ones.

The extra time also allowed the garden to grow. City Acre now has 57 fruit-bearing plants grown with organic methods on the property. The brewpub not only highlights these ingredients in their food and drink, they make the ingredients the stars. “It’s very important to us to make something that showcases our fruits and vegetables,” Matt said.

Incredibly welcoming, the City Acre staff is an endearing, quirky team of intelligent, curious and passionate people.

A former mechanical engineer, Owner Matt has had his hand in nearly everything related to City Acre. Not only is he the brewmaster, he designed their logo, built some of the taproom’s light fixtures and bakes all the brewpub’s bread and buns.

Co-owner Meredith, a magazine editor by trade, is City Acre’s social media guru, as well as their menu and website copywriter.

A long-time friend of Matt’s, General Manager and Fermentologist Mandy Jeronimus, brings fervor for brewing and soda-making to the team. Mandy’s love of all things carbonated comes naturally: her grandfather was a soda jerk and her entire family homebrews.

Rick Kelsay, a Pacific Northwest native, answered Matt’s ad for a chef, and they immediately clicked. “It worked out better than I could have expected,” Matt said. “We came from a common idea of executing solid and simple first, then go from there. “Their shared background of mechanical engineering made Matt and Rick logical partners. “We work together to tweak recipes,” Matt said.

The result of the City Acre team’s hard work pays off in their four beers, inventive food and non-alcoholic drink menus.

The beers:

• Lil’ Wulf: the extremely drinkable session version of their soon-to-be-released Bayouwulf IPA. It is well balanced with subtle tropical notes.
• Tischbier: a clean, grain-forward, light table beer perfect for summer picnics or days at the beach.
• Sneaky Wheat Stout: so named by Matt because people usually drawn to lighter beers might be “sneakily” persuaded to like stouts after trying this crisper variant on the style. This smooth brew with dark chocolate and coffee notes would make me a believer if I weren’t already convinced stouts were worth my while.
• Hitchcock Blonde: a golden ale with a magnificent aroma. It is light and lemony with strong coriander notes and a bit of pepper in the finish.

City Acre also serves other local brews. 8^th Wonder Hopston, Texas Beer Refinery Bayou City Brown, and Southern Star Buried Hatchet were represented on taps, as well as a variety of Saint Arnold, Karbach, 8^th Wonder, and Southern Star beers in cans.

The food:

The sublimely savory German Burger, a pork and venison patty topped with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, house-made pickles and mustard, caramelized onions, and apple on a freshly baked bun crowned with toasted onion paired well with the Hitchcock Blonde. The burger reminded me of pork “sauerkraut supper,” a family recipe and childhood favorite of mine, which my mom always served accompanied by a baked apple.

City Acre offers a sweet finish to your meal with the brewpub’s own seasonal ice creams or house-baked cookies. Their blueberry sherbet was so good I almost forgot about how great the beer was after I tasted a spoonful of the creamy concoction. Not overly sweet like some sherbets, the bright burst of onsite-grown blueberries shined in this beautiful dessert.

Another distinctive characteristic of City Acre is their creative non-alcoholic menu, which is composed of a custom mineral water blend, house cold-brew coffee (served on nitro), and small-batch sodas crafted with pure cane sugar and homegrown seasonal fruits and herbs. I recommend the wonderfully frothy and refreshing hibiscus mint soda made with mint harvested from their onsite garden.

Mandy, Matt, and I bonded over our mutual affection for sour beverages while discussing City Acre’s fruit shrubs. Also known as drinking vinegars, the brewpub serves blueberry basil, raspberry malt vinegar, and grapefruit varieties.

I walked in City Acre’s taproom as a mere email acquaintance, and left feeling like I had made new friends. Do yourself a favor and check out City Acre–I think you’ll feel right at home, too.

For more information visit City Acre’s website: http://cityacrebrewing.com.

The post City Acre: Right at Home at Houston’s New Brewpub first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

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Held under the pavilion at Hennessy Park next to Saint Arnold Brewing Company, the small venue was a perfect setting for this bite-sized festival. The 10.79-gallon firkins used for the event allowed brewers to offer a small batch for experimentation to add adjuncts to, creating concoctions with fruit, spices, chocolate, coffee and other special ingredients. Fifteen Texan breweries brought firkins full of beer featuring everything from peanut butter to peppers.

Freetail’s Double Cherry Bexarliner was a hit. Though I prefer their more refreshing peach version, the tart Michigan Montmorency cherries in the latest of their Berliner Weisse fruit series paired well with the lactic tang of the beer. An improvement over the too-restrained single Cherry Bexarliner, which was served on the festival’s specialty tap wall, the extra cherry punch of the Double was just what the Berliner needed. Also fruity and refreshing was the addition of grapefruit to Real Ale’s White, a dry-hopped Belgian wit. Crisp with a subtle grapefruit finish, it hit the spot at the hottest time of day on the summer afternoon.

The popular variant vanilla earned high marks in its starring roles in New Republic’s Vanilla Sky, based on their Skylight dunkelweizen, and Lone Pint’s vanilla and chicory variation of their standby brown ale, Gentleman’s Relish. Though a bit overpowering in the dunkelweizen, the vanilla was a natural complement to the typical banana flavor of the hefeweizen yeast, and it tamed the boldness of the chicory in the brown ale.

No Label brought two cocktail-inspired beers: Old Fashion Ridgeback Ale and Dark & Stormy 1^st Street Blonde. The Old Fashion was the more successful of the two. Bourbon cherries, bitters and orange peel added complexity to the dark amber brew and nicely accented its existing caramel notes and roasted malt. The rum-soaked ginger and lime enlivened the blonde, but the lime finish was too intense.

Arguably the most audacious experiment, Cycler’s Ryed Hard (Reubenized) was the brewery’s take on a Reuben sandwich. Their rye ale was made over with mustard seed, star anise, juniper berries, dill seed, bay leaves, ginger, cloves, cardamom, allspice, coriander and mace to taste like a Reuben without the corned beef: an odd beer, but it worked well.

Like any experiment, the results can vary. Sometimes the result is something you want to replicate, and sometimes it falls flat. In my opinion, Deep Ellum’s Very Berry Dallas Blonde, 8^th Wonder’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Rocket Fuel, and Real Ale’s modified Real Heavy Scotch ale were misses. The Very Berry Blonde tasted like a watered-down berry lemonade, the Peanut Butter Chocolate Rocket Fuel was thin and had hardly any discernible peanut butter flavor, and the Real Heavy with English tea tips, candied figs and dried apricot had too many flavors to focus on.

A late entry in the Fest, new kid on the block Eureka Heights really impressed me with My Stoutrifice, an incredibly well-balanced milk stout brewed with Mexican cinnamon and peppers. It’s one of the best pepper beers I’ve ever had.

Other highlights included (512) Café au Lait, their venerable Pecan Porter with a coffee kick; the sarsaparilla-spiked Brazos Valley NYF Silt Brown, a dead-ringer for its namesake, Not Your Father’s Root Beer; Deep Ellum Tongue Punch, a solid tropical twist on their standard IPA; and the luscious, creamy Nutella®-like evolution of Southern Star’s Buried Hatchet Stout, Deez Hazelnutz.

Those standouts were a warm-up for my vote for Best in Show: Karbach Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter Horchata. The welcoming, warm cinnamon nose invited me to drink the imperial porter. Bourbon upfront with a grainy backbone and a cinnamon finish, it was a perfect symphony of flavors and one of my favorite BBHs to date. I really hope Karbach releases this one, at least in limited batches, so more people can try it.

Though most of the beers at the Fest were variation of standards from their regular beer lines, some breweries brought unaltered brews, showing off the richer, smoother character of cask-conditioned beers. Karbach offered their lupulin bomb, Hop Delusion Double IPA; Southern Star’s newish IPA, Conspiracy Theory, made an appearance; the revered Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 15 Russian Imperial Stout came out of retirement for the occasion, and 8^th Wonder’s tasty limited-release gose, Haterade, was also featured at the Fest.

One of my favorite aspects of this festival was the signage. Too often at festivals you are left on your own to figure out what you are actually drinking. Firkin Fest featured signs labeling the style, ABV, IBU and a detailed description of each beer and its transformation from its normal base into its firkin alter ego. Even better, some of the brewers were on hand to ask questions about their beers. The intimacy of the event allowed for longer discussions with the brewers, which I very much enjoyed. I’ll be back next year.

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Photo: Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Known to its faithful followers as Houston’s oldest craft brewery, Saint Arnold Brewing Company will celebrate its 22nd anniversary on June 11. The festivities will feature live music from Wild Moccasins and Khris Royal. Saint Arnold’s executive chef, Ryan Savoie, will DJ, and eats from food trucks including Golden Grill, Coreanos, and The Burger Joint will be available. Fat Cat Creamery will scoop ice cream and offer root beer floats.

There will be plenty of beer, of course, but how about an elevated beer-pouring contest? Contestants will participate in pairs pouring beer from a scissor lift into a bucket on the other person’s head. The champions win a party at the brewery. Competition spots have been filled, but you can still watch the fun.

Need another beer t-shirt to add to your collection? Santo artist Carlos Hernandez of Burning Bones Press will be on hand printing celebratory anniversary shirts. Posters will also be available.
Tickets for the anniversary party are $25 and include three beers and a commemorative glass. Additional beers will be available for purchase.

Buy tickets on Saint Arnold’s website: http://www.saintarnold.com/news/.

Where: Saint Arnold Brewing Company
2000 Lyons, Houston, TX 77020
When: Saturday, June 11, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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What’s a fitting present for a brewery celebrating two years of producing delicious brews? Your presence! B-52 Brewing in Conroe is hosting its second anniversary bash on June 4th, and they want you there. The brewery will be serving over 20 different beers for the event, including the premiere of their Berliner Weisse and the release of their Bourbon for Breakfast stout. The Berliner Weisse was re-fermented with fruit in oak barrels, and will be available in five flavors: blackberry, raspberry, cucumber-lime, apricot and strawberry. Variants of Bourbon for Breakfast, their Breakfast Stout aged in Yellow Rose bourbon barrels, will include vanilla, cacoa nibs and coconut for the event. Also on tap will be B-52’s Brett Double IPA fermented in oak barrels and many other limited release options.

Kids and dogs on leashes are welcome at the event. The brewery’s own root beer will be available for all, as well as lemonade and soda. Food trucks and an artisan farmer’s market will be on the premises to keep you fed throughout the afternoon. The festivities for the event include day-long games, prizes and live music. General admission tickets are $30 and include limited edition Berliner Weisse glassware, eight drink tickets, access to limited-release beers, first access to limited release bottles to go, music and games. The general admission ticket will also give you the opportunity to try some of the wines being offered at the event, and you are free to interchange between beer and wine as you please. Non-drinkers can purchase “Designated Driver” tickets for $15, which include three pours of lemonade or root beer and limited edition Berliner Weisse glassware.

Where: B-52 Brewing Co. – 12470 Milroy Lane, Conroe, TX 77304

When: Saturday, June 4, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/b-52-brewing-2nd-anniversary-party-tickets-24439437014

Update:

With the threat of rain this weekend, B-52 has decided to accept tickets the following weekend (June 11th). Ticket sales will also be extended, assuming they don’t sell out. From their Facebook post: “If you do come the second weekend, you will still be guaranteed souvenir glassware and access to all the scheduled tap releases (14 total); however, the other experimental/limited release taps will be first come, first serve, so we still recommend attending the first weekend if possible. All ticket holders will still be guaranteed access to purchase the specialty bottles TO-GO regardless of which day you attend.”  Keep an eye on their Facebook for more information.

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Ballast Point’s original Victory at Sea is brewed with San Diego’s Caffe Calabria coffee, and has vanilla and dark chocolate notes. Malty and boozy, the bold beer has a slightly bitter, but not acidic, finish. Paired with Shortbread and Thanks-A-Lots, fudge-dipped shortbread cookies, Victory at Sea took on different flavor profiles: the Shortbread cookies made the chocolate notes more apparent, and the Thanks-A-Lots made the porter taste more coffee-forward. The thick breadiness of both cookies soaked up the booziness in a satisfying way; much like shortbread and tea, and made the beer seem less heavy.

Coconut Victory at Sea was paired with Caramel deLites: vanilla cookies covered in caramel, topped with toasted coconut, and striped with chocolate. While apparent in the aroma, the coconut is very faint in the flavor of the beer, which is slightly sweeter than the original Victory at Sea. While the Caramel deLites made the coconut taste more prominent in the porter, I was hoping the pairing would create more than a slight coconut accent in the flavor of the brew.

An instantly recognizable classic, America’s much beloved Thin Mints were paired with Peppermint Victory at Sea, which tastes very strongly of mint. The minty, fudgy-coated chocolate wafers amplified the mint flavor of the already peppermint-forward beer, making it overpowering for my taste.

Finally, Girl Scouts love peanut butter so much that it is a major ingredient in two of their cookies: the chocolate-covered vanilla cookies layered with peanut butter called Peanut Butter Patties, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches, which are crispy oatmeal cookies with a peanut butter filling. Peanut Butter Victory at Sea met my “Goldilocks standard” for flavored beers — the peanut butter was not too strong or too faint — it was just right. A perfect complement to both cookies, the Peanut Butter Victory at Sea is peanut butter forward, but has chocolate and coffee notes in the background. The oatmeal in the Peanut Butter Sandwiches went well with the maltiness of the beer and soaked up the slight bitterness of the coffee. The Peanut Butter Patties brought out more of the peanut butter flavor in the porter, and left a lingering present: a thin coating on the tongue that created a chocolate finish with each sip.

Looking for Houston beers to approximate this tasting? Try Brash Cortado or 8th Wonder Rocket Fuel with Thanks-A-Lots and Shortbread. Clear Lake’s Saloon Door brews a peanut butter and chocolate stout perfect for Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Patties. While we have a dearth of mint porters or stouts in town, Southern Star Buried Hatchet pairs well with Thin Mints. Without a coconut beer available year-round to accompany Caramel deLites, bourbon barrel-aged beers go quite nicely with the caramel, vanilla and coconut flavor combination: try them with Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel brews or Karbach Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter when they are available.

Don’t want to stop there? If you’re interested in local beers to pair with the remaining two Girl Scout cookie varieties offered in the Houston area, try Saint Arnold Art Car with Lemonades, a winning citrusy combination; and Buffalo Bayou Rotundone with Cranberry Citrus Crisps: the slight tang and subtle spice of the saison play well off the zesty, whole-grain cookies.

Featured Image from Little Brownie Bakers

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Photo by Andy Bouffard

I guess third time’s a charm: after being plagued by weather problems the past two years, 2015’s Untapped Festival was a perfectly sunny sweat-drencher. The weather wasn’t the only thing Untapped got right this year: from beer selection to musical talent, this year’s line-up did Houston proud.

I got there a little later than I wanted to due to events out of my control, so I missed out on a couple rare and limited-quantity tappings (looking at you, Jester King Fen Tao and Firestone Walker Helldorado), but I got to try almost everything else on my “must-hit” list.  

First up, Jester King La Vie en Rose. Made with raspberries previously tasked to make their much-beloved Atrial Rubicite, La Vie en Rose is dry and, predictably, less fruity than Atrial Rubicite. To me, that’s not a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, I like Atrial Rubicite, but I’ve never been a fangirl. (I’m more of a Noble King kind of gal.) La Vie en Rose is vinous; add that to the dryness and subtle raspberry, and it tastes almost like a slightly sour rosé.

At the Saint Arnold tent I skipped some of the rare tappings as I’ve tried most of them before, but somehow I’d missed Divine Reserve 15 (Russian Imperial Stout), which was lovely: boozy, creamy, chocolately and pruny. I also finally tried the new Art Car IPA which had a floral nose and a crisp, fruity body with a bitter finish. I have to say I like it better than Elissa.

Too late to the party, I missed out on Pussy Wagon, but I got try Brash’s Cali Green. I’ve heard a few people criticize it for being too bitter, but I think its bitterness is well balanced with citrus and incredibly drinkable. In fact, excuse me while I go get a growler fill.

Photo by Andy Bouffard

Freetail’s Oktoberfiesta, an Oktoberfest bier fermented with Belgian yeast, surprised me: clean, slightly fruity with a hint of bitterness and a caramel finish. That may not sound like it works, but it does.

I am an equal-opportunity beer-lover. I really do like most styles, and even if I don’t, I will always try them at least once. I’ve never been a fan of smoked beers, but I like to push myself outside my comfort zone. Based on recommendation and my admiration for their venerable Hefeweizen, I decided to give Live Oak’s Grodziskie and Helles Rauchlager a try. I was pleasantly surprised.

Grodiziskie is an almost-extinct Polish style made from oak-smoked wheat. More earthy than smoky, and slightly lemony, the grodiziskie is a nice alternative to a hefeweizen that would taste great with barbecue. The Helles Rauchlager is made with beechwood-smoked barley like a rauchbier, but pale like a helles lager. It is dry and aggressively smoky, but the clean noble hops shone through and created a very refreshing, summery brew. With all the single-hop beers out right now, it was a nice change of pace to try some styles that are, as Jason from Live Oak said, “more like an orchestra than a solo.”

Moving onto beers from outside of Texas, SanTan Moon Juice, a wheat IPA with a beautifully floral and citrus nose, impressed with a nice balance of fruity and bitter, as did Founders Porter with its creamy mouthfeel, notes of coffee and chocolate, and lightly smoky finish.

I always go for favorites when I can get them on draft, so I was delighted to get some pours of Lagunitas Maximus, Victory Golden Monkey, Real Ale Devil’s Backbone, and one of my new favorites, Boulevard The Calling.

Of course, as with all festivals there are always too many beers and too little time. I missed out on several brews I wanted to try, such as 8th Wonder Mission Control and Premium Goods, Ballast Point Indra Kunindra and Even Keel, and Independence Red Bud. But, there’s always next year.

Photo by Andy Bouffard

I go to a lot of festivals. Too often you have to choose between drinking great beer and listening to crappy music or listening to great music and drinking crappy beer. What I like about Untapped is that the good folks who organize it had the bright idea to make it a no-compromise situation for people like me who appreciate both beer and music. As with the past two years (thank you Suffers and Tontons), I found a new-to-me band to add to my list of local favorites — New York City Queens, who remind me of the Dum Dum Girls with the addition of, well, guys.

Sarah Jaffe surprised me; having only heard “Clementine” and a couple of her earlier ballads, I expected a folky set and instead got a guitar-driven alt rock show. I was casually interested in her music before, but after witnessing her guitar skills and falling in love with her emotionally vulnerable songs, I am now an official fan.

I have long liked Cold War Kids, and their set had moments of glory. Nathan Willett’s voice was strong throughout, but the band’s enthusiasm lagged at times. Standouts included “We Used to Vacation,” “Drive Desperate,” “I’ve Seen Enough,” and their most well-known song, “Hang Me Up to Dry.”

New this year to Untapped Houston was the addition of the Saint Arnold Game Garden tent. While I’m not a gamer, I thought it was a great idea for geeks to have another way to enjoy themselves and stay out of the heat.

Finally, food. Festival food is often salty, fried or overcooked. Fortunately, the Untapped organizers promote the farm-to-table movement. Enter Underbelly to the rescue with the best festival burger I’ve ever had. Kind had a tent for gluten-free festival goers, with interesting new savory bar flavors. I particularly enjoyed the Sweet Thai Chili, Honey Smoked BBQ and Honey Mustard offerings.

Kudos to Untapped for getting all the festival elements right. I’m already looking forward to next year’s fest.

The post Untapped Festival 2015 – All the beer. All the music. All the sweat. first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Untapped Festival 2015 – All the beer. All the music. All the sweat. appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.