Diners may be one thing, but any question of whether children should be present invariably leads to those procreating monsters who bring their children to bars. First thoughts tend to run to that pinnacle of cinematic achievement, Sweet Home Alabama, but then come rational-sounding arguments from both camps until they devolve into ad hominem attacks.

“Bars are for adults, and when I’ve had a long day at the office, I want to enjoy a drink without feeling like I’ve sat near the ball pit at Chuck-E-Cheese.”

“Well, parents are adults too, we’d like a drink after a long day, and sometimes this is the best or only place to see our friends.”

“Then you should’ve thought of that before you decided to reproduce.”

“Sorry we’re keeping the human race a going concern.”

Ad infinitum. Ad nauseam. Some outlets have tried to present this as a level-headed debate, with contributors presenting pros and cons. But as I read one such commentary, I got to the point where a Dad answering the question in the negative said, “But as soon as I brought a finger to my lips and gestured sheepishly toward my sleeping infant when someone started talking too loudly, I knew I’d crossed a line.” Hold the phone. That’s precisely where the case fails, and to me suggests a simple solution to the whole debate.

Thou shalt respect the atmosphere of the place you inhabit.

I’m not going to have my garage band practice at the library, nor do I expect to get my needlepoint done in a mosh pit. Some bars are more kid-friendly than others, to be sure, and many that may allow them during the day ban them after dark. The drinking age is 21, after all. But scenesters should be able to enjoy happy hour without a cacophony of caterwauling cockerels, while breeders can have a drink with friends as long as they don’t expect their child to get a nap in or avoid the errant F-bomb. Can’t we all just get a beer?

Where is all this headed? Houston’s newest brewery, Brash, has been successively rolling out their offerings in recent weeks, and tomorrow the official release of Cortado – an imperial coffee breakfast stout – will be held simultaneously at Southside Espresso and the Hay Merchant, where brunch will start at 8 am for the occasion. Full disclosure: I’ve got a 16-month-old toddler. No matter what shenanigans we might try to get into the night before, he’ll be up by 7:00 wanting milk, and he’ll normally be eating fruit and waffles by 8:00 or 8:30. If I’m on morning duty tomorrow, why can’t we all have breakfast at Hay Merchant and try some Cortado? Kidding. He’s on the wagon. But as long as he’s not running around the place knocking people’s snifters on the floor, no harm no foul, right? 8:00 am breakfast is probably too early for those childless denizens tripping the light fantastic on a Friday night, anyway.

Where do you stand on the question? Can everyone live by my single commandment? Brash is doing some exciting things on the Houston beer scene, so maybe you’ll see me tomorrow morning. And maybe you’ll see mini-me.

The post Pub-escent first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Pub-escent appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Receiving TABC label approval back in March, the seasonal cans are starting to hit retail shelves across Karbach’s distribution footprint. Staycation uses a malt blend of barley and wheat for a light body, and the relatively new Mandarina Bavaria hops – a Cascade descendant – add a distinctly citrusy component, heavy on tangerine. You may remember the Icon Gold released last year by Saint Arnold, another Mandarina Wheat, but Karbach dials back the alcohol and the bitterness a bit with their new summer seasonal, coming in at 4.8% ABV and 25 IBU. No one flavor component really leaps off the page here, rather each commingles subtly and smoothly for a refreshing finish. After trimming the hedges in 90 degree heat, you don’t want a Double IPA that’s just going to further dessicate your tongue, or an Imperial Stout that would be like chugging a milkshake instead of Gatorade. This sessionable ale you can crush several of, drop your core temperature, and still drive that lawnmower in a straight line.

While the rest of the country enjoys lower gas prices, they may actually be more inclined to pack up the family roadster. In Houston, however, where much of the population works in the oil industry, those falling prices generally have the opposite effect. So fire up the grill, fill the kiddie pool – go ahead and light some citronella torches – and enjoy a Karbach Staycation.

The post Karbach Staycation first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Karbach Staycation appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

So it’s a well-attested phenomenon, this seeming disdain for the uninitiated, and while there is a wide spectrum of attitudes that can be unleashed on the neophytes – from guile to guidance – I don’t think these analog retailers in a digital age are actually mean-spirited at bottom. They just have a genuine love of music and have a visceral, emotive response to the particular combination of chords emanating from the stereo, especially that of a vinyl album on a turntable. They want to share that experience, and just might get a little over-exuberant at the opportunity to impart the ever-branching tendrils of influence and heritage in a particular piece of music. It’s not too far from analogous to the current craft beer scene in America, where longtime beer nerds get annoyed with the whale-hunters (Orwell’s first edition snobs) who just want to check that Jester King or Cigar City or 3 Floyds off the list, or, worse, just trade it for some other rare beer instead of simply appreciating it. Perhaps a noble endeavor, that, but these same aficionados can risk turning off the greenhorns by turning up their noses when asked for a Miller, or mocking instead of suggesting alternatives.

April 18 marks the 8th official Record Store Day, celebrating the unique culture of the independently-owned record store, its staff, customers, and the artists who make it all possible. It’s really not far off from a city or state’s Craft Beer Week, extolling the hard-working local breweries and ensuring their continued existence. Hundreds of stores around the world have special music releases and performances, like Houston’s own Cactus Music on Portsmouth, near the Shepherd/Richmond intersection, opening early for the festivities. To that end, I herewith present a list of craft beers to toast your local record store for the occasion.

1. North Coast – Brother Thelonious

First and foremost, you gotta start with some American classics, and what better genre to do that with than Jazz. North Coast’s Brother Thelonious is brewed in partnership with the legendary jazz pianist’s music institute, so you can drink a delicious Belgian Strong Dark Ale and know you’re doing some good at the same time – though I’m not sure you can claim a 9.4% ABV beer as a charitable tax deduction. It pours a luscious ruby color and features that characteristic Belgian biscuity maltiness that’s almost nourishing, without an overwhelming hop bitterness.

2. Dogfish Head – Bitches Brew

Sticking with Jazz, Dogfish Head brewed this Imperial Stout in 2010 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis’ landmark album of the same name. It’s part stout and part honey ale with a nod to Davis’ groundbreaking fusion, and has launched an entire Music Series at DFH, yielding other brews such as Pearl Jam’s 20th anniversary Faithfull Ale – to the point that Dogfish Head has been named the official brewery of Record Store Day. Bitches Brew is a limited release 9.0% ABV stout that pairs perfectly with curry or vinyl.

3. Odell – Tree Shaker

This Double Peach IPA from Fort Collins, Colorado, isn’t as overt a musical reference as the first two, but as soon as I say, “I really love your peaches, wanna…” you’ll fill in the rest and now you’ve got Steve Miller in your head for the rest of the day. Odell’s only been distributing in Texas for about a year now, but they’ve come on strong with a huge lineup on retailers’ shelves. Tree Shaker is a touch lower in ABV than the jazz beers above at 8% but a bit higher in IBU at 48 – to be expected from a Double IPA. The natural citrus fruitiness of the hops plays well with the peaches, and that’s no Joker.

4. Boulevard – Long Strange Tripel

Though they don’t come right out and say it – instead coyly noting on their website their “grateful” appreciation of a certain employee’s “dedication” – it doesn’t take much expanding of the mind to catch Boulevard’s reference to the Grateful Dead and their “Best Of” compilation, What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been. As the name implies, it’s a Belgian Tripel, clocking in at 9.2% ABV, with a noticeably sweeter malt flavor and lighter golden hue than North Coast’s Belgian above.

5. Karbach – Sympathy for the Lager

The name of this brew from Houston’s Karbach Brewery has something to do with why it’s the only lager on this list. Few craft breweries make many lagers, at least right out of the gate, because lagers take longer to ferment and condition than ales do, thereby tying up valuable real estate in the brewery. But another reason is that lagers have become the most widely consumed beer style in the world, taken up by all of the largest conglomerates and bastardized with adjuncts like corn and rice to achieve as light a body as cheaply as possible. The track Sympathy for the Devil – from the Rolling Stones’ 1968 album Beggars Banquet – recounts all the historical atrocities carried out in the devil’s name from his own point of view. Karbach sought to rehabilitate the lager’s image by taking the style back from the big breweries and brewing it the way it’s supposed to be brewed, showing that it’s been unfairly treated and is a perfectly cromulent style. An easy-drinking 4.9% ABV, it’s got a richer color and fuller body than your typical lager, given its all grain malt bill. The folks over at Karbach have even penned an alternate version of the Rolling Stones tune in homage to the worthy, though sullied, reputation of the style.

Get out there and support your local record stores on Saturday, and support the independent craft breweries while you’re at it. Evangelize your favorite albums and choice beers, but don’t turn into that insufferable pedant who rolls their eyes at anyone who may just be starting out on their musical – or fermentable – journey of discovery.

The post Rye Fidelity first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Rye Fidelity appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

With apologies to John Keats, some places simply invite one to wax poetic, to recall myriad formal examples of Plato’s ideal, to open the floodgates of memory like Proust’s madeleine. I’m speaking here of those neighborhood pubs so woven into the fabric of their environs that they nigh attain the original function of the icehouse in the age of refrigeration: as a gathering place where the community living nearby can exchange the latest news, gossip, and anecdotes in a convivial atmosphere over a refreshing beverage. Places that sponsor the local Little League, host neighborhood running clubs, and invite surrounding families to steak nights.

Approaching 3,500 breweries according to the Brewers Association, the U.S. finds itself amidst an undeniable craft beer boom. Where once it was like hunting for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, nowadays it’s pretty easy to find craft beer just about anywhere, to the point that some wonder whether the idea of a “craft beer bar” still obtains. But I think most people know what you’re talking about when you use the phrase: the type of place with eclectic tap handles, chalkboard menus, nitro systems, and mustachioed bartenders evangelizing the good word of some new hop varietal from the Willamette Valley. They’re decidedly different than the average neighborhood pub, most of which retain their casual atmosphere and icehouse trappings without tap lists that would give newcomers to craft beer — or to the neighborhood — pause. The niche craft beer enclaves often have owners or bartenders who become well known among aficionados, garnering a following of their own, with fans who hang on their every word about upcoming events and tappings. Patrons all know these owners’ names, but at the relaxed local joint, it’s still the reverse, it’s about the owners and bartenders knowing their patrons’ names.

One such is the Oak Forest Chill, housed in a former mechanic’s shop and gas station in its titular neighborhood on its eponymous thoroughfare, just north of 34^th St. It’s got the requisite garage doors open to the crossbreeze in the evenings, with bartenders quick to flash a smile and regulars quick to engage in conversation. It was the beer that caught my attention on that first visit after I moved into the neighborhood. I remember passing That Pizza Place on Ella – now defunct and long dormant — with their marquee boasting “the largest beer selection in Oak Forest!” A bold claim, what with the Petrol Station right around the corner. While the Oak Forest Chill might not have the largest beer selection in the neighborhood, it might be some of the cheapest. Everything from Ballast Point Sculpin to Founders All Day IPA to local favorites like Karbach Weekend Warrior: all are $4.50, or $4 when a train goes by. But they also keep the icehouse staples on hand; if you’re just looking for domestics like PBR or Lone Star, those are $2.50, or $2 with the same 50 cent train discount — the neighborhood might as well get something for those 3:00 am horn blasts. And yes, if you’re wondering, they get Divine Reserve and Bishop’s Barrel releases from Saint Arnold.

As for events, Wednesday Steak Nights and Friday Taco Nights are run by a caterer who lives in the neighborhood, as are the popular crawfish boils thrown periodically while in season. The running group meets every Tuesday at 6:30, lingering afterwards for a few beers. There are 4 or 5 regular bartenders whose schedule is posted on a dry-erase board behind — but might as well be carved into — the long, curving granite counter top running through the interior. So even if events aren’t your thing and Mondays are your night, you’re sure to see the same friendly faces slinging beers.

Maybe “craft beer bar” refers only to those places that serve craft beer exclusively. But it’s a testament to how far the industry has come when you can kick up your feet and relax at an icehouse while still enjoying a refreshing Real Ale Hans Pils. As craft breweries’ sales creep ever higher and consumers flock to craft havens for their hop fix, I think it’s important to patronize your local pubs as well, especially when they’re stocking a healthy lineup of craft beer. Your patronage shows them that craft is a sound business decision and is here to stay, without alienating those who just want to watch the game with a bud — those who just might be interested in transitioning to a Fireman’s 4. And what will make the Oak Forest Chill even more of a beer destination is the anticipated opening of the Allen’s Landing Brewery in a refurbished warehouse right next door. They received their TABC license earlier this year and are currently undergoing city permitting. Assuming Allen’s Landing is open by fall, I look forward to taking a tour some Saturday, sampling some brews, then heading next door to chill out and watch some football while reminiscing about all the great icehouses I’ve been to and how far we’ve come.

The post Ode on a Neighborhood Pub first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Ode on a Neighborhood Pub appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.