Although having just barely wrapped up their soft opening, the buzz surrounding this first-in-Houston self-serve bar must have worked because there was barely an empty seat when we arrived around 7:30 on Saturday evening. As you enter, you’re guided by a partition to the counter where, unless you need to re-up on some wings, may be your last direct interaction with the staff for your entire visit. That’s not to say the staff is at all unnecessary. The young lady at the counter greeted guests and when asked how all of this works, she patiently explained to the old man in front of her that if you want to order food, you can do that with her at the counter. For everything else, she will give you a card, linked to your own credit card, that you will use to serve yourself from the massive tap wall to your left. When it is time to call it a night, you simply drop that card into one of the metal lock boxes at the door where I presume they will be erased and reused. (Spoiler alert – the old man in front of her was me.) 

In addition to the counter staff, I noticed throughout our stay that at any given point, there were no fewer than 3-4 employees working the dining room to pick up, wipe down and generally maintain the cleanliness of the facility. They were not there to wait tables or interfere with your experience, but I’m sure if you had a question they would be happy to help you.

Once we’d made it through the entry gauntlet, we browsed the massive tap wall and quickly noticed a wide range of drink options. In addition to beers and ciders, there was an array of wines, straight liquors, a few common cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like sodas. We made our selections and wound our way to one of the few open tables. The seating area is essentially a sports bar & grill atmosphere. The room was on the noisy side with loud bar music and an open environment void of anything to baffle the sound. There were a dozen TVs on the perimeter walls tuned to various sporting events and in one case a Star Wars marathon. If you’d prefer a section that may make conversation a little easier, there is also a covered patio with lots of fans. This also appears to be a generally family-friendly establishment. There were a number of families with children there when we were, predominantly on the patio but we did see one or two in the dining room as well. It’s quite possible that the patio is dog friendly as well, but we didn’t see any good boys during our trip and I didn’t ask. 

Now for the main event: the food and beverages. On this trip we didn’t actually eat, but my second hand review of the food is that it appeared to be a mix of fairly typical pub fare like pizzas and wings, along with more traditional entrees. Everything we saw being delivered to neighboring tables looked and smelled great, and I regretted my decision not to arrive hungry. 

Since this is a beer-centric blog and the focus of my trek was “research,” I’m glossing over the whole array of drink options and keying in on the beer taps. This is honestly the part I was most impressed with. A big challenge for bars and restaurants that carry a large selection of beers is to please as many people as possible. I liken it to political banter (relax and just go with me here; I promise this won’t get uncomfortable.) It often seems like retailers have a difficult time knowing what their customers want, because the loudest groups are the extremes. On one end you have the “globo-beer is evil and should be destroyed” party (it’s like I’m looking in a mirror) and on the other there is the “craft beer snobs are a bunch of neck-bearded dorks who live with their moms” caucus. I have no research to back this up, but my guess is that the reality is that most people are somewhere in the middle of this bell curve. On a regular old Tuesday night at Chili’s they’re perfectly happy to have a Bud Light with dinner, but are also interested in trying out the new craft brewery that just opened near their office for happy hour. You see the parallel? I told you it wouldn’t get weird. Anyway, as I said, this is the most impressive part. The taps have a broad range of beer choices from one of my go-to macros in Lone Star and Texas craft staple Shiner Bock, to gateway crafts like Live Oak Hefe and Saint Arnold H-Town Pils, to more hardcore enthusiast options including IPAs, sours, and barrel aged stouts. There are even a few well-selected classic imports like Gulden Draak and Petrus. 

And the fact that everything is self-serve is a great enticement for non craft beer drinkers to try different beer styles that they might have thought about but were too intimidated by to dive in head first. The ability to pour just an ounce or two of something new takes away some of the hesitation, knowing that you’re not committed to a whole snifter of a high ABV quad. 

Other than the elevated noise levels, the only criticism I have is that the pricing model seems a little confusing and inconsistent even to me, a grizzled craft beer veteran. I imagine it could be at least a little daunting to rookies as well. Because of the way everything is poured to the amount you want, the taps indicate pricing on a per ounce basis which seems reasonable. The issue with this is that it is not how beer has traditionally been priced throughout history, so these numbers can seem nebulous. Me as a regular old guy who went to public schools can’t equate that to the price of “a beer.” The screen in front of you helps by keeping a running tab so you can see what you’ve spent so far, but keep in mind it’s giving you the total on your card, not for each drink served. 

As to the inconsistency of the pricing, I will give an example. The first beer I had was a Nuke the Whales, a 13% limited release imperial stout by Eureka Heights. This beer is listed at $1.30/oz. A beer like this is typically served as a 10 ounce pour which comes out to $13 for a drink. In my experience, that is a little on the high side, even for a limited release or barrel program beer. And there were a handful of beers on the menu that were priced above that level. Contrast that with my second beer, a pint of Diamonds In My Mouths which is an 8% NEIPA from SpindleTap. This one rings up at $0.40/oz or $6.40 for a 16 oz pour. That’s a very reasonable price, and frankly probably a little lower than I would expect for an entire pint of a higher ABV hazy like that. The takeaway here is that unless you’re going to The Hangover levels of consumption, none of these are going to break the bank, but if you really pay attention there are some bargains to be had here as well. 

So overall impressions on my first experience at Shoot the Moon…you can expect an open, clean, and vibrant space, helpful but minimally intrusive staff, a food menu that’s not overwhelming but broad enough to please most tastes, and a drink selection that would be the envy of just about any non-specialty bar. I can see this becoming a regular stop in my rotation, and if the early crowds are any indication you will likely see more of these or similar concepts popping up throughout the area in the near future. Cheers!

The post Introducing Shoot the Moon first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Introducing Shoot the Moon appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Barrel-aged stouts, boozy barleywines, high ABV DIPAs, whatever.

Unlike some breweries whose sole intention seems to be making all of their beers so strong no mortal man can finish a pint while remaining upright, City Acre doesn’t generally produce especially strong beers just because they’re bored. So when I saw that City Acre had plans to release Quadratonic on May 1st (eventually postponed to May 8th due to weather), I was excited and intrigued by its description…a 15% malt beverage brewed with fruits from their own impressive garden, cellared and blended over a 15 month period, and served still. My mind immediately went to an expectation of a classier version of DKML by Founders Brewing. 

When May 8th finally arrived, while out of the house under the guise of last minute Mother’s Day shopping for my wife, I made the short trip over to the beautiful Topping Street grounds to bring a couple of bottles home with the intention of drinking one soon and holding one back to age a while. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I finally made time to sit down with the first one and see what we had.

 Let’s start with the bottle presentation. It would be an understatement to say that I loved the packaging. The unique bottle shape and labelling harken back to that glorious time when your local drug store could sell you Coca-Cola with actual cocaine, headache medicine that was essentially just heroin, and any number of other various snake oils “for your health.”

The beer (is this technically beer? I need to look into that) poured a deep burgundy-brown color, completely opaque but not a heavy viscosity. Just as advertised there was no carbonation to speak of. 

As you go in for the first sip, before the glass reaches your mouth, your nose is hit with the smokiness of this beer. Lots of smoke, that is accented by the sweetness of the malt. And booziness. It’s not a sneaky 15% ABV; it tells you right up front that it’s there to party. Then more smoke. In the first few sips, the grapes were barely discernible and the apricot was non-existent. As the beer warmed to room temp, some of the more complex fruit flavors made a stronger appearance (although I never really did catch the apricot) and the sweetness kicked up another notch. Not pastry stout sweet, but a tooth-achy malt kind of sweetness like a barleywine. But I couldn’t get past the smoke. It was just too overpowering to all of the other more delicate flavors. I don’t mind a smoky beer, and I liked this beer. But I went into this wanting to love it and I didn’t quite get there. I could not get past the thought that some of its potential was being held hostage by the smokiness. My hope is that as this ages, the charred wood will be subdued and some of the more subtle characteristics will emerge, and I can look back on this review in a couple of years realizing it was just a little too soon to fully judge this beer.

If you’ve had this one, feel free to reach out and let me know what you thought.

Cheers!

The post Quadratonic by City Acre first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Quadratonic by City Acre appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Which I think in the minds of most people over 24 years old is a good start. Especially considering first of all that this is a stout, and if it had been green something has gone terribly awry. Nevertheless, as we approach that most sacred of day drinking holidays and I work out which of my inappropriate St. Patrick’s Day themed t-shirts will be least offensive when seen on a work Zoom call, I also begin to think about what beer to enjoy while celebrating the occasion. 

Enter Tipsy Clover, a dry Irish stout from Eureka Heights. This beer is a traditional stout in the vein of Guinness, that is brewed simply with Irish malt and plenty of roasted barley. This style is known for its coffee-like finish and moderate hoppiness. When I am critiquing a beer, my first order of business is to assess how it stands up to the style. This was an important realization for me personally, because in the past I found myself giving a low rating to a beer strictly because it wasn’t a preferred style of mine. I realized at some point which is unfair to the beer. It may be great for what it is, it just isn’t my bag. That said, I am a fan of stouts and had no reservations about giving this one a taste.

When poured, the head of the Tipsy Clover is a creamy, fluffy tan. The beer itself is appropriately dark, absorbing light like a dingy Dublin pub. Not too thin but not as viscous as some of the heavier barrel-aged stouts you’ll come across. The flavor is on style. Coffee is present immediately and the hop bitterness is minimal. There is nothing particularly noteworthy or memorable about this beer, but in many ways that is what I’m looking for in a stout. The last thing I want to get when trying this style is that astringent, borderline infected tasting character that sometimes occurs. In all ways, this is just a solid, enjoyable stout. And at only 4.2% ABV, you can enjoy a number of them without wishing St. Paddy’s Day was on a Friday this year so you’d have two days to recover.

Overall, I’ve given this beer 3.75 bottle caps on Untappd. It’s a nice offering and one that I would welcome back for the season next year. If you’re a fan of traditional stouts, or if you’re new to craft beer and are looking to branch out, I would recommend this beer as a good representation of the style. Feel free to reach out and let me know what you think.

Until next time, CHEERS!

The post Eureka Heights’ Tipsy Clover Beer Review first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Eureka Heights’ Tipsy Clover Beer Review appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

But like your parents told you…you don’t need alcohol to have a good time. There are plenty of excellent options for the temporary teetotaler if you know where to look. You don’t have to keep it fairways and greens either with something as simple and classic as Saint Arnold’s outstanding root beer recipe. Even without leaving the Saint Arnold compound you can find something interesting like their HOP₂O, a hop-tinged water that will almost make you forget that it’s still water that was wasted by not becoming beer.

If you’re looking to be a little more adventurous than water, many area breweries have their own flavors of house-made sodas, like City Acre’s vanilla cream soda pictured here. At this point I think it’s fair to say that most breweries, especially those with family-friendly taprooms, have begun offering creative nonalcoholic options for those unwilling or unable to consume their primary product. 

Finally, if you have a need to take your beer-related-but-not-quite-beer game on the road, there are an increasing number of breweries going outside the box. Untitled Art has developed a line of CBD infused waters that they have canned for wide distribution. Although they aren’t a Texas outfit, they do distribute to the Houston area, and this product trend is something I’m expecting to see pop up more here locally in the near future.

 So, for the next 162 days until January is over, it’s nice to know that there are some great, enjoyable options to stay sober and hydrated. That said, assuming I don’t get fired before then for missing the mark on my first task, I look forward to returning to this space next month to talk with you about something with some kick to it. Cheers!

The post What to Expect When You’re Expecting Not to Drink first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post What to Expect When You’re Expecting Not to Drink appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Once I realized that there were options besides the big names, I quickly began seeking out new breweries and beer styles. With the benefit of being the somewhat self-appointed “beer guy” at the pizza place I worked at during school, I placed the beer orders and got to know the distributors in town, so I was able to add some of the older European breweries as well as newer local Texas beers like Saint Arnold and the original iteration of Celis to our inventory. This was entirely self serving, but fortunately no one told me to stop.

Over the 20+ years since then I’ve continued to enjoy trying new beers. As more of these rebellious breweries have popped up locally, I’ve taken advantage of the rare open calendar date to check them out. And any travel away from home inevitably involves some scouting ahead of time on Google Maps and Untappd to locate the best area breweries and craft beer bars/restaurants. Truthfully I probably spend twice as much time on this aspect as I do trying to find a place to stay. 

In other words, to quote the great Tom T. Hall, “I like beer.” I like to drink it but I also like to learn about it and talk to others about it. When I learned of the relaunch of the Houston Beer Guide and that they were looking for contributors, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to put my appreciation of beer to work and maybe help to enlighten or entertain others. I look forward to sharing this love with you all over the coming months. Cheers!

The post Contributor Introduction: James Weiss first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Contributor Introduction: James Weiss appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.