Tim Spies
Specializing in craft beers and beards. Living the dream in the northwest burbs.

Saint Arnold Icon Red Märzen – A Perfect Companion for Fall Festivities
As a big fan of lagers, and in particular Märzens, I was very excited, nay SUPER EXCITED, when I first heard that Saint Arnold Brewing was releasing a true Märzen as their new Icon Red. And as a big fan of Saint Arnold’s portfolio of lagers, I was eager to see how this turned out.

Saint Arnold Goes Camping With Sierra Nevada
Every year, Sierra Nevada Brewing invites multiple breweries to brainstorm and develop new recipes for a series of (typically) one-off brews for their Beer Camp series. The series seeks to showcase new collaborations with different breweries, and is essentially a meeting of minds; where great craft breweries come…

Rockwell Grill is Closing
Rockwell Grill, a craft beer staple in Cypress for the past six years, is closing. Sunday, October 30th will be their final day of business. Rockwell has been under current ownership since 2010. During that time they built themselves into one of the premier craft beer-centric bar/ restaurants in the Cypress area. Many…

The Patron Saint of Hops (Saint Arnold and Untappd team up to release Houston’s first beer badge!)
Starting this Friday, you will finally be able to unlock an Untappd badge by enjoying beers from a brewery right here in Houston. The “Patron Saint of Hops” badge will showcase Saint Arnold Brewery’s delicious collection of hoppy beers, and from April 22 – May 22 you will be able to unlock it. To earn

Saint Arnold Icon Blue Coffee Porter Review
Saint Arnold Brewing’s new Icon Blue is a nice addition to an already great series. A coffee porter full of flavor, yet light enough to enjoy casually (and now available in six-packs!). Saint Arnold’s first-ever coffee beer was made by adding over 45 lbs. of ground espresso from local roasters, Java Pura Coffee, to a

2015 Pumpkin Beer Roundup
Forget kettle sour debates, mega-corporate buyout concerns, or any the other arguments beer nerds love to quarrel over. Nothing is as divisive in the beer world as the word “pumpkin.” A word that, for certain people, brings to the surface the most vile and powerful animosity imaginable. The kind typically stored deep…

Beer, Poker, and Lawnmowers
Coming out of college I did not care about beer. Why should I? Beer was boring. Beer was easy. Beer was simple. In college, the people around me who drank it did so in mass quantities in an attempt to take on the biggest, baddest, cheapest buzz they could survive. Flavor? What in beer could