If you’ve read any of my articles or ever had a conversation with me about beer you’ll know that I’m all about that stout life. When I heard Excalibur Brewing in Old Town Spring announced the 2nd annual Stout Fest 2024, you know I had to get the inside scoop. Stout Fest 2024 will be held at Excalibur Brewing on Saturday January 27th, where 11 breweries including Excalibur will be showcasing their finest stouts. This ticketed event will let you taste beer from several breweries in one location. With your general admission entry, you will receive a 4 oz taster glass and 8 taster tickets starting at noon for only $45. VIP ticket admission allows you to enter a hour early to enjoy unlimited samplings of the stouts and an additional taster tickets and access to refreshments – all for $80. You can buy additional tickets at the bar if you want a bit extra to enjoy. If you do not purchase a ticket, you will not be able to enter the brewery or order beer until 6PM as it will be closed exclusively for Stout Fest ticket holders only. Treat this like a private stout party with all our closest darkest friends. I am looking forward to this year’s Arthur’s Tomb variant. Peanut butter variant was a big hit before, and Red Velvet is currently on tap – I wonder what it will be this year?

The breweries in attendance for this year’s Stout Fest are Equal Parts, DECA, Location Six, Brew: 30, Misfit Outpost, Frankenboltzzz, Brash, Devil and the Deep, Megaton, and Turkey Forrest Brewing. The way Stout Fest works is each brewery will offer two different stouts for you to sample, so that’s over 20 samples of stouts available to you! With this stacked line up of breweries, there is no wrong decision on which you pick!

I was able to enjoy the collaboration beer designed between Excalibur and Frankenboltzzz while I visited. This golden stout aged with tres leches cake had a well balanced sweetness with soft coffee tones – very tasty! Each brewery will also have merchandise on site so you can show your support for them by purchasing shirts, stickers and hats. 

Purchase your tickets for Stout Fest at: https://excaliburbrewing.com/stout-fest-2024-ticket-sales/ 

With only two weeks until the event, you better hurry because the tickets are flying fast. There is plenty of seating available however if you would like to bring your lawn chairs to create your own camp, you’re more than welcome to. Parking is not a challenge either – there is a lot that is available on the corner of Border and Prairie, but since there are plenty of stouts to go around, we recommend ride sharing. Designated driver tickets are also available for $20 for individuals who want to attend but will not be drinking. Please have fun but be responsible.

No beer festival is complete without live music.

To keep you entertained Excalibur Brewing will host Mississippi Smile, Tab Cocchia, and Background Noise HTX.

Galexy Concessions just opened up next door to Excalibur so you can walk over and get a bite to eat or enjoy additional food vendors on site. Rustic Barrel will be on site selling BBQ, and Maine Lobster will be serving up their famous lobster dishes.

I am looking forward to celebrating local made stouts at this event. Bring a friend or make a date out of it. Other Houston Beer contributors will be available during the event to chat about all the way you can help support local craft beer too. See you there!

The post Stout Fest 2024 at Excalibur Brewing in Old Town Spring first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Stout Fest 2024 at Excalibur Brewing in Old Town Spring appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The lineup for the event included Backyard Brewing, Galveston Bay Brewing, Elder Son Brewing, Under the Radar, Devil and the Deep, Devin’s Spiked Root Beer, Strong Arm Brew Works, Houston Cider Co. and New Magnolia Brewing. To commemorate the event, two different custom taster glasses were available for purchase at the event, courtesy of Drete Customs.(@dretecustoms on IG) 

The participant breweries for the event lined up in their respective tents outside of Star Sailor in the parking lot, which created an organized and free flowing event to walk around and offered goers a chance to speak with many of the owners and head brewers of the attending fermented libation enterprises one on one! 

Galveston Bay Brewing brought out Bolivar Bock, and a 6.0% ABV traditional style Bock that just very recently released by the brewery. Galveston Bay Head Brewer Skyler Forshage was on hand for the event and was very pleased to be able to share this with the fest goers. I am never one to turn down a chance for a new release, and Bolivar Bock was perfect, refreshing way to start the day.  

Another pour that caught my attention was the Vanilla Crème Spiked Soda from Devin’s Spiked Root Beer. Devin’s root beers are all wine based, gluten free, and a sneaky 8% ABV for all of the four versions they had on hand. Being one to step out of my comfort zones at times, I went for the cream soda flavored root beer, which is not even remotely close to being something I would go out of my way to get usually.  Devin’s managed to tone down the over-the-top vanilla flavor in this to make a smooth and enjoyable beverage that’s only for the adults! 

When asked, Marin Slanina, owner of Star Sailor, mentioned that the planning for this event came together after a successful event at Brewchachos back in September. Star Sailor is already gearing up for their Third Anniversary coming up in December, and if Sunday’s turn out is any indication, that party will be packed.

Follow Star Sailor on social media for most up to date upcoming event details.

@star_sailor_htx (IG) 

https://starsailorhtx.com

The post Star Sailor hosts very first Fallfest Brewfest first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Star Sailor hosts very first Fallfest Brewfest appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Houston Guild member breweries always represent the city well at the Craft Brewers Festival, and this year was no exception. Nine different breweries from the greater Houston area participated in this year’s event. Four as sponsors of event: Saint Arnold, No Label, Lone Pint and True Anomaly.  The other participants were Eureka Heights Brew Co., Excalibur Brewing, Galveston Bay Brewing, Galveston Island Brewing, Great Heights Brew Co.

Saint Arnold has been a supporter of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild going back to its inception in 2009. 

“Saint Arnold was a founding member of the Guild and our owner, Brock Wagner, was an inaugural Board member. The Guild has been integral in helping to change laws in Texas to create an atmosphere where small and independent breweries can actually thrive.”

Lennie Ambrose, Chief Marketing Officer at Saint Arnold Brewing

Lennie also acts as a member of the Board of Directors for the Craft Brewers Guild.  

The festival itself was held on a hot Saturday afternoon in south Austin, hosted by the Fiesta Gardens event space.  Entry into the event was quick and very organized, being handled by numerous volunteer staff to make sure that lines to get into the event did not back up and slow down.  The brewery tents themselves were sorted out in numerous different sections and placed in alphabetical order.  Many of the sponsor tents were arranged around the center pavilion of the space, giving them central access to the event, and some highly coveted shade.  

One of the main attractions at the event was the True Anomaly tent. True Anomaly was named Large Brewery Group Brewery of the Year back in February at the Craft Brewers Guild Brewers Cup awards.  This distinction is not taken lightly by the brewery.

“Being named the ‘large-brewery group,’ Texas Brewery of the Year has already had such an amazing impact, and we’re exceptionally proud of the beers that got us into the spotlight.  True Anomaly brews a wide variety of styles, though I think most know at this point that the heart of our beer program is driven by Belgians, Saisons, and Barrel-aged projects that push the boundaries of exploration.  It’s these exact beers that were recognized during the competition which led to the Brewery of the Year distinction, and not just for True Anomaly.  The ‘small-brewery group’ Texas Brewery of the Year was also recognized largely by their experimental styles.”

Michael Duckworth of True Anomaly

Both True Anomaly and Vector Brewing partnered to release a special, experimental collaboration Japanese Rice Lager for the Brewers Fest called Daikuko. The release was a 4.1% alcohol by volume crushable brew made with sushi grade Yamada Nishiki rice and hopped with Japanese Sorachi Ace.  

My first stop at the Brewers Fest was at the Eureka Heights tent for a taster of 713 Pils, a brewery staple and personal favorite.  Prior to the Festival I reached out to Eureka Heights for a comment as to why they believe the Craft Brewers Guild is important and the importance of participating in the festival.

“We believe that the Texas Craft Brewers Guild is incredibly important to the craft beer industry in Texas. They provide a ton of educational and networking opportunities, as well as provide a unified voice for legislative matters. The community of craft breweries is incredibly strong in Texas, and the Guild is a big reason why. Plus, the festival is a blast.”

Casey Motes, Co-Founder of Eureka Heights Brewing

Casey Motes is also a member of the Craft Brewers Guild Board of Directors.  

While tasting my 713 Pils, I began conversing with another patron at the Eureka Heights booth named Ben Tillman. Ben is a native Houstonian turned Austin transplant who attends the Brewers Fest annually and likes to catch up on the offerings from his home town. He joined my venturing around the festival and was asked what he looks forward to the most at the event Houston beer wise.  Ben said, “I don’t get to go back home too often, and getting Houston beer up here (in Austin) is kind of hit or miss, so I try to check out the Houston breweries to see what kind of stuff they are coming out with and compare it to what Austin has to offer. I don’t do social media like Insta or anything, so I enjoy sampling the Houston beers at this festival.” 

Another stop on my list was Galveston Bay Brewing, which had a special release available at the Pink Boots Society booth, called Katie and the Giant Peach, a fruited blonde ale.  Unfortunately, Katie and the Giant Peach was floated before I could even get a taster. Alas, gone means gone. This was one of those beers that I had interest in trying while at the festival and had reached out ahead of time to the Head Brewer of Galveston Bay Brewing Skyler Forshage for some info on. 

“In addition to our support for the festival, we’re strong advocates of the Pink Boots Society, recognizing the vital work they do, especially here in Texas. This year, one of our lead bartenders and Pink Boots member, Katie (Rawson), led our Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day, helping to create a unique blonde ale recipe featuring roasted peaches, fresh peach puree, and the latest Pink Boots hop blend. Katie is no stranger to brewing and in fact she’s helped out in nearly every aspect of the brewery over the years from brewing and packaging to managing the bar so it was really cool to have her involved in this year’s collab.”

Skyler Forshage – Brewer at Galveston Bay Brewing

I guess this means a trip to the Galveston Bay brewery for me to try this beer out.  

Overall, this year’s fest was an amazing experience.  I ran into several good friends, both fans of craft beer and people in the brewing industry. It was great getting to spend some time with him over some beer and with mutual friends.  

This festival was extremely well organized and loved by all that attended. There was a lot of excellent craft beer from around the State to sample, and the staff, both brewery affiliated and volunteers, were welcoming and provided as much information about the beer they were serving while trying to keep the lines moving.  There was plenty of water stations and portable restrooms throughout the event as well.  Friendly people and plenty of beer can’t help but equal a good time.   

I would like to finish this off by offering a special Thank You to the staff at the Texas Craft Brewers Guild for assisting me in providing answers to several questions for this story and being exceptionally friendly to a newbie covering this event!   

Some of the beer samples I had at the event include:

• 2013 Pumpkinator Imperial Pumpkin Stout – Saint Arnold Brewing (Houston)
• 713 Pils – Eureka Heights Brew Co. (Houston)
• Avalonian Double Hazy IPA – Excalibur Brewing (Spring)
• Bishops Legacy Kentish Strong Ale – Hell or High Water Brewing (Liberty Hill)
• Daikuko Rice Lager – True Anomaly (Houston) & Vector Brewing (Dallas) collaboration 
• Excelsior! IPA – Galveston Island Brewing (Galveston)
• Full Grown Jack Imperial Pumpkin Porter – Tupps Brewery (Austin) 
• Festbier – Fast Friends Beer Company (Austin)
• Mexican Lager – Front Yard Brewing (Spicewood)
• Ponderosa Fruited Kettle Sour – Back Unturned Brewing Co. (San Antonio)
• There’s a Bee in My Boot Honey Witbier, Pink Boots Release – Beerberg Brewing (Austin) 

Follow the Texas Craft Brewers Guide on Instagram at @txcraftbrewers and on Twitter X @TxCraftBrewers. All photos taken and edited by and used with permission of Sophia Panda.

The post #HoustonBeer Shows Up for 2023 Texas Craft Brewers Guild Brewers Festival first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post #HoustonBeer Shows Up for 2023 Texas Craft Brewers Guild Brewers Festival appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

August is for supporting local beer.

Why? Because we said so. *wink. Plus, have you taken a look at the craft beer scene in our city lately? Ooof, it’s rough out there and this industry can use your support yet again.

With new breweries closing (Black Page Brewing Co.), the lack of public excitement about enjoying craft beer on social media, and the ever-shrinking beer budget that we ALL have been impacted by – it’s no surprise that these local businesses depend on your support to simply exist. Craft beer sales are down nationwide (yet again), and our city has undoubtedly been affected in more ways than one since 2020. So how does this change in beer buying habits impact the local craft beer business? This is a great conversation starter to have with any local brewery owner. Rising costs and reduced traffic in the taproom are all points covered but one commonality brewery owners often echo is you. As a local beer supporter, you are the reason they are still operating and serving beer. They are beyond grateful for your continued support every time you visit or buy their products.

What is Houston Beer Month anyways?

Jerry Garcia once said “People need celebration in their life. It’s part of what it means to be human. We need magic and bliss and power, myth, and celebration in our lives. And music is a good way to encapsulate a lot of it.”. I like to believe that this is statement is true, and the element of bliss I take from this is enjoying a delicious craft beer beverage made by awesome people I call friends. I enjoy this, and so do you.

In many craft beer cities, you will often see a week-long celebration of local beer being promoted generally in the style of “This City Beer Week“. Houston is so large; we figured a month-long celebration was more appropriate for our big style. We hope by spotlighting this city’s great beer by creating focus to supporting local beer and expand the message that Houston Beer matters, and it’s here to stay.

What can I do to help?

August is the time to drink up and speak up for this industry.

We are asking all Houston beer supporters to show mad love to their local breweries in celebration all month by sharing their social media posts, tagging locally made beer on social media and showing love for all things Houston beer any way they can! Visit any Houston area brewery, buy beer to go or taproom merch, talk to a bartender, make a new friend. Your presence matters.

During the month of August, Houston Beer Guide accepts guest community contributors for those that want to share their love for Houston beer with us. Write about Houston beer, and we will give you a platform to share it with others. Check out the quick writing guidelines below and tell us why you love Houston with beer reviews, photography and stories of great craft beer and comradery. Don’t forget to tag us at @HoustonBeer and use hashtag #HoustonBeerMonth for reposts.

Guest Contributor Writing Guidelines for August

• Articles should be at least 2-3 paragraphs max
• Articles should be focused on your honest experience about beer or brewery, ideally positive with an engaging story or subject.
• Must include an original photo with our article. Submitting multiple photos is also accepted.
• Email your submissions to cheers@HoustonBeerGuide.com – along with your full name and photo of yourself. Don’t forget to share your social media handles.

#HoustonBeer Block Party returns! Tickets on sale now!

The #Houstonbeer summer event of the year!

Enjoy beer samples from 12 breweries, live music, local food and street vendors. This limited ticket festival is designed so that you can get to know other members of this great community in a laid back block party setting – much like you would experience getting to know your neighbors. Pull up a chair, pop up your 10×10, put on those flip flops and let’s hang out.

Read about the full event details here: Houston Beer Block Party – Houston Beer Guide

2023 Participating Breweries:

(VIP) Saloon Door Brewery – Webster TX

(VIP) Back Pew Brewing – Porter TX

(VIP) Vallensons’ Brewing Co – Pearland TX

(VIP) No Label Brewing – Katy TX

(VIP) Turkey Forrest Brewing – Houston TX

Backyard Brewing Company – Dickinson TX

Excalibur Brewing – Spring TX

Astral Brewing – Houston TX

Galveston Island Brewing – Galveston TX

Ingenious Brewing Company – Humble TX

Texas Leaguer Brewing Company – Missouri City TX

Beer Festival Charity Fundraiser with Southern Smoke Foundation

We are so very GRATEFUL for this beer community.

This year, we decided to create a fundraiser to give back to the food and beverage industry’s hard-working beer workers. This year, the benefiter is Houston founded non-profit organization, Southern Smoke Foundation. The Southern Smoke Foundation supports members of the food and beverage industry in crisis nationwide through emergency relief funding and provides accessible, no-cost mental health services through its mental health program, Behind You. 

 This initiative is so important to us that we decided to make it extra special by offering a unique gift to anyone that donates.  Donate $20 or more to this cause using the link below and you will recieve with this unique event poster designed by award winning beer artist Chris Hernandez as a special thank you!

Donate today:

LINK: Southern Smoke Foundation | Kindful

Join us in celebrating this city’s great beer and amazing community with Houston Beer. Reach out to our contributor team by emailing cheers@houstonbeerguide.com. See you at the block party!

The post Grateful for HOU – Celebrating Houston Beer Month first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Grateful for HOU – Celebrating Houston Beer Month appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

It’s the prost wonderful time of the year, it’s Oktoberfest season again! In our previous article we covered a few of the happenings around town during this season – give it a read! Every year, I make it a point to visit Back Pew Brewing’s Oktobeerfest for the festivities and great beer and this year will be no different. The weather is cooling down which is the perfect time for Houston outdoor drinking activities. Hope you don’t have plans because the party kicks off this Saturday October 1st starting at noon sharp! Open the taps!

Every Oktoberfest participant needs a proper drinking vessel to celebrate this famous beer drinking holiday and Back Pew just recently released this year’s stein design. This simple yet classic look featuring a blue Oktoberfest print is just the kind of stein I am missing from my collection. I can’t wait to get my hands on it. There’s nothing better than drinking a cold beer from a stein all year around.

Need another reason to get excited about this years event? Look no further than what’s on tap. The beer list is quite impressive. The line up includes Back Pew classics such as:

• Blue Testament (Pilsner) – Head brewer Bobby Harl’s favorite daily drinker
• Hyper Light (Light Lager) – A crushable light lager beer that’s not light on taste & support local veterans
• Lucy (Hefeweizen) – A taproom favorite
• Me Beer (German doppelbock) – Ask Bobby about this beer for an interesting story.
• King Of The Helles (Helles lager) – You know, the beer with the Back Pew staff on the label as King of the Hill characters.
• Black Habit (Schwarzbier) – Just because it’s dark doesn’t mean it’s heavy.
• Satyrs Swill (Traditional German Bock) – It’s officially fall with this beer!

If you are looking to taste something new, check out these new (ish) beers available on tap this Saturday:

• Kingsbrau (Festbier) – The perfect Oktoberfest celebration beer – PROST!
• ExALTation (Altbier) – German for ‘old beer’. If you have ever tried Alaskan Amber, you might have a good reference point for characteristics on this beer.
• Kolsch (Yup, a kolsch) – Simple and refreshing
• Vienna Lager – often referred as “the original” Mexican Lager
• Vator (Traditional Dopplebock) – The dopplebock style is a bit trickier to get just right, but when you do, you’ll have a delicious, higher-ABV dark lager to enjoy.
• Foxpoint (New German pilsner release) – Crisp and clean !
• NEW Berliner Weisse – A beer that traditionally has a mild sourness and tartness with a light and fruity character
• Mast To Marzen (Traditional Marzen) – A fuller body that is sweeter and often less hoppy flavor.

There is also a special release Zwickel Beer (Bavarian styled lager) – brewed in collaboration with our friend Channing with Nobi Public House so you know it’s gonna be good! We spoke with Channing and here had this to say about the collab concept.

” I reached out to Bobby and asked him if he’d be interested in doing a Dortmunder or a Zwickelbier. He said Zwickel sounded great so we went in that direction. I like the approach of using non-traditional hops in traditional styles to kind of change things up and so does Bobby. After throwing alot of stuff at the wall, we came out with Hallertau Blanc and Nelson as the hop choices for this brew. They both give off white wine and tropical fruit flavors & aromas and we thought that that would be interesting in a pilsner style application. This is a test batch for the actual release to see what people think of it and how we feel about it – we hope you enjoy it!”

This line up is stacked – best in the city when it comes to lagers. Hands down.

Any of these beers will pair beautifully with the authentic German food offered up by The Sauerkraut for the day of the event. Keep your eye out for the best Bratwursts options of The Sauer Kraut. G&G Street Grill will also be offering up tacos and quesadillas that scream to be paired with the newly releasing Vienna Lager. When it comes to food + world class lagers, this Oktobeerfest menu will be sure to delight all taste buds.

It wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without the fun & games and loud beer shenanigans – join in on the fun! Don’t you look dapper in your leather lederhosen! But can you drink AND play?

• Keg Toss: around 2 or 2:30pm
• Stein Holding: around 3pm or 3:30pm
• Stein Race: around 5pm
• Wife Carry: around 5:30pm

All times are tentative so arrive early just in case. Back Pew has official rules for proper stance on stein holding so be prepared to compete like a real German national. No leaning, slouching or bad form here! Prizes are included for all winners because you deserve it, champ!

Family friendly as always with plenty of outdoor space to frolick with your beer. Hope to see you there!

PLANNING ON ATTENDING? Houston Beer Guide is giving away a few FREE Support Local Beer t-shirts during this event. Find the Houston Beer Mother, Sylvia in her black/white/gold dirndl and give her a high five for a free shirt! Mention this article to redeem. While supplies last! Prost!!!!!!

The post Drink like you’re German at Back Pew’s Oktobeerfest first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Drink like you’re German at Back Pew’s Oktobeerfest appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Despite the name, Oktoberfest officially starts in September so kick on those snazzy lederhosen’s and colorful dirndls, break out our fancy stein mugs, and gather up a few friends to celebrate this bier drinking holiday in style. In order to qualify for an official Oktoberfest event, you must have german eats, polka music, bier games and lots of good clean german lagers to enjoy.

This year, I want to highlight one particular event happening Sept 30th and Oct 1st in Pearland. Hosted by Bakfish Brewing Co. and the City of Pearland, Music to My Beers is a two day celebration featuring a healthy list of activity that will be sure to please the whole family. Best thing about this event – it’s free to attend!

On Friday September 1st, the festival gets kicked off with sip and stroll craft market hosted by the Old Pearland Farmer’s Market, weenie (and non weenie) dog races benefitting the Houston Humane Society, live music with Dustin Harper, and an Oktoberfest styled cook-off competition featuring expert foodie judges. Think you got what it take the trophy with your best chili recipe or beer cheese recipe? Prove it by registering today!

Saturday October 1st, grab your lawn chairs and spend the day sampling craft beer from 9 regional breweries, feast on Oktoberfest fare from local food trucks, and boogie down to live music from 3 awesome local bands. Friday cookoff wristbands are $10 for sampling cook off team entries and Saturday brew hall tickets can be purchased on site. Each beer hall ticket purchase comes with a commemorative tasting glass and can be redeemed for either 4oz or 16oz pours of your choice. Ask about the brew hall ticket special to score 4 tickets for only $10. Check out all the details on the Pearland events website including registration details to join in the fun!

Can’t make it out to Pearland next weekend? We will miss you!

We got our eyes locked on a few cool Oktoberfest happenings around town . Our friends at Backpew have a massive beer menu planned including a few never before released beers to enjoy. Hope to see you there! Prost!

The post Prost! Where to celebrate Oktoberfest ’22 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Prost! Where to celebrate Oktoberfest ’22 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

It’s Ingenious Brewing Co. 4th anniversary party on March 26th and they’re pulling out all the stops without charging for admission tickets this year as well as allowing people of all ages this year to attend.

If you’ve ever been to an event at Ingenious you know it’s a big deal when the juice box comes out. The juice box will have all to go orders, 6 taps, and tickets to the dunk booth. The dunk booth will be up from 12pm to 6pm so get there early! James (head brewer), Graham, Josh, Chad Russell, Casey, and Krista will all be available to dunk. Whoever dunks Graham first gets a prize from me! When you purchase your tickets to the dunk booth you’ll get 3 throws and a can of beer to enjoy for $10.

I’m told they’re bringing back Infinity Hopped, a fun project named after the infinity stones found in the Marvel comic book series (Nerd alert!). Additionally, they will feature at least five limited offerings on tap, a few guest taps, recent beer collaborations, and a very special fruit madness release that I’m excited about. There will be a few special bottle releases at that will be available on a first come first serve basis so you may want to get there early to snag some! Ingenious really went all out on the vendor’s list this year with Honestly Poppy’s, Gringoladas, 17% Drip, and Ape’s Curious Confectionery while Gastrocraft serves up food. 

With all the fun mentioned above I couldn’t leave out the fact they will have seven new shirts available! These will go fast as they’re usually highly sought after and sell out fast. If you still want more Ingenious fun after the anniversary party ends, I’m hearing whispers that Krista, taproom manager at Ingenious will be hosting a new event, Hopchella that is a music and art festival taking place April 30-May 1st which I’ll share more about later!

Make sure to Uber/Lyft or find a designated driver to the anniversary party so you’ll be able to fully enjoy the experience that Ingenious is known for on anniversary days. See you there! Cheers!

The post Ingenious Brewing is celebrating 4 years of beers first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Ingenious Brewing is celebrating 4 years of beers appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The Saint Arnold booth at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

The Great American Beer Festival is the largest beer festival in the United States. 2,404 breweries entered beers into the competition portion, and 8,864 beers were judged. Outside of the competition, the entire Colorado Convention Center is filled with hundreds of breweries pouring thousands of beers. As a first time attendee, it was a bit overwhelming with the quantity involved. The balance between the hype breweries like Bottle Logic and Weldwerks that required waiting in line, versus many of the small breweries that may be a highlight waiting to happen made decisions difficult. The buzz about certain beers made their way around the convention center like a middle school hallway. It was exciting and exhausting all at the same time. 

The Buffalo Bayou booth at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

Since this is Houston Beer Guide, let’s talk about Houston. Houston was represented well on the serving floor. Buffalo Bayou, Saint Arnold, BAKFISH, and Texas Leaguer all had booths. 8th Wonder had a booth in the heavily advertised Jameson Caskmates Barrel-Aged Beer Garden, where Rocket Fuel took on the Jameson barrel. For the Houston booths, it was a highlight. I’m not the biggest fan of Jameson in general, but I felt Rocket Fuel was one of the few beers in the area that could handle it and meld well. Many of the other Jameson collaborations by some very big named breweries were overwhelmed by the barrel. The Jameson based Rocket Fuel will be appearing around Houston in the not too distant future, so be on the lookout.

After last year’s success, this was a rather quiet year for Houston at the festival. (Last year Houston area breweries brought home 6 medals and Saint Arnold won Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year.) Austin won more than half of the 18 Texas-based awards, including multiple wins for the Austin Beer Garden Brewery, but the Houston area took home only two awards. Saint Arnold was the honorary of both medals, taking home a bronze in the Ordinary or Special Bitter category for their Amber Ale followed closely in the awards by a silver for Oktoberfest in the Scottish Style Ale category. This brings the Saint Arnold total medal count to 26 all time, a record for a brewery in the south. This would normally be the point in the article where I would have tasting notes for both of the winning beers, but if you’re reading this article there’s a 99% chance you’ve had these beers. If you haven’t, a trip to your local grocer or liquor store is in order, they’re in the cooler and both solid offerings. 

8th Wonder had a booth in the heavily advertised Jameson Caskmates Barrel-Aged Beer Garden.

What should we take home from such a small amount of awards for the Houston area? Not much in my personal opinion. Breweries can only enter in 4 beers. The beers that won awards for Houston last year may not have been entered this year at all. We’re still making our way up on the best American markets, but that climb is happening regardless of medals. As long as more breweries continue to push the envelope, and most importantly make good beers, Houston’s name will continue to grow. More medals and awards are on the way for Houston as long as drinkers demand great products. Keep drinking and demanding great beer Houston. 

Texas Leaguer at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

The post Great American Beer Festival – Houston Recap first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Great American Beer Festival – Houston Recap appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

A General Admission ticket gets you in the door at 3pm and access to 8 – 3 oz. beer samplings (with the ability to purchase more beer tickets at the event.) The VIP ticket gets you in the door an hour earlier and gives you access to the VIP area with specialty and seasonal beers, as well as free appetizers. They even gave us a promo code which extends the early bird ticket prices for a few more weeks.

General Admission: $35 (use code GUIDE for $5 off)
VIP Tickets: $60 (used code GUIDE for $5 off)
Beer Me Pack: which is 4 General Admission tickets for $100 (just $25 per ticket)

Ticket Link

Ticket Giveaway:

BrewFest has given us 2 General Admission tickets to give away to our readers. Between now and April 29th, follow us on Instagram (@houstonbeer) and include both our username and #BrewFestHOU in the caption of your photos. We’ll pick our favorite photo and announce the winner on our Instagram on Monday, May 1st.

There’s no limit to the number of entries, just make sure they meet the criteria!

The recap video they made from last year’s event should give you a great idea of what to expect: beer, games, food, and fun.

Beer & Brewery List:

We’ll keep the list updated as breweries announce what they will be bringing.

• 512 Brewing Company
• 11 Below Brewing
• Adelbert’s Brewery
• Alamo Beer Company
• Alaskan BrewingCompany
• Arrogant Brewing
• Austin Eastciders
  • Blood Orange
  • Original
  • Pineapple
• B-52 BrewingCompany
• Blue Moon
• Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits
  • Sculpin
  • Grapefruit Sculpin
  • Bonito Blonde
  • Sour Wench
  • Victory at Sea Variant
• Brash Brewing Company
• Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company
• Cedar Creek Brewery
• Community Beer Company
• Deep Ellum Brewing Company
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
• Founders Brewing Company
• Goliad Brewing Company
• Green Flash
• Guinness
  • Guinness Draught
  • Guinness Blonde Americal Lager
  • Guinness Irish Wheat
• Holler Brewing Company
  • Holler IPA
• Hops & Grain
  • A Pale Mosaic
  • The One They Call Zoe
  • Greenhouse IPA
  • Dispensary IPA
• Independence Brewing Company
  • Stash IPA
  • Illustrated Man
  • Power & Light
  • Liberty Lunch
  • RedBud Berliner Weisse
• Lagunitas Brewing Company
• Left Hand Brewing Company
• Leinenkeugel’s
• Locust Cider
  • Dark Cherry Hard Cider
  • Sweet Aged Apple Hard Cider
  • Hootenanny Vanilla Hard Cider
• Odell Brewing Company
• Revolver Brewing
• Sierra Nevada
  • Pale Ale
  • Sidecar Pale Ale
  • Tropical Torpedo IPA
• St. Killian Importing
• Stone Brewing Company
• Sweetwater Brewing Company
  • 420
  • Blue
  • Grass Monkey
• Under the Radar Brewery
• Unibroue
• Victory Brewing Company
• Whole Foods Market Brewing Company

The post A Preview of Houston Press BrewFest [Plus a Ticket Giveaway!] first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post A Preview of Houston Press BrewFest [Plus a Ticket Giveaway!] appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The highlight, of course, is the beer. This year’s beer list, unsurprisingly, is impressive, varied, and huge; I counted nearly 300 beers and ciders. Yes, I counted. Yes, I made a spreadsheet. Duh. A good beer nerd has to have a game plan for an event like this. I don’t quite have mine finished, but I do know what my first five stops will be.

Jester King

This is becoming an annual tradition. For the third year in a row, my first stop will be Jester King, and my first beer will be 分 桃, aka Fen Tao, their peach sour. I’m once again predicting that this will be the first beer at the festival to run out. I’ll say it’s 50/50 to even survive the VIP hour from 3:30-4:30 (that’s your cue to get VIP tickets). I’m also excited to try Space Waves, their recent collaboration with Jolly Pumpkin. It’s a JK farmhouse blended with their own cherry sour (Montmorency vs. Balaton), with a salty twist.

Saint Arnold

Houston’s best brewery always brings good stuff to Untapped, but this year they’re going all out. Four vintages of Pumpkinator, three Bishop’s Barrels, two Divine Reserves, and a Raspberry AF in a pear tree. 2016 Pumpkinator, which debuted just this week, will surely be popular. I’m most excited for Raspberry AF, their Boiler Room berliner weisse with raspberries. It’s delicious, and at 3.7%, it’ll be the perfect break beer/thirst quencher.

Peticolas

This Dallas brewery is the most welcome surprise on the list for me. The only other time I’ve seen their beer in Houston was at the (late, great) Draft Fest at Guadalupe Plaza Park in 2012. All these years (and awards and raves) later, Peticolas still doesn’t distribute to Houston, despite our social media pleas. I’m excited to try all three of the beers they’re sending to Untapped: Velvet Hammer (an imperial red), Ghost of Alfred Brown (their English brown ale with ghost peppers), and Sit Down Or I’ll Sit You Down (their highly regarded double IPA).

The Bruery

No, I haven’t stopped nerding out about the fact that my favorite U.S. brewery is now in Houston. I’ll take a second to wish they’d diversified their lineup for Untapped, since all three beers (Melange 14, Mash & Vanilla, and Poterie) are at least 13.4% abv, but that’s a nitpick. All three are crazy delicious.

Real Ale

It should come as no surprise that my pick for the best overall Untapped lineup comes from the best brewery in Texas. They’ve got the whole spectrum covered: sessionable & pale (Hans’ Pils), sessionable & dark (Coffee Porter), hoppy (Axis, their killer new IPA), classic Belgian (Devil’s Backbone), sour (Tenebrae Aeterna, their spectacular barrel-aged sour porter), and rare (a special rye-whisky-barrel-aged version of their 20th Anniversary Rye Double IPA). That is how you structure a festival lineup. I expect to spend a lot of time at the Real Ale table.

So that’s my top five. There’s a ton of other great stuff, of course. Hell, it’s kind of mind-blowing to think that I’ve made it this far without mentioning luminaries such as Brash (EZ7, Cortado), Odell (Jolly Russian, Friek), Founders (KBS), Avery (Lillikoi Kepolo, Rumpkin), Boulevard (Tank 7, Love Child #7, Rye-On-Rye), Alpine (Pure Hoppiness)… you get the point. I’ll also be making a point to check in on some of Houston’s newest breweries: SpindleTap, Under The Radar, and Eureka Heights. Make sure you try Eureka Heights Mostly Harmless. I’m kind of obsessed with it.

See y’all on Saturday

The post My first 5 stops at Untapped Houston, 2016 edition first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post My first 5 stops at Untapped Houston, 2016 edition appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.