Reviews

Adopt-a-Bastard at Brash: Arrogant Bastard Hits the Road
Late last summer, Stone Brewing Company, the largest brewery in Southern California, made a big two-fold announcement. First, what is arguably the cockiest beer in America would branch out to become his own product line. Second, as has happened to the best of us, the Arrogant Bastard was finally sent packing and…

Guest Post: It’s Time for Texas Pilsners!
Editor’s Note: This article is written by Joey Williams, the Beer Department Manager of Spec’s of the “downtown” location on Smith Street. As he describes below, he offered to lead us in a tasting of Texas(ish) pilsners and we happily took him up on it. At the tasting were Houston Beer Guide writers Josh, Jeff,

Divine Reserve 16 – A review and commentary
Nothing seems to get the Houston beer community more engaged and interested than a Divine Reserve release. Searching out DR on release day is, in my judgment, a rite of passage for the greater Houston beer community. Whether that’s standing in line outside a local beer store of choice, whispering a secret password to…

Top-Rated Beers & Breweries in Houston: March 2016
Every quarter, Brew York New York compiles a list of the top-rated beers and breweries in NYC, using data found on Untappd. Starting last August, I’ve done the same exercise for Houston each quarter. Here’s the quarterly update for March, with a special March twist below. A quick reminder of the methodology: To make…

Karbach Three Legged Lab Imperial Stout
After its debut last year, Three Legged Lab is Karbach’s newest entrant into their specialty seasonal line-up. As the winter seasonal, it can be found on tap or in 4-packs of 12 oz cans during the first part of the year. The brew is named after the owner’s black lab, Molly, who lost her leg early in life (per

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
Karbach F.U.N. 013 Kentucky Habit
Karbach F.U.N. 013, aka Kentucky Habit, is delicious and you should absolutely drink it. But it’s only half the beer you’re expecting. Let’s back up. The latest release in Karbach’s F.U.N. series — their limited, occasional, barrel-aged line — is a bourbon-barrel aged Belgian quadrupel. Here’s a description Karbach…

Favorite Beers 2015
We asked our writers to send in a few sentences about their favorite beers of the year. We asked them for a favorite local beer and a favorite out-of-town beer. Some of these have been around for years and some aren’t available in Houston. This isn’t meant to be a “best of 2015” article; it’s just

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…

Karbach Staycation
Gone are the sweaters and hoodies and henleys, out are the vented shirts and pearl snaps and guayaberas. It’s been a wet spring in Houston, but when the rains leave the moisture stays, and the humidity has descended like a biodome over our fair burg. With the peacoats go the porters, with the scarves the stouts.

Tasting Review: Rotundone from Buffalo Bayou
Call it serendipity, call it beer Karma, call it whatever you want. I recently wrote about how I think Houston’s ideal beer style is the Saison. While there are were several examples of the style available at the time, none were quite the pepper-forward version of the Saison style that I absolutely love. That is,

A Photo Mosaic in honor of Yellow Rose, Ruler of Mosaic
Apparently a picture is worth a thousand words. So, here’s 4,320,000 words about my favorite beer: