Ballast Point’s original Victory at Sea is brewed with San Diego’s Caffe Calabria coffee, and has vanilla and dark chocolate notes. Malty and boozy, the bold beer has a slightly bitter, but not acidic, finish. Paired with Shortbread and Thanks-A-Lots, fudge-dipped shortbread cookies, Victory at Sea took on different flavor profiles: the Shortbread cookies made the chocolate notes more apparent, and the Thanks-A-Lots made the porter taste more coffee-forward. The thick breadiness of both cookies soaked up the booziness in a satisfying way; much like shortbread and tea, and made the beer seem less heavy.

Coconut Victory at Sea was paired with Caramel deLites: vanilla cookies covered in caramel, topped with toasted coconut, and striped with chocolate. While apparent in the aroma, the coconut is very faint in the flavor of the beer, which is slightly sweeter than the original Victory at Sea. While the Caramel deLites made the coconut taste more prominent in the porter, I was hoping the pairing would create more than a slight coconut accent in the flavor of the brew.

An instantly recognizable classic, America’s much beloved Thin Mints were paired with Peppermint Victory at Sea, which tastes very strongly of mint. The minty, fudgy-coated chocolate wafers amplified the mint flavor of the already peppermint-forward beer, making it overpowering for my taste.

Finally, Girl Scouts love peanut butter so much that it is a major ingredient in two of their cookies: the chocolate-covered vanilla cookies layered with peanut butter called Peanut Butter Patties, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches, which are crispy oatmeal cookies with a peanut butter filling. Peanut Butter Victory at Sea met my “Goldilocks standard” for flavored beers — the peanut butter was not too strong or too faint — it was just right. A perfect complement to both cookies, the Peanut Butter Victory at Sea is peanut butter forward, but has chocolate and coffee notes in the background. The oatmeal in the Peanut Butter Sandwiches went well with the maltiness of the beer and soaked up the slight bitterness of the coffee. The Peanut Butter Patties brought out more of the peanut butter flavor in the porter, and left a lingering present: a thin coating on the tongue that created a chocolate finish with each sip.

Looking for Houston beers to approximate this tasting? Try Brash Cortado or 8th Wonder Rocket Fuel with Thanks-A-Lots and Shortbread. Clear Lake’s Saloon Door brews a peanut butter and chocolate stout perfect for Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Patties. While we have a dearth of mint porters or stouts in town, Southern Star Buried Hatchet pairs well with Thin Mints. Without a coconut beer available year-round to accompany Caramel deLites, bourbon barrel-aged beers go quite nicely with the caramel, vanilla and coconut flavor combination: try them with Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel brews or Karbach Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter when they are available.

Don’t want to stop there? If you’re interested in local beers to pair with the remaining two Girl Scout cookie varieties offered in the Houston area, try Saint Arnold Art Car with Lemonades, a winning citrusy combination; and Buffalo Bayou Rotundone with Cranberry Citrus Crisps: the slight tang and subtle spice of the saison play well off the zesty, whole-grain cookies.

Featured Image from Little Brownie Bakers

The post Have Your Cookie and Drink It, Too first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Have Your Cookie and Drink It, Too appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

My new Founders mug, included with the flight!

Back in August, I asked, “Where are Houston’s flights?” Since then, many breweries have begun offering flights, and slowly, my vision for a small-drink Houston brewery scene is coming true. At the same time, a few bars have begun offering flights, including what is probably the greatest flight program in Houston at Mongoose versus Cobra in Midtown.

You’re likely familiar with the traditional flight structure at bars that offer them: in contrast to a brewery highlighting their beers all at once, a bar flight usually allows you to “pick and choose” from a list of beers that cost around the same amount in order to try multiple things. Flying Saucer, for example, offers a “Build your own” flight, in addition to some pre-designed flights such as “Hop Head,” “Texas,” or “World Taster.” However, the flights at Mongoose are a different paradigm altogether: they are offered only once, they highlight a single brewery at a time, and they include beers that, if you asked for them as part of a flight at most bars, would get you a laugh and a head shake.

Take for instance the December Founders Brewing Flight, a flight I was happy to partake in. Participants on December 3 (these special flights occur on alternating Thursday nights only) received six-ounce pours of Curmudgeon Old Ale, Founders Imperial Stout, Founders Breakfast Stout, and Kentucky Breakfast Stout. The last one was poured into a beautiful mug which participants got to keep. The total cost? $15. Considering the lengths to which many in Houston went to try to even taste KBS, this was a crazy steal. Add the awesome mug in, and you’ve got an irresistible flight.

The flight that started it all: Houston Beer Week’s inaugural flight.

Other Thursday MvsC flights, all of which are between $10-15, have featured similar incredible offerings:

• Clown Shoes flight featuring a special firkin of Space Cake (yum!)
• A No Label/Ballast Point flight that included the only cask of Nightmare on First Street aged on Ballast Point Three Sheets Rum oak chips
• A $10 Texas Beer Refinery flight including the incredible Cranberry Gose
• Bourbon County flight including the very-chased-after 2014 BCBCS and two of the “Sister” sours.

As a lover of flights, I urge you to make your way “under the ivy,” as they put it, for the next Thursday night flight on Jan 28. And you’re in for a treat: my favorite brewery in Texas, Real Ale, is the focus of a flight that includes TWO Mysterium Verum beers this Thursday. Devil’s Share (wine barrel aged Devil’s Backbone Tripel – this is a rare treat), and Codex Triplex (Brett. Brux. steel-aged WT3F?! – I recently tried and was blown away by this one) both are the stars of the show, joining two other Real Ale delights. Don’t miss out!

The post Mongoose versus Cobra has the best flights in Houston first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Mongoose versus Cobra has the best flights in Houston appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Photo by Andy Bouffard

I guess third time’s a charm: after being plagued by weather problems the past two years, 2015’s Untapped Festival was a perfectly sunny sweat-drencher. The weather wasn’t the only thing Untapped got right this year: from beer selection to musical talent, this year’s line-up did Houston proud.

I got there a little later than I wanted to due to events out of my control, so I missed out on a couple rare and limited-quantity tappings (looking at you, Jester King Fen Tao and Firestone Walker Helldorado), but I got to try almost everything else on my “must-hit” list.  

First up, Jester King La Vie en Rose. Made with raspberries previously tasked to make their much-beloved Atrial Rubicite, La Vie en Rose is dry and, predictably, less fruity than Atrial Rubicite. To me, that’s not a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, I like Atrial Rubicite, but I’ve never been a fangirl. (I’m more of a Noble King kind of gal.) La Vie en Rose is vinous; add that to the dryness and subtle raspberry, and it tastes almost like a slightly sour rosé.

At the Saint Arnold tent I skipped some of the rare tappings as I’ve tried most of them before, but somehow I’d missed Divine Reserve 15 (Russian Imperial Stout), which was lovely: boozy, creamy, chocolately and pruny. I also finally tried the new Art Car IPA which had a floral nose and a crisp, fruity body with a bitter finish. I have to say I like it better than Elissa.

Too late to the party, I missed out on Pussy Wagon, but I got try Brash’s Cali Green. I’ve heard a few people criticize it for being too bitter, but I think its bitterness is well balanced with citrus and incredibly drinkable. In fact, excuse me while I go get a growler fill.

Photo by Andy Bouffard

Freetail’s Oktoberfiesta, an Oktoberfest bier fermented with Belgian yeast, surprised me: clean, slightly fruity with a hint of bitterness and a caramel finish. That may not sound like it works, but it does.

I am an equal-opportunity beer-lover. I really do like most styles, and even if I don’t, I will always try them at least once. I’ve never been a fan of smoked beers, but I like to push myself outside my comfort zone. Based on recommendation and my admiration for their venerable Hefeweizen, I decided to give Live Oak’s Grodziskie and Helles Rauchlager a try. I was pleasantly surprised.

Grodiziskie is an almost-extinct Polish style made from oak-smoked wheat. More earthy than smoky, and slightly lemony, the grodiziskie is a nice alternative to a hefeweizen that would taste great with barbecue. The Helles Rauchlager is made with beechwood-smoked barley like a rauchbier, but pale like a helles lager. It is dry and aggressively smoky, but the clean noble hops shone through and created a very refreshing, summery brew. With all the single-hop beers out right now, it was a nice change of pace to try some styles that are, as Jason from Live Oak said, “more like an orchestra than a solo.”

Moving onto beers from outside of Texas, SanTan Moon Juice, a wheat IPA with a beautifully floral and citrus nose, impressed with a nice balance of fruity and bitter, as did Founders Porter with its creamy mouthfeel, notes of coffee and chocolate, and lightly smoky finish.

I always go for favorites when I can get them on draft, so I was delighted to get some pours of Lagunitas Maximus, Victory Golden Monkey, Real Ale Devil’s Backbone, and one of my new favorites, Boulevard The Calling.

Of course, as with all festivals there are always too many beers and too little time. I missed out on several brews I wanted to try, such as 8th Wonder Mission Control and Premium Goods, Ballast Point Indra Kunindra and Even Keel, and Independence Red Bud. But, there’s always next year.

Photo by Andy Bouffard

I go to a lot of festivals. Too often you have to choose between drinking great beer and listening to crappy music or listening to great music and drinking crappy beer. What I like about Untapped is that the good folks who organize it had the bright idea to make it a no-compromise situation for people like me who appreciate both beer and music. As with the past two years (thank you Suffers and Tontons), I found a new-to-me band to add to my list of local favorites — New York City Queens, who remind me of the Dum Dum Girls with the addition of, well, guys.

Sarah Jaffe surprised me; having only heard “Clementine” and a couple of her earlier ballads, I expected a folky set and instead got a guitar-driven alt rock show. I was casually interested in her music before, but after witnessing her guitar skills and falling in love with her emotionally vulnerable songs, I am now an official fan.

I have long liked Cold War Kids, and their set had moments of glory. Nathan Willett’s voice was strong throughout, but the band’s enthusiasm lagged at times. Standouts included “We Used to Vacation,” “Drive Desperate,” “I’ve Seen Enough,” and their most well-known song, “Hang Me Up to Dry.”

New this year to Untapped Houston was the addition of the Saint Arnold Game Garden tent. While I’m not a gamer, I thought it was a great idea for geeks to have another way to enjoy themselves and stay out of the heat.

Finally, food. Festival food is often salty, fried or overcooked. Fortunately, the Untapped organizers promote the farm-to-table movement. Enter Underbelly to the rescue with the best festival burger I’ve ever had. Kind had a tent for gluten-free festival goers, with interesting new savory bar flavors. I particularly enjoyed the Sweet Thai Chili, Honey Smoked BBQ and Honey Mustard offerings.

Kudos to Untapped for getting all the festival elements right. I’m already looking forward to next year’s fest.

The post Untapped Festival 2015 – All the beer. All the music. All the sweat. first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Untapped Festival 2015 – All the beer. All the music. All the sweat. appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.