Annual Chili Cook Off at Holler Brewing / Beer Release and Collaboration with Hop Topic

When: Sunday, Jan 16th at 12pm

Where: Holler Brewing Co – 2206 Edwards St Houston TX 77007

Join Hop Topic and friends this MLK weekend for their annual chili cook off hosted by Holler Brewing. $18 ticket admission gets you all you can eat chili samples you want from 9 teams currently signed up. I asked Ken Noble, operating founder of Hop Topic, for the 411 on this event. Here is what he had to say…..

I attended the chili cook off last year, and it was alot of fun! What is different about this year’s chili cook off?

We have an increase of vendor and team participation this year, with a larger cash grand prize for the winner. Our sponsors have been a huge part of the success of this cookoff.

Who are the judges for this competition? How does the voting work?

The great thing about our cook off is that each ticket purchase includes a Hop Topic voting token, turning the power of the vote to the public. Grand prize is $300, a team trophy and a basket of craft beer goodies. Additionally, we have included 3 secondary contests trophies for Spiciest Chili, Most Colorful, and Best decorated team booth.

Can we expect any new beers from Holler for this event?

Yes! We are releasing a special collaboration beer with Holler Brewing called Holla Holla Holla, this beer is a foreign extra stout that will be available in cans to go and on tap during the event. This beer pays homage to the classic Dave Chappelle show skit, The Holler Dating Service. This beer name is only appropriate.

Super clever, we agree Ken! For more details on this event, visit the Facebook event page.

Can’t make it Holler on Sunday? There are a few other brewery chili cook offs coming up soon from supporting breweries.

6th Annual Chili Cook Off at Saloon Door Brewing

When: Saturday January 29th at 1pm

Where: 105 A Magellan Circle Webster TX 77598

Outdoor event featuring 15 teams competing to take home 1st and 2nd place beer and bbq prizes with trophies. Very competitive people’s choice award ticket will be given to all attendees to vote. $5 admission price for an ‘all you can sample’ wristband is required for all event attendees. New beer releasing the day of the event is a Chipotle Milk Stout.

Registration is still open for team entry. Contact Jenelle to sign up, $25 entry fee. Full rules for event are listed on Facebook event.

Bakfish Chili Fest

When: February 6th at 1pm

Where: 1231 Broadway Street Pearland TX 77581

BAKFISH is hosting a Chili Fest Fundraiser for the Pearland Fire Fighter Association – an organization that directly supports the brave men and women Pearland Firefighters and their families. 20 spots available to compete, $50 entry fee per team and judged by 3 guest judges and people choice awards. Ticket proceeds benefit the Pearland Firefighters Association.

For The Love of Chili – 6th Annual Chili Cook Off at Spindletap Brewery

When: February 12th at 11am

Where: 10622 Hirsch Road Houston TX 77016

Outdoor event in the Spindletap Pavilion. Panel of judges will be awarding best chili and people choice awards will be done via ballot at each team table. No admission fee to sample and taste.

Team Registration is $30 per team with no team size limit. Rules for competing are available on the Facebook event.

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I hope to see you at one of the upcoming events with your shirt stained with chili and glass of beer in your hand. Also, beans belong in chili. Just saying. Cheers Houston!

The post Cold Beer + Cooking Competitions: It’s officially cookoff season in Houston first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Cold Beer + Cooking Competitions: It’s officially cookoff season in Houston appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Parish bringing that Louisiana hazy flair.    Photo Credit: Britt Antley

In addition to Ghost, Parish has teamed up with Silver Eagle Distributors to bring to Houston a solid lineup that satisfies all spectrums of the beer drinkers’ palettes. Their most popular beer by volume is Canebrake, a self-described Louisiana Wheat Ale that uses locally grown sugarcane to lend a slight sweetness to the easy drinking wheat ale. South Coast is another easy drinker, balancing a traditional amber malt profile with noble hops to create a sessionable 5.1% backyard BBQ type of beer. Envie is Parish’s American Pale Ale that combines juice-laden tropical fruits with no harsh bitterness to yield an approachable hoppy beer that could easily convert people who claim to dislike anything with discernible hops. Things get kicked up a couple notches with Rêve, a glorious coffee stout that drinks like cold brew and crams an incredible amount of flavor into a surprisingly low 7.2% body. Parish plans to bring additional limited seasonal offerings to Houston, and we can also expect packaged retail in the spring.

The festivities kick off next Monday at Flying Saucer Downtown from 7-10 PM where Andrew Godley, Parish’s founder, will be on-site to mingle and meet Houston’s passionate craft beer community. Beyond that, if you can think of a good craft beer bar in the greater Houston area, there’s a strong chance they will be hosting a Parish event with either Andrew or a local Parish rep. For a full list of events, check out Silver Eagle’s event page.

The man himself, Andrew Godley    Photo Credit: Parish Brewing Co.

I myself am very excited for Houston to be receiving Parish distribution. Having lived in New Orleans the past 1.5 years, I have been spoiled to try all of Parish’s offerings, and I often make the 2-hour drive to their taproom to try brewery exclusive beers and buy some of their limited releases that don’t see distribution. Houston is in for a treat with their year-round lineup, and prepare to have your minds blown when some of their limited release seasonal offerings make their way west on I-10 ***cough***DDH Ghost***cough.

H Town could receive this (the DDH Ghost, not Gumbeaux)    Photo Credit: Britt Antley

The post Parish Brewing Begins Houston Distribution first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

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SpindleTap Brewery’s Houston Haze NEIPA

When I wrote “Who will be Houston’s Tree House or Trillium?”, I figured we’d see some breweries gradually approach the style and brew some reasonable attempts, but that it would take some time before we saw a true player on the hazy AF juice front. SpindleTap said “f%7* all that noise” and is on the cusp of releasing the most flavorful and true-to-style local NEIPA I’ve had yet. I really enjoyed B-52’s Wheez the Juice, and hope to see its continued production, and Whole Foods Market Brewing Co. also delivered a very tasty IPA last week called NEAF. But SpindleTap’s Houston Haze has thrown down the gauntlet and set a new local standard.

Bursting with orange and grapefruit flavor from heaping amounts of Citra, and pineapple, mango and other tropical fruit notes from Galaxy, Houston Haze is a 6.5% double-dry-hopped delight. It’s close to a textbook example of the kinds of beers I’ve been hoping to see brewed in Houston and that prompted me to write the original essay. It’s also the first of the local stabs at the style that I’ve consumed to truly nail the mouthfeel — one of, if not the most critical component of NEIPA. Houston Haze features a soft, full-bodied creaminess with just the right amount of astringency. The body helps amplify the beer’s character while serving as a canvas for the flavor complexity, a result of the interplay of the heavy post-boil hop load and the London Ale III yeast strain.

And perhaps the most important signifier for me when drinking NEIPA is that, when done right, it lingers on the tongue long after the last sip, coating the palate in lupulin love and making it nigh-impossible to not go back for more. Houston Haze absolutely does this.

Release Details

Recognizing the fragility and best-consumed-fresh nature of NEIPAs, SpindleTap is only selling Houston Haze at the brewery (10622 Hirsch Rd, Houston, TX 77016). Sales begin Friday, March 17, at 10 a.m. SpindleTap only canned 80 cases, and there is a two (2) four-pack-per-person limit. Four-packs are $16. And, in case you miss out this go-round, they’re already planning to brew it again next week. Happy hunting!

The post SpindleTap Nails it With Houston Haze first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post SpindleTap Nails it With Houston Haze appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.