Image: Copperhead Brewery

Copperhead Brewing Company

Late last year, I had the pleasure to visit Copperhead Brewing in Conroe, and was pleased to try five of their beers, two of which, Striker IPA & Copperhead White, are now being bottled. They join Medusa, a Belgian Dark Strong, as Copperhead’s initial distribution bottles. I’m particularly pleased that the White was chosen as one of the three, as I found it to be rather refreshing, and it will serve as a great beer for Houston’s somehow-still-present summer. Copperhead doesn’t intend to stop with these three: already, Copperhead Red was a brewery-only bottle release, and Kangaroo Killer (previously named Yellow Tail Pale) is coming soon. In addition, I’ve been told that a brewery-only bottle release for King of Terrors, a 15% imperial stout aged on coffee, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans, is hopefully in the works. And of course, as before, Copperhead still remains one of the handful of Houston-area breweries where you can take crowlers home. I look forward to seeing more Copperhead in beer departments soon.

Braman Brewery (Running Walker)

The excitement in the beer community these days is cans, cans, cans, and Braman Brewery is jumping right into the mix with their first cans, packaged just last week, for all five of their Running Walker beers. Their IPA, Kolsch, Pilsner, Stout, and Texas Secession cans will join an increasing number of aluminum options. Braman went all out on design for these cans, enlisting the help of branding firm Hawkeye Communications. Right now the cans are being produced on a mobile canning line, with plans to eventually purchase a canning line for the brewery.

Image: Graeme Rabe

Galveston Island Brewing

It’s no secret that I love Galveston Island Brewing’s Citra Mellow. It’s a truly excellent beer, and in my opinion, easily slots into the top beers in Houston. So imagine my excitement at learning that it will join Tiki Wheat as Galveston’s first canned offerings. Both will be available in 12 ounce six-packs, at first brewery-only, but very soon to see distribution. There are also plans for the Balinese smoked imperial porter to join the cans soon. Canning is being done via Armadillo Mobile Canning, an Austin-based mobile canning solution. Cans were designed by GI’s owner, and, as shown, are quite attractive.

The post New Beer Cans and Bottles All Over Houston first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post New Beer Cans and Bottles All Over Houston appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

What’s a fitting present for a brewery celebrating two years of producing delicious brews? Your presence! B-52 Brewing in Conroe is hosting its second anniversary bash on June 4th, and they want you there. The brewery will be serving over 20 different beers for the event, including the premiere of their Berliner Weisse and the release of their Bourbon for Breakfast stout. The Berliner Weisse was re-fermented with fruit in oak barrels, and will be available in five flavors: blackberry, raspberry, cucumber-lime, apricot and strawberry. Variants of Bourbon for Breakfast, their Breakfast Stout aged in Yellow Rose bourbon barrels, will include vanilla, cacoa nibs and coconut for the event. Also on tap will be B-52’s Brett Double IPA fermented in oak barrels and many other limited release options.

Kids and dogs on leashes are welcome at the event. The brewery’s own root beer will be available for all, as well as lemonade and soda. Food trucks and an artisan farmer’s market will be on the premises to keep you fed throughout the afternoon. The festivities for the event include day-long games, prizes and live music. General admission tickets are $30 and include limited edition Berliner Weisse glassware, eight drink tickets, access to limited-release beers, first access to limited release bottles to go, music and games. The general admission ticket will also give you the opportunity to try some of the wines being offered at the event, and you are free to interchange between beer and wine as you please. Non-drinkers can purchase “Designated Driver” tickets for $15, which include three pours of lemonade or root beer and limited edition Berliner Weisse glassware.

Where: B-52 Brewing Co. – 12470 Milroy Lane, Conroe, TX 77304

When: Saturday, June 4, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/b-52-brewing-2nd-anniversary-party-tickets-24439437014

Update:

With the threat of rain this weekend, B-52 has decided to accept tickets the following weekend (June 11th). Ticket sales will also be extended, assuming they don’t sell out. From their Facebook post: “If you do come the second weekend, you will still be guaranteed souvenir glassware and access to all the scheduled tap releases (14 total); however, the other experimental/limited release taps will be first come, first serve, so we still recommend attending the first weekend if possible. All ticket holders will still be guaranteed access to purchase the specialty bottles TO-GO regardless of which day you attend.”  Keep an eye on their Facebook for more information.

The post B-52 Second Anniversary Celebration first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post B-52 Second Anniversary Celebration appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The new Southern Star taproom (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

New beers, new taproom, and a bigger brewhouse: 2016 is going to be a big year for Southern Star Brewing.

Already this year, the Conroe brewery has moved and expanded, adding more brewing capacity at its new location a few miles from its original home. A new indoor taproom opens this week (Friday, Feb. 26.), too. And to top it off, they’ve got at least four new beers scheduled for release this year, according to details provided to Houston Beer Guide by Southern Star. That includes a new year-round IPA, two new seasonals, and another entry in the one-off series that delivered the tasty Honesty of Reason IPA last fall.

Southern Star began brewing on their new brewhouse on February 17, going from a 15 BBL system to a 60 BBL system. As for the new taproom, expect their regular lineup of beers and some taproom-only specials. The space will also be available for private events. Future plans for the new brewery include the addition of a fenced-in dog park, disc golf course, and outdoor beer garden.

New Taproom Hours
Fridays: 5PM – 9PM
Saturdays: Noon – 6PM

Address: 3525 N Frazier St, Conroe, TX 77303

Now, to the beer. Southern Star’s expansion means they can produce a lot more beer, and from the advanced look at their lineup, they are planning to. In addition to their current year-round lineup (Bombshell Blonde, Buried Hatchet Stout, Pine Belt Pale Ale, and Valkyrie), they are releasing a new, year-round IPA called Conspiracy Theory. Southern Star provided HBG with the following tasting notes:

“Conspiracy Theory is the culmination of the knowledge we have gained from the Hopped and Screwed series. It is a 6.5% ABV India Pale Ale with Amarillo and Simcoe hops dominating both flavor and aroma. A light, but noticeable caramel malt backbone boosts the drinkability of this true West-coast style IPA.”

The new can design for Conspiracy Theory IPA (courtesy of Southern Star)

The Spring Pils Tree (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

Southern Star is also planning an entirely revamped seasonal lineup. The first offering will be Spring Pils, which Southern Star describes as:

“…a German-style pilsner with a noble hop profile and a noticeable malt profile derived from 100% German pilsner malt subjected to a single decoction mash profile.”

That will be followed by one of my favorites, Walloon, that will be rebranded and called Summer Saison. Both the Spring Pils and Summer Saison cans will feature a tree in different states of growth.

In the fall, Southern Star will release its first Oktoberfest beer. The as-of-now unnamed beer will be a traditional Oktoberfest using German Munich and Vienna Malts. For the winter, we will see the return of Old Potentate, rebranded with a new name and can design. Old Potentate is a British-style Old Ale that was last brewed in 2014 but last canned in 2012.

In 2015, Southern Star released their first beer in their One-Off Art Series, which features a can designed by a local artist and a speciality one-off beer. The first in that series was the beautifully canned Honesty of Reason, with artwork by Michael Draper. The next entry will be one I’m particularly excited for: Garden State. With gorgeous artwork from local artist Nicole Gavin, Garden State will be a Bavarian-style hefeweizen dry-hopped with Mandarina hops. This should give the beer some slight orange notes in what is being described as a traditional banana and clove hefeweizen.

Look for release dates for all of these beers on our release page located here as soon as we have them.  The future is looking very bright for Southern Star!

The Summer Saison Tree (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

Garden State (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

The post 2016: The Rise of Southern Star first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post 2016: The Rise of Southern Star appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

It takes a lot to get me to drive outside the loop, and as Google maps poorly directed me onto a path that took me on the beltway for my hour journey north, I thought to myself, “this had better be worth it.”
Luckily, the Southern Star Black Crack release party justified the trek. Having not been to Southern Star’s facility since 2010, I was eager to return, and even more eager to enjoy a few glasses of Black Crack, one of my favorite Houston beers.

And enjoy I did! Participants received three glasses of Black Crack: this year’s release was joined by a serving of last year’s and a cask of single barrel unblended Black Crack that went into this year’s composition.

As expected, this year’s release is very similar to the past blends, with plenty of bourbon and coffee notes in a well-balanced and complex delivery. I did find the body a little thinner than I recall from the past, but this didn’t distract from my enjoyment.

The unblended cask was really interesting. Though flat (as casks often are), there was a smooth feel that allowed the flavors of the underlying Buried Hatchet to shine through without ignoring the aromas and finish provided by the barrel. Hopefully Southern Star will continue the unblended idea in the future; I thought it was marvelous

In addition to the beer, I enjoyed conversation with many fellow drinkers and some pleasant bluegrass. Nearly everyone I talked to loved the cask as well and the excitement for one of Houston’s best beers was palpable. All together a great event, and I look forward to more Black Crack!

Thank you Southern Star Brewing Company for providing us a ticket to this event.

The post Southern Star Black Crack Release Party first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Southern Star Black Crack Release Party appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.