Here are my top IPAs picks of 2022 brewed right here in Houston and perfect to celebrate with on National IPA Day!

Heavy Hands Double IPA – Spindletap Brewery

Welcome back for the second year in a row! If you read my Valentines letter to this beer, you know my mad obsession with Heavy Hands DIPA from Spindletap Brewing. This beer pours milky bright yellow with vibrant hops qualities present on all corners. This IPA has a strong citrus kick making it the true definition of Texas juice bomb! It’s medium body and soft mouthfeel continues to delight my hop head senses with each sip. This beer packs a heavy punch at a hefty 8% and if you aren’t careful – this beer will knock yo ass out! Cans are generally available in the taproom year around and local distro markets like HEB. I recommend loading up on the case special at the brewery, because the 6 month shelf life is nice. Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself. You won’t want this hoppy adventure to end. Cheers to the heavy weight champ of Houston hazy beers!

Doc Hoppiday Hazy IPA – Saloon Door Brewing

This beer is my hoppy huckleberry. Coming in at 6.8%, this hazy New England style IPA from Saloon Door Brewing in Webster is an ultra smooth drinkable IPA with all the juicy characteristics hop heads crave. With all Citra hops and its bold tropical juice notes, this beer finishes dry with a slight hop bite on the end. You can always find Doc at the grocery stores (HEB and Total Wine for sure!). This week, I noticed a proper decision was made in the beer aisle.

Yellow Rose Smash IPA – Lone Pint Brewery

It wouldn’t be proper to leave out this Texas classic, Yellow Rose IPA from Magnolia’s Lone Pint Brewery. To be honest, I stepped away from this beer for a while due to some inconsistent quality concerns over the last two years but once I heard it was back in full swing and in environmentally safe 6 packs, I jumped back on the juicy train.

Named after a true Texas heroine, this SMaSH, Single Malt and Single Hop, IPA uses a butt ton of malt and hop released in 2012 called Mosaic (HBC 369). Whole cone mosaic hops are used for bittering, flavoring, and aroma in the kettle and is massively dry hopped for this beer’s mega citrus aroma. Believe it or not, this is still a fan favorite in the beer crowds with a dedicated following that I expect to see around for years to come.

Tanuki IPA – Back Pew Brewing

It’s easy to get lost in amazement by all the eye catching labels in craft beer but don’t skip over this core IPA from Back Pew Brewing in Porter Texas. Tanuki is brewed with a split grist of Pilsner/Maris Otter malt with cold-whirlpool Azacca/Sultana/Comet hops giving this beer 35 IBU of punchy citrus and tropical fruit flavors. It’s then fermented with a Kveik yeast for added pineapple pop before dry hopping near the saturation point of 2.2 lbs/bbl of the 3 hops above. It’s filtered crystal clear and is a super easy drinking citrus slightly piney packed IPA. Tanuki cuts you down to size on a mellow 6.4% ABV. You will be surprised how well the juice qualities and grassy notes balance out on this beauty.

Mini Boss IPA – Eureka Heights Brewing Co.

Launched in 2017, Mini Boss from Eureka Heights Brewing Co. has established itself as what I would call a classic Houston IPA. This double dry-hopped IPA is jammed full of citrus and tropical notes with Citra and Mosaic hops joining forces in this fruity IPA. This beer makes a great pair to gaming nights with buddies, a night out in Downtown with the friends or relaxing at your favorite camp site. You can normally find this beer widely available at most bars in download alongside equally great Eureka Heights offerings. Beer so good, you might even want to score a 19.2oz can to enjoy all by yourself. Do it, we won’t judge you.

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While you are at it, tell us what you are enjoying on this fine IPA day in Houston Texas! Hoppy IPA day, yall!

The post 5 Houston area IPAs you should be drinking on National IPA Day first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post 5 Houston area IPAs you should be drinking on National IPA Day appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Which I think in the minds of most people over 24 years old is a good start. Especially considering first of all that this is a stout, and if it had been green something has gone terribly awry. Nevertheless, as we approach that most sacred of day drinking holidays and I work out which of my inappropriate St. Patrick’s Day themed t-shirts will be least offensive when seen on a work Zoom call, I also begin to think about what beer to enjoy while celebrating the occasion. 

Enter Tipsy Clover, a dry Irish stout from Eureka Heights. This beer is a traditional stout in the vein of Guinness, that is brewed simply with Irish malt and plenty of roasted barley. This style is known for its coffee-like finish and moderate hoppiness. When I am critiquing a beer, my first order of business is to assess how it stands up to the style. This was an important realization for me personally, because in the past I found myself giving a low rating to a beer strictly because it wasn’t a preferred style of mine. I realized at some point which is unfair to the beer. It may be great for what it is, it just isn’t my bag. That said, I am a fan of stouts and had no reservations about giving this one a taste.

When poured, the head of the Tipsy Clover is a creamy, fluffy tan. The beer itself is appropriately dark, absorbing light like a dingy Dublin pub. Not too thin but not as viscous as some of the heavier barrel-aged stouts you’ll come across. The flavor is on style. Coffee is present immediately and the hop bitterness is minimal. There is nothing particularly noteworthy or memorable about this beer, but in many ways that is what I’m looking for in a stout. The last thing I want to get when trying this style is that astringent, borderline infected tasting character that sometimes occurs. In all ways, this is just a solid, enjoyable stout. And at only 4.2% ABV, you can enjoy a number of them without wishing St. Paddy’s Day was on a Friday this year so you’d have two days to recover.

Overall, I’ve given this beer 3.75 bottle caps on Untappd. It’s a nice offering and one that I would welcome back for the season next year. If you’re a fan of traditional stouts, or if you’re new to craft beer and are looking to branch out, I would recommend this beer as a good representation of the style. Feel free to reach out and let me know what you think.

Until next time, CHEERS!

The post Eureka Heights’ Tipsy Clover Beer Review first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Eureka Heights’ Tipsy Clover Beer Review appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Viva La Vida Mocha – Coffee Milk Stout 6.1% ABV

To me, this beer is very reminiscent of iced coffee with very little alcohol detectable. The scent of the beer is mostly coffee and burnt malts, although the coffee scent is faded a little. Taking a drink, the coffee and burnt malts are again prominent in the flavor of the beer. The coffee is a little subdued, just like the scent, but that just makes this one taste and drink like a dry porter. It is very drinkable and smooth, yet sits fairly light in the stomach. There’s a light harshness that allows creaminess to come through, yet I don’t believe there is lactose in the beer. 

Choosy Mom – Peanut Butter Stout 6% ABV

When people think of good peanut butter stouts in Houston, they often think of Tasty AF by Saloon Door Brewing. Though Choosy Mom doesn’t quite live up to its peanut butter counterpart in Webster, it’s still an alright beer. The taste begins with a very sweet milk chocolate taste that is backed by a bit of peanut butter flavor. The roasted malt is lighter upfront, with it getting stronger as the taste advances forward. As the beer warms up, the peanut butter becomes more prevalent. Right out of the fridge, the peanut butter was almost nonexistent. 

The post A Look at Eureka Heights’ Rereleased Stouts first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post A Look at Eureka Heights’ Rereleased Stouts appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Josh Frink – Editor-in-chief, Houston Beer Guide

Art Car, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., American IPA, 7.1% ABV

I couldn’t start this series and not pick the beer that’s always in my fridge. It leans into the piney West Coast IPA style with an apricot and orange undertone. It has a gorgeous deep gold color, but most of the time I just drink it straight from the can. It’s been a such solid and consistent option since it was released that it’s a no-brainer pick at the grocery store when I find it reasonably fresh.

Art Car | Josh Frink for Houston Beer Guide

Theodore Crawford – Co-Host, What’s Good Houston Podcast

Hooked Paw, City Acre Brewing Co., Coconut Stout, 4.5% ABV

My knee-jerk reaction was definitely Houston Haze from Spindletap, but that seems too easy. That’s an amazing brew, but it’s been showered with praise so much at this point that it feels uninspired to have that as my choice.

So with that being said, I have to go with ‘Hooked Paw’ from City Acre Brewing Co. as my favorite beer for the month of June!

‘Hooked Paw’ is billed as a coconut vanilla stout, and it certainly lives up to it! Pours a sublime dark brown with a luscious inch-thick head and a deliciously coconut-y nose. Tastes just as good as it looks and smells – I’m not sure if it’s the vanilla or the choice of grains used, but it makes for a very rich, earthy, and roasty brew. If they’ve still got it on tap, do yourself a favor and grab a pint!

Theo is a co-host of the “What’s Good, Houston?!” podcast. Episodes drop every Tuesday and feature an interview with a local guest, a little sports talk, local news, concerts/events, and plenty of laughs! Find it on iTunes, Soundcloud, or www.wghpodcast.com.

Jose Luis Cubria – Editor, Houston Beer Guide

Mini Boss, Eureka Height Brewing Co., Double Dry Hopped IPA, 6.8% ABV

I’ve been mildly obsessed with this beer for the last two months. It’s intensely fruity, and the tropical/citrus notes hit you the moment you start pouring. It’s scary how quickly a crowler of Mini-Boss can disappear.

Mini Boss | Photo: Eureka Heights Brewing

Nick Willard, Host, BrewstonTX on The H Podcast

Art Car, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., American IPA, 7.1% ABV

The mainstay in my house, what with it being June and all, is Saint Arnold’s Art Car IPA, though I know it’s hackneyed and trite. Wafting the glass gets you aromas of grapefruit and orange, with an under-lying biscuit. From the first sniff to the final swig, you’ll find a beautiful consistency between the aroma and flavor, which means you’ll find flavors of orange, citrus and biscuit, creating a light, crisp and refreshing summer brew.  Because of its accessibility (both in finding and drinking it) Art Car is my go-to brew for June.

Nick Willard (@thebrewstonian) is a Houston craft beer-lover and host of the segment #BrewstonTx on @thehpodcast – a podcast about the people and places that make Houston, Houston.

Chris White – Writer, Houston Beer Guide

Eureka Heights Mini Boss, Double Dry Hopped IPA, 6.8% ABV

It’s true. While I was optimistic when Casey Motes left Saint Arnold and started this Shady Acres brewery, I was generally unimpressed with the first few offerings that came flowing from their fermenters. Mini Boss represents everything that’s changed about my opinions of Eureka Heights and their beers. A bright west coast orange, this seasonal IPA is chock full of Five Alive citrus aromas. That smell turns into flavor alongside the sticky, blueberry, floral greatness that is the signature of the hop-of-now-and-forever, Mosaic. It finishes clean and crisp, with a nice earthy crack on the back of the palate that belies that up-front crash of citrus. I literally can’t get enough. It’s amazing, and it’s seasonal, so go get some right now – and bring me a crowler too, if you please.

Nick B., Contributor, Beer Chronicle

Lame Duck, 11 Below Brewing Co., Pale Ale, 5.5% ABV

Say hello to your new favorite pale ale. Lame Duck has a light, smooth mouthfeel that hits you with flavors of lemon, and pine resin. Bready flavors balance out the hop profile in the best way. At 5.5% ABV, a few won’t leave you looking like the duck on the label. Find the cans at liquor and grocery stores all over Houston. Cheers!

Nick is a contributor to Beer Chronicle. Read his full review here: beerchronicle.com/11-below-lame-duck/

Kenneth Krampota – Writer, Houston Beer Guide

Bishop’s Barrel 18, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Rye Barrel Aged Oat Wine, 12.8% ABV

The Rye Barrel is strong on the nose, but doesn’t overwhelm the beer. It’s an oat wine, which to me tastes like a barley wine with a bit of oatmeal cookie coming in from the oats and Barrel. It’s not over the top with booze as this could have turned out to be, its only fault is that it is a bit thin. Pour one for dessert one night, you’ll be happy you did.

BB18 | Photo: Saint Arnold Brewing

If you’re interested in contributing to next month’s roundup, whether you’re a beer maker, a beer writer, or just a beer drinker, send an email to info@houstonbeerguide.com to get the criteria.

The post What are HOU drinking? – June 2017 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post What are HOU drinking? – June 2017 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

To celebrate Saint Arnold’s status as the Godfather of Houston Beer, Brash has organized what I think is the most interesting beer event in recent history. Five of the Houston area’s best breweries have each taken a Saint Arnold beer, modified it in their own way, and brewed it on their systems. What results is a city-wide show of appreciation for the brewery that paved the way for all the others.

Brash Brewing – Knutsens Farm

Tribute to: Weedwacker

Weedwacker was born from the “Movable Yeast” series at Saint Arnold, when they (intentionally) fermented Fancy Lawnmower wort with a Hefeweizen yeast strain. Brash head brewer Vince Mandeville had a hand in the development of Weedwacker when he was brewing at Saint Arnold, so it’s no big surprise that Brash chose to pay tribute to Weedwacker. Brash opted for an an Oregon Hefeweizen strain in place of Weedwacker’s German strain. They fermented the beer at a low temperature to get the cloudiness without much of the typical banana and clove flavors. To really put the Brash twist on an otherwise typical Hefeweizen, they double dry hopped it with New Zealand Rakau hops. Owner Ben Fullelove adds, “At 5%, it’s crazy drinkable and amazingly clean. Definitely the smallest beer we’ve ever made but still fits beautifully with our overall approach to beer making.”

B-52 Brewing – Bishop’s Gone Wild

Tribute to: Amber Ale

Amber Ale was the first beer Saint Arnold ever sold (at the Gingerman, if you want to brush up on your Houston beer trivia).

Bishop’s Gone Wild has the same malt and hop bill as Amber, but that’s where the similarities end. B-52 fermented the beer with a Saison and Brettanomyces yeast blend and then added Raspberries & Blackberries to the beer for a secondary fermentation.

When asked why they chose Amber, Founder Chad Daniel said, “[We] wanted to pick something that most people wouldn’t expect, so given the types of beer we’re making these days, a sour amber seemed like the perfect choice. We also thought it paid tribute to how willing St. Arnold has been to adapt and embrace changing palates. It would be really easy to get set in your ways, especially as the oldest brewery in Houston, but they continue to innovate and we respect the hell out of that.”  

Eureka Heights – Chop Shop IPA

Tribute to: Art Car

Art Car was the last beer that Eureka Heights Founder/Brewer Casey Motes developed while at Saint Arnold. I’ll let Casey explain the beer: “We took an awesome beer and made it more awesomer. The malt, hot side hops and Vermont (Conan) yeast are all the same. The awesomer part comes in when we triple dry hop it and add a bunch of Citra to the dry hops. The end result has a more citrusy, tropical, and slightly illegal aroma. We chose to add the Citra hops to Chop Shop because we absolutely love Citra and thought it complements the Simcoe and Mosaic that are already in Art Car.”

As a further tribute to Art Car and the logo designed by Gonzo247, Eureka Heights worked with local artist Ack! for the Chop Shop logo.

Lone Pint – Brock the Night Away

Tribute to: Santo

When run through the “Lone Pint beer translator,” as owner/brewer Trevor Brown puts it, the Black Kolsch Santo becomes a Black IPA. For Brock the Night Away, Lone Pint increased the Santo malt bill, added “oodles” more hops (replacing the German noble hops with the American hops that Lone Pint is known for), and fermented it with their house yeast strain in place of Santo’s Kolsch yeast.

The result is an 8.6% ABV, 108 IBU Imperial Black IPA that is lightly roasty with a big hop presence in the bitterness, flavor, and aroma. 

Southern Star Brewing – Extravagant Yard Cutter

Tribute to: Fancy Lawnmower

Since Southern Star’s brewing style is heavily influenced by German and English beer styles, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that they chose Saint Arnold’s Kolsch, Fancy Lawnmower, as their beer to cover. As Founder Dave Fougeron explains, “Our version has a much heavier mineral profile from our water source that plays remarkably well with a Kolsch. We also doubled the finishing hops giving this beer a much more pronounced hop flavor and aroma than the original.” Dave was head brewer at Saint Arnold from 2001 to 2007, so it’s safe to assume he’s already brewed his fair share of Fancy Lawnmower.

Traveling Tap Takeovers

How similar is Extravagant Yard Cutter to Fancy Lawnmower, and which do you prefer? Just how different can B-52 make Amber Ale or Lone Pint make Santo? I’m sure you’re itching to try all the new beers alongside the beers that inspired them.

A few local bars have set up a sort of traveling tap takeover, which will feature all five Saint Arnold beers and all five of the tribute beers. Representatives of all 6 breweries will be out at these events, and, if we had to guess, there will likely be some special and limited release Saint Arnold beers available as well.

The big launch is Monday, June 5th at the Flying Saucer downtown (parking is free downtown after 6pm), and the events spread around the city over the rest of the week.

June 5th – Houston Flying Saucer (Downtown) – 6pm to 11pm Event Details
June 6th – Axelrad – 5pm to 8pm – Event Details
June 7th – The Hay Merchant
June 8th – Hop Scholar Ale House – 6pm to Midnight- Event Details
June 9th – Nobi Public House
June 11th – Cottonwood Houston
June 12th – Conservatory – 7pm to Midnight – Event Details
June 15th – Hughie’s – 6pm to 10pm – Event Details (Only tribute beers)
June 19th – Down the Street – 5pm to 10pm – Event Details (4 of the tribute beers are part of their “Steak & Flight Night” deal)

The post 5 Breweries Put Their Twist on Saint Arnold Classics first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post 5 Breweries Put Their Twist on Saint Arnold Classics appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

This Sunday, May 7th, Holler, Platypus, and Eureka Heights are teaming up for a 3-stop brewery tour – on bikes. The majority of the route will be along the Heights Hike & Bike trail or on dedicated bike lanes, so it should be an easy ride. It’s even easier when you think about everyone who just completed the MS 150.

It will work a lot like the Saint Arnold pub crawls: pick up a card at your first stop, get it stamped at all 3 stops, and earn a free t-shirt. The shirts have to be picked up at Eureka Heights, so there are two strategies: 1) park at Eureka Heights, bike to Platypus & Holler, then bike back to your car, or 2) park at Holler, bike to Platypus, then to Eureka Heights, and return back to your car at Holler. Either way it’s less than a 10-mile round trip (Google Maps says that will take about an hour). If you want a group experience, Tap & Pedal Bike Touring will lead a group from Holler at 1pm.

If you don’t have a bike (or if you’re like me and your tires are always flat) there is a B-cycle station a 5-minute ride away from Holler at Stude park or a 7-minute ride away from Holler at Spotts park. Bonus: if you choose Spotts park and you return the bike around sundown then you can also watch the Waugh bridge bats take off.

(Hopefully we don’t actually need to tell you this, but please bike and drink responsibly. If you don’t feel safe biking, let a member of the brewery staff know and they will store your bike overnight.)

Heights Bike Trail Brewery Tour

Sunday, May 7th
12-6PM

More details and RSVP at the Facebook event here.

The post Heights Bike Trail Brewery Tour – Sunday May 7th first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Heights Bike Trail Brewery Tour – Sunday May 7th appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

(Click here to for a zoomable version)

Yo that IPA Region is stacked! Mostly Harmless got screwed, though. Pumpkinator vs. Rocket Fuel in the Sweet 16 is gonna be brutal. I’ve got EZ7 as my Cinderella. Think Yellow Rose can win it all again?

Welcome to the 2017 edition of the Houston Beer Guide Bracket. Last year’s bracket was a blast, with some nail-biters, a ballot-stuffing scandal, a handful of upsets, and Lone Pint Yellow Rose ultimately cruising to the title.

We’ve made some changes compared to last year, when we used weighted Untappd rankings to fill out the field from 1 to 64. This year, we still leaned on ratings, but we also opened up the selection process to the HBG staff, our own version of the NCAA’s selection committee. We awarded “automatic bids” to breweries that wouldn’t have qualified based solely on rankings. We eliminated one-time releases (no Divine Reserves, Bishop’s Barrels, etc.). And we limited the field to independent craft breweries — you know what that means.

Enough with the pregame analysis. Let’s get to the #HBGBracket. Voting for the first round ends Monday night, March 20th. The second round will begin Tuesday, March 21st. We’ll update results on Facebook and Twitter.

Update #1 – Round of 64 recap:
The first round has wrapped up and there were quite a few surprises. 12-seed SpindleTap Hop Gusher took down 5-seed Saint Arnold Endeavour, with a respectable win of 56%. In our far north vs. far south matchup, 14-seed B-52 Double IPA beat 3-seed Galveston Island Citra Mellow. Copperhead King of Terrors managed to eke out a win against Buffalo Bayou Vanilla Mocha Sunset, in a match decided by just 13 votes. In the battle of Clear Lake, Texas Beer Refinery’s Gulf Coast Gose held its ground against BAKFISH I Tell You Wit. Unfortunately, Texas Beer Refinery Catalyst wasn’t able to repeat last year’s Cinderella run. Yellow Rose continued last year’s tradition of dominating the competition, knocking out newcomer Running Walker Texas Reserve. Check out the rest of the results at the bottom of the page.

Update #2 – Round of 32 recap:
Well that was certainly interesting. The majority of this round went to chalk, with the 1-seeds doing especially well. Dig into the middle of the field a little bit, and you’ll see some very surprising results. 12-seed SpindleTap Hop Gusher continued its Cinderella run, leading 4-seed Brash Pussy Wagon the entire round. At the 24-hour mark, Brash Vulgar Display of Power vs Brash Cortado was exactly 50/50, but lower-seeded VDoP eventually won out. 11-seed Copperhead King of Terrors managed another narrow victory, this time over 3-seed No Label Nightmare on 1st Street. There were no upsets in the Easy Drinking region, dashing the chances of a Pilsner head-to-head between Back Pew and Saint Arnold. How will old-standard Buried Hatchet fare against new-hotness Raspberry AF in the next round? Last year’s champion, Lone Pint Yellow Rose, faces Cinderella; is there a stunning upset on the horizon? Will King of Terrors be able to sneak past Brash EZ-7 and into the Elite 8? It’s all up to you.

Update #3 – Sweet 16 recap:
Let’s start with the fun parts: Almost every one of the match up in the Sweet 16 ended within 100 votes. For nearly 1,500 votes, that’s pretty impressive. Brazos Valley 7 Spanish Angels overcame Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils by 107 votes, 4-seed Lone Pint The Jabberwocky upset 1-seed Brash Abide with 92 votes, Saloon Door Tasty AF beat Brash Vulgar Display of Power by 39 votes, and Pumpkinator vs Rocket Fuel was decided by just 32 votes. Every beer included in the Sweet 16 deserved it’s place this far into the tournament. SpindleTap found a post in one of the beer groups by someone bragging to have voted for Hop Gusher several hundred times in a short period Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to undo the damage that was done. After a discussion with the team at SpindleTap, they offered to forfeit the game to Yellow Rose. At the T-11 hour mark, SpindleTap had the lead, and they appeared to gain more ground in the morning. As stated earlier, we believe that every beer that made it to the sweet 16 deserved to be there. Hop Gusher beat Endeavour and Pussy Wagon without any intervention, and there is a very strong likelihood that it would have beat Yellow Rose as well. Yellow Rose faces some stiff competition in the next round with Saint Arnold Art Car, as do all of the beers in the Elite 8.

Update #4 – Elite 8 recap:
The giants have fallen. Saloon Door rounded up their supporters to knock out 1-seed Saint Arnold Pumpkinator. Brazos Valley had a late surge of support: 7 Spanish Angels rallied from being down 49/51 at the 24 hour mark to come out ahead 54/46 and take out 1-seed Southern Star Buried Hatchet. 1-seed Yellow Rose clobbered 2-seed Art Car in a round that was expected to be more of a challenge for last year’s champion. Brash’s 7-seed EZ-7 avenged 1-seed Abide’s earlier elimination and trounced Lone Pint The Jabberwocky. Lone Pint Yellow Rose is the only 1-seed that remains in the tournament – how will it fare against the Saloon Door posse, which has already overcome some quite impressive opponents? Will EZ-7 or 7 Spanish Angels be the lucky one to advance to the finals?

Update #5 – Final Four recap:
Yellow Rose, our last 1-seed and last year’s champion was bested by the chocolate & peanut butter stout from Clear Lake, Tasty AF. 7 Spanish Angels, the coffee brown ale from Brenham, rallied its supporters to eliminate Brash EZ-7. It’s all come down to this: Saloon Door Tasty AF versus Brazos Valley 7 Spanish Angels. Peanut butter & chocolate vs coffee. Both beers eliminated some very impressive challengers along the way. Which beer will be crowned the best beer in Houston by the readers of Houston Beer Guide?

Update #6 – Championship recap:
Wow, that was a surprisingly close match. Saloon Door’s Tasty AF is now the reigning ‘Best Beer in Houston’ as chosen by the readers of Houston Beer Guide. If you haven’t tried it or any of the other 63 beers included in this year’s bracket, I highly recommend that you seek them out.

The changes we made to the beer selection process this year were a direct result of the conversations we had with our readers last year. If you have suggestions for ways we can make it even better next year, shoot us an email, we’d love to hear your ideas: info@houstonbeerguide.com.

Championship Results:

Saloon Door v Brazos Valley (1,800 votes)
Tasty AF – 51.3%
7 Spanish Angels – 48.7%

The Final Four Results:

Elite 8 Results:

Sweet 16 Results:

Round of 32 Results:

Round of 64 Results:

The post Houston Beer Guide Bracket 2017 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Houston Beer Guide Bracket 2017 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

photo: @larry_koestler

My recent essay on the greater Houston area’s relative lack of beers brewed in the hottest style in the country, the Northeast-Style or New England-Style India Pale Ale (NEIPA), ended up striking more of a chord than I’d hoped, with a handful of local (and forthcoming) breweries coming out of the woodwork revealing near- and longer-term plans to try and slake the thirst of the insatiable double dry-hopped-lusting masses.

One such brewery in particular, Brookshire newcomer Baa Baa Brewhouse, even went so far as to publicly accept the challenge via video, and released a NE-Style Pale Ale called Cow Jumped Over the Moon this past Sunday. While Conroe’s B-52 Brewing released Wheez the Juice back in December, and Eureka Heights produced Business Time last month, neither brewery had explicitly called out or categorized either beer as Northeast-Style in any of their marketing (as far as I can tell, anyway), making Baa Baa Brewhouse the first local brewery to brew a beer in the style and also refer to it as such (“NEIPA” was even the style descriptor on the brewery chalkboard). And with Baa Baa Brewhouse playfully answering the bell, conveniently being located on my side of town, and being perhaps the most kid-friendly brewery around with a fully dedicated play area for children, I knew I had to take the beer for a spin.

Hopped primarily with Galaxy (with Columbus and Magnum for bittering), the first thing you’ll notice is that the beer mostly looks the part. Color-wise it’s a deeper orange — almost bordering on brown — than many of the best-known examples of the style, and proudly turbid, closer to the Hoof Hearted Egg Drop Soup family of NEIPAs. Aromatically it was a bit dull — always a surprise when a double dry-hopped beer is lacking in aroma — but the beer was probably served too cold, because I also found the overall flavor profile slightly muted during the first few sips. The beer really revealed itself as it warmed, with the soft, juicy mouthfeel NEIPA style hallmarks taking center stage. Galaxy imparted a subtle fruitiness, but didn’t assault the palate with a tropical fruit basket explosion; I’m not sure I would’ve been able to blindly pick out the fact that it was a Galaxy single-hop. The 5.7% ABV also likely played a bit of a role in subduing the taste for me — don’t get me wrong, I adore a flavor-bursting American Pale Ale, but having been on a steady diet of double dry-hopped seven-to-eight-percenters from up north, my perception of just how flavorful a given beer might be is admittedly a bit skewed. There was also a very subtle estery note I was picking up that I wasn’t wild about, but didn’t detract from the overall experience. While NEIPAs are known for being lightly carbed (relative to other styles), this beer was also a bit undercarbed, as astutely noted by the fellow hophead I met who said he drove 40 miles from the city just to try the beer (proving my hypothesis that they will in fact come if you build it).

While the above may sound overly critical, on the whole I enjoyed Cow Jumped Over the Moon, and applaud Baa Baa Brewhouse on a solid first effort. The fact remains that virtually no one locally has even tried to produce something in this style yet, and this was by far the closest anyone has come in the Houston area that I’m aware of. If you’re going in expecting Tree House/Trillium-level insanity, don’t — very few breweries come out of the chute lighting the world on fire. The brewery themselves candidly shared that while they were proud of this effort, they’re excited to take what they’ve learned and continue to make even better beer. I’ll drink to that.

The post Review: Baa Baa Brewhouse’s Cow Jumped Over the Moon – Houston Area’s First NEIPA first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

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Held under the pavilion at Hennessy Park next to Saint Arnold Brewing Company, the small venue was a perfect setting for this bite-sized festival. The 10.79-gallon firkins used for the event allowed brewers to offer a small batch for experimentation to add adjuncts to, creating concoctions with fruit, spices, chocolate, coffee and other special ingredients. Fifteen Texan breweries brought firkins full of beer featuring everything from peanut butter to peppers.

Freetail’s Double Cherry Bexarliner was a hit. Though I prefer their more refreshing peach version, the tart Michigan Montmorency cherries in the latest of their Berliner Weisse fruit series paired well with the lactic tang of the beer. An improvement over the too-restrained single Cherry Bexarliner, which was served on the festival’s specialty tap wall, the extra cherry punch of the Double was just what the Berliner needed. Also fruity and refreshing was the addition of grapefruit to Real Ale’s White, a dry-hopped Belgian wit. Crisp with a subtle grapefruit finish, it hit the spot at the hottest time of day on the summer afternoon.

The popular variant vanilla earned high marks in its starring roles in New Republic’s Vanilla Sky, based on their Skylight dunkelweizen, and Lone Pint’s vanilla and chicory variation of their standby brown ale, Gentleman’s Relish. Though a bit overpowering in the dunkelweizen, the vanilla was a natural complement to the typical banana flavor of the hefeweizen yeast, and it tamed the boldness of the chicory in the brown ale.

No Label brought two cocktail-inspired beers: Old Fashion Ridgeback Ale and Dark & Stormy 1^st Street Blonde. The Old Fashion was the more successful of the two. Bourbon cherries, bitters and orange peel added complexity to the dark amber brew and nicely accented its existing caramel notes and roasted malt. The rum-soaked ginger and lime enlivened the blonde, but the lime finish was too intense.

Arguably the most audacious experiment, Cycler’s Ryed Hard (Reubenized) was the brewery’s take on a Reuben sandwich. Their rye ale was made over with mustard seed, star anise, juniper berries, dill seed, bay leaves, ginger, cloves, cardamom, allspice, coriander and mace to taste like a Reuben without the corned beef: an odd beer, but it worked well.

Like any experiment, the results can vary. Sometimes the result is something you want to replicate, and sometimes it falls flat. In my opinion, Deep Ellum’s Very Berry Dallas Blonde, 8^th Wonder’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Rocket Fuel, and Real Ale’s modified Real Heavy Scotch ale were misses. The Very Berry Blonde tasted like a watered-down berry lemonade, the Peanut Butter Chocolate Rocket Fuel was thin and had hardly any discernible peanut butter flavor, and the Real Heavy with English tea tips, candied figs and dried apricot had too many flavors to focus on.

A late entry in the Fest, new kid on the block Eureka Heights really impressed me with My Stoutrifice, an incredibly well-balanced milk stout brewed with Mexican cinnamon and peppers. It’s one of the best pepper beers I’ve ever had.

Other highlights included (512) Café au Lait, their venerable Pecan Porter with a coffee kick; the sarsaparilla-spiked Brazos Valley NYF Silt Brown, a dead-ringer for its namesake, Not Your Father’s Root Beer; Deep Ellum Tongue Punch, a solid tropical twist on their standard IPA; and the luscious, creamy Nutella®-like evolution of Southern Star’s Buried Hatchet Stout, Deez Hazelnutz.

Those standouts were a warm-up for my vote for Best in Show: Karbach Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter Horchata. The welcoming, warm cinnamon nose invited me to drink the imperial porter. Bourbon upfront with a grainy backbone and a cinnamon finish, it was a perfect symphony of flavors and one of my favorite BBHs to date. I really hope Karbach releases this one, at least in limited batches, so more people can try it.

Though most of the beers at the Fest were variation of standards from their regular beer lines, some breweries brought unaltered brews, showing off the richer, smoother character of cask-conditioned beers. Karbach offered their lupulin bomb, Hop Delusion Double IPA; Southern Star’s newish IPA, Conspiracy Theory, made an appearance; the revered Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 15 Russian Imperial Stout came out of retirement for the occasion, and 8^th Wonder’s tasty limited-release gose, Haterade, was also featured at the Fest.

One of my favorite aspects of this festival was the signage. Too often at festivals you are left on your own to figure out what you are actually drinking. Firkin Fest featured signs labeling the style, ABV, IBU and a detailed description of each beer and its transformation from its normal base into its firkin alter ego. Even better, some of the brewers were on hand to ask questions about their beers. The intimacy of the event allowed for longer discussions with the brewers, which I very much enjoyed. I’ll be back next year.

The post Houston Firkin Fest 2016: A Firkin Good Time first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Houston Firkin Fest 2016: A Firkin Good Time appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.