Stop by the brewery taproom in Galveston this Saturday June 11th from 12 to 8pm located at 8423 Stewart Rd Galveston, TX 77554 to help celebrate their 8th anniversary! In addition to delicious food trucks (The Shepherd Mix Food Bar & Around the Corner German Food truck) and live music, they have a full filled scheduled of special release beers for you to enjoy.

Specialty Vintage Tappings:
12 pm:
2019 Stranded on an Island
2020 Roastmaster Reserve

4 pm:
2018 Samson in a Barrel
2020 Beatnik Blend**NEW**
8th Anniversary Belgian IPA
Last Night was Hazy (Hazy IPA)

….and the re-release of Roastmaster Blonde! I am pretty excited about the release of The Roastmaster Reserve myself – which is a blend of barrel aged Samson Imperial Stout & Recooperator, a doppelbock infused with Roastmaster coffee blend beans from Galveston Coffee Roasters. Beatnik, a loyal crowd favorite, is delivering a beautiful blend of different barrel aged stouts aged together to give an unique twist to traditional barrel and stout flavors.

This is a family friendly event, so bring the kiddos along. Galveston Island has a huge playground on site, with tables close by and is minutes from the beach if you want to get the full Galveston experience.

To top off the summer fun, Galveston Island is doing a special Willy Wonka style giveaway associated with this beer. Does that mean I will own the brewery if I win? Nice try, but no. If you find a gold lid in your purchased six pack, bring the can with you to the brewery taproom in Galveston and you will be entered to win a private party in the new production facility and a $500 gift card to spend at Galveston Island Brewing. That’s a lot of beer and goodies! The winner will be drawn on Facebook August 12th at 6:00 pm so be sure to follow Galveston Island Brewing on all their social media channels and be sure to turn on notifications for your chance to win an amazing prize package. For more information on the giveaway simply scan the QR code on the can or visit https://www.galvestonislandbrewing.com/hefenagetaway directly to get all the details and even get a chance to enter for free if you follow the instructions on the site. No purchase necessary to win!

Coconut Hefen-A pours beautifully with golden caramel almost copper tone and the tropical aroma hits your nose as you pour. The banana presence on flavor comes from the clove notes from this classic style and the coconut scent is very vibrant throughout. Quite frankly, Hefen-A smells like a lush tropical paradise in a glass. The banana and sweetness of the initial sip are fully loud and proud while the coconut makes a delightful compliment on this crisp beer. Galveston Island Brewing achieves a delicate harmony of all the tropical notes of a Hefeweizen with a pop of coconut to complete the tropical feel. Because this beer is so crushable, I was able to enjoy multiples way too easily and it makes for a perfect beach, fishing, poolside, or boating beer. You can find Hefen-A at all the places you will find amazing craft beer like H‑E‑B, Kroger, Specs, Total wine, and local beer cellar stores.

Until then, best of luck finding a golden lid and winning a private party with one of the coolest craft breweries on the Island.

Happy Anniversary Galveston Island Brewing! Cheers to good island times!

The post Experience the island life with Galveston Island Brewing with Coconut Hefen -A first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Experience the island life with Galveston Island Brewing with Coconut Hefen -A appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Upon my first sip, the peanut butter dances on your tongue with a smooth feel that brings chocolate to the party on the back end. If you manage to not finish the beer before 10 minutes, the peanut butter becomes even more prevalent. Pit Pat reminds me of eating the Christmas trees that Reese’s puts out around this time of the year with a little more peanut butter than chocolate. Let’s face it – it’s no secret I have a sweet tooth, and this beer will graciously replace a peanut butter cup any day – saving you the guilt of enjoying too many. The best part of Pit Pat is getting to open the second one and starting the flavor experience all over again. 

I warn you to act fast on this beer as it is only available November through February so if anyone is looking to pick up a Christmas or Valentines gift for that special beer lover in their life, this should be the one that comes to mind.

You can find Pit Pat directly at the brewery when you go on island or at H-E-B, Specs, Total Wine, and on tap throughout the city. Cheers!

The post Take it from me, Pit Pat is a great porter – Beer Review from Galveston Island Brewing first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Take it from me, Pit Pat is a great porter – Beer Review from Galveston Island Brewing appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

First allow me to say anyone who knows me knows there is no such things as “Stout Season” for me, as I am a year round stout drinker. So naturally I had to get my hands on Galveston Island Brewing’s Samson in a barrel 2021. Galveston Island brewing takes their Samson Imperial Stout and barrel ages it in Jim Beam, Wild Turkey & Woodford Rye barrels for 10 months then blend it all together to create this beer. Samson in a barrel definitely managed to blend everything one may seek in a barrel aged stout in this delicious beer. Bold chocolate & caramel notes hit your nose along with a smooth whiskey aroma making it a real pleasure to drink.

Upon first sip, the oak and whiskey jump out with a roasty note – think hazelnut coffee with chocolate drizzle. The boozy taste is cut through with the roast forward base stout and the back end lends to an oaky, whiskey, and chocolate flavor that mixes well, similar to a spiked Frappuccino. After allowing SIAB to breathe for ten minutes the oak persists, yet it allows the booziness of the whisky to fall on the back end while providing a more chocolate taste upfront with the smooth roasty flavor in between. As the stout continues to breathe it becomes even smoother making it dangerous as I could see several glasses going down smooth over the course of a night of relaxing. 

When on the island make the quick stop by Galveston Island Brewing and pick up Samson in a barrel as well as all the island favorites.

#HoustonBeerMonth Guest Submission from Ronnie Risner

Interested in sharing your story? Be a guest contributor this month! Email us at cheers@houstonbeerguide.com.

The post Beer Review: 2021 Samson In A Barrel from Galveston Island Brewing first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Beer Review: 2021 Samson In A Barrel from Galveston Island Brewing appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

If you’d like your event included, send an email to info@houstonbeerguide.com with the subject line “June Event Calendar.” Please include the date & time, a brief description of the event, the location, and a Facebook event link if available.

Thursday, June 15th

Saint Arnold Tribute Beers at Hughie’s | 6pm-10pm | All 5 tribute beers will be on tap along with several Bishop’s Barrel Beers. (More info about the Saint Arnold Tribute beers here.)
More Details on Facebook

Ingenious Brewing Tasting at Craft Beer Cellar | 5pm | Ingenious will be doing a free tasting of their Vanilla Coffee Cream Ale and Pineapple FroYo IPA.
(More info about Ingenious Brewing here.)

Houston Ladies of Craft Beer Monthly Meet-up at Heights Bier Garten | 6pm-9pm | Are you a lady that likes craft beer? This is a great chance to meet like-minded ladies.
More details on Facebook

Friday, June 16th

Sittin Sidehaze Release at No Label Brewing Co. | 3pm | No Label is releasing their new NEIPA, Sittin Sidehaze (a reference to Paul Wall’s Sittin’ Sidewayz for those not in the know).
As a reminder, No Label cannot offer beer to-go.

Saturday, June 17th

B-52 Brewing’s 3rd Anniversary Party | 12pm-7pm | 31 beers available including over a dozen fruited sours, several “smoothie” beers, and bottles of a blend of 3 barreled saisons available to-go.
This is a ticketed event.
More details on Facebook | Ticket Link

B52 Brewing | 3 Year Anniversary Blend Wild Ale

Galveston Island Brewing’s 3rd Anniversary Party | 12pm-9pm | The brewery will be releasing special batches throughout the day. This looks to be a pretty kid-friendly event with facepainting and balloon art (in addition to their on-site playground).
More details on Facebook

Holler Loudly Double IPA release at Liberty Station | 5pm-10pm | Holler Brewing will be releasing their new 9.7% Double IPA, hopped with Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin. They’ll also have 3 variations on tap.
More details on Facebook

Ingenious Brewing Tasting at Hop Scholar Ale House | 2pm | Ingenious will be doing a free tasting of their ust Juicy Mango IPA and Blueberry Crumble Stout.
(More info about Ingenious Brewing here.)

Monday, June 19th

Saint Arnold Tribute Beers at Down The Street | 5pm-10pm | Down the Street will have the tribute beers from Brash, B-52, Eureka Heights, and Southern Star as part of their “Steak & Flights Night” event. Beers, steak, potatoes, and salad for $16.
More details on Facebook

Thursday, June 22nd

4th Tap Brewing Houston Launch Party at Conservatory | 7pm | 4th Tap out of Austin is celebrating their launch in Houston with a party at Conservatory.
More details on Facebook

Sunday, June 25th

Whiskey, Beer, and Tacos with Saint Arnold BB18 at Eight Row Flint | 12pm-3pm | Eight Row Flint is hosting a tasting of 3 WhistlePig Rye Whiskey variations along with Saint Arnold’s BB18, which was aged in WhistlePig Rye Whiskey barrels. Plus, tacos!
This is a ticketed event.
More details on Facebook

Cherry Medusa release at Copperhead | 4pm-8pm | Copperhead has added cherry puree to their popular Belgian style Quad, Medusa. A $40 ticket gets you a Copperhead goblet, a pour of the beer, and two 4-packs to take home.
This is a ticketed event.
Ticket link

Thursday, June 29th

Liquid Lunch live broadcast at Tapped Drafthouse | 11am-2pm | Texas’ best live midday craft beer show will be broadcasting from Tapped. Head there and grab a beer, or tune in to their broadcast at your desk and imagine you’re anywhere but at work.
More details on Facebook

Premium Draught | Saint Arnold Tribute Night

Saint Arnold Growler Tribute at Premium Draught | 11AM thru July 2nd | Try all 5 of the Saint Arnold tribute beers and take growlers home. Premium Draught will have all 5 on tap, plus the Saint Arnold and Sierra Nevada Beer Camp beer until they run out.
(More details about the Saint Arnold tribute beers.) (More details about the Saint Arnold and Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaboration beer.)
More details on Facebook

Bonus: Saturday, July 1st

City Acre’s 1st Anniversary Party | 11am-5pm| City Acre is turning one! To celebrate, they’ll have special beers on tap all day (some new, some past favorites), a German food buffet, and bottles to go of their Skull Creek Kolsch aged on City Acre grown blueberries, dewberries, and blackberries.
This is a ticketed event.
More details on Facebook | Ticket link

Fetching Lab is, well, open | 1pm-5pm | Fetching Lab is only open one or two weekends a month, and even then only depending on the weather. They’re dog friendly, kid friendly, and horse friendly.
More details on Facebook

Local Brews Local Grooves at House of Blues | 3pm-10pm | The beer list for this annual event is too long to list. If you like Houston beer, your favorite brewery will probably be pouring beer here. There are multiple ticket tiers, some of which include a Saint Arnold beer dinner before the event.
This is a ticketed event.
More details on Facebook | Ticket Link

Town in City’s First Of JuLuau Party | 6pm-11pm | Town in City is celebrating the beginning of July. They’ll have Blood Brothers BBQ serving Hawaiian food, Hot Rod Pops serving frozen popsicles, and Reggae band Dem will be providing the grooves. They’ll also have some special tropical themed beers available.

Bike Ride and Hot Dog Eating Contest | 12pm-6pm | Join Texas Beer Refinery for their Independence Day celebration. Join 1 mile the “bike parade” from the taproom to the brewery at 12:15, and head back for the hotdog eating competition. There will also be live music starting at 2 and they’ll have “Cloud Nein” a German IPA brewed in collaboration with Wurst Haus.
This is a ticketed event.
More details on Facebook | Ticket Link

Running Walker’s Official Grand Opening | 12pm-11pm | Running Walker is officially opening their outdoor beer garden this weekend. They’ll have food trucks and live music all day to celebrate.
More details on Facebook

Don’t see an event near you? Use our Brewery Map to find somewhere new.

The post Houston Beer Events – June 2017 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Houston Beer Events – June 2017 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

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.

Using the same methodology as the Beer Ranking posts, the seeds below are based on the top 64 rated beers in Houston based on weighted rankings.

Voting for the Round of 8 ends Thursday night, March 31st. The Round of 4 will begin Friday, April 1st. We’ll update results on Facebook and Twitter as well.

[Direct link to the full-sized bracket here]

Update #1:

Well the first round is in the books and it appears the seeding wasn’t as absurd as some thought: chalk won almost every matchup, with just two exceptions. The contenders from B-52 and Texas Beer Refinery live on, winning as underdogs and heading to the Round of 32 below. Maybe we were right when we said, “You should be drinking Texas Beer Refinery.”

Update #2:

After the relatively predictable Round One, the Round of 32 went a lot differently, with several upsets. While Texas Beer Refinery continues their Cinderella story as a 13-seed (now facing a very tough Vanilla BBH 1-seed), the joy hasn’t been shared by everybody: Buffalo Bayou, Brash, B-52, and No Label were each eliminated in the bloodbath. One clear takeaway as we enter the Sweet Sixteen: the commonly “hyped” styles are clearly winning. Of the remaining sixteen beers, only two are styles other than IPA or Porter/Stout, and both of those, BB10 & FUN 013, are barrel-aged (as are five others at this stage). What will make it out of this round on Sunday to enter the Elite Eight of Houston Beers? There’s no certainties at this point, though I certainly hope my Yellow Rose is still alive!

Update #3:

As we enter the Elite Eight, the bracket tells two very different stories. On the right side, an unexciting previous round led to all the highest seeds progressing, and this round pits Black Crack against Yellow Rose, as well as a face-off between two Saint Arnold stouts. On the left side of the bracket, however, a completely different drama has unfolded with the Cinderella story TBR Catalyst knocking out one of my expected Final Four picks, and the fourth overall seed Vanilla BBH. It faces a heavy competitor in Bishop’s Barrel #10, but don’t be surprised if the magic continues. Meanwhile, another upset occurred in the previous round and the juicy newcomer Art Car IPA advances to face off against the number one overall seed and competition favorite, BBH. Vote below and come back on Thursday when we enter the Final Four.

Update #4:

With so much drama in the HBG, it’s kinda hard being a beer bracket referee. We’re down to our last four beers, and as the Final Four comes to Houston in the basketball sense, we’ve also got the Final Four here. Sadly, the Cinderella story from TBR didn’t make it past the last round, but nonetheless it lives on in my heart. On the left side of the bracket, number one overall seed Karbach BBH faces off against Saint Arnold BB10 in a battle of two bourbon-barrel-aged beers: a porter and a barleywine. The bourbon champion will move on to face a non-barrel-aged winner from the right side of the bracket, where my favorite, Lone Pint Yellow Rose (fingers crossed y’all), goes up against the annual autumn delight, Saint Arnold Pumpkinator. Who will make it to the championship? Vote below and come back on Saturday afternoon for the championship matchup!

Update #5:

This is it! From a field of sixty-four competitors, only one shall be victorious. Who will take home glory and who will take home defeat? (Except, not real defeat, because, either way both competitors are delicious.) We’re down to the final competition: Lone Pint Yellow Rose and Karbach Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter. Two of Houston’s most beloved beers and two of the country’s most exciting styles: bourbon-barrel-aged anything and mosaic-hopped anything. Vote below for your pick.

Update #6:

That’s it for our inaugural Houston Beer Guide Bracket. Obviously I’m thrilled with the result (read: WOO YELLOW ROSE FTW) and I hope you are too. What would you like to see us change next year? How can we make this bracket even better? Sound off in the comments below!

Championship Results:

Championship – Karbach vs. Lone Pint (903 Votes)
Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter — 42.4%
Yellow Rose — 57.6%

Final Four Results:

Game 1 – Karbach vs. Saint Arnold (592 Votes)
Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter – 56.3%
Bishop’s Barrel #10 – 43.7%

Game 2 – Saint Arnold vs. Lone Pint (637 Votes)
Pumpkinator – 23.7%
Yellow Rose – 76.3%

Elite 8 Results:

We had a little bit of a hiccup with this round. Someone decided to vote 2000+ times in an attempt to ruin it for everyone. We pulled the poll early, so there were fewer overall votes. We took the raw voting data and filtered it for 1 vote per IP address. Going forward the polls will self-regulate to one vote per IP address. We will also “check the tapes” before we publish the results.

Game 1 – Karbach vs. Saint Arnold (588 Votes)
Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter – 55.1%
Art Car – 44.9%

Game 2 – Texas Beer Refinery vs. Saint Arnold (619 Votes)
Catalyst – 41.4%
Bishop’s Barrel #10 – 58.6%

Game 3 – Saint Arnold vs. Saint Arnold (562 Votes)
Pumpkinator – 52.5%
Divine Reserve #15 – 47.5%

Game 4 – Southern Star vs. Lone Pint (610 Votes)
Black Crack – 31.3%
Yellow Rose – 68.7%

Round of 16 Results:

Round of 32 Results:

Round of 64 Results:

The post Houston Beer Guide Bracket 2016 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Houston Beer Guide Bracket 2016 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Let me explain…

I too want to improve my fitness and decrease my waistline this year but I don’t want to sacrifice my beer drinking in order to do so. Beer is deceptively high in calories — it’s often difficult for me to find an IPA with less than 200 calories per 12 ounce bottle. We always think twice about consuming nachos or pancakes but rarely do we put our beer mug down because of the caloric intake. There must be a way for all of us to continue enjoying our heavyweight beers without becoming heavyweights ourselves, right? I’ve attempted to dissect the local craft beer scene in order to find a resolution for you beer-loving fitness enthusiasts (or hopeful enthusiasts) by looking at calories and alcohol by volume, ABV.

The reason for looking at calories is obvious; the reason I also look at ABV is because nutrition facts are not required on beer labels and there’s a lot of resistance to making the information known. Alcohol content is probably the best indicator of calories since every gram of alcohol contributes about 7 calories towards your beer. It can get a lot more complicated than this due to the amount of sugars and the fermentation process, but this is a simple approximation. I utilized two sources for the information: www.myfitnesspal.com & The Next Glass (iOS app). Simply finding caloric information for craft beer is extremely difficult and my findings are only as good as the data available.

I’ve highlighted my 5 favorite healthy brewery options + a “cheat meal”. If you’re still thirsty for more there is a longer list towards the bottom. All calorie amounts are per a 12-ounce serving.

Saint Arnold

Saint Arnold’s Marketing Director, Lennie Ambrose, actually provided their exact nutrition facts. The SA beer with the least amount of calories is the new Boiler Room Berliner Weisse with 120 per 12oz, which I must say is awesomely refreshing. Other good options are Fancy Lawnmower, Weedwacker and Santo, which all clock in at 149 calories each. You shouldn’t have a problem finding any of these on store shelves.

Karbach

I found Love Street Kolsch to have 123 calories and Weisse Versa Wheat, 156 (according to Next Glass). Both are very solid beers, especially in the Texas heat. Also, Staycation with only 4.8% ABV or Zee German Pils with 4.9% ABV will keep you light and tight. The Zee German Pils was released last week.

8^th Wonder

8^th Wonder has quite the assortment of beers available but finding nutrition facts on them is tough. A safe bet would be to keep it light with some Dome Faux’m, which is a cream ale at only 5.2% ABV.

Buffalo Bayou

I wasn’t expecting to find a healthy option from a brewery that creates beers such as Bananas Foster, Mud Turtle, Gingerbread Stout and Red Velvet Stout, but they provide a selection of beers across the spectrum. For instance, their 1836 Copper Ale claims only 171 calories (Next Glass), while the Summer’s Wit hoists 180 (Next Glass). I highly recommend the toasty 1836 to be paired with a lean burger for the ideal post-workout reload. Beer hydrates, right?

No Label

They tout quite a number of beers under the 200 calorie mark. No Label has the lowest average calorie count of all the breweries I looked at. Your fittest bets would be the 1^st Street Blonde Ale with 150 calories and 5% ABV, or El Hefe Hefeweizen with 165 calories at 5.5% ABV (all stats from Next Glass).

Brash (CHEAT MEAL)

Let’s be honest, you don’t drink a beer from Brash because you’re looking to cut back on calories and they don’t make beer for that reason either. Consider a Brash Cortado, Abide, or Smoglifter Stout as your cheat meal. You earned it. If you want to be picky then search out their EZ-7 pale ale with only 5% ABV.

The following is a list of more local beers under 6% ABV or 200 calories per 12 ounces to fit your fitness goals:

B-52

The Payload Pilsner: 5.1% ABV
Schwarzbier: 4.3% ABV & 129 Calories
Wingman Wheat IPA: 5.7% ABV

Southern Star

Bombshell Blonde Ale: 5.3% ABV & 157 calories (Next Glass)

Lone Pint

Zeno’s Pale Ale: 5.9% ABV
Yellow Rose IPA: 6.8% ABV & 215 calories.

Whole Foods Market Brewing

Vienna Lager: 4.9% ABV

Town in City

Mosquito’s Revenge Pale Ale: 5.5% ABV

Spindletap

The Boomtown Blonde Ale: 5.5% ABV
Toolpusher Pale Ale: 5.5% ABV

Galveston Island

Tiki Wheat: 5.6% ABV

Texian

Vaquero Mexican Dark Lager: 5.2% ABV
Travis Pale Lager: 5.2% ABV

11 Below

7-Iron Session Ale: 4.5% ABV

And there you have it. Houston craft brewers are gaining a reputation for producing truly awesome BIG beers but as you can see there are plenty of lighter beers you can enjoy while trying to cut back on calories.

While my list is extensive, it’s not comprehensive, so if you would like to include any breweries that I missed or find faults in my arguments please leave a comment below.

The feedback is always much appreciated. Cheers y’all and I hope you’re able to enjoy plenty of beer while sticking to your resolutions in 2016. Let us know how it goes.

The post New Year’s Resolution: Drink (Somewhat) Healthier Beer! first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post New Year’s Resolution: Drink (Somewhat) Healthier Beer! appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The flight at Drake’s in San Leandro, CA – One of my favorite flight presentations

Last week, I drove from my lovely Midtown castle to the faraway lands known as “The Heights” in order to sample the new beers at Town in City Brewery. Though the journey was far and perilous (traffic on 45N), I rested easy knowing that soon, I’d get to try some new-to-me and new-to-Houston beers, almost making the prospect of driving worth it.

As a responsible driver and frequent ticker, I had two goals: drink every beer that Town in City offered and subsequently drive home sober. So I asked the same question I ask every brewery I visit: “do y’all offer flights?”

The answer, sadly, was no. Town in City offers three sizes for on-premise consumption: 10 ounces, 20 ounces, and 60 ounces. With five beers on tap, that meant I either had to consume 50 ounces of beer (not driving-friendly) or send a lot of half-drank glasses back to be poured out. Because my desire to be safe trumps my desire to drink, I opted for the latter.

Thankfully, my friendly bartender at TiC understood my dilemma and rather than waste beer, poured me smaller samples. I was able to solve all my problems through the benefit of excellent customer service. However, it immediately brought a question to my mind: where are Houston’s brewery flights?

I am fortunate enough to travel frequently, for work or pleasure, and when I do, I visit breweries. According to untappd, I’ve been to 155 breweries since August 2012. And at those breweries, in places as wide-ranging as London, San Diego, Miami, and Boston (and many places in between), the answer to my question above, “do y’all offer flights?” is usually, “Of course! The details are…”

To illustrate my point, here’s a breakdown of the most recent 15 breweries I’ve visited, in 7 locations:

• Town in City; Saint Arnold; 11 Below — Houston, TX — No flights or tasters offered
• Galveston Island — Galveston, TX — Flights of four at a time
• La Cumbre; Marble; Nexus; Chama River; Bosque — Albuquerque, NM — Flights of four/five at a time
• Firestone Walker; Barrelhouse — Paso Robles, CA — Flights of four at a time
• Ladyface Alehouse — Agoura Hills, CA — Flights of five/six at a time
• Oasis Texas; Pinthouse Pizza — Austin, TX — Flights of five/six at a time
• Other Half — Brooklyn, NY — Single 4oz tasters

Obviously this is a small list, but notice something interesting here: only the three Houston breweries stand out as not offering flights or tasters. Even our neighbors a county over in Galveston have flights (and they come in little adorable Ball jars), and our friends in Austin offer tasters or flights as well. Yet, for some reason, Houston seems to be missing this typical brewery offering.

Admittedly, Whole Foods Market offers flights. And as a ‘brewpub’-style establishment, I’d be shocked if they didn’t. But otherwise, I can think of no Houston brewery that offers flights. If we’re going to get serious about beer tourism in this city, I think that our breweries need to address this gap. Especially in a city as car-centric as Houston. So rather than asking “do y’all offer flights?” at my next Houston brewery visit, I intend to ask: “where are Houston’s flights?”

Update: A couple of breweries have reached out over Twitter. Saint Arnold offers flights during their regular lunch hours and 8th Wonder offers flights Sunday-Thursday. A Twitter user tells us Southern Star also offers flights.

The post Where are Houston’s flights? first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Where are Houston’s flights? appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.