Fast forward to 2007, my family and I owned a small restaurant in Atascocita and I was in charge of beverages. The beer I knew I had to have in the lineup was of course Fancy Lawnmower. While the restaurant didn’t last long, something special started to bloom. One of Lynn and I’s first dates was at the restaurant. We played poker and shared a 6 pack of…Fancy Lawnmower. The beer was forever etched in the story of our shared life.

Two years later, we made it official! We became husband and wife and as we celebrated our new life together we couldn’t think of a better beer to have at our celebration than…Fancy Lawnmower!

Guest submission from Leo Longoria.

Podcast: Texas Beer Experience

Instagram: @TexasBeerExperience

Blog: www.texasbeerexperience.com

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The post Fancy Lawnmowers and Love first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Fancy Lawnmowers and Love appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

I moved to Houston in 2001 after seeing most of my college friends disperse across the country. Contacts faded and new friends became difficult to find, despite a plethora of people covering this vast metropolis. One of my good college friends that did live in the area invited me to join a monthly poker game he attended with a couple of his brothers-in-law and their friends. I jumped at the chance because, if nothing else, I am a degenerate. It seems funny to say, but these encounters over the next couple of years redirected my life down a path I continue to follow this day.

A couple of the poker players I met were home brewers. Several of them were craft beer enthusiasts. Sitting around the table, losing and winning hordes of mad cash (nickels) throughout the night, I learned a lot about home brew and craft. I tasted beers that opened up an expansive new world of flavors. I discovered a beverage I truly connected with; accessible to all, wide-ranging in its divergence, a great conversation center-point, and an excellent excuse for congregation. I enjoyed learning and the people that educated me just as much as I enjoyed drinking the tasty infusions. Maybe the most important thing I took away from those early encounters was that craft beer had a community unlike any other spirit I had tried. Sure, wine and liquor have passionate enthusiasts and communities of their own. But I’ve never found one as welcoming and disparate as craft.

One beer that stood out to me was as regular at our poker games as me losing. A beer many share a connection with, as it is often one of the initial catalysts propelling people in the Houston-area into craft: Saint Arnold Brewing Company’s Fancy Lawnmower. I doubt I need to go into its tasting notes and just how much this beer has helped to influence and redirect many people’s palates. But, to put it simply, Lawnmower is a beer that ANYONE can enjoy. A simple yet flavorful, refreshing and light concoction that is welcoming enough for anyone to try, without being so foreign to one’s palate that it is immediately rejected for its differences. Though my tastes have grown and changed over many years of craft beer drinking, I still buy and enjoy this brew regularly. Lawnmower spiked my curiosity about just what beer could really taste like. It led me to Saint Arnold’s other options: Amber, Texas Wheat (R.I.P), Brown Ale (now Ale Wagger), and Elissa IPA. These beers helped create a foundation that branched out to a multitude of styles from all around the world. A path that you could say was cleared by a Lawnmower.

Continuing on this trail over the past few years, I have followed the growth of the craft beer industry and all the marvels that have come from it. Where I once struggled to find people of common interest, I now make new friends regularly through the gathering power of this wondrous elixir. I was welcomed into the Houston beer community with open arms and have met numerous people I now consider good friends. Many of these people are as rich and complex in character as the beers we share. They are as interesting and varied as the copious craft selections that now line the shelves of countless stores. And despite the fact that many of us may be polar opposites in certain facets of our lives, we are brought together, and enjoy each other’s company, through our connection and commitment to craft.

Beer is social. Beer is people. Beer is good. Not my words, nor are they new. Just true words worth repeating.

The post Beer, Poker, and Lawnmowers first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Beer, Poker, and Lawnmowers appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.