Live Oak Brewing - Houston Beer Guide https://houstonbeerguide.com Online beer news and reviews for the city of Houston Tue, 10 Jan 2017 01:24:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.6.13 Guest Post: It’s Time for Texas Pilsners! https://houstonbeerguide.com/guest-post-its-time-for-texas-pilsners/ https://houstonbeerguide.com/guest-post-its-time-for-texas-pilsners/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2016 12:30:42 +0000 https://houstonbeerguide.com/?p=1468 Editor’s Note: This article is written by Joey Williams, the Beer Department Manager of Spec’s of the “downtown” location on Smith Street. As he describes below, he offered to lead us in a tasting of Texas(ish) pilsners and we happily took him up on it. At the tasting were Houston Beer Guide writers Josh, Jeff,

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Editor’s Note: This article is written by Joey Williams, the Beer Department Manager of Spec’s of the “downtown” location on Smith Street. As he describes below, he offered to lead us in a tasting of Texas(ish) pilsners and we happily took him up on it. At the tasting were Houston Beer Guide writers Josh, Jeff, Katie, Cody, Alice, Chris, Colleen and “friend of the show” Patrick. 

Pilsner Tasting Group Photo

The Judging Panel, a few beers in

Pilsners are a style that don’t get the love and appreciation that they should. A well-brewed, well-executed pilsner at any time of the day or year, especially outside in the heat, is hard to beat. Texas, being hot ¾ of the year and a land of outdoor things, is prime pilsner country. Add to that, the history of German and Czech immigrants and the influence of their culture on our Gulf Coast melting pot and you have a region in need of all of the pilsner we can find. What has been found, up until recently, has been from somewhere “out there,” beyond our state borders. With the craft beer boom, times have changed and we now have enough examples of fine pilsners to talk about.

When I heard that Saint Arnold was going to bring that BEAUTIFUL unfiltered, unpasteurized, dry-hopped Czech (Bohemian) Pilsner that they had done previously as an Icon Red, I knew this would be the season for pilsners in Texas. Add to that Southern Star introducing a Spring Pilsner at nearly the same time, Oskar Blues opening a brewery in Austin, making Mama’s Little Yella Pils a TX beer, Live Oak FINALLY packaging and Spec’s bringing in Austin Beerworks Pearl Snap for TX Beer Month (plug, plug)… a tasting had to happen.

I approached Jeff and Josh about the idea of a blind side-by-side tasting of all of the packaged TX brewed pilsners we could get our hands on. They, and a handful of the writers at Houston Beer Guide were up for playing my game.

The tasting was had. It was a lot of fun, but 9 beers of the same-ish (I explain that a bit later) style in succession starts to feel like palate torture. I did not partake, as I was the server/torturer and helped to explain what we were doing, why, and how.

Each panelist was given a handout explaining the tasting and how each beer would be scored based on the guidelines provided. The guidelines used were those from the BJCP for both German and Bohemian (Czech) pilsner. To do this, I used the two styles as a range. German pilsner is leaner and crisper in regards to malt and body, and often more hop forward. Czech pils is a bit more balanced, fuller, though neither has much in the way of richness or pronounced malt.

The Panel

Each beer could be rewarded up to 50 points: 10 for aroma, 15 for flavor, 5 for mouthfeel and 20 for “Overall Impression”. The first 30 points are easy enough to understand. Does this pilsner smell like it should? Taste like it should? Feel like it should? This is how beers are often judged in competition, or close to it. But all this tells you is that a beer has checked the essential boxes for the style. I used “Overall Impression” as the place for the panel to state their own personal opinion.

In addition, they were asked a handful of questions that I hope to use later in this article to offer more than just final scores. Panelists were asked their feelings (like or dislike) on pilsners, what they liked in the style and if they had a pilsner in this lineup that they felt strongly about or could pick out of the crowd.

All beers were poured, out of sight of the panel, at refrigerator temperature into small tulips intended to help capture aromas, etc. In hopes of not completely ruining everyone’s ability to taste after the first few beers, only about 3oz of each beer was poured per person at a time.

So, without further ado, the beers:

I will present these in the order that they were tasted, with average score and overall ranking listed.

Pilsner Tasting Beer Lineup

 

Pilsner (4th, 33.06)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (5.1% ABV)
Alamo Beer Company (San Antonio)

I always have several concerns in doing a tasting like this. Inevitably, the longer the tasting goes on, the more palate fatigue will set in and the results of later beers will likely be impacted. Additionally, the first beer has to contend with anything and everything you’ve had to drink or eat before. I told the panel that this, apologies to Alamo, was the beer that would be sacrificed to start things off.

I’m impressed at how well it did, especially since a few of the panel had just brushed their teeth in preparation for the tasting. For the most part, no one had much in the way of negative, or overly positive, to say. Katie Frink was responsible for this beer’s highest rating of 38. Katie stated that she’s a fan of balance in a pilsner and all seemed to agree that Alamo’s pilsner was very well balanced.

Spring Pilsner (5th, 32.38)
German Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Southern Star Brewing Company (Conroe)

A huge thank you to the brewery for making sure we had this new addition to the brewery’s lineup for this tasting. I didn’t even know this existed until Josh asked to include it.

I don’t believe anyone had gotten a chance to try this before we had it. Chris White, the kindest reviewer overall, gave Spring Pilsner its highest rating at a near perfect 49. Chris is another fan of balance, stating that Spring Pilsner is “Delicious — Everything I love about pils — Crisp, Refreshing, Clean, Awesome!” However, some felt the hop aroma was lacking.

 

5 o’Clock Pilsner (1st, 39.00)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (5.2% ABV)
Saint Arnold Brewing Company (Houston)

Full disclosure, this tasting was inspired by the release of this beer, so had it not done well, I might have had to scrap the whole thing. That said, I didn’t think it was going to do as well as it did! My tastes are more toward aggression though, even in pilsners. Again, this is the Icon Red we all fell in love with that was an unfiltered, unpasteurized, dry-hopped beauty.

This beer was at or near the top for everyone, but did not see the dramatic fluctuation that some other offerings did. In addition to being #1, the feeling was nearly unanimous. Ms. Alice Hicks gets the gold star for Highest Rating, at 44. I will tell you that not only did she say she was a fan of 5 o’Clock over all others before the tasting, she picked it out of the lineup before I revealed. The panel seemed to agree that it was crisp, well-balanced and complex.

 

Pilz (3rd, 34.38)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (4.7% ABV)
Live Oak Brewing Company (Austin)

This is another that got me thinking about this tasting, because it has been a favorite since I first had it. We were supposed to see cans in central Houston by late March. Outer Houston (north and south) has already seen it through a different distributor network, but we are still without until May-ish in the interior. Until then, a big thank you to Josh for picking this up at Nobi for us!

Chris, friendliest of all panelists to pilsners, gave this a perfect 50, but I’d like to mention Jeff’s 47 rating. Jeff stated in the beginning that he prefers a hoppier pils and loved Live Oak because it’s “my favorite type of pilsner. Very crisp, hoppy, refreshing. 10/10 would drink again.” More accurately, it was 19/20 Jeff…A favorite and a must-try for anyone who hasn’t had it!

 

Payload Pilsner (2nd, 34.69)
German Pilsner (5.1% ABV)
B-52 Brewing Company (Conroe)

This wasn’t even originally on the list when things got setup. When Josh and Katie stopped by Nobi to grab some Live Oak Pilz, they decided to grab a growler of this as well. With it ending up #2, I’m glad they did! The sleeper hit of the tasting, had anyone known what they were drinking, I don’t think anyone would have expected it to do so well. No one’s talking about B-52 Payload Pilsner and that has to change!

Patrick O’Connor was in town from Chicago and provided a fresh set of taste buds for our tasting, adding, “being a northerner, I have no pony in this race.” He gave Payload its highest rating of 42. Clean, balanced and soft were his thoughts beyond, “just want more of this one.” Most seemed to agree with the idea of balance, but the balance seemed to be between more pronounced flavors that not all were fans of.

 

Hans’ Pilsner (9th, 24.75)
German Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Real Ale Brewing Company (Blanco)

I’ve become a Real Ale fanboy and have shouted my love of their lagers recently, so I will be the first to express surprise and moderate disappointment at this result. Hans’ is a great “go-to” beer, one that Katie said, “has served as an attempted gateway for my family due to its easy drinkability and the fact that it is relatively well-balanced.”

Alice scored this one highest at 38. Many mentioned a perceived dryness in comparison to the rest of the beers, but most still felt it balanced.

 

Mama’s Little Yella Pils (8th, 28.50)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Oskar Blues Brewery (Not TX… yet)

In fairness, the liquid is Colorado born, but this was a chance to talk about the Oskar Blues Brewery currently being set up in Austin. Years ago, Texas was macro territory, but craft finally started to catch on and everyone has wanted a piece. Now Texas has gotten to a point where we’re on the list of places for breweries to set up a second location? I’ll take that!

Cody was at the top of the ratings this time with a 40 out of 50. Many mentioned a lack of aroma and pronounced malt sweetness being some of the reasons they dinged the rating.

 

Summer Pils (6th, 29.00)
German Pilsner (4.9% ABV)
Saint Arnold Brewing Company (Houston)

Quite possibly the first beer labeled ‘pilsner’ or the shortened ‘pils’, that many Houston beer drinkers have tasted. Saint Arnold is all about balance, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they have two balance-driven pilsners. Admittedly, Summer Pils has won medals for the less hoppy German Helles lager style.

Chris, once again, grabbed top billing on the ratings here with a 47 and an “I could drink a lot of this.” Despite that win for a less hoppy style, Colleen still found some hop flavor, but not much aroma.

 

Pearl Snap Pilsner (7th, 28.63)
German Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Austin Beerworks (Austin)

This is one of my favorites, but because I’m not the biggest fan of balance. The hop-forward approach taken by Austin Beerworks here caused many to take a step back, even at the end of the tasting. After all of those beers so similar in flavor, this little extra hop was a surprise.

Katie scored this one the highest at 42, despite her love of balance and easy drinking. She did say it has a “very crisp flavor, well balanced overall,” but mentioned, “being able to distinguish the unique flavors coming through from the hops.”

 

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Untapped Festival 2015 – All the beer. All the music. All the sweat. https://houstonbeerguide.com/untapped-festival-2015-all-the-beer-all-the-music-all-the-sweat/ https://houstonbeerguide.com/untapped-festival-2015-all-the-beer-all-the-music-all-the-sweat/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2015 16:47:49 +0000 https://houstonbeerguide.com/?p=469 I guess third time’s a charm: after being plagued by weather problems the past two years, 2015’s Untapped Festival was a perfectly sunny sweat-drencher. The weather wasn’t the only thing Untapped got right this year: from beer selection to musical talent, this year’s line-up did Houston proud. I got there a little later than I

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Photo by Andy Bouffard

Photo by Andy Bouffard

I guess third time’s a charm: after being plagued by weather problems the past two years, 2015’s Untapped Festival was a perfectly sunny sweat-drencher. The weather wasn’t the only thing Untapped got right this year: from beer selection to musical talent, this year’s line-up did Houston proud.

I got there a little later than I wanted to due to events out of my control, so I missed out on a couple rare and limited-quantity tappings (looking at you, Jester King Fen Tao and Firestone Walker Helldorado), but I got to try almost everything else on my “must-hit” list.  

First up, Jester King La Vie en Rose. Made with raspberries previously tasked to make their much-beloved Atrial Rubicite, La Vie en Rose is dry and, predictably, less fruity than Atrial Rubicite. To me, that’s not a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, I like Atrial Rubicite, but I’ve never been a fangirl. (I’m more of a Noble King kind of gal.) La Vie en Rose is vinous; add that to the dryness and subtle raspberry, and it tastes almost like a slightly sour rosé.

At the Saint Arnold tent I skipped some of the rare tappings as I’ve tried most of them before, but somehow I’d missed Divine Reserve 15 (Russian Imperial Stout), which was lovely: boozy, creamy, chocolately and pruny. I also finally tried the new Art Car IPA which had a floral nose and a crisp, fruity body with a bitter finish. I have to say I like it better than Elissa.

Too late to the party, I missed out on Pussy Wagon, but I got try Brash’s Cali Green. I’ve heard a few people criticize it for being too bitter, but I think its bitterness is well balanced with citrus and incredibly drinkable. In fact, excuse me while I go get a growler fill.

Photo by Andy Bouffard

Photo by Andy Bouffard

Freetail’s Oktoberfiesta, an Oktoberfest bier fermented with Belgian yeast, surprised me: clean, slightly fruity with a hint of bitterness and a caramel finish. That may not sound like it works, but it does.

I am an equal-opportunity beer-lover. I really do like most styles, and even if I don’t, I will always try them at least once. I’ve never been a fan of smoked beers, but I like to push myself outside my comfort zone. Based on recommendation and my admiration for their venerable Hefeweizen, I decided to give Live Oak’s Grodziskie and Helles Rauchlager a try. I was pleasantly surprised.

Grodiziskie is an almost-extinct Polish style made from oak-smoked wheat. More earthy than smoky, and slightly lemony, the grodiziskie is a nice alternative to a hefeweizen that would taste great with barbecue. The Helles Rauchlager is made with beechwood-smoked barley like a rauchbier, but pale like a helles lager. It is dry and aggressively smoky, but the clean noble hops shone through and created a very refreshing, summery brew. With all the single-hop beers out right now, it was a nice change of pace to try some styles that are, as Jason from Live Oak said, “more like an orchestra than a solo.”

Moving onto beers from outside of Texas, SanTan Moon Juice, a wheat IPA with a beautifully floral and citrus nose, impressed with a nice balance of fruity and bitter, as did Founders Porter with its creamy mouthfeel, notes of coffee and chocolate, and lightly smoky finish.

I always go for favorites when I can get them on draft, so I was delighted to get some pours of Lagunitas Maximus, Victory Golden Monkey, Real Ale Devil’s Backbone, and one of my new favorites, Boulevard The Calling.

Of course, as with all festivals there are always too many beers and too little time. I missed out on several brews I wanted to try, such as 8th Wonder Mission Control and Premium Goods, Ballast Point Indra Kunindra and Even Keel, and Independence Red Bud. But, there’s always next year.

Photo by Andy Bouffard

Photo by Andy Bouffard

I go to a lot of festivals. Too often you have to choose between drinking great beer and listening to crappy music or listening to great music and drinking crappy beer. What I like about Untapped is that the good folks who organize it had the bright idea to make it a no-compromise situation for people like me who appreciate both beer and music. As with the past two years (thank you Suffers and Tontons), I found a new-to-me band to add to my list of local favorites — New York City Queens, who remind me of the Dum Dum Girls with the addition of, well, guys.

Sarah Jaffe surprised me; having only heard “Clementine” and a couple of her earlier ballads, I expected a folky set and instead got a guitar-driven alt rock show. I was casually interested in her music before, but after witnessing her guitar skills and falling in love with her emotionally vulnerable songs, I am now an official fan.

I have long liked Cold War Kids, and their set had moments of glory. Nathan Willett’s voice was strong throughout, but the band’s enthusiasm lagged at times. Standouts included “We Used to Vacation,” “Drive Desperate,” “I’ve Seen Enough,” and their most well-known song, “Hang Me Up to Dry.”

New this year to Untapped Houston was the addition of the Saint Arnold Game Garden tent. While I’m not a gamer, I thought it was a great idea for geeks to have another way to enjoy themselves and stay out of the heat.

Finally, food. Festival food is often salty, fried or overcooked. Fortunately, the Untapped organizers promote the farm-to-table movement. Enter Underbelly to the rescue with the best festival burger I’ve ever had. Kind had a tent for gluten-free festival goers, with interesting new savory bar flavors. I particularly enjoyed the Sweet Thai Chili, Honey Smoked BBQ and Honey Mustard offerings.

Kudos to Untapped for getting all the festival elements right. I’m already looking forward to next year’s fest.

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My first 5 stops at Untapped Houston https://houstonbeerguide.com/5-stops-at-untapped/ https://houstonbeerguide.com/5-stops-at-untapped/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2015 00:52:23 +0000 https://houstonbeerguide.com/?p=450 Untapped Houston is this Saturday at Discovery Green, and you’re obviously going. You’re not? Oh. Well, you really should. It’s Houston’s best annual craft beer festival by far, and also doubles as a pretty cool music fest too. Plus, the weather is supposed to be awesome. So, yeah. You should buy tickets. Go. I’ll wait.

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Untapped Houston is this Saturday at Discovery Green, and you’re obviously going. You’re not? Oh. Well, you really should. It’s Houston’s best annual craft beer festival by far, and also doubles as a pretty cool music fest too. Plus, the weather is supposed to be awesome. So, yeah. You should buy tickets. Go. I’ll wait.

OK, now we can talk about the beer. It’s a huge list, both awesome and overwhelming at once. It’s one of those classic #beernerdproblems — you want to drink all the beers (and tick all the ticks) but you don’t even know where to start. That’s where this post comes in. I’ve been to a beer fest or four, and since I’m a nerd about these things, I never go in without a gameplan (and/or a spreadsheet). After a few hours of staring at the list, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want to drink. Maybe more importantly, I also know what I’m going to drink first.

Jester King

A pretty obvious first stop, and a repeat from last year’s first stop and first beer: 分 桃, aka Fen Tao, their peach sour. In addition to having an awesome label/name/story, it’s delicious. I’m pretty confident that this will be the first keg to blow on Saturday, so it’s a no-brainer. Don’t ignore La Vie en Rose while you’re here: this farmhouse ale refermented with “leftover” Atrial Rubicite raspberries is nowhere near as famous as AR (it also looks and tastes almost nothing like it), but it’s a great beer on its own.

Freetail

I remain bitter about the biggest tease in recent Texas craft beer history (RIP, Freetail Houston), but Freetail still rocks. I’m most excited about trying their Peach Berlinercus, a blend of Yo Soy Un Berliner (their summer seasonal Berliner Weisse) and Peche’cus (their rye wit aged in wine barrels with peaches). They’re also bringing Rye Wit (what it says on the tin) and Oktobefiesta (an Oktoberfest with a twist in the form of Belgian yeast).

Karbach

These guys seem to be flexing their creative muscles a bit more lately, with the most exciting project (to me, anyway) being the recently announced Fieldworks series. Three of the six Karbach beers available at Untapped will be “new to me”: Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter with Vanilla, Belgian Tripel, and Belgian Pale Ale. If you haven’t tried it yet, the Fieldworks Brett IPA is definitely worth a shot, too.

Firestone Walker

Few U.S. breweries can match these guys when it comes to the diversity of their exceptional portfolio — they make kickass “regular” beers (two of which, Pivo Pils and Union Jack IPA, will be at the fest), and they’re at the head of the class when it comes to barrel-aged monsters. They’re only bringing one of the latter to Untapped, but it’s a doozy: Helldorado, a blonde barleywine that they just released for the very first time. I missed out on a bottle, but there’s no way I’m missing it on Saturday.

Live Oak

A huge key to surviving a long day at a beer festival is making sure many of your pours are low in alcohol. There’s no better place to do this than at the Live Oak stand. Their Hefeweizen (5.2%) is world class and on the short list of “best beers in Texas” regardless of style. They’re also bringing two rarer beers that I’m excited to try for the first time: the 3.0% abv Grodziskie (a top-fermented, smoked, hoppy, all-wheat Polish style that was nearly extinct), and the 4.4% Helles Rauchlager (a pale, smoky and bitter lager brewed using a decoction mash).

You’ll note that I’ve only suggested 15 of the 250 or 300 beers that will be available on Saturday. That’s no knock on many of the breweries/beers that went unmentioned. There’s going to be a TON of good stuff out there. Just to name a couple more:

-Saint Arnold is bringing their delicious new Art Car IPA and their eminently crushable (and also delicious) Boiler Room Berliner Weisse. They’re also serving some Divine Reserve and Bishop’s Barrel big guns at scheduled times. Expect lines for those.

-8th Wonder and Buffalo Bayou are each bringing staples (Rocket Fuel and Hopston; 1836 and More Cowbell), rarities (Mission Control and AstroTurf; Peppermint Gingerbread Stout and Whiskey’d Smoke on the Bayou), and Cream Ales (Dome Faux’m and Sam’s Daily).

-Brash has released four Houston-brewed beers (all of which are really good), and three will be at Untapped: Cortado Imperial Coffee Stout, Cali Green IPA, and Pussy Wagon Imperial IPA.

Hell, that’s just some of the Houston stuff. There’s so much more. KBS! Red Bud! Commissar! BA Narwhal! BA Bigfoot! The Calling! Saison-Brett! Yellow Rose! Sorachi Ace! Abyss! Burton Baton! 120! Zoe! La Folie! Cali Belgique! Golden Monkey! Outer Darkness!

You get the point. If you made it this far and you’re still not going, you confuse me. But I’m not giving up on you. Go get those tickets. See y’all on Saturday.

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