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.

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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)

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