11 Below Lame Duck

Brand new can alert: this week, the first adorable-duck-adorned cans of 11 Below’s pale ale hit the market, so this one is good to get fresh asap. Bryce Baker, 11 Below co-founder, states that it’s “quickly become a favorite among staff and customers.” And although the can was designed by a Dallas firm (Caliber Creative), I have to agree with Bryce that “the artwork is pretty badass.” It’s hard to imagine a better beach can design, and the beer inside speaks for itself as well, as kegs move pretty fast all over town.

SpindleTap Houston Haze

I never expected to see Houstonians wait in line to take beer home from a brewery, but if it’s going to happen, it makes perfect sense it would be for SpindleTap Houston Haze, an insanely crushable NEIPA that blows away any other Houston attempts at the distinct and delicious style. “The excitement surrounding Haze has been fantastic and consistent,” founder Adam Wright says. And while this is likely the hardest acquire to get from this list, that will only get easier over time: “every batch we’ve brewed has doubled in size … Haze is the champ of the cans we sell out of the brewery.” The can features art apt for the oilfield-centric brewery: “the downtown skyline with a shadowed offset against a refinery outline,” with a “purple spectrum” that reflects the “haze” imagery. There may be nothing about an oil derrick or refinery that suggest cooling off, but in this case, as with so many buildings in Houston, the coolness is inside.

8th Wonder Weisstheimer

No summer is complete for me without cans of Live Oak Hefe, and now 8th Wonder brings some local competition: a “ridiculously drinkable and delicious Hefeweizen,” in the words of Ryan Soroka, 8th Wonder co-founder. At 5.4% abv, this summer seasonal is just strong enough to make you forget the heat for a little while and still light enough to allow enjoyment of a few cans in one go. The cans are pretty slick too, a play on a historic style Houstonians will recognize from the blue tiled street signs still present all over the city. 8th Wonder’s cans are all designed by local branding agency GoodProject, but for this project they also teamed up with the Blue Tile Project for additional art and signage.

Bakfish Defying Gravity

Bakfish planned to can their beers from before they even opened, acknowledging that cans are better for the environment, better for portability, and thanks to their ability to eliminate sunlight, better for the beer. Defying Gravity is just one of the canned offerings available now, not only beloved by fans on tap and in cans, but also co-founder Brian Allen’s personal favorite. The focus is a hoppy beer with some light caramel tones mixed in, “but dominated with tropical fruits like mango, papaya, and pineapple mixed with citrus fruits like mandarin oranges and tangerines.” If that doesn’t sound like summer refreshment to you, I don’t know what does. The cans feature art by Houston-based Brenden Polk Designs, and are available to-go directly from the brewery in Pearland as well as at nearby stores.

Southern Star Buried Hatchet

Southern Star has been canning beer in Houston since before most other breweries in this post even existed. “First to Can Craft in Texas” is a badge Southern Star happily displays on their cans, and they’ve earned that right. If you can imagine now, when the can explosion has taken over craft beer across the nation, there was once a time when Southern Star faced retailers that refused to carry their beer “because we did not have beer in bottles,” owner/founder Dave Fougeron recalls. Of course, you might not think of a rich, smooth stout as a “summer beer” but until very recently, no one thought of it as a canned beer either, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s always stout season in Texas. Buried Hatchet is a true classic, one of the state’s best beers, and the beer that Dave is happy to say he’s “most proud of,” and in his opinion is “one of the best stouts in the country.” I can’t say I’d argue against that. Interestingly the artwork on the can is the inspiration for the name, and not the other way around. Art director Michael Draper drew the now iconic buried hatchet, and from that image, the beer was named. Dave points out “an old pull ring buried in the dirt” as an homage to the beer can’s long history.

Brazos Valley Willin’

If you know me, you know I love Mosaic. It’s my favorite hop, or as I call it, the “cheat code.” So Brazos Valley Willin’, a new mosaic pale ale that also features comet hops, hits the spot, “crushable yet hop forward and perfect for the Texas heat,” according to Production Manager Avery Clayton. The can features a “strong, take no BS, Texas woman,” also prominently displayed in all Brazos Valley Brewing artwork, and designed by Evan Hill, a childhood friend of the brewery’s founders. Willin’ joins a family of Texas IPAs designed to cool you off better than air conditioning, and this particular can gives Houstonians a great reason to visit the brewery in Brenham – after all, I can’t think of anything else out there that could be so refreshing.

Saint Arnold Raspberry AF

Of course, no list would be complete without a beer from Houston’s oldest brewery, Saint Arnold, and no list of summer-friendly cans would be complete without something as refreshing as Raspberry AF. Raspberry AF, according to brewer Aaron Inkrott, was a “truly collaborative effort,” and unlike many fruited beers, actually uses “100% fruit” ensuring it’s “great to drink again and again.” Of course, Saint Arnold’s cans are fairly iconic, but the artwork designed by in-house marketing guru and freestyle rapper, Jeremy Johnson, truly conveys summer. The art is supposed to invoke “a peaceful, serene picnic scene abruptly interrupted by the AF,” according to Jeremy. Saint Arnold only recently started canning, but their cans have really taken off, with many releases being can-only. And it’s paid off: Raspberry AF, with its juicy, “pleasantly tart,” flavor that built off the excellent Boiler Room, is an incredible beer perfectly packaged for a picnic or anywhere else your summer takes you.

The post 7 Canned Beers to Drink This Summer first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post 7 Canned Beers to Drink This Summer 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.

(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.

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.

Why would a brewery use a firkin over a regular keg? Well, the firkin lends itself better to allowing natural conditioning and makes the beer have a smoother finish because of the lack of CO2 needed. It is also an outlet for a brewery to try something special like adding fruit, chocolate, coffee, spices or any other adjunct that the brewery wants to experiment with. Breweries now a days seem to like to use these to add an adjunct to a beer that they commonly brew, and that is what makes this festival so exciting. These beers will be unique. Yes, some of the breweries will have firkins of something they regularly sell, but just putting that in the firkin will change it a bit. In addition, this year there will we a draft wall with 10 limited releases from the participating breweries.

Speaking of participating breweries, it’s a who’s who of the Texas craft beer scene. The festival is actually run by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, so in many ways it’s the breweries putting this on. The following breweries are planning on participating: Real Ale Brewing Company, Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Freetail Brewing Co., Deep Ellum Brewing Company, Brigadoon Brewery & Brew School, (512) Brewing Company, Cycler’s Brewing, Karbach Brewing Co., No Label Brewing Co., 8th Wonder Brewery, Lone Pint Brewery, New Republic Brewing Company, Southern Star Brewing Company, Brazos Valley Brewing Company and Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company.

Check back as the festival nears as we will update this article with the full beer list, and check back after the festival as I will be writing up a review. I’d love to hear about what you’re drinking and enjoying most that day. So, write a comment after the festival, or better yet, come say hello if you see me; I’ll be out there enjoying it.

Firkin List:

If you get the urge for more carbonation, this year Firkin Fest is offering some traditional draft options as well.

For more detailed descriptions, check out http://houstonfirkinfest.com/

Location: Hennessey Park, 1900 Lyons Ave, Houston, TX  77020

Time: 2 — 6 PM with VIP entrance starting at 12:30 PM

Parking: Free at Saint Arnold as well as on street

Tickets: VIP, General Admission and Designated Driver tickets are available at: Https://www.eventbrite.com/E/Houston-Firkin-Fest-Tickets-21216080869

 

Website: houstonfirkinfest.com

Twitter: @htxfirkinfest

Facebook: www.facebook.com/houstonfirkinfest

Facebook Event RSVP: Https://www.facebook.com/events/1686760454925906/

The post Houston Firkin Fest – Preview first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Houston Firkin Fest – Preview appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

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.

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 (4^th, 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 (5^th, 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 (1^st, 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 (3^rd, 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 (2^nd, 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 (9^th, 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 (8^th, 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 (6^th, 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 (7^th, 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.”

The post Guest Post: It’s Time for Texas Pilsners! first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Guest Post: It’s Time for Texas Pilsners! appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

A quick reminder of the methodology: To make this list, I started with all Houston-area beers with at least 100 Untappd check-ins. I then excluded any beers that have had less than 5% growth in activity since last quarter. The resulting 202 beers from 24 breweries were then weighted using a Bayesian estimate based on total check-ins and ratings. And finally: obviously all ratings should be taken lightly. Ratings are subject to the whims of rarity, perceived excitement, and even personal vendettas from groups of people. This is just a fun exercise but should not be considered a reflection of my opinion or the opinion of Houston Beer Guide.

Last time around, we only had 193 beers from 21 breweries. For the second quarter in a row, three more breweries have qualified for this list, indicative of the city’s steady brewery growth.

The Top Ten Beers in the Houston area, weighted:

Atop the chart, not much has changed from last quarter. Southern Star Black Crack rose two spots, largely due to the latest successful release. And sadly, my love of Yellow Rose can’t save it from another quarterly drop. Near the bottom, however, the real excitement occurs: the first sighting in the Top 10 of a Brash beer (likely a sign of more to come), as well as the first time that a No Label beer has made the chart. This year’s Perpetual Peace release has been incredibly highly reviewed and the Single Barrel variety helped as well. Clearly a good sign from the Katy brewery.

The Top Ten Breweries in the Houston area, weighted:

Again, the top of the chart remains unchanged. Much more exciting: Brash’s rise into the Top 5, as well as Texian’s return on the chart, something obviously bolstered by their recent focus on funky & sour beers. Texian’s return dethrones Brazos Valley, which has fallen completely off the chart, something likely affected by their lack of a new qualifying beer since last quarter.

What do you think? It’s March and that means one major thing for sports fans, and a similar thing for Houston beer fans. You’ve seen the rankings above, but now we want you to vote in our own March beer bracket with the top 64 Houston beers. Check it out here!

The post Top-Rated Beers & Breweries in Houston: March 2016 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Top-Rated Beers & Breweries in Houston: March 2016 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The new Southern Star taproom (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

New beers, new taproom, and a bigger brewhouse: 2016 is going to be a big year for Southern Star Brewing.

Already this year, the Conroe brewery has moved and expanded, adding more brewing capacity at its new location a few miles from its original home. A new indoor taproom opens this week (Friday, Feb. 26.), too. And to top it off, they’ve got at least four new beers scheduled for release this year, according to details provided to Houston Beer Guide by Southern Star. That includes a new year-round IPA, two new seasonals, and another entry in the one-off series that delivered the tasty Honesty of Reason IPA last fall.

Southern Star began brewing on their new brewhouse on February 17, going from a 15 BBL system to a 60 BBL system. As for the new taproom, expect their regular lineup of beers and some taproom-only specials. The space will also be available for private events. Future plans for the new brewery include the addition of a fenced-in dog park, disc golf course, and outdoor beer garden.

New Taproom Hours
Fridays: 5PM – 9PM
Saturdays: Noon – 6PM

Address: 3525 N Frazier St, Conroe, TX 77303

Now, to the beer. Southern Star’s expansion means they can produce a lot more beer, and from the advanced look at their lineup, they are planning to. In addition to their current year-round lineup (Bombshell Blonde, Buried Hatchet Stout, Pine Belt Pale Ale, and Valkyrie), they are releasing a new, year-round IPA called Conspiracy Theory. Southern Star provided HBG with the following tasting notes:

“Conspiracy Theory is the culmination of the knowledge we have gained from the Hopped and Screwed series. It is a 6.5% ABV India Pale Ale with Amarillo and Simcoe hops dominating both flavor and aroma. A light, but noticeable caramel malt backbone boosts the drinkability of this true West-coast style IPA.”

The new can design for Conspiracy Theory IPA (courtesy of Southern Star)

The Spring Pils Tree (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

Southern Star is also planning an entirely revamped seasonal lineup. The first offering will be Spring Pils, which Southern Star describes as:

“…a German-style pilsner with a noble hop profile and a noticeable malt profile derived from 100% German pilsner malt subjected to a single decoction mash profile.”

That will be followed by one of my favorites, Walloon, that will be rebranded and called Summer Saison. Both the Spring Pils and Summer Saison cans will feature a tree in different states of growth.

In the fall, Southern Star will release its first Oktoberfest beer. The as-of-now unnamed beer will be a traditional Oktoberfest using German Munich and Vienna Malts. For the winter, we will see the return of Old Potentate, rebranded with a new name and can design. Old Potentate is a British-style Old Ale that was last brewed in 2014 but last canned in 2012.

In 2015, Southern Star released their first beer in their One-Off Art Series, which features a can designed by a local artist and a speciality one-off beer. The first in that series was the beautifully canned Honesty of Reason, with artwork by Michael Draper. The next entry will be one I’m particularly excited for: Garden State. With gorgeous artwork from local artist Nicole Gavin, Garden State will be a Bavarian-style hefeweizen dry-hopped with Mandarina hops. This should give the beer some slight orange notes in what is being described as a traditional banana and clove hefeweizen.

Look for release dates for all of these beers on our release page located here as soon as we have them.  The future is looking very bright for Southern Star!

The Summer Saison Tree (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

Garden State (photo courtesy of Southern Star)

The post 2016: The Rise of Southern Star first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post 2016: The Rise of Southern Star 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.

It takes a lot to get me to drive outside the loop, and as Google maps poorly directed me onto a path that took me on the beltway for my hour journey north, I thought to myself, “this had better be worth it.”
Luckily, the Southern Star Black Crack release party justified the trek. Having not been to Southern Star’s facility since 2010, I was eager to return, and even more eager to enjoy a few glasses of Black Crack, one of my favorite Houston beers.

And enjoy I did! Participants received three glasses of Black Crack: this year’s release was joined by a serving of last year’s and a cask of single barrel unblended Black Crack that went into this year’s composition.

As expected, this year’s release is very similar to the past blends, with plenty of bourbon and coffee notes in a well-balanced and complex delivery. I did find the body a little thinner than I recall from the past, but this didn’t distract from my enjoyment.

The unblended cask was really interesting. Though flat (as casks often are), there was a smooth feel that allowed the flavors of the underlying Buried Hatchet to shine through without ignoring the aromas and finish provided by the barrel. Hopefully Southern Star will continue the unblended idea in the future; I thought it was marvelous

In addition to the beer, I enjoyed conversation with many fellow drinkers and some pleasant bluegrass. Nearly everyone I talked to loved the cask as well and the excitement for one of Houston’s best beers was palpable. All together a great event, and I look forward to more Black Crack!

Thank you Southern Star Brewing Company for providing us a ticket to this event.

The post Southern Star Black Crack Release Party first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

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