The New Orleans vibe oozes from NOLA’s brewery on Tchoupitoulas

NOLA Brewing plans to start distributing in Houston with Flood Distribution in the next month or so. Apparently the Big Easy attitude even carries over to brewery launches outside New Orleans. I had the opportunity to talk to both NOLA and Flood about the impending release, and all parties including myself are very excited. NOLA originally reached out to Flood because they wanted to make their Texas splash by first releasing their beer in a fellow bayou city with which they have shared Gulf Coast culture and history. They also have great respect for Flood’s portfolio and their independent craft-centric approach to business. The pair are choosing to release some unique year-round beers with their 7th Street Lemon Basil Wheat, tallboys of the Irish Channel Stout, a selection of tasty IPAs, as well as their seasonal releases. In addition to these standard beers, Houston will be seeing the full selection of NOLA’s excellent Funk Series and some other limited release barrel aged beers.

Mardi Gras dragons meet you in the brew house

As a Houstonian of 12 years, craft beer nerd, and a frequent New Orleans visitor and soon to be resident, I am super pumped for NOLA to come to Houston. The geographical and cultural connection to the Big Easy is already very tight, and the beer connection is about to become a lot closer. NOLA will be bringing some great beers to our market, and any visitor to New Orleans should absolutely stop by their brewery to check out what they’re doing. They often have tap room only one-offs along with a great environment for hanging out. And free beer on Fridays! Tell them Brittski sent you and prepare to receive confused looks and perhaps even a drunken shout out from myself across the bar. My only lingering question is who will be the first Houston brewery to collaborate with our I-10 neighbors? Whoever delivers, I promise that I’ll drink a lot of that beer!

The post NOLA Brewing to Launch in Houston first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post NOLA Brewing to Launch in Houston appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Well, 2016 certainly was interesting, wasn’t it? Jose started the year off by telling you to stop aging beer, we hosted a Houston Beer themed March Madness bracket and a bot almost ruined it, Lone Pint (FINALLY) started dating bottles of Yellow Rose, Saint Arnold turned 22, Whole Foods sold beer for $2, and Karbach sold to AB-InBev (and breaking that news crashed our site). The greater Houston area gained something like a dozen breweries and several new beer bars. Of those, we were lucky enough to cover Back Pew, Saloon Door, BAKFISH, Running Walker, City Acre, Under the Radar, Eureka Heights, and Holler, as well as Conservatory  and Beers Looking At You.

To round out the year, we asked our writers to send in a few sentences about their favorite beer from within Houston and their favorite beer from outside of Houston. The only requirement was that each beer be new-to-them. This isn’t meant to be a “best of 2016” article, just us talking about the beers that we enjoyed.

We would love to hear your favorite beers of the year. Let us know on Twitter @HoustonBeer or on Facebook at Houston Beer Guide

Editors Note: Saint Arnold’s 5 o’Clock Pils made several lists, which shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve tried it. It also won our blind tasting challenge of 9 Texas Pilsners. 

Nathan Miller:

Overall, 2016 was an incredible year for me, beer-wise. I hit my 10,000th unique check-in on Untappd, I traveled to several festivals, I drank over 3500 beers, at least 2700 of which were new to me. So choosing my favorites is hard, but a worthy task:

Photo: Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils – This might be cheating since this beer technically came out under a different name in a previous year, but 5OCP showed up in 2016 under this name and therefore wins my award for Best 2016 Houston Beer. It’s a perfectly crystal-clear pilsner with a clean, crisp taste, a biscuity aroma, and a TON of flavor. I adore this beer and will happily drink can after can after can of the stuff.

Photo: Garagiste Meadery

Garagiste Honeybell Dreamsicle – My pick for the best non-Houston beer of 2016 isn’t actually a beer at all, but a mead (a melomel, to be specific). You know that scene in Pixar’s Ratatouille where the food critic’s memories are taken back to childhood with one bite of a dish? That’s how Honeybell Dreamsicle treated me. One sip and I was a child, in my elementary school cafeteria, eating a popsicle given to me by a teacher who wanted to thank me for bringing an important letter home to my parents. The memory is deep, hidden in my brain, but this incredible elixir brought it to the surface.

Josh Frink:

Photo: Josh Frink

City Acre Fermette De Saison – Kumquat & Grapefruit – Houston finally has a brewery making a dry, highly carbonated Saison, which is one of my favorite styles. Out of the three variations City Acre brewed using fruit and herbs from their property, the Kumquat & Grapefruit variation was my favorite. The citrus complemented the natural flavor of the Saison yeast and the pit of the fruit added just the right amount of bitterness. I’m very much looking forward to see what ingredients they harvest for next year’s batch.

Photo: Bières de Chimay

Chimay Dorée – This spring, my wife and I went on a trip to Belgium. We visited a dozen or so breweries and decided to make the trek all the way down to the Chimay restaurant/inn/museum (you can’t actually visit the abbey) to try the ubiquitous Belgian Abbey beers as fresh as possible. We were disappointed and yet amazed to find that their beers taste the same in Friendswood as they do in Chimay, but we were completely shocked to discover they brew a fourth beer that we had never seen in Houston. Dorée (French for golden) is a 4.8% patersbier that has the cleanest orange flavor I’ve ever had in a beer. It sees very limited distribution in the US. Occasionally Flying Saucer Downtown has bottles and it’s well worth the $10 to try it yourself.

Jose Luis Cubria:

Photo: Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils – For the 2nd year in a row, Saint Arnold debuted a spectacular new year-round beer (in 2015 it was Art Car). 5Oc is delicious and crushable. It takes a classic style and nails it, but with enough of a twist to keep it interesting and new. A permanent staple in my fridge.

Photo: The Bruery

The Bruery Melange No. 14 – It’s been nearly four months and I’m still giddy that my favorite US brewery is on our shelves. I’d never had M14 before it landed in Houston, and I immediately fell in love. It’s a perfect encapsulation of one of The Bruery’s great strengths: deliciously complex and dangerously drinkable barrel-aged monsters.

Kenneth Krampota:

Photo: Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel #13 – This beer screamed to me to begin with. A bourbon barrel quad that was done to damn near perfection. Tons of bourbon, vanilla, that traditional quad fruit, and it all came together without being too boozy. One of my favorite Saint Arnold beers ever.

Photo: Russian River Brewing Company

Russian River Temptation – I spent a few days out in the California wine country this year celebrating my 40th trip around the sun. No trip out that way would be complete without a trip to Russian River Brewing, and the wife and I enjoyed the full beer sampler. The standout to me was Temptation. The Chardonnay barrel and Brett funk in this blonde ale just provided the perfect level of sour. I know Consecration and Pliny get more attention from Russian River, but this is the beer I’d drink the most of that they produce.

Alice Hicks:

Photo: Brash Brewing Company

Brash Pussalia – My favorite Houston beer is a Brash brew for the second year in a row. Pussalia drew me in with its gorgeous, resinous aroma and hooked me with its double-dry and undeniably dank hops, rounded out by tropical notes. Its crisp, clean, medium body and dry finish left me wanting more: Pussalia is a perfect double IPA in my book.

Photo: Orange Belt Brewing Company

Orange Belt Brewing Chardonnay Barrel-Aged Whalez AKA Whalez 2.0 (Chardonnay Barrel) –  I swear I didn’t choose this beer just so I could say “Whalez, bro!” but I have to say it: “Whalez, bro!” However, I will swear that this is one beer truly worth seeking out. A side project of Cycle Brewing’s Head Brewer Eric Trinosky, Orange Belt Brewing makes some beautiful sour ales. The light, lemony tartness of the chardonnay barrel-aged version of their Whalez blonde ale is perfectly balanced with its rich oak character and bright acidity. One of the most well-executed barrel-aged sours I’ve ever had; it is in a class with the best of Portland, Oregon’s venerable Cascade Brewing.

Tim Spies:

Photo: Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils – Austin may be the “Pilsner Capital” of Texas. But the best domestic pils available is from Houston.

Photo: The Rare Barrel

The Rare Barrel Afterlight – I’m generally not a fan of dark sours or red wine barrel-aged beers. But rarely are they executed near perfection. Afterlight is such a beer.

Chris White:

Photo: Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils – My high expectations were exceeded by this local take on the Americanized version of the classic continental style. As I learned in the HBG blind pilsner tasting, these hoppy pilsners fool me – they don’t taste exceptionally hoppy, just ‘crisp’ and slightly aromatic. 5OC hits this mark hard – a nice bitterness, great earthy hop aroma and clean crisp finish with a little malt sweetness. The fact that this beer is on basically every supermarket shelf all the time is a great bonus for someone like me that gets most beer on the weekly shopping trip.

Photo: Community Beer Company

Community Yessir! Pale Ale – I love APA, but I also find that most new pales don’t really stand out in comparison to the incredible classics *cough* Sierra Nevada *cough* that are always available. This Dallas-area brewery takes a heavy hand to the three new(ish) hop varietals in their fall seasonal brew but most importantly maintains a balance (and ABV) that’s squarely in line with the style, making it incredibly drinkable with a unique juicy hop flavor. That flavor profile stands out from the long shadow of the classic APA with the pale green label. Distinct, delicious and darn good! Yessir!

The post Our Favorite Beers of 2016 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Our Favorite Beers of 2016 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The highlight, of course, is the beer. This year’s beer list, unsurprisingly, is impressive, varied, and huge; I counted nearly 300 beers and ciders. Yes, I counted. Yes, I made a spreadsheet. Duh. A good beer nerd has to have a game plan for an event like this. I don’t quite have mine finished, but I do know what my first five stops will be.

Jester King

This is becoming an annual tradition. For the third year in a row, my first stop will be Jester King, and my first beer will be 分 桃, aka Fen Tao, their peach sour. I’m once again predicting that this will be the first beer at the festival to run out. I’ll say it’s 50/50 to even survive the VIP hour from 3:30-4:30 (that’s your cue to get VIP tickets). I’m also excited to try Space Waves, their recent collaboration with Jolly Pumpkin. It’s a JK farmhouse blended with their own cherry sour (Montmorency vs. Balaton), with a salty twist.

Saint Arnold

Houston’s best brewery always brings good stuff to Untapped, but this year they’re going all out. Four vintages of Pumpkinator, three Bishop’s Barrels, two Divine Reserves, and a Raspberry AF in a pear tree. 2016 Pumpkinator, which debuted just this week, will surely be popular. I’m most excited for Raspberry AF, their Boiler Room berliner weisse with raspberries. It’s delicious, and at 3.7%, it’ll be the perfect break beer/thirst quencher.

Peticolas

This Dallas brewery is the most welcome surprise on the list for me. The only other time I’ve seen their beer in Houston was at the (late, great) Draft Fest at Guadalupe Plaza Park in 2012. All these years (and awards and raves) later, Peticolas still doesn’t distribute to Houston, despite our social media pleas. I’m excited to try all three of the beers they’re sending to Untapped: Velvet Hammer (an imperial red), Ghost of Alfred Brown (their English brown ale with ghost peppers), and Sit Down Or I’ll Sit You Down (their highly regarded double IPA).

The Bruery

No, I haven’t stopped nerding out about the fact that my favorite U.S. brewery is now in Houston. I’ll take a second to wish they’d diversified their lineup for Untapped, since all three beers (Melange 14, Mash & Vanilla, and Poterie) are at least 13.4% abv, but that’s a nitpick. All three are crazy delicious.

Real Ale

It should come as no surprise that my pick for the best overall Untapped lineup comes from the best brewery in Texas. They’ve got the whole spectrum covered: sessionable & pale (Hans’ Pils), sessionable & dark (Coffee Porter), hoppy (Axis, their killer new IPA), classic Belgian (Devil’s Backbone), sour (Tenebrae Aeterna, their spectacular barrel-aged sour porter), and rare (a special rye-whisky-barrel-aged version of their 20th Anniversary Rye Double IPA). That is how you structure a festival lineup. I expect to spend a lot of time at the Real Ale table.

So that’s my top five. There’s a ton of other great stuff, of course. Hell, it’s kind of mind-blowing to think that I’ve made it this far without mentioning luminaries such as Brash (EZ7, Cortado), Odell (Jolly Russian, Friek), Founders (KBS), Avery (Lillikoi Kepolo, Rumpkin), Boulevard (Tank 7, Love Child #7, Rye-On-Rye), Alpine (Pure Hoppiness)… you get the point. I’ll also be making a point to check in on some of Houston’s newest breweries: SpindleTap, Under The Radar, and Eureka Heights. Make sure you try Eureka Heights Mostly Harmless. I’m kind of obsessed with it.

See y’all on Saturday

The post My first 5 stops at Untapped Houston, 2016 edition first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post My first 5 stops at Untapped Houston, 2016 edition appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.