Big congrats to True Anomaly Brewing Company for taking home the big one – the 2024 Brewery of the Year award. Cheers to brewing great beer!

See the full list of Texas winners here.

The post Texas Craft Brewers Cup Awards 2024 first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Texas Craft Brewers Cup Awards 2024 appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Category 25: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale – Total 163 Entries
Gold: Pink, Vallensons’ Brewing Co., Pearland, TX

Category 95: Imperial India Pale Ale – Total 174 Entries
Silver: Cali Boy, No Label Brewing Co., Katy, TX

Category 31: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – Total 82 Entries
Bronze: Sea of Waves, True Anomaly Brewing Co., Houston, TX

I asked Tom Paynter, with No Label Brewing how this concept got kicked off in the first place. He mentioned it was heavy on his mind during his trip back home from Minneapolis. After pitching the idea, the brew teams talked back and forth over a couple weeks to work it in the brew schedule and a beer style was decided among the group. No Label was the obvious choice for production given the capacity of the brewhouse. No Label and Vallensons’ had teamed up with before with the launch of Spa Day IPA back in June 2021 so the label was modified to include True Anomaly as well.

“It’s such a rarity to win a World Beer Cup and it just so happens that we’re all actually good friends – which made it easier to ask Vallensons’ and True Anomaly to join us on this crazy adventure,” said Tom Paynter, No Label’s Co-Owner and Marketing Director. “Collaborations are hard enough, but a three way collaboration – GET OUT OF TOWN!,” says Paynter. “I just hope these guys are still my friends after this week.

No way Tom, I am staying in town for this release. And you should too!

This collaboration beer is a 5% Hazy Pale Ale. According to Untappd (listed under No Label Brewery), it pours pale gold and extremely hazy. This beer features a combination of New Zealand and American hops and tasters can expect the dried apricot and grapefruit aroma with subtle hints of citrus and pine in the finish. The flavor is much like the aroma with grapefruit in the forefront and hints of stone fruit, citrus and pine in the finish. Creamy tongue mouthfeel on a medium body with low bitterness and a dry soft finish. Interesting profile! With shared imagery and similar profile, this beer sounds very much like the Spa Day IPA release.

This beer has a week long release schedule kicking off at No Label Brewing, where it was produced and labeled. The party then will moves to Vallensons’ for a Thursday evening release event. (Being this is one of two breweries in my hometown of Pearland, come say hey!) Finally, the celebrations will blast off north into Downtown Houston at True Anomaly Brewing for the final release event. Six packs of this beer will only be available at each brewery. Each brewery only received 2 halves and 20 cases so this beer is super limited. During the launch party at No Label this past Saturday, six-packs sold out within hours.

In addition to the taproom parties, Triple Brewery Tap Takeovers featuring beers from all three breweries, including Vallenson’s which has never distributed their beer outside of their taproom will be happening all across the city. There will be a total of 7 taps at each tap takeover with 5 happenings this weekend.

Celebration Schedule This Week:

Saturday, November 12th – Taproom Party, No Label Brewing, Katy, Texas
Tuesday, November 15th – Triple Brewery Tap Takeover, Thistle Draftshop, Spring, Texas
Wednesday, November, 16th – Triple Brewery Tap Takeover, Nobi Public House in Webster, Texas
Thursday, November 17th – Taproom Party, Vallensons’, Pearland, Texas
Friday, November 18th – Triple Brewery Tap Takeover, Growler Spot, Fulshear, Texas
Saturday, November 19th – Taproom Party, True Anomaly, Downtown Houston

So grab a pint of this beer (and 6-pack to go if you can) in your area and cheers to Houston beer friendships and out of this world brewing accomplishment taking place in our great city!

Cheers!

The post For All the H: A beer collaboration with/for friends first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post For All the H: A beer collaboration with/for friends appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Kemah Suprema

American light lager – Saloon Door Brewing

While being known for their big boozy pastry styled stouts, Saloon Door Brewery in Webster Texas just released their first ‘light’ beer in the taproom. This beer features a light malt bread like character with subtle yeast fruitiness. Because it’s low on the bitterness scale and high carbonation, it leaves behind a clean refreshing finish. This beer can only be purchased in the taproom. For now….this could change real soon.

Gang Plank Gose

Gose – Back Pew Brewing

Coming in at 3.9%, this beer features a pleasant orange and lemon aroma with a slightly salty tart finish. Head brewer Bobby Harl likes to call this beer his “adult Gatorade beer”. This beer is perfect for someone who wants that extra bit of flavor without all the artificial additions. Definitely one of my top picks for summer shotgun beers. Batten down the hatches, down she ‘gose’!

Spa Day IPA

Hazy IPA – No Label Brewing Company and Vallensons’ Brewing Company Collaboration

Who doesn’t love a good spa day? Especially involving good friends. When Valle, Tom and Ryan got together to brew this hazy IPA, they created what I believe is No Label’s best IPA to date. BOOM. Spa Day IPA is a super crushable hazy ipa with a soft creamy mouthfeel that makes day drinking way too easy. What I enjoy most about this beer is the clean hop finish with no lingering after flavor. No hop bath bomb used here – just good clean water chemistry!

Got any other beers we should try this summer? Shoot us a message at cheers@houstonbeerguide.com!

Stay cool out there! Cheers!

The post Houston-area beers you should be drinking this Summer first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Houston-area beers you should be drinking this Summer appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Although this beer was new to us at the time, it was the very first beer that Valle Kauniste, owner and brewmaster of Vallensons’ Brewing Company has ever brewed. After serving our country abroad, Valle landed in northern California on a search to find beers similar to what he was drinking in England. At the time, Sierra Nevada and other large craft beer breweries were flooding the beer market with new beer styles but Valle could not find any beers similar in taste to those beers he was craving from overseas. Being primarily a stout and porter fan, Valle set out to recreate that familiar beer style he loved and remembered. Over the years, grains and brewing techniques have evolved but the recipe for this beer still remains unchanged. As a result, the Settler’s Oatmeal stout is leading the pack for being the ‘most decorated’ stouts in the City.

The first time this beer awarded was back in Valle’s early homebrew days. Valle entered a new brewer competition called the ‘Mississippi Mashout’ and much to his surprise, took home a gold medal. In 2000, he moved to Houston and got involved with the local homebrew scene, established a homestead with his growing family and started the plans for a family owned brewery operation with his wife, Lori Kauniste. Valle scaled up his 5 gallon electric brew system to a 30 gallon system and quickly, craft beer became a big part of the Kauniste family lifestyle. The current 3BL system is pushing overtime, brewing new beer recipes each month and will soon be replaced with a custom built 7BL brewhouse to compliment the new expansion of the taproom and new event space in April. Did someone say VIP tours? Yes, please!

Additionally, Valle’s Oatmeal Stout has won…

Gold in the US Open Beer 2019

Silver in the US Open Beer 2020

and the big one, the 2020 Great American Beer Festival “Oatmeal Stout” Category – Gold.

“This is a beer that I really enjoy making and we are so glad that the community likes it. I feel like I am the new guy on the scene so taking home a gold medal at GABF this year is mind blowing to me. Two golds and a silver in two years – I am planning to call an upcoming beer “Validation” because we must be doing something right! – Valle K.

So, how does it taste? This beer features a rich roast flavor with a touch of residual sweetness that will delight any stout drinker. The body is medium to full with a slick velvet texture making it super easy to drink. At 5.9%, this beer is a perfect companion to your morning coffee to kick start your day with a buzz. On New Year’s Day, this beer was released in 16oz cans (4-packs) for the first time and cans quickly sold out over the weekend. But don’t fret – this beer will always have a spot on the Untappd tapwall and cans are back in restock each week.

Take a trip down south to Vallensons’ Brewing in Pearland on a nice Sunday afternoon, and enjoy a tulip pour of this award winning stout. While you are there, snag a beer flight and take advantage of the creative beers Valle and his team are creating each week.

AUDIO BONUS!

For more ‘behind the scene’ discussion about the story of this beer, check the Draught Queens audio segment with Valle Kauniste available here .

The post Beer Spotlight: Settler’s Oatmeal Stout first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Beer Spotlight: Settler’s Oatmeal Stout appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.