Stone Tangerine Express IPA

It's a holiday weekend, and while i may be working through 2/3 of it, my off time sure gets a tropical lift from the Tangerine Express IPA from the always dependable Stone Brewing.  The 6.7% ABV beer pours a nice, hazy gold with a minimal head and lovely aromas of hops, fruit, and citrus abounding.  The flavor is a sweet and bitter mix of tangerine, pineapple, citrussy hops, and some floral and herbal notes.  It's the perfect elixir for a hot summer day.

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Saint Arnold Pub Crawl Pale Ale

Have i mentioned that we like sessionable beers here in Central Texas?  The coasts seem to give us big hops and big alcohol, but here in the heat and humidity of a the Texas hill country (and beyond), we tend to like our brews when we can drink them all day long.  The Pub Crawl Pale Ale from Saint Arnold Brewery in Houston is one such beer.  Pouring a light, hazy gold with a large and foamy white head, this 4.7% ABV brew has aromas of spicy hops and subtle malts.  It's crisp and carbonated with some slightly dank hoppiness abounding, and easy drinker for sure, but just hoppy enough to keep it interesting.  I think i'll have another.

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Hops & Grain River Beer

It sure does get hot here in Central Texas, as we've repeatedly breached 90 degrees a few times in the last couple of weeks, and it's not even June yet.  That being said, we certainly seem to enjoy spending our days off outside in the sun, in parks, backyards, local swimming holes, and tubing any and all nearby rivers.  And beer is usually in the equation.  But you need something easy to drink and something sessionable enough as to not knock you on your ass before the sun sets.  And as we're craft beer drinkers around here (though Lone Star will always have a special place in my heart), offerings from the "big three" will not do.  Fear not, as Austin's Hops & Grain now have a delicious take on the American Lager we all grew up drinking, the River Beer.  This 5.2% ABV brew pours a beautiful crystal clear light gold with a foamy and bubbly white head and smells of light notes of grain and citrus.  Crisp and light bodied, the beer is subtly sweet at first with a dab of bitterness on the back end.  It basically tastes like beer.  Good beer.  I wish this had been around when i was in high school.

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Live Oak Gold

Only a week into May, and it's already getting hot here in Central Texas, thick, humid air and all encompassing sun haze abounding.  So, naturally i spent a good portion of the day outside yesterday, my kids jumping and splashing around half naked in our recently rediscovered kiddie pools, blown up and filled in the backyard while i cooked steaks and portabella mushrooms on the grill, a veritable portrait of classic suburbia.  And the Live Oak Gold was flowing...probably too easily.  Gold, from Austin's Live Oak Brewery, is a German-style pilsner that pours a light gold (go figure) with a frothy white head.  Floral aromas and light notes of spice hit the nose, that classic beer smell.  The beer is light and crisp, slightly sweet with soft malts, floral notes, and a nice dry finish.  And at 4.8% ABV, it's the perfect brew for a day in the sunshine.

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Real Ale Phoenixx Double ESB

Real Ale never fails to impress and delight with pretty much every beer they put out on the market, be it their mainstays, seasonals, or more limited, experimental offerings.  As part of the brewery's rotating bomber series, the Phoenixx Double ESB is a fantastic English Style Bitter, and a perfect way to end a day.  I snagged this tasty guy at the grocery store yesterday for a post dinner libation, and it was wonderful.  The 7.6% ABV brew pours a dark amber with a foamy, white head and smells of malt and toffee with a general earthiness abounding.  The flavor is slightly sweet at first, the combo of toffee and caramel hitting the tongue before settling back and letting the hops finish it off with some spice and bitter notes.  It's delicious.  I may be going back to the store today.

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