Jester King Montmorency Vs. Balaton

At the start of every year, i gradually begin a procurement of different bottles of beer that eventually amasses into a veritable smorgasbord of libations that i drink away at Christmas time, only to then start collecting again.  It's become kind of a ritual.  At any rate, of the several different bottles i consumed over the holiday, one of the very best was the meal time accompanying Montmorency Vs. Balaton from Jester King.  Acquired from the brewery on Father's Day, this 6.1% ABV barrel aged sour beer, refermented with two different kinds of cherries, pours a beautiful transparent red with a quickly dissipating pinkish white head and smells of fruit and cherries with tart notes abounding.  The flavor is sweet and tart with a light and crisp mouthfeel that gives the brew some wine and champagne characteristics, the sourness only slight subsiding from start to finish.  This was a wonderful brew, perfect for a big holiday gathering or meal, and i really wish i had purchased more than one bottle.

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TUPPS Full Grown Nick

Well, tomorrow's the big day.  Are you ready?  Are you prepared?  Because i'm sure not.  I have yet to wrap a single gift, instead deciding to go to sleep last night, and to rewatch Indonesian action film "The Night Comes for Us" the night before that.  I stand by my decisions, but that means there is probably not a wink of sleep in my future tonight.  And tomorrow is going to come so very, very early.  The 5-year old and the 2-year old will see to that.  Anyway, at least i've got plenty of beer.  Much like the Halloween variant of their Full Grown Man stout, the holiday version, Full Grown Nick from TUPPS Brewery, is loaded with season appropriate flavors and spices.  The 12.1% ABV imperial stout pours a dark black with a creamy, tan head and smells of chocolate, nutmeg, gingerbread, vanilla, roasted malt, and cinnamon.  The spices are heavy in the flavor, but retain enough balance to not go overboard, and ends things in a nice, boozy finish.  Merry Christmas everybody.

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Galaxy Grove

I just can't seem to help myself with brewery collaborations.  I find one, and i must try it.  And so i was rewarded with the excellent Galaxy Grove, a wild ale collaboration between Indiana's Upland Brewing and Florida's Cigar City (a perennial favorite).  The 7.3% ABV concoction pours a hazy gold with a foamy white head, aromas of tropical fruit, peach, and hops prevailing with some very subtle notes of oak and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is juicy fruits, peach, pineapple, and grapefruit with some bitter grass notes and a tart finish, a pretty complex brew overall.  It would be in our interest if these two collaborate together again.

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Sol Vinum

Last week i wrote about my post-Thanksgiving dinner beer, a veritable alcoholic dessert, but this week, it seemed i should complete things by taking on my dinner beer.  I'm not really a wine drinker, so instead i went with a wine-ish brew.  Marble Falls' Save The World Brewing makes some pretty knockout stuff, so their Sol Vinum, a Belgian strong ale aged over crushed red grapes proved to be a perfect beverage to accompany a table of family and food.  The 9.3% ABV brew pours gold with a bubbly white head and smells of spice and fruit.  The flavor was the same mix of spices and fruit with a kind of lacy alcohol feel in the mouth, and it paired wonderfully with our Thanksgiving dinner.  I can imagine it pairs nicely with most other meals as well.  I'll be having this one again soon.

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Prairie Artisan Double Dunk

Illness has blanketed my household the last few weeks, with adults and kids alike getting bouts of flu or worse.  I've been battling a walking pneumonia myself, which hasn't been very fun.  Lots and lots of coughing.  But, i did manage to have a few tasty brews over Thanksgiving, and one of the best was my post-dinner dessert beverage, the Double Dunk Imperial Stout with Oreo from Oklahoma's Prairie Artisan Ales.  The 11.9% ABV brew pours jet black with a quickly dissipating tan head and smells of chocolate, cream, and roasted malts.  The flavor was a little boozier than i was expecting, but sweet and smooth as well, notes of chocolate and cream hitting the palate like a decadent dessert, all with some hints of Oreo throughout.  Yum.  It's a great, night time winter brew.

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Untitled Art / Angry Chair Chocolate Vanilla Maple Imperial Stout

Collaborations between breweries often result in the most fantastic of beers, and i've got to say that the Chocolate Vanilla Maple Imperial Stout from Waunakee, Wisconsin's Untitled Art and Tampa Bay, Florida's Angry Chair ranks right up there with anything i've ever had.  This 12% ABV beast pours the blackest of blacks with a tan/brown head, the aromas of maple, chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar, dark fruits, and roasted barley hitting the nose instantly.  The flavor is a boozy mix of maple at the forefront followed by the notes of chocolate and vanilla and plenty of sugar, all in a velvety smooth stout.  If you're looking for dessert in a can, look no further.

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Real Ale Magnum Trux

Real Ale has been putting out quality beer for a long time now, and some of their best and most interesting brews arrive to us via the brewery's fantastic Mysterium Verum series, small batches of barrel aged and sour beers that are variations of their usual year round or seasonal fare.  My favorite beer the brewery makes is their Black Quad, a lovely Belgian Quadruple ale that's been one of my go-to beers for at least half a decade now.  So, i was pumped to see it used as the base brew for Magnum Trux, a 10.3% ABV barrel-aged sour quad with black currants.  There's a lot going on there.  After primary fermentation, the beer is then aged in oak barrels for four months with some added house culture yeast, and then come the black currants.  Pouring ruby black with a quickly dissipating white head, the brew smells of currants, dark fruit, and some overall sourness.  The flavor is a mix of sweet and sour, notes of currant, fig, other dark fruit, and some slight hints of spice, all in a smooth and drinkable mouthfeel.  All in all, it's a complex yet very drinkable sour brew.

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Ommegang Stormcrusher

Cooperstown, New York's Ommegang Brewery tends to keep it interesting with their releases, and their more recent, a collaboration with Houston's Brash Brewing, is interesting indeed.  And pretty delicious too.  The Stormcrusher is a 9.7% ABV Belgian quadruple ale brewed with blueberries and coffee, and it's about as complex and tasty a brew as your liable to come across.  Pouring a slightly purplish brown with a bubbly off-white head, the beer smells of coffee and blueberries with notes of caramel and malt in the mix as well.  The flavor feels heavier on the coffee at first before giving way to sweeter blueberry notes and then leveling off with a sweet and malty full-bodied mouthfeel.  What a wonderful beer.

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Cigar City Florida Cracker

Last week, i spent a few days in the happiest goddamn place on earth, as the family and i made our way to central Florida for some high times with the Mouse.  Yeah, we went to Disney.  Anyway, the daily visits to the theme park was not about me.  It was about my kids, and they loved it.  But in the evening, back at the condo, watching the sun go down as my feet ached and ached, well...that was about me.  And what better way to wind down than with some tasty beverages from one of my favorite breweries, Tampa Bay's Cigar City.  The delightfully named Florida Cracker, a Belgian-style white ale with orange peel and coriander, was my go to for the trip.  The 5.5% ABV brew was light, crisp, and sweet, notes of orange and coriander layered against some slight spiciness from the Belgian yeast that hit both the nose and the tongue with zesty aplomb.  I could quite literally drink it all day long.  So, if you ever find yourself in the magic kingdom, be sure to equip yourself with some wind-down libations to ease the pain and dim the noise.

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NXNW Zombie Dragon (with Mango) IPA

Yesterday, i pretty much wrapped up the Oktoberfest season by taking my family to the Oktoberfest celebration over at North By Northwest Brewing Company in Austin.  Beers were consumed, pretzels eaten, bouncy houses bounced in, and polka music listened to.  So what better way to write up the experience than by ignoring their traditional German beverages for something a little juicier.  The brewer's Zombie Dragon IPA is a big and juicy wonder, a 7.4% ABV concoction that's big on citrus and pine but easy on the bitterness.  You'd think that would be enough or everyone, but then they went and added a whole mess of mangos to the mix to create something superbly delicious.  Pouring a hazy, gold with a white head, the beer smells of mango, tropical fruit, and citrus with some hints of spice and pine.  The flavor is full of...you guessed it...mango, along with notes of grapefruit, spice, and grain.  And it still packs that 7.4% ABV punch.  This may be my favorite brew from NXNW, and i hope it becomes a mainstay.

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Save The World Jonah's Relief Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Currently, i'm trying to imbibe all of the pumpkin ale i can get my grubby little hands on that i possibly can, as once we make our way into November, their numbers drastically dwindle.  And aside from the regulars i generally partake in, a handful of newer brews have popped up onto my radar to wonderful success.  One of the most recent (for me at least) is the Jonah's Relief Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Save The World Brewery out in Marble Falls, TX.  This tasty, 8.2% ABV brew pours an amber-ish gold with a white, quickly dissipating head.  Aromas of pumpkin, pumpkin spices, malt, and some subtle other fruit notes are prevalent, with the flavor being a lovely mix of said pumpkin spice notes along with some caramel and fruit, all with a slightly dry finish.  Good stuff.  I have yet to try anything less than excellent from these guys, so i think a day trip out to their taproom may be on order soon.

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Untitled Art Neapolitan Stout

A collaborative effort from the folks of Wisconsin's Untitled Art and California's Bottle Logic, the Neapolitan Stout is a sweet and syrupy mouthful.  The 11% ABV brew pours a dark black with a light brown and beige head.  Aromas of malt, chocolate, toffee, coffee, strawberry, and molasses are evident, while those same notes mesh together with some subtle hints of licorice and booze in the beer's complex flavor.  It's heavy and feels like it's coating your esophagus on the way down, like nature's best medicine.  A late night brew for sure, but worthy of the high price tag.

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Infamous Oktoberfest

In the age old debate between Oktoberfests and pumpkin ales, i tend to fall on the side of the latter.  That being said, i love a good Oktoberfest brew just as much as the next guy.  Austin's Infamous Brewing, home to a couple of my favorite local beers, recently released their 2018 Oktoberfest, and the 6% ABV Märzen style brew pours a light malty brown with a white head, smelling of malt and sugar.  The beer is slightly sweet, but not overly so, is an easily drinkable festival brew, and a fine take on the style.  Prost!

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8th Wonder Dome Faux'm

We are quickly approaching some MLB playoff action, and while football has always been my sport of choice, there's just something about Fall baseball that feels so right.  So why not start drinking a brew that would be the perfect companion at the ballpark?  Houston's 8th Wonder Brewery has just the concoction you need.  Their Dome Faux'm Cream Ale is a pre-prohibition throwback beer, a crisp and easy drinking beverage for any sporting event...or just sitting around at home in the backyard or whatever.  Pouring gold with a thick and foamy white head, the 5.2% ABV beer smells of grains, grass, malt, and spicy hops.  Light and drinkable, the flavor is a good and balanced mix of malt and hops with just the tangiest bit of bite.  I imagine they'll be drinking a lot of these in Houston is the Astros can repeat this year.

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Whitestone Keyboard Gangsta West Coast Hazy IPA

Taking a short break from pumpkin ales and Oktoberfests to enjoy a hazy dream from Whitestone Brewery.  A fusion of styles (West Coast and hazy/juicy), the Keyboard Gangsta West Coast Hazy IPA pours a fuzzy, hazy (naturally) gold and smells of citrus, tropical fruit, hops, and florals.  The full-bodied, 6.5% ABV brew mixes those same citrus, fruit, hop, and floral notes into a wonderful and tasty beverage that ends with a lingering bitterness.  Good, good stuff, and a nice switch off from my usual Autumnal beer choices.

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The Brewer's Table Idée Fixe Dark Lager

The wife and i celebrated our 10th anniversary last week, and to mark the occasion, we spent the day without kids eating and drinking and watching giant shark movies around Austin.  One place we'd been meaning to check out and finally had the opportunity to do so was The Brewer's Table, a restaurant/gastro-pub/brewpub on Austin's east side.  While sitting at the bar, i tried the brewer's Idée Fixe, a dark lager that was malty and crisp and delicious.  The beer pours dark brown (almost black) with a white head and smelled of malt, oats, lemon, and tea.  The flavor as described by the brewer is that of a summer English breakfast which really isn't far off.  The lemon and tea notes mixed well with the malt and grains meshing together in a more medium bodied brew that felt both complex and easily drinkable.  I'm going to have to get back there soon, with kids or no.

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NXNW Bohemian Raspberry

I know we're heading into Fall, but the weather in Central Texas really does not care, as we're still pushing 100 degrees and beyond almost everyday.  And so, on these hot afternoons, a fruity concoction of hops and malts will certainly hit the spot.  Yesterday, NXNW Restaurant and Brewery in Austin hosted its 19th Anniversary Party, an event marking it as the city's oldest brewpub.  It was a family friendly affair, so where else was an avid beer drinker with two kids going to be?  Anyway, i was able to try a few different beers while there, and all were excellent (meaning i'll probably write about one next week too), but their limited Bohemian Raspberry, a fruit beer brewed with...you guessed it...raspberries really helped beat the heat.  Pouring a pinkish hue, the 6% ABV brew smelled of raspberries, citrus, hops, and spice.  Notes of raspberry were dominant, but meshed well with the spices and some subtle hints of yeast and bread.  The brew finished dry, tart, and crisp, an excellent choice to wind down these hot summer days.

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4th Tap House of Torment Pumpkin Ale

We're getting closer to September, which means that pumpkin ales are now flowing (along with Oktoberfests), and i'm a happy beer drinker.  A lot of the usual gang of misfits are on the shelves, but a new one for my taste perusal just dropped from Austin's 4th Tap, a collaboration ale of sorts with local haunted house provocateurs House of Torment.  The 5% ABV House of Torment Pumpkin Ale pours a brownish amber and smells of pumpkin, yams, and allspice.  The flavor is a shade more subdued than a lot of other pumpkin beers out there, a little heavier on the roasted pumpkin and lighter on the spices.  The end product is a sweet, mildly spicy, and easy drinking Autumn brew.

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Cigar City Tampa-Style Lager

I'm not sure exactly what a Tamp-style lager is, but evidently i quite enjoy it.  Pumpkin ales and Oktoberfests have been hitting the shelves the last couple of weeks, but it's still soooooo hot.  And 100 degree days generally call for lighter, crisper, easier beers, so i've been drinking Tampa brewer Cigar City's Tampa-Style Lager all summer long.  The Helles-leaning beer pours a light, transparent gold with a full and frothy white head and smells of light floral and grain.  Hints of grass, lemon, and spice are evident in the flavor and the 4.5% ABV brew finishes off crisp and refreshing.  I have yet to ever have anything less than excellent from the folks at Cigar City, and this summertime beer is no exception.

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Galveston Island Chicken Little Saison

It's hard to believe that summer is winding down, pumpkin ales are just on the horizon, and my oldest son starts kindergarten on Thursday.  That last one is a head and heart trip that practically barrels me over.  Anyway, while the getting was good, we made a quick weekend journey south to Galveston to hit the beach and the pier, and grab some local beer of course.  Hitting it up every time we're in the area, Galveston Island Brewing offers up a relaxed atmosphere, a playground for the kids, and good beer too.  This last visit, i was particularly taken with the Chicken Little Saison, a tasty and refreshing little brew for these hot and humid August days.  Pouring gold with a quickly dissipating head, the 5.5% ABV beer smells of spice, lemon, and coriander, those same notes making up the flavor of the brew along with some Belgian wheat hints and a crisp finish.  It's the perfect beverage for a hot day, either at the beach or not.

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Eagle Park Goon Juice

I just got back from a long weekend in Galveston, and while i now have a few more beers from the Gulf Coast to write about, my mind's still on Milwaukee...or more specifically, the Goon Juice New England style IPA from Eagle Park Brewing.  An 8% ABV juicy, hazy concoction, the beer pours a wheaty gold with decent white head and smells of fruit, citrus, taffy, hops (4 different kinds used), and some slight hints of pine.  The flavor is a mix of tropical fruit and bitter hops that never gets too sweet or too hoppy, and finishes off with refreshing zest.  I can't wait to get back there someday.

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Milwaukee - Brewfest and Brewery Crawl 2018!

What is becoming a pretty much yearly event, my old friend and college roommate John and i get together somewhere in these United States (sometimes with the families and sometimes not), be it Tacoma or San Diego or Tampa Bay, and we drink a whole hell of a lot of local beer.  It keeps me sane.  2018 took us to Milwaukee for a couple of days for a Brewfest and as many breweries as we could walk our aching feet to.  Turns out it was worth it.

Full disclosure: My memory is going to be a little hazy as to the names of everything i tried over the weekend (Yay alcohol!) and i failed to write any of it down, but i will do my best to figure out what all of these delicious beverages were...for the most part.

Beer flight at Water Street Brewery

After meeting in the airport and getting checked in to our hotel, we ventured west towards the Milwaukee River and a whole slew of bars, pubs, taverns, taprooms, and more along Water St. and Brady St.  Our first stop was the Water Street Brewery, a brewpub where we filled our stomachs with fried fish and burgers and partook a wonderful bevy of different beers.  My beer flight of 8 different samples included a Bavarian Weiss, an amber, an Oktoberfest, a sweet and juicy IPA, and more, the highlight of which was probably the crisp and easy drinking Honey Lager Light, one of those brews that would be especially refreshing on a hot day.

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Goon Juice at Eagle Park Brewing

After dinner and beer, we walked northeast to Eagle Park Brewing (probably my favorite joint of the whole weekend) for pints of Goon Juice, an excellent New England IPA that i'll cover in full next week.  Just Muck'n Around, a black New England IPA, was pretty tasty as well.  But then it was late, and it was time to head back to the hotel...but we'd be back.

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Lemongrass Pils at Colectivo Lakefront Cafe

The next morning, following a big Midwestern breakfast, John and i headed east towards Lake Michigan, walking along Veteran's Park and McKinley Park and enjoying the cool breeze blowing off of the water.  We stopped at Colectivo Lakefront Cafe, a coffee shop with a large outdoor biergarten to kill time before the Milwaukee Brewfest, and...well, we drank beer.  And i will say that a warm pretzel with mustard and a pint of Colectivo's Lemongrass Pils, yet another brew that would hit the spot on a hot day, was totally the way to go before the onslaught of samples that was to fill the rest of my afternoon.

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Taking a moment between beer samples at Milwaukee Brewfest.

Then we made it to the main attraction, the Milwaukee Brewfest.  I've been to several different craft beer festivals in Texas and Washington, and the vibe was similar.  You could easily lift any number of beer festival goers and drop them at any other event across the country, and we'd all just blend in the same.  The only real difference was that this fest offered unlimited samples.  There were no tokens or stamps or marks needed.  Just walk up and drink.  Needless to say, i am a fan.  Anyway, with maybe 100 different breweries in attendance, and without pen or paper to jot everything down, there was just too much for me to try and enjoy to really keep track of it.  I will say that a definite highlight was Lakefront Brewery's 30th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Eisbock which they so lovingly paired with a piece of dark chocolate.  After a greasy and divine burger and some fried cheese curds from The Fatty Patty, we eventually hit last call, and it was time to venture back out into the city.

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So impressed were we with their array of brews at the festival, that we headed back west to Lakefront Brewery for even more.  Sitting on the riverside patio, we enjoyed pints of Riverwest Stein, a Vienna-style amber lager, and people watched for awhile.  Afterwards we walked back along Water Street with the rest of the drunks before finally getting a pizza topped with ravioli at some place called Ian's.  And then to bed.

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Beer flight at Eagle Park Brewing

I told you we'd be back.  After a morning spent exploring the west side of the river, we had morning beers at a pub followed by an enormous German breakfast/brunch at Mader's.  We had sausage from Usinger's, found the Bronze Fonz, and then went back to Eagle Park Brewing to try the rest of their wares.  As i mentioned, Eagle Park was probably my favorite brewery of the trip, and their current penchant for hazy brews certainly encouraged that feeling.  Aside from their spectacular Goon Juice, i also tried a sour Berliner Weisse called Pink Houses, the Espresso Stout, and a number of different IPA's.  I loved every drop, and if ever i get to go back to Milwaukee, Eagle Park will probably be my first stop.

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Our city wandering then took us to Good City Brewing and their lovely rooftop patio that overlooked a quasi-Bohemian area of Milwaukee.  And there, we caught up, talking about old times and old things, sipping on an assortment of beverages, most notably the delicious Nomad Summer Ale, a brew that paired perfectly with a sunny afternoon.  But there was still more to see.

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As the sun began to descend, we did one last long walk along the river and through the different areas of pubs and bars, making sure to visit Hosed on Brady, a dive bar i felt instantly at home in, Harry's for more beer and burgers, and finally ending up at a brewpub called Ale Asylum Riverhouse.  There we marveled at how drunk most of Milwaukee seemed to be (not a complaint) and enjoyed one final pint before calling it a day, mine being the crisp and tasty 12 Oz. Curl Pilsner.

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The Bronze Fonz

The next day was spent primarily in airports and airplanes, though i did get one last batch of fried cheese curds before coming back to Texas.  All in all, Milwaukee was a surprisingly beautiful and hip town, one i will most certainly need to get back to someday, beer festival or no.  The breweries and cheese curds demand it.

4th Tap Paradise Lost Guava IPA

It's been over 100 degrees for several days now here in Texas, and across much of the southwest as well, and aside from staying in the shade and drinking copious amounts of water, the only other thing i can really think of to beat the heat is...wait for it...beer.  And the delicious Paradise Lost Guava IPA from Austin's 4th Tap Brewing has really made a case to be this year's summer beer preference.  Pouring a hazy gold with a white head, the 6.25% ABV beer smells of citrus, tropical fruit, and guava (of course), with some nice subtle notes of dankness as well.  The flavor is sweet, the notes of fruit and citrus hitting the palate first, but then finishes more on the bittersweet side with just a hint of funk.  What a lovely brew to have this scorching weekend.

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Innis & Gunn Vanishing Point 01 Imperial Stout

There sure is a lot of bullshit going on out there.  So as it is, so as it has always been, so as it will continue to be.  And every so often, you have to take a breather for a moment, for meditation or reflection...or maybe just to have a beer.  One of the pleasures of this world is enjoying a strong brew at the end of the day, sitting on the sofa, the kids in bed, the world turned off for just a few minutes.  Vanishing Point 01 is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout from Scotland's Innis & Gunn Brewery, and i will say that this 11% ABV concoction was the perfect libation to close out a weekend.  Pouring dark black with a creamy tan head, aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and oak abounding, the brew was slightly sweet, a smooth and creamy mix of said flavors with some very subtle dark fruit notes and an all around pleasant booziness.  Lovely.  I guess it's back to the real world now.

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Uncle Billy's Knuckleballer Kolsch

It has been way, way too long since i've been to a baseball game, and drinking the Knuckleballer Kolsch from Austin's Uncle Billy's Brewery is just making that much more evident.  The beer tastes like the ballpark in a can.  Pouring gold with a frothy, creamy white head, the 5.4% ABV brew smells lightly of fruit, yeast, and spice.  The flavor is similar, the subtle notes of apple or pear mixing well with the malts and hops in a crisp and dry finish.  It's wonderfully refreshing on a hot day, and demands another.

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Circle Fanny Pack Kolsch

The other night, we lost power for a few hours right after dinner.  Within a few minutes, the house started to get hot, and it wasn't long before it was actually cooler outside than in.  So, we sat out front on some patio chairs with a couple flashlights and some toys/activities for the boys, who were way more amused by the whole situation than their parents were.  Anyway, accompanying me on our little exodus was a few cans of Fanny Pack Kolsch from Circle Brewing, a crisp and refreshing 4.8% ABV brew that went down all to easy as the moon came up.  The beer pours a wheaty gold with a slight white head and smells of malt and spice with a hint of fruit.  The flavor was slight sweet with occasional notes of spice and a dry finish.  This is a great and sessionable summertime beer, with or without power.

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Anthem Golden One

I spent the last few days in Oklahoma visiting my sister, and aside from visiting the zoo, swimming with my sons and my nieces, watching some thunder storms roll in on the patio, and splashing around in the puddles that ensued, i managed to have a couple of beers.  And the Golden One, a Belgian-style blonde ale from Oklahoma City's Anthem Brewing was the perfect accompaniment.  The beer pours a hazy gold with a foamy, but quickly dissipating white head and smells of grains, yeast, and fruit, with a subtle hint of hops.  The flavor is light and sweet with notes of banana, pineapple, and a subtle punch of spice, and the whole thing comes in at 7% ABV.  What a wonderful patio beer.

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Community Silly Gose

Gose style brews are pretty much a perfect kind of beverage for summertime...if you're into saltiness and tartness and all of that good stuff.  Over the weekend, i had some Silly Gose, a salty and tart wheat beer brewed with tangerines and apricots from Dallas's Community Beer Co.  Pouring gold with a white head, the 5% ABV brew smells of tropical fruit and bread with some hints of overall sourness.  The taste is tart, but never overly so, the fruit notes meshing well with the sour and salt, and with a light bodied and crisp finish.  It's a great backyard brew.

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Saint Arnold Not A Collaboration IPA

Is it a collaboration with Brash Brewing Company?  Is it not?  I don't know for sure, but the Not A Collaboration IPA from Saint Arnold Brewing is a pretty tasty, double dry hopped New England IPA.  Pouring a hazy straw color, the 7.1% ABV beer smells of citrus, pine, and spice, with those same notes combining with hints of fruit to round out the flavor, all finishing with a dank, bitter bite.  Bring on the haze.

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Nine Band Cactus Cat Kolsch

It's summertime, and that means The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff are back on the stereo (for every summer for all time) and that refreshing, sessionable beers begin flocking to my refrigerator for heat wave consumption.  And the Cactus Cat Kolsch from Dallas/Fort Worth area Nine Band Brewing is up to bat.  The beer pours gold with a frothy white head and smells of grass, wheat, and hints of sweet fruit.  The flavor is mildly sweet with some biscuit notes and a malty finish, a little bit different from your standard Kolsch, but tasty nonetheless.  And weighing in at 5.2% ABV, it's a lovely little brew for a hot day.

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Real Ale ZWEIUNDZWANZIG 22nd Anniversary Berliner Weisse

It's HOT in Central Texas today, a fact more than adequately discovered trekking about in the woods south east of Austin at a dinosaur park for the boy's 5th birthday.  And in a few moments, i'll be manning the grill...with an assortment of beer, but certainly starting things off with the 22nd Anniversary brew from Real Ale, the ZWEIUNDZWANZIG Berliner Weisse.  This refreshing, 3.5% ABV beer is meant for days like these, pouring a nice transparent gold with a frothy white head and smelling of grain and lemon.  The beer is light bodied with subtle notes of banana, lemon, and salt, all with relaxed tartness.  It's almost like a classic Berliner Weisse crossed with a Gose.  Good stuff.  Here's to 22 more years.

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Dogfish Head Dragons & YumYums Pale Ale

I love that over the last several years, more and more musicians and bands are teaming up with breweries to release collaborations of sorts.  I'm sure the artists are just lending their names or aesthetics, but it's produced some interesting brews.  Off of the top of my head, i've tried beers from Guided By Voices, NOFX, The Sword, and Iron Maiden, and i've been trying to locate some Run The Jewels libations here in Central Texas but to no avail.  Anyway, in conjunction with the band's 7" release for Record Store Day last month, The Flaming Lips have partnered with Delaware mainstay Dogfish Head Brewery to release Dragons & YumYums, and a quirky, fruity, and colorful pale ale.  Pouring a pinkish hue with a bubbly white head, the 6.5% ABV beer smells of fruit, sugar, citrus, malt, and bubblegum with some hints of hops.  The flavor is a mix of tropical fruit, citrus, and some balanced hoppy bitterness, all with a medium body and a dry finish.  All in all, a very enjoyable spring/summer brew.

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Whitestone Quadrivium Series #4

With all of the ups and downs that 2018 has provided us so far, a veritable roller coaster of awfulness, one constant good note (in Central Texas anyway) has been the Quadrivium Series, a string of barrel-aged Belgian Quads released by Whitestone Brewery over the last few months.  The Quad is one of my favorite styles of beer, and these bottles have been delightful, aged in bourbon barrels, rum barrels, or a combination of the two for three months.  The fourth and final bottle in this series was aged for six months in Madeira wine barrels, and is a wonderful way to finish things off.  Pouring a dark, dark brown with an off white head, this 10% ABV darling has an aroma of oak, brown sugar, and hints of fruit and wine.  The flavor is a strong mix of the aforementioned oak and sugar with some dark fruit notes and an underlying sweetness that never overwhelms.  I need more of these, and i'll be making sure to procure them for as long as they last.

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Celis Raspberry

I've been pretty stoked since Celis Brewery came back from the dead to start making delicious Belgian-inspired brews again here in Austin, and their latest is a fruity take on a classic.  The Celis Raspberry combines the brewery's original Celis White with a whole lot of raspberries.  Pouring a pinkish/reddish hue with light pink head, the beer smells of...you guessed it...raspberries, along with some floral notes, spices, and a wheat-y breadiness.  The flavor is tart, a mix of sweet fruit and spice with dry and crisp finish.  This beer is certainly not for everyone, but if you're looking for something a little different, this 5% ABV concoction is a great summertime brew.

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Stone & NOFX Punk in Drublic Hoppy Lager

At the grocery store the other day, strolling through the beer aisle, searching for something tasty for the weekend, and i was juggling a handful of different brews, all the while the inner '90s teenager within my brain screaming at me to get the NOFX beer.  So, i got the NOFX beer, and true to form from the longstanding Stone Brewing, it did not disappoint.  The Stone & NOFX Punk in Drublic Hoppy Lager, named for the punk band's 1994 album of the same name, pours a crystal clear gold with a foamy white head.  Aromas of grass and bread prevail with some herbal hints and maybe some pine notes in the mix as well, while the flavor of this 5.8% ABV brew is akin to something like a strong pilsner, a mesh of bready malt, spicy hops, and a hint of citrus all with a crisp and bitter finish.  This is an awesome spring brew, and i'm looking forward to cracking open a few more of these in the near future.

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And watch the old video for NOFX's "Leave it Alone" below.

Tupps Full Grown Man Imperial Stout

I've been writing this beer blog for a few years now, so i've had hundreds of different brews come into my home and onto my palette, my weekly jaunts to grocery stores and bottle shops becoming quests for something new.  The sheer number of craft breweries opening around the country has made that quest pretty simple, but i've got to hand it to you guys that make sample 6 and 12-packs of your wonderful wares.  Tupps Brewery (whom i just wrote about a couple weeks ago) provided me with one such sample pack, and my very favorite of the bunch is the Full Grown Man Imperial Stout, an 11.2% ABV malty beast that is as smooth and drinkable as they come.  Pouring black with a brownish head, the brew smells of malts, hints of cocoa and molasses, and an overall roastiness.  Notes of dark fruit, malt, caramel, chocolate, and a kind of boozy earthiness round out the beer's flavor with a ever so slight sweetness throughout that makes the beer so smooth.  Enjoy one after dinner.

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NXNW Zombie Dragon East Coast IPA

It seems everybody's getting in on the canning thing these days, and i think it's delightful, my grocery store's beer isle filled with all kinds of tasty brews that were formerly only available in taprooms, restaurants, and bars across the city.  One of the latest comes from North By Northwest, the longstanding restaurant and brewery in northwest Austin.  Zombie Dragon, an East Coast IPA originally brewed last year to celebrate the joint's 18 year anniversary, now appears to be a mainstay, and i happily procured myself of six pack to drink at home.  The 7.4% ABV brew pours a hazy gold with nice, white head and smells of fruit, citrus, spice, and bread, with just a little hint of funk on the nose.  The flavor is a mix of pine,citrus, and juice that stays pretty balanced with some not overly bitter hop notes.  The sweet and the bitter play very well together creating a great IPA, and further cementing my growing adulation of East Coast haziness.  Get some now.

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Tupps Northbound 75 Fire-Roasted Poblano Pale Ale

Last week i extolled on the virtues of brewing beer with added fruit...and there was much rejoicing.  This week we'll see what other kind of stuff you can throw in there, which brings us to the Northbound 75, a 6% ABV pale ale made with fire-roasted poblano peppers from Tupps Brewery out of McKinney, Texas.  Pepper beers are interesting to say the least, and it's really easy for things to go all kinds of wrong very quickly.  But i've got to hand it to the brewers, as they have crafted a well balanced pale ale and all that that style entails with just the right amount spicy and smoky notes.  The beer pours a dark gold, almost amber color with a white, frothy head.  The aroma of poblano peppers is immediately evident, mixed with notes of hops, biscuit-y malt, and maybe some slight herbal or floral hints.  As for the taste, those poblano peppers again are first and foremost, though never overpowering.  The spice is mild, letting the actual pepper flavor sink in, combined with pepper, smoke, and some hoppy bitterness on the end to round it all out.  I'm going to be honest, i was surprised i liked this as much as i did, and while it's certainly not for everyone, it's at least worth a shot from any of you more adventurous drinkers out there.

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Shannon Blackberry Crystal Wheat

Spring is here.  Summer's on the way.  And i guess that means that i'm going to start sampling more beer with fruit in it.  I've never been much of a traditionalist as far as beer goes, having actually brewed a loquat wheat ale myself using the fruit from the tree in my backyard, so i'm all for this.  Shannon Brewing, up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, seems to be all for it too, the seasonal offering for the upcoming hot days of summer being their Blackberry Crystal Wheat, a 6.2% ABV wheat beer brewed with...you guessed it...blackberries.  The beer pours pinkish gold, with a light purple tint to the frothy head and smells of wheat and fruit with some bread notes in the mix.  Dry and crisp, the brew has light notes of wheat, malt, banana, citrus, and yeast...with plenty of blackberry too.  All in all, it's a pretty easy drinking beer that pairs its sweet and bitter sides evenly.  Bring on the summer.

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Cigar City Guayabera Citra Pale Ale

Slowly but surely, more beer arrives to Central Texas from Tampa Bay's Cigar City Brewing, making me the happiest of Central Texas beer drinkers.  Most recently, i found the brewer's Guayabera Citra Pale Ale, an easy-drinking, sessionable, 5.5% ABV pale ale that pours clear and golden with a white and frothy head.  The beer smells of citrus, lime, and tangerine, with some notes of malt in the mix, and tastes of citrus and fruit with some slight breadiness, all in a crisp and very moderately bitter finish.  Yum.  Keep 'em coming my way Cigar City.

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Sierra Nevada Otra Vez

I just finished up a week of music and beer drinking at SXSW, and i've got to say that ending it on Saturday in the heat at a parking lot show with Sierra Nevada's Otra Vez, a gose style ale with lime and agave was a good move on my part.  It beat the heat.  Straw colored and smelling of grass, lime, and maybe a little fruit, the light bodied brew tastes of malt, spice, lime, citrus, salt, and a grassy wheat all with a slightly sour and fizzy finish.  And at 4.5% ABV, i could have drank these all day.

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Flying Man Weedhopper Honey Wheat

On vacation...relaxing just as soon as the kids are dropped off at school/day care...and prepping for some daytime adventures in the city for SXSW.  So naturally, some easy-drinking, sessionable beers are on the agenda for the week.  And our slew of local brewers do not disappoint.  Pflugerville's Flying Man Brewing Co. is relatively new to the pack, but have caught my attention with their Weedhopper Honey Wheat, a 5.5% ABV German ale that pours a light, brownish gold with a white head.  Aromas of oats, honey, and florals hit the nose, while notes of honey, molasses, and hops hit the tongue, smooth and light-bodied for these spring days.  Nice.

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Red Horn You Be Funky Grand Cru

I'm very often impressed and excited with the products coming out of our local, suburban breweries here in Central Texas, and that excitement never seems to waver.  Last March, in honor of their 2nd anniversary, the good people at Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing released a limited bottled edition of the very first batch of beer they ever made.  You Be Funky is (was) a Grand Cru aged in red wine barrels for over a year with added Brettanomyces yeast as well as Lactobacillus and Pediococcus bacteria.  Naturally i had to have a bottle, and with much restraint that i wasn't aware i was capable of, i then aged the beer an additional year in my pantry, only to be imbibed now...just in time for brewery's 3rd anniversary.  This 8.5% delight pours hazy, coppery brown with an off-white and quickly dissipating head.  Aromas of oak, fruit, and funk abound, while notes of dark fruit, yeast, and even more funk swirl in this sour, medium-bodied brew.  It was wonderful while it lasted...but rumor has it that Red Horn may be busting out some cellar aged beverages this weekend for their anniversary.  Fingers crossed.

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Cigar City Jai Alai IPA

A couple of years ago, i ventured southeast to Tampa Bay, Florida to meet up with an old friend of mine on a quick weekend excursion of football.  While we were there we hit up a local brewery that was walking distance from our hotel (a kind of ghetto HoJo), and in doing so discovered one of the best breweries i've ever been to.  Seriously.  Tampa Bay, Florida is home to one of the best breweries in the country.  We couldn't believe it either.  But it is fact, and i will forever more be a cheerleader for Cigar City Brewing and all of their wonderful beers.  Anyway, i kind of assumed it was going to be awhile before i was able to sample their wares again, but lo and behold, 2018 brings a distribution deal that lands Cigar City right here in Central Texas.  Offerings are scarce for the moment, but i will admit that i did a little dance of joy when i came across the Jai Alai IPA at my local grocery store.  Named for an old sport of Spanish origin, the beer pours a crisp, transparent gold with a frothy white head.  Aromas of citrus, pine, and tropical fruit abound, also making their presence in the flavor of the beer, along with plenty of hop notes and some back end bitterness.  All in all, a very solid 7.5% ABV IPA, and i hope just the first in a long line of brews to make their into Texas.

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