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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