4th Tap Supernaut Imperial Stout

My ability to do all of the nerd things that i enjoy is much more difficult than it used to be.  Having kids will do that kind of thing.  And sure, i got to go out with my fellow vinyl nerds a couple of weeks ago for Record Store Day, but i have not yet been able to go and see "Avengers: Endgame," and i have no idea when that will be remedied.  It's just hard to coordinate all this kind of stuff when you've got a kindergartener and a 3-year old with needs and demands of their own.  Anyway, one of my nerd things that i very much love to do is watch the triumphant return of Joe Bob Briggs on Friday Nights for "The Last Drive-In."  For the uninitiated, it's a horror double feature full of Joe Bob's unique commentary that streams on Shudder.  And it starts at 8PM central time when my boys are still both awake and wanting to watch Power Rangers or Trolls or whatever else there in to at that given moment.  So i don't always get to watch it live.

But every now and then, my sons pass out early, exhausted from their week, and i get to sit in my dark living room, beer in hand, and watch some splatterfests.  Most recently, my beer of choice was the excellent and excellently named Supernaut, a 12% ABV imperial stout from Austin's 4th Tap Brewing.  The beer pours black with a brownish tan head and smells of chocolate, roasted malt, and molasses.  The flavor is a balanced mix of sweet and bitter, toasty malt notes combined with the chocolate with a lacy, kind of oily finish, a fantastic heavy brew to watch monster movies to.  It may be my go-to on Friday nights for the foreseeable future.

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Pinthouse Pizza Electric Jellyfish IPA

Local brewpub/pizza eatery Pinthouse Pizza opened in Austin about six and a half years ago, and quickly cemented themselves as a go to place for beer lovers.  Now, they've got two additional locations and their Electric Jellyfish IPA (now finally being canned) has fast become THE local fave of the greater Austin area.  And why not?  It's damn good.  Pouring a hazy golden wheat color, the 6.5% ABV New England style IPA smells of fruit and citrus along with some floral and hop notes.  The flavor is a mix of grapefruit, pineapple, and other citrusy fruits with a medium to thick mouthfeel and some slight dank and hoppy notes on the back end.  I can drink this everywhere.

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Vista Seeking Sakura

I had a pretty excellent weekend the last couple of days full of records, breweries, bad movies, crawfish, and more.  And, after our last few attempts were struck down by rain or cold, the wife and kids and i finally made it out to Vista Brewing to sample their wares, eat some food, and enjoy the beautiful scenery in the hill country.  I tried several beers, but top marks have to go the Seeking Sakura, a wine barrel aged brett ale with cherries.  The 6.3% ABV beer pours a pink amber with a white and bubbly head and smells of cherries and tart fruit.  The flavor is tart, but not too sour, with a kind of lacy mouthfeel, lots of cherries, and slight funk.  It was a lovely brew for a sunny Saturday afternoon, and i made sure to bring a bottle home.

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Brieux Carré Phuk Boi

Another beer from my New Orleans trip last weekend, the naughtily named Phuk Boi from Brieux Carré Brewing Co. was the perfect kind of decadent yet easy drinking libation a crawl through the Crescent City calls for.  The brewery was also only 4 blocks or so from the house we were staying in.  A 6.1% ABV sour raspberry milkshake IPA, the beer pours a hazy gold with just the slightest of pink tints and smells of raspberries, citrus, and a hint of dankness.  The flavor is sweet and tart with the raspberries hitting on the front end, culminating in a lightly bitter, yet still tart, full-bodied milkshake feel on the back.  Tasty and easy to drink, seek out a Phuk Boi next time you're bumming around or near the French Quarter.

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Parleaux Beer Lab Berry Curie

I just got back from a lovely weekend in New Orleans, and as i was only there about 48 hours, just barely skimmed the surface of the city's craft beer scene.  I did make it to a couple of places though, and one of those was the Parleaux Beer Lab in the Bywater neighborhood.  A wonderful selection of beers to choose from, i started with the Berry Curie, a boysenberry/blueberry sour gose.  The brew pours a reddish pink with a light white head and smells of fruit, citrus, flowers, and sugar.  The beer is sweet from the added berries with a pleasant all around tartness with maybe just a hint of salt.  And at 3.8% ABV, this is one of those springtime day drinkers that goes great with backyards and sunshine.  I will have to get back there someday.

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