Pinthouse Emilio Triple IPA

I'm glad i got to drink a couple of these as they sold out from the brewer within minutes.  Aside from pizza, Pinthouse Pizza also knows how to brew a damn fine beer, and their IPA's consistently knock it out of the proverbial park.  Emilio is a 10.5% Triple IPA that's hazy and juicy and makes waste of lesser IPA's.  Pouring a hazy gold with a white head, the beer smells of tropical fruit, pineapple and grapefruit and mango abounding.  The flavor hits those same tropical fruit notes with some added citrus and a little bit of dank to keep you firmly in IPA country.  It's a fantastic brew that i hope to see again sometime soon this summer.

Visit the brewer.

Hold Out Brewing Björn Again Texan

I mean, you nickname your beer Norwegian Party Juice, i'm going to have no choice but to drink it.  Despite COVID and lockdown and a surreal last few months, Austin actually managed to gain a new brewery with the long gestating Hold Out Brewing.  And they are a most welcome addition.  What will probably be their mainstay is the aforementioned party juice, the Björn Again Texan, a wonderfully sessionable Kviek Pale Ale.  Pouring a hazy gold with a white head, the brew smells of tropical fruit and just the lightest hint of funk.  The flavor is an easy drinking mix of fruit, pineapple and grapefruit mainly, with a balanced bitterness to keep things cool, all in a 4.9% ABV package.  Looks like i may have a new summertime go-to.

Visit the brewer.

Jester King Entombment

Looking for a wind down the other night and i found it in Jester King's Entombment, a 10.8% ABV Farmhouse Ale brewed with caramelized Texas wildflower honey and aged in Balcones whisky barrels.  The beer pours a reddish copper color with a small and dissipating white head and smells of tart fruit, oak, and some booze.  The flavor is sweet, tart, and boozy, almost feeling like you're drinking a cocktail, like a Sazerac or something, instead of a beer.  It's a wonderful way to end a stressful day.

Visit the brewer.

Lazarus Desperate Measures

Small brewers all over the country have done everything they can to stay afloat during this stupid pandemic, to keep the lights on and keep wetting our whistles.  Mainly that's meant online beer-to-go sales and plenty of new brews.  Lazarus Brewing in collaboration with the soon to open Meanwhile Brewing and Charles Faram Inc.'s Hop Breeding Program have created a new beer for our consumption pleasure during these difficult times.  The first of four, Desperate Measures is a 7% ABV brew in what they're calling an Austin-style IPA featuring a proprietary hop named "Harlequin."  The beer pours gold with a white head and smells of hops, spices, and tropical fruit.  The flavor is mix of pineapple and peach notes along with hints of pine and drinkable, hoppy bitterness.  It's kind of a mutant style of IPA, but i am here for it.

Visit the brewer and the other brewer.

Hedgehog Ericius Russian Imperial Stout

Hedgehog Brewing, one of the new kids in town, and just a couple of miles from my house, have like so many other craft breweries and small businesses around the country been doing their very best to stay afloat during these tumultuous and uncertain times.  And man i hope they make it.  On Friday i enjoyed a bottle of their Ericius Russian Imperial Stout, a 13.5% ABV brew aged in bourbon barrels with some added molasses.  And holy cow was it good.  The beer pours black with a brownish tan head and smells of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, oak, and booze.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, a sweet mix of chocolate, malt, and dark fruit with a generous side of booze and oak on the back end.  This one can pack a wallop too, and serves as a fine companion for B-movie viewing on a Friday night.

Visit the brewer.