Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout

The murder of George Floyd really set off a spark.  And it's a spark that i sincerely hope ignites a fire.  In light of the wave of Black Lives Matter protests all over the nation, the wonderful folks at San Antonio's Weathered Souls Brewing, a black-owed brewery, have been teaming up with other brewers all over the world to craft a collaborative charity brew that raises awareness for the injustices that people of color face daily and helps to raise funds for police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged.  It's a great and important cause and you can find out more about the whole thing here.  In the meanwhile, i was fortunate enough to get to try the version from Family Business Beer Company.  The 9% ABV beer pours black (naturally) with a tan head and smells of malt, chocolate, and coconut.  The flavor is a tasty, roasty mix of malt, chocolate, coffee, toffee, and coconut.  It's a great brew, and i'm curious to give all the other variations a try.

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Visit the other brewer.

Family Business El Verano Single-Hop Juicy IPA

Yesterday was Father's Day and somehow i convinced my family to go with me to not one, but two breweries out in the Central Texas Hill Country.  My boys even seemed to enjoy themselves at both Jester King (there were goats!) and Family Business (there were naps!), and i had a healthy sampling of brews from both locations.  One of the (many) highlights was the El Verano from Family Business, a single-hop Juicy IPA that pours a hazy, wheaty gold with a white head and smells of orange, citrus, apricot, tropical fruits, and summer.  The flavor is a wonderful mix of said fruit notes with some melon and a slight hint of bitterness.  And even at 6.6% ABV, it was thirst quenching easy drinker for a warm day.  Happy Father's Day to me.

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Family Business King Biscuit ESB

Yesterday, before my Saints lost in spectacular and heart wrenching fashion, my wife and the kids and i ventured into the Central Texas hill country to check out a brand new brewery that just opened this week, Family Business Beer Co.  Out in the hilly, shady ranch land of Dripping Springs, the set up is pretty cool, a big open taproom with some killer woodwork on the walls and ceiling of the bar, and spacious grounds with plenty of picnic tables, games, an on-sight food truck, and an enclosed playground.  With the kids set with slides and rock walls and such, my wife and i sampled the wares.  Everything was good, but my favorite of the day was the King Biscuit ESB, a 5% ABV English style bitter that poured a nice brown hue with a frothy, white head.  Aromas of malt, caramel, and spice were prevalent with some floral hints, and the flavor was a nice mix of sweet and bitter, caramel and toffee notes combined with some subtle earthiness that really rounded the whole thing out.  A great beer for a cool and sunny day around Austin.  Give it a shot.  We want these kinds of things to stay in business.

Visit the brewer.

Note: That is my child in the orange laying on the ground with a bunch of rocks on stomach.  He's cool.