The Dude Imperial Milk Stout w/ Hazelnut, Vanilla Beans, Cocoa Nibs & Sea Salt

For the last few years, one of my favorite beers to come out of Austin's craft brew scene is The Dude, a White Russian inspired imperial milk stout from the good folks over at Pinthouse.  And a week ago, they released a small batch of the beer along with some wonderful variations, my favorite of which was brewed with hazelnut, vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, and sea salt.  The 10.5% ABV brew pours black with a light brown head and smells of chocolate and creamy vanilla.  The flavor is an all too smooth mix of those same chocolate and vanilla notes along with some hints of salt that really complement the sweetness.  I would have drunk these all night long.

Visit the brewer.

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.

Pinthouse Breakfast at Klaus

Saturday brought us Pinthouse Pizza's annual Jaguar Shark release party, this time around with a number of variants of the brewer's barrel aged imperial stout. Unfortunately, i was not lucky enough to make it out there to wait in line and cop a couple of bottles. But fortunately they still had some when i went yesterday. Hooray! Anyway, while there, the wife and i sampled Breakfast at Klaus, a Jaguar Shark variant brewed with maple syrup, cinnamon, and blueberries. The 10.5% beer pours a dark black with a tan head and smells primarily of maple syrup and oak, with some hints of blueberry, chocolate, vanilla, and booze. The flavor is a boozy mix of malts, maple, and blueberry with the cinnamon spice on the back end to keep things lively. Ain't no party like a Jaguar Shark party cause a Jaguar Shark party don't stop.

Visit the brewer.

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.

Visit the brewer.

Rye'd The Lightning

Austin's Pinthouse Pizza is probably one of my most favorite places to hang out around town.  It's kid friendly, the grub is good, and i absolutely love their beer.  The mainstays are all great, but the real money is in the seasonal releases.  A strong and heavy dry Irish stout, the Rye'd The Lightning pours dark black and think with a minimal beige head and aromas of malts, cocoa, and coffee.  Predominant flavors of roasted malt with notes of chocolate and coffee prevail, though there are some slight hints of vanilla and booze in the mix of this 9% ABV brew.  I would have more, but i'm afraid it's now all gone.  Here's hoping it gets brewed again soon.

Visit the brewer.

Jaguar Shark

I was pretty bummed out this weekend when Levitation (formerly known as the Austin Psych Fest) was cancelled due to bad weather.  I missed out on a ton of great bands...too many to dwell on here, but needless to say, a cloud hung over my 3-day weekend for the duration.  All that being said, i did get some pretty bitchin consolation prizes out of the deal.  I got to hang out with an old buddy who was also here for the fest, my amazing wife scored two tickets to one of the unbelievably difficult to get into makeup shows that the festival organizers were able to put together at various venues around town, and i scored a couple of bottles of the limited and elusive Jaguar Shark, a bourbon barrel aged, imperial dry Irish stout from Pinthouse Pizza, their second(?) ever bottle release.  And it's a tasty one.  Pouring dark black with a tan head, this 10.7% ABV masterpiece smells of bourbon and oak, a heavy brew that dwells on the tongue with notes of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and a bit of heat from said bourbon.  It's a dry and sharp wonder, and i'm totally aging one of those bottles for a year at home.

Visit the brewer.

The Dude White Russian Stout

So long as craft brews and brewpubs remain in vogue, i will continue to be the happiest of campers.  One of Austin's locals, Pinthouse Pizza, recently put out a one-off batch of The Dude White Russian Stout.  What can i say?  It was creamy, chocolatey, hoppy, and strong as hell.  At over 10% ABV, this beer does not mess around.  But the aroma and flavor of chocolate and toffee, and the back end bite from the hops really round the whole thing out.  Here's hoping this makes it into regular rotation.

Visit the brewer.