Red Horn Cultivating Mass

Normally in the middle of August, i'm starting to get excited about the upcoming Oktoberfest/pumpkin ale onslaught of the fall...but as it turns out, that stuff is already on the shelves.  It feels too early for it.  I mean, i bought some and drank it already, but it still feels too early.  Anyway, it's never too early for a good stout, and the good folks at Red Horn in collaboration with Turning Point Beer have a whopper with Cultivating Mass, 14% ABV cookies n' cream imperial stout.  The brew pours black with a tan head smells of chocolate, vanilla, and a little bit of marshmallow.  The flavor follows suit and is amazingly smooth considering the alcohol content.  It will sneak up on you.  So sip it slow and enjoy.

Red Horn Liquid Bake Sale Imperial Stout

One thing i absolutely adore about the craft beer community is just how communal it really is, people with a common love of beer coming together in good times and bad.  And the last year has proved just how vital that communal spirit can be.  COVID hit the industry hard, like it did a lot of things, and now the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, a non-profit trade association that works to advance the brewing industry through advocacy and education, has put together a fundraiser dubbed Liquid Bake Sale where craft brewers from all over the state brew special, original recipes using Texas grown malt to raise money to support the guild's mission.  And i was able to try my first last week from Red Horn.  Their brew is a 10% ABV imperial stout brewed with chocolate and peanuts, and it's a delicious treat of a desert.  The beer pours black with a tan head and smells of chocolate, peanuts, and malt.  Dark chocolate and peanut notes hit heavy on the tongue with some general roastiness in the mix as well.  It's rich and sweet but well balanced and a smooth drinker.  Wonderful.  Here's to sampling some Liquid Bake Sale goods from all over the state in the near future.

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Red Horn Saf's London Fog Ale

Every so often i come across a brew that's just as good a night cap as it would be a breakfast beer.  Saf's London Fog Ale from Red Horn Brewing is one of those beers.  The 4.2% English style ale pours a murky, amber-ish, golden brown and smells of tea and honey.  The flavor is sweet, but not overpoweringly so, a mix of Earl grey tea, honey, caramel, and some hints of vanilla and cream.  It's the perfect companion for an English muffin with some butter, and one of my new favorites.

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Red Horn Poptart Ravioli?

Poptart Ravioli?  It's a kettle soured strawberry milkshake IPA from Central Texas brewer Red Horn Brewing that involves actual poptarts in the brewing process.  The 6% ABV concoction pours a hazy, reddish gold with a white head and smells of tart fruits, strawberry, and vanilla.  The flavor is a sour mix of strawberry, cream, and just a hint of funk.  I like it when brewers get a little crazy, and it's even better when the end product is this tasty.

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Red Horn Wild Wineoceros

I've been doing my best to help out the local brewers by ordering a whole load of to-go beer and then picking it all up around the greater Austin area.  It's good.  It gets me out of the house, but still maintaining social distance as i hardly even get out of the car, and it gets me tons of great beer.  One of my visits this weekend was Cedar Park's Red Horn Coffee House and Brewery where i picked up a variety of brews.  One of those was the Wild Wineoceros, an 8% ABV brett beer aged with grapes and juice.  The beer pours nice and gold with a pretty quickly dissipating white head and smells of fruit, tart, and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is a dry and funky mix of grapes, yeast, tart (but not overly tart) fruit.  It's a wonderful beer for a Saturday afternoon, rain or no.

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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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Red Horn Watermelon Crawl Gose

I know in the Fall i'm usually bonkers for pumpkin ales and Oktoberfests, and when it finally starts getting cooler here in central Texas, darker, heavier brews are usually my favorites, but when one of your local brewers makes a watermelon gose, you drink the damn watermelon gose.  And it certainly helps when it's as fantastic as the Watermelon Crawl Gose from Red Horn here in Cedar Park.  Coming in at 4.75% ABV, and pouring a hazy gold, the beer smells of wheat, yeast, fruit, and some floral hints.  Crisp and tart, but not overly so, the watermelon notes mesh nicely with the salt and sour, making for a ridiculously easy beer to drink.  I could drink this all day, Fall or not.

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Red Horn Hippie Hollow Dry Hopped Sour Ale

Ever since moving out to the suburbs a year and a half ago, one of my favorite places to frequent is Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing Co.  They never cease to impress me with their bounty of tasty brews.  Earlier this year, as part of their 2nd anniversary celebration, the brewers released their first bottled beers, one of which i will get to eventually, as it's currently aging at home.  But the other, the very Austin-named Hippie Hollow, is a wonderful sour pale ale that hit all the right marks.  Pouring with a hazy golden hue and bubbly head, the beer smells of malt, fruit, citrus, and some bread notes.  Tart and hoppy, the 6.5% ABV beer drinks rather smooth, the sourness from the different yeast cultures playing quite well with all of the pale ale hops, that all gives way to a slightly bitter finish.  I'm looking forward to future releases.

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Red Horn Roggenbier

As i've been writing this blog for a number of years now, the need for new styles of beer to discover, try out, and write briefly about increases, but with the craft brewing community still chugging along strongly, i usually don't have to look too far.  Cedar Park, Texas' Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing Co, aside from being one of my favorite places in town to go to, has really been stepping up the game here in central Texas since first opening a couple of years ago.  Over the weekend, i tried their Roggenbier, a kind of Hefeweizen brewed with rye instead of wheat.  It was fantastic.  The beer pours a dark, malty brown with a foamy off-white head and smells of malt and spice with maybe some hints of banana.  The flavor consists of those same hints of banana swirled with a dry maltiness and some spice notes with a general earthiness to the whole affair.  And at 5.4% ABV, the Roggenbier is easily sessionable, and pairs with pretty much anything (i had a meat and cheese tray and salad to go along with it).  If you live in the area, take a growler home with you, and act quickly, as they may or may not brew it again.

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Infamous Foghorn Redhorn

Collaborations are a good thing, and not just with beer, but especially with beer.  Infamous Foghorn Redhorn is a delicious coffee amber ale created by the fine folks at Austin's Infamous Brewing and Cedar Park's Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing.  This 5.5% ABV concoction pours a murky, cloudy amber and smells of subtle spices and coffee.  The flavor is fantastic, a smooth and crisp amber ale with hints of sweetness and a very fine coffee bitterness.  Nothing overpowers.  Everything meshes beautifully.  Find these while you can.

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Bourbon Barrel Suburban Ninja

I closed out my Spring Break, my vacation, my SXSW week of music with a relatively quiet (i have a two-year old, so quiet is always relative) afternoon visit to Cedar Park's Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing Co.  Since moving to the suburbs last year, one of the things that made it bearable was the influx of craft beer related businesses opening in the area, Red Horn being my favorite.  The atmosphere is awesome, they let you bring kids, the staff are all incredible nice, and their beer is fantastic.  To end my vacation yesterday on a pleasant note, i enjoyed a pour of the Bourbon Barrel Suburban Ninja, an imperial stout aged bourbon barrels, and a tasty 12% ABV brew.  The beer pours black and smells of chocolate, coffee, toffee, and alcohol.  The flavor is amazingly smooth, a warming brew with hints of cocoa, coffee, malts, vanilla, and some subtle spices.  Being that yesterday was windy and chilly, it was a great beer to drink outside, the warmness of the brew moving down my throat and into my chest.  I will have to get back soon for another.

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