Texas Craft Brewers Festival
Saturday, October 6th, 2-8 PM, at Fiesta Gardens
Official Description:
The Texas Craft Brewers Festival is the largest annual celebration of Texas craft beer.
This non-profit outdoor festival features the best Texas-brewed beer and ale, local food vendors, live music, beer education, food and beer pairings, commemorative items, and plenty of good times. Join us October 6 for the 2012 Texas Craft Brewers Festival on the banks of the Colorado River in Austin, Texas.
It’s less than a week away. Hope you have your tickets!
The Beer List has been released as well and it looks stellar. I had a great time at the Festival last year and I know this year will be even better.
Get you tickets here: http://txcraftbrewersfest.eventbrite.com/
I was completely blown away by Stone's 15th Anniversary lack IPA so when I saw their 16th Anniversary I had to get it. I will admit that when I saw it was made with lemon verbena I got nervous. I have had a beer brewed with lemon verbena before and it tasted like a citronella candle. Not for me. But the Stone 16 was also made with 20% rye malt which I really enjoy and I trust Stone's brewing chops, especially with a Double IPA. The beer poured a bright amber with a thick and supple white head. The aroma had a citrus and floral hop aroma with a bit of the rye and a slight dank hop deep in the nose. I caught the rye immediately on the first taste which was great for me as I have been digging rye IPAs lately. The rye quickly faded to the bitter hops with some alcohol heat on the end. The lemony bitterness lingered on my tongue and punctuated the complexity in this brew. There are a lot of strong conflicting tastes that have been handled delicately by Stone. The lemon verbena is used very carefully and only highlights the citrus and floral hops rather than dominating. The sweet rye malt helps keep all these flavors at bay although it has a strong distinct taste of its own. While this beer is obviously expertly crafted it has too many flavor profiles competing for my attention. After having my taste buds blown away with their 15 I may have been expecting too much. This may not be my favorite IIPA, but I definitely appreciate what Stone was trying to accomplish and I continually applaud their ability and ambition. I am already looking forward to their 17th Anniversary brew!
Stone 16th Anniversary IPA
The Green Flash Hop Head Red is a Red IPA or an American Red Ale, or whatever it is it’s unique. To me it tasted like a hoppy Amber Ale which is a good thing. First off these Green Flash bottles are something else and let you know they are holding a special brew. They are hefty, uniquely shaped, and covered in raised lettering and their signature sun logo. Once you open the Hop Head Red you are instantly hit with a citrusy hoppy aroma. It was perfect. It poured a dark reddish amber/copper with a huge head with a taste that was heavier on the malts with a full toffee flavor. The hops were not as intense as I would have expected from the aroma, but the bitterness is still present. The malts definitely assert themselves and keep the hops at bay. Overall the Hop Head Red was a tasty unique style as well as a nice twist on a IPA/Red Ale.
Green Flash Hop Head Red
I don’t normally have Brown Ale’s on hand, but I found this in the back of my beer fridge and I couldn’t pass up the name of the label. If real Moose Drool tasted this good I would constantly be getting caught sucking face with hairy Moose lips. Luckily for me and for Moose kind, they don’t have Moose in Texas. Instead they have this fantastic Brown Ale from Big Sky call Moose Drool. Great name and a great beer. It poured a nice dark brown that looked like a cola. The initial taste was a big malty chocolate flavor with a full mouthfeel that was truly satisfying. As it warmed it had a slight bitterness on the end that kept it from becoming too sweet, but the malty chocolatiness kept coming through. The Moose Drool was a wonderful fridge find and a Brown Ale I will gladly drink again.
Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale
The latest in the Lips of Faith Series from New Belgium is a collaboration with the Alpine Beer Company called Super India Pale Ale. Alpine is known for their exquisite use of hops, but their beers are almost impossible to obtain outside of San Diego. Enter New Belgium and their large national distribution and you get this exceptional Super IPA. I have read that you can see Alpine’s signature all over this beer, but I have never had one of their beers so I can’t comment on that. I do know that this beer has quickly rocketed to the top of my list of favorite Double IPA list. The aroma was full of dank, resinous hops that came through on the initial taste along with a slight hint of bitter pine. The bitter pine faded a bit as it warmed and you were left with a smooth creamy Double IPA with some added tropical and citrus fruit hops. This was truly an exceptional beer and its a shame it is only a limited release. Hopefully New Belgium will either decide to release this more regularly, or they took good notes from Alpine because this is a beer I need to drink more of and it’s already gone.
New Belgium Lips of Faith - Super India Pale Ale
Southern Star is a Texas brewery located in Conroe, TX that makes a great Pale Ale and Blonde Ale. Their Pro-Am series is a yearly competition where they take the winning homebrewers recipe and brew it at a larger scale and distribute it. The 2012 Pro-Am is a Double IPA and was fantastic. It poured a deep amber with plenty of grapefruit on the nose. The taste had a hint of dank hops with a load of grapefruit and earthiness that was phenomenal. It had a taste profile very similar to Deviant Dale’s although slightly less intense. As it warmed the dank and resiny hops came through in this creamy smooth Double IPA. Grab this one while you can as it won’t be around for long and you don’t want to miss one of the best Texas brewed Double IPA’s
Southern Star Pro-Am 2012
I
had the Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre at a bums meeting before, and I
remember really enjoying it at the time. I have been wanting to
re-visit it since that meeting to give it a proper tasting. I know how
much I love most Dogfish Head beers, and most of those have been of the
IPA variety so the Raison D’Etre takes things in an entirely different
direction. This beer was brewed with beet sugars, green raisins and
Belgian Yeast to create something very unique. It poured a deep
mahogany with a fruity, malty aroma. It tasted like a sweet Belgian
Dubbel with a rich and deep flavor that hints at raisins, sweet dark
fruits, and a bit of caramel malt. I enjoy a good Belgian Dubbel and
the Raison D’Etra hits all the right notes for me. It is a unique and
complex brew that I have no trouble enjoying and shows Dogfish Head’s
ability to create fantastic beers in a wide variety of styles and unique
flavors.
Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre
Misc. pint glass nights around Austin for September. Buy the beer, keep the glass.
Gingerman – Mondays, at 6 PM
Sept 03 New Belgium Super IPA
Sept 10 Red Hook ESB
Sept 17 Shiner Oktoberfest
Sept 24 Spaten (Optimator & Franziskaner)
The Tavern – Tuesdays
Check their facebook page for glass updates
Zax Pints and Plates – Wednesdays, at 6 PM
Sept 05 Real Ale Hanz Pils
Sept 12 Rahr & Sons Gravel Road
Sept 19 Widmer Bros Rotator IPA
Sept 26 Sunner Kolsh
Flying Saucer - Wednesdays, at 7 PM
Sept 05 Courage Imperial Russian Stout
Sept 12 Full Sail
Sept 19 Oktoberfest
Sept 26 DAS BOOT!!
Draught House – Wednesdays
Check their twitter page for glass updates
Red's Porch – Thursdays, at 5 PM
Check their events page for glass updates
