Beer Bums Meeting – January 2016

For January we always take a look back at our favorite beers of the previous year.  It can be a beer that surprised us the most or one we kept coming back to buy again and again.  Either way there was something to each beer that made it a highlight of the year.  The bonus beer of the month was a 3-4 year old La Bestia Aimable from Ranger Creek.  Always a treat.

Oasis Texas Brewing Metamodern Session IPA

Strange Land Brewery Poughshare Saison

Sixpoint Bengali

Blue Owl Brewing Spirit Animal

Odell Cutthroat Porter

Ranger Creek La Bestia Aimable

Next Month, February – Pinthouse Pizza South Lamar!

Beer Bums Meeting – September 2015

Moving forward from our single style of lager last month to the single style of Pilsner for September.  It’s still blazingly hot in here in Texas so these Pilsners were a perfect choice.  They were all very good from the original Pilsner Urquell to the local favorite Hans Pils.  Several guest beers showed up as well including a 24 oz. Miller Lite!  Yikes!

Real Ale Hans Pils

Pilsner Urquell

Trumer Pils

Miller Lite

Robert Earl Keen Honey Pils

Sixpoint The Crisp

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Torpedo Pilsner

Full Sail Cascade Pilsner

Victory Prima Pils

Next Month, October – Belgian Beers

Beer Bums Meeting – June 2015

A wide variety of beers for June with a bonus beer to boot.  Someone splurged on the Hi-Res for sure and it was a treat.  A solid line-up from top to bottom.

Real Ale 4 Squared

Sixpoint Hi-Res

Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

Karbach Love Street

Austin Beerworks Black Thunder

Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

Sierra Nevada Maillard's Odyssey: Imperial Dark Ale

Next Month, July – Beach Beers

Top 10 Albums and Beers of 2014, Part 1

The return of my top beers and albums of the year.  A marriage of two of my passions: Beer and music.  The list comprises beers that were new in bottle or cans this year with a few minor exceptions. While I did try a lot of beer that was new to me this year, I didn’t try a lot of beers that were new in general. I know there were a lot of great beers debuting this year and this list is my tops of the few I tried. Same goes with the albums: I listened to a lot of new music this year so there are several really good albums that didn't make the list. As usual, these are all beers available in Texas at some time in the year, and in no particular order.

Hops and Grain Greenhouse IPA

Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else

Probably the two tops on my list.  Both stayed in heavy rotation all year and I found I couldn’t get enough of either.  Hops and Grain Greenhouse IPA was a rotating IPA that featured a different hop profile every month and I was always sure to grab each months iteration.  Cloud Nothings came out early in the year and was prominent in my playlist all year, with “I’m Not Part of Me” my favorite song of the year.

Sixpoint Hi-Res

Andrew Bird - Things are Really Great Here, Sort Of…

Refined is a great word for both of these.  Andrew Bird have certainly refined his music at this point in his career and could sing the phone book and I would buy it and listen to it non-stop.  I really appreciate his musicianship and his entire catalog gets frequent listens from me.  The Hi-Res is a refined Triple IPA if that is even possible.  A huge hop animal that took no shame in being what it was.  An assault on your palate.

Austin Beerworks Heavy Machinery Black IPA

Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues

The Austin Beerworks Heavy Machinery Black IPA gets on this list as a technicality.  It was supposed to be the first release of their canned IPA series last year, but missed out due to reasons out of the brewery's control.  Instead they released it at the beginning of this year and it was tremendous.  I was new to Against Me! until SXSW when their raucous live show blew me away. Transgender Dysphoria Blues stayed in heavy rotation for several months afterwards and helped me relive that excellent live experience.

The Brü Revü – Sixpoint Hi-Res

Although Sixpoint states that they do not brew to a specific style, it is pretty clear that this is a version of a Triple IPA.  With the 111 IBU and 11.1 ABV its obvious this IPA has been cranked up to Eleven!  While their Resin is a great Double IPA and their 3Beans was extraordinary I felt confident picking up Hi-Res.  The beer poured a deep gold with a significant slightly off-white head.  The aroma is very strong resinous hops with some citrus orange and a full sweet caramel malt underneath the in your face hops.  The taste starts with a juicy citrusy hop bite with a huge sweet malt middle that ends with a resinous and piney hop bite.  It’s that pine hop profile that lingers on your palate between tastes and helps mitigate the sweet malty base of this beer.  The Hi-Res is hugely hopped and takes no shame in being what it is.  It definitely carries a sweetness around that harnesses the hops, but I found myself enjoying the Hi-Res sip after sip.  Grab one and crank your hops to eleven!

Sixpoint Hi-Res

The Brü Revü - Top 13 Albums & Beers of 2013, Part 3

Stone Brewing Espresso Imperial Russian Stout

Josh Ritter - The Beast in its Tracks

Classics that expand on the originals.  Another coffee Stout, sure, but take the impeccable Stone IRS and add espresso at the hands of Stone and you have pure gold.  I am not ashamed to admit I like Josh Ritter and The Beast in its Tracks is a return to form.  Classic Josh Ritter songs from a great songwriter.

(512) FIVE

Wavves - Afraid of Heights

Fruits of their labor.  The (512) FIVE Imperial Stout was the perfect culmination of their past 5 years.  It was deep and rich with layers of complex flavors.  Afraid of Heights shows Wavves ever increasing songwriting prowess as it pushes his skills further into well crafted garage & indie rock gems.  This album kicks ass and has stayed in rotation on my playlists since its release.  

Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #13 - Belgian Quad

Telekinesis - Dormarion

Comfortable.  The Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #13 was a Belgian Quad that was expertly done.  It hit all the right notes and is like putting on a good pair of slippers.  There is something about a Telekinesis album that sounds familiarly nostalgic for me.  While he experimented more with his sound on Dormarion it’s still a perfect fit for my ears.  Now I just need to put on my robe and slippers, crank Dormarion up to 11 and sip my Belgian Quad while I bob my head.

Sixpoint 3Beans

Deerhunter - Monomania

Outrageously sophisticated.  3Beans was a phenomenal brew that pulled together the coffee, cocoa & romano beans expertly.  Monomania was Deerhunters return to punky garage rock that sounds divisively different than their previous effort, but with all the well-thought out and deliberate moves underneath the noise.  Both were well done and well executed.

See Part 1 Here
See Part 2 Here

The Brü Revü – Sixpoint 3Beans

The Sixpoint 3Beans is an imperial porter that uses Romano, Cacao and Coffee beans to form a triumvirate of fantastic flavors.  This beer is simply great.  The Romano beans gave the beer a wonderful texture to allow the coffee and cacao beans to meld and mutate into something that wasn’t your typical coffee stout/porter.  3Beans poured a deep brown almost black with a substantial khaki head. The aroma was a perfect buttery chocolate with a hint of coffee to round it out.  Let this brew warm because it holds a tang when it’s too cold, but releases into a roasted dark chocolate coffee wonderland when it warms.  One of the best Imperial porters I have had and definitely a tantalizing trinity of tastes!

Sixpoint 3Beans

Beer Bums Meeting – January 2013 – Favorite Beers of 2012

As usual on our January meetings we like to look back on the previous year and bring our favorite beers.  It could be a new discovery or just our go to beer that we could not get enough.  Sadly, I could not attend this months meeting, but I sent my pick anyways (the Karbach Hopadillo).  I have had most of these beers in the past, and I am really sorry I missed the Jester King Wytchmaker!

Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale
Sixpoint Resin
Karbach Hopadillo
Theakston Old Peculier
Brooklyn Lager
Jester King Wytchmaker Rye IPA

Next Month, February – Mardi Gras Beers

The Brü Revü – Sixpoint Resin

Sixpoint Brewery just arrived in Texas and which beer do I try first?  Their highly rated Double IPA Resin, of course.  Sixpoint is another brewery who puts all their brews in cans, generally in 16 oz. tallboys which is pretty sweet.  The Resin being a Double IPA and pretty high ABV it came in a 12 oz. slim can.  I have to say I was not quite used to the appearance of this tall skinny can in my fridge, but I felt very sophisticated.  The hop aroma sprang from the can as soon as I pulled the tab, and I knew I was in for a treat.  It poured a golden amber with a nice frothy head with plenty of lacing.  The aroma had loads of citrus and floral hops and the first taste exploded with hops that started at the front of my tongue and raced through my palate.  The Resin had a well balanced hop profile with some soft pine notes along with the citrus and floral hops.  The alcohol presence was noticeable, but I quickly forgot all about it as I enjoyed this great Double IPA.  The Resin was a great introduction to Sixpoint and now I will have to work my way through the rest of their line-up.  Welcome to Texas!

Sixpoint Resin