Saint Arnold Pumpkinator

Spooky. Who still has some of this from last year? Wish I had saved one. I'm horrible at saving beers.

h/t: beernews.org

Bummer: Freetail Suspends Plans for Houston Brewpub

You've probably seen this already today:

For
Immediate Release

SAN ANTONIO-BASED BREWERY SUSPENDS PLANS FOR SECOND LOCATION

(July 27, 2011) San Antonio, TX – Having previously announced expansion into the Houston market, Freetail Brewing Co. will announce the indefinite suspension of plans for a second location — citing concerns over access to capital.

“As I moved forward with the Freetail Houston project, I began to run into an increasing level of resistance in capital markets. A brewpub is a good project for downtown Houston, but the deal is simply not there for me at this time,” explained Freetail Founder & CEO, Scott Metzger. “When we announced the project on May 17, we also stated there were financial considerations to be addressed. Those considerations are ultimately what put this project on hold indefinitely, and no other reason. To move forward with the project at this time would be irresponsible and an injustice to my company and the City of Houston.

“For now my focus will be to continue growing our successful original location, which has internal expansion needs of its own, and moving forward in the battle for fair reform of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, as it relates to the activities of our state’s brewpubs and breweries,” added Metzger.

Freetail Brewing Co. is founded on the pursuit of creating exciting, innovative and unique world class beer and beer-centric cuisine. We embrace the laid back and fun-loving Texas culture and set out to create products that mirror the lifestyle of our diverse and rapidly growing community. We believe in promoting an increased appreciation of craft beer and its responsible enjoyment. We believe in going above and beyond customer expectations not only through our products, but also through exceptional customer service. We believe in providing a dining and leisure experience unmatched in the local community. And in case you didn’t get it the first time… we believe in having fun.

For more information visit www.freetailbrewing.com.

Grand Openings for Middleton and Pecan Street

From ABG.

Looking for some fun August road trips close to Austin. Check out these two grand openings (now, that is an intro!):



WHAT: Middleton Brewing Grand Opening
WHEN: Saturday, August 20 · 12:00pm - 7:00pm
WHERE: Middleton Brewing 9595 Ranch Road 12 Wimberley, TX

From Middleton:

Please join us in celebrating our Grand Opening on Saturday August 20th. We will have special one time only beers and free appetizers . We specialize in Belgian Style ales we brew here in the Hill Country, also some hoppy west coast pale ales and IPA's. With a celection of other micro brews on tap and in bottles.

RSVP on Facebook.


WHAT: Pecan Street Brewing Grand Opening
WHEN: Saturday, August 27
WHERE: Pecan Street Brewing, 106 East Pecan Drive, Johnson City, TX 78636

Thanks to Xavier Alesmith for the tip. Follow Pecan Street's Facebook for more info.

Rogness Brewing Co.

Add another one for Austin(ish)! Welcome to the fray Rogness.

Euro Beer #17 - Arcadi Café

In the fall of 2007 my wife and I traveled through Europe for 10 weeks. We ate a lot of food and drank of a lot of beer (and wine). Not enough food, not enough beer. Still in Brussels:



Euro Beer #17 - Arcadi Café

Our host suggested this restaurant. Good, yet inexpensive food in the center of the city. Tourist area, but there seemed to be a lot of locals. That is my chicken and fries, decent, if not a little dry. Here the beer came in handy.



This was Sofia's quiche. So sensible Sofia.



And now the moment you've been waiting for . . . the beers. Sofia had an Affligem Blonde and I had an Orval. I win. Nothing too special here, as they are both available in the US. But they were great beers to quaff with the food.

For more euro foodage and drinkage, go here.

Arcadi Café
Rue d'Arenbergstraat, 1
Brussels



Grand Place at night.

Lone Star Giving Away Land

Originally posted on ABG.



Free land! How is that for a promotion. Listen, we are not snobby enough to say we don't drink Lone Star. We mostly cover Austin (and TX) CRAFT beer, but we enjoy a Lone Star from time to time. There is a time and place for almost any beer. But really, you don't see no craft breweries giving away LAND! (I think that girl would be your neighbor. She can't wait for you to move in.) Lone Star does and all they ask for is some personal information, confidential of course.



They even ask you to choose a favorite band. None of those are my favorite. Actually, I've only heard about Big & Rich from that list, so I chose them.



And what do you know, I am a winner! I feel special.

Saint Arnold Santo

Remember this label? I just got an email from a reliable informant, let's just say his name rhymes with Tank:

. . . new beer that we are rolling out September 1. It is called Santo, and is unique in that it has its' own look and does not fall into the traditional Saint Arnold line up as far as appearance. It is a dark kolsch style beer. It will be available (all at the same time) in 1/2 barrels, 1/6 barrels, and 12 oz bottles (4/6 cases). It will come in at around 4.90% ABV.

Can't wait to try it.

Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA

Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA Collaboration from stonebrew on Vimeo.

We are apparently getting it. Sounds good.

Oh we are getting this one too:

Jason Fields & Kevin Sheppard / Tröegs / Stone Chocolate Cherry Stout from stonebrew on Vimeo.

Black Star Co-op's Waterloo

It's summer. Have you noticed? No? Well, wake up, it's been over 100 degrees for the past 30something days (or something like that). Summer beers are made for this is the weather. Black Star's new irrational beer is called Waterloo, a “sour peach wheat ale.” It was brewed for the summer and most likely you've had it already. But if you have not (or even if you have), Jeff Young recently posted about the birth of the beer:

We thought about what that could be…light, tart, easy-to-drink with subtle flavor and elegance. From there, I wanted to experiment with souring beers and using peaches as the subtle yet complex flavor.

Jeff also explains the process of sour mashing. Interesting read.

JK's Van

This is just the start. This is fun. Beer should be fun.

Euro Beer #16 - Le Bier Circus

In the fall of 2007 my wife and I traveled through Europe for 10 weeks. We ate a lot of food and drank of a lot of beer (and wine). Not enough food, not enough beer. Still in Brussels:



Euro Beer #16 - Le Bier Circus

Clean and modern. What a place. Good beers too.



I had to hit up this place after reading about it on BeerAdvocate. It was kind of a hike uphill in the rain, but it was worth it. The crowd was sparse, atmosphere chill. Perfect place to enjoy a beer, unlike that Delirium madhouse. I had a Kapittel Watou and Sofia had a La Chouffe. Both enjoyable, though I took time to warm up to my Watou.

For more euro foodage and drinkage, go here.

Le Bier Circus
rue de l'Enseignement, 57
Brussels



This guy.

3rd Annual Go Texan Beer Week at Opal Divine's

WHAT: 3rd Annual Go Texan Beer Week

WHEN: Monday, July 25 at 11:00am - July 31 at 11:30pm

WHERE: All Opal Divine's Locations

Damn, so much happening lately. Not complaining, just saying. Details from Opals:

Opal's 3rd Annual Go Texan Beer Week benefits Capital Area Food Bank. All Texas Craft Beer all week featuring a different Texas brewery each day.

Monday - Jester King Brewing Company
Tuesday - 512 Brewing Company
Wednesday - Live Oak Brewing Company
Thursday - Real Ale Brewing Company
Friday - Independence Brewing Company

Who has the best Texas Beer Nose in Austin? Do you? Daily winners of the blind Texas sampler taste off at all 3 Opal's will compete for the title of "Best Texas Beer Snob" on Saturday, July 30th at Opal Divine's Freehouse at 7pm. Follow us on twitter (@opaldivines) for announcements of special tappings all week. First hint is; you'll definitely want to be at Marina Monday night for firkin double hoppin' witchin' good time!

Belgian Beer Week

It's already started . . .

DRAUGHT HOUSE

Tuesday- Chimay Blue- glass with beer purchase
Wednesday- Ommegang Witte- glass with beer and free cheese sample
Thursday- St. Bernardus ABT 12- glass with beer purchase
Friday- Duvel Green- Free glass and cheese with beer
Saturday- Lindemans Framboise- Free glass with beer

FLYING SAUCER

Mon - Timmermans Glass Night
Tue - Blanche de Bruxelles Glass Night
Wed - Duvel Glass Night
Thu - Chimay Glass Night
Fri - Maredsous Glass Night
Sat - Hopus Glass Night

. . . putting tons of cool Belgian stuff on tap as the week progresses and more holes open up. Delirium Tremens, Houblon Chouffe, St Bernardus 12 and 8, Maredsous (Tripel, Blonde and Brune), Kwak, La Trappe (formerly Koningshoeven) Quad, BarBar . . .

7/24 - Adelbert’s Public Tasting

GINGER MAN

July 21st - 7pm

Come celebrate 180 years of Belgian Independence! Free glassware and swag with purchase of Chimay!

Austin to Saint Arnold Brewery Bus Trip

Road trip! From Saint Arnold:

Once again it's time for another trip down to Houston to see Texas' oldest craft brewery! If you have not been to the new brewery, now is your chance. Saturday, August 20, at 10:30 am we will meet at The Flying Saucer and depart at 11 am sharp. We will get there at the end of our regular Saturday tour and enjoy some cold Saint Arnold. Then we will open the iPub for lunch and more tasty beverages. We will leave the brewery at 5 pm and return to Austin at 8 pm.

If you wanna ride, tickets are $40 and you can buy them here.

Two Beer Movies

Beer movies are the new beer blogs, someday everyone will make one.



Watch entire Beertickers movie here.

REASON: We Can Sell Our Beer in Texas, but We Can't Tell You Where

I don't often write about beer laws. Mainly because it's kind of boring — writing and reading. Plus, there are others out there who are much better at writing that stuff. Don't worry, I'm not gonna write about it here, just passing along something to read.

h/t: Austin Beerworks

Independence/Judge's Hill Dinner

Hold on, I am trying to find my notes on this dinner . . .

Ok, I'm back. This was not your average beer dinner. It was a battle, a duel betwen Chef Jonathan Gelman of The Driskill Grill vs. Chef Rob Snow of Judges' Hill Restaurant. And it all benefited the Sustainable Food Center. All the food was Wild Game supplied by Broken Arrow Ranch. The dinner consisted of three rounds with a dish from each chef — each paired with an Independence beer. We voted on our favorite dishes/pairings. It was blind, RED plates vs. BLACK plates.

ROUND 1



Wild Boar Belly w/ Risotto Cakes, Smoked Walnut Vinaigrette, Pickled Local Vegetables and Bootlegger Brown
That belly was great. I really enjoyed the pickled vegetables except they were too small, diced beyond belief, annoying. Overall the food overpowered the beer, not a great pairing.



Buttermilk Fried Quail, "Stash" BBQ Sauce and Stash IPA
The fried quail was perfect, the egg on top a bit too decadent. BBQ was tasty. With the Stash, this was a better pairing than first plate.



My Stash. You think as a beer blogger I would have taken more photos of the beer. Sorry. But this one was just so pretty.

ROUND 2



Venison Steak, Jalapeno Cotija Potato Croquette, Raspberry Jasperilla Demi-glace and Jasperilla Old Ale.
Venison was venisony and cooked well. Reminded me of my childhood (I was raised by wolves). The croquette was light and fluffy or as I wrote in my notes - NICE. All paired nicely with Jasperilla.



Antelope Grilled, Chilled & Rood Awakenings and Rood.
Saying grilled antelope is not enough for this plate, it had three kinds of antelope meat. It was a meat orgy. The jerky was my favorite part. Again, second dish was a better pairing in this round.

ROUND 3



Gold Deluxe Angel Food Cake with Grilled Fredericksburg Peaches & Merlitons and Gold Deluxe.
Merlitons? I had to bing that. This may be the worst photo I've ever taken, my apologies. I liked the fruit, hated the angel food cake, but I've always hated angel food cake.



Wild Boar Smores and Gold Deluxe.
This was easily the most anticipated plate of the night after everyone read the menus. And it was good, really good. Made with boar bacon. I did not vote for it though. Putting bacon on something is cheating, everyone is gonna vote for bacon.

Overall, I enjoyed the food from the RED chef better and the pairings from the BLACK chef. Guess what, I forgot who was red and who was black and who won. So, bing that if you really want to know the results.

Thanks to Independence Brewing for having us out and also to Adam for giving Austin Beer Guide a nice shout out during the dinner (unexpected and appreciated)!

Austin Homebrew Supply 20th Anniversary Party

 

From their FB Event:

Cold Beer, Live Music. Wyeast and White Labs reps on hand to answer your burning questions and/or soak up your praise.

You'll want to bring some money for food and a pint glass. In addition, it is a tax free day for you on everything in the store! Don't worry, we will still pay the taxes we are supposed to, but you won't have to.

Euro Beer #15 - A la Mort Subite

In the fall of 2007 my wife and I traveled through Europe for 10 weeks. We ate a lot of food and drank of a lot of beer (and wine). Not enough food, not enough beer. In Brussels:



Euro Beer #15 - A la Mort Subite

A la Mort Subite. If you are going to go to one cafe in Brussels, this is definitly it.



I mean, just look at this place. When we were there in 2007, smoking was still permitted inside. Now, I think, it's been banned. Even nicer.



Our first visit I had a large Faro, loved it. Sofia had a blanche. Ok, the beers are not the best you will find in Brussels, but add the atmosphere and history — boom — great beer experience. Still, loved that Faro. They have food too, but we only went there for beers.

For more euro foodage and drinkage, go here.

A la Mort Subite
rue Montagne-aux-Herbes Potagères 7
Brussels

Wikio Beer Blog Rankings - July

Wikio sent me these beer blog rankings. I wonder how many people they send them to before they get to me. A peek at the top 30 for July:

1	Brookston Beer Bulletin
2	Beervana
3	The New School
4	Brewpublic
5	A Good Beer Blog
6	The Stone Blog
7	Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home
8	Washington Beer Blog
9	The Daily Pull
10	Drink With The Wench
11	It's Pub Night
12	Seen Through a Glass
13	Oakshire Brewing
14	KC Beer Blog
15	The Session Beer Project™
16	The Not So Professional Beer Blog
17	The Brew Lounge
18	San Diego Beer Blog
19	Craft Austin
20	Beeronomics
21	Brewer's Log (Blog)
22	The Potable Curmudgeon
23	BetterBeerBlog
24	Beer at 6512
25	Hoosier Beer Geek
26	Musings Over a Pint
27	Brewed For Thought
28	Seattle Beer News
29	Top Fermented
30	Beer in Baltimore

Ranking made by Wikio

(512) Brewing Now Offering Private Tours

From (512):

. . . When you check in, you will receive coupons good for 3 free 4oz. tastes of your choice of (512) brew. With a purchase of a (512) logo pint glass for $10, you'll get the glass filled 3 times and be able to take it home at the end of the tour.

Additional glassware and t-shirts will be available for purchase, and, of course, don't forget to tip your tour guide. Please arrive 10 minutes prior to your tour time and have your driver's license available. Sampling beer is limited to tour ticket holders and persons 21 years or older only.

Cash only. Please designate a driver. Designated drivers receive a free t-shirt or logo pint glass!

Oh Brother

I'm not saying anything bad about this brewery-in-the-making. I'm afraid they would beat me up. I hope they make good beer, but really, Hey Babe? But I guess I am a supposed to support everything local . . . Yeah Local (Don't punch me)!

Off

Sorry for lack of posts . . . We are on vacation till Sunday. I might post some if I find a wifi signal here and there.