Ben Sable, President of Circle Brewing, just gave us the heads up that the brewery will be rolling out their first beer today — the Blur Texas Hefe.
. . .
As of right now, the Draught House will be the first place in town to feature a keg.
The SXSW six-pack
• Lone Star: 'Real light, thin finish. Hints of regret and sadness.'
• Busch: 'The head looks like my kid's tub water when they sneak shampoo in to make a bubble bath. Sweet as rock candy from Lammes. Miller Lite?'
• Budweiser: 'Tastes like horrible . Day after = worst gas ever.'
• Pabst Blue Ribbon: 'A little body. But skunky, too. Miller High Life.'
• Miller High Life: 'No distinct flavor ... Tastes like a three-day weekend on the beach in high school.'
• Coors Light: 'Astringent. Would rather drink some really bad promo cocktail… Old Milwaukee?'
They’ve done such a good job of keeping things quiet that they’re maybe three weeks away from brewing their first batches, with getting beer out the door in maybe six. Expect a draft-only operation for the first 60-90 days, with bottles to follow. The first beers to roll out with be Yellow Armadillo Wheat, Buckethead IPA and Thirsty Goat Amber.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking, that those don’t sound terribly adventurous — and adventurous is exactly what we need more of? I asked them about that. Brian notes that the IPA will have 75 International Bittering Units, enough to satisfy any hophead, his wife included. “I like IPAs that take the enamel off my teeth,” Tammy says. Brian also has intriguing ideas about brewing with chipotles and Hatch chiles.
Currently, they own a very large brewery with room to expand into bottling very soon. And besides the first three beers, Brian plans to utilize their large and hostpitable tasting room as a laboratory for various experimental brews he plans to churn out on his 5 barrel pilot system. He mentioned trying some more exotic styles including smoked porters, double IPAs, fruit beers, beers with brettanomyces, and various local ingredients. He hopes to cultivate a brewpub type atmosphere at the tasting room to share beers and receive feedback. In addition to the large tasting room, they plan to develop an outside bier garten for outside drinking, local music, and cyclist recouping (this place will be an excellent biking destination). Brian mentioned he’d like to keep the tasting room open multiple times a week to encourage more of a brewer/drinker relationship.
I'm going to go out on a limb and predict 2010 will be the year craft beer breaks big in Austin.Sure, I'll buy that.
