RealTail II, with Real Ale and Freetail

From ABG. Although, you probably already knew about it:




WHAT: FreeTail II - A collaboration event with Real Ale and Freetail

WHEN: August 27, 2011. Doors open at 11:30am.

WHERE: Freetail Brewing Co., 4035 N Loop 1604 W. Suite 105. San Antonio

Intense. Sounds like a good time. Tons of good beer. Bring yr wallet. Don't worry, surely it's worth it (not to mention they will also have sample sizes for sale). I really want to try that Collaboration Beer (“untraditional double wit using locally sourced nopalitos (cactus pads), a mélange of four spices and agave nectar”). Good news for GABFers though:

If you can’t make it to the festival but will be headed to GABF this year, we’ll have the Collaboration Beer available at the Texas Craft Brewers Guild booth.

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.

Ranger Creek Sippy Cup Homebrew Competition

Beertown Austin, this is all you buddy. Feel free to call me for recipe ideas. Check it out:

. . . The winning beer will become our fall seasonal AND our Pro-Am entry for the 2011 GABF. The winning brewer will come to Ranger Creek to brew the commercial batch that will be released this fall . . .

Styles: IMPERIAL versions (minimum ABV of 7%) of the following categories:

Category 10- American Ale
Includes 10A. American Pale Ale, 10B, American Amber Ale, 10C. American Brown Ale

Category 12- Porter
Includes 12A. Brown Porter, 12B. Robust Porter, 12C. Baltic Porter

Category 13- Stout
Includes 13A. Dry Stout, 13B. Sweet Stout, 13C. Oatmeal Stout, 13D. Foreign Extra Stout, 13E. American Stout, 13F. Russian Imperial Stout

Category 14- India Pale Ale
Includes 14A. English IPA, 14B. American IPA, 14C. Imperial IPA

READ FULL DETAILS HERE.

San Antonio Beer Week

Well, we have this to look forward to. No info yet. Keep posted.

h/t: Travis E. Poling

Ranger Creek La Bestia Bottles Being Delivered

This beer but in 750ml bottles kids. Next week.

A Couple Beer Law Videos

From Beertown Austin:



And from KENS 5:

What's Up at Freetail?

A good amount. Check out the full gamut at beernews.org.

Ranger Creek Grand Opening Events

RC's Oatmeal Pale Ale is in town. It's really good. A solid ale. Try it. Next week, they have a couple of events to celebrate their Grand Opening (they are both in San Antonio, obviously):

Freetail is Two

You know what they say: Walk at one, talk at two. What?

Freetail Stuff

Have not checked in on Freetail in awhile. They have some good stuff going on as of late. First, the biggest news, plans for possible expansion (read entire release here):

FREETAIL BREWING CO. TO CELEBRATE SECOND ANNIVERSARY, EYES EXPANSION

Locally owned and operated brewpub celebrates its second birthday while onsidering a second location (November 2, 2010) San Antonio, TX – Freetail Brewing Co. announces the celebration of its Two Year Anniversary with a weekend of full tap lists and special bottles releases November 26, 27 and 28.

....

In addition to news of the birthday celebration, Freetail Brewing Co. is also formally announcing their plans for a second location.

“It wasn’t long after we opened that people first started asking when we could open closer to their neighborhood,” said Metzger. “Today we are excited to be formally in the market for location number two.”

The company is considering sites in New Braunfels, San Marcos, Houston and of course, San Antonio.

....

Can't wait to see where they land. I'm crossing my fingers for San Marcos, but it would be nice to see Houston get a great brewpub. Hey Houston, if you are lucky enough, don't screw it up this time. Visit often, drink and eat a lot.



Also, tomorrow is the release of La Muerta in bottles. I've heard these releases are fun. Get there if you can:

Dia de La Muerta. La Muerta bottle release. Bottle sales will begin at 11:30am. Tickets will be distributed to those waiting in line beginning at 9:00am.

Ranger Creek's Lineup

Looking good. Can't wait to grab them all. And drink them.

Freetail Anake - Oct. 9

These days there is so much going on in Austin it is hard to keep up with great spots like Freetail. I love Freetail and visit them every time I am down in San Antonio. Thank god for the internet:

October 9, 2010: Ananke. Wild ale aged in used wine casks for 7 months. Divinely sour. Named after the Greek Goddess of Necessity.

The reviews look good. I need to be back in Austin for Sonic Youth that night, but I may try to swing a morning mission to SA.

h/t: thatkidmar

My First Pint

I stole yr banner Rob, now we are even.

Have you seen Rob Landerman's (Ranger Creek Brewer) bog? Check it out.

I'm on their too, cluing you in on My First Pint.

Testing Batches at Ranger Creek

As I mentioned earlier, Ranger Creek has started brewing. If you are not following their progress on Twitter or Facebook, you may not have seen that their power was knocked out during a storm, which ruined their first batch of South Texas Lager. Bummer. But they made a new batch and it is in the fermenters. And today they are brewing Mesquite Smoked Porter.

Ranger Creek is Brewing

It's on. I think this calls for a beer.

Taking Shape

Ranger Creek is coming together. Stay posted here. And here.

Ranger Creek, Part 2

This is the part where I tell you about their beers. Again, I feel like I have to say this: These notes, scribblings, whatever are based on the beers Rob has now and do not represent complete, fully actualized, production beers from Ranger Creek. They are the roadmap of the highways to come, or some shit like that.



South Texas Lager. This is their light-keeping-on-beer (maybe, you never know, look at (512)'s Pecan Porter, things happen). It is a Dortmunder Style lager. A good one at that. I really enjoy this style. Unfiltered. Nice spiciness, hop bite. Refreshing for sure.



Oatmeal Pale Ale. A little bit of different twist on the classic standby. Made with 17% oats. Centennial hops give it a nice bitterness. Fruity finish.



Mesquite Smoked Porter. Oh yeah, beer geeks rejoice. Made with 35-40% mesquite smoked malt, this one is hella smoky and black as night. Loved it. Everything you would expect from a great smoked porter.



The Dark Belgian Ale. Well a couple batches. Obviously you can see they look completely different. Rob is going for a combination of the two. Experimentations are still ongoing. Rob was trying to get the perfect mix of dryness, color and body. I guess we will have to come back down when he has it pinned down.



Rob was kind enough to bust out this beauty. Delicious.

Thanks guys for having us out. It was fun.

Ranger Creek, Part 1

A little over a week ago, Ranger Creek had us out to visit their evolving brewery/distillery.



Sofia was going to come down with me, but she backed out because she did not want to be the only girl. I said she was nuts. But I guess she was right.





Some stuff to make drinks.



Rob's homebrew setup, where he is tuning his recipes.



Bottling line.



Cold room: here.



German spaceship or still?



Beertown Austin shooting a video.



Also, check out My Last Pint #16 with Rob.

Part 2 will feature tasting notes, well tasting scribblings at least . . .

Some Stuff from Ranger Creek

First, they have released info on their beer lineup.

Also, they've received tons of brewing and distilling equipment. Three of many photos:

Ranger Creek's Got a Home

From Ranger Creek:

Ranger Creek HQ is now official! We signed a lease on a great property that we're excited about. Can't wait for you guys to see it. Pictures coming soon.