Vote for Us, Please

This is kind of a lame post, but......



Craft Austin has been nominated for the Best Cocktail/Beverage Blog in the Austin Blogger Awards. Please vote for us here (i think):

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KM9SYCX

If that does not work, go here and follow the links to vote:

http://austinbloggerawards.com/

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):

Austin Beerworks Gets Some Stuff

Tanks, tanks and tanks.

Whip In Cellar Release

I trust you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. I did. Turkey tacos today!

Now on to biz-ness:

To see it larger and live in RGB, visit their website. Some stuff that I'd be interested in: Avery Beast and Meph, Unibroue 15 and the Hop Wallop.

Dear Santa, Part 2

I'd wear this.

New BJ's at Arbor Walk

New BJ's opening (not built yet) at Arbor Walk. What is that, like 3 seconds from NXNW? Please.

Freetail is Two

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

Altared Amber: 2nd SA Moveable Yeast Release

From Saint Arnold:

The second in our Moveable Yeast series will be available on draft starting next Wednesday, December 1. In this release, we brewed 120 bbls of Amber Ale wort, filled two 60 bbl tanks with wort, pitched one with Saint Arnold yeast to make Amber Ale and pitched the other with Belgian Trappist yeast to make Altared Amber. Yes, we spelled it that way intentionally.

We want you to try the tasty altered version with its clove and spice notes and compare it with the tasty regular Amber and remember that the only difference between these two beers is the yeast. Discuss.

Altared Amber will be on tap on our weekday tours too for a very limited time starting December 1.

Dear Santa,

I want this!

Stone Lukcy Basartd Ale - TX Approved!

From Jason:

Lukcy 13asartd is approved in Texas! It will land in approximately 3 weeks. Cheers!

Euro Beer #2 - The Porterhouse Brewing Co.

In 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 Dublin:



Euro Beer #2 - The Porterhouse Brewing Co.

You gotta eat, right? I could not just drink my way through Dublin without a little sustenance. But, the food joints better have some decent brew. Porterhouse as one of the stops I had planned after looking at BeerAdvocate.com before leaving the USA. This multi-level restaurant/bar had a cool vibe and typical brewpub décor (wooo-eee). Service was slow (get used to it). I had with an Oyster Stout. It was fantastic.



We ordered a “salad” and their classic burger. My burger came with chips and salad. It was not bad, but reminded me of middle-of-the-road American fast food. The salad Sofia ordered was very basic, pretty much the same as what came with the burger. I win.



But, damn, that oyster stout was amazing! I've had a few (from other brewers) since then and they have not lived up to that perfect briny pint.

For more euro foodage and drinkage, go here.

The Porterhouse Brewing Co.
Temple Bar
16-18 Parliament Street
Dublin

Jester King's WB Commercial Suicide @ Billy's on Burnet

(photo: BTA)

I still have not had this beer. You? Here is your shot (or pint). So you go to Billy's, walk up to the bar, order a WhiskeyBarrel Commercial Suicide and what are they going to give you....some douchbag glass. I've heard it makes the beer taste bad. Not sure about that one, I'll have to head out there and test it.

Euro Beer #1 - The Long Hall in Dublin, Ireland

NEW SERIES! In 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. We started in Dublin:



The Long Hall in Dublin, Ireland

After arriving in Dublin we zipped over to our friends apartment to drop our stuff. We exchanged hellos and hugs and popped out for a day full of touristic junk. Half a mile down the road our exhaustion kicked in. We debated over whether we should head back to the apartment to sleep for an hour. You know what "they" always say about traveling to Europe: When you get there, don't sleep, push through. We said fuck it and walked back for a kip.

We awoke feeling much better, grabbed some coffee and wandered through the streets with no real plan. Well maybe one plan: get a pint of Guinness. The best pint of Guinness. And then another.

The first respectable looking pub we came across was the Long Hall. I ordered two. Actually, Sofia only had a half pint, because we had not had anything to eat yet. Weak. I felt the beer was too cold (found out later Guinness is served ice cold in Ireland). Whatever. It was still better Guinness than you get in America. I know everyone says that, but it's true. Not sure what it was, I did not write that down, but it's better. I guess it's same reason croissants are better in France and coffee is better in Italy.

The Long Hall
51 S. Great Georges St.
Dublin

For more euro foodage and drinkage, go here.

Black Star Co-op Brewing

Soon we will have our fifth brewpub full of house brews to quaff. Follow all the action on Facebook. It's like you are virtual assistant brewer.

h/t: you stay hoppy austin

The Barber Shop Brewpub

Dripping Springs is soon going to be dripping beer. Ughhhh.

Not much info available. Time will tell. Interested...keep yr eyes focused here and here.

h/t: Hopward

Black Beer Week at Flying Saucer

I almost forgot about this. Thanks to Sam for posting it on BA. You are probably reading this on Tuesday morning, so you missed Monday. No worries, plenty of stuff to come.

Best Mexican Restaurants in Texas

Texas Monthly has chosen the Best Mexican Restaurants in Texas. This has nothing to do with beer. Well, kind of, cuz Mexican food just begs for beer swilling (Austin and Brownsville are in bold because that is where I spend the majority of my TX time):

TEXAS MONTHLY NAMES

50 BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANTS IN TEXAS

Editors Declare This the Era of “Mex-Tex”

AUSTIN, TEXAS—November 15, 2010—In its December issue, available on newsstands this week, Texas Monthly names the 50 best Mexican restaurants in Texas. Headlining the list is the magazine’s selection of the top five, in alphabetical order by city. They are:

Fonda San Miguel, Austin

Cuquita’s, Dallas

Salsa Fuego, Fort Worth

Hugo’s, Houston

SoLuna, San Antonio

The other 45 “best” are listed below.

...

TOP 5 (alphabetical by city)

Fonda San Miguel, Austin

Cuquita’s, Dallas

Salsa Fuego, Fort Worth

Hugo’s, Houston

SoLuna, San Antonio

Rest of the “Best”

AUSTIN
Curra’s Grill
El Mesón
El Naranjo
Garrido’s
La Condesa
Manuel’s
Takoba

BROWNSVILLE
Taqueria Rico’s

DALLAS
Avila’s
Café San Miguel
Gloria’s
Javier’s Gourmet Mexicano
Nuevo León MEX-MEX
Tipico’s
Urban Taco
Veracruz Cafe

EL PASO
Forti’s Mexican Elder
H&H Car Wash and Coffee Shop
Tacos Santa Cecilia

FORT WORTH
Benito’s
Esperanza’s
Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana
Paco & John

HOUSTON
Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen
Gorditas Aguas-Calientes
Irma’s
Jarro Café
Original Ninfa’s on Navigation
Pico’s Mex-Mex
Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen
Teotihuacán Mexican Cafe

LAREDO
El Meson de San Agustin
Fonda Don Martin
Palenque Grill
Zaragoza Grill, La Posada Hotel

McALLEN
Costa Messa
El Pastor
Palenque Grill

SAN ANTONIO
Cascabel Mexican Patio
Cielito Lindo
El Siete Mares
Guajillo’s
La Fonda on Main
La Gloria Icehouse
Mary Lou’s Café y Cocina Mexicana
Rosario’s

Ok, let me give this a beer tie in....hmmmm. Alright, what Texas beer would I like to drink with a plate full of tacos. I'll give you my top five and then you can chime in:

5. Southern Star Bombshell Blonde
4. Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale from the can
3. Lonestar
2. Real Ale Hans Pils
1. (512) Wit

This list would be different tomorrow. Hell, it would be different if you asked me in five minutes. But right now, that sounds right.

Oh November.....Beer Flashback #3

Wow, October was great. Beer blogging was easy last month. So much good shit going down. Now, nothing. November is wrecking me. I might have to bring back Thirsty Thursday.

For now, let me hit you with another Beer Flashback. This one is from my "personal" blog, back before I had a beer blog. You may see strangers, names and references you won't recognize. For that, I apologize. This is from February 2007:



















On of our main objectives while in Lancaster was to visit Stoudt's Brewery. Chris was all over it.


















Even the girls came. Lucky them.
































We've arrived.


















Whoops, wrong entrance.


















Ok, there we go.


















Waiting for the tour to begin.



































































Chotchkies.


















They had some old car.




















The tour was more like a sermon of beer, given by the holy pope of brew: Ed Stoudt. He is one of my heros.




















We had beers and appetizers afterward.





















































Later we went to the mall. It gave me a headache.

Whiskey Commercial Suicide @ Draught House

We are happy to be the first to serve this limited release ale, and the brewers will be on hand to to represent. Come on by Saturday (the 13th), we will tap the keg at 5pm.

Ok, I'll be there. What's up with this text. I hate blogger.

Jester King's Whiskey Barrel Commercial Suicide

From JK:

Austin, Texas – Jester King Craft Brewery is set to release a whiskey barrel aged version of Commercial Suicide Oaked Dark Mild. We filled three George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey barrels with Commercial Suicide and let it age. The beer is now ready for release, and we hope to have it in bars beginning this weekend and going into next week.

The base beer, Commercial Suicide, is a blend of 70% dark mild and 30% dark mild aged in medium toast, Kentucky oak barrels (new barrels, not whiskey). At 3.3% ABV, we set out to pack as much flavor as possible into a true session ale. The malted barley and hops in the beer are all English. Here are the ingredients and specs on the base beer:

OG: 1.041
FG: 1.016
IBU: 18
ABV: ~3.3%
SRM: 18
Malts: Crisp Maris Otter, Crisp Brown, Simpsons Caramalt, Simpsons Extra Dark Crystal, Crisp
Pale Chocolate
Hops: East Kent Golding
Yeast: English Dry Ale

We have ten kegs and two firkins of Whiskey Barrel Commercial Suicide set for release.

(512) Bruin - The Bear is Back!

Reading that description has me craving one. Craving one, and I did not even like it that much last year. I want to sample it a few time this year and see if my opinion has changed. I like everything else (512) makes, so I guess they are bound to make one loser in my eyes. What's that Mick....

SA DIVINE RESERVE VERTICAL TASTING #1-9 @ Whip In

I know I mentioned this earlier, but now the specifics have been nailed down. If yr going, act fast only 12 spots.

Real Ale Tasting @ Lake Creek Alamo Drafthouse

Lake Creek Drafthouse is stepping up with another beer dinner. This time Real Ale will be showcasing their beer alongside Drafthouse's victuals. To be honest, I am kind of burnt out on beer dinners. And don't get me started on pairing beer with dessert (just give me a coffee, I'll have the beer later). I've been sitting out on the last few beer dinners around town. I am sure by January I'll be back in the game. I'm sorry, I know you LOVE my dinner wrap ups.

But you should go, because the menu looks delicious and at 55 bucks....forget about it:

I
Fireman’s 4
Bacon Wrapped Diver Scallop
Roasted Root Vegetable Streudel
Brown Butter Vinaigrette

II
Rio Blanco Pale Ale
Beer Braised Smoked Chicken Breast
White Cheddar Grits
Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts

III
Oktoberfest
London Broil
Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Field Greens

IV
ESB
Proscuitto Wrapped Quail Stuffed With Seared Collar Greens and Brie
Quail Glace ESB Reduction
Risotto and Rapini

V
Brewhouse Brown
Seared Medallions of Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Apple Camembert Porridge
Braised Fennel
Brown Ale Pork Jus

VI
Coffee Porter
Coffee Porter Ice Cream Sandwich
With Candied Bacon Strips

Oh, I forgot this....

This was my shirt for the BTA vs. CA Bike Pub Crawl. Get it?

Thanks for the photo BTA! You lost by the way.

ABW: Jester King, Music and Fire

Jester King hosted an acoustic music night at the brewery during Austin Beer Week.



It's hard to tell from this photo, but they had a good turnout. Always a nice size line for their beer. The beer was ON that night. A few posts ago I did not like the Commercial Suicide. Well, this night is was so good. Also, I really enjoyed the Rye IPA, dry finish, really nice. I need to get some more of both.



It's dark out there.





Festering.



It was cold, so they started a fire. Wise choice.



Sofia loves the fact that the Commercial Suicide is only 3.3%.