Not sure when I will make it back to your area, but I would like to stay up to date with happenings as far as breweries and beer. What are some hot breweries? What are the style trends you see rising in your area? I need to know.

All of the IPAs taste the same. I think they get all of their hops off of the same truck. The breweries are known for their scenes, not for the beer. Not a bad thing IMO.

Not an IPA fan. They seem very pale on taste to me.

My favorite is Celis White - not at all "hoppy."

Celis is an Austin brewery.

Well Owl Nation is migrating north next week to Frisco for the CUSA Basketball Tournament.

Holy Grail Pub (Preston @ Headquarters Drive) is a couple miles from The Star and is worth a visit for both selection and atmosphere.

Union Bear Brewing Co. is even closer (Sam Rayburn at Dallas North Tollway) but I have not yet visited it nor sampled their beer.

Once back in Houston, Saint Arnold’s (Texas’ first microbrewery (started by a Rice grad)) is an essential stop for a tour, lunch, and the sample room. Weedwacker is my personal favorite amongst their many fine varieties. Also, Divine Reserve 8 if you can find it(*).

(03-09-2019 02:01 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  My favorite is Celis White - not at all "hoppy."

Celis is an Austin brewery.

Fun fact - the people who run Celis are the children of the man who started Hoegaarden brewery. Which explains why Celis white tastes so similar to the white beer from Hoegaarden - it’s pretty much the same beer.

Interesting history with that brewery.

(03-08-2019 11:23 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  Not sure when I will make it back to your area, but I would like to stay up to date with happenings as far as breweries and beer. What are some hot breweries? What are the style trends you see rising in your area? I need to know.

Sours are still popular and a brewery dedicated to them just opened in Houston. Everyone still seems to be making juicy/NE IPAs which I generally love.

But the big trend I see right now are the dry Brut-style IPAs which use a specific enzyme to break down sugars, which creates a drier, fizzier, super tasty beer.

(03-09-2019 08:00 AM)owl at the moon Wrote:  Well Owl Nation is migrating north next week to Frisco for the CUSA Basketball Tournament.

Holy Grail Pub (Preston @ Headquarters Drive) is a couple miles from The Star and is worth a visit for both selection and atmosphere.

Union Bear Brewing Co. is even closer (Sam Rayburn at Dallas North Tollway) but I have not yet visited it nor sampled their beer.
M
Once back in Houston, Saint Arnold’s (Texas’ first microbrewery (started by a Rice grad)) is an essential stop for a tour, lunch, and the sample room. Weedwacker is my personal favorite amongst their many fine varieties. Also, Divine Reserve 8 if you can find it(*).

The beer made in-house at Union Bear is pretty meh... Not bad, but nothing fabulous. Of their beer, I think the “no-coast IPA” is my favorite. They do have a huge selection of other local beers though, as well as a lot of Colorado breweries. The food and atmosphere are really good though so definitely worth a visit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i5k4I1AOEI

Bailsons is the place to go before and after games. On Bissonnet next to the townhomes that used the be Kay’s.

Celis is on the list purely for the history. American craft beer owes a great deal to the man for resurrecting witbier as a style.

Not sure where things are headed with the Brut IPAs but I have had a few and they were ok. Just ok though. Maybe that is the problem. And I have heard of Holy Grail from some Texan friends.

(03-09-2019 11:36 AM)CameramanJ Wrote:  Celis is on the list purely for the history. American craft beer owes a great deal to the man for resurrecting witbier as a style.

Not sure where things are headed with the Brut IPAs but I have had a few and they were ok. Just ok though. Maybe that is the problem. And I have heard of Holy Grail from some Texan friends.

For breweries down here, St. Arnold has really stepped their game up the last few years. I used to only be interested in their special releases, as their regular offerings were really blah. But they've turned the corner and have developed a number of high quality regular beers - my personal favorite being their Art Car IPA.

I'm also a huge fan of Holler, Eureka Heights, and Brash, which have really established themselves as the best breweries that came out of a batch that opened up a few years ago.

In Austin, you cant throw a Frisbee anywhere in city and not hit a small brewery.

(03-09-2019 03:32 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  In Austin, you cant throw a Frisbee anywhere in city and not hit a small brewery.

Sounds like a good drinking game to me

I like Celis as well. IPAs are like the "Impossible Burger" of beers... hip, seems like a good idea, but weird and with an odd, lingering aftertaste.

I'm partial to Tripels ... Real Ale Devil's Backbone is good, but not the best tripel out there.

One of my favorite brewers is Boulevard Brewing - they have several good beers... I've tried a few Bourbon Barrel Quad, Whiskey Barrel Stout, Sixth Glass, but want to try several of the others if I can find them.

(03-11-2019 12:52 PM)I45owl Wrote:  I like Celis as well. IPAs are like the "Impossible Burger" of beers... hip, seems like a good idea, but weird and with an odd, lingering aftertaste.

I'm partial to Tripels ... Real Ale Devil's Backbone is good, but not the best tripel out there.

One of my favorite brewers is Boulevard Brewing - they have several good beers... I've tried a few Bourbon Barrel Quad, Whiskey Barrel Stout, Sixth Glass, but want to try several of the others if I can find them.

Boulevard Tank 7 is my favorite strong Saison. The Calling is a serviceable DIPA. I've heard good things about their Bully Porter, so it is on my list of robust porters to try. I've been seeing a lot of their chocolate ale around in my area for some reason. Kinda curious about their Love Child sour series.

Got my hands on a four pack of this year's Boulevard Rye on Rye and I have to say that Templeton rye was a wise choice for the barrel aging of this strong ale. Obviously rye-forward but with a light caramel note and a bit of vanilla hiding in the finish. Pretty boozy at 12.9 but this gives it some versatility as far as pairing. my go-to would be a lightly-peppered steak (well-done or close). As for cheese, that should be fun to find out. I'm thinking it would stand up to something thick and funky. Maybe Stilton. The rye spiciness could possibly make it a decent match for Gorgonzola too. I'll label one or two of the remaining three for food pairing experiments, but one bottle is going in the cellar for a while.

(03-22-2019 06:40 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  Got my hands on a four pack of this year's Boulevard Rye on Rye and I have to say that Templeton rye was a wise choice for the barrel aging of this strong ale. Obviously rye-forward but with a light caramel note and a bit of vanilla hiding in the finish. Pretty boozy at 12.9 but this gives it some versatility as far as pairing. my go-to would be a lightly-peppered steak (well-done or close). As for cheese, that should be fun to find out. I'm thinking it would stand up to something thick and funky. Maybe Stilton. The rye spiciness could possibly make it a decent match for Gorgonzola too. I'll label one or two of the remaining three for food pairing experiments, but one bottle is going in the cellar for a while.

I like the way you think. Build your menu around a centerpiece Beer.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/04/bracket...Zsp5xw_pAE

Vote away - I'm sitting this one out.

Blue Moon
UFO Pale Ale
Allagash White

The theme is probably obvious.