Austin Beer Guide — Fall 2012

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Contents FROM THE EDITORS

In the weeks leading up to this issue my wife asked what would be this issue’s theme. “Theme? How about the same theme as all the others—try to deliver on some concepts we thought were good ideas while drinking a month or two before.” I get it, people like things in a nice package. And it’s a bonus if it’s relevant. So we present to you . . . the Campaign Issue. You’ll have to turn the page to see if our Obama/Romney brewmors made the final cut.

We kicked things off by partaking in the democratic process and inviting some non and novice beer drinkers out to cast their vote to help us find Austin’s perfect gateway beer (p. 20 ). While we put our panel through the wringer at times, they were able to come out with an undisputed winner. Thanks to them you now know what’s safe to order for your mom next time family comes to town.

We also visited with some of Austin’s homebrew heroes (p. 14) to learn more about their craft, see how much of their house has been overrun with stainless pots and glass fermenters, and find out how they are making an impact on the local and national scene. Aaron and I debated about whether these guys are more Libertarian or Tea Party (ask either side and they’ll tell you there is a difference).

And finally, because this is America and you have the freedom to abuse your liver ‘til your heart’s content (assuming you have someone to drive you home), we present the fall calendar of beer events (p. 26). Fall is an endless maze of festivals and parties. To help you figure out where it’s worth breaking commitments and damaging relationships, we’ve cut through the clutter to make our recommendations on the ones you can’t miss. Go crazy kids, #YOLO. -JS

Chris TroutmanJosh Spradling

Aaron ChamberlainShawn Phillips

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SEaSOn’S DRInkIng

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BONUS STAFF COVER DESIGN ................... Josh CockrellPHOTOGRAPHY .....................Casey MoorePROOFREADERS ...Sofia, Sarah, and Kim

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OVER a pInT

Fall EVEnTS

nEWS & BREWMORS

l Whip-in starts lobbying to be state’s first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary after popularity of 4:20 beer tappings .

l Michael Waters, formerly with Independence, reportedly excited about becoming Uncle Billy’s Barton Springs new head brewer, “bummed out” to shave beard to fit within UB’s corporate personal-hygiene guidelines.

l Edible Austin agrees to buy out Austin Beer Guide for $1300, a case of Lone Star, and two dozen free range, cage free quail eggs. At the last minute, ABG pulls out of deal learning that the eggs were in fact not free range, nor cage free.

l Lance Armstrong unable to participate in annual “Beer Town Austin vs Craft Austin” Austin Beer Guide Austin Beer Week bike pub crawl due to lifetime cycling ban.

l Hot on the heels of their app, Circle Brewing launches new website. Next steps include hiring a social media coordinator, digital publisher, and IT support staff. Brewing to continue as time permits.

l Jester King to forgo all “year round” beers and focus on making another fucking “must have” beer every goddamn week, wrecking grocery budgets state wide and prompting all wives to ask “didn’t you JUST buy this SAME beer last week?”

This is the news

austin Brewmors (brew·mor [broo-mer]: 1. a beer related story or statement in general circulation

without confirmation or certainty as to facts. 2. brewing gossip; hearsay)

OpEn anD SHuT

Lovejoys ended their long stint downtown as one of the most badass, hardest, and unique brew pubs around. They closed August 5. Even the Dive-bars-with-good-beer feature from last issue could not save them. Bummer. The dudes from Beer Bouquet and some other dudes are working towards opening Austin’s next brewery, Infamous Brewing Co. They are hoping to start selling beer this fall. John Brack (AKA JB) of Austin Homebrew Supply started new venture called Craft Beer Seminars.

SHakE up

Amos Lowe (head brewer at Uncle Billy’s Barton Springs) and Brian “Swifty” Peters (head brewer at UB on the Lake) are leaving to start Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company (ABGB), along with Mark Jensen, Curt Knoblock, Tim Stevens and Jill Knobloch. ABGB will be located in South . . . turn page, we got two pages of news!—>

Austin and their menu will be centered around pizza and salads with a focus on ingredients from local farms (and beer!). And who will fill the brew boots at the two Uncle Billy’s locations? Well, out at the lake Spencer Tielkemeier, previously of (512) Brewing, will take hold of the brewing beauty. Michael Waters left Independence to take over brewing duties at the Barton Springs location.

nEWS COnTInuED . . .

COMEBaCk kIDS

Celis Brewery (remember them?) is coming back to Austin. After years in the corporate beer desert and the passing of the beerly beloved Pierre Celis, Christine Celis (Pierre’s daughter) has plans to reopen the brewery in Austin soon. Details are sketchy and rumors abound, but a delicious witbier is surely in the mix.

Buy uS OuT

Local importer Artisanal Imports bought importing rights from SBS Imports, which includes some great beers like De Proef. Will this mean more beers for Austin? Probably not, but you never know.

MORE CanS

Austin Beerworks has signed a lease on more warehouse space, allowing them to store more cans in the nearish future. Why do you care? Expect seasonal cans (including Einhorn!) sometime next year. Need more cans? Ok: Sixpoint out of Brooklyn, NY recently hit the shelves as one of the more anticipated additions to the Texas market. Sure it’s not local, but when your cans look that good, who cares.

pInTHOuSE pIzza upDaTE

Pinthouse is probably open by now. Perhaps you’re reading this in Pinthouse. If so, raise your hand. The picture below was taken the day we sent this issue to press.

BaTHROOM REaDIng

The Texas Craft Brewers Guild published a study: Economic Impact of the Texas Craft Brewing Industry. It is a must read for any Texas beer fan. We haven’t read it, but you should. Point your browsers to texascraftbrewersguild.org right now.

SEaSOn’S DRInkIng

SO WE ASKED OUrSELvES , “WHAT’S THE definitive fall/autumn beer?” Oktoberfest? No, too topical and it’s more of a state of mind than a beer style. Pumpkin or spiced ales? Hmm, too 90s. What about browns or ambers? Possibly, but they’re a little more year-round and we learned our lesson when we named IPA the spring beer. So after a few rounds of deliberation and some healthy democratic filibustering, the majority settled on porters.

Yes, porters. Not stouts, porters (and according to the pros we talked to, defining the difference is as simple as nailing jello to the wall). Yes, porters; they’re roasty, malty, sessionable, abominable, robust, baltic, common, complimented by coffee, peppers, smoked malt, sour malt, and even crawfish tails. So here’s hoping we actually get a few days of Fall and if we do, be sure to enjoy them with porter in glass. —Chris Troutman

Fall Into porters

What makes your porter special and/or different?

JEFF YOUNG Black Star Co-opRecalcitrant Dockhand. Rich, complex roast, maltiness. Uses molasses to bind and balance the many flavors. ERIK OGERSHOK real Ale Brewing Co. Our base porter is a pretty traditional modern robust porter recipe. What we do to it after fermentation is what makes it different. We make as many different versions that our twisted brewing minds can come up with. Adding coffee and dry hop-ping are only two examples.

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain The porter that we’ve been brewing at Hops & Grain utilizes our in house lager yeast strain. It’s more on the order of a baltic porter with rich coffee and chocolate notes and a touch of raisin with a clean, lager finish.

MICHAEL GRAHAMAustin Beerworks Our porter is special and different because it’s a schwarzbier.

JAKE MADDUx Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. We brew a smoked porter with the malt smoked at Franklin BBQ. The flavor of a smoked porter has a lot to do with the type of wood used to smoke the grain and Frank-lin’s uses an aged post oak that doesn’t impart any astrin-gency, which is a good thing.

What is your favorite food to pair with a good porter?

ERIK OGERSHOK real Ale Brewing Co. Due to porter’s complexity you can pair with many dif-ferent foods. Cheese, check. Shellfish, check. Chocolate check. Porter float, check.

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Not really down for mixing my porter with food.

JOHN MCINTOSHBarber Shop Bar A peanut butter and jelly sandwich goes very well with a porter.

BRIAN SMITTLEThirsty Planet Brewing Co.Depends on the porter. For example I would pair our

Franklin Smoked Porter with a rib eye.

What’s your favorite commer-cial porter besides your own?

ERIK OGERSHOK real Ale Brewing Co.Geary’s London Porter, Fuller’s London Porter, Alas-kan Smoked Porter, Odell Cutthroat Porter.

JOSH HARE Hops & GrainAnchor Porter.

MICHAEL GRAHAMAustin Beerworks (512)’s Pecan Porter is great. I also really like Edmund Fitzgerald from Great Lakes.

JOHN MCINTOSHBarber Shop Bar Cutthroat Porter from Odell.

BRIAN SMITTLEThirsty Planet Brewing Co. My wife and I are huge fans of the Alaskan Smoked Porter. We had a very fun trip to their brewery a few years back. We rented bikes to get there and after one or six smoked porters we had to find a cab to take us and our rented bikes back.

JAKE MADDUx Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. Alaska Brewing Co. Smoked Porter. It’s truly a world-class beer.

When does a porter become a stout? What’s the difference?

JEFF YOUNG Black Star Co-opI try to distinguish the two with stouts having astrin-gency from roasted barley and porters do not. However, nowadays, it’s really just distinguished by what the brewer calls it—porter or stout. We did a blind tasting one time where you had to pick whether the beer was a porter or a stout. The average of people being correct was 50%. So, we concluded it didn’t matter what you called it, what was in it, or what the brewer called it; it just mat-ters if you enjoy it.

ERIK OGERSHOK real Ale Brewing Co. They are related, but I am a strict believer that the differ-ence is roasted barley. That should never go into porter.

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain A porter becomes a stout when you space out whilst weighing out your specialty grains and end up with way too much dark malt. Scenario two could involve the afore-mentioned space out but this time you found some extra roasted barley in the back of the mill room that needs to be used. Voila, you know have a stout. And that’s a scientific fact.

MICHAEL GRAHAMAustin Beerworks Stouts tend to be darker, drier, more astringent, and less hoppy. Stouts use roasted barley and porters typically

don’t. But there are a ton of subcategories to both styles and they overlap. A porter becomes a stout on BeerAd-vocate.

BRIAN SMITTLEThirsty Planet Brewing Co. When the roasted barley characteristic becomes the more dominant flavor.

JAKE MADDUx Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. Stouts began life as a porter but generally had a higher alcohol. The name changed to stout porters then eventually just became known as stout when porter fell out of vogue. Today, they’re nearly inter-changeable to most brewers.

How do you feel about using additional ingredients to flavor porters (coffee, pecans, smoked malts, yada yada)?

JEFF YOUNG Black Star Co-op Porters are probably the most versatile beer style. From Recalcitrant Dock-hand, we make Rebellious Dockhand (raspberries and sour-mashed), Cantanker-ous Dockhand (chili blend with cacao nibs), Crotchety Dockhand (oats and coffee), and the secret Redonkulous Dockhand (???). So, you might say I’m all for addition-al ingredients in porters . . . as long as you can get the base beer correct . . .

ERIK OGERSHOK real Ale Brewing Co. As long as it compliments the beer, throw it in.

JOSH HARE Hops & GrainHell yeah, throw it all in. This IS Texas after all. We’re working on a porter recipe right now that involves black licorice, currants, beets, crawfish tails and just a touch

of ginger. Then we are going to dry-hop it with jicama at a rate of 20 pounds per barrel, should be rad.

MICHAEL GRAHAMAustin Beerworks Like when I used to climb the rope in gym class.

JOHN MCINTOSHBarber Shop Bar Experimentation is fine, but a well made porter is such a treat, I don’t think it needs additions.

JAKE MADDUx Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. I love to add other things into porters, they carry other flavors very well. It’s a great canvass.

What’s the most outrageous porter recipe you’ve ever brewed?

ERIK OGERSHOK real Ale Brewing Co.We made firkins of Ghost Face Melter. It was our base porter that we added cacao nibs, smoked poblanos and jalapeños, and ghost chilies. We have also added obscene amounts of coffee to our por-ter in firkins as well. Oh and we can’t leave out that we have added bacon as well.

MICHAEL GRAHAMAustin Beerworks I once made a homebrew batch with 100% of the ingre-dients farmed by child labor. I also added clippings of por-nographic magazines during secondary fermentation.

JAKE MADDUx Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. I’ve made porters and added in things like mole spices, chipotle peppers and figs. My biggest swing and a miss was with burnt ends from Frank-lin. Waste of good meat but a good experiment.

CelebratingAmerican Craft

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BEER | WINE | FOOD | COCKTAILS

We spent one of the first nice evenings of the 2012 autumn season out in the Thirsty Planet biergarten, or beer-orarium as it came to be known later in the evening, with the always enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and hospitable Jake Maddux and Mike Haiges. Use the QR code to link directly to our podcast page.

aBg pODCaST

We’re better than most magazines; we also have to keep day jobs.

Ok, queue the techno music.

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podcastin’ With Thirsty planet (give That planet a glass of Water already!)

The most common wizard has that big beard.

I think we got a QR code floating around out there.

From the Mind of pinthouse Joe . . .NOT LONG AGO I FOUND MySELF AT that place where 6th Street ends and life begins - talking shop and drinking beer. After a couple pints, Josh Hare and I began discussing the culture of craft beer. As the afternoon progressed, our discussion began to focus on the importance of the culture surrounding craft beer and how we, as brewers in Austin, both go about maintaining and advancing it . . . but let’s back up.

The guys at Austin Beer Guide recently asked if I would write this issue’s Brewer’s Brain. They proposed it as a good opportunity to introduce myself to all of you, seeing as the issue would be coming out right around the time Pinthouse Pizza would be opening (my fingers are crossed as I write this, hoping the home stretch of construction went smoothly and you’re actually reading this at Pinthouse!). So, for the past couple weeks I’ve sat looking at a blank word document thinking about how to introduce myself to all of you, and it finally hit me: that conversation with Josh, about the culture of craft beer . . . it was this whole “craft beer culture” thing that drew me into this industry in the first place and what ultimately drew me down here to Austin.

When it comes down to it I am very fortunate to even be a part of this industry. I was simply a passionate homebrewer, coming out of grad school, when I started volunteering at Odell Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Colorado. Luckily they ended up hiring me and I eventually worked my way into the Head Brewer role. While there I had the great fortune of learning about recipe development and process management from some of craft beer’s pioneers: Doug Odell and Brendan McGivney. I gained a respect for the English tradition of brewing and the importance of drinkability and balance in a complex and flavorful beer,

while also learning that as an American craft brewer we are not limited by style guidelines or traditions like some other brewers. I also learned that above all else craft beer is a collaborative endeavor; rarely are successful attempts done individually. It’s always more fun to develop a beer with fellow, like-minded artists. More than that, though, it takes the support of an entire community to grow, and support the future growth and success, of our industry. This is the essence of craft beer culture.

It’s exciting to see how the entire community of Austin brewers and beer enthusiasts share this vision of craft beer culture. Since I’ve arrived in town, so many brewers have reached out to offer their help, advice, and support for our project. A special thanks to Austin Beerworks, Hops and Grain, Twisted x (we will give your mill back soon, I promise!) and Thirsty Planet for all the help, advice, hop storage, water discussions, guest brewing and lots of beer! Thanks to all of the brewers in and around Austin for welcoming us into the community, showing us around your breweries, often on short notice, and for making tasty beer! A lot of local beer was consumed in the build out of Pinthouse Pizza and we look forward to drinking a lot more local beer with y’all!

Joe Mohrfeld is head brewer at Pinthouse Pizza on Burnet Road (hopefully open now).

BREWER’S BRaIn

Words by Chris TroutmanPhotos by Casey Moore

H MeBrew Heroes!

AS WE ALL KNOW, AUSTIN IS rIPE WITH BEEr. ENOUGH SO TO WArrANT A GUIDE. (Austin Beer Guide, that is. Beware of imitators.) But unbeknownst to many of the ex-ceptionally crafted local beer swilling masses, we are also sitting on a national hotbed of homebrewers. Seriously, Austin is like a sleeper cell of religiously fanatical homebrew-ers ready and willing to take zymurological jihad to homebrew competitions across the nation.

This year alone, Austin is home to the 2012 National Homebrew Conference Ninkasi award winner, a 2011 Sam Adams Longshot winner, and at least half a dozen pro-am win-ners whose beers will be poured at the Great American Beer Fest in Denver, CO.

You may ask why we are highlighting Austin’s homebrew scene. Well, we believe that the quality of our fair city’s craft beer scene is directly related to, indebted to, and some-what dependent on Austin’s vibrant homebrew culture.

If you’ve even paid half attention, you may have noticed that a significant amount of the folks brewing the beer we all enjoy today have history in Austin’s homebrew culture, either as a Zealot, Austin Homebrew Supply (AHS) employee, or just that persistent guy showing up at events and tastings with bottles of his brew in hand ready to share.

Homebrewing is nothing new in our city. AHS has been an outpost for the thirsty creative whom have taken it upon themselves to create what they can’t buy or think they

can make better for the past 20 years and has been homebrewing’s biggest proponent in Austin since Jimmy Carter.

“Since I bought Austin Homebrew Supply at the end of 1999, the quality of ingredients have improved dramatically and the number of homebrewers in Aus-tin has grown dramatically,” says AHS owner, Forrest Rogness. “The beer culture in Austin is really hot right now. This has had a direct impact on the increase of people starting to make their own beer.”

Austin is also home to the Austin Zealots (Zymur-gic Enthusiasts of Austin Loosely Organized Through Suds) and the nearby Texas Carboys (Round Rock) homebrew clubs; both of which show very well in the statewide and national competitions.

So we thought it was high time that some of Austin’s great homebrew folk get some recognition for the great beers they’ve been making. We’ve profiled a few of the several local homebrewers that have made some pretty significant contributions to our city’s great beer scene.

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Best Known For: Uncle Billy's 2012 Kellerbier Pro-Am SchwarzbierFavorite Beer to Brew: I enjoy brewing all kinds of beer, but I especially love making styles that age well and watching them improve over the months and years.Homebrewing Highlight: My proudest homebrewing moment was when my wife and I had over 50 gallons of homebrew on tap at our wedding. We had helles, pale ale, Belgian quadrupel, Vienna lager, cider, oatmeal stout, weizenbock, a pumpkin ale brewed by our close friend and officiant, Jamie Snelson, and a special "Wedding Blend" of imperial stout, English barleywine and Jamie's schwarzbier.Pro Tip: Proper fermentation temperature, pitching rate and yeast health are huge. Brew-ers only make the wort, so we need to make sure the yeast have everything they need to make beer the way we want them to.

CHRIS RauSCHuBER Making beer since 2005

Best Known For: 2011 Sam Adam’s Longshot Dark Night in MunichFavorite Beer to Brew: I really can’t comment to one style of beer, I pretty much like them all, if they’re done right. And I think that’s the trick, beer is a wonderful product if it’s made properly, and is drinkable. That’s why we all love it so.Homebrewing Highlight: That’s simple, last year I won the Sam Adam’s Long Shot competition. That by far is my greatest accomplishment as a home-brewer, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my lovely wife and the Zealots.Pro Tip: First and foremost is sanita-tion, but that should go without saying. After that, temperature control makes a world of difference. Then I would say yeast pitching rate, quality of ingredi-ents and water.

COREy MaRTIn Making beer since 1988

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H MeBrew Heroes!

Best Known For: National Homebrew Conference 2012 Ninkasi WinnerFavorite Beer to Brew: Right now, I’m really into sour beers. I’ve been playing around with sour mashing and have done six batches so far this year (with a seventh souring as I speak). I’m also a big fan of smoked beers. Every year I do a batch of Imperial Rauchbier.Homebrewing Highlight: My biggest accomplishment as a homebrewer is definitely win-ning the Ninkasi award at this year’s National Homebrew Competition. A close second is winning Homebrewer of the Year on the Lone Star Circuit last year.Pro Tip: Practice, practice, practice. As with most things, you get better at brewing by doing it. The more you brew, the better you get at the process and the better your results will be.

Best Known For: Funkwerks Pro-Am Belgian Witbier flavored with various citrus and corianderFavorite Beer to Brew: My favorite styles to brew are big beers, 7+% alcohol and lagers. I also enjoy decoction mashing.Homebrewing Highlight: In 2011, Pam (Bradley) and I won homebrew team of the year for the second time in the Lone Star Circuit. In 2010 I won homebrew team of the year with Jay McEvers. Pam and I also won three best of shows in the Lone Star Circuit that year.Pro Tip: Sanitation, temp control, pitch rate, water treatment . . .

MaRk SCHOppE Making beer since 1993

kEITH BRaDlEy Making beer since 1993

Best Known For: Flix Brewhouse fruit beer Pro-Am Mango HefeweizenFavorite Beer to Brew: That is dif-ficult to narrow down but Pale Ale and Double IPA are what we brew the most, but we love brewing all sorts of Belgian styles, plus German-style light lagers.Homebrewing Highlight: Winning a second place medal in the National Homebrew Competition in 2012 for our Scotch Ale.Pro Tip: Most important thing to make good beer at home is sanitation and temperature control for fermentation.

Dan anD JOEl DEWBERRy Making beer since 1996

Jeff Stuffings, Owner Jester King Craft BreweryA friend of mine from school introduced me to homebrewing. He shared his homebrew with me and let me borrow his equipment. It wasn’t long until I headed to Austin Homebrew Supply to get my own gear. John Brack from AHS sold me my first kit and went over the basics with me. From there, I spent a lot of time reading homebrewing books, listening to The Brewing Network, and learning how to brew through trial and error in my kitchen.

I’ve found that recipe development and creativity at the homebrew level has translat-ed well into commercial brewing. An under-standing of how ingredients and flavors work together can be had by brewing five gallons at a time. Inspiration and creativity on paper must pass the test of turning into good home-brew before making the jump to a commercial batch. This is especially true in Texas where it’s illegal for a production brewery to have a small system that makes experimental beer for sale at its tasting room.

Every beer we brew at Jester King begins its life as homebrew. We still do all our recipe development on my original homebrew setup. Most recently I spent a lot of time work-ing on our rendition of an ancient style called Gotlandsdricka. I homebrewed it over and over again to dial in the level of smoke, bitterness and botanicals. The scale up from five gallons to 930 gallons wasn’t a perfect match, but it was sufficiently close that we were happy we took the time to really dial in the homebrewed version.

Nate Seale, Head Brewer/Yeast Wrangler (512) BrewingI started getting seriously interested in craft beer in the mid-90s after discovering beers like Sierra Nevada, Franziskaner, etc. The first time I ever tasted Guinness was actually my big “aha!” moment. I started trying every style and brand I could get my hands on, and read and reread Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion more times than I can remember, and by the end of 2000 I had decided to try and make my own. I got a starter homebrew kit and a few days later brewed my first batch (Austin Home-brew’s Steamroller Stout for the record – it was delicious). From there, I was off and running and started brewing like a maniac.

I spent about 14½ years in the restaurant industry, which certainly had its rewards, but by 2008 I had gotten pretty burnt out on the business and was increasingly feeling like I was wasting every day I spent not in the brewing business. So I quit my job and started trying to find a job at one of the local breweries, and eventually with a little cosmic intervention I got in touch with Kevin Brand, who was just start-ing (512). We hit it off and he put me to work, and that was that.

Very early on – I want to say the third or fourth recipe I ever wrote and only my fifth or sixth batch overall – I decided I wanted to try my hand at a Brown Ale. Being pretty inexpe-rienced, I basically screwed up the math and ended up with a Brown Ale that was much stronger than I meant for it to be, but serendip-itously delicious. Then in 2009 when we needed a new fall seasonal, that beer, with a few minor tweaks, became (512) BRUIN.

HoMeBrew to proBrew

FINDINg THe peRFeCT

gaTeWaY BeeR

WE ALL HAD THE ONE. IT EvENTUALLy CrOSSED US OvEr TO SOMETHING MOrE BITTEr, roastier, tart and maybe funky. Without it we may still be drinking the same American light lager 10, 15, 20 years after college. The gateway beer.

More flavorful but not offensive, the gateway beer opens your mind beyond beers you regularly see packaged 24 (or 30) at a time. There are plenty of national ones you may find easily at any decent hotel bar or TGI Friday’s, but we wanted to find Austin’s definitive gateway beer. Remember, keep it local.

At this point our palates can’t taste anything that’s not barrel-aged, sour, or over 9% ABV so we thought it was best to recruit a few friends that don’t drink beer or only do so when it’s free, cheap, or easily accessible, to be the judge.

And we may write about, drink, and even brew our own beer, but really, what do we know? We needed help. So we headed down to Rainey Street to hit up Banger’s where certified cicerone and professional beer wrangler Chris Booth pulled off a flight of six Central Texas beers from their 100+ taps.

We’ll take a quick detour here to say that we realize six is pretty limited considering the growing number of Austin

Words byJosh SpradlingPhotos by Casey Moore

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breweries and everyone has their own preferences, but we knew our panelists could only take so much.

We set our volunteers to work asking them to make comments and rate their favorites. They choked their way through most and found solace in a few. When all was said and done there was a clear winner, but it seemed far from surprising.

THe CONTeNDeRS:

Name: West, aka “The Outlier”Beer History: “My first time to try a beer I was a little kid that wanted to try what my dad was drinking. He gave me a sip and I detested it. Next time I had a beer I was 22 years old.”

Drink of choice: Mexican martini

Name: Stephanie, aka “Awkward beer girl”Beer History: “I’ve only crossed over from fruity, girly drinks to beer in the last couple of years.”Drink of choice: Mexican beer (Modelo or Pacifico)

512 Wit (Witbier)

Austin Beerworks Pearl Snap (German Pilsner)

Austin Beerworks Peacemaker (Extra Pale)

Live Oak Big Bark (Amber Lager)

real Ale Fireman’s #4 (American Blonde)

Thirsty Planet yellow Armadillo (American Wheat)

MeeT THe paNeLISTS:

Name: James, aka “Drunk After This Tasting”Beer History: “I started drinking anything people had (read: free), then I met some drinkers that introduced me to tastier beers. ”Drink of Choice: Chimay (Ed note: We later heard he

discovered when it was flowing freely at a friend’s house)

Name: Sarah, aka “No Thanks”Beer History: “Had a Corona in college, never drank beer again.”Drink of Choice: “I tend to order the most expensive thing on the menu.” If unsure, vodka and cranberry juice.

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WINNER:real Ale’s Fireman’s #4. It was the only one not to find a hater or two in the group. “I

could actually drink more than one sip. Victory!,” one drinker remarked. What more does a brewer want to hear? Some of the other contenders did have advocates, but in the end they couldn’t make the cut.

We could have possibly guessed this would be the people’s choice, but at least this gave us an excuse to leave the house, check out one of the newest craft beer bars in town, and get some great pics and memorable quotes.

FINDINg THe peRFeCT

gaTeWaY BeeR

TaSTINg NOTeS: THE GOOD:“I would drink it if it was available at a party.”“Oops, I drank it all.”“I would definitely drink if ordered for me.”“Tastes more ‘beerier.’”“This one tastes more like what a beer should taste like.”“When I think of Al Bundy reaching for a beer, I imagine this is what he is reaching for.”“I would buy this.”“Very intriguing. Lots of flavors going on in this one.”“Beers are getting better, I would buy this for sure.”“This is the beer I would have on hand and save for guests.”“Delicious!”“No weird bitter flavor. I would order again.”“I could actually drink more than one sip. Victory!”“I could maybe drink this. Is this Lone Star?”“I would drink it because it reminds me of Dos xx. I wish I had a lime or whatever you are supposed to put in this.”

THE BAD:“Can I have a Lone Star now?””Not my bag.”“Has a funky aftertaste.”“Made my belly button pucker.”“Kinda reminds me of Christmas.”“A little ‘too much’ beer for me. This shit will put hair on your chest.”“Probably not gonna order this one.”“Strong aftertaste. It’s like a trick where it tastes okay at first and then sneaks up from behind and gives you a wedgie.”“Intriguing, but not in a good way.”

THE UGLy:“Oh, that was so bad. Need more of #2 to wash that that horrible taste out of my mouth!”“I don’t even . . . words cannot describe.”“When is it going to taste better? This has the worst aftertaste.”“Strange form of torture. Like eating rubber.”“Not a gateway beer, this would turn someone off beer.”“Would not finish if it were free.”

Any Austin beer drinker whose been around the block a time or two knows that fall is beer season in Texas’ capital. As the weather chills and the leaves begin to drop, your beer

calendar begins to fill up quickly. Besides the ubiquitous Oktoberfests (celebrated in Sep-tember in Germany, yet October in Tx . . .) there are quiet a few weekend-engulfing worthy

events this time of year. Here are a few of our favorites in calendar order.

FLYINg SauCeR FaLL BeeR FeaSTSaturday, Sept 29 1pm-7pm Triangle Park, 4800 Guadalupe St.“40 breweries and 60 craft beers”Tickets $40 at gatewww.beerfeast2012.comThis will be the Saucer’s 5th Fall Beer Fest/Feast since their landing (pun in-tended) in Austin as many years ago. The FS flexes their corporate chain muscle to pull in some incredible brews from all over the map. As the years have gone by, these pros have figured out how to avoid too long lines, empty plenty of pot-ties, and keep everybody mostly happy. After all, it’s a beer festival!

SEP29

TexaS CRaFT BReWeRS FeSTIvaLSaturday, October 6 2pm-8pmFiesta Gardens, Austin“Best Beer Event 2011, clear winner in the category”- UsTickets $20-$77 pre-orderwww.texascraftbrewersfestival.orgVoted Best Beer Event 2011 by you, our readers, and us, the editorial staff. We missed out on the original runs, but since the fes-tival’s resurrection in 2011 it’s kicked more ass than the 1992 Dream Team. Yeah, it’s that good. Full disclosure, we’re an official media sponsor this year, so yeah, we’re a bit biased. But if WE think it’s good enough to hang our brand on, then it must be legit. Trust us, we don’t steer you wrong [that often].

OCT 06

Fall EVEnT CalEn’DuH

Words by ChriS TrouTMan

HOpS & gRaIN 1 YeaR aNNIveRSaRY FIeSTaSunday, October 7Hops & Grain Brewery “Twelve different beers on tap, proper Beer Mile race, food trucks, music and some gypsy aerial dancers, just to round out the vibe.”Tickets on sale in Septemberwww.hopsandgrain.comIt’ll be one year since Mr. Josh Hare and crew have been making their yummy well crafted beers at the end of East 6th, and they are looking to celebrate. Sure it’s the day after the TCBF, but whatever. You’re not a pussy, right? With the Green House beers as testament, H&G are more than prolific at creating some tasty one offs, and we’re sure they will have a fair share pouring at their celebration.

OCT07

NXNW, October 27–28, nxnwbrew.com/events/oktoberfestScholz Garten, October 27, scholzgarten.net

Dig Pub, 5th Anniversary, October 27, thedigpub.comZax, date unannounced at press time, zaxaustin.com/events

Each O-fest has it’s own flavor, and you’ll only know them if you attend all. Yeah, we maybe missed one here or there, but you get the general idea that there are a lot of them. We mainly highlighted the ones that would most likely pour better/local beers. Whatever, you don’t go for the beer, you go for the brats, steins, and the opportu-nity to dust off your lederhosen.

O-Fests

Fall EVEnT CalEn’DuH auSTIN BeeR WeeK

October 20-28The City of AustinPrices/tickets vary per individual eventwww.austinbeerweek.comEver thought, “Austin’s got more beer than just one night can handle. Maybe a week could do it justice”? Well wonder no more. This will be the third ABW and if we may use the past two years to judge, this one will be fantastic. You can expect a healthy dose of special tappings, events, brewers, new beers, food pairings, dinners, parties, movies, BIKE PUB CrAWLS, beer olympics, etc., popping up all over the city for the week. It’s hella fun and totally worth a few weekday morning hangovers.

OCT 20–28

JeSTeR KINg SeCOND aNNuaL FuNK’N SOuR FeSTOctober 20Jester King Brewery Tickets are $30 and include a Funk’n Sour Fest t-shirt, a Jester King stemware glass, and a tour of the brewerywww.jesterkingbrewery.com/eventsThis event may not be for everyone, but if it is for you, it’s the event of your year. For a while now Jester King has been using their tasting room to dispense some mighty fine beers from around the globe that aren’t easily found in Texas in ad-dition to their own rambunctious, delicious concoctions on a weekly basis every Saturday. Well, this event takes those Saturday events up to eleven. Tickets will sell out for this fast, so run, don’t walk to acquire yours.

OCT 20

DRaugHT HOuSe puB aND BReWeRY 44TH aNNIveRSaRY paRTYOctober 27Purchase tickets for special beers, by the pint/pitcher at the barwww.draughthouse.comThis party started it all. Craft beer as conceived in the back of a Subaru Forester in the DH parking lot after one of these parties back in the 90s, so they say. Josh Wilson and company bring out more rare, one-of-a-kind, bizarre, exceptional, and debut beers at this event than most bars do in their entire life. No fucking joke man. Here’s the trick to getting the most out of a Draught House Anniversary party: come on time, bring a chair, get in line for the rare stuff and enjoy the afternoon and 70s funk courtesy of DJ Jubal. Then leave, take a shower, get some water, maybe a nap, some proteins, and then come back with plans to call for a ride home.

OCT 27

Tickets Available ONLINE& at the

Gate.TexasCraftBrewersFestival.org

Follow on Twitter: @TxBrewersFest

OCTOBER 6Fiesta Gardens2-8 pm / VIP @ noon*

TEXAS CRAFTBREWERSFESTIVAL

* VIP includes intimate 2-Hour Brewer Meet & Greet Session!

BenefittingAustin Sunshine

Camps

Produced by: Established 1928

In our opinion, the Texas Craft Brewers Festival is Austin’s undisputed best beer event by far. Just check out last year's readers’ poll—everyone loved it the most. And this year is looking to be even more fantastic with the lineup expanding to over 30 breweries and well over 100 different MADE IN TExAS beers.

With that many options, we thought perhaps you’d appreciate a guide. Please allow us to humbly offer our services. These are just our suggestions and opinions, please explore beyond our list the plethroa of fine Texas–made beers available only one time a year at this incredible event.

geT IT WHILe THe geTTINg IS gOOD:Hops & Grain French Oak Cabernet Barrel-Aged Pale Dog

Jester King Whiskey Barrel Rodeo

real Ale Brewing 4-Squared (cask)

Thirsty Planet ChiGoatle (Amber with Peppers)

FeSTIvaL FIRSTS (OR CLOSe TO FIRST ReLeaSe)(512) Brewing FOUR

Circle Brewing SMOKIN' BEECH (Rauchbier)

Jester King Gotlandsdricka

rogness Brewing Boomslang IPL

real Ale Brewing Brewer's Cut (Black Quad)

OuTSIDe auSTIN CITY LIMITS:Deep Ellum Rocktoberfest

Wicked Beaver Timber Ale

ranger Creek Red Headed Stranger (American Red Ale)

No Label Black Wit-O (Dark Wheat Ale)

New republic Sklylight Dunelweizen

aBg’s guide to TCBFADVERTORIAL

BEER & lOaTHIng

We ROLLINIt’s Friday. You just skipped out of work an hour early. What do you do? You go on the Ultimate TGIF Pub Crawl! The plan was to scam some company to give us a limo for the night in exchange for a free plug or two. We had grand plans of pulling up to Austin Beerworks in a stretched hummer (equipped with a hotub in back, of course), opening the door, and rolling out a red carpet right up to the taps. That would have been ultimate, but alas, it was not meant to be. We were unable to secure the limo. Instead we had to squeeze five dudes into my father-in-law’s Saab. Sure it was a tight squeeze, but come on it’s got turbo. That’s sort of ultimate.

The crew of five was Josh, Chris, Casey, JJ (my new brother-in-law), and me. Our arrival at Austin Beerworks was a bit more humble than we planned, slipping in the side door and groveling for beer tickets. Austin Beerworks has regular Friday Happy Hours. Space is limited, so you need to RSVP for tickets. Follow them on Facebook

for RSVP info. Einhorn was still on, so you know most of us had a couple pints of that. Beerworker Adam told us all about their new seasonalish beer, Super Awesome Lager. It wasn’t ready for sampling, but it was on tap a week later. We looked at their new tanks, stood in a circle, and finished our beers. Before leaving we tried finding where they hide the unicorn (see page 40), but only found a troll, three elves, and a wizard. Our next stop was going to be Adelbert’s but they were having a private event that Friday. Most Fridays plan to head there next for a tour and tasting. Instead we were off to C. Hunts.

ICe ICe BaBYYou know C. Hunts. You read about it in our Dives-with-good-beer feature in the last issue. We loved it so much, we couldn’t stay away. Best thing about C. Hunts—no not the giant grape vine, though that is nice—it’s the ice. Lots of ice. Ice trough built into bar to set your bottle in, ice in the urinals to pee on, and endless ice refills on your buckets of beer. It never ends. We picked a nice spot in the

ultimate TgIF pub CrawlWords by AArON CHAMBErLAIN Photos by CASEy MOOrE

AUSTIN BEErWOrKS

sun, next to the parking lot. We bumped into Casey’s brother while there, though I’m still not sure if he was really his brother. I always assume people are lying to me. At the time Casey’s “brother” left, Bryan (from your favor-ite podcast: ours.) joined us. Just in time too, JJ was about to polish off the last Lone Star. I had to snatch it out of his hands and pass it to Bryan. I was trying to show my dominance over him, as he just married my baby sister and he was in MY town. I don’t think it worked. Plus he is a 6’7” Coast Guarder. He didn’t blink.

TRY THe CHIpSWhen we got to Black Star it was packed. Both lines were peeking out the door and few tables were open. Some would complain about this, but I like the lines. They give me time to decide on what I want to eat (porto-bello or veggie burger? ) and drink (hoppy or malty?). When we all figured out our orders we had magically transported to the front of the line. And, uhhhhh, nothing really interest-ing happened at Black Star. My portobello and chips was tasty and my Narcissus was fantastic. Everyone else seemed happy. We left for Sunrise.

I’LL TaKe THaT BeeRMaybe your asking yourself, “Why are they going to a gas station on a pub crawl?” First, we needed brewskis for Pinballz Arcade, our final destination, which is a BYOB joint. Sec-ond, because Sunrise is not your average gas station. They are one of the best bottle shops in North Austin. As I entered Sunrise I saw a bottle of the rare and coveted Deschutes Black Butte xxIV and shouted back to the other guys, “Hey they still got some xxIV!”

Sam (Sunrise’s cheerful beer pusher) quickly corrected me, “No, that is his beer,” pointing at some dude behind the counter.

“Oh, ok.”We went to the back corner of Sunrise

to choose our beverages of choice. Cans were popular choices for the group. JJ grabbed a big ole bottle of Adelbert’s Triple B, which is over 9%.

As we walked up to pay for our beers, Sam asked me if I wanted the Black Butte xxIV.

“I thought it was his.”“Hey buddy, let them have the beer,”

Sam told the dude. “Are you gonna get more of it?”“Maybe.”Dude shrugged.

C. HUNTS

BLACK STAr CO-OP

SUNrISE SAM

“Come on.”He passed it across the counter to me.

I felt bad buying it, but I wasn’t going against Sam. We waved goodbye and went to pack our cooler.

pINBaLL WIZaRDWe pulled into the Pinballz parking lot and decided to split a Ghost Face Killah, a beer made with six different peppers. Chris carefully poured out six equal pours of the chile beer. We clunked our cups together and downed the spicy mess. We complained about the burn, except for JJ. He thought nothing of it and moved onto popping open his Tripel B. Hardcore.

If you’ve never been to Pinballz you should make plans to go tonight. You can bring your own beer in (one at a time, fyi) and play awesome video games, pinball ma-chines, skee ball, prize claws, etc. They have everything. My only complaint is that there are no games under two tokens. Josh was the hero of the hour(s), racking up tons of tickets and buying each of us little gifts.

ONe LaST ONeYeah, this is where the loathing begins. Bryan and Casey were smart. They ducked out early after Pinballz, but the rest of us decided to forge on to Draught House for one more beer. But finally (finally!), I was able to take down JJ. He looked miserable at DH. He was either sleepy or drunk, or both. We gave him the true Beer and Loathing experience. First we bring you up and then drop you way, way down. If you are still reading, let me give you one last bit of information for the Ultimate TGIF Pub Crawl. Skip this stop. Come to DH the next day. Go home. Your wife is waiting for you and you probably forgot to feed the damn hermit crabs.

Kevin Brand moved back to Austin from California in early 2008 to start the brewery and began brewing beer that summer. Brand’s initial lineup was the Wit, Pale, and IPA, but quickly added the Pecan Porter to the year round line up after the enormous reception it received as the first winter seasonal.

Currently (512)’s beers are only available on draft but they have released a limited number of bottles of Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter (along with Wild Bear and THrEE) in the past and sprinkled them around town.

They just celebrated their four year anniversary with the release of FOUr, an English Strong Ale. We suggested a Quad in the last issue, but we guess they didn’t read that issue.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . .Kevin Brand (Owner), Nate Seale (Brewer)

estaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summer 2008tours. . . . . . . . . . . Some Saturdays with RSVP url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.512brewing.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

(512) palestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Pale AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . .Drinkable, hoppy, quenchingFood it chases down well . . . . . . Burgers,

chiles rellenos, fish and chips

(512) Ipastyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoppy, citrusy, solidFood it chases down well . . . . .Spicy thai,

tex-mex, italian, ALL pizza, BBQ

(512) pecan porterstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PorteraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . .Full bodied, roasty, pecansFood it chases down well . . . .Red meats,

ice cream, chocolate

CuRREnT SEaSOnal

(512) Tripelstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TripelaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Slightly spicy, dryFood it chases down well . . . . . . . .Grilled

chilean sea bass, clams in butter sauce, pork belly pizza pie

(512) Bruinstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Imperial Brown AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . .Roasty, nutty, slightly sweetFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . Grilled

sausages, fish

COMIng SOOn

(512) FOuRstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . English Strong AleimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

WE RECOMMEnD

Pecan Porter, Bruin, Tripel

*See full listing of available beers at www.austinbeerguide.com

(512) Brewing Co. BREWERIES

Unique Ales Brewed in South Austin Local, Domestic & Organic Ingredients

Hand Crafted & Self Distributed Family Owned & Operated

Currently available: (512) TRIPELNext up: (512) FOUR 5

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ABG.FallAd PRESS3.pdf 1 9/11/12 4:17 PM

In early 2010, Scott Hovey was ripe for a mid-life career change and when he looked for inspiration he found it in the eclectic and exciting life of his deceased older brother, Adelbert. Inspired by his brother’s willingness to chase his dreams, Scott decided to turn his homebrew hobby into a career. Always a fan of Belgian style ales, Scott was introduced to the complexities and flavor possibilities in bottle conditioned aged Belgian beers at the 2010 Craft Brewers Conference. He returned and set out to start Austin’s first all Belgian style bottle and keg conditioned brewery, aptly named after his older brother. Of the six beers to be released in 2012, each one is named after an experience or story that his brother Adelbert loved to tell.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Hovey estaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winter 2011/12tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fridays, 5-8pm url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.adelbertsbeer.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Rambler ale style . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belgian Style Blonde AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . Bright, semi-spicy, drinkable Food it chases down well . . . . . . Chicken,

cheese, grilled tilapia, rustic bread

Scratchin’ Hippo style . . . . . . . . . . Belgian Style Biere de GardeaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . Malty, earthy, semi-sweetFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . . . Thai,

steak, spicy Italian

Tripel Bstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belgian Style Tripel AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cloudy, candy, fruity Food it chases down well . . . . . . Spinach

salad, strawberries, lobster

Dancin’ Monksstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belgian Style Dubbel AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sweet, nutty, plumFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . . Ribs,

brie, brownies

WE RECOMMEnD

Scratchin’ Hippo, Tripel B


adelbert’s Brewery BREWERIES

Austin Beerworks is a collection of four friends spanning from the East coast to Austin, united and “hell-bent on excellence” in beer making. The beerworkers, Michael, Will, Adam and Mike, have raised an impressive production brewery and cannery in the northwest sector of town since April 2011. With their regular lineup of four beers, including 2011 GABF silver medal winner Peacemaker Extra Pale, the four friends have come storming out of the gates and onto the Austin beer scene. The Austin Beerworks fellows aim to make super tasty, yet drinkable beers, perfect for our refined, but also often heat-parched Austin palates.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . . . . . . Adam DeBower, Michael Graham, Mike McGovern

and Will GoldenestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summer 2011tours. . . . . . . .Fridays, 5-8pm (RSVP required)url . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.austinbeerworks.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Fire eagle american Ipa style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/CansQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoppy, piney Food it chases down well . . . . . . . . . Thai,

steak, spicy Italian

peacemaker extra pale style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Pale AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/CansQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drinkable, crispFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . Vegan

hotdogs, pickles, Sidora’s homemade Chex mix

pearl-Snap german pilsstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . German PilsneraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/Cans

Quick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Light, hoppy, crispFood it chases down well . . . . . .Sausage,

breads, mustard, burgers

CuRREnT SEaSOnal

Super awesome Lagerstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helles LagerimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . Draft (Early Fall)Quick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . Sweet, bready, biscuityFood it chases down well . . . . Any type of

sausage, pretzels, steckerlfisch

Battle axe Imperial Redstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Imperial Red AleimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . .Draft (Late Fall)Quick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hoppy, sticky, bigFood it chases down well . . . . . . Cheddar

popcorn, Chicago style hot dog

WE RECOMMEnD

Fire Eagle, Super Awesome Lager, Battle Axe


austin Beerworks BREWERIES

Ben Sab and Jud Mulherin were childhood friends in Tennessee. As youngsters they shared a dream to open a “shop.” As adults they both loved beer, so it was inevitable that their dream would morph into becoming brewery owners. Circle Brewing appeared on the internet beer rumor mill in the second half of 2008. Fast forward two years, Ben and Jud were brewing their first batches of beer for Austin.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ben Sabel and Jud Mulherin

estaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winter 2010/11tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Check websiteurl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.circlebrewing.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Blur Texas Hefe style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HefeweizenaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6%imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . Bananas, light, gulpable

Food it chases down well . . .Pizza, salad, crab legs

envy amber ale style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . Light hops, spicy, crispFood it chases down well. . . . . . . . . . .Grilled

meats, chips and salsa, seafood

WE RECOMMEnD

Blur Texas Hefe, Alibi, Circle App


Circle Brewing Co. BREWERIES

Hops and grainBrewery

Bringing his Colorado beer knowledge and inspiration to Austin, Josh Hare has opened one of Austin’s two East side breweries. With two year-round beers canned for easy use during your outdoor drinking endeavors, and a constantly rotating selection of Greenhouse beers, Hops & Grain has something for everyone. Recently, the ALT-eration took home gold at the 2012 World Beer Cup. The Greenhouse lineup have grown to include the popular “The One They Call Zoe,” a hoppy lager, a Baltic Porter, Belgian Porter, and the volumes of Oak series of oak aged beers. They even collaborated on a beer with us called Night RYE-der. If that isn’t enough, Hops and Grain is an environmentally sustainable operation that uses up- cycled malted barley from brewing to make natural and wheat free dog treats called Brew Biscuits.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Josh HareestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winter 2011/12tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Friday 2-6pm

Saturday 12-4pmurl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hopsandgrain.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

pale Dog pale alestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Pale AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.0% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/CansQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dry, hoppy, bitterFood it chases down well. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fish

tacos, salt and vinegar chips, gummy bears

alt-eration alestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Düsseldorf-style AltbieraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/CansQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Malty, nutty, moodyFood it chases down well. . . . . . . . . . .Grilled

fish, any kind of meat on a stick

The greenhousestyle . . . . . . .Rotating series of small batchesimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taste the rainbow

volumes of Oakstyle . . . . . . . . . . Oak aged small batch seriesimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oak & booze

Note: Follow H&G on Twitter, Facebook, or their newsletter for latest Greenhouse and Volumes of Oak beers.

CuRREnT SEaSOnal

O-Fest*style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Märzen/OktoberfestaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.0% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

Note: O-fest unavailable for tasting at press time.

WE RECOMMEnD

Alt-eration, Greenhouse, Volumes of Oak

BREWERIES

IndependenceBrewing Co.

Husband and wife rob and Amy Cartwright started Independence Brewing Co. in South Austin in 2004, but were active members of the ATX brewing community long before. Rob began brewing at Austin’s Copper Tank (RIP) in 1994 and after meeting Amy decided to open the brewery. Prior to opening the brewery the couple embedded themselves in the Austin beer community by putting on the Texas Craft Brewers Festival in 2004 and 2005.

Since opening, Independence has created a local niche for themselves by packaging the OU Suks bottles every fall for the UT vs. OU game, supplying the Alamo Drafthouse house beer from 2004-2009, and hosting the largest monthly beer gathering at their first Saturday tasting and tours.

They have been releasing one-off beers in their Brewluminati series. For latest info on this series stay tuned here: www.independencebrewing.com/our-beers/brewluminat

InFO

Brewer/Founder. . . .Rob & Amy CartwrightestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fall 2004tours. . . . . . . . . . . First Saturday of the monthurl . . . . . . . . .www.independencebrewing.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Bootlegger Brown ale style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Brown AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Big roasty malt flavor,

caramel, nuttyFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . Steak,

roasted pork, Chinese takeout

Independence pale alestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Pale AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5%imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . .Piney, hoppy, light maltFood it chases down well . . . . . Reubens,

sausage and peppers

Stash Ipastyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/Bottle

Quick sip. . . . . Very hoppy, balanced malt bodyFood it chases down well . . .Greasy-fatty

Mexican, pizza

Convict Hill Oatmeal Stoutstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oatmeal StoutaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cacao, licorice, roastFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . . . . Ice

cream, chocolate, toffee

CuRREnT SEaSOnal eSBstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Extra Special BitteraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

WE RECOMMEnD

Convict Hill, ESB


BREWERIES

Jester king Craft Brewery

Conceived in the fire of a homebrewer’s heart, Jester King was birthed by brothers Jeff Stuffings and Michael Steffing in the early fall of 2010 amongst the hills in Southwest Austin. Ambitious from the start, the brothers made their commercial debut with a session beer, wearing the moniker Commercial Suicide. It was anything but. They followed this shortly with the wildly popular Rye IPA Wytchmaker, a beer that bars could rarely keep on tap. The brothers could not fail. Recently, they have moved their original lineup to farmhouse versions (Farmhouse Wytchmaker, Farmhouse Black Metal, etc.), in part won a court ruling against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and brewed a second collaboration beer with gypsy brewer, Mikkeller, called Beer Geek rodeo / Whiskey rodeo / Weasel rodeo. Also, they are now a certified organic producer under the USDA’s National Organic Program.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . . . . . . Jeffrey Stuffings and Michael Steffing

estaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fall 2010tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Most Saturdays, 1-4pmurl . . . . . . . . . . . . www.jesterkingbrewery.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Black Metal style . . . . . . . . . . . . Farmhouse Imperial StoutaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Big roast,

coffee, chocolateFood it chases down well . . .Cheesecake,

roast beef and other bloody meats

Le petit princestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Farmhouse Table BeeraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Subtle hop spininess,

yeast esters, wild flowersFood it chases down well . .Crackers and

light cheeses, pears, grilled flaky white fish

Mad Megstyle . . . . . . . . . . . .Provisional Farmhouse AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.6% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/Bottle

Quick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spicy, earthy, dryFood it chases down well . . . . . . . Tomato

salad, soft cheeses, sardines

CuRREnT SEaSOnal

Buddha’s Brew style . . . . . . . . . Sour Wheat Ale w/ KombuchaaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . .Tangy, refreshing, tart, acidicFood it chases down well . . . .Kombucha,

sheeps milk cheese, summer sausage WE RECOMMEnD

Le Petit Prince, Buddha’s Brew

*See full listing of available beers at austinbeerguide.com

BREWERIES

live Oak Brewing Co.

Built by hand by Chip McElroy and Brian Peters (now of Uncle Billy’s fame) in a small (and now worn) building on the east side of town, Live Oak has been an Austin staple since 1997. They use an old-world style of brewing mostly practiced throughout Germany and the Czech Republic and use techniques such as open fermentation and secondary lagering on some of their styles to give their beers a very distinct Live Oak taste. This is best reflected in their Pilz and much beloved HefeWeizen.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . .Chip McElroy (owner, founder), Dusan Kwiatkowski (Brewer)

estaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997tours. . . . Saturdays at Noon (RSVP required)url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.liveoakbrewing.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

HefeWeizenstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HefeweizenaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bananas, cloves, hazy,

super refreshingFood it chases down well. . .Blue cheese!

pilz style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Czech PilsneraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoppy, dry, refreshing Food it chases down well . . . . . .Sausage,

pizza, burgers, anything really

Liberation alestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3%imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . Hoppy, great malt balanceFood it chases down well . . . . . . Tobacco,

foie gras or other duck dishes

CuRREnT SEaSOnal

Oaktoberfeststyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Märzen/OktoberfestaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . Draft (Early Fall)Quick sip. . . . . . . . . Malty and sweet, drinkableFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . Grilled

sausage and pretzel with beer mustard

primusstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WeizenbockaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . .Draft (Late Fall)Quick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bananas, booze, cloveFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . Coffee

and scone on a cold night, by itself WE RECOMMEnD

Pilz, Oaktoberfest, Primus


BREWERIES

Real ale Brewing Co.

One of the longer running breweries in central Texas, real Ale has been in operation since 1996. The brewery originally operated out of a basement of an antique shop in Blanco (50 minutes outside Austin). In 1998, current owner Brad Farbstein took over. Maxed out at 5,500 barrels a year, Real Ale moved just outside the downtown area in 2006 to a new facility that allowed them to produce 10-12 times that amount.

In 2009 they started bottling their seasonal beers, with the most recent edition being Hans’ Pils this summer. In 2010, they began turning out a series of experimental Mysterium verum (Real Mystery) beers, including seasonals aged in oak barrels or entirely new brews. They are also rolling out their new Brewers’ Cut small batch series this fall. They just celebrated their 16th anniversary this summer with the release of a 16th Anniversary Doppelbock and a doubled of version of Fireman’s #4 called 4-Squared. Those two might still be around town. Seek them out.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . . . . . . . . Philip & Diane Conner (Founders), Brad Farbstein (Owner),

Tim Schwartz, Erik Ogershok (Head Brewers)estaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fridays 2-5pm url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.realalebrewing.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Devil’s Backbonestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belgian-Style TripelaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sweet, boozey, honeyFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . . Tuna

salad, grilled cheese, tomato soup

Lost gold Ipa style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Citrusy hops,

strong malt background Food it chases down well . . . . . . . . . Fried

chicken, gorgonzola, gumbo (spicy or otherwise)

Rio Blanco pale ale style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . English Pale AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3%

imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Light hops, spicy,

biscuity malt, crispFood it chases down well . . . . . . .Seafood

grilled chicken, chips and salsa

CuRREnT SEaSOnal

Oktoberfeststyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Märzen/OktoberfestaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7% imBiBing options . . . Draft/Bottle (early Fall)Quick sip . . . . . Smooth, slightly spicey, sweetFood it chases down well . . Smoked fish,

pickles, schnitzel

Shade grown Coffee porterstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American PorteraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6% imBiBing options . . . . Draft/Bottle (late Fall)Quick sip . . . . . .Coffee, slight roast, quaffableFood it chases down well . . . . Chocolate,

beef jerkey

WE RECOMMEnD

Devil’s Backbone, Oktoberfest, Coffee Porter


BREWERIES

COMING TH IS FALL

R E A L A L E B R E W I N G C O .

brewerscut.com | realalebrewing.com

B R E W E R S ’ C U T S E R I E S

A new series of brewing projects from Real Ale Brewing Co.

Rogness Brewing Co.

Founders Forrest and Diane rogness, along with Dave Ebel, Dave Heath, and Dan Wheeler, their three brewer-sales-label approval-other-jack of all trades, collectively brew and conjure up recipes that they enjoy and hope others will too. All done without too much concern over style guidelines or popular “safe bet” beers. With the ethos of a homebrewer, Rogness aims to change it up, and keep it interesting, while delivering high quality brewed beers. As of Summer 2012, they are still defining their regular lineup and trying out new recipes. They plan to begin canning their more popular beers as early as late Summer 2012, and soon after begin packaging “bigger” beers in large format bottles for aging and sharing.

InFO

Founders . . . . . . Forrest and Diane RognessestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring 2012tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Check website url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rognessbrewing.com

RECEnT RElEaSES

Beardy guardstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Biere de GardeimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

(Cans/Bottles Soon) Quick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Slight spice, earthy, Food it chases down well . . . . . . . . . .HEB

rotisserie chicken (you know, the kind you get when you are too lazy to cook, but want

something somewhat tasty)

Oststyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PorterimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

(Cans/Bottles Soon) Quick sip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Smooth, cocoa, malty Food it chases down well . . . . . . . . Veggie

burger, fried anything

Rook style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scotch AleimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

(Cans/Bottles Soon) Quick sip . . . . . . . . . . . . . Smoky, sweet, toffee Food it chases down well . . . . . . Smoked

gouda, pork chop, brisket

vinton style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blonde AleimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

(Cans/Bottles Soon)Quick sip . . . . Quaffable, nontraditional, tasty Food it chases down well . . . . . . .Poultry,

artisan bread, asparagus

Rogtoberfest style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Märzen/OktoberfestimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

Rattler style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pale AleimBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

Note: Rogtoberfest and Rattler unavailable for tasting at press time.

WE RECOMMEnD

Ost, Beardy Guard

BREWERIES

South austin Brewing

Parked in the same neighborhood as Independence and (512) breweries, South Austin Brewing Co. opened earlier this year. Founder Jordan Weeks has a rich brewing history in Austin, and with his trusty 50-barrel Newlands brewhouse plans to supply the fine folks of South Austin and beyond with yummy Belgian inspired beers. SABC are slinging beers both on draft and in 750 ml cork and cage bottles to be found at finer locations.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . . . . . . . . . Jordan WeeksestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winter 2012tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Check website url . . . . . . . . . . .www.southaustinbrewing.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Belgian Style golden alestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belgian Golden AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip. . . . .Fruity esters, quaffable, smooth

Food it chases down well . . . . . . . . . .Fish, fruits and honey, soft cheeses, frites

Saison D’austin style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belgian SaisonaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft/BottleQuick sip . . . . . . . . . . . . Sweet, spicy, peppery Food it chases down well . . . . . . . Salads,

chicken, pheasant, fruit

WE RECOMMEnD

Belgian Style Golden Ale, Saison D’Austin

BREWERIES

Thirsty planet Brewing Co.

Everyone remembers when they first really started falling in love with beer. For Brian Smittle it was while he was living in England studying British politics and experiencing true “real ale.” Following college graduation, Brian made the move to Colorado where he took his affection for beer one step further and volunteered at a brewery in Vail. He soon became a paid employee and full-time brewer (a.k.a. “living the dream”). Through his work there he met some college students who offered him an ownership piece of a brew pub in Oklahoma. They opened in 1993 and grew to include a brewery and four satellite stores. While successful, Brian wanted to get back to the brewing operations so he and his wife Tammy looked for a location to set up their own operation. They chose Austin and started putting their beers on the market in the summer of 2010 beginning with the Buckethead IPA. They celebrated their two year anniversary this past summer with the release of Franklin Smoked Porter, a beer containing malts smoked in the famous Franklin BBQ pits.

InFO

Brewer/Founder . . .Brian & Tammy SmittleestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summer 2010tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Saturdays, 11am-3pmurl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.thirstyplanet.net

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Buckethead Ipa style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAi aBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9% mBiBing options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Slightly sweet,

bitter finish, hoppy nose Food it chases down well . . . .Pâté, pizza,

fish and chips

Thirsty goat amberstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber AleaBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip . . . . . . . . . . . .Malty, clean, drinkableFood it chases down well. . .Sandwiches,

chips and queso

Yellow armadillo Wheatstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American WheataBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1%

imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip . . . . . . . Crisp, refreshing, drinkableFood it chases down well . . . . . .Sausage,

crawfish

CuRREnT SEaSOnal

Smittlefest style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OktoberfestimBiBing options . . . . Limited Draft ReleaseQuick sip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Malty, bready Food it chases down well . . . Currywurst,

baked potatoe, pickles

WE RECOMMEnD

Buckethead IPA, Smittlefest

BREWERIES

Twisted X Brewing Co.

Since our first issue in April 2011, Austin’s beer scene has changed (it seems to change and grow each month). One of those changes: Twisted x. It was started by Jim Sampson and Shane Bordeau in Cedar Park (though they have plans to move to a destination brewery in Dripping Springs in the future). They held their initial release party on Cinco de Mayo, where they introduced beer fans to the Fuego Jalapeño Infused Tex Mex Pilsner, Twisted X Premium Tex Mex Lager and then unnamed Premium Tex Mex Dark Lager. The dark lager has now been blessed with the moniker: Cow Creek. Also be on the look out for Siesta, a prickly pear lager. It is a summer seasonal that proved to be quite popular and could still pop up around town. With a Tex-Mex theme they are bound to quench the thirsts of a large swath of Austin beer drinkers. Austinites love Tex-Mex. Austinites love beer. Tex-Mex beer? Forget about it, a match made in heaven. Could a pico-de-gallo beer be in the works? Let’s hope so. Mole Porter—that’s the ticket!

InFO

Brewer/Founder. . . . . . . . . . . .Jim Sampson and Shane Bordeau

estaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring 2011tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Check websiteurl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.texmexbeer.com

yEaR ROunD BEERS

Cow Creek premium Tex Mex Dark Lager style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vienna (Dark) LageraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4%imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip . . . . . . . . . .Drinkable, slightly sweetFood it chases down well . . . . . . Gorditas,

tostadas, tamales

Fuego Jalapeño Infused Tex Mex pilsnerstyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chile Beer/PilsneraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2%imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip . . . . . . . . . . . . Crisp, slightly dry, hotFood it chases down well . . . . . . . . Steak,

roasted pork, Chinese takeout

Señor viejo Tex Mex Imperial Black Lagerstyle . . . . . Barrel Aged Imperial SchwarzbieraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draft

Quick sip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sweet, agave, oak Food it chases down well . . . . . . . . . . Mole

or by itself after a big meal of mole

Twisted x premium Tex Mex Lager style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Light LageraBV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2% imBiBing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DraftQuick sip . . . . . . . .Light, very drinkable, clean Food it chases down well . . . . . . . . . Elote,

nachos, enchiladas

WE RECOMMEnD

Fuego, Señor Viejo

BREWERIES

alaMO BEER COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Antoniourl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.alamobeer.com

DEEp ElluM BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DallasestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011url . . . . . . . . . . . .www.deepellumbrewing.com

FRanCOnIa BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McKinneyestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008url . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.franconiabrewing.com

guaDalupE BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New BraunfelsestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2012url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.guadalupebrew.com

nO laBEl BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KatyestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2011url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.nolabelbrew.com

pEDERnalES BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FredericksburgestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2012url . . . . . . . . . . . www.pedernalesbrewing.com

RaHR & SOnS BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort WorthestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rahrbrewing.com

RangER CREEk BREWIng & DISTIllIng

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San AntonioestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010url . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.drinkrangercreek.com

SaInT aRnOlD BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HoustonestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.saintarnold.com

SOuTHERn STaR BREWIng COMpany

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ConroeestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008url . . . . . . . . . .www.southernstarbrewery.com

SpOETzl BREWERy (SHInER)

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ShinerestaBlished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1909url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.shiner.com

*Texas breweries with beer currently available in Austin

More Texas Breweries*

BREWERIES

AVAILABLEYEAR ROUND

®

®

InFO

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . .7020 Easy Wind Drive Midtown Commons, Suite 100

Austin, Tx 78752phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-452-BEERhours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4pm–12am url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.blackstar.coop

HOuSE BEER SaMplIng

High esteem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pale AleDouble Dee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber Alevulcan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rye IPARecalcitrant Dockhand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PorterHouse Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoppy Brown Ale

BREW puB SnapSHOT Black Star Co-op is the first known cooperatively run/owned brew pub in the world with members from across the globe. Monthly beer socials, starting in 2006, provided an outlet for recruiting new members and grew to host up to 500 members at each gathering. Black Star Co-op encapsulates everything Austin with an emphasis on local producers and community action, all through enjoyment of local beer.

WE RECOMMEnD

Vulcan, Recalcitrant Dockhand

Black Star Co-op BREW puBS

InFO

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4112 Medical PkwyAustin, Tx 78756

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .512-452-MALThours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mon-Thu 5pm–2am,

Fri-Sun 1pm–2amurl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.draughthouse.com

HOuSE BEER SaMplIng

Red planet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red AleBombay Ipa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAguy Smiley Mild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dark Mild AleSidamo Milk Stout . . . . . . . . . Milk/Sweet Stoutpumpkinhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pumpkin Ale

BREW puB SnapSHOT Brewer Josh Wilson likes to keep his beers moving. Josh doesn’t adhere to the general brew pub rules that say you have to develop four solid recipes and keep those on year long while only reserving a few taps for experimentation and seasonals. After visiting Draught House for a few years, you may notice that Josh keeps a loose yearly brewing schedule with styles and specific brews mirroring the seasonal calender.

WE RECOMMEnD

Pumpkinhead, Red Planet, Bombay IPA

Draught House

WHAT’S BREWINGWHAT’S BREWINGWHAT’S BREWING

AT BLACK STAR CO-OP

HUBRISSIMCOE HOP CONES HARVESTED THE DAY BEFORE ADDING

OLD SOUR DEWBERRYSOUR-MASHED STRONG OLD ALE WITH BLACK TREACLE

EPSILON PEATED SCOTCH ALE AGED IN BALCONES BRIMSTONE BARRELS

7020 EASY WIND DRIVE, SUITE 100 • 512.452.2337 • WWW.BLACKSTAR.COOP

BREW puB SnapSHOT North by Northwest is Austin’s most upscale brew pub and offers a complete menu, with the restaurant itself driving many people to the establishment. Identifiable by the grain silo out front, the feel is very “Northwest lodge,” rounded out by stone, wood and a fireplace. The beers are solid and their monthly cask nights have a dedicated following.

WE RECOMMEnD

Pyjingo Pale Ale, Barton Kriek

InFO

location. . . . . . . . . 10010 Capital of Tx Hwy NAustin, Tx 78759

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-467-6969hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varied, check website url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.nxnwbrew.com

HOuSE BEER SaMplIng

Northern Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PilsnerDuckabush amber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber Alepyjingo pale ale . . . . . . . . . . American Pale AleOkanagan Black ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black AleBarton Kriek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sour/Lambic

north by northwest

BREW puBS

BREW puB SnapSHOT Born a simple family owned convenience store on the side of I-35, Whip In was not content to live its days out that way. After becoming one of the top bottle shops in Austin, they slowly crept tap by delicious tap to becoming one of the largest draft and Texas brewed beer selections in town. And now, they are home to Namaste Brewing.

WE RECOMMEnD

Brahmale

InFO

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1950 IH-35 Austin, Tx 78704phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-442-5337hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10am–12am url . . . . . . . . . . www.whipin.com/brewery.htm

HOuSE BEER SaMplIng

Brahmale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPAShakti ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sour Fruit AleLakshmi Hefe . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spiced Wheat AleKalidurgale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barleywineganeshale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belgian Quad

namaste Brewing at the Whip In

BREW puBS

BREW puB SnapSHOT Texas is BBQ heaven. Austin is Texas Craft Beer heaven. Put them together and you get Uncle Billy’s Brew and Que. Now with two locations, Uncle Billy’s is the ideal spot after boating on the lake or a day of festival-ing at Zilker Park. Along with their regular lineup of four beers, you’ll find 2-3 rotating house beers and a handful of Texas guest taps.

WE RECOMMEnD

Agave Wit, Bottle Rocket Lager

InFO

location #1. . . . . . 1530 Barton Springs Road Austin, Tx 78704phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-476-0100location #2. . . . . . . . . . .6550 Comanche Trail

Unit B - Suite 201 Austin, Tx 78732

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-266-0111hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varied, check website url . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.unclebillysaustin.com

HOuSE BEER SaMplIng

Back 40 Blonde. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blondeagave Wit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WitbierBottle Rocket Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pilsnerax Handle pale ale . . . . . . . American Pale Ale

uncle Billy’s

UNB_ABG_Ad_5.1875x3.9.indd 1 9/4/12 3:58 PM

BREW puBS: DayTRIppERS

InFO

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 Mercer StreetDripping Springs, Tx 78620

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-829-4636hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varied, check website url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.barbershopbar.com

BREW puB SnapSHOT Barber Shop is another testament to the iron will of homebrewers. With an emphasis on the “bar” in Barber Shop, they left the historical buildings name the same, while sprucing up the inside with a lush wood bar, rustic amenities and a strategically occupied tap wall. Brewer John McIntosh intends to focus on English pub ales.

Barber Shop


InFO

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208 Avenue HMarble Falls, Tx 78654

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830-693-5165hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varied, check website url . . . . . . . . . . .www.doublehornbrewing.com

BREW puB SnapSHOT Double Horn, the first and only brew pub in Burnet County, is seated right off 281 in Marble Falls. Frustrated by the lack of quality beer, food and atmosphere to enjoy it in, owner Dusty Knight opened Double Horn last May. Knight and head brewer Eric Casey have made it their mission to supply residents with quality house beers and local craft brews.

Double Horn Brewing Co.

InFO

location. . . . . . . 9595 Ranch Road 12, Suite 4 Wimberley, Tx 78676

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-847-3435hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varied, check website url . . . . . . . . . . www.middletonbrewingllc.com

BREW puB SnapSHOT The owners, the Middleton’s, hale from the sunny state of California. They brought with them, like many other west coast brewers, a love for the HOP. In addition to hoppy monsters, they specialize in subtle Belgian style ales. They are housed in the same complex as Wimberley Brewing Company, a one stop pub crawl!

MiddletonBrewing


InFO

location. . . . . . . . .2200 South IH-35, Suite B1 Round Rock, Tx 78681

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-244-3549hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lobby opens one hour

before first show time (See website for show times)

url . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.flixbrewhouse.com

BREW puB SnapSHOT How many movie theatres have a brewhouse in their front window? Not many. You might even catch brewmaster Justin Rizza, formerly of Independence Brewing, brewing up something tasty as you rush in for the latest Hunger Games flick. Drink from their four regular and two seasonal house taps or one of many guest taps.

Flix Brewhouse

InFO

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 East Pecan Drive Johnson City, Tx 78636

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830-868-2500hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varied, check website url . . . . . . . . . . .www.pecanstreetbrewing.com

BREW puB SnapSHOT Pecan Street resides in a space formerly occupied by the town hardware store, in Johnson City’s historic town square. Owners Tim and Patty Elliott, with their head brewer and son Sean, aim to make the brew pub the town gathering center that the hardware store once was. Their house beers and guest taps are complimented by head chef John Yachimski’s eclectic brick oven pizza, salad and burger menu.

pecan StreetBrewing

InFO

location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9595 Ranch Road 12 Wimberley, Tx 78676

phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-847-3435hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varied, check website url . . . . . . . . . . . .www.wimberleybrewing.com

BREW puB SnapSHOT Wimberley Brewing is housed in the same complex as Middleton Brewing (Wimberley was there first). As you walk into Wimberley you will notice there are a lot of kids running around. Actually, they are not running around, they are working. This is a true family business. The beers are good here and the pizza is surprisingly fantastic. Try the spinach pizza.

Wimberley Brewing Co.

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BaRS & RESTauRanTS a. Flying Saucer

815 West 47th Street B. Crown and anchor pub

2911 San Jacinto BoulevardC. Dog and Duck pub

406 West 17th Street D. Scholz garten

1607 San Jacinto Boulevarde. 24 Diner

600 North Lamar Boulevard F. Opal Divine’s Freehouse

700 West 6th Streetg. Little Woodrow’s

520 West 6th Street H. Kung Fu Saloon

510 Rio Grande I. alamo Drafthouse - Ritz

320 East 6th Street J. The ginger Man

301 Lavaca StreetK. Frank

407 Colorado StreetL. Hopfields

3110 Guadalupe StreetM. Contigo

2027 Anchor LaneN. House pizzeria

5111 Airport Boulevard

O. easy Tiger Bake Shop and Beer garden 709 East 6th Street

p. The Brew exchange 706 West 6th Street

Q. Banger’s Sausage House & Beer garden 79 Rainey Street

R. Jackalope 404 East 6th Street

S. Star Bar 600 West 6th Street

T. gourmands 2316 Webberville Road

u. Haddingtons 601 West 6th Street

v. Nasty’s 606 Maiden Lane

W. Spider House 2908 Fruth Street

x. Thunderbird Coffee - Manor 2200 Manor Road

Y. violet Crown Social Club 1111 East 6th Street

Z. The grackle 1700 East 6th Street

aa. The White Horse 500 Comal Street

BB. Cherrywood Coffeehouse 1400 38 1/2 Street

CC. Swift’s attic 315 Congress Avenue

BREW puBS DD. Draught House pub & Brewery

4112 Medical Parkwayee. Double Horn Brewing Co.

208 Avenue H, Marble Falls

BREWERIES FF. Hops & grain Brewery

507 Calles Streetgg. Live Oak Brewing Co.

3301-B East 5th Street

STORES HH. Central Market

4001 North Lamar BoulevardII. Hyde park Market

4429 Duval StreetJJ. Whole Foods Market

525 North Lamar BoulevardKK. antonelli’s Cheese Shop

4220 Duval StreetLL. in.gredients

2610 Manor RoadMM. Twin Liquors - Hancock

1000 East 41st StreetNN. Rosedale Market

1309 West 45th StreetOO. Wiggy’s on 6th

1130 West 6th Street

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BaRS & RESTauRanTS a. Zax Restaurant & Bar

312 Barton Springs Road B. alamo Drafthouse / Highball

1120 South Lamar Boulevard C. Hopdoddy Burger Bar - SOCO

1400 South Congress Ave D. Barley Swine

2024 South Lamar Boulevard e. Black Sheep Lodge

2108 South Lamar Boulevard F. Red’s porch

3508 South Lamar Boulevard g. Opal Divine’s, penn Field

3601 South Congress AvenueH. Draft pick

1620 East Riverside, #1618I. alamo Drafthouse - Slaughter Lane

5701 West Slaughter Lane

BREW puBS J. uncle Billy’s - Barton Springs

1530 Barton Springs RoadK. The Barber Shop

207 Mercer Street, Dripping Springs

L. Faust Hotel & Brewery 240 South Seguin Avenue, New Braunfels

M. Wimberley Brewing Co. 9595 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley

N. Middleton Brewing 9595 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley

O. pecan Street Brewing 106 East Pecan Drive, Johnson City

p. Namaste Brewing / Whip In 1950 South IH-35

BREWERIES Q. Jester King Craft Brewery

13005 Fitzhugh RoadR. Thirsty planet Brewing Co.

11160 Circle DriveS. (512) Brewing Co.

407 Radam Lane, F200T. Independence Brewing Co.

3913 Todd Lane u. South austin Brewing Co.

415 E Saint Elmo Rd, Ste 1D

STORES v. Thom’s Market

1418 Barton Springs RoadW. Central Market

4477 South Lamar Boulevardx. Spec’s-Brodie Lane

4978 West Hwy 290Y. Live Oak Market

4410 Manchaca Road

SOuTH auSTIn

We employed the distinct fl avor of Nelson Sauvin hops

to bring American pale ale and American lager together in this crisp and congratulatory Shift.

So clock out and crack open a Shift Pale Lager to reward

your work. Or play. Or, if you’re like us, combine the two and surround yourself

with drinking buddies.

sh ift pale lager is brewed by new belg ium brewing fort coll ins co

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BaRS & RESTauRanTS a. The Dig pub

401 Cypress Creek Road, Cedar Park

B. alamo Drafthouse- Lake Creek 13729 Research Boulevard

C. Mister Tramps 8565 Research Boulevard

D. alamo Drafthouse-village 2700 West Anderson Lane

e. pour House pub 6701 Burnet Road

F. Billy’s on Burnet 2105 Hancock Drive

g. Hopdoddy Burger Bar - anderson 2438 West Anderson Lane

H. Westside alehouse 1500 N IH-35, Round Rock

I. Drink.Well 207 East 53rd Street

J. Workhorse Bar 100 North Loop Boulevard East

K. C. Hunt’s Ice House 9611 Mcneil Road

L. Opal Divine’s, Marina 12709 Mopac & Parmer Lane

M. BB Rover’s Cafe & pub 12636 Research Boulevard

BREW puBS N. pinthouse pizza

4729 Burnet RoadO. North By Northwest (NxNW)

10010 N Capital of Tx Hwyp. Black Star Co-op

7020 Easy Wind DriveQ. Flix Brewhouse /

HomeField grill 2000 S IH-35, Round Rock

R. uncle Billy’s - Lake Travis 6550 Comanche Trail, #201

BREWERIES S. Circle Brewing Co.

2340 West Braker LaneT. austin Beerworks

3009 Industrial Terrace u. adelbert’s Brewery

2314 Rutland Drive, Ste 100v. Twisted x Brewing Co.

3200 West Whitestone Boulevard, Cedar Park

W. Rogness Brewing Co. 2400 Patterson Industrial Drive, Pflugerville

STORES x. Whole Foods Market

9607 Research Boulevard

Y. Specs-arbor Walk 10515 N Mo Pac Expwy

Z. Sunrise Mini Mart 1809 West Anderson Lane

aa. Specs-airport 5775 Airport Boulevard

BB. austin Homebrew Supply 9129 Metric Boulevard

CC. King Liquor 5310 Burnet Road

DD. Hamrick’s Market 401 Cypress Creek Road, Cedar Park

ee. pecan Liquor 1912 West Pecan Street, #205, Pflugerville

Scan this and be magically transported to our maps page on website, which has links to each location’s

website (maybe, no promises)

OVER a pInT

recently we spent some time at WHIP IN, that Beer, Bottle, indian Food Fusion Fun-house sitting south and just a hair west oF i-35, to talk aBout their newest Venture, NAMASTE BrEWING. Brewers keVin sykes, arjit mahapatra, and ty wolosin graciously gaVe us a Few minutes mid-Brew to talk shop.

ABG: So you guys are brewing your IPA today, right?

Kevin: Yes, the Brahmale, it’s a post colonial IPA with local honey, grapefruit peel, and lemon grass. With generous hop editions of both British style hops and American citrusy-yumminess.

So I guess people can look forward to seeing this IPA on tap pretty regularly?

Kevin: Yes, we hope to have the IPA on tap at all times, in addition to two other regulars. There’s also a trippel with rose hips and rye, and a stout with oatmeal, bourbon, white pepper and dates. We’ll probably start concentrating on the stout within the next few weeks. You’ll expect to see that in a couple months I imagine.

And today you let us sample a Berlinerweisse.

Kevin: Yeah, we’ve been playing around. One of the fun things about brewing here is Dipak (Whip In owner/manager) gives us certain styles that he wants us to do, but we also have the freedom to brew whatever we feel. We’ve been playing around with a berlinerweisse recipe. This specific batch you tasted had organic bluberries that added a little more tartness. We’d like to keep brewing that berlinerweisse as much as we can keep experimenting with other fruit flavors.

That sounds fun; A berlinerweisse as a consitent beer with different fruits per the season.

Ty: We’re lucky to have a state where we can get different fruit all year from different farms

where there is citrus in the winter from down in the valley or blueberries in the spring and blackberries throughout the summer. That kind of makes it fun for us too, since Whip In has always had a connection with using locally sourced products and Namaste brewing is continuing that with our Belgian and English style beers.

That’s cool. So tell me about your brewing philosophy. Where are you coming from?

Arjit: So we have a really great opportunity with the small batch system to make the one-offs or some unique beers with the same base beers, or maybe change it up, it doesn’t really matter. We get to use local ingredients, we get to use some herbs that no one really gets to use in commercial brews, and be able to sell it in a way that’s a lot different than commercial breweries or brew pubs in general. I see a lot of brew pubs making their staple beers, and while we have that, we also want to make some unique beers that people have never tried before, or they maybe never even thought of using these ingredients before. And you can come here and try it and see if you like it. If it’s for you, you might want to try it in your own beer and you can make something completely different and maybe start a revolution off of that. But it’s all a matter of trying to make something unique and small that’s noticeable.

Alright, cool.

namaste Brewing at the Whip In

Austin Beer Guide — Fall 2012

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Transcript of Austin Beer Guide — Fall 2012