BeerUtopia

Time for Beer!

Brant — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:15:38 +0000

We will be redesigning and relaunching the site….stay tune!

The Session #64: Pale in Comparison

BU Staff — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:28:43 +0000

The Session is a monthly event for the beer blogging community which was started by Stan Hieronymus at Appellation Beer. On the first Friday of each month, all participating bloggers write about a predetermined topic. Each month a different blog is chosen to host The Session, choose the topic, and post a roundup of all the responses received. For more info on The Session, check out the Brookston Beer Bulletin’s archive page.

What is the one beer style usually makes up the first position in the sample flight, but yet is usually the one that we never get really excited about? The Pale Ale.

While this style serves as the foundation to its big-hoppy-brother the India Pale Ale, lately “Pale Ale” has become a throwaway term. I hear bartenders and servers using it to describe everything from Pilsners to unfiltered wheat beers (I wish I was kidding).

Whether American (typically a bit hoppier) or English (a little more malty), these brews can be complex, interesting and tasty, and are all too often fast-forwarded through in a tasting or left as the “eh, guess I’ll have a pale ale” decision.

Your mission – if you choose to accept it – it so seek out and taste two different pale ales. Tell us what makes them special, what makes them forgettable, what makes them the same or what makes them different. Then, share it with us. (By writing a comment below on June 1st with a link to your post).

Cheers,
The Beer Babe

The Beer Babe

American Craft Beer Week

BU Staff — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:27:55 +0000

American Craft Beer Week kicks off today with events in all 50 states. From simple tastings to beer dinners to beer festivals, America is celebrating its continuing love and support for Craft Beer this week. The official website has a list of events in your area, but also check with your local beer bars and breweries as all events may not have been added. And don’t forget to sign and proudly display your copy of the Declaration of Beer Independence. If you’re an active user on Untappd, be sure to check in this week while enjoying an American Craft Beer to receive the special badge.

All Good Beer

Camp Beer XI – Ciders

BU Staff — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:28:15 +0000

For the first time, beer will not be the center of attention at Camp Beer. With the hot summer days quickly approaching, ciders will instead be in the spot light. The craft cider market has also been on the rise lately and can be a refreshing alternative to a cold beer on a hot day. Tickets are $ 55 each and are available for purchase online starting at 9:00am Thursday, May 3rd. A list of the ciders being sampled and more information about the event is available on the Camp Beer webpage.

All Good Beer

Buffalo Bayou Previewing Summer Ale at Cinco Drinko Party

BU Staff — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:58:56 +0000

If you didn’t get a chance to try their beer at the recent Texas Beer Festival (or if you did and want more) Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. will be previewing their summer ale this Saturday during Berryhill’s Cinco Drinko event at their Post Oak location. The festivities begin at 2:00pm with live music and discounted food from Berryhill.

Buffalo Bayou Brewing is one of the newest craft breweries to open in Houston. Having only been open since December last year, they’re already making a name for themselves by producing unique beers such as their Gingerbread Stout and Chai Porter along with their year-round beer called 1886.

All Good Beer

Local Craft Beer and Burger Pairing at The Counter

BU Staff — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:28:04 +0000

Earlier this year, I posted about the The Counter featuring a special Beer and Burger Pairing Menu. At that time, I also indicated that I would have liked to see more local craft beers used in the pairing. I received a pretty quick response on Twitter from them after my post indicating they would use more local beers in their next pairing. It looks like they held true to their word as I just received notice that their Beer and Burger Pairing Menu for May and June features four beers from No Label Brewing of Katy, TX:

Pairing 1
Burger: Beef mini, shaved cucumber, kalamata olives, feta, tzatziki sauce
Beer: El Hefe – A traditional German Hefeweizen. This beer is light and refreshing with strong notes of banana, cloves, and citrus. Pairs well with the fresh summer flavors of this Greek inspired mini-burger.

Pairing 2
Burger: Beef mini, carrot strings, shiitake mushrooms, red bell pepper, scallions, kung pao sauce
Beer: Pale Horse Ale – Pale Ale with a significant amount of malts and hops. The hop bite accentuates the kick in the kung pao and the bitterness in the malts balances the earthy meatiness of the shiitake mushrooms.

Pairing 3
Burger: Beef mini, lettuce blend, tomato, sharp provolone, fried onion strings, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette
Beer: Mint IPA – This IPA has 11 hop additions using 5 different hops. The bouquet is of strong citrus and pine with a hint of spiciness and soothing mint at the back end.

Pairing 4
Burger: Beef mini, thinly shaved celery, blue cheese, fried onion strings, buffalo wing sauce
Beer: Ridgeback Ale – Dark American Amber with strong flavors of roasted malts. The bitter notes from the malts pairs nicely with the tanginess of the blue cheese and spiciness of the buffalo wing sauce.

The new pairing menu runs from May 3rd to June 28th, but is only available on Thursdays. The owners of No Label Brewing, Brian and Jennifer Royo, will also be on hand at The Woodlands location on May 10th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm and the Washington Ave. location on May 24th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm to answer questions and talk about their beer.

All Good Beer

Girls’ Pint Out at Saint Arnold

BU Staff — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:30:51 +0000

On Wednesday, April 25th, from 6:00pm ~ 8:00pm, Saint Arnold Brewery will be host to Girls’ Pint Out benefitting Bel Inzio, an organization that helps disadvantaged women develop self-confidence and life skills through fitness and nutrition.

Tickets can be purchased online for $ 17 per lady (with $ 5 of that going to Bel Inizio) and includes a commemorative pint glass and a fresh-baked Slow Dough Bakery pretzel. They will also be accepting donations of new and gently used running shoes and sportswear. Raffle tickets will also be sold for the chance to win hand-crafted, limited-edition Bel Inizio bracelets and Girls Pint Out t-shirts will be on sale.

Sounds like a great way to get more women interested in craft beer and support a worthy cause at the same time.

All Good Beer

Specialty Beer List for Texas Beer Fest

BU Staff — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:28:37 +0000

The second annual Texas Beer Festival is only days away and the list of specialty beers has been released. One change for this year is that the entire list of speciality beers will be available from the start of the festival instead of tapping different beers at set times throughout the event. This definitely makes it easier to try the various speciality beers, but also mean that there will probably be a rush on some of them at the start of the festival. You will no doubt need to get there early if there is a specific beer(s) that you want to try. However, that’s a pretty impressive list of beers and you can’t be too disappointed if you miss out on trying one or two. And don’t forget, that doesn’t include all the regular beers being poured at the brewery booths. Its clearly going to be long day. Pace yourself and drink plenty of water.

Texas Specialty Items

Saint Arnold – Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
Buffalo Brewing – Black IPA with Jaggery, Coconut and Thai Chiles
Karbach - Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter Firkin
Southern Star – Walloon Dry Hopped with Crystal Hops Firkin
No Label – Don Jalapeno
Real Ale – Fireman’s 4 (Firkin)
Real Ale – Real Heavy 2011
Rahr and Sons – Regulator Dopplebock
(512) – Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter
Deep Ellum – IPA (Firkin)
Independence – TBA (Firkin)
Independence – Epanoui
- followed by Braggot
Jester King – Black Metal Stout (Firkin)
- followed by Beer Geek Rodeo (Firkin)
Austin Beer Works – Golden Fist
Ranger Creek – Strawberry Milk Stout
Rogness – Yogi Chai Amber

Out of State Specialty Items

Dogfish Head – 120 Minute (2 ounce limit)
Avery – Samaels (2 ounce limit)
Stone – Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean
- followed by Vertical Epic 11.11.11
Brooklyn – Companion
- followed by Mary’s Maple Porter
- followed by the Dry Irish Stout
Sierra Nevada – Big Foot 2012 (2 ounce limit)
- followed by Hoptimum
Oskar Blues – Deviant
Santa Fe – Happy Camper (Firkin)
Clown Shoes – TBA (Firkin)
Utah Brewing – Outer Darkness Imperial Stout
Left Hand – Sawtooth ESB
Lindeman’s – Pomme
Rogue – John John Dead Guy Ale
New Belgium – Lips of Faith

All Good Beer

Get Your Tickets for the 2012 Texas Beer Fest

BU Staff — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:29:24 +0000

Have you bought your
ticket for the 2012 Texas Beer Fest yet? If you have, congratulations on your good decision making abilities. If you have not, why not?! All you people that complained it was too far away (in Humble) last year have no excuses this year. The organizers couldn’t have secured a better spot then Discovery Green in downtown Houston. The festival is on Saturday, April 28th and there’s still time to buy tickets (including the VIP Upgrade Pacakge) at a discounted price from the website or else you’re going to end up paying full price at the gate (you know you’re going to end up going because all your friends are). And if you’re waiting for a last minute deal on tickets to show up on Group On, I assure you, there won’t be. Still need some incentives? See if this helps:

Over 70 Breweries will be in attendance, including many new-to-market and recently debuted Texas breweries whose products are not easily found in the Houston area
the Great Brewers Specialty Beer Wall will be tapping hard-to-find craft beers and beers brewed specifically for the Texas Beer Fest
Houston Chronicle’s Ronnie Crocker will be signing his new boock Houston Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Bayou City (Texas) (The History Press)
eight representatives of Houston’s diverse local craft food industry and food truck culture such as Bread and Batter Baking, Café Luz, Coreanos Houston, Les Givrals, the Little Baker, Rockwell Tavern, Sammy’s Wild Game Grill, and Wicked Whisk Catering
entertaining mix of performers featuring: Handsome Ransome’s indie folk rock with a message, Fish Fry Bingo’s raucous 5 piece hillbilly jug band, Houston’s own award winning Brant Croucher and finally Curtis Grimes (who has performed on NBC’s The Voice, all over Texas, and with artists such as Jack Ingram, Justin Moore, Eli Young Band, Leann Rimes, Josh Abbott, and Kevin Fowler).
and finally, because 25% of net proceeds will be donated to the Houston Food Bank

All Good Beer

Top 50 Craft and Overall Brewing Companies for 2011

BU Staff — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:28:22 +0000

The Brewers Association just released its annual lists of the Top 50 Craft and Overall Brewing Companies in the U.S. based on 2011 beer sales volume. With it’s headquarters in San Antonio, the Gambrinus Company, owner of such brands as Shiner, Bridgeport, and Trumer Pils, earned the top Texas spot at number 4. However, with the exception of Shiner, their brands are actually brewed outside of Texas. Saint Arnold Brewing moved up this year to number 43 from 48 and is followed closely by Real Ale Brewing at number 45 who moved up from number 49.

As of March 26, 2012, the Brewers Association is aware of 250 brewery openings in 2011 (174 microbreweries and 76 brewpubs) and 37 brewery closings (12 microbreweries and 25 brewpubs).

All Good Beer