Pumpkin Beer Throwdown at Petrol Station

Ever brewed up a pumpkin beer and think yours is clearly the best? Well you can prove it at Petrol Station's Pumpkin Beer Throwdown on Thursday, October 14th. Two bottles of your finest pumpkin beer will be needed for judging. Its free to enter, just drop by the Petrol Station and sign up.

Petrol Station to Release New Growlers

The Petrol Station will be releasing a new batch of growlers for sale in a couple of weeks after selling out of their first batch. The new ones, featuring an image of Buddy Christ, will sell for $15 empty and can be filled with whatever beer they have on tap (price to fill varies by the beer). Since some beers are only available on draft and cannot be purchased in bottles at a local liquor store, growlers provide a way to enjoy these draft-only beers at home. The Petrol Station will actually fill any growler and it doesn't have to be one of theirs, but why wouldn't you want one with Buddy Christ on it? I'm definitely getting one.

Brewmasters International Beer Festival Next Weekend

I posted information about the Brewmasters International Beer Festival a month ago when I first heard about the event, but since its coming up in a week, its probably worth mentioning again.

This Labor Day weekend Sep. 3-5 Moody Gardens will host the first annual Brewmasters International Beer Festival – an event that promises to become one of the best and largest beer festivals in the nation. The four-day celebration will showcase over 300 international, domestic and local Texas brews with three signature events - the BrewTopia Beer Garden, the Brew Ha-Ha Grand Tasting and BrewLicious in the Ballroom – plus a homebrewers competition, charity golf tournament, live music, beer and food pairing seminars featuring renowned chefs, and educational events and expert speakers.

I recently received an email message from the festival organizers which included a list of the "255 beers and counting" that will be served. The list basically reads like the beer aisles at the downtown Spec's Liquor Warehouse. Although it doesn't look like there will be anything served that you can't normally get yourself, its a good opportunity to try a lot of different beers all in one place. I'm not sure if I'll be in attendance as I think we'll most likely be heading in the opposite direction for the long weekend.

More information about the various events can be found on the festival's Facebook page and website.

Oktoberfest Party at Southern Star Brewing

Southern Star Brewing has announced they're having an Oktoberfest party out at the brewery on Saturday, October 23rd from 6pm ~ 10pm. The price is $30 per person which includes a 24oz commemorative ceramic beer stein and a plate of German food (more food can also be purchased if you're still hungry). Only 300 tickets will be sold which can be purchased online at their website. In addition to their regular lineup of beers, they will also have the 2010 Pro-Am Smoked Porter plus some speciality casks made just for the celebration.

Another New Brewery in the Houston Area

Paul over at Texas Beer brought this to my attention. It appears that another new brewery could be in the works for the Houston area. According to their Facebook page, Kreuz Creek Brewing Company is currently looking for a location around Sugar Land and Stafford which is on the South side of Houston.

Two Years of All Good Beer

Its been two years since I created All Good Beer as a simple way to keep track of my experiences with drinking, brewing and enjoying good beer. Some of the highlights for me over the past year was checking out the beer scene in Seattle, WA, Portland, OR and Washington, DC, attending Camp Beer II and III, and travelling to Denver for the 2009 GABF and inaugural Rare Beer Tasting.

During the last year, I've seen a huge improvement in the craft beer culture here in Houston and Texas overall. There's been more beer dinners in Houston over the past year then the entire time I've lived here. Petrol Station, Pappas Bros Steakhouse and Vic & Anthony's (to name just a few) have all had at least one with more being announced all the time. Bars and restaurants are increasing their craft beer selection and offering a greater range of styles with some starting to pay attention to the concept of pairing beer with food. Several beer bars have started to work together to promote craft beer and managed to organize Houston's first Cask Festival. Several beer festivals have been announced lately and the very first Houston Beer Week featuring all Texas breweries is set for October. A few people have even seen this new awareness and interest in craft beer as an opportunity to take a chance and follow their dreams. There is currently over a half a dozen new craft breweries under construction in the state with at least twice that number that have announced intentions and are in various stages of fundraising.

It's looking like Texas is at the beginning of a beer renaissance and I'm definitely excited about the next year of All Good Beer. Cheers.

Beer Schedule for Decade of Draft Celebration at the Flying Saucer

The Flying Saucer in Houston (FaceBook / Twitter) has finally released the schedule of beers being tapped during their 10th Anniversary celebration this Sunday:

Noon: Breckenridge - Summerbright aged in Cabernet barrels
1pm: Belgian Wit (A secret, you have to show up to try it)
2pm: Avery Brewing - DuganA on Cask
3pm: Stone Brewing - Vertical Epic 09.09.09
4pm: Southern Star Brewing - Cask of ProAm w/ Chipote Peppers and Agave Nectar
5pm: (512) Brewing - Cask of Double IPA (2nd anniversary beer)
6pm: Saint Arnold - Divine Reserve #9
7pm: Boulevard Brewing - Trailer 7 (Single Wide IPA with Tank 7 yeast)
8pm: Real Ale - Empire, barrel-aged Lost Gold IPA
9pm: Special Flemish Red (Another secret, you need to show up to try it)

Houston Beer Week and Monsters of Beer Festival

Live It Big has taken their experience and skills with organizing the Camp Beer events to the next level and is putting together the very first Houston Beer Week. Beginning Monday, Oct 11th and running through to Sunday Oct 17th, the week will be filled with beer events, dinners and tastings at bars and restaurants around town.

The week will then conclude with Monsters of Beer, an outdoor beer festival featuring Texas breweries and brewpubs. It will take place on the Sunday afternoon from noon to 6pm on the street adjacent to 13 Celsisus. Tickets are $20 online ($30 at the gate) which includes a 5oz tasting glass to try all the beers from the participating breweries. There will be music, food from Hubcap Burgers and Melange Creperie and a silent auction with rare beers, beer tours and other odd beer paraphernalia.

Check the websites and follow the @houstonbeerweek and @monstersofbeer twitter feeds for more information as it is released.

American Beer Dinner at Pappas Grill Steakhouse

Pappas Grill Steakhouse is hosting an American Beer Dinner on Friday, August 27th at 7pm. The price is $55 per person (plus tax & tip) and includes hors d'oeuvres and three courses paired with a variety of American craft beer. Click on the image to the right to see the full menu.

Austin Beer Week

The Texas Craft Brewers Guild has announced that they are organizing an Austin Beer Week to take place Oct 24th ~ 30th. The week long celebration will showcase Texas craft brewers, restaurants, pubs and other craft beer related businesses. More information will be made available in early September, so watch their website and Twitter feed.

Art of Beer in Beaumont

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, TX is hosting a fundraising event called the Art of Beer on Thursday, Oct 7 from 6pm ~ 10pm.

"A foam-filled and adventurous fund-raising event where beer-lovers and those new to the brew will have the opportunity to sample a selection of the finest specialty and seasonal brews from around the world paired with complementary food dishes."

Ticket are $50 for members of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas and $60 for non-members. Call (409) 832-3432 for tickets.

• 75+ beers (mostly American craft)
• Food pairings from: Carrabba's Italian Grill, Katharine & Co., Rao's Bakery, Spindletop Steakhouse, Two Magnolias, Zummo's Meats and more
• Charcuterie pairings from Abbie's Imports
• Over a dozen cheese pairings showcasing American artisan makers like Cheesy Girl, Cypress Grove, Maytag and several others
• Beer floats and chocolate nosh pairings
• 5oz etched tasting glass, unlimited pours
• custom screen printed shirts
• live, streaming podcast from BrewCrazy
• music entertainment

Its certainly sounds interesting, particularly the food pairings, but unfortunately, its a little out of the way for me for a Thursday evening.

(512) Brewing Second Anniversary Party

(512) Brewing (Twitter/Facebook) of Austin, TX is turning two and is celebrating with an anniversary party on Saturday, August 28th from 2pm ~ 5pm at the brewery. They've even brewed up a special Double IPA for the occasion. Admission is free and you'll get three free beer tastings, but if you buy the new 2nd Anniversary Pint Glass for $5, they'll fill that for you instead.

Weedwacker Tasting at Petrol Station

The Petrol Station is hosting a special tasting of Saint Arnold Brewing's new Weedwacker on August 26th at 7:00pm. Brock Wagner, founder of Saint Arnolds Brewing, will be on hand to talk about the new special release as well as conduct side by side comparisons of Weedwacker on draft, Weedwacker on cask, Lawnmower and BJ's Wheat (which is contract brewed by Saint Arnolds). This is definitely a unique opportunity to try all four beers in the same location and talk to Brock about the new Moveable Yeast Series. No tickets are required. Individual pints are $4 each, a Lawnmower/Weedwacker side-by-side is available for $4 and for $8 you can get an 8oz pour of all four.

2010 GABF Sold Out!

The 2010 Great American Beer Festival is officially sold out five weeks before the event, breaking all previous ticket sales records.

Beers at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting

Last week, Pints4Prostates announced the list of breweries that will be participating in the Denver Rare Beer Tasting II and has slowly been releasing the individual beers that will be served by each brewery via their Twitter account. I've monitored their feed and the list now appears to be complete official:

Alaskan Brewing - Whiskey Barrel-Aged Smoked Porter
Avery Brewing - Quinquepartite
Bell’s Brewing - Eccentric Ale 2004
Big Sky Brewing - Ivan the Terrible
Boston Beer - Cosmic Mother Funk
Brooklyn Brewery - Reinschweinsgebot
The Bruery - Melange #3
Cascade Brewing - Noyeaux Sour Ale
Cigar City Brewing - Oak-Aged Jai Alai IPA
Deschutes Brewery - Black Butte XXII
Dogfish Head - Namaste
Foothills Brewing - Sexual Chocolate
Founders Brewing - Nemesis
Goose Island - Bourbon Barrel Coffee Stout
Great Divide Brewing - Flanders Red
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales - Biere de Goord
New Belgium Brewing - Tart Lychee
Pike Pub & Brewery - Tripel Kriek
Rogue Ales - 21 Ale
Russian River Brewing - Temptation
Sierra Nevada Brewing - Brandy Barrel-Aged Belgian Trippel
Stone Brewing - Collaboration ESB
Three Floyds Brewing - Darklord
Upstream Brewing - 2006 Gueuze
Weyerbacher Brewing - Decadence
Wynkoop Brewery - Orville.33 Belgian Gold Ale

“The Denver Rare Beer Tasting is a unique celebration of beer,” said Daniel Bradford, publisher of All About Beer Magazine, which presents the event. “It is a chance for people who appreciate fine beers to mix with some of the rock stars of the brewing business, while enjoying beer they might never get the chance to have anywhere else.”

The event takes place at the Wynkoop Brewery on Friday, Sept. 17th from 1pm ~ 4pm. Tickets, on sale now, are $80 each and includes unlimited samples of more than 26 hard to find beers, a commemorative tasting glass and hors d’oeuvres. Only 500 tickets will be sold.

Weedwacker Released On Monday

The first beer in Saint Arnold's "Moveable Yeast" series is set to be released on Monday, August 16th. The Moveable Yeast series involves fermenting some of their existing beers with an alternate style of yeast. The Weedwacker is the result of using a Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast to ferment their Lawnmower beer recipe. The Weedwacker will be available on draft only and a handful of casks dry-hopped with Amarillo hops were also produced.

Scheduled releases in the Moveable Yeast series include Altared Amber (Amber Ale fermented with Belgian Trappist yeast), Bitter Belgian (Elissa IPA fermented with Belgian Trappist yeast) and Brown Bitter (Brown Ale fermented with Alt yeast).

Partial list of where you can find Weedwacker on draft from Beer, TX and 25-95.com:

The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium
Petrol Station
Taps House of Beer
The Ginger Man
Under the Volcano
The Porch Swing
The Front Porch Pub
Onion Creek Coffeehouse
Cedar Creek Cafe
Canyon Creek Cafe
Stag's Head Pub
McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Anvil Bar & Refuge
Rudyards Pub

Stone Brewing Beer Dinner at Vic & Athony's

Cathy over at Brewtiful posted info about a Stone Brewing Beer Dinner coming up at Vic & Anthony's. The price is $75 per person and takes place on Friday, August 27th at 7:00pm.  Click on the image to the left to view the full beer pairing menu.

Vic & Anthony's recently had a Dogfish Head Beer Dinner which sold out very quickly.  If you're interested in attending this one, then I strongly recommend you make reservations soon.

10th Anniversary Party at Houston Flying Saucer

The Flying Saucer in Houston (FaceBook / Twitter) has been pouring great beer for a decade and is celebrating with a 10th Anniversary party on Sunday, August 22nd.  Last year they tapped a different rare beer every hour for nine hours and I'm assuming they will be doing something similar this year. I haven't seen a list of beer they'll be pouring yet, but I'll update this post as soon as I do.  You can see what they poured last year at their 9th anniversary party here.

Breweries at Denver Rare Beer Tasting II Announced

The preliminary lineup of breweries participating in the Denver Rare Beer Tasting II, a fundraiser for the Pints for Prostates campaign, have been announced.

“We have pulled together a heavyweight line up of breweries that will each bring a rare, limited release brew to the Denver Rare Beer Tasting,” said Rick Lyke, a prostate cancer survivor and founder of the Pints for Prostates campaign. “The brewers are generously raiding their private stocks to bring some incredible, exotic brews to the event. The reputation of the Denver Rare Beer Tasting spread rapidly after last year’s success. More than 60 percent of the tickets have been snapped up prior to the announcement of this tentative brewery list – and we’ve still not released the list of beers that will be poured.”

The attending breweries this year include:

Alaskan Brewing
Avery Brewing
Bell’s Brewing
Big Sky Brewing
Boston Beer
Brooklyn Brewery
The Bruery
Cascade Brewing
Cigar City Brewing
Deschutes Brewery
Dogfish Head
Foothills Brewing
Founders Brewing
Goose Island
Great Divide Brewing
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
New Belgium Brewing
Pike Pub & Brewery
Rogue Ales
Russian River Brewing
Sierra Nevada Brewing
Stone Brewing
Three Floyds Brewing
Upstream Brewing
Weyerbacher Brewing
Wynkoop Brewery

The event takes place at the Wynkoop Brewery on Friday, Sept. 17th from 1pm ~ 4pm. Tickets, on sale now, are $80 each and includes unlimited samples of more than 26 hard to find beers, a commemorative tasting glass and hors d’oeuvres. Only 500 tickets will be sold and it did sell out last year.

Two Sessions Sold Out at GABF

The Friday and Saturday afternoon sessions of the GABF are now officially sold out. The ticket chart is from this afternoon which shows about a third of the tickets are still available for the Thursday and Saturday evening sessions. If you haven't already bought your tickets, you've only got the first and last sessions to choose from. I like the Thursday session the best as your palete is still fresh and all the beers are still available. However, any session that you're able to attend is great.

August Glass Nights at the Ginger Man

The Ginger Man has released their list of Glass Nights for the month of August:

4th - Belhaven
11th - Lindemans
18th - Barbar
25th - Southern Star

The glasses are available starting at 5:30pm and only one glass per person with purchase of the beer of the day. As always, the glasses are subject to change and only available while supplies last.