Flying Saucer Sugar Land on Track to Open Saturday

The new Sugar Land location of the Flying Saucer Draft Emporium is currently on track to open this Saturday.  The new location will feature 200 beers with 80 on tap and two built-in cask engines.  They have also included a cellaring area for aging beers and additional storage will allow them to offer a greater variety of appropriate glassware (not just the ubiquitous shaker pint glass for all beers).  As with the other locations, customers will be able to participate in the UFO club and work towards their plate in the Ring of Honor.  There is also a large outdoor patio (great now that the weather has cooled off) and a private room that will be used for beer dinners and special events, like the beer dinner scheduled for Nov 15th with Garrett Oliver, Brew Master of Brooklyn Brewery.  If you're interested in working at the new location, I believe they are still hiring.

Independence Brewing 7th Anniversary Party

Independence Brewing Co. is 7 years old and is celebrating with a party out at the brewery on Saturday, Oct 22nd from 4pm ~ 8pm. Admission is free and includes three beer samples, but a commemorative anniversary glass will be available for purchase for $12 (cash only). The regular lineup of beers will be available as well as special and rare beers, including a beer tapping every 30 minutes as follows:

4:15 Brewluminati All Seeing Eye(PA) (Cask)
4:45 Brewluminati Braggot
5:15 Brewluminati Epanoui
5:45 Jasperilla Old Ale (2010)
6:15 Brewluminati Thinker’s Ale
6:45 Brewluminati Gold Deluxe

Entertainment will be provide by a band featuring the Head Brewer, Michael Waters as well as local Austin rockabilly band Deuce Coupe. And if you get hungry, Boomerang’s will be onsite selling their delicious meet pies,

October Glass Nights at the Ginger Man

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

5th - Chimay
12th - Unibroue
19th - Dos XX
26th - TBD

The glasses are available starting at 6:00pm (new start time) 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.

No Label Beer Dinner at Alamo Drafthouse

The latest installment of the "Independent movie, Independent beer" series at the Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park location takes place on Thursday, October 6th at 7pm and features the movie Lost in Translation along with a feast paired with beers from No Label Brewing.

For the price of $50, you get Scarlett Johansson (and Bill Murray too) and the following four course dinner:

1st Course
Ridgeback (Amber Ale) with Shiitake miso with "Suntori Time" smoked chicken.

2nd Course
Pale Horse (Pale Ale) with Chili-Ponzu Yellowtail.

3rd Course
No Label El-Hefe (Hefeweizen) with soy and ginger marinated pork belly with cheddar grits and a "rising sun" fried egg.

4th Course
Black Wit (Dark wheat ale) with Green-tea and chocolate cheesecake.

Reserve your ticket online and ensure your spot for this great dinner and a movie.

2011 GABF Texas Winners

There was an impressive 3,930 beers entered in the beer judging competition at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival, a 11% increase over last year. A total of 248 medals were awarded, included 4 for the following Texas breweries:

Uberbrau - Humperdink's Restaurant and Brewery, Dallas
Gold - American Style Amber Lager

Peacemaker - Austin Beerworks, Austin
Silver - English Style Summer Ale

Bottle Rocket Lager - Uncle Billy's Brew & Que, Lake Travis
Silver - Kellerbier or Zwickelbier

Barton Kriek - North by Northwest, Austin
Bronze - Belgian Style Lambic or Sour Ale

The full list of all medals is available here.

Its great to see Texas breweries continue to take medals from the GABF, particularly the brand new startup Austin Beerworks. Hopefully we'll also continue to see increased participation as more new breweries open their doors and begin producing.

This was also the first year that the Texas Brewers Guild had a booth at the GABF, bringing even more attention to the great craft beer scene "brewing" down in the Lone Star State.

Beer Festival at Brenner's on the Bayou

Brenner's Steakhouse on the Bayou is hosting a Beer Festival this Saturday, October 8th from 2pm ~ 6pm. There are two levels of tickets, General Admission ($50 presale or $65 on day of the event) and VIP admission ($100). Both include unlimited tasting of about 50 beers from the breweries listed, but the VIP access includes additional specialty beers in a VIP area. Food stations serving up some great food prepared by the Chefs at Brenner's to compliment the beers will be setup around the restaurant with additional food items also made available in the VIP area. Tickets can be purchased online. Casual attire is suggested.

2011 GABF Medal Ceremony Streaming Live

Winners of the 2011 Great American Beer Festival will be announced today at the convention center during the Members-only session. For those who are unable to be there, the medal ceremony is being broadcast live on The Brewing Network starting at 1:00pm MST. Tune in from home or your local pub and see if your favourite brewery takes home a medal.

Complete list of winners from previous years is available here.

The medals winners from Texas last year were:

Gold (German-Style Kölsch): Fancy Lawnmower - Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
Gold (Ordinary or Special Bitter): Rio Blanco Pale Ale - Real Ale Brewing Co.
Silver (Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter): Elissa IPA - Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
Silver (Scottish-Style Ale): Oktoberfest - Saint Arnold Brewing Co.,
Bronze (Munich-Style Helles): Cowboy Lager - The Covey Restaurant & Brewery (closed)