Oysters, Brews and Blues

The website indicates there will be a limited number of tickets available at the door for tonight's Oysters, Brews and Blues celebration at Goode Company’s Armadillo Palace on Kirby Drive.

The evening will include a discussion from Robb Walsh about Texas appellation oysters followed by an opportunity to try the oysters along with local Texas craft beer while listening to one of the top harmonica players, Sonny Boy Terry.  No Label, Saint Arnold, and Southern Star will be on hand to discuss their beers and help you pair them with the oysters.

Tickets are $50 and proceeds from the event benefit Foodways Texas and the Coastal Conservation Association’s marine oyster habitat program.

Second Annual Pints for the Planet

On Wednesday, March 28th from 7:00pm ~ 9:00pm, Saint Arnold Brewing will be host to the second annual Pints for the Planet which benefits the Whole Planet Foundation.   Founded in 2005, Whole Planet Foundation is a Whole Foods Market foundation that funds poverty alleviation worldwide where the company sources products.

The nonprofit’s mission is to empower the poor living in developing-world communities with microcredit and the chance to create or expand a home-based business and lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Tickets, which include hors d'oeuvres and a commemorative pint glass, are available for purchase online for $25 each with 100% of the proceeds going to the foundation.

Lagunitas Events During SXSW to Benefit Blue Dog Rescue

I typically just post about beer events and news in and around the Houston area as that's where I live. However, Lagunitas Brewing Co. is hosting a series of events in Austin during the SXSW Music Festival that I'd like to pass along as they not only feature good beer but also benefit a local Austin animal rescue society:

SIX -- “Sonoma Grown” Showcases will be presented at venues all over Austin benefiting Blue Dog Rescue. In addition to sponsoring the showcases, Lagunitas Brewing Company El Presidente, Tony Magee will be in attendance and playing finger pickin’ blues from the 20’s and 30’s. Not only will folks learn about cool ways to help in Austin’s animal rescue scene, but also rock to great Sonoma County bands, and meet the owner of Lagunitas, who’s been brewing craft beers since ’93. Come on by, we’ll be tappin’ special kegs, tappin’ our feet, and howlin’ at the wind…

Here's a list of the venues they'll be at and the Lagunitas beer that will be featured:

Thur, Mar 15th – 11am ~ 5pm at Easy Tiger
(KEG: IPA, Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, Dogtown Pale, Doppel Weizen, Gnarleywine, Imperial Red. CASK: WTF?, Hop Stoopid)

Thurs, Mar 15th – 7pm ~ 2am at Opal Divine’s Freehouse
(KEG: IPA, Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, Dogtown Pale )

Fri, Mar 16th – 1pm ~ 6pm at Star Bar
(KEG: Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, WTF? BOTTLE: IPA, Dogtown)

Sat, Mar 17th – 11:30am ~ 5pm at The Draught House
(KEG: IPA, Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, Dogtown Pale, Doppel Weizen, Gnarleywine, Imperial Red. FIRKIN: WTF, Hop Stoopid, Maximus, Imperial Red)

Sat, Mar 17th – 10pm ~ 2am at Rattle Inn
(KEG: IPA, Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’, Dogtown , WTF? BOTTLE: IPA, Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’, Dogtown)

Sun, Mar 18th – 11am ~ 3pm at Zax Restaurant & Bar
(KEG: IPA, Little Sumpin’ Sumpin)

Looks like a great opportunity to enjoy some good beer while helping out a worthy cause.

Rice Village Pub Crawl Featuring Four Houston Breweries

The Rice Village will be host to a pub crawl this Saturday featuring four Houston area breweries, including the two newest, Buffalo Bayou Brewing and Karbach Brewing.

Start at any of the 5 participating locations. Kahn’s Deli, The Gingerman, Hans Bier Haus, Kelvin Arms and Little Woodrows, have a beer and receive a “Pub Crawl Passport”. Do the same at each of the following locations and get your passport stamped. Before 9PM bring your completed passport to Hans Bier Haus. If you are among the first 100, you get a bag full of Beer schwag.

All the locations area walking distance from each other and it looks like the weather should be perfect for it.  My only question is why is Kenny Powers on the poster?

Beer and Burger Pairing at The Counter

The Counter, a burger joint where you custom build your burger, is featuring a Beer and Burger Pairing Menu from February 28 through March 18 at both locations. The burger and beer pairings combine a flight of four mini beers with four beef mini burgers for the reasonable price of $13.

Newcastle (Brown Ale) paired with a beef mini, with swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms, applewood smoked bacon, roasted garlic aioli.

Saint Arnold (Amber Ale) paired with a beef mini, organic mixed greens, fresh mozzarella, bruschetta mix, balsamic glaze, basil pesto.

Longhammer (IPA) paired with a beef mini, lettuce blend, roasted corn and black bean salsa, jalapeno jack cheese, fried jalapenos, chipotle aioli.

Widmer (Hefeweizen) - paired with a beef mini, with brie organic greens, julienned basil, tomato, apricot sauce.

Although I would like to have seen more local craft beers then just Saint Arnold, I certainly applaud their effort.  After March 18th, the pairings will still be available but only Thursdays.

**Update - The Counter responded on Twitter to my post and has indicated they plan on using local beers when they debut their next pairing in April.  Awesome!

The Beer Experiement at Fitzgeralds's

Houston is the first stop of the Food Experiments 16 city national tour, a competition for amateur chefs that has a unique ingredient selected for each city that must be used in the dish presented.  Beer is the ingredient that the competitors will need to use for the event being held at Fitzgerald's on Sunday, March 4th from 1:00pm ~ 4:00pm.  Any type of dish can be entered, as long as it includes beer.  Judging of the entries will be done by Chris Shepherd (Chef at Underbelly), Adam Dorris (Chef at Stella Sola) and Jenny Wang (Producer of Southbound Foods).  The winner will receive a trip to New York next December courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery to compete against the winners from the other cities participating.  Tickets to attend are $10 and available for purchase online which includes beer from Brooklyn Brewery and the chance to sample the entries.