Our very first WhichCraft Road Trip is taking us to New Braunfels and you’re invited! Feedback last week on our idea to rent a bus and go to New Braunfels for 2 brewery tours & Wurstfest was so overwhelmingly positive we’re gonna do this thing. All details and tickets are here. Only 53 tickets are available, so snatch them up while you can! If you have further questions we didn’t answer on the event page, please email holler[at]whichcraftbeerstore.com. It’s going to be a great time!
It’s the Great American Beer Festival this weekend in Denver, and if you’re not there, you can still celebrate by drinking one or many of the previous medal winners we currently have in stock! We’ve put gold stickers on everything in the store that has won a previous medal just to make it easy on you. Because we love you.
In case you missed it last week, we DOUBLED our parking capacity recently at your favorite bottle shop! See here for a map.
If you like the service and products you receive from us, we’d certainly appreciate your feedback on a review forum like Yelp, Beer Advocate and/or Rate Beer! We love our customers and we hope you love us back. If you’d like to send any direct feedback, email holler[at]whichcraftbeerstore.com.
Did you know we’re currently part of the Austin Habitat for Humanity House That Beer Built? We just got more of these sweet glasses in stock last week you can buy for $6 each and ALL of the profit goes to help build the home for the Huerta family. Support a great cause and get a cool glass!
Upcoming Events, 6-8pm
Thursday, October 2nd
We’re welcoming into the store Brian Smith, the rep for Crispin, to taste some ciders from 6-8pm. We’ll be pouring free samples of The Saint, The Bohemian, Honey Crisp and a couple others. Cider is a great autumn weather beverage!
Friday, October 3rd
Ballast Point Brewing Manager Chris Klein will be in the house signing bottles and dishing out free samples of the highly rated Ballast Point beers. Sample for free Sculpin & Big Eye IPAs, Longfin Lager, Fathom IPL & Calico Amber ale. Meet this beer celebrity!
Saturday, October 4th
Natasha from Oasis TX Brewing will be in the house pouring samples of the three year round sessionable beers from one of our newest local breweries. She’ll also have samples of their excellent Lake Monster Baltic Porter as well that isn’t available yet!
Thursday, October 9th
Chris from Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont, CO will hopefully be recovered enough from GABF by next Thursday to come in and sample out all the excellent Oskar Blues canned beers including Ten Fidy, the 10.5% ABV beast of a stout!
New Beers This Week
De Proef/Surly Long of Tooth – On March 31st, 2014, the collaborative minds of Surly’s Head Brewer Todd Haug and DeProef’s BrewMaster Dork Naudts brewed this one of a kind ale. Inspired by English Old Ales and Belgian chocolate, the result is Long of Tooth Ale, dark gold in color with a complex grain bill, rife with notes of toffee, caramel, dried-fruit, cocoa, oaky-vanilla and finishing with classic Belgian character that only Brett can produce. 10% ABV/Hiftje, Belgium/Ratebeer 90
Clown Shoes Bourbon Barrel Pecan Pie Porter* – I can’t find a ton of info online about this beer, but from what I can gather it is a different recipe than previous years’ Genghis Pecan, and then bourbon barrel aged. Sounds awesome. *Arriving Friday
Alvinne Cuvee de Mortagne* – 14% Belgian quadruple aged in red win barrels. Need we say more?? 14% ABV/Moen, Belgium/Ratebeer 98 *Arriving Friday
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2011, 2012 and Grand Cru – Last week we had just received the 2011 vintage of the oak aged sour from BFM, and this week we’ve added the 2012 vintage as well as the Grand Cru version. Buy yourself an incredible instant vertical of this complex sour beer. 11% ABV/Switzerland/Ratebeer 99s across the board.
Texian Charlie Foxtrot Imperial Berliner Weisse – We realize “imperial Berliner weisse” is sort of a contradiction, but this 7.5% tart wheat beer from Texian actually has good taste characteristics of a traditional Berliner Weisse. It’s chewy, tart and finishes dry. 7.5% ABV/Richmond, TX/Beer Advocate 86
Sixpoint Sensi Harvest Wet Hop Pale Ale – If you’re looking for a great showcase of wet hops, this is it. It’s a 4.7% pale ale, so thinner in the mouth than a full on IPA, it still packs plenty of wet hop flavor. Get your fill of wet hops without getting too tipsy. 4.7% ABV/Brooklyn, NY/Beer Advocate 86
Prairie Pirate Bomb* – Prairie took their world-winning Bomb recipe and aged it in rum barrels. Bomb is an imperial stout with vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, chiles & coffee added. This beer should be arriving early afternoon on Friday and will sell ridiculously quick. If you want a bottle, I’d advise being at the store no later than 2pm. 1pm would be better. Limit 1, obviously. 14% ABV/Krebs, OK/Everyone rates it 100 *Arriving Friday
Clown Shoes Undead Party Crasher – Clown Shoes knows Imperial Stouts, and this is the beer that was previously known as Vampire Slayer before trademark attorneys shut them down. Featuring locally smoked malts using hickory & ash wood. 10% ABV/Ipswich, MA/Ratebeer 99
Real Ale Coffee Porter – A rich, robust porter with a dry finish. Brewed with organic hops, malted barley, and Katz fair trade coffee beans. 5.6% ABV/Blanco, TX/Ratebeer 93
Real Ale Altbier – Silver Medal Winner at last year’s GABF! A German style you don’t see many commercial examples of, this one contains noble hops, more pronounced bitterness & firm malt character. 6.6% ABV/Blanco, TX/Beer Advocate 84
Smuttynose Pumpkin – Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale is their homage to the craft and heritage of America’s brewers. Recipes calling for the use of pumpkins in beer date back to early colonial times, when brewers sought to extend their supply of costly imported malt with locally grown ingredients, such as squash and “pompions.” 5.84% ABV/Hampton, NH/Beer Advocate 83
Upslope Pumpkin – Adding organic baby bear pumpkins to malt and hops makes this truly a local farm to brewhouse collaboration. A custom blend of six spices rounds out the flavors in this highly anticipated beer. 7.7% ABV/Boulder, CO/Beer Advocate 87
Odell Isolation – A traditional winter warmer (I know I know… don’t shoot the messenger!), amber in color, malty & strong flavor. No spices or fruits added to this one. 6.1% ABV/Fort Collins, CO/Beer Advocate 88
Deschutes Jubelale – A dark, malty celebration ale with layered flavors and beautifully balanced hopping. Jubelale pours deep garnet in color, medium bodied, with notes of chicory, earth, spice and fruit. To beer lovers, it’s like Yule fire and family. 6.7% ABV/Bend, OR/Ratebeer 96
Maui Big Swell IPA – Brewed with four different kinds of Northwestern hops and malted barley…dry-hopped to perfection. Its flavor begins smooth and malty and is followed with a big burst of hop flavor. 6.8% ABV/Maui, HI/Ratebeer 96
Maui Coconut Porter –Coconut Porter is a classic robust porter spiced with all natural toasted coconut. It is black in color and crowned with a creamy, dark tan head. It begins with a malty-toasted-coconut aroma followed by a rich, silky mouthfeel with tastes of dark malt, chocolate, and hints of coffee. 6% ABV/Maui, HI/Ratebeer 97
Nebraska Wick for Brains Pumpkin* – This brewery is new to Texas, and instead of simply using spice, Nebraska uses real pumpkin which lends a sweetness and pumpkin flavor not found in many pumpkin ales. Wonderful pumpkin pie spice intertwined in an amber ale creates a pumpkin sensation which is elegantly crafted. 6.1% ABV/Papillion, NE/Beer Advocate 79 *Arriving Friday
Nebraska IPA* – Our West Coast inspired India Pale Ale is rich in flavor and abundant in citrus, pine, and floral aromatics created through a wonderful infusion of Citra hops. Completely refreshing and possessing a medium mouthfeel, crisp bitterness, and nearly balanced malts. 6.9% ABV/Papillion, NE/Ratebeer 95 *Arriving Friday
Weekend Tastings, 6-8pm
Friday
Ballast Point meet the brewer event!
Saturday
Oasis TX rep Natasha will be pouring samples of 4 beers!