We’ll were officially pre-selling our Craft Beer Advent Calendars now until Sunday 11/23. Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is. Tired of watching your kids have all the fun with their crappy milk chocolate advent calendars? Treat yourself! Great as gifts.
The fantastic Austin Beer Guide has opened up their annual voting for their Best Of edition which will be released on Thursday December 18th. Hit the link here and vote for all your favorites in local craft beer from 2014. We’d certainly love if you wanted to vote for us for Best Bottle Shop! Enter WhichCraft in question #11, and we’ll see you 12/18 at the ABG winter guide release party!
Upcoming Events, 6-8pm
Thursday, November 13th
Abita is another brewery who has been making some very interesting beers recently, most notably their Black IPA Imperator and a bourbon barrel imperial stout aged 100% if Pappy Van Winkle barrels (now in stock!). Taste these and a few others when Hunter Roberts from the brewery is invited to our tasting bar.
Saturday, November 15th
Talk about a unique tasting event! Hit the link to read all the details, but here is a teaser… Brooklyn Brewery tasting paired with hand-selected cheeses from Henri’s Cheese Shop. This is part of the Brooklyn Brewery MASH city tour. Read more here!
Tuesday, November 18th
We invite Christa from Rahr & Sons Brewing back into the store to taste the most recent Rahr seasonals including the Visionary Pumpkin Ale & Winter Warmer. We’ll also taste a couple of other Rahr year-round beers.
Wednesday, November 19th
Adam from Circle Brewing is always a treat to have in the store and he’ll be pouring free samples of Hop Overboard pale ale, Envy Amber & Blur Texas Hefe from 6-8pm.
New Beers This Week
Victory Wet Hop Harvest Ale – Victory’s wet hop offering uses 100% Citra and Mosaic hops! Big juicy flavors of apricot and tropical fruit merge with aromas of citrus and grapefruit, immersing your senses in fresh hops. Sweet notes of malt provide balance and a pleasant bitterness lingers. 6.5% ABV/Downington, PA/Beer Advocate 92
Squatters Outer Darkness* – The combination of rich roasted barley, oak, molasses and licorice root combine to create an utterly unique and complex imperial stout experience. Squatters had to mash in twice to get the starting gravity of 27 plato (1.108 original gravity). It was then boiled 3.5 hrs to enhance caramelization and molasses and licorice root were added at the end of boil. Outer Darkness is aged with oak, has 65 IBUs and is bottle conditioned. 10.5% ABV/Salt Lake City, UT/Ratebeer 99 *Arriving Friday
Clown Shoes Extremely Angry Beast* – Clown Shoes has really been killing it recently with their special releases and this one won’t disappoint. The base is the Very Angry Beast imperial stout which is then aged in bourbon and rum barrels and blended. Don’t miss this one. 12% ABV/Ipswich, MA/No Ratings yet *Arriving Friday
North Coast Pranqster – PranQster is North Coast’s Belgian golden ale which uses a mixed culture of antique yeast strains that produce a floral nose, a full fruity flavor, and a clean finish. 7.6% ABV/Fort Bragg, CA/Beer Advocate 91
Breckenridge 72 Imperial Cream Stout – Brewed with chocolate from Colorado’s very own Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., this Imperial Chocolate Cream Stout is full of rich, toasted chocolate notes with hints of dark fruit. 7.2% ABV/Denver, CO/Ratebeer 94
Martin House Pretzel Stout – Back in stock! Martin House out of Fort Worth puts fully baked & salted sourdough pretzels into the kettle to make their delicious & slightly salty pretzel stout. This thing flew out of here last time we had it a couple months ago and rightfully so. 6.5% ABV/Fort Worth, TX/Ratebeer 94
Save the World Biere de Garde – Beautifully amber in color, its aroma and flavors are a complex marriage of sweet malt, dark fruits and earthiness. Traditional aging results in a well balanced ale with a slightly sweet finish. 8.3% ABV/Marble Falls, TX/No ratings yet
Argus 2013 Perennial Cider – Aged in French and American oak, this cider includes the early season harvest of last year’s growing season. Uses apples from Panhandle and Bandera County apple varietals. 6.8% ABV/Austin, TX/No ratings yet
Green Flash Cedar Plank – This hoppy pale ale starts out as 30th Street Pale Ale and then undergoes Spanish cedar aging. Wood aging imparts an intense cedar aroma which dominates the dry hop. The flavor contributions from the Spanish cedar include peppercorn spiciness and a tannic dry mouth feel that makes the hop flavor and bitterness linger in the finish. 6.3% ABV/San Diego, CA/Ratebeer 89
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice – Boasting a deep amber hue and rich mouthfeel, its creamy finish will lift your spirits. Hints of toffee, spice, and caramel tease the senses making this the perfect ale to share with friends and family during the cold days and long nights of winter. 6.9% ABV/Boonville, CA/Ratebeer 90
Musketeers Antigoon* – Aroma is on sweet barley sugar, with peppery hops, mandarine notes, grassy bitterness, belgian yeast, some orange zest. Taste is sweet pale malt, grapefruit and peaches, honey and a little hop bitterness. 6.7% ABV/Ursel, Belgium/Ratebeer 92 *Arriving Friday
Hebrew Hanukkah Chanukah Pass The Beer – This one wins the week’s award for best beer name. 8 malts, 8 hops, 8% ABV and long on humor. 8% ABV/Clifton Park, NY/No ratings yet
Seattle Cider Company Dry & Semi-Sweet Cider* – Brand new to Texas, Seattle Cider Company is launching with a few different cider options. Each cider is in 6 pack 16 oz cans and is a blend of 5 apples. 6.5% ABV/Seattle, WA *Arriving Friday
Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA –Dorado Double IPA takes hops to a new level. Mash hopping, first wort hopping, kettle hopping, and dry hopping creates an award winning beer that embodies San Diego’s reputation for making world class IPAs. 10% ABV/San Diego, CA/Ratebeer 99
Ballast Point Victory at Sea – Victory at Sea embodies the art of masterful brewing by infusing a velvety Imperial Porter with pure vanilla flavor and specially selected, hand roasted coffee. The addition of cold brewed coffee to the beer lends a subtle roasted flavor to this robust imperial porter, blending perfectly with rich vanilla and caramel undertones. 10% ABV/San Diego, CA/Ratebeer 99
Moa Imperial Stout – Moa Imperial Stout is a very strong, bold upfront and rich offering of a famous beer style. Aged in Pinot Noir barrels, this beer not only displays coffee and mocha charters but also some sweet and spicy notes. A tannin-like finish and an oak induced mellow bitterness makes it a serious stout. 10.2% ABV/Blenheim, NZ/Ratebeer 96
5 Stones Frederick Burg – The latest release from 5 Stones was a huge hit at the TX Craft Brewers Festival a couple months back. It’s a fresh peach-added kolsch that has sweetness but is still light and crisp on the tongue. Cibolo, TX/No ratings yet
Weekend Tastings, 6-8pm
Friday
Victory Wet Hop Harvest IPA
Odell Isolation Winter Ale
Martin House Pretzel Stout
Moonlight Meadery Red Dress Mead
Saturday
An epic beer/cheese pairing event with Brooklyn! See above for details.