Firkin Fest is happening at Flix Brewhouse on Sunday, November 9th. Tickets to this awesome & unique event are here. It will feature 13 Texas breweries with 2 or more rare casks of crazy stuff you probably won’t see again. Join us!
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
Tuesday, November 11th
Stone Brewing continues to impress with their desire to continually redefine themselves. A house built on hops, they’ve been brewing Belgian styles recently, as well as stouts and other delicious things. We invite Steve Ponsetti from the brewery in on Tuesday 11/11 to sample out some of these unique brews. See details of the tasting lineup here.
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!
New Beers This Week
Gulden Draak Brewmaster’s Reserve* (aged in Whiskey barrels) – Van Steenberge brewmaster Jef Versele crafted this exclusive Gulden Draak Brewmasters Edition as a tribute to his grandfather Jozef Van Steenberge and the 230th birthday of the brewery. It’s a Belgian strong dark ale coming in at 10.5% that was aged in whiskey barrels. 10.5% ABV/Ertvelde, Belgium/Ratebeer 97 *Arriving Friday
Founders Backwoods Bastard – A bourbon barrel aged version of Dirty Bastard, this is Founders’ most sought after release next to KBS. And yes, at the time of this email going out, we still have some available. Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts. A bit of earthy spice and a scintilla of dark cherries. 10.2% ABV/Grand Rapids, MI/Ratebeer 100
Gulden Draak* – This is a Belgian classic strong dark ale. For the secondary fermentation, wine yeast is used. Pours dark but transparent. Aromas of sweet dark fruit and the ABV is well hidden. Rich toffee & caramel flavors with a Belgian yeast finish. 10.5% ABV/Ertvelde, Belgium/Ratebeery 99 *Arriving Friday
Kasteel Trignac* – Trignac from Castle Brewery Van Honsebrouck was introduced in the spring of 2013 and is far more than a tripel matured in oak barrels. It is, in fact, the first genuine tripel matured in recycled French cognac barrels. Yellow & cloudy color that comes from the barrel aging and rich hints of cognac play well with the spicy & fruity esters from the Belgian tripel yeast. Rich & delicious. 12% ABV/Ingelmunster, Belgium/Beer Advocate 90 *Arriving Friday
No Label Perpetual Peace Bourbon Barrel Aged Wee Heavy* – The latest in the Off Label series of experimental beers from the crew at No Label has them aging a scotch ale/wee heavy in Wild Turkey Select barrels for 6 months. It’s blended slightly to reduce the booziness from the barrels but still comes in at 9.5% ABV. Katy, TX/Beer Advocate 89 *Arriving Friday
Scotch Silly Cognac* – We’ve been selling the Brasserie Silly Scotch ale aged in port wine barrels for some time, and it’s outstanding. Silly knocks it out of the park again with their cognac barrel aged version. Tastes of dark grape and raisin, a nice vineous characteristic, also light chocolate, some toasted malt, red apple, vanilla, an extra-alcoholic pinch, hinting a strong spirit, but cognac doesn’t pop that clearly in mind. 9% ABV/Silly, Belgium/No ratings yet *Arriving Friday
Boulevard Harvest Dance Wheat Wine* – Wheat wines are a somewhat recent stylistic development, akin to barleywines in strength, but brewed with a large portion of wheat malt, which provides a soft mouthfeel to balance the big body of these warming brews. Boulevard adds a generous helping of Hallertau and Citra hops, and ages the beer on both French and American oak, resulting in a beer that opens up with a warming burst of tropical fruit flavors, adding subtle Sauvignon Blanc notes before rounding slowly to a dry, oaky finish. 9.5% ABV/Kansas City, MO/Ratebeer 97 *Arriving Friday
Boulevard Nutcracker* – Nutcracker Ale is Boulevard’s special offering for the holiday season. This hearty, warming brew is a classic winter ale, deep amber in color, with hints of molasses balanced by the “spiciness” of freshly harvested “wet” Chinook hops. 7.8% ABV/Kansas City, MO/Ratebeer 87 *Arriving Friday
Delirium Noel – Pours a cloudy orange/brown color that shifts slightly to orange when held up to the light. Golden raisins, light toffee, with bright cherry slightly present in the background. Herbal hop aromas, bitterness is there but seems low due to high carbonation and sweetness. More peppery flavors from the yeast, just the smallest hint of garlic and/or cloves, and some cola notes. 10% ABV/Melle, Belgium/Ratebeer 96
Southern Tier Krampus* – Dark malts and aromatic hops create the diabolical spirit of this brew. It is finished with lager yeast and aged cold for no less than 30 days. This Imperial Helles Lager will warm even the darkest hearts. This season, replace the cookies with a bottle of Krampus. 9% ABV/Lakewood, NY/Ratebeer 96 *Arriving Friday
New Braunfels Thunder Kiss – The latest from New Braunfels Saur program is a dunkel weizen which is then aged 4-5 months in TX’s Garrison Brothers bourbon barrels. It’s then also inoculated with NB’s house sour culture so it has characteristic tartness, intermingled with roast, whiskey and wood. 7.8% ABV/New Braunfels, TX/No ratings yet
Tieton Frost* – From the Yakima Valley in Washington state, Tieton makes a delicious range of ciders. The autumn harvest blend of Jonagold, Pinova and Winter Banana apples produces a pale straw cider that is expressive and floral with a pleasing sweetness. This 11% ABV still cider can be enjoyed as an aperitif or digestif. 11% ABV/Tieton, WA/Ratebeer 89 *Arriving Friday
Kulmbacher Eku 28 Doppelbock – One of the world’s original doppelbocks, Eku 28 has the character and richness to stand in for fine sherry or port. Just the right degree of sweetness – never cloying, wonderfully aromatic and warming. 11% ABV/Kulmbach, Germany/Beer Advocate 89
Kulmbacher Eisbock – According to the chronicles of the Kulmbacher brewery, some time around 1900 an apprentice forgot on a cold winter day to carry two barrels of bock beer into the brewery cellar. The barrels stayed outside, were covered by ice and snow and weren’t discovered until the following spring. The barrels had burst and the apprentice was reprimanded. But the carelessness was a stroke of luck because under the thick ice coat, a bock beer extract remained, strong tasting and high in alcoholic content. 9.2% ABV/Kulbach, Germany/Beer Advocate 92
Clown Shoes Royal Standard Scotch Ale – Aromas of dark fruits, earth, peat, floral notes, toffee, and caramel malts. Dark cherries, plums, raisins, flowers, peat, cola and a hint of honey. Hints of caramel and toffee towards the end. Finishes with some more flowers and caramel malts. 10% ABV/Ipswich, MA/Beer Advocate 87
Smuttynose S’muttenator Doppelbock – S’muttonator is a tasty mixture of German ingredients and good ol’ fashioned New England tenaciousness. The brewers take 30 hours to brew a single batch of this traditional Double Bock. Take your time and enjoy its rich, malty, and deceptively smooth flavor. 9.6% ABV/Hampton, NH/Ratebeer 97
Great Divide Fresh Hop – Fresh Hop is an American-style pale ale with moderate hop bitterness marked by a unique and intensely grassy hop flavor and aroma. Fresh Hop is a superbly refreshing, medium bodied, light-copper colored pale ale weighing in at 55 IBUs and 6.1% ABV. Denver, CO/Ratebeer 98
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti – Aging on a blend of French and toasted oak chips infuses a subtle oak and vanilla character into Yeti’s already intense chocolate, roasted coffee malt flavor and hugely assertive hop profile. 9.5% ABV/Denver, CO/Ratebeer 100
Avery Old Jubelation – Avery’s winter strong ale has a gorgeous mahogany hue, a hint of hazelnuts, and a finish reminiscent of mocha and toffee. No spices, just a perfect blend of five specialty malts. 8.3% ABV/Boulder, CO/Ratebeer 96
Ska Euphoria Fresh Hop Pale Ale – A big backbone of malt, with plenty of caramel sweetness and just a touch of chocolate and toast, provides enough alcohol to stay warm through the winter months. But it’s the epic grapefruit hop aroma and flavor, provided by a huge dry hop addition at the end of fermentation, that really make this seasonal beer shine. 6.2% ABV/Durango, CO/Ratebeer 90
Oasis TX Lake Monster – Oasis TX’s latest release is a 4 pack of 16 oz cans called Lake Monster. It’s an 8.5% barrel aged Baltic porter aged in red wine barrels from TX. 8.5% ABV/Austin, TX/No ratings yet
Dogfish Head Kvasir – A tart and herbaceous hybrid Scandinavian grog. The newest in the Dogfish lineup of Ancient Ales, Kvasir (say: Va-seer’) is brewed with lingonberries, cranberries, birch syrup and herbs. 10% ABV/Milton, DE/Ratebeer 89
Anchor Christmas – In both 6 packs and awesome 50 ounce single bottles, Anchor was the first brewery to really make a Christmas ale years ago. The recipe changes a bit each year but is always a winter warmer with a bit of spice. 5.5% ABV/San Francisco, CA/No 2014 ratings yet
Nebraska Hefeweizen* – This medium to full-bodied beer, pale to amber in color, is most accurately described as a Bavarian wheat beer. The aroma and flavor of this unfiltered beer is decidedly fruity and phenolic — a big word for a brew that tastes like cloves, nutmeg or sometimes vanilla with banana-like esters. 4.8% ABV/Papillion, NE/Beer Advocate 86 *Arriving Friday
Harpoon Raspberry – Harpoon adds natural raspberry flavor to the UFO Hefeweizen to create this beer. Consistent with the hefeweizen style, this beer is unfiltered and cloudy with a solid foamy head. UFO Raspberry has a distinctive, hazy rose color. The taste of the fruit compliments the beer nicely, neither overwhelms the other. There is a faint sweetness on the palate, which finishes cleanly in a semi-dry, tart finish. 4.8% ABV/Boston, MA/Beer Advocate 82
Hops & Greenhouse #10 will be arriving on Monday!
Weekend Tastings, 6-8pm
Friday
Avery Old Jubilation
Oasis TX Lake Monster
Great Divide Fresh Hop
One more random thing we’ll open up!
Saturday
Clown Shoes Royal Standard
Breckenridge Christmas
New Belgium Hop the Pond
One more random thing we’ll open up!