Last chance for Wurstfest 2015 bus tour! Details and tickets for Saturday, Nov 7th are here and Saturday the 14th are here. It’s $60 including all taxes and fees, though you need to cover Wurstfest tickets and brewery tasting fees (TABC rules). On the 7th we’ll be visiting Middleton & New Braunfels Brewing Companies prior to heading to the festival, and on the 14th it’ll be Guadalupe & New Braunfels.
WhichCraft Advent Calendar pre-sales are now available! For those that bought last year, you know how fun these boxes are. Pickup will begin in mid-November and we’re reviving the supremely awesome GOLDEN BOX concept. Full details of the program and how to pre-order are here.
If you’re free this Saturday, it’s National Learn to Homebrew Day, and we’ll be hosting the guys from SoCo Homebrew as they walk newbies through the homebrewing process. We’ll be starting at roughly 11am, it’s free, and you can show up at any point in the process to learn, ask questions and talk with expert homebrewers.
Saint Arnold Pumpkinator is back in stock! Plenty in stock – no limit!
Free In-Store Tastings 6-8pm
Thursday, November 5th – TONIGHT!
Lexi from Chalupa Imports will be here sampling out the two beers we have from Calavera – an American Pale ale and a Mexican Imperial Stout that features some chili peppers for some added heat. It’s International Stout Day (apparently), so celebrate by having a Mexican stout!
Friday, November 6th
Revolver rep Johnathon is back in the house releasing the brand new Mother’s Little Fracker stout seasonal. It just arrived today! Also sampling Blood & Honey and Ironhead IPA.
Tuesday, November 10th
Terry from Alaskan Brewing will be here doing a mini vertical tasting of the most award winning beer in GABF history – The Alaskan Smoked Porter. We’ll have both the 2014 and 2015 versions for sampling and for sale. We’ll also be tasting the Heritage Coffee Brown and Imperial IPA.
Wednesday, November 11th
Artisanal Imports is the US importer for a whole suite of fantastic Belgian beers, and their US headquarters happens to be just around the corner from us! Amy will be here tasting Kwak, Tripel Karmeliet and all 3 La Trappe trappist ales!
Thursday, November 12th
Joe Dotson from Original Sin will be back at the tasting bar dishing out free samples of their original apple cider as well as the excellent cherry and elderberry versions. Cider-riffic!
Friday, November 13th
Shannon Brewing from Keller TX is launching next week and we’re celebrating by having a free tasting with all 4 of their new releases that arrive next week! Irish Red, Blonde, IPA and Chocolate Stout.
Saturday, November 14th – 3 to 5pm
Amy from Goose Island will be here tasting the whole lineup of sour sisters minus Madame Rose for an epic fruited sour tasting. Lolita, Gillian, Juliet & Halia will all be open for free samples as well as available for purchase. We’ll also have special pricing on 4 packs of Sofie & Matilda. If you like fruited sours this is not a tasting to miss!
New Beers This Week
Back in stock: Southern Tier Oranj, Hops & Grain A Pale Mosaic, Zilker Marco IPA.
Blue Owl Spirit Animal – Blue Owl cans are here! We’ve been waiting nearly a year to type that sentence, but the day we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. Locally made sour mash beers in 6 pack cans; everything you’ve always wanted. Spirit Animal is a very aromatic pale ale that has a nice mild lacto tartness on the finish. Very simple components add up to a very complex beer. 5.5% ABV/Austin, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: plenty
Blue Owl Little Boss – Little Boss is a “sour session wheat,” which is basically a different way of saying Berliner Weisse. It’s only 3.3% ABV which makes is #crushable but is still super refreshing and slightly tart. 3.3% ABV/Austin, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: plenty/BONUS: We’re also making mixed 6 packs – 3 of each beer!
Avery Raspberry Sour – Sour ale with raspberries added and aged in oak barrels. Luscious ripe red raspberries are elegantly intertwined with a bountiful amount of lactic acidity and delicate barrel nuances to cultivate this stunning sour ale. 7.2% ABV/Boulder, CO/Beer Advocate 98/Availability: limited
Avery Twenty Two – 100% Brettanomyces drie Fermented Dry-Hopped Wild Ale. While touring Belgium in 2006, the Avery family came across Drie Fonteinen, widely regarded as the best Lambic blender in the world. Secreting home a couple of bottles, they intended to cultivate the wild yeast that spontaneously worked its magic in Beersel and propagate it for their own use. This is the first release using that wild yeast. 6% ABV/Boulder, CO/Ratebeer 96/Availability: very limited
Anchor Christmas – One of the public’s most anticipated holiday beers, the Anchor Christmas is a holiday classic. They slightly change the recipe each year but keep the spirit the same, just as the tree on the label itself changes too. This year’s inspiration is the Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara), better known as the California Christmas Tree. 5.5% ABV/San Francisco, CA/No ratings yet/Availability: decent
Revolver Mother’s Little Fracker – Revolver’s first seasonal bottle release is Mother’s Little Fracker, a big-bodied and bold stout that is surprisingly drinable at 7.75% ABV. Summit & Challenger hops provide the soft bitter finish to pair with the big roasty malt bill. 7.75% ABV/Granbury, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: plenty
Schmaltz (HeBrew) Shtick in a Box* – This insane mixed 12 pack from Schmaltz Brewing features some of their favorite beers in a handy box that already has Step 1 completed for you. *Arriving Friday
Schmaltz (HeBrew) Chanukah* – Schmaltz’s annual Chanukah beer release is a winter warmer with rich and malty notes of caramel, toffee, chocolate and toasty nuttiness. 8% ABV/Clifton Park, NY/Beer Advocate 83/Availability: decent/*Arriving Friday
Southern Tier Mocha* – Southern Tier combined two of their highly acclaimed Blackwater Series Imperial Stouts, Jahva and Choklat. Alone each is perfect, but together as Mokah, they are an inimitable expression of two of the world’s most sought after flavors. 10.9% ABV/Lakewood, NY/Ratebeer 99/Availability: decent/*Arriving Friday
Boulevard Imperial Stout X Tart Cherry – For lovers of big, complex stouts, the Imperial Stout “X” series offers a year-long roster of limited releases Boulevard, each with a significant variation. This time they spotlight the addition of tart cherries to fermentation as well as a lactic souring on the brewhouse. The result is a perfect marriage of robust, smoky maltiness and bracing tartness. 11% ABV/Kansas City, MO/No ratings yet/Availability: plenty
Goose Island Lolita – Lolita is a pink rosé colored Belgian style pale ale fermented with wild yeast and aged on raspberries in wine barrels. Aromas of fresh raspberries, bright jammy fruit flavors and crisp, refreshing body make Lolita ideal for beer drinkers fond of Belgian Framboise. 8.7% ABV/Chicago, IL/Ratebeer 99/Availability: limited
Goose Island Juliet – Fermented with wild yeasts and aged in wine barrels with blackberries, Juliet is a tart, fruity, complex ale. Notes of wood, tannin, dark fruit and spice make Juliet an ideal beer to suggest to Pinot Noir enthusiasts and beer drinkers who are fond of Belgian sour ales. 8% ABV/Chicago, IL/Ratebeer 99/Availability: limited
Victory Moving Parts IPA #5 – The 5th in the rotating IPA series from Victory features all New Zealand hops. Aromas of grapefruit and white grape combine with flavors of crisp passion fruit and subtle notes of pine in this gold colored New Zealand ale. Azacca, Rakau, Wakatu hops. 6.5% ABV/Downington, PA/Ratebeer 92/Availability: decent
Free Weekend Tastings: 6-8pm
Friday
Johnathon from Revolver will be here pouring the brand new release Mother’s Little Fracker! Also Blood & Honey and Iron Head.
Saturday
5 Stones Aloha Piña
Victory Moving Parts #5
Blue Owl Spirit Animal Pale Ale
Saint Arnold Pumpkinator
Kazematten Wipers Times 14