Wurstfest 2015 road trip is ON! 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. This trip was a blast last year; please come with us!
We have a small handful of Flight Kits still available. We curated a selection of 12 different fall beers — an even mix of Oktoberfest and Pumpkin beers. It’s a great way to explore the styles without having to spend a bunch of time choosing them all yourself. Each flight kit comes with a code that allows you to visit the Case for Beer website and read about each of the beers we selected. It links to their Beer Advocate profiles as well as a little write up of each beer and why we chose it. The kits are $40 while supplies last and would make a great gift.
We’re excited to say Community Brewing out of Dallas has formally entered the Austin market. Our customers will know their beers well as we’ve been getting sporadic shipments of their multiple award-winning beers for the past year. It’ll be year-round on shelves now, and we currently have fresh batches of the following in stock: Mosaic IPA, Witbier, Public Ale (ESB) and Legion Russian Imperial Stout.
Free In-Store Tastings 6-8pm
Thursday, October 8th – TONIGHT!
It’s been a while since we had a Twisted X tasting, so Niles from the brewery will be in the house sampling Lager, Cow Creek, Chupahopra & Fuego. Join us!
Friday, October 9th – 5 to 7pm
Bailie from Community Beer Company will be in the house pouring all the newly released Community beers!
Tuesday, October 13th
Kerrie Crosby from Rahr & Sons is always lovely so come spend a few minutes with her while you sample out the latest Rahr releases including Tenderfoot barleywine, Iron Joe scotch ale, Drahthaar double IPA and Fort Worth session ale.
Wednesday, October 14th
Drew from Sam Adams will be sampling out Fat Jack pumpkin ale, Honey Queen Braggot, Double Bock & two shandies from Traveler Shandy Co.
Thursday, October 15th
Hunter Roberts from Abita will be be sampling Strawgator (a blend of Strawberry lager & Andygator doppelbock), Wrought Iron IPA, Pecan Harvest, Bad Mothershucker Oyster Stout and Bourbon Street Imperial Stout.
New Beers This Week
Back in stock, two outstanding IPAs: Hops & Grain A Pale Mosaic & Zilker Marco IPA.
Jester King Estival Dichotomous – Using melons from local Johnson’s Backyard Garden, the latest in the seasonal saison series Dichotomous features cantaloupe, honeydew & galia melons and watermelon for a citrusy and refreshing flavor. 6% ABV/Austin, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: limited
Prairie 3rd Anniversary* – Prairie turns 3 years old this month, and they’re celebrating with a twist on their first ever release – the Prairie Ale. This version takes the farmhouse funky & tart Ale as a base beer and then referments it on raspberries. Yum. 8.4% ABV/Tulsa, OK/No ratings yet/Availability: decent/*Arriving Friday
Clown Shoes Josh the Revelator* – Named after the a Houston, TX-based salesperson who single handedly sells the most Clown Shoes in the nation, Josh the Revelator is a double IPA brewed with Mosaic, Galaxy & Ella hops. Only released in TX this one time. 7% ABV/Ipswich, MA/No ratings yet/Availability: decent/*Arriving Friday
5 Stones Melo Rainbow – 5 Stones’ latest release is a saison brewed with cantaloupe and rainbow peppercorns. We haven’t had it yet but we’ll be sampling it for free on Saturday! Cibolo, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: decent
Branchline Old Three Hundred Flanders-style Red – Branchline out of San Antonio really goes all out on their special releases, and this one is no exception. They barrel aged their Evil Own in red wine barrels for 2 years, then another batch in wine barrels for one year, then blended it with a fresh batch for a Flanders-style red sour. It’s essentially a domestically-made Duchesse du Bourgogne. 7.6% ABV/San Antonio, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: decent
Stone Enjoy By 10-31-15 – The latest in the Enjoy By series is super fresh and ready to be drank! A mix of 12 hops combine for a “devastatingly dank” cocktail that is quintessentially Stone. We have both bombers and 6 packs in stock! 9.4% ABV/Escondido, CA/No ratings/Plenty but will go fast!
Adelbert’s Hibiscus Saison – The latest from Adelbert’s Whimsical series is a Hibiscus Saison that, given its pink color, Adelbert’s decided to donate a portion of the proceeds to breast cancer research. In addition to the hibiscus, it is also dry hopped with citra hops for a citrusty hop presence. 5.6% ABV/Austin, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: decent
Boulevard Rye on Rye* – Templeton Rye Whiskey is highly sought after and one of the great examples of rye. Boulevard was able to source some barrels from Templeton so they decided to brew a rye-based beer to complement the rye barrels. Two kinds of malted rye provide a spicy sweetness, giving way to notes of caramelized wood and the citrusy tang of Perle, Magnum and Saphir hops before easing into a dry, lingering finish. 12% ABV/Kansas City, MO/Ratebeer 99/Availability: decent/*Arriving Friday
Boulevard & Cigar City Collaboration #5 Pale Ale* – Tropical Pale Ale begins with a base of soft pilsner malt layered with Maris Otter, Munich and caramel malts. Huge late hopping with a blend of Mosaic, Citra, Lemondrop and Azacca lends bright flavors of mango, pear, blueberry and citrus to a pale ale featuring slightly toasted biscuit and caramel/toffee notes. 7.2% ABV/Kansas City, MO/No ratings yet/Availability: plenty but will go fast/*Arriving Friday
Epic Big Bad Baptist* – Epic’s most awesomely awesome annual release is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with coffee and cocoa nibs. This year’s batch that came to Texas used coffee roasted by a Dallas roaster. Rich, coffee-forward with a slightly boozy hint. So good. When this arrives Friday we’ll also be releasing a full case of the cellared 2014 version!! 10.5% ABV/Salt Lake City, UT/Ratebeer 100/Availability: plenty/*Arriving Friday
Thistly Cross Slyrs Whisky Cask Cider – Thistly Cross Cidery out of Scotland got ahold of a very limited number of Slyrs Scotch casks in which to age their whisky cask cider in. Milder, slightly fruitier version of the original Whisky Cask with a medium dry finish. 6.9% ABV/Scotland/No ratings/Availability: decent
Buffalo Bayou Pumpkin Spice Latte – Instead of a traditional pumpkin ale using pumpkin flesh Buffalo Bayou took their gingerbread stout as a base beer and added locally roasted coffee. This won’t taste anything like pumpkin but I’m sure it will still be delicious! 9% ABV/Houston, TX/No ratings yet/Availability: limited
Meridian Hive Meadowfoam – Using Oregon honey, this high ABV still mead from local meadery Meridian Hive has a very vanilla nose with a marshmallow, vanilla & cotton candy finish. On the sweeter side, but not cloyingly so. Very well balanced and fantastic mead. 13.8% ABV/Austin, TX/No ratings/Availability: decent
Free Weekend Tastings
Friday – 5-7 pm
We’re super excited about the formal launch of Community Beer Company in Austin, so Bailie from the brewery will be in the house from 5-7 pm pouring free samples of all the new releases.
Saturday, 6-8 pm
5 Stones Melo Rainbow
Stone Enjoy By 10-31-15
Ballast Point Commodore
Victory Festbier
Harpoon Imperial Pumpkin Stout
Meridian Hive Meadowfoam Mead