This week in, The Brew! We are back and while it has been awhile this week we are keeping it short. It is Oktoberfest time and that means that festivals are going to be kicking off left and right and Oktoberfest beers will start to hit the market. We have a big project we are working on leading to the Great American Beer Festival next month so stay tuned for that. This week, we talk about a expansions grand opening this weekend in Austin and we talk about a sweet beer release coming out of San Antonio. Check it out new in this weeks edition of, The Brew!

Austin – This weekend Colorado officially comes to Texas, not the whole state but rather Oskar Blues Brewery. They have opened up their expansion brewery in north Austin which has become a 5 mile epicenter of breweries in the area. This weekend, Oskar Blues is having their official “Can’d Opening Party” this Saturday from noon – 10pm. They will have live music from 5 bands performing throughout the day, vendors selling goods and food trucks selling grub. It is going to be a great weekend to celebrate the arrival of Oskar Blues and they have a great space to host the large celebration. Tickets are only $15 which will get you a commemorative glass and two pours. The bar will feature Dale’s Pale Ale, Pinner Throwback IPA, OB IPA, Mama’s Little Yella Pilsner and their first TX Specialty (made with local Blacklands Malt) Texas REEB Rye IPA. Don’t miss out on this fun afternoon. Click here for tickets and more information.

San Antonio – Who says just because summer is coming to a close we can’t still enjoy lighter beers? Not the guys at Branchline Brewing Co., because this weekend they are releasing their new special seasonal, Pineapple Woodcutter Rye IPA. They took their original Woodcutter Rye IPA and loaded it with hundreds of pounds of fresh pineapple to give drinkers a fruity hoppy ale. One can only imagine the complexity of this tropical rye IPA. The event goes down this Sunday from 2-9pm and don’t forget, Branchline sells Crowlers of their beers and even sells 6pks to go. This if a free event, just buy what you drink and tip your bartenders. Food will also be available for sell. Click here for more information.

As always, if you’re looking to get out this weekend we suggest you visit a local brewery. We have a list of all of the breweries near you so head over to the Breweries and Brewpubs page and go support your local brewers. Don’t forget to pick up a copy of our book “Beer Lover’s Texas: Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Beer Bars”. Click here and pick up a copy today!

Know of some events coming up that we should be talking about? Reach out to use and let us know so we can put the word out. Texas Beer Guide is working to keep the public informed about all things Texas beer! For press releases, news and events, email us at Admin@TexasBeerGuide.com.

We know that we are late to the game but it took time getting these videos edited but better late than never is how we like to see it. As you may know the 2015 Great American Beer Festival took place in Denver Sept. 24-26 and Texas proudly brought home 15 medals. We got to meet a lot of great people, made some new friends and tried a lot of amazing beers. At the end of the day we had one mission and that was to report on the Texas breweries present at the festival. Below are the 15 medals brought home, congratulations to all of the breweries that competed in this year’s festival and a big hats off to all the medal winners.

This week in, The Brew! We have a lot of news to report from across Texas. We take a look at the new and improved packaging for a well-known central Texas brewery, we take a look at the dirty side of business and what a local brewery is fighting for, we get word about the return of a great craft beer festival, we make right on an article written on another website and finally we give you the heads up about a very special event for a really great cause. Check it out now in, The Brew!

Blanco – Monday night in Austin, Real Ale Brewing Company threw a party for their friends in the bar and restaurant industry to unveil their new look as well as show off their new website. They have ditched their old packaging and even updated their logo to what can be best described as a “hop sprocket”. The new logo includes three components that are meaningful to the company: the hop, the sprocket, and the characters “TX 96”. The hop pays homage to the previous logo, which consisted of the company name and a simple hop graphic for most of the brewery’s history. The sprocket is a nod to the original tap handle and label of its bestselling year-round beer, Firemans #4. The inclusion of “TX 96” around the new hop/sprocket is a reference to the company’s roots and where they come from. “We often hear people say they’ve been drinking one of our beers for years and didn’t realize it was Real Ale. We decided it was time to make it a little easier on our customers to see and try the beers we offer, as well as understand who it’s coming from,” said Real Ale’s owner and operator, Brad Farbstein. Personally I am a big fan of the new look and I think the new branding will finally bring the look of their beers together. Since 1996 Real Ale has been brewing some really great beers but over the last couple of years they started to evolve their brewing and include new beers to their lineup. With this change we saw the birth of beers like Devil’s Backbone, the hopped up Four Squared, The Sword Iron Swan Ale and the beloved Blakkr which was a collaboration brew between Real Ale, Three Floyds and Surly. Along with the new packaging, they have tweaked a couple of their beers with more hops like their Full Moon Rye Pale Ale, which they have decided to change up and the Full Moon is now a Rye IPA. I think the new look will give new life the Real Ale and I am excited to see what else they have in store in the future.

This week in the brew, the Texas craft beer scene is exploding this big news. As we enter the middle of January the outlook for 2014 seems to be a roiling boil of activity. First we receive news from Pflugerville about who has a new distributor and word about their upcoming new beer releases. From Houston we find out about what is expected to be one of the largest craft beer events in the state and lastly we see what infamous Houston pub owner is finally bringing his brewery where is belongs.

Pflugerville – Rogness Brewing announced this week that they have struck a deal with Austin distributors Keg 1 Central Texas. This will help get Rogness on shelves and establishments throughout Austin and the surrounding counties. As of now Rogness will continue to self-distribute to Houston and San Antonio. Rogness has also announced this week the upcoming release of two new beers. The Titanoboa named after a large prehistoric snake, it is a Triple IPA that is expected to be a shock to the taste buds while their new Sophina is going to make you pucker up with delight. Sophina will be the 2^nd release in the Rogness Reserve Series and is infused with caramelized pineapples to add a refreshing fruitiness.  The beers are still pending label approval but are expected to be released within the first quarter of the year.

Houston – In what looks to be one of the biggest craft beer events to hit the state, the Big Brew Destination is coming to Houston. The week-long event will take place Oct 20-26^th and culminate around the George R Brown Convention center for the main events. One event will feature 40 Houston chefs will pair dishes to sample with 40 craft beers in what sounds like a symphony of flavors. For those looking to support the local scene they will also have an event dedicated solely to the Texas brewed beer. The week will end with two grand tasting sessions which will offer over a thousand beers to sample. The event is put together by Food and Vine Time Productions which put together the very successful BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival in Galveston. It has many wondering if this event could steal some attention away from the well know Great American Beer Festival which will be Oct 10-12^th. This is a big move for Texas and the craft beer scene as a whole so we can only hope that that the first year goes off without a flaw. Tickets go on sale in February so be sure to check out http://www.bigbrewhouston.com/Home.aspx for all of events and information.

Houston – If you are a craft beer fan from Houston then I am sure you have spent more than your fair share of days drinking beer at Petrol Station and chowing down on their Rancor burgers. The Petrol Station has been a craft beer destination for both locals and visitors alike and has just once again been named as one of the “Best Bars in America” by Draft Magazine. Owner Ben Fullelove had always dreamed of opening his own brewery but due to the strict TABC laws he wasn’t allowed to own a bar and a brewery at the same time. Fullelove, though a series of connections saw an opportunity and bailed to Massachusetts to contract brew through Mercury Brewing Co. where he formed Brash Brewing Co. Since the beer hit shelves it made a big splash but unfortunately it wasn’t distributed in Texas. Last year with the change in Texas laws it gave Fullelove the opportunity to bring Brash Brewing to Houston and now that’s exactly what he is doing. Brash Brewing will be setting up shop in a 13,000 sqft warehouse with a 30-barrel brewhouse and canning system which is expecting to be up and brewing by the middle of this year. I know I’m not the only one that is excited to finally have access to the great beer. We wish Ben and his crew all the best of luck as they get setup and ready to put more beer into the hands of craft beer fans.

As always, if you’re looking to get out this weekend we suggest you visit a local brewery, don’t forget that we have a list of all of the breweries near you so head over to the Breweries and Brewpubs page and go support your local brewers.

Last weekend the Paste Untapped Indie Music and Craft Beer Festival rolled into Houston to close out the 2013 Houston Beer Week. The festival brought together up and coming artists along with over 60 breweries from both Texas and beyond. The weather was gloomy but the beer selection kept attendees happy. While some huddled under tents to stay dry, others took the opportunity to sample beers without waiting in line. If there is one thing Texan’s are known for, it’s supporting local products and at the Untapped Festival it was easy to see the support as the Texas beer lines were clearly longer than the others.

Some of the big hits at the festival were from Houston’s own Saint Arnold as they unleashed a series of Bishop Barrels and Divine Reserves which went almost as quick as they were tapped. Pflugerville brewers Rogness Brewing put everyone in the Christmas spirit with their seasonal release “Holiday”. A personal favorite was the Apricot Hopston from Houston’s 8^th Wonder Brewing. The apricot brought out the wonderful hop profile and seemed to be a perfect beer for the warm Texas temps. Infamous Brewing from Austin came out with guns blazing and left many talking about their Pumpkin Pecan Porter. While it was light on the mouth it was big in flavor and the profile of spices blossomed as the beer warmed up a little.

All in all, the Paste Untapped Festival was a huge success. The crowd was great and the lines were relatively short. While the beer was flowing, the bands kept the attendees entertained. Many wondered if this was going to be a beer or music festival but as the gates opened the attendees put the beer on center stage. The music was like a soundtrack setting the mood as the beer danced along my taste buds. With such a great success it’s going to have many questioning, who hosts the best beer festival in town?

We got to meet up with Alan Ward of Brigadoon Brewery & Brew School at the Texas Renaissance Festival. We get to learn about old world style beers and the old world art of brewing. Also we get to talk to Alan about their big plans for Brigadoon as soon as the festival is over. Be sure to head out to the Texas Renaissance Festival which runs weekly until December 1st and tell Brigadoon that we sent you.

We headed to Dripping Springs, TX to check out the construction of the new brewery for Twisted X Brewing Co. We also got to chat with Shane Bordeau and Jim Sampson about the brewery and the beers they are putting out. The brewery opens in November and they have a big party planned so stay tuned for some great things from these guys.

The 2013 American Craft Beer Week officially kicks off on Monday May 13- 19th. The event is to promote the craft breweries across the nation that have worked hard to give us options when it comes to beer. It also spotlights the art and the craft of beer and the people that brew it. No matter what state you are in you will find events all week long celebrating craft beer and here in Texas the list seems to be growing. Be sure to get out and support your local brewers and raise a pint to those that honor the long tradition of brewing. Click the link below and find an event near you.

AMERICAN CRAFT BEER WEEK EVENTS

The weather was beautiful and the beer was flowing. It was a great day for yet another successful Texas Beer Fest. There were tons of beers, great music and a beer loving crowd. Check out the video and see what you missed. Sorry for the low audio, we were having technical difficulties.