This week in, The Brew! We had some technical difficulties last week which shut down the page for a couple of days but we are back in action. A huge apology to our friends with Untapped Music & Beer Festival for this issue which did not let us post our review of the Austin festival stop. Also, this week we talk about a brewery that is celebrating 4yrs and the official opening of Houston’s latest brewery. Check it out now here in, The Brew!

Austin – Last weekend the Untapped Music and Beer Festival made its stop in Austin for the first time and festival goers welcomed the event with arms wide open. The weather was quite perfect for an afternoon of drinking beer. Live music keep the crowd entertained as they bounced from booth to booth sampling beer. Sadly, many of the rare and specialty beers were gone within the first couple hours of the gates opening. Austin’s own Jester King had already shut their tent down by 4pm. Untapped was a great chance to try some of the new up and coming breweries such as Austin’s Strange Land Brewery which was sampling their great Last Gentleman Bourbon Porter which is aged for a couple of months in bourbon barrels. While not new, breweries that have limited distribution to Austin such as Peticolas, Lakewood, Community, Lone Pint and Goliad were present at the festival serving some of their highly sought after beers. The event was almost a perfect day until the headlining band Manchester Orchestra took the stage and after just a couple songs in, Mother Nature lit up the skies with a great display of lighting. It sent many scrambling to leave the festival and get to their cars before the rain fell but it came too fast. Many were caught in the storm trying to make it to their vehicles while others squeezed into the medic tent to stay dry. The festival grounds quickly made for a muddy nightmare for those caught out in the storm but many of the breweries hunkered down under their tents to wait out the storm but nearly everyone left the event wet in covered in mud. While the festival couldn’t help the weather, many would agree that the Untapped Music & Beer Festival was a big hit and we can’t wait until it rolls back into town next year. If you are up in north Texas, get ready because you will get your turn next as the Fort Worth Untapped Festival is rolling into your town on May 9^th. Click her for tickets and more information.

Dripping Springs – This weekend kicks off countless events for Cinco de Mayo and while many will be celebrating with a Corona or Dos XX, those in Texas will be celebrating with a beer from Twisted X Brewing Company. This Saturday marks their 4^th Anniversary and they will be celebrating at their brewery. Aside from the fun of their anniversary, they will be releasing their new Saison X which has been aged in Cabernet wine barrels for nine months. They will also have a cellar release of their black lager, Senior Viejo which has been aged in tequila barrels. Just to keep things interesting Twisted X will tapping special casks throughout the day. For more information, please click here.

Houston – The day has finally come to open Houston’s newest brewery. The great guys at 11 Below Brewing Company will be opening the brewery to the public this Saturday and will follow with weekly Saturday tours starting May 9^th. Founded by Bryce Baker, Brandon Moss and Jeff Handojo along with head brewer Keenan Zarling, the oil and gas industry group turned brewers are excited to finally share their beers fresh from the tap at their brewery in northwest Houston. Their name 11 Below was a play on the fact that a barrel of beer which is 31 gallons is 11 gallons below a 42 gallon barrel of oil. Their grand opening this Saturday is sold out as mentioned, they will have weekly Saturday tours starting May 9^th. 11 Below beers can be found at bars in Houston now with plans to expand distribution over time. They will have three core beers which will be available for the time being, the 7-Iron, Oso Bueno and Color Blind. The 7-Iron is a 4.5% ABV session ale this will be light on the palate with a soft malty profile and an even softer hop finish. The Oso Bueno is their 5.3% ABV American Amber Ale which will be one of their lighter beers that will have a malty forward profile with a light hoppy finish. Lastly, their Color Blind is a 6.3% ABV Red IPA which is brewed with 4 hop varietals including Mosaic. I am really excited to see these guys evolve in the market and soon expand to cities outside of the Houston area.

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.