This week in, The Brew! We talk about a beer fest in Houston, we see how a distributor is hurting local breweries down in Houston and then we get into some shameless self-promotions. Check it out now in this week’s edition of, The Brew!
Houston – The Houston Beer Festival is probably the most known festival in the state but not necessarily in the most positive light. Since the festivals first year it has been plagued with pour business planning and bad luck but things look to be changing for the better. Last year, founder Timothy Hudson sold the festival to a new group and they are looking to change the past perception of the festival and bring together a well-organized and successful event. Organizers are looking to keep the same model of big musical acts and a large selection of breweries from both the commercial and the craft side. There are many myths and rumors surrounding the festival and organizers are hoping that after this year many will see the new direction and the changes the festival has made. For tickets and more information, please click here.
Houston – As the growth of breweries continues to expand, so do the number of bars and restaurants looking to support the local scene until Houston distributor Silver Eagle (Anheuser-Busch) announced last week that they would be increasing their price of keg deposits by 20% to local establishments. This has angered many bar owners who have taken to social to show their outrage of the distributor. The reason for the increase according to Ben Fulleove, owner of the Petrol Station and Brash Brewing, “ABI (Budweiser) raised their keg deposits to silver eagle to $70 because kegs shells were going missing from large accounts (stadiums, kegs sold to individuals from retailers). So basically, punish small craft beer businesses for macro incompetence”. Due to Silver Eagles increase, many business including Petrol Station, Flying Saucer, Hay Merchant and Mongoose vs Cobra have vowed not to purchase beer from the distributor. While many are thinking, who cares if these establishments won’t be carrying Anheuser-Busch products, you might not realize that Silver Eagle also carried many beers from craft brews such as Houston’s own Karbach, Saint Arnold and 8th Wonder. This puts local breweries and bars in a standoff against each other while trying to support the local scene. Only time will tell how this will play out but we will continue to follow the story for a future article.
Texas – Last week I got to spend some time in Houston to be a guest of a couple of radio shows to talk about Texas Beer Guide and my book Beer Lover’s Texas. It has been a great honor to write a book about Texas breweries, brewpubs and craft beer bars and it has even been a great pleasure to see the support I have been receiving. If you are not in Houston or if you missed the two shows you can now check them out online. Thank you so much to Jon Denman from Drink of Ages and James Simpson of What’s on Tap for having me on their shows. I am currently in the works of putting together book signing events in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. I have already book an event for Austin so mark your calendars for August 21st. More details will come out shortly about the upcoming events. Thank you all again for the continued support. Beer Lover’s Texas can be found online and at your favorite bookstore.
To listen to Drink of Ages: https://soundcloud.com/drinkofages/episode-114-drink-of-ages
What’s on Tap: I come on around the 18:30 mark
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.
