drinkingbeerintx
Thursday, October 4, 2007
The case for alcohol sales in Rockwall
Now, Bill O'Brien contributed this intelligent and witty piece to today's Dallas Morning News in favor of legalizing the sale of beer and wine in Rockwall, TX. Hopefully, it will convince some of the neoprohibitionists around here that having beer on the store shelf might not be such a terrible thing after all. Make sure you give it a read.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
New Belgium Brewing Co.'s "Tour de Fat" to conclude in Austin, TX.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Abita Pecan Sighting in SC Blog
It's actually not bad! Very autumny in flavour. There is just a subtle taste of pecan...A pleasant orangey-red colour. And it's Abita. It's no DogFish Head, but refreshing and palatable. Quite palatable.Nice blog, Miss Sri! And keep drinking good craft beer!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Pecan Beer Case Study #1: Abita Pecan Harvest Ale
Perhaps you may want to try out some examples of such a beer. One such specimen is Abita Pecan Harvest Ale, from Abita Brewing Co. in Louisiana. It is widely distributed in Texas, so pick up a sixer and taste it for yourself. The brewery has this to say about its pecan-flavored offering, according to a press release:
Be sure to send me a note when you've tried this, and share what you think.We’re proud to introduce our new Pecan Harvest Ale. “Abita Pecan Harvest Ale is made with real Louisiana pecans,” said David Blossman, President of the Abita Brewing Company. “That makes it something really special, because most beers with a nutty flavor or aroma aren’t made with real nuts,” he continued. “The natural oils from the Louisiana pecans give the ale a light pecan finish and aroma,” stated Blossman. Abita Pecan Harvest Ale is excellent served with both red meat and seafood – and no surprise; it’s great with nuts too.
Pecan Harvest Ale is a new limited edition brew, just like Abita Strawberry Harvest. Earlier this year consumers quickly cleared the shelves of Strawberry Harvest Lager and called the brewery begging for more of the beer made with real Louisiana strawberries. Twenty-seven thousand, five hundred (27,500) cases of beer sold out in only 12 weeks. “We want to remind our customers that supplies of our new Pecan Harvest Ale are limited too. We won’t brew any more until next year and when it’s gone…it’s a gone pecan,” said Blossman. So crack one open for yourself today!
The Club enjoys Bucking Bock during the game.
"Whatcha got for us?" was how we welcomed a smiling Doug, who had been listening to the game on the radio.
Doug replied, "I run across some of this Rahr Bucking Bock. Any of y'all tried this?"
Keith raised his hand and projected a knowing grin. Since his Texas beer awakening a few months ago, Keith has pretty much tried it all. Andrew and I had not, but we were right anxious to do so. We pulled some bottles out, twisted the caps off, and poured four pint glasses of this Bucking Bock.
"At first I thought it was sort of a take-off on Shiner Bock, but I'm thinking this is a very different sort of beer," said Doug. "Check out the label there. That bad boy has 7.5% alcohol in it!"
I took a sip. Now, it tasted sort of sweet, not unlike Shiner Bock, except that it was an interesting sweetness, like a candy I've never had before. It was delicious and--for such a strong beer--surprisingly smooth. A lot of beers this strong have a kind of bad vodka burn to the flavor, but this Rahr Bucking Bock was good and clean. The aftertaste was a bold, almost salty bitterness that swept the sugar right out of your mouth, leaving you thirsty for more. It's probably sexist of me to think this, but this beer still strikes me as a right manly beer.
Andrew broke the silence. "You know, this is good. The color of the beer is pretty light, and yet it's full of all these interesting malty flavors."
"Yeah," said Doug, "I see where you're coming from. For me, I would normally rather a beer not be quite this bitter, but since it's so strong, the bitterness kind of works."
"Now go slow, guys," Keith warned with a hint of mischief, "because this one will sneak up on you."
We enjoyed glass after glass of this beer for the rest of the evening. Of course, the Longhorns killed the Owls. Luckily, Andrew had some good beer to take comfort in.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Austin's favorite autumn seasonal beer released today.
Edit: I'm not positive about this, but I'm hearing now that this is actually Austin Amber Ale in a different package. Can anyone verify or refute this?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Oktoberfest beers from Rahr and Saint Arnold are featured in today's Beer Sphere.
About these two Texas Oktoberfestbiers, he had this to say:
Rahr & Sons, the just south-of-downtown little brewery that could, has done it again, producing a delicious, burnished-copper Marzen that competes with the best of them.
Think of the aroma of a loaf of rustic artisan bread ripped open when it's still warm. Rahr's Oktoberfest Fall Celebration Lager is light enough not to overwhelm a main course, yet provides enough flavor to satisfy.
Also making a comeback is another Texas-crafted Marzen, Saint Arnold Oktoberfest from Houston. This is a very carbonated, very malty beer that's light-to-medium-bodied, with a slightly different, somewhat sweeter, flavor profile. The secret to the difference: Saint Arnold uses an ale yeast. Purists might object, but there's no denying that this is a tasty and innovative little brew from the Bayou City.
(Rahr's version, by the way, is a true lager, even though it's labeled "ale," because Texas' anachronistic liquor laws require suds over 4 percent alcohol by weight to be labeled either "ale" or "malt liquor.")
Make sure you try this new Rahr beer, and be sure to stock up on the Saint Arnold treats as well.