http://texasbrews.org/ News, video and interviews about Texas beer and breweries en sharedspark@gmail.com Copyright 2013 2013-05-02T02:06:20+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/news/texas_new_brewcast_southern_star_old_potentate TX Brews

We mispronounce the name of this stately new brew from the boys in Conroe as well as discuss other old ales (or what we can remember). We also get into an extended discussion on the greatness of Big Texas Beer Fest in Dallas that already happened (oops, we forgot to publish this beforehand).

http://texasbrews.org/podcast/southern_star_old_potentate.mp3]]> http://texasbrews.org/news/texas_new_brewcast_southern_star_old_potentate 2013-05-02T02:06:20+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/news/texas_new_brewcast_saint_arnold_dr13 TX Brews

Divine Reserve 13 hits shelves which means we're hitting the airwaves to talk about St. Arnold's continued diversification, our favorite Belgian quads, how beer is like Pokemon and our favorite #UntrueDR13Facts.

http://texasbrews.org/podcast/st_arnold_dr13.mp3]]> http://texasbrews.org/news/texas_new_brewcast_saint_arnold_dr13 2013-03-19T02:40:34+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/news/sb639-hb1538_breakdown Scooter Hendon

There are several bills currently in the running to modernize beer laws in Texas to ease the ability for craft brewers to sell beer to consumers. However, there is a more nefarious side of beer legislation that is the big news in the last couple of days.

Sometimes the language of a bill can be hard to understand. A state capitol insider who preferred not to be named provided us with a good recap of what State Senator John Carona's Senate bill and State Representative Charlie Geren are proposing. These bills are the opposite direction that our state needs to go in legislation and here is a breakdown of what these two bills would do:

SB 639/HB 1538 have three primary components:
1. Adds severability language to the code which could take self-distribution rights away from small brewers.
• Currently, there exists a potential commerce clause issue with the allowance of self-distribution for the state’s brewers, because it specifically excludes out-of-state brewers. Our bills (specifically SB 516 and 517), corrects this issue. The Wholesale Distributors of Texas opposes fixing the issue by eliminating the discrimination, rather they prefer to leave the discrimination in place and then add language to the code that would take self-distribution away from in-state brewers should a court find that the discrimination was unconstitutional.

2. Mandates Uniform Freight on Board Pricing from the Manufacturer to the Distributor.
• If this bill passed, it would make illegal any kind of price differentials between different markets, including any price differential reflecting actual transportation costs. Note that this bill does not mandate a uniform price for which the beer must be sold from the distributor to the retailer. So it will require a fixed sales price from manufacturer to distributor, but will allow the distributor to set their own price when selling to the retailer.

3. Makes illegal for a Brewer/Manufacturer to receive compensation for a distribution agreement.
• Basically, the law would mandate that distribution rights are worth nothing when signing up with a distributor. The proposed law doesn’t restrict a distributor from selling a brewer’s distribution rights to another distributor, but only from the brewer from receiving any value. This piece of the bill will cripple the craft brew industry. Many breweries have their credit lines maxed out, but there is more demand for their beer for which they can't meet. These breweries commonly sell their distribution rights and use the money as a cash infusion back into their small business, which helps their expansion.


Click the links below to see the bill's sponsors and adamantly inform them via phone, e-mail, Facebook or Twitter that you DO NOT want this legislation and that you support the loosening of restrictions rather than tightening.


]]> http://texasbrews.org/news/sb639-hb1538_breakdown 2013-03-08T15:36:03+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/news/texas_new_brewcast_shiner_fm966 Scooter Hendon

We revisit a Shiner beer for the first time in quite some time. Shiner holds a special place in Texas craft beer so we give them their due as we discuss FM 966 Farmhouse Ale. It's a light, refreshing, drinkable Saison-esque beer that is a good entry-level beer for those who may not be familiar with the style.

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Michael Peticolas jumped into the brewing scene with the intention of brewing different beers to share with the drinking public. His plan was to start with an imperial red ale called Velvet Hammer and a couple others, and maybe shift to some other beers as the market professed its preference. Little did he know that he'd create a sensation with his first beer. In its first year, Velvet Hammer got married, had a song recorded about him and generally made North Texas drinkers fall in love with him.

Not to be outdone, Royal Scandal, Peticolas' English pale ale won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival. Not too shabby in the brewery's first year!

Regardless, Peticolas still has a modest operation and is largely a one-man show. Cheers to many years, Peticolas!

]]> http://texasbrews.org/brewery/peticolas 2013-02-14T02:32:25+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/brewery/deep_ellum_brewing_company Scooter Hendon

For Dallas proper's first brewery in years, it seems only appropriate that one would open in its funkiest district. Deep Ellum Brewing's attitude is all over their packaging and the beers inside are as authentic as the graffiti that adorns the walls in the surrounding neighborhood. Their IPA is their signature beer and is, as they call it "an ode to the Pacific Northwest hop." It was their first bottled, and first canned beer, and it's a damn fine one. Also of note is the Double Brown Stout (which is a porter, and not a stout...don't ask questions) as well as their Rye Pils.



But truly, Deep Ellum's true stars are its seasonals. Brewmaster Drew Huerter outdoes himself again and again. Belgian golden strong Wealth and Taste is one Texas finest beers, period, and Cherry Chocolate Double Brown Stout is dessert in a glass.



Deep Ellum has multiple tours and has a beer garden that's great for hanging out, enjoying beers and listening to live music. Their tours and tastings are from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays from 12-3 p.m.

]]> http://texasbrews.org/brewery/deep_ellum_brewing_company 2013-02-13T01:53:27+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/brewery/lakewood_brewing Scooter Hendon

Lakewood founder Wim Bens is well traveled. Born in Belgium and raised in Texas, Bens worked in advertising for many years. After realizing his calling was in brewing, he made a complete career shift and attended classes at the American Brewers Guild and apprenticed at Rahr & Sons Brewing. Fast forward two years and Lakewood is off and running and is already bottling their core four beers.

Bens' background in marketing is apparent as their packaging and branding is consistent and quite sharp. from the beginning, Bens understood the power of creating brands for his beers and one of the first (and still the best) is Temptress. One of the first beers they launched, Temptress is an imperial sweet stout and is smooth, sweet and delicious.

Lakewood hosts tours and tastings every Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. and is $10, cash only.

]]> http://texasbrews.org/brewery/lakewood_brewing 2013-02-13T01:24:48+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/brewery/revolver_brewing Scooter Hendon

Grant Wood knows brewing. As co-founder and brewmaster at Revolver, Wood has taken his decades of brewing experience (most recently a 16-year stint at Sam Adams) and brought something atypical to a start-up Texas brewery: Commercial brewing experience. Sure, it's great for homebrewers to realize their dream of starting a brewery, but Revolver's quick rise to success can be linked back to experience. Co-founder Rhett Keisler runs the business end of the operation (along with help from his father Ron) and Revolver has impressed almost immediately. Their Blood and Honey is an American wheat ale brewed with local honey and orange zest and you'd be hard pressed to find a decent bar or restaurant in the DFW metroplex that doesn't carry it.

They have a modest operation that's a bit in the middle of nowhere, but that's how Revolver likes it. Don't think the remoteness of their location means their tours and tastings are slim. Hundreds make the haul to Granbury each Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. to try Revolver's standard lineup as well as a rotating seasonal.

Their High Brass Ale (golden ale) and Bock are not to be missed either. The bock, in particular, is spot on for style and has us rejoicing that a brewery is finally producing a bock how it's supposed to be made.

]]> http://texasbrews.org/brewery/revolver_brewing 2013-02-13T01:05:32+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/brewery/hops_and_grain Scooter Hendon

Josh Hare and his crew at Hops & Grain understand that following a set of values isn't optional, it's mandatory. "Craft Beer Sustainability" isn't just something they put on their labels, it's something they embody in everything they do in the brewery. They can their beers in the infinitely recyclable package of cans, they recycle their spent grain into Brew Biscuits that they sell at the brewery. They participate in the "1% for the Planet Program."

Regardless of all this good they do, you still have to make good beer to be able to be successful enough to help like they want to. Fortunately, their beers are top notch and their Alt-eration won gold at the World Beer Cup in the highly contested altbier category beating out many traditional German iterations of the style. Along with their Pale Dog (see, we told you they love dogs) and their numerous, brewery-only experiments, Hops & Grain should be brewing excellent beer and helping the planet for many years to come.

Hops & Grain hosts tours and tastings two times a week from 2-6 p.m. on Friday and noon-4 p.m. on Saturdays.

]]> http://texasbrews.org/brewery/hops_and_grain 2013-02-13T00:46:05+00:00 http://texasbrews.org/news/texas_new_brewcast_brewerscut4 Scooter Hendon

After a long layoff, we're back with a Texas New Brewcast about Real Ale's Brewers Cut series. We discuss their Imperial Red and the other beers in the series so far as well as other Texas breweries with limited series and how the influx of out-of-state breweries has possibly inspired Texas breweries to start offering more beers.

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