Texas Beers for Holiday Cheer!

Cheers y'all! Glad to see 512 Pecan Porter on this list.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/pour-choices/holiday-cheers-beers

Wet Hop Beer

This is a link to a beer article from a technology blog.  Whoda thunk?

Anywho, it is an interesting article.  No earth shattering information, but something to think about.

Wet Hop Beer: The Real Seasonal Brew You Should Be Drinking This Fall

Would like to find Two Brothers Heavy Handed beer one day!

Experts Say These Are The 20 Best Beers In The World - Business Insider

Experts Say These Are The 20 Best Beers In The World - Business Insider

Beer and Food Course

Check this out...

http://www.craftbeer.com/beer-and-food-course

I printed it off and started working through it.  Amazing information!  Probably won't apply for the test, but...well, maybe.

Helping The Planet, Pint By Pint

I saw an article from the Sierra Club about drinking responsibly and helping the planet.  Of course, this is about your green breweries who are using sustainable practices and organic ingredients.  I know there are some missing off their list.  New Belgium instantly comes to mind and Maui Brewing also does a lot I learned at a beer dinner.  So, this is a nice list of beers to enjoy AND help the planet :)

HOW TO DRINK RESPONSIBLY Helping the planet, pint by pint

Enjoy!

It's A Trappist

My little sister sent me this link and it was too funny NOT to share!

Dork Tower - It's A Trappist

Enjoy!

Time For Another Clear The Beer Fridge Party

Here's our beer inventory as of September 5.  (IKR??)

Brewery	Name	Style	#	Size
Brouwerij St. Bernadus NV	Abt 12	Belgian Quad	1	12oz
Alaskan	Imperial Red	Imperial Red Ale	1	B
Alaskan	Smoked Porter	Porter	1	B
Alaskan	Pumpkin Porter	Pumpkin/Yam	1	B
Alaskan	Amber	Amber Ale	2	12oz
Allagash	Victor Ale	Belgian Strong Pale Ale	1	B
Allagash	Four	Belgian Quad	1	B
Angry Orchard	Apple	Cider	2	12oz
Avery	Kaiser	Imperial Oktoberfest	1	B
Avery	Rumpkin	Pumpkin Ale	1	12oz
BackCountry	Porter	American Porter	1	B
Black Sheep	Holy Grail Black Knight's Reserve	English Strong Ale	1	16.9oz
Bonfire	Demshitz	Brown Ale	2	12oz
Boulevard	Chocolate Ale	American Strong Ale	1	B
Boulevard	Mid-Coast IPA	IPA	1	12oz
Boulevard	80 Acre Wheat Hoppy Wheat	American Pale Wheat Ale	2	12oz
Boulevard	Wheat	Wheat	1	12oz
Boulevard	WestSide Rye	Rye	1	12oz
Breckenridge	Well-Built ESB	Stranahans Aged ESB	1	B
Breckenridge	Oatmeal Stout	Oatmeal Stout	4	12oz
Brooklyn	Post Road	Pumpkin/Yam	3	12oz
Clown Shoes	Genghis Pecan	American Porter	3	B
Clown Shoes	Space Cake	Double IPA	1	B
Clown Shoes	Very Angry Beast	American Double/Imperial Stout	1	B
Crazy Mountain	Mountain Livin' Pale Ale	American Pale Ale	2	12oz
Deep Ellum	Double Brown Stout	Baltic Porter	3	12oz
Deschuttes	Fresh Squeezed	IPA	1	12oz
Deschuttes	Black Butte Porter	Porter	3	12oz
Dogfish Head	Rosabi	American Pale Ale	1	B
Dogfish Head	Fort	Fruit	1	B
Dogfish Head	Punkin Ale	Pumpkin/Yam	4	12oz
Dry Dock	Imperial Pumpkin Porter	Pumpkin/Yam	1	B
Dry Dock	Apricot	Fruit	3	12oz
Edelstoff	Augustiner-Bräu Wagner	Dortmunder	2	12oz
Evil Twin	Imperial Biscotti Break	Imperial Stout	1	B
Firestone Walker	Oak	Märzen	5	12oz
Firestone Walker	Easy Jack	American IPA	2	12oz
Firestone Walker	Stickee Monkee	Belgian Quad	1	B
Founders	All Day IPA	IPA	6	12oz
Founders	Breakfast Stout	Imperial Double Stout	4	12oz
Four Peaks	Arizona Peach	Fruit	1	12oz
Früh	Cölner Hofbräu Früh	Kölsch	2	16.9oz
Full Sail	BBA Imperial Stout	Imperial Stout	1	B
Fullers	London Porter	Porter	3	12oz
Game 6	Sofa Bee	Amber Ale	5	12oz
Great Lakes	Edmund Fitzgerald Porter	Porter	2	12oz
Guinness	Harp	Lager	3	12oz
Harpoon	Maple Tap Imperial Maple Porter	American Porter	1	B
Jester King/Mikkeller	Drink'in in the Sunbelt	American Pale Wheat Ale	1	B
Joseph James	Damn Near 10 Years	Oatmeal Stout	1	B
Lake Front	Holiday Spice	Lager	2	12oz
Lakewood	Temptress	Milk Stout	4	12oz
Lazy Magnolia	Black Creek Southern Style	American Double/Imperial Stout	1	12oz
Left Coast	BA Voodoo	American Double/Imperial Stout	1	B
Left Hand	Chainsaw	Double IPA	1	B
Left Hand	Milk Stout	Milk Stout	1	12oz
Lexington	Kentucky BBA	American Strong Ale	4	12oz
Magic Hat	Wilhelm Scream	Pumpkin/Yam	4	12oz
Maui	Lahaina Town Brown	Brown Ale	5	12oz
Mikkeller	Beer Geek Brunch Weasel	American Double/Imperial Stout	1	12oz
Mikkeller	Big Worse	Barleywine	1	12.7oz
Moylans	Kiltlifter	Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy	1	B
New Belgium	Rolle Bolle	Fruit	4	12oz
New Belgium	Ranger	American IPA	3	12oz
New Belgium	Blue Paddle Pilsner	Czech Pilsner	1	12oz
New Belgium	Fat Tire	Amber/Red Ale	3	12oz
New Belgium	Snapshot	Wheat	1	12oz
New Belgium	Fat Tire	Amber Ale	1	B
New Belgium (Lips of Faith)	Cascara Quad	Belgian Quad	1	B
New Belgium (Lips of Faith)	Grätzer Ale (3 Floyds Clbrtn)	Smoked Beer	1	B
New Holland	Black Hatter	Black IPA	1	B
Nimbus	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	1	12oz
Ninkasi	Tricerahops Double IPA	Double IPA	1	B
Oskar Blues	Dale's Pale Ale	Pale Ale	3	12oz
Pedernales	Lobo Negro	Munich Dunkel Lager	6	12oz
Pikes	XXXXX Extra Stout	Imperial Stout	1	B
Rahr & Sons	BBA Winter Warmer	Winter Warmer	1	B
Renegade	Hammer & Sickle	Russian Imperial Stout	3	12oz
Res Ipsa	Black IPA	Black IPA	1	12oz
River North	Barrel Reserve 2013	Belgian Strong Dark Ale	1	B
River North	Anniversary Ale 1 (2012)	Imperial Stout	1	B
Rogue	Double Chocolate Stout	American Double/Imperial Stout	1	B
Rogue	Chocolate Stout	American Stout	1	B
Russian River	Pliny the Elder	Imperial Double IPA	3	510ml
Russian River	Consecration	American Wild Ale	1	12.7oz
Saint Arnold	Bishop's Barrel 6	Imperial Double Stout	1	12oz
Saint Arnold	Weedwacker	Kölsch	4	12oz
Samuel Adams	Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout	Milk Stout	1	B
San Luis Valley	Scenic Rail Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7	12oz
San Luis Valley	Grand River IPA	IPA	4	12oz
San Luis Valley	Amber	Amber Ale	3	12oz
San Luis Valley	Ol' 169 Oatmeal	Oatmeal Stout	4	12oz
San Luis Valley	Valle Caliente	Chili	3	12oz
Santa Fe	BBA Kickin' Chicken	Barleywine	1	B
Santa Fe	Happy Camper	American Imperial Pale Ale	2	12oz
Santa Fe	Saison '88 25th Anniversary Ale	Saison/Farmhouse Ale	3	12oz
Santa Fe	Black IPA	Black IPA	3	12oz
Shipyard	Smashed Pumpkin	Pumpkin Ale	1	B
Short's	Ponitus Road	Pilsner	1	12oz
Sierra Blanca	Pancho Verde Chile Cerveza	Chile	2	12oz
Sierra Nevada 2013 Beer Camp	Imperial Red Ale	Imperial Red Ale	4	12oz
Sierra Nevada 2013 Beer Camp	Black IPA	Black IPA	4	12oz
Sierra Nevada 2013 Beer Camp	IPA	IPA	4	12oz
Ska	Estival Cream Stout	Milk Stout	6	12oz
Ska	Rudie Session IPA	American IPA	6	12oz
Southern Tier	Choklat	Imperial Stout	1	B
Southern Tier	Warlock	American Double/Imperial Stout	1	B
Southern Tier	Pumpking	Pumpkin/Yam	1	B
Speakeasy	Prohibition	Amber/Red Ale	2	12oz
Speakeasy	Big Daddy	IPA	2	12oz
Speakeasy	Scarlett Red Rye	Rye	1	12oz
Strongbow	Apple	Cider	2	12oz
Three Barrel	Pemba Sherpa	Saison Ale	1	B
Upslope	Imperial IPA	Imperial IPA	1	19.2oz
Upslope	Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin/Yam	2	16oz
Upslope	Foreign Style Stout	Foreign Style Stout	1	12oz
Wasatch	Ghost Rider White IPA	American IPA	4	12oz
Well's	Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale	English Brown Ale	1	12oz
Widmer Brothers	SXNW	American Strong Ale	1	B
Wynkoop	Silverback Pale Ale	American Pale Ale	4	12oz
Wynkoop	B3K	Schwarzbier	2	12oz
Wynkoop	Pumpkin	Pumpkin/Yam	2	12oz
			255

Beer Geeks

I just happened across a TV show called "Beer Geeks".  The host, Michael Ferguson is a master brewer from way back in 1990.  Each episode features a brewery where he helps make a beer, then taste a previous version of it.  Then he cooks with a chef somehow associated with the brewery and then finishes pairing food with food cooked by the chef and the brewers.

This is another fun beer show to watch.  I also watch Brew Dogs and it is a nice contrast to that show.

My joke lately has been, if my life was condensed into two TV shows, it would be Biggest Loser meets Beer Geeks.

See if the show comes up on your TV content provider and see what you think.

Father Daughter Pub Time

I read this and it made me laugh.  Hope it brightens your day too!

I was reading an article last night about fathers and daughters and memories came flooding back of the time I took my daughter out for her first pint.

Off we went to our local pub which is only two blocks from the house. I got her a Fosters. She didn't like it...so I had it.

Then I got her a Carling Black Label, she didn't like it... so I had it.

It was the same with the 1664 Lager and Premium Dry Cider. By the time we got down to the Scotch I could hardly push the stroller back home.

How To Drink All Night Without Getting Drunk - Test Results

Back in April, I posted an article about how Jim Koch drinks, but doesn't get drunk called How To Drink All Night Without Getting Drunk.  He uses yeast.  I have seen a couple of articles where people tested using yeast to see if prevented getting drunk or at least lowered blood alcohol. This particular article was sent to me and I will show it because it has nice graphs!

Alcohol Test: Does Eating Yeast Keep You From Getting Drunk?

I think the best line in the article is: "To be fair, Koch never claimed this is for everyone. "I can't say it works for everybody. It works for me," he tells us."  True dat!

In the testing, the one method that did have an effect was to drink 32 ounces of water between each alcoholic drink.  As they noted, that is a lot of water to drink.  But it is easier to do than plan how much you will drink and eat the appropriate amount of yeast, plus, you can almost always get water where you drink ... unless you drink in really bad dive bars.

“Fizzy, Yellow Beer” Is Not Your Enemy

I read an article at craftbeer.com titled, '“Fizzy, Yellow Beer” Is Not Your Enemy'.  The paragraph that really made think was:

So what is the core ideal of the craft beer revolution? It’s the idea that beer lovers should have the freedom to make their own purchasing decisions, from the largest variety of beers available, with as much information as possible about the companies who make the beer.

As craft beer drinkers, we often make fun of and scoff at the major commercial beer brands.  Yet, for myself, I will drink those beers when there isn't a better option available or at a location where the commercial beer is a much better value.

It is because of the giant beer companies that there are large distributors who also will carry the other smaller beer brands.  We get craft beer from around the country because they already have the resources to make it happen.  We wouldn't have Founders beer in Texas otherwise.

Enjoy your craft beers! Have some fun with your friends who enjoy the major commercial beers, but don't alienate them over their choice. After all, drinking good beer is SO much better with friends.

Rails and Ales

This past weekend Joe and I drove to Alamosa for Rails and Ales - a beer festival up in the hills accessible via a vintage train.

But the night before we got on the train, we hit the local brewery: San Luis Valley Brewing Company.  Here's Joe's flight.

Only two out of the bunch that I wouldn't order again.  After we ate (and drank a bit more), we joined the crowd out on the street.  Hello block party!

The next morning we walked over to the depot and boarded the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad for a day trip up to La Veta pass.  Once at the meadow, the 1,000 or so passengers were greeted by about 30 beer tents, BBQ and some great music.  The weather was incredible (almost as good as the scenery and beer, itself).  We spent the afternoon sampling beer from about 20 Colorado micro and nano breweries we'd never even heard of.  Let me tell you...there are some folks making some really good beers out there!  Late in the afternoon, it was time to board the train again and head back down the hill.  What a great day...and something we'll do again next year!

All aboard!

We got tickets on the Calumet Car.  Very retro and stylish!

Joe, he's such a badass

Here's the front of the train

Beer service in our car

Views of the valley and the festival

When we got back to Alamosa, we had a huge Mexican food feast, and then slept like the dead.  

It was a fun weekend, and you can be sure that we now have several sixes of SLV brews in our beer fridge!

You Can Do It

I saw this picture and realized, yes, all beer drinkers can accomplish a 6 pack!

So, work hard and "earn" that 6 pack!!

Beer Inventory - Yeah...I'm Boasting About It...Is That So Wrong?

This coming Saturday, we're having a "Clear the Beer Fridge" party.  It's summertime, and we have way too many porters and stouts in the fridge; we need help making room for all those delicious summer-refreshing beers I just know are filling the shelves down at the Argonaut (our favorite beer store).

In preparation for the party, I did an inventory of what we have on the shelves: 174 beers.  174!

Here's the inventory (B is for bomber).

Brewery	Brew	Type	Number	Size
21st Amendment	Hop Crisis	IPA	1
Alaskan	Amber	Amber	2
Alaskan	Smoked Porter	Porter	1	B
Alaskan	Pumpkin Porter	Pumpkin Porter	1	B
Allagash	Four	Belgian Quad	1	B
Allagash	Victor	Belgian Strong Pale Ale	1	B
Allagash	Curieux	Belgian Trippel	1	B
Angry Orchard	Crisp Apple	Cider	2
Augustiner-Bräu Wagner	Edelstoff	Dortmunder	3
Avery	Hog Heaven	Barley Wine	1	B
Avery	Maharaja	DIPA	1	B
Avery	Rumpkin	Pumpkin Ale	1
Backcountry	Porter	Porter	1	B
Bayhawk	Chocolate Porter	Porter	1	B
Bear Republic	Racer X	DIPA	1	B
Beer Here	Kremlin Crude	Russian Imperial Stout	1	B
Black Sheep	Holy Grail Black Knight	Dark Ale	1
Bonfire	Demshitz	American Brown Ale	3
Boulevard	Chocolate Ale	Herb/Spice Beer	1	B
Boulevard	Mid-Coast IPA	IPA	1
Boulevard	Westside Rye Ale	Rye Beer	1
Boulevard	Wheat	Wheat	2
Boulevard	80-Acre	Wheat	2
Breckenridge	Stranahan's Well Built	English Bitter	1	B
Breckenridge	Oatmeal Stout	Oatmeal Stout	4
Brooklyn	Post Road	Pumpkin Ale	4
Brouwerij St. Bernardus	Abt 12	Belgian Quad	1
Brouwerij van Honsebrouck	Kasteel Rouge	Fruit	1	B
Clown Shoes	Very Angry Beast	American Imperial Double Stout	1	B
Clown Shoes	Genghis Pecan	American Porter	3	B
Cölner Hofbräu Früh	Früh	Kölsch	3
Crazy Mountain	Mountain Livin'	IPA	2
Deep Ellum	Double Brown Stout	Baltic Porter	4
Deschutes	Black Butte Porter	Porter	3
Dogfish Head	Fort	Fruit	1	B
Dogfish Head	Punkin Ale	Pumpkin	1
Dry Dock	Apricot	Fruit	4
Dry Dock	Imperial Pumpkin	Pumpkin Ale	2	B
Fort Collins	Maibock	Maibock	1	B
Full Sail	BBA Imperial Stout	Imperial Stout	1	B
Fuller's	London Porter	Porter	2
Game 6	Sofa Bee	Amber/Wit	6
Great Divide	Nomad	IPA	1
Great Lakes	Edmund Fitzgerald	Porter	2
Green Flash	Black IPA	Black IPA	1	B
Guinness	Harp	Lager	4
Jester King/Mikkeller	Drinkin' in the Sunbelt	American Pale Wheat	1	B
Keegan Ales	Joe Mama's Milk	Milk Stout	1
Lakefront	Holiday Spice Lager	Lager	2
Lakewood	Temptress	Milk Stout	3
Lazy Magnolia	Black Creek	American Imperial Double Stout	1
Left Coast	Barrel Aged VooDoo	American Stout	1	B
Left Hand	Oktoberfest	Marzen	1
Left Hand	Milk Stout	Milk Stout	2
Mikkeller	Big/Worse	Barley Wine	1
Moylan's	Kilt Lifter	Scotch Ale	1	B
New Belgium	Rolle Bolle	Belgian Pale Ale	5
New Belgium	Lips of Faith - Cascara Quad	Belgian Quad	1	B
New Belgium	Pumpkick	Pumpkin Ale	1
New Belgium	Accumulation	White IPA	2
Oskar Blues	Deviant Dales	American IPA	1
Oskar Blues	Dale's Pale Ale	IPA	3
Pike	5X	Stout	1	B
Rahr & Son's	BBA Winter Warmer	Winter Warmer	1	B
Renegade	Hammer & Sickle	Russian Imperial Stout	3	B
Res Ipsa	Tyler's Home Brew	Sour	1
Rio Grande	Rancho Verde Chili	Chili	2
River North	Barrel Reserve 2013	American Strong Ale	1	B
River North	Anniversary Ale (1)	Russian Imperial Stout	1	B
Rogue	Double Chocolate Stout	American Imperial Double Stout	1	B
Rogue	Chocolate Stout	American Stout	1	B
Russian River	Pliney the Elder	IPA	1
Saint Arnold	Bishop's Barrel 6	American Imperial Double Stout	1
Sam Adams	Merry Maker	Gingerbread Stout	1	B
Santa Fe	BBA Kickin Chicken	Barley Wine	1	B
Santa Fe	Black IPA	Black IPA	4
Santa Fe	Happy Camper	IPA	4
Santa Fe	Oktoberfest	Marzen	1
Santa Fe	Saison 88	Saison	3
Shipyard	Smashing Pumpkin	Pumpkin	1	B
Shorts	Pontius Road	Pilsner	1
Southern Tier	Choklat	American Imperial Double Stout	1	B
Southern Tier	Pumpking	Pumpkin	1	B
Southern Tier	Warlock	Pumpkin	1	B
Speakeasy	Prohibition	Amber/Red Ale	2
Speakeasy	Scarlett	Amber/Red Rye	1
Speakeasy	Big Daddy	IPA	3
Strongbow	Apple	Cider	4
Twisted Pine	Ghost Face Killah	Chili	1
Upslope	Imperial Pale Ale	DIPA	2
Upslope	Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin	2
Wasatch	Ghostrider	White IPA	4
Wells & Young	Sticky Toffee Pudding	English Bitter	1
Widmer Brothers	SXNW	Strong Ale	1	B
Woodchuck	Smoked Apple	Cider	1	B
Wynkoop	Silverback	IPA	4
Wynkoop	Pumpkin	Pumpkin	1	B
Wynkoop	B3K	Schwarzbier	3
			174