You Name It

Some of these beer names are really punny, some creative, and some downright disturbing. 

My personal favorite beer name is 512 Pecan Porter. What's yours?

Fun Beer Names from GABF

What ‘Selling Out’ Is Actually About

I received an email from CraftBeer.com and one of the articles was titled, "What ‘Selling Out’ Is Actually About". I am interested because I am NOT in the industry, rather I am on the outside drinking in!

The article is written by Jacob McKean from Modern Times Beer, a brewery in San Diego.

Even I could have told you some of the claims from big beer were just BS, but couldn't have articulated it as well, nor had the knowledge to give good examples. But, even I thought one of the claims was legit and now know differently, again, insider knowledge goes a long way!

One of our local (well, local to the greater DFW area) breweries, Revolver Brewing, just recently sold out to Miller Coors. I am hopeful that they stay true to their craft beer roots, but only time will tell. My take, again, just as a fan and beer knurd, is that Miller Coors bought them for Blood and Honey, the bread and butter beer for Revolver.

What are your thoughts on craft brewers selling out?

America, Really?

I may not have the highly-developed beer palate of others who post here, but I can tell you this: I have never been a fan of Bud.

Corporate Beer Overlords Will Soon Own 1 of 3 Beers Made on Earth

What to Eat with Belgian Tripel

So, I was cleaning up old emails, and came across and article I sent to friends back in 2012.  I did a quick perusal of the posts I have made and realized, I never shared it here!! Well, that my friends is now rectified.

This was an article on Serious Eats:

What to Eat with Belgian Tripel

Nothing earth shattering here. The tripels they offer as suggestions are all good. Well, the ones I have had, which was most.

I often think of good tripels as a dessert, so pairing it with something sweet makes sense.  I will have to try a nice pesto with one as well.

Is there something you pair with a good tripel?

What Beer To Pair With Asian Food

Choose this Beer Style the Next Time You're Eating Asian Food

When I saw the article, my first thought was IPA. Why? Because IPA's pair well with spicy food.

The article recommended a saison! What the hell, I love me a good saison. Now, I gotta get me a good saison and some spicy Thai or Chinese food to pair with it!!

As a side note, if you are a cooking enthusiast, I recommend Food52.com. I follow the blog via an RSS feed reader.

It Was A Great Beer Day

There is a badge on Untappd called "Goose Island Migration". To earn this badge, you must go to one of the cities listed in the Untappd blog entry for this badge during the dates listed. The closest city to Dallas that is currently available for this badge is Oklahoma City. It is about a 3 to 3 1/2 hour drive north. Turns out, I could drive to OKC, drink a Goose Island beer and be back in time to go to my part time job. So, before 8 AM, I drove up to OKC to go to a beer bar called Tapwerks Ale House.  I have heard good things about this place AND they open at 11 AM, so I could get there, enjoy a beer or two and then drive back home.  When I arrived (at 11 AM), I was the 1st person in the place. I sat down at the bar and ordered an Oklahoma Flight. It came with 4 different OK beers from 4 different breweries. I also ordered a Goose Island 312 Urban Pale Wheat to earn my badge. As I chatted with Shaina, my bartender, she started pouring tasters of other OK beers to try.  They also had a Founders KBS (11.9% ABV) which is a unique beer on Untappd I hadn't yet had (but now have!).  Just what a wonderful morning. Shaina was a bit freaked out that I drove to OKC on what was arguably a poor day due to weather. But, as it turned out, was a PERFECT day to drive.  I had a nice tail wind all they way there and got super gas mileage and then had a sunny only partly cloudy drive back, albeit with a head wind. Plus, I was home by 3:30, leaving me plenty of time to decompress and change clothes to head to my job.

A huge shoutout to Shaina for being a wonderful bartender who seemed just as excited to share OK beers as I was to consume them :)

If you are in OKC, check out Tapwerks Ale House. Listed as the oldest tap house in Oklahoma. Old building with a nice dark wood interior with lots of tap handles and even more beers than are listed on the online menu.

So Many Beer Fests

We haven't been beer snobs for long - well, at least not in the greater scheme of things.  Joe and I started our adventure at the Flying Saucer in Addison, TX about 2004 or '05.  We haven't looked back.

We've tried (as far as I know) every style of beer we've come across; I'm sure there are more out there and more being developed every day.  We've gone native on our travels, we've searched the back aisle at backwater beer stores, and yes, we've waited in line for rare beers...sorry Rev.

So as the beer scene in Colorado shows no signs of slowing, we are presented with an increase in opportunities.  On the one hand, we get really excited about the prospect of new and interesting beers (with a slight trepidation that we won't be able to find something we've never had...never happens).  On the other, it's getting harder to decide just which opportunities to take.

We've been to the GABF four years in a row, and when we hinted that we might not go to the 2016 event, there were audible gasps among our friends.  On further reflection, of course we'll go this year.  But in the meantime, we're going to the Breckenridge Beer Fest, the South Denver Beer Fest, Rails and Ales, the Beer Fest at Coors Field (during a Rockies game; and yes, they'll have more than just Coors Light), and also the Denver Summer Beer Fest.  All of those events fall before the end of July.  That's a lot of opportunity, especially considering there are many fests that we're passing on.  Gracious.

So, are we beer snobs?  A little bit.  Are we beer enthusiasts?  Definitely.  Will we ever run out of new and interesting beers?  Doubtful...but we're willing to keep trying.

Please, Please Don't Wait In Line For 'Rare' Beer

I found this article in a beer user group on Facebook.

Please, Please Don't Wait In Line For 'Rare' Beer

The article resonated with me. I love good beer. I love chasing after unique beers, some of the rare. But, over time, some of the thrill has gone. Why? It seems there is always something rare, great, unique and guess what ... if I miss this one, there will be another.  Add to that, some of the beers I have loved in the past, I don't go back to as much.  As stated in the article, there are plenty of breweries. Granted, some aren't as good, but hey they are out there making beer they love.  And if there are enough like minded people, those breweries will last. So, you shouldn't have a problem finding some good beer out there.

And one other thing I love about drinking good beer is the social aspect of it. Sure, I still love good beer, but it is even MORE fun to do with with my friends and other beer knurds.

So, enjoy a good beer. Find some friends to enjoy it with. But, don't spend hours standing in a long line just to snag a bottle of rare beer.  If you do, enjoy it with friends!!

Beer Toffee Sauce

I saw an article on Food52.com about making a beer toffee sauce from leftover beer.  Even in the article they said perhaps you never have leftover beer, but that this recipe is worth making anyway.  Open a bottle, use some for the recipe and the rest for the cook :)

How to Turn Leftover Beer into Toffee Sauce

Sounds interesting and stated in the article that beer will work, even a hoppy IPA.  To me, sounds like I might want to try making it with a stout.

Trader Jonathan

I am on my yearly (well, most years) trip to the great white north.  On my way out the door, I picked up 5 bottles of Real Ale Devil's Backbone I had sitting around. I figured I would share with my brothers-in-law.

I went to a liquor store that was recommended and as I was chatting with the woman behind the counter, I asked if she would be interested in a trade for a bottle of Texas beer.  To my surprise, she said yes.  I walked out with the beers I purchased and a bottle of 3 Sheep's Ewephoria.  Sweeeeet!

My next stop was a local brewery Ale Asylum.  I enjoyed a flight and asked about trading and they also traded me for a bottle.  All the rest of the breweries I went to traded with me.  One traded a bomber, another 2 bottles and the last one traded a six pack!

I have to tell you that I may very well bring several six packs with me and trade again!!  Sadly, the biggest losers were my brothers-in-law.