Beering on Valentine's Weekend... in Austin

Snuck into Austin, TX this weekend with the wife and another couple (no not swinging). It was not my normal beer-centric vacation, so that actually allowed us to enjoy the city a little differently, and have beer in the background. I had not realized how you go upward in sophistication and class (and price) of the bars as you work your way from 6th Street to 1st Street. We started out watching the mind fuc... er Winter Olympics opening games at Champions while drinking the "Mystery Beer". They refused to tell me which beer it was, but it reminded me a lot of Newcastle Brown.

Anyway, we just went Shiner Bocking it up at the bars on 6th street on Friday night. I tried to note how much local beer was on the taps (the real test as anyone can store bottles), and turns out Real Ale's Fireman's #4 is the WINNAH! The bright red tap handle with the gold 4 was at every bar, club, and dive. We swung by the old haunt Lovejoy's and scared our wives. I had their Pale Ale, not bad, but the wives were freaking out with the Sin City like bar.

The next night we explored the streets and found a great Irish Pub Fado's. Place was very comfortable, the man knew how to pour the Guiness, and they had 6 Nation's Rugby on the TV, does life get much better than this? It's on 4th street across the street from the gay bars. This place was way too cozy, and the Carlsberg I was drinking was much better than I've had it anywhere else. We jazzed it up for dinner at III Forks for some excellent steaks. No beer this time, just Pinot Noir. The place was packed and the kicker is that we barely were able to get reservations.

I made up for my sins of "no beer with dinner" by playing darts and drinking a healthy amount of 512 Bruin Brown ale they had on cask hand pump at good ol' Gingerman. This place was the polar opposite of 6th street bars. Lots of pea coats and tame beer love. Not going to see much vomit on the side of the road. We actually managed to see some stars, and used an Android app to find all the constellations.

But I think I'm not over thinking it that (512) has taken over the best beer title for Austin. Lord knows there's more competition on the way. But that IPA, Wit, and Brown Ale just seal the deal for me. I couldn't get enough of the stuff. The Brown ale was very chewy, malty, a touch of syrup, and the hops cut it just right. No sense of the 7.6 ABV. The IPA was a great piney thing. Just great while hanging out in the chill. The wit was a perfect citrus flavor with medium body coming from the oats, ranks right up there with some of the better wits I've had. I'm loving it man. Just need these guys to get some handles down here and we are on our way.

And today I think we were well on our way with cracking the code of Austin by few breakfast tacos at Taco Deli. Afterward, just watching folks swim in the Barton Springs pool. Can't wait to hit that one in the summer time.

Just going to chill out the next few weeks to let the bank account recover, then I may be able to sneak in a trip to Toronto for the next NSBE conference. I'm having flashbacks of the mussels at beerbistro and the beer menu at Volo. Holla.

Lovejoy's in Austin Review

Ok. So the wife and I are still on our anniversary trip and just like last year, we find ourselves in Austin hanging out with the Harley Davidson bikers during the Republic of Texas. For some reason we could actually find seating in many of the bars. Maybe it was just the economy.

But sometime in the bright sunny afternoon we waltzed over to Lovejoy's Taproom. This is the last brewpub in town we had not tried and I was greatly looking forward to it. It is just off the famed 6th Street, so I figured this place is just going to kick the ass of any other brewpub.

Well you walk in, and the darkness of lost souls envelops you. It was a bright sunny day and this place looked like it was straight out of the bar in that movie Sin City. Dark, very dark bar. Actually kinda scary. But I've been known to frequent such a place. Lots of black and cigarette smoke. Lots of heavy metal music, so that was cool. I notice on the chalkboard that they have their locally brewed beer and a few other local beers, so we grab seat on some sort of sitting bench like mechanism. I don't know why I thought there would be a waitress, so after 3 minutes I just go up to the bar.

The bar is pretty cool as it has many many pictures of naked women and old burlesque show poster on the low hanging ceiling right above the bar. Things are looking up (no pun). I order a flight of their beers, start a tab, and bring it back to our table. I still couldn't see a damn thing and I imagine if the dudes saw me writing, they may mistake me for a narc, so forgive me if these reviews are a little short.

Beer Log: June 13, 2009

State: Chillin in Lovejoys

English ESB

I've actually been looking for a good ESB. I manage to get the malty candy smell somewhere mixed in with cigarette smoke. It is pretty smooth and warm. Moderate malt and low hops. As my eyes adjust, I notice a dark amber color. 2 Stars.

Slobias

Slight malt and chocolate on top of some sourness. Smooth moderate hops with some hot alcohol. Low 3 Star.

Wade Redd

Medium hops, low flavor. Dark color with some hop aftertaste. Just not there for me. It's very smooth with low carbonation. 2 Star.

The Chronic

This aptly named beer has a lacy head. Take the Wade Redd and add more hops. Not enough malt to balance it out. 3 Star.

That was all their beers, but they managed to have some 512 on tap.

(512) IPA

Orange color with a little white head. Nice citrus hops with low malt. It kinda reminds me of Drifter. Low carbonation and light drinkability. 3 Stars. I know the (512) will be expanding soon, so I imagine we'll be seeing these chumps in Houston soon.

All in all I think the atmosphere (particularly the cigarette smoke) knocks the beer down a peg. I think their little brewing setup is right there just behind the bar on a glorified homebrew system. Which actually could work out. If they had a patio, I'd rather try the beer outside to let the nose get in there. But I do think it is very cool that Austin has a get-lost dive bar with 4 beers of their own. I love a good dive bar, and most dives will have the BMC and cheap liquor. I would love to hit this spot when I'm feeling blue and just want to drink the night away. Not to mention the beer was cheap as all get out.

Austin: Part 4: Give us, us Independence!!!

And later on...

We zip around town a bit burning some $3.95/gallon gasoline, and eventually find our way to the Flying Saucer in Austin. Turns out this Sauce is in one of those new style apartment complexes, where there are trendy yuppy shops and stores on the bottom floor, and apartments above. But I know I could not survive living above a Sauce. I'd easily gain for 40 pounds and be the next D. Rather than going all through the menu, we just decided to do a sweep of Independence Brewery.

Independence Freestyle Wheat
We got full pints rather than little samplers. Pretty clear beer that was the color of tinged straw. Light head, but of slight spice, citrus, sourness/lager smell. A fadeaway white head. Not much of a mouthfeel. A medium body, and not so good sourness/hop aftertaste. Medium carbonation yet not much of fruitiness. Not much of a wheat beer to be honest. Just some hops in a fuller light ligher. It does taste of a little bread as it warms up.

Independence Amber
Now that we've gotten past that one, I copped the amber. Crayon brown with a white head. Can't get a smell though. Buttery taste with a medium malt, low hops and a very quick finish. Some citrus halfway through the draught, nice surprise. A little hollow like a light beer on the mouthfeel. Hmm.

Indy Bootlegger Brown
Now the sobriety points are starting to run low. We already know the wife will be driving us back to Houston, as we are going straight back home after this beer. Dark brown to black, with an offwhite head. Roasted malt and pipe tobacco smell, awesome. Biscuity but NOT malty. Full body and smokey. It has a smokey aftertaste like a cigar. A little light chocolate as well.

Since I have four Indy beers, I decided to rank them.

4. Freestyle Wheat
3. Amber
2. Bootlegger Brown
1. Pale Ale

I appreciate what Indy is doing as a microbrewery, but I think I'll take Uncle Billy's over them.

This wraps up our Austin trip. We stayed for one night and managed to hit 4 different establishments, 3 brewpubs and 1 beer bar. It's good stuff going on, much more variety than Houston. We did not get the Lovejoys as that was downtown and we were steering clear of the biker convention going on. We also did not get to a few other beer bars, so I can't say absolutely who was best, but of the places we visited I think you absolutely most go to Uncle Billy's. The food was awesome and so was the beer.

Austin Part 3: NXNW

June 14, 2008

Time to go to one of the premier brewpubs in Austin, North By Northwest. Which incidently is in the north by northwest part of town. Neato. They even have some food/beer pairing recommendations on the menu. The place had a fantastic slightly upscale feel to it. The waiter seemed like he knew what he was talking about. We got a sampler and went for it.

Northern Light
Straw colored and clear, with alow white head. It tastes very bready and light. A quick finish with low hops and carbo, but pretty good Pilsner.

Wit Beer (Seasonal)
Old gold cloudy (go Jackets). White head with a lot of fizz to it. Tastes like orange and hard spice. Another sip gets me low hops but overwhelming spice. High fine carbonation, and leaves a sour orangish taste in my mouth. Not feeling this one.

Bavarian Hefeweizen
Light fruitiness on the nose. Orange and cloudy, with a white head. A little bit of lace there as well. Medium body with high fine carbonation that tends to be in most wheat beers. Bready flavor in my mouth after it goes down. It's kind of sour and fruity, and lightly hopped.

Duckabish Amber
Not quite sure what a duckabish is, but there is a beaver on the label. It has an amber color (fitting), with white head and low lace. It has a decent malt taste but not sweet. It's kind of light. It has low hops but has a little creaminess to it. There is a light hop bite in the aftertaste.

Okanogan Black Ale
Something with some nuts on it (shouts out to Jesse Jackson). Smells malt and a little roasty. Brown color. Head is not there as the sampler had been sitting there for a while. Good mix of caramel and roasted malts in the taste. It has the same carbonation but light fizz. The beer finishes quickly for a nice beer.

Py Jingo Pale Ale
Orange color, very lacy white head. Strong hops smell that is beyond flowery. Medium-strong hops on the flavor, low malt but nice medium body. Some lingering aftertaste in the bitterness. Oh yeah.

And there you have it. I actually ordered another Py Jingo as I thought it would be better with my bbq chicken pizza.

I think NXNW has Uncle Billy's beat in the ambience, but they seem to be appealing to different crowds. While Uncle Billy's will get your younger college crowd, NXNW is perfect for families looking for something more than Outback or Chili's. My beer rankings for NXNW.

6. Wit Beer, can't handle that spice
5. Duckabish Amber, just not much too it
4. Bavarian Hefeweizen, not bad
3. Northern Light, good stuff, I'm starting to enjoy true Pilsners and pilsner styles
2. Py Jingo PA
1. Okanogan Black Ale, just love the chances they took with this one.

Austin: Part 1, Say Uncle!!

Oh yeah baby. If you are tired of partying in Houston, you can party it up in Austin Texas. This is the town that did not take on the cultural conservatism of the rest of Texas, although Houston's midtown/Montrose area is trying to catch up. So the wife and I make a 36 hour trip to Austin for our third anniversary, and we have mapped out a beertinerary to include a few brewpubs, and beer bars to cover the microbrews.

As we made our way up 290, couldn't help but notice quite a few guys riding Harleys, with long beards, confederate flag helmets, or no helmets at all. There were more of them the closer we got to Austin, and we later found out there was a Republic of Texas Biker Rally going on that same weekend. Fan-effing-tastic. That pretty much ruled out all of downtown, and we thanked our lucky stars that stayed a few miles out. Not that I think the bikers would have tried to kick my ass, but I knew that all the major hangouts on Sixth Street would be jam packed. So we had to skip Lovejoys, and just kinda did the perimeter of the city. Oh it's real.

The first brewpub we hit got rave reviews in the Southwest Brewing News, Uncle Billy's Brew and Que. We sat on the patio in the early evening. They had a great set up for valet parking, and a great food. The waitress did not know what a milk stout was, but who outside of a the beer nerds would know that anyway. We copped the flight of the beers they brewed on tap, and went for it. All beers were in those "gentlemen" glasses, about 5 ounces. We decided to go with flights as we don't get to Austin so much with the baby.

June 13, 2008

State: hungry, pretty warm outside, feeling good and looking over my shoulder as the bikers are showing up.

Back 40 Blonde Ale

Straw colored with a light hops smell. The only thing that gets me about flights is that you don't get as much head as with a regular beer, and your pallet can get jacked up, especially if it's all bitters like Wharf Rat in B-more. Back 40 did have a nice white head. On first draught, I got the medium body, light hops and carbonation. Very little aftertaste. I leaves a velvety feel in my mouth. It tasted a bit maltier with my bbq pulled pork. That swine be callin me.

Agave Wit

their seasonal brew. Lace white head, kinda belgian smell, you know fruity and sour. Straw colored and opaque. It had a full body, and I could taste the clove right away, with high fine carbonation. It's kind of tequilaish, and I'm not feeling it. There is some sweetness in here, but overall it's a bit overwhelming for me. The wife then told me that agave is what they use in tequila, so there you have it.

Organic Amber

Dark brown, white head, smells like chocolate. It has a strong choco flavor and velvety smooth mouthfeel. I'm going to call this roasted malt with medium carbonation and low hops. This one got a WOW from me, but the choco goes away the more you drink it. I think the agave was still messing with me, though I kept eating and drinking water inbetween beers.

Bitchin' Camero

Another special beer that's not always on tap. It's on the "Special Hop Tap" Dark red with low head. A good scrong hops smell. Strong to medium hop bite and high on the carbonation. Low malt. The beer has a quick finish which is always nice. I'm still not quite there with this one either. I imagine this is an English style judging by the bitterness, though I could be wrong.

Axe Handle Pale Ale

Oh yeah. Let's get hoppy. Orange pale color, white head and stronger hop smell than the Bitchin' Camero. But it smells kind of musty. But dammit that joint is bitter with a bready finish, high carbonation. This is for real stuff. Lingering hops aftertaste. I have to take a break now. It's a good thing the waitress told me to try this one after the BC.

Smokehouse Porter

On the Special Dark and Malty Tap. Deep brown and opaque, tan head. Smells of biscuits, coffee, and roasted malt. This is what the heck I'm talking about here. Chocolate flavor with low carbonation, tastes of coffee and toffee. Full body with low hops, and a great regular (probably crystal malt) malt to go along with it. This one is going great with the bbq. FTR, the BBQ was a sweet sauce, not tangy.

So this was a very good experience overall, my rankings for these beers are:

6. Agave Wit

5. Organic Amber, yes I said wow, but further tastes show it was just the Agave talking

4. Bitchin Camero

3. Back 40 Blonde Ale, yes I put the blonde ahead of the pale ale

2. Axe Handle Pale Ale.

and the best beer...

1. Smokehouse Porter. this was just perfect with the bbq, even though it was warm outside. Well done Uncle Billy's