New Brewery Coming in Austin: Circle Brewing.

Great article in the Austin Statesmen. Beer is apparently making a STRONG push in Texas, despite the beer distributor lobby trying to hold them back. In addition to Southern Star in Conroe, we shall soon have another brewery just up 290 in Austin, TX. Granted, Circle Brewing's founders are Tennessee folk, and we don't take kindly those people down here, especially the old Houston Oilers fans. But regardless it looks like they are coming along great. Also, looks like Circle will have some comp with Jester Brewing as well. CHALLENGE!!!

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/bws/entries/2009/07/29/to_brew_perchance_to_dream.html

To brew, perchance to dream
By Patrick Beach Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 02:41 PM

If fund-raising and everything else goes as planned, we’ll have two new small breweries that call Austin home.

First up: Jeffrey Stuffing’s Jester King Craft Brewery. The former attorney and home brewer since 2003 hung up his barrister’s cap in June to work on the project full-time.

“There was a realization that this wasn’t gonna happen unless I was fully devoted,” says Stuffings, who’s currently getting professional experience helping Brian Peters at Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que.

I sampled Stuffings’ India Pale Ale and it’s really, really good. More encouraging is his fondness for crazy stuff — barley wines, smoked beers, big Belgian and chocolate stouts — as well as sessionable beers. “I really have a foot in both camps,” he says. “Right now I’m committed to brewing what I like.

The guy believes that in a decade Austin’s beer market will be comparable “to a Denver or a Portland.” Let us hope.

Stuffings has raised some $100,000 of the $800,000 he says he needs to get going and he’s set a deadline of March of next year to haul in the dough, although obviously he’d like it to be more like the end of this year. His vice president is Joseph V. Maida, who left a career in medicine to make beer.

So is this eating your life?

“Yeah,” Stuffings says says. “And it’s cool.”
You can learn more, including reading the company’s executive summary, at the site linked above.

Then there’s Nashville natives Ben Sabel (above right) and Judson Mulherin (left), who are starting Circle Brewing Co. These two have professional backgrounds almost as surprising as lawyer and doctor — Sabel was a talent agent in L.A. (“You’re never off work. You’re never on vacation) while Mulherin worked as an aviation mechanic and contractor in Denver and San Diego

So they’re complementary — Sabel has an MBA, Mulherin is the self-described “grease monkey” (although he has a degree, too). They’ve raised about $185,000 of an estimated $425,000 or so they say they need to get going. To start they’re aiming to brew an amber, a blonde bock and a Texas wheat.

So on paper these guys might not seem as wacky as Stuffings’ impending offerings, but they believe it’s important to have a solid front line before putting more adventurous product out the door.

Says Sabel: “While we might be choosing common categories, our beers are not common-tasting. We’re trying to fill holes in the market, especially the Austin market.”

That makes good business sense, but one of my persistent, low-level complaints about Texas brewers as a whole is their relative reluctance to challenge Texas beer lovers more. After they get going I hope they find room for more niche offerings and lead the charge toward a true Texas beer renaissance.

Drinking Beer while Brewing Beer

It's like eating while watching the Food network. It's like playing touch football during the halftime of a football game. It's like having sex while watching porn.

Is there ANYTHING better than drinking beer while brewing beer? Right now I'm heating up the water for the specialty grains while disinfecting the fermentor. Which means I'm really just sitting here listening to Walton & Johnson podcasts and about to crack open...

Beer Log: Right now 11:51AM
State: Waiting on the water to heat up.

Great Lakes Eliot Ness
I picked up a six pack of this while in Buffalo. I tore through about 4 of them while I was in Buffalo prompting my mother to think I'm an alcoholic. I had a few left so I brought them along with me back to Houston. Nice to see that they have some great beer in my old hometown and birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio. Nice malt and delicate toastiness on the nose. Copper color with strong white head in my cupped pilsner glass. Damn I needed that. Moderate to strong malt with just enough grassy hops to balance. Moderate carbonation and whatnot. Finish has a sweetness to it, almost cloying. The bottle says it's an amber lager but if the brothas told me it was an American Brown Ale I would believe it. I just really enjoy this sweet amber lager, though not as crisp as I figured out. But I like the gentle bitterness and toastiness. 4 stars. CLEVELAND ROCKS!






I think the challenge with drinking beer while brewing beer is not to get plastered as you'll be sitting around for a while, but you can't exactly leave the house for a few holes at the golf course as you'll burn your house down. I'm looking through our kegerator and we have hardly any new beers that we have more than one bottle of. In other words, I can't just go drinking all these beers we brought from the ATL and Buffalo and Maryland while the wife is not here. We actually have some GB Blonde Bock and a sixpack to boot. I haven't reviewed this one since I was back in the ATL for some recruiting.

Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock
Pours a tinged straw color in my NORTH CAROLINA 2009 NCAA BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPION mug. I last had this beer in a sampler, but on its own I imagine it will be a little better. Strong poofy white head. Has a kind of Munich malt smell and German noble hop thing going on. Think of those random green bottle German beers (link) you get at the liquor store, just without the long plane ride to the states. Taste has a nice syrupy sweetness to it characteristic of a bock. Totally messes with your head considering the light color. Low carbonation a lightly hopped. Seems like they have it down. High 3 Star. Fantastic purity law beer.


I just got off the phone with the wife about Oktoberfest, and it turns I actually drank the last of the Eliot Ness. She hadn't tried it yet so I kind of screwed up there. As such I'm slugging down a can of Fat Tire right out of the can along with my Enchiladas from Sylvia's. I'm telling, I go into WITHDRAWAL if I do not have some good Mexican or Tex-Mex at least once a week. If your town doesn't have at least 10% illegal immigrants, your Mexican/Tex-Mex food is probably not up to snuff. I'm doing a full 5 gallon boil on the stovetop, so it is taking FOREVER for this thing to reach a boil. And it will take forever again after I add the extract. So I'm sitting here listening to 2 Live Stews podcasts and watching UFC Wired.

Just added the hops, got a little boil over, so the beer won't be as hoppy. But then again it's for the wife so it should be all good. I may slap in the other hops a couple minutes early to get it going. How about some Zon.

Boulevard Zon
Coming out of Kansas City. Banana yeast nose. Quick dissapearing fizzy white head on a cloudy yellow beer. Strong yeast flavor like my old Belgian witbier homebrew before it fermented out. Beer is much more pleasant than I remember. Nice poofiness to its body and whatnot. Dammit I hate boilover. Low 3 Stars.

Well, I'm still cleaning up the Zon I just spilled on the carpet. Backed right into while watching UFC 101 for the 20th time. I poured myself some Anchor Bock with it's roastiness and whatnot in my Carolina mug. It's 3:30PM and I'm out of ice and the lowest I can get the temperature is 82 deg F on the wort. The OG is 1044. Tastes super sweet and moderate hops on the wort. Already added a gallon of 42 deg F wort. I have not freezer or anything for temperature control, so I'm just going to live with 82 deg F and pitch the yeast. Whatever happens happens.

Ok. I need another drink...some Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils should do the trick.

This is some BULL SHYT. I made ENTIRELY too much money to be sitting her trying to cool down my wort with a bunch of ice in the kitchen sink whatnot. Dammit I was hoping to hit my IPA as well today, but screw that. I'm pitching yeast at 82 deg F like an idiot. I've got to get some better equipment going. Mama's pils is much better out of the can btw. This is terrible. Will let you know how it turns out.

UPDATE: 6AM this morning

The beer is fermenting up a storm right now. Temperature is down to 75 deg F. I do expect the Golden Ale to be a little fruitier than normal, but that's okay. I may try to get my IPA going tomorrow morning. We'll see.

Drinking out of the can/bottle

I'm sitting here about 3-4 beers in before I have to go back to the water for a 2 week stint. I enjoyed some great beers over the weekend, including the Sam Adams Triple Chocolate Stout. It wasn't quite as chocolatey as I thought it would be, but fantastic for a desert beer.

Today I've been drinking beers like Heineken Dark, Oskar Blue's Mama's Little Yella Pils, and Michelob Marzen all out of the can or bottle. All I can say is that the Pils and Marzen were A LOT better out of the can/bottle than in a glass. In a glass I found both of them boring. But the Mama's had a great extra maltiness to it out of the can. The Marzen has the same thing. Nice and flavorful for a session beer. What I want to know is: why is it that some beer taste better straight out of the bottle or can? A few weeks ago the wife picked up some Fat Tire in a can and it was fantastic. One sec...

Beer Log: Right now
State: ever so slightly tipsy

St. Rogue Red Ale (dry hopped)
Moderate malt nose, not as hoppy on the nose as I would think. Slight cloudy dark amber color with a big tan head. Taste is extremely overly hopped. Big on the citrus and piney hops. Nowhere near the maltiness I smelled on the beer. Moderate to high carbonation with an excellent crisp finish. I'm they dry hopped it up, but the nose to flavor experience suggests there were a lot more hops in the boil. The malt is a little caramely. The beer leaves me feeling pretty dry as well. 3 Star if you are eating spicy food.

So how is it that some session beers are so much better out of the bottle? We think that when you put a beer in a glass, it opens up with exposure air. Just like wine, beer can breathe and give off flavors and scents. But we figure that certain low flavor craft beers will give away to nothing the little bit of flavor they have left if you put it in a glass and swirl it about. Straight out of the bottle I get a light choco/syrup from Shiner Bock, and I get an excellent smooth maltiness from Fat Tire. On tap or poured into a glass, they go down a full star rating. Amazing how that works. I guess we beer lovers and connoisseur's won't have to risk alienating ourselves when we drink out of the bottle for tailgating season. Anyway, more beering to come. I owe you guys my beer posts from Toronto. Holla.

Cruising with Ruben and the Jets

One time for probably the coolest beer label around. We got this Lagunitas beer at Specs up here in Suburban Houston. The head is about the same size as the beer. Huge tan head with a dark brown color. Nose is a strong cinnamon and chocolate. Like a cookie. Seems to be a lot of little particles all throughout the beer, and they are not settling. I'm sure that's just th yeast.

Taste is a strong strong malt and chocolate, maybe enough hops to balance but it's hard to tell. The beer is medium to full bodied and very velvety on the tongue. Excellent imperial style, seems like a stout. 4 Stars. Very well done Imperial Stout.

It's beer like this one that are giving Southern Tier and Avery a run for their money in my top breweries of 2009.

Live Blogging: Middle Ages Apricot Ale

Copped this one while I was in Buffalo.

State: Watching Dora the Explorer con bebe.

Middle Ages Apricot Ale

High carbo and moderate apricot and hops. Nice clear amber with thin white head. The beer has a decent toastiness to it. Very pleasant. Yum yum yum yum yum, deliciosa. 3 Stars.

Shout Out to our Soldiers

I see I now have a lot of readers from Afghanistan. Considering that the local clientele in Afghanistan are prohibited from drinking alcohol (as I understand it), I'm going to venture a guess that we have some soldiers checking out "The Brotha" in the warzone. You guys stay strong out there! Hope you come home soon.

Live Blogging:
State: Right Now, watching the Anderson Silva/Forrest Griffin fight on DVR for the 15th time.

Firehouse Brewing Company American Pale Ale
Big offwhite head with amber clear color. Nose is a pleasant fruitiness and malt. Maybe a touch of apricot. Taste is kinda malty, with a nice dose of toast. Hops are not overpowering, just barely balancing the malt. Very nice. I would say this qualifies as an American Pale Ale, but on the lower end of the bitterness. I'd say we have to segregate the West Coast Pale Ales as they bring the pain on the hops. A nice sweetness on the back of the tongue. High 3 star.

Beering in Ontario: Waterloo Part 2

So after leaving the Lion, I caught up with one of the boys and Molly's Irish Pub. Molly's had a lot of space with your basic pool tables and Golden Tee in the back. How dudes get so fired up for Golden Tee I'll never understand. Anyway, no one was really there but the waitresses were pretty nice.

One of my many beering traditions is to order the hottest hot wings at a place along with the hoppiest beers. Well, I got one of the two. The hot wings with the SUICIDE hot sauce was just that. I thought I was going to die. You would need something like Hop Wallop or Hop Stoopid to handle these things, and all I had was some random pilsner they claimed was hoppy to them. My friend is from the Caribbean and ate the wings like they were simply boiled chicken. I can't even remember what the hell I was drinking, as if it mattered.

After that catastrophe, we slid over to a packed Ethel's Lounge. One reason: BIG ROCK TRADITIONAL.



Even a few years ago, I could get out the malt, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Just before I got into hard beering a couple years ago, I considered this beer to be one of the best I've ever had. Brewed out of Calgary, I had it every time I went to Calgary. (Note: Calgary is the Houston of Canada, right down to the rodeo). Ethel's had a grungier restaurant look to it, but lots of room, some random patio as well.

Big Rock Traditional
Malty, brown sugar nose. Oh yes. Brown-ruby color. The taste, slight malt, medium body and cinnamon. Low hops and pretty dry. Low 3 Star. Actually it was a little boring. I guess you can't go back to the farm once you've been to Paris.

I didn't bother getting the Grasshopper or anything else. Had to get ready for the drive to Toronto.