Because You Like Beer You Like… SXSW
I am a music fan. I’m lucky enough to live in Austin where we are so proud of our music scene that we declared ourselves the Live Music Capital of the WORLD! Aside from all of the bands that come through town or live here and play here, we are lucky enough to host a number of big music festivals every year. But the biggest of them all is South by Southwest. During SXSW over 1000 bands invade our town and play their music at every bar, alley, makeshift stage, and front-yard they can get a permit for.
If there is one thing that sxsw is about besides the music, it’s about going out and having a responsible good time. Well that’s what the beverage companies want me to say anyway. The fact of the matter is, there is a lot of drinking during SXSW. It may be a party put on by a new startup during the Interactive festival, a film premiere party, or just kids out drinking and dancing to their favorite band.
With all of the partying there is a great dilemma when it comes to the question of what to drink during the festival. Odds are your choices are limited to whatever the bar (or alley) is selling during the show. As a result you may be drinking a lot more of the National Beer of Texas than you would prefer. There’s nothing wrong with some Lone Star, especially in the right environment, but I noticed something new this year. Craft breweries are getting in on sponsorships this year. Also, more local bars are stocking gasp local beers. A movement is afoot and it looks like this year there will bring more “good” beer options than ever before.
Without further ado, here is my quick and dirty SXSW good beer survival guide.
Craft Brew Events
- Flying Dog is all over the place – You already know this if you read BTA, but it’s good beer and a lot of it!
- Dogfish Head/Gingerman SXSW Event Day 1 – Nice way to start out your Friday afternoon with a pint of Dogfish Head at the G-man.
- DC Does Texas – Good bands and free Dogfish Head at Lovejoys!
- 15th Annual Yarddog Throwdown At SXSW – Not free Dogfish Head, but only $3. What better way to start off the Saturday of SXSW than with a bit of hair of the dog (pun intended)
- The Bay Area Takeover – All bands from the Bay area and free beer from Trumer Pils. I haven’t had Trumer, but it gets a B+ from Beer Advocate
Bars with Good Beer
- Mohawk – Mohawk always has good bands and they usually have at least one Live Oak tap inside.
- Club DeVille – Club DeVille is next door to Mohawk on Red River and also has at least one Live Oak tap for your enjoyment. They also have 20 oz pint glasses.
- LoveJoys – Right in the middle of it all off 6th Street, you can get some microbrew.
- Ginger Man – When you need a break from the insanity of the music and 6th street, take a load off and enjoy some beer from the giant tap wall at Gingerman.
- Side Bar – Right off of Red River on 7th street you can find Real Ale on tap and a comfy couch. This is a great spot to catch some music and relax while in between bigger shows on Red River.
- Casino El Camino – Okay, I’m really including this one because they have a good Ms Pacman machine and I’m a dork. They also have some decent beers on tap and a fun atmosphere.
There are many more spots around downtown Austin to get good beer. Let us know your favorites in the comments. Also, please share any shows sponsored by Craft Brewers that I might have missed.
If you are skipping SXSW you can escape the influx of out-of-towners, hipsters, drunken idiots, and record label reps and head over to 512 to enjoy their Spring open house.
we were at club deville yesterday, three live oak taps (hefewiezen, pils & big bark) & fireman’s #4 on tap. a good place to hang out during the music part of sxsw. they usually host day parties with free lonestar as well.
Opal Divine’s 6th has cheap tx BEERS ON WEDNESDAY/ST. PATRICKS dAY!
Hey guys, Thanks for the additions great stuff. I can’t believe I forgot Opals I guess I was too focused on the Red River end of town. I also have a few more updates to add to my list:
I just received an update from Paste that their day shows will have free Sierra Nevada while it lasts every day. More details here: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/02/paste-announces-sxsw-party-line-up.html
Also, the AV Club will have free Brooklyn (I’m guessing just the lager, but hey it beats Lone Star right?). You have to RSVP for this one, but there are some great bands as well: http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/the-av-clubs-free-sxsw-show-is-a-go-and-speaking-o,38567/
I apologize, I did miss an interactive event with free Brooklyn that happened this evening. However, it’s raining and you need to save your energy for the music. Keep on adding anything you find, it will help everyone find the good beer!
Friend Island, this Saturday, March 20th will have Deschutes beer from Oregon on tap (and free!)
Located at 815 E. 6th St. … (Usually it’s called the Music Gym).
Party starts at 11am and will have 14 bands, free pancakes and nachos.
See you there!
Love,
Hometapes
http://bit.ly/Friend-Island-2010
Magic Hat will have a few events also-
Wednesday, March 17
Brooklyn Vegan Day Party @ Emo’s 12:00-6:00
Thursday, March 18
Filter Magazine’s Showdown @ Cedar Street 11:00-6:00
Dig for Fire Lawn Party @ The French Legation Museum 1:00-7:00
Dom DeLuise Wake @ Dog and Duck Pub 1:00 – 7:00pm
Friday, March 19
Filter Magazine’s Showdown @ Cedar Street 11:00-6:00
Dig for Fire Lawn Party @ The French Legation Museum 1:00-7:00
Brooklyn Vegan Day Party @ Club Deville 12:00-6:00
Momo’s Real Live Music Day Show @ Momo’s 2:00-7:00
Saturday, March 20
Filter Magazine’s Showdown @ Cedar Street 11:00-6:00
Brooklyn Vegan Day Party @ Red 7 12:00-6:00
Obscure Magpie’s @ Encore 12:00-7:00
Sunday, March 21
Obscure Magpie’s @ Encore 12:00-7:00
http://ow.ly/1mX55
Saint Arnold will be featured at The G-man tomorrow for Saint Patrick’s Day (Irish Stew made w/ Winter Stout). Also, The Ghost Room on Friday will have Saint Arnold for the day showcase in the back. And..Antones Records on Saturday for Freddy Steady’s Frontier-A-Go-Go will have free Saint Arnold all day.
And if you’re in town for SXSW & looking for a gay bar, Oil Can Harry’s on 4th Street has a new sports themed side bar…they’ve got crap beer on tap except for a few Sam Adams. I’ve been trying to convince them to add locals—go in, have a SA and then tell them to GET BETTER BEER. They are rotating out the 2 Sam Adams taps with other nat’l beers that are decent but still, gotta get them to show some love to Independence, Live Oak, (512) and others here in Cen-Tex.
Trumer Pils is a boring Pilz. I really want it to be more, but it really isn’t.