As you may or may not know, the LIVESTRONG Austin Marathon and Half Marathon is this weekend, and I’m happy to say my wife and I will be two of the 12,000 half marathoners (plus 6,000 marathoners) running the streets of Austin Sunday.

I have a feeling a lot of those runners love their beer. And despite what the TV may have told you, plenty of them are reaching for a craft brew. Craft beer and running, along with an abundance of outdoor activities, seem to go hand in hand.

Just ask the Beer Runner, who is more than a third of the way through his quest to run and drink a beer for 365 consecutive days, those runners who have waited in line to get a beer from Hops & Grains following the Rogue Raffler events, or the various clubs that put on pub runs.

A great beer can taste even better after a long run. It also makes an easy reward. I know there are plenty of days where the thought of pint at Billy’s on Burnet or home brew from the fridge is the only thing that keeps me pushing through a sluggish run. On the flipside, running can give great balance to those crazy weeks where you find yourself hopping from one special beer event to the next.

So cheers to all you beer runners, and good luck if you’re running this weekend. I know I’m already contemplating my post run drinking. Cheap Texas pints at Draught House? House beers from Black Star? Something I’ve been holding on to at home? Whatever it is, I know it will be extra tasty after those 13.1 miles.

Already planning your post race beer? We’d love to hear it.

I had only been to Washington D.C. briefly in middle school, so as I ventured there recently (now a grown man, with the facial hair to prove it) for a conference I was anxious to check out a bit of the beer scene during what little free time I had. I was in for some nice treats.

I didn’t spend time doing any research before I left other than reading Ronnie Crocker’s posts from the SAVOR event only a week before my visit. If nothing else, having his ChurchKey recommendation was enough to make the visit a success (more on that later).

When we arrived late on Saturday night our first priority was food. I looked up what was nearby to find Capitol City Brewing Company had “above average” pub fare. Good enough. We arrived to find a fairly large place with more of a restaurant feel and a large circle bar in the middle (and plenty of flatscreens playing ESPN).

I opted for the sampler – their four staple beers and one seasonal. We started out pretty strong with a solid Kolsch and hoppy, tasty amber. From there we moved into a less than impressive pale and unforgettable porter.

They did have one of their summer beers on, a “Red, White and Blue Wheat” that used white malt and was brewed with raspberries and blueberries. Taste like America? No. Summer? Yes. It was refreshing. There were about three more rotating house beers on the menu as well. Overall the service and atmosphere was meh, but the food and beer hit the spot in the moment. (But if you’re wondering, I wouldn’t go back).

On the way back to the hotel we stopped for a nightcap at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, a nice wood paneled, traditional steak and seafood restaurant that turned into a happening bar at night. We grabbed the only open spot available in the three bars inside and relaxed as we watched blue collar guys, cyclists, couples, and more make their way in, a true “all are welcome” place. There was a good vibe and I enjoyed my Starr Hill Northern Lights IPA, a balanced beer I could easily have more of.

The next night proved to be the highlight of the trip for me. The ChurchKey is a new bar (open since fall ’09) that takes their beer very seriously. Situated above their Birch & Barley restaurant, the upstairs bar claims to serve 555 beers, and I didn’t see any Bud Light in sight. They feature more than 50 beers on tap and offer a 4-ounce taster of anything. Additionally, they have their cold room sectioned off into three separate storage areas so they can keep beer at one of three optimal temperatures (42, 48 and 54 degrees).

During my two different stops there in one night I powered through tasters like Great Lakes Edmond Fitzgerald, BrewDog Devine Rebel 2010 (w/ Mikkeller), Great Divide Espresso Oak-Aged Yeti and more. The decor and crowd were welcoming and service was spot on. You know you’re in a good place when the waiter sits down to give you a list of 7-8 more bars to visit based on your location, hand-drawn map included (sadly, we did not make them all).

They rotate their beer menu out every two days, and I believe it. By the time we stopped back by three hours later, the first three beers we requested were gone.

From there we headed on a little crawl along 14th street, a great “in the city but neighborhood feel” area. We hit up Cafe Saint Ex next where a hipster bartender served a refreshing Bell’s Oberon pale wheat, perfect after out short hike there. The Saint Ex offered a small, but quality tap and bottle selection and appeared to draw people in for their house made concoctions from the bar.

Unfortunately we hit a hitch in our plan when we discovered the next stop, the Saloon, was closed on Sundays. I was sad to have missed out on this place after hearing about the grizzled bartender and house “rules”, such as you will be refused food service until you order a drink and that they will kick you out if they feel you are getting too loud.

We were back on track with a stop at the Bar Pilar, a somewhat noisy but overall inviting galley bar with a solid draft and bottle selection. Here is where I split a Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout with a coworker. Bad idea. It deserved a full pint. Overall 14th street was a great area to hit up, and with beer tasters, walking between bars, and stops for food along the way, we never even really felt a buzz.

On our last night there, work receptions precluded us from going to much, but we did get to stop in at RFD near Chinatown on the way back from dinner to enjoy a pint of Two Hearted Ale and some of the Flying Dog Barrel Aged Gonzo Porter (which took some warming up to really enjoy). I also had a taste of the Dogfish Head Immort Ale they had on tap. Not bad, but not really what I was looking for while I sat on the patio on a muggy evening. The place itself was large and felt like it could fit in on 6th street, but they did give a lot of thought to their draft and bottle selection.

All in all, D.C. was great and I enjoyed more of the city that I expected during my time there (but don’t worry boss, I didn’t miss a single session). The people were friendly, the public transportation easy and the craft beer abundant. And for any runners out there, morning jaunts around town were a nice way to see the city in action. I feel I just scratched the surface so I’m looking forward to heading back to that area again, but hopefully next time just for pleasure.

If you have a different take on any of the places I visited or stops of your own to add, make sure to leave a comment below!

So recently-ish I traveled to the cloudy city on the coast that once played host to the Tanners.

As this was a work trip I didn’t get out to explore as much as I would have liked, but I did get in some good stops. Much thanks to the BA community and various other people I affronted at bars asking about places to go for the recommendations. They were all great.

My job put me up in the Argonaut hotel on the pier. It was like the Nautica display at Dillard’s but with easy to find bathrooms. Luckily, it was neighbors with Jack’s Cannery Bar, a gimmicky multi-tap you might expect to find in a mall or an airport. What Jack’s lacked in credibility it made up for in beer selection. Boasting 110 taps to taste from, there were more than I expected of quality beers. Being in SF, they had a solid row of Anchor Brewing Co taps including the anniversary Humming Ale. I hit this place up my first night and the site of all those Anchor taps was pretty nice. They also had some Alaskan Brewing on and Moylan’s that I’d never tried before.

On my second night in the city I traversed way beyond the

neighborhood of the Argonaut. Being on a per diem budget (WTF!?) I took the Muni to City Beer Store on Folsom per recommendation of Certified Cicerone, Rob at Ranger Creek, formerly of Flying Saucer. Unfortunately, they are closed on Mondays… It was pretty sad as I could see those glistening bottles of beautiful beers I could never get in Texas sitting there just on the other side of a pane of glass. I stopped being the creepy-staring-into-the-window guy and hoofed it down to Whole Foods where I dropped more money than I care to mention on bottles. I got a few Pliny’s, a Russian River Damnation, Alaskan Smoked Porter, Alaskan Barelywine, Nest Espresso Stout, a Black Wheat from the Bruery, and a few other tasty souvenirs.

From there I walked the few block to 21st Amendment. I’ve had their Brew Free or Die Hard IPA before (via this jerk) but that’s it. In the brewpub it was super crowded (especially for a Monday night!) I had the sampler,

but the double IPA and the Hell or High Water Melon were the only ones that stood out. I had always thought of the water melon wheat as a gimmicky “girl beer” concoction, but I really really enjoyed it and regretted not bringing any back. The food was decent. I can’t even recall what I had, but don’t remember it being terrible. On the whole, I felt like 21st Amendment might have been a bit over hyped in my mind. But it was still nothing to scoff at.

I took a cab back to the hotel.

The pinnacle of the work portion of my trip was this next day, so to say the least I was ready to drink some beer this night. I met up with my cousin who lived in SF at the time and took the Muni to Haight-Ashbury. We stopped first at Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery for some beers and food. They had some great beers, and we landed there on $2 house brew night! Knowing I had other plans for the evening I only partook in one full pint of Sara’s Ruby Brown (an award winning session Bitter). They sold me half pints of the other beers I wanted to try. I especially enjoyed the Saison. The food here is better than average without the place coming off as too nice to throw back one too many on a school night. I liked it. Also, they serve their beers in those awesome wide-mouth imperial pints.

From here we took the short ride to the Tornado. I started with a Russian River Blind Pig IPA. Good, OK. Then I had the Supplication by Russian River. Yeah, better. Hmm. Then my cousin left me and I met a guy who grew up in Round Rock and he and his buddy suggested a slew of local stuff for me to try. The bartenders were very cool with me trying stuff and served me in half pints. I really can’t recall all I had that night, but I remember coming back to the Supplication a few times. I know the Stone Sublimely Self Righteous sat in front of me at some point. I think I had an Imperial Pilsner from either Boulevard or Whidmer (I don’t think they even make one) and then something special from Sierra Nevada, but can’t for the life of me recall. Maybe I posted about it on Twitter.

I also took some photos but can’t recall where they went either. I did get home with my debit card, phone, wallet and ID.

I took a cab back to the hotel wt a stop over at In-N-Out Burger.

SUCCESS!

I can’t finish this write up wt/out giving huge Internet hugs and kisses to JetBlue who have been the coolest and most accommodating airline  I’ve ever experienced in helping me get all my beer home in one piece. They gave me fragile stickers and everything. Not one broken bottle!

So hit up SF for beer, weather, good food, work trips, etc. There are a ton of great places to go that I missed, look them up, or if you have any favorites I left out, leave them in the comments.

Cheers!

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And, if things go well, we hope to hold newsletter-only contests and promotions – everybody wins!

So, fork over your email address to the right. You already gave it to everyone else during SXSW, so why not us now?

Completed and fully functional Chicken Tractor

If you are into all things DIY chances are you have a passion for home brewing, gardening and…chicken coops? To say that having an urban chicken coop is trendy would be taking things a bit too far, but raising chickens in your backyard is definitely becoming a phenomenon of sorts. In Austin, we are some funky chicken loving people. Most Sundays you can head up to Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon to play Chicken Shit Bingo (recently anointed to Texas Monthly’s Bucket List) while drinking cheap beers and listening to Dale Watson. While it is legal to raise chickens within the city limits, some neighborhoods have covenants that prohibit the backyard brood. If you have been thinking of taking the term “Organic Eggs” to new levels and have limited space to do so, then building a chicken tractor may be right up your alley.

Making the Tractor

A chicken tractor is essentially a mobile chicken coop that you can move to different parts of your yard so that the chickens have more room to eat fresh grass, forage for bugs and scratch until their hearts content. Chicken tractors come in all shapes and sizes, but if you want 3-4 birds, you can build one relatively pain free and light on the wallet. The key is to engineer handles and a set of wheels to easily move the coop to different parts of the yard. Raising pets with benefits is a near win-win situation. You get fresh eggs, scrape the poop into your compost bin and teach kids invaluable lessons about how those pesky chicken nuggets make their way on to the dinner table. You may need to bribe your neighbors with some of those eggs and a few of your home brews, but a dozen eggs go a long way.

3 Happy Girls

With some help from my neighbor and Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, I recently built my first chicken tractor. I was amazed by how much fun I had creating this urban coop. My goal was to build a house large enough for four hens. After reading a few forums online about chicken coops, I found a design of sorts that I liked. I modified it a bit to fit my needs and goals and started in with the man tools – miter saw, circular saw, jigsaw, drills, etc. I spent about 15 total hours constructing and another few hours painting and dropped about $100 in materials (about half of the materials were scraps from previous projects). I now have three Black Australorp hens that lay 2-3 eggs per day for me. I also got to know my neighbor a lot better in the process while we shared a few brews.

The goal here is to do a lot with a little land. While a full-fledged chicken farm is indeed enticing, I do love being close to the city. Having 3-4 hens should provide a family of four with plenty of eggs and enjoyment. I am surprised by how easy chickens are to raise and care for as pets and am equally surprised by how much these little creatures poop…yikes.

If you have always had the itch to raise your own yard birds, now is the time of the season to do so. You can easily get pullets (not quite babies, but not fully grown chicks) from either Buck Moore Feed Supply or Callahans General Store in town. You can also find farmers who have 8-10 month old hens that are already laying rather easily. Good luck!

• Resources for ideas on chicken tractors at www.backyardchickens.com
• Resource for the actual design came from www.organicgardening.com
• Other resources…www.callahansgeneralstore.com, www.buckmoorefeed.com
• PDF for chicken coop plans

What is Cinco de Mayo? Seems to me it’s a drinking Holiday!! Yay!!
Well I guess you can say in the United States today we like any reason
to drink right? Why not Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo is actually a celebration of the Mexican army’s victory
over the French dating back May 5, 1862 the Battle of Puebla.  On the
contrary to what people think; Cinco de Mayo is not a celebration for
Mexico’s independence (which is actually September 16, 1810)

The celebration itself is actually a regional holiday in the city of
Puebla rather than a national holiday.  This day is celebrated more
here in the States than in Mexico!  Of course this day has been
commercialized and we celebrate with parades, dancing, and mariachi music
throughout the US.

Here in Austin most of the bars will celebrate with Mexican beer
specials and food!  Doing some quick research there’s a block party
Wed from 5-10pm on W 2nd Street between San Antonio and Guadalupe!  La
Condesa Cinco De Mayo Block Party! ‘Cazadores margaritas and tequila
shots, Dos Equis and Teacate beer, authentic street foods from La
Condesa and Malaga’
(http://events.austin360.com/austin-tx/events/show/116566725-la-condesa-cinco-de-mayo-downtown-block-party)

Whatever you do, Cinco de Mayo is a day to drink, why not have a
Mexican beer or at least some Mexican food!  Visit your favorite
Mexican establishment!

Here are my picks:

• Taqueria Arandas on Burnet Rd.
• El Mercado also on Burnet Rd.
• El Chile
• Tierra Linda Tacos
• La Michoacana Meat Market

As for a drink- I mean this is a beer blog, try a new Mexican beer:

My pics for today:

• Negra Modelo – a German style dark lager (it’s great)
• Sol – light beer great for the heat
• Pacifico – another light beer lager pilsner
• Tecate – it’s got a bite to it; but taste like a manly beer

Wishing you a great Cinco de Mayo! And Salud!

Chicago is the home of the Cubs, Kanye, Batman & Ferris Bueller. What’s not to love about this city?

The girlfriend and I recently made our way north to visit her old college roommate. While she was excited about spending time with an old friend,

I was really looking forward to the beer. I spent the weeks prior to the trip perusing the Beer Advocate forums for suggestions and mapping out the best bars & beer stores. As usual I was far too optimistic in the amount of time we would be devoting to beer and many of the stops I hoped to make were left unseen. With a good friend, who loves to have company, why rush yourself to see it all in one trip?

The first thing I noticed about the beer bars in Chicago were the lack of taps. At least a lack of taps like I am used to seeing here in Texas. Out of the places we ventured nowhere had more than 25 taps. Most would have an impressive assortment of bottles but a much smaller assortment on draft. Is this a bad thing? Not really. I was just amazed that these bars, which were all recommendations from fellow Beer Advocates, were touted as each being “the best beer selections in the city.” Maybe Chicago just prefers a modest selection of excellent beers? Because that is exactly what it was. The few bars I was able to drag my female companions along to left us more than satisfied. Our first stop, The Local Option, was a cajun bar/restaurant in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. With a diverse selection of regional beers, friendly bartenders & the claim of being the only bar in the US to have Mikkeller’s beers on tap, I fully understand why this bar was a recommendation. The food was good.

The beer was better. Other notable bars were Sheffield’s Beer Garden which boosts a nice patio and multiple rooms, each with their own bar which helped to provide a cozier atmosphere. The Map Room was a stop on our final night in town. Again a small selection of local beers and unique imports, and a laid back bar despite the heavy metal coming from the jukebox. And if you’re looking to bring a little bit of Chicago back with you be sure to check out one of the many Binny’s Beverage Depot around town. Out of the two I stopped into, the one at N Clark & Halsted had a better selection.

When I said I was motivated to visit Chicago because of the beer I was kind of lying. I went for the beer and for St. Vincent. The latter we managed to see play at The Metro our first night in Chicago. The show was amazing. The venue was fantastic. It reminded me of The Paramount Theater but on a much smaller and more intimate scale. I would highly recommend seeing a concert there. Afterwards walk around the Wrigleyville Area, maybe even grab dinner at the Wrigleyville Dogs directly across the street. The best, even if it is the only, Chicago Style Dog I’ve ever had.

The majority of our time was spent walking through downtown & the different neighborhoods of Chicago taking in the character of each one.

If Architecture peaks your interests The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers many tours throughout the year, including many based around the works of Frank Lloyd Wright. Unfortunately most of the Wright tours were not offered in February. We spent a good deal of time making our way through The Art Institute of Chicago and it’s many exhibits. Admission was free for the month of February which made it very hard to pass up. And since you like beer, I am going to assume that you like Sushi as well. If so you’re in luck. Our farewell dinner was at Mirai Sushi in Wicker Park. While expensive, it is totally worth the price you pay. Easily the best sushi I have ever had.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer size of Chicago, especially if you believe Austin is a big city. For a city that is neck and neck with Houston, in terms of population, we found Chicago to be much more navigable. The people are welcoming. The weather was cold. But the beer is what made me write this post.

Friday, March 12, 2010 I saw the Flaming Lips play Austin Music Hall.

It. Was. Phenomenal.

I saw them once before at ACL, but that doesn’t count.

Huge thanks to Jason for the ticket hookup. I procrastinated and missed the ticket sales date.

Physch-rock outfit Stardeath and the White Dwarfs, collaborators on the Dark Side of the Moon project, opened the show. They were great. I usually am annoyed with opening bands, but these guys made the stand-and-hold-your-place part of the show tolerable. Nice use of a theramin.

I guess I’m what you might call a “new Lips” fan. I got into them when Yoshimi came out. And in the three years before At War With the Mystics, I got into Soft Bulletin, Zaireeka, In a Priest Driven Ambulance, and Transmissions From the Satellite Heart. Also, I became a huge fan of the Fearless Freaks film. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed with Mystics. Not a fan of the Sponge Bob influence.

I loved Embryonic. Loved it. Loved. It.

It was weird and spacey and groovy and nostalgic and loud. And great.

And so was the show. My wife likes the Lips’ music, but not the concerts. She says they are “gimmicky.”

Whatever. I went with a friend.

The stage setup was pretty intense. I had heard they had a new “gimmick” for this tour. There was a large half moon disco ball rotating about 10 to 12 feet above our heads (we were maybe 30 feet from the stage), and everything was painted orange. All the dancers were dressed up as DJ Lance from Yo Gabba Gabba, and there were only two inflatables on stage (or the side of the stage due to the limited real estate on the Austin Music Hall stage).

There was a huge sunrise/sunset type projector background that enhanced the light show and played video of various nude girls dancing throughout the show.

The band entered the stage via a shining vagina on the background screen and Wayne immediately jumped in his big space ball and bounced around the audience. It’s old hat by this time, but still a lot of fun.

I don’t remember the set list, but here are the standouts:

• Acoustic sing along version of Yoshimi pt 1
• Waitin’ for a Superman which was dedicated to the late Mark Linkous
• The W.A.N.D.
• She Don’t Use Jelly
• See the Leaves
• Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
• In the Morning of the Magicians
• Worm Mountain
• And of course, “Do You Realize?”

A little something for everyone.

I had hoped to see them perform “Watching the Planets” after seeing the incredible rendition they did live on Conan, but no, they didn’t. They had the lighted gong contraption out and ready to go, but it got little play. Bummer. I expected the song in the encore, but it didn’t come. After the first encore the crew left the stage set up for a few minutes, maybe expecting a second encore, but everybody was tired of standing and left. Maybe they saved “Watching the Planets” for the second encore. Bummer.

Wayne busted out a retrofitted acoustic guitar with a bubble encapsulating the sound whole for the “Yoshimi” sing along, and he confessed that for that occasion, it was the first time he had played an acoustic guitar live on stage. Really? Factual or not, it was great.

“Waitin’ for a Superman” was dedicated to the late Mark Linkous. It was great. Wayne gave a brief, impassioned anti suicide speech before the song, and performed it with a good amount of emotion. It was very sweet (sweet like a grandma would say, not an X-Games announcer).

The band closed out the show with “Do You Realize?” and everything seemed to shoot out confetti, streamers, balloons, lasers, and lights all at once. It was pretty great. There are pictures bellow.

Gimmicks. They were galore. Everyone in the audience received a laser pointer. It was like 1996 all over again. Lots of bald heads and tig bitties got the laser pointer treatment. At one point in the concert the big screen behind the band told us to point them at Wayne and when we did the lights went down and he suddenly produced a mirror shield and used it to redirect these thousands of lasers into multiple directions. It was a cool effect.

During another song, the lights went down and Wayne magically appeared back at the sound booth wearing gigantic hands with green lasers shooting out of the palms. Also very neat.

There was the huge space ball walk, tons of confetti and streamers, huge balloons bouncing around, and the microphone perspective camera.

In perspective, it was an excellent show. I could have stood for another 30 minutes of music, but when a band has a catalog dating back to the 80s, I imagine it’s hard to play a show and satisfy multiple generations of fans.

Wow. It was a great show. If you went, congrats. If no, boo on you. Go next time.

More photos… from an iPhone.

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.

For a guy who spends more money on beer than I’d like to admit, I frequently feel buyer’s remorse for many of my other purchases. I’ll spend way too much time “surfing the web” (if that’s what they still call it) researching a recent buy to confirm my decision or go into a small panic attack when dropping some more serious money. While the latter may be the extreme circumstance, I admit I sometimes feel a little guilt spending more money on a few beers to accompany a meal out when I have an (overly) full fridge at home.

Subsequently, BYOB can be a great and often overlooked option. It clears room in the fridge (resulting in a need to restock!), saves a few bucks and leaves you an endless list of possibilities of what to drink. I am sure there are a plethora of fine BYOB establishments in the Austin area, but I am lucky to have two of my favorites just a short walk, ride or drive from home.

The Little Deli & Pizzeria has been a sandwich shop staple in the Crestview neighborhood for nearly two decades, but in 2009 new owner Tony Villani stepped up the game with a new pizza oven. The space is small inside, but outside is a great shade tree with ample seating. Just order your pie (the #7 was great) and head to the picnic table with a six-pack and set up shop. Tony, the friendly owner, will happily offer you a bucket of ice if needed, along with taking care of your every need (including tips on how to reheat those leftovers).

Forgot to grab the beer on the way out? Just walk across the parking lot to the Crestview Minimax and hit up their recently added walk-in “beer cave.” (Their words, not mine. I hate caves, especially “man caves.”) Nothing in there will blow you away, but you’re sure to find something, from Lone Star to Real Ale to Stone to select bombers and more. (Note: Sadly, Little Deli is not open on Saturday nights… hopefully that will change this spring)

Just south of there on Burnet at 45^th is La Cocina de Consuela, a great little homemade Mexican food place located in an old house. The seating here is even more limited (no more than seven to eight tables between inside and out, most just for parties of two) but it adds to the atmosphere. The patio can be dark, desolate and almost forgotten, but for me it is a great place to relax, pop open a beer (my wife seems to enjoy taking the home brew here, thus fully encompassing the “bring YOUR own beer” philosophy) and enjoy a meal undisturbed. The menu is small but delicious. I personally have a hard time straying from the chipotle potato enchiladas (they aren’t as hot as owner Connie warns), but I’ve vowed to try the highly recommended Friday special of salmon enchiladas next time.

Most customers seem unaware of the BYOB policy the first time as we’ve received a few looks when we start pulling stuff out of the lunch tote (perfect for two beers each between you and your date – yes, I try unsuccessfully to pass this off as a date to the wife). The staff is welcoming and the food fresh. The fact you can enjoy something besides a Corona or Dos XX is just the icing on the cake (or should I say the head on the pint…).

So, there you have it. One man’s take on two great little BYOB options in one small pocket of Austin. But, it does raise the question, where do you like you bring your own beer? Let us know in the comments section below (or feel free to tell me what bad taste I have!).