Darkside Fermentation are celebrating their second anniversary with a bittersweet farewell to their previous home, San Marcos’ Root Cellar, while celebrating the soon to come full production brewery.

Lots of good stuff on tap and bottle sales the day of the event.

From the horse’s mouth:

Beer Line-up For 2.11.12:

Mark of the Yeast:78666 : A GRUIT. Not a Quad or a Stout, A GRUIT. That means zeros hops in this batch. INstead, the bittering comes from my favorite legal, i mean local, psychotropics: Wormwood, Sage, Yarrow, and Elderberries. It aged in an Red Wine Barrel for 6 months then was blended with a similar, non-barrel batch. If Red Bull gives you wings, Mark of the Yeast gives you Pogo-sticks. 11% ABV. 660 Bottles and 1 Keg. $14/bottle

Darkside Red: A Flemish Red Sour aged in an Oak Barrel for 8 months on 30 Lbs of Sour Cherries. Dry, woody, bretty with a subtle cherry sweetness in the aftertaste. 6% ABV. 600 Bottles and 2 Kegs. $10/bottle

Golden Mean: A Strong Golden, a la Duvel, with a lambic twist. Nice sweettart/fruity notes from the wild yeast, and it packs a punch at 10% ABV. 150 Bottles and 1 Keg. $10/bottle

Sirius Dubbel: Darker than your usual “Dubbel”, This is nice malty, NON_LAMBIC, offering from Darkside. Great for cold wether, strong as usual. 8% ABV. 2 Kegs.

10% off the Purchase of a case (12 beers). I will be making 25 pre-assembled cases with 4 of each of the 3 bottle offerings. Only $120 (valued at $140). All these beers will age well as you wait out the Darkside Drought.

The idea is that we can drink up the 6 kegs that day, and sell all the bottles To Go. that way we dont have 100′s of empty bottles to deal with that night, and also for the mother earth.

Cool. Time to stock up on some DS bottles before the drought.

More details:

Where: Root Cellar Cafe & Brewery, 215 N LBJ DR, San Marcos
When: Saturday, Feb. 11, from 11AM to 7PM

Barber Shop are celebrating their first birthday Saturday the 28th with a selection of cask conditioned ales and special tappings including the OG Jester King Wytchmaker and a cask of Real Ale Coffee Porter.

Should be a great event and if you’re already in the area for the Jester King party early in the day you should make this your second stop.

Announced today on their Facebook page.

Das Wunderkind! Sour Saison labels have arrived. We can’t wait for you to try our first unpastuerized, unfiltered, bottle conditioned wild ale aged in oak barrels with native, Hill Country wild yeast and souring bacteria.

This is the one we’ve all been waiting for. If you were among the lucky folks to get some of this last fall at the Texas Craft Brewers Fest or one of the few locations it was on during Austin Beer Week, then you know this beer is the real deal.

“We’re pretty proud to now have bottled a wild ale from our barrel room,” said founder Jeffery Stuffings. Awesome. Looking forward to seeing this on shelves around town. No word on where to find it yet, but in light of the TABC lawsuit ruling, I’d expect to get word from the brewers themselves as soon as it’s available.

The brewers also announced new beer Mad Meg, a farmhouse provision ale.

From the horses’ mouth:

Also known as “Dulle Griet” or “Dull Gret”, Mad Meg is a peasant woman from Flemish folklore who leads an army of women to pillage hell. She’s famously depicted in Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s 1562 painting by the same name.
Mad Meg is simple in terms of ingredients with French pilsner malt, wheat, a touch of caramunich and acidulated malt, Czech Saaz hops and our farmhouse yeast. It is golden colored and quite strong at over 9% ABV (we can tell you the strength now!). The palate intertwines delicate farmhouse esters with earthy, spicy hops and clean malt flavors.
Mad Meg will be available beginning this week on draught at select locations around Austin, followed by a statewide bottle release once the beer has conditioned through re-fermentation in the bottle, label approval has been received, and the labels have been printed.

Alright. Exciting stuff. Go get it.

Wow, its been a big year for beer in Austin. With three new breweries opening their doors, another two right on the cusp, rumors and sightings of multiple new brewpubs, and also a good return of medals from the Great American Beer Fest, Austin truly is in the midst of a beer boom.

And being the suckers we are for listing and comparing, we decided to put together our first ever “Best of” readers’ poll.

So take a few minutes (there are only 10 categories) to fill it out and we’ll print the results in the upcoming Winter issue of the guide.

Click HERE to take the Best of 2011 Readers’ Poll! 

Polling closes on December 31st.

Cheers!

The guys at (512) Brewing shared a bottle of the soon to be released Wild Bear with us to preview last week. 

Before we share our thoughts on it, here are some details about the beer. (512) filled four new, medium toast, oak barrels with the 2010 batch of Bruin (their hoppy brown) and inoculated the barrels the wild yeasts brettanomyces and pediococcus and laid them to rest for 11 months. You may recall them talking about it 11 months ago.

So of those four barrels, they have bottled two of them at this point and will release ~480 conditioned bottles in the very near future here.

YAY!

For the other two barrels, their destiny lies a few six to eight months in the future.

So here is what we thought about the Wild Bear first release:

We liked it. The aroma had completely taken on the wild brett horse-blanket-y character. It had that classic “wild” smell so much it even had hints of tart in it. The beer was lighter in color than the Bruin and only had a slight head. The flavor was great with classic brett and hints of fruit, while the mouth feel was semi-effervescent. It finished nice and dry, prepping your palate for more.

This first batch had a lot of the classic wild barrel aged flavor and characteristics going on, but was not yet tart or sour. The second release (six to eight months from now) should have more of the sour/tart thing going on.

As soon as word gets out that this beer is on shelves run, don’t walk, to get a bottle or two. Maybe open one now and put the other to bed to condition in the bottle for a while. Or do what you want, they’re your beers at that point.

We’re still recuperating and vacationing following Austin Beer Week so things are a little slow. Thus, news of the copy/paste kind.

Last night Jester King announced a new beer, Noble King Hoppy Farmhouse Ale. Then they went on to talk about a lot more. The highlights:

• Noble King is a medium strength, dry, golden ale brewed with their farmhouse yeast, and an abundance of noble, European hops.
• Noble King is “thoroughly hoppy, yet elegant, dry, balanced, and drinkable.”
• Noble King will debut this Saturday (Nov 5) at the tasting room, followed by a draught and cask-conditioned rollout around the state. Bottles expected late November or December.
• The “farmhouse” Wytchmaker and Black Metal released during Austin Beer Week will eventually replace the English ale versions as Jester King works towards using the same house yeast for all beers.
• They’re working on a new Farmhouse Table Beer, followed by a limited release Farmhouse Strong Ale, new Farmhouse Provision Ale, and farmhouse version of Commercial Suicide.
• After seeing the results of time spent aging with wild yeast and in barrels, Jester King is now describing Das Wunderkind! as a “Sour Saison” and Boxer’s Revenge as a “Barrel-Aged Wild Ale” as opposed to farmhouse ales.
•  Das Wunderkind! will see a small bottle release in the upcoming months.

For all the details straight from the satyr’s mouth, read below or visit the Jester King blog.

This Saturday, November 5th, during our weekly tasting room hours and tours, our newest beer, Noble King Hoppy Farmhouse Ale will be available for sampling. Noble King is a medium strength, dry, golden ale brewed with our farmhouse yeast, and, as its name suggests, an abundance of noble, European hops. We’re all very big fans of the subtle, delicate earthy flavors of classic European noble hops, and particularly enjoy the way that those flavors interplay with the character of our farmhouse yeast. Though the hops in Noble King are front and center, they don’t overwhelm the palate, the way some high alpha (highly bitter) New World varieties sometimes can. This results in a beer that’s thoroughly hoppy, yet elegant, dry, balanced, and drinkable. Following Saturday’s debut, it will be available on draught and cask-conditioned at a small number of venues and special events around the state, with an anticipated bottle release some time in late November or December.

If you were at any of our Austin Beer Week events or our Funk’n Sour Gravity Fest, you may have noticed a few other new additions to our lineup, as well, including “farmhouse” editions of Wytchmaker Rye IPA and Black Metal Imperial Stout, which will ultimately replace the English ale yeast versions that we’ve been brewing up until this point. The strain of farmhouse yeast that we use is much more difficult to work with and more sensitive to environmental variables than the English strain, but we believe that, when handled correctly, it adds an extra layer of character and complexity to the finished beers. Using the same house yeast for all of our beers also allows us to manage and reuse that yeast much more effectively. Over several generations, it will continue to evolve and adapt to the particular environmental conditions of our brewery, contributing its own unique terroir to all of our beers. This house terroir is something that we feel is part of what it means to be an authentic farmhouse brewery.

In addition to Noble King and the farmhouse versions of Wytchmaker and Black Metal, we also have a new Farmhouse Table Beer that’s currently in the works, to be followed soon by a limited release Farmhouse Strong Ale, a new Farmhouse Provision Ale, and a farmhouse version of Commercial Suicide Dark Mild. Some of you may recognize the terms “Farmhouse Table Beer” and “Farmhouse Provision Ale” as having been applied at one time to two other beers that we showcased during Austin Beer Week: Das Wunderkind! and Boxer’s Revenge. When we first formulated these beers, we had a particular vision in mind for each of them, but after extended aging in oak barrels with wild yeast and souring bacteria, Das Wunderkind! and Boxer’s Revenge quite literally took on a life of their own, and as we continued to sample them, those visions began to change. Eventually, we felt that the terms “Farmhouse Table Beer” and “Farmhouse Provision Ale” no longer captured the essence of what they had become, so we decided to change those descriptions. Das Wunderkind!, we felt, had become a very good example of a sour saison, of the sort Yvan De Baets talks about in Phil Markowski’s book, Farmhouse Ales, so we decided to label it “Sour Saison”. (Look for a very limited bottle release of Das Wunderkind! Sour Saison sometime in the upcoming months.) Boxer’s Revenge has not been bottled yet, but when it is, we plan to go with the more straightforwardly descriptive designation, “Barrel-Aged Wild Ale”.

Our new Table Beer and Provision Ale, which we haven’t yet named, will be “sibling beers” to Noble King, made with similar malts and hops, and our farmhouse yeast, but with the Table Beer lower in ABV and more sessionable, and the Provision Ale much stronger and better suited to cellaring. Ultimately, all three beers will become part of our regular, year-round line up. At the same time, we will also continue to produce Das Wunderkind!, Boxer’s Revenge, and a variety of other “wild” beers, but we will do so without any pre-announced release dates or promises of consistent supply, so that we can give them the time they need to mature and, as we’ve said all along, let them tell us when they’re ready to be packaged and released.

In addition to our event tonight wt the Mustache glasses and Jester King Wytchmaker cask wt whiskey soaked oak chips, Black Star will be pouring a fair amount of beer that’s been on wood all week.

From the horse’s mouth:

To kick off our Week of Wood, we’ll be giving away the popular mustache glasses from local beer blogger, BeerTown Austin. The glasses will be filled with a special cask of Jester King Wytchmaker Rye IPA with whiskey-soaked oak. The guys from BeerTown Austin will be in the house, as wells as a rep. from Jester King to answer questions.

We’ll be celebrating the presence of wood in craft brewing by tapping a special keg (or two) each day of the week through Sunday August 28!

Before the widespread use of stainless steel, it is believed that all beers came in contact with wood during the brewing process. Nowadays, brewers create a wonderful depth of flavor by using wood during or after fermentation, many times with what a liquor or wine has left behind, or with the use of wild yeast and sour-creating bacteria. These unique creations are not to be missed!

Mon Aug 22 – Glass Night with Jester King Wytchmaker CASK with Whiskey-soaked oak
A special cask-conditioned version of their Rye IPA, served in BeerTown Austin’s popular mustache glass while supplies last. Guys from both the brewery and beer blog will be at the co-op for the event.
(6.7%ABV; Austin, Texas)

Tue Aug 23 – Crispin Joan Of Arc & Maid Of Orleans
A pair of limited release, unfiltered ciders (one apple, one pear) aged in Sauvignon Blanc oak barrels.
(Minneapolis, MN & Colfax, CA)

Wed Aug 24 – Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
Imperial Porter aged in special wood from Paraguay that gives this big dark brew very interesting and unique qualities.
(12%ABV; Milton, DE)
& Dogfish Head Burton Baton
An English-style Old Ale and American Imperial IPA blended and aged in oak.
(10%ABV; Milton, DE)

Thu Aug 25 – Ranger Creek Barrel-Aged Cherry La Bestia Aimable
Their Belgian-style Strong Ale brewed with honey, this batch aged in Tempranillo barrels with dark cherries. This is the first time they’ve released this version
(9.4+%ABV; San Antonio, Texas)

Fri Aug 26 – Petrus Aged Pale
Golden Ale matured in oak casks for 1.5 – 2 years with wild yeasts and sour-creating bacteria. A staff favorite!
(7.3%ABV; Bavikhove, Belgium)

Sat Aug 27 – Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti
Their Yeti Imperial Stout with cacao nibs and a dash of cayenne, aged with American oak. Cellared in the keg since April.
(9.5%ABV; Denver, CO)

Sun Aug 28 – New Belgium La Folie Sour Brown
Nicknamed “Rodenbach of the Rockies”, this is a Flanders-style sour beer blended from beers aged 1-3 years in French wine barrels. Revered as one of the best American-made sours.
(6%ABV; Fort Collins, CO)

Looks like an exciting lineup. See you out there.

So I did the laziest of reporting and trolled the Beeradvocate forums for this one.

According to a Beeradvocate handle that claims to be (512) head brewer, Nate Seale, the third anniversary party has been postponed to October 8th, due to heat and brewery expansion.

Sounds legit, but I’d file this under “semi-official”.

Also, via the Beeradvocate news network (southwest forum), the THREE will be a tripel. Alright.

So let’s not hold our breath until we get a formal announcement, although this was an easy freebie post for a Monday.

Raising a glass to Real Ale Brewing 15th Anniversary

Real Ale Brewing Company celebrated its fifteenth anniversary with record-breaking crowd braving the Texas heat for special release beers, barbecue and brewery tours. Real Ale Brewing has come a long way since Philip and Diane Conner set up shop in the basement of an antiques store on the Blanco town square in 1996. Despite having tanks, cold storage, bottling and more crammed in a space of less than 2500 square feet with only 7 foot high ceilings, Brad Farbstein maxed out the 2 vessel, 15 barrel system with 5500 barrels in 2006 before moving to the current location.

Real Ale Brewing Company Expansion

At the 15th year mark, Real Ale Brewing operates a 60 barrel, four vessel, steam-fired brewhouse capable of producing between 54,000 and 72,000 barrels a year — and breaking ground for more. The concrete slab for the new bottling building was poured the day prior to the party, with more construction slated over the next several months.

Counting to 15 with Davis Tucker (NXNW Brewing) and Ed Peters (South Austin Brewing)

With Real Ale’s Rye Ale already in my fridge, I enjoyed beer exclusively from the specialty booth menu. I highly recommend trying the Whisky Richard’s Porter, Oud Bruin, and the Empire, a barrel aged IPA whenever it’s available.

More photos on my Flickr.

[Photo Credits: All photos by Debbie Cerda, copy or reprint allowed with attribution]

This is not new news, but the cool poster is. I’ve been told it will be “super awesome”. So like awesome with super powers.

From the horse’s mouth:

Neighborhood “Bock” Party – On Thursday, Aug., 18th from 7 to 11 p.m., Birds Barbershop and Shiner will toast their new partnership with a party featuring complimentary Shiner Bock and Shiner Light Blond beer, a live Oompah band and DJ, photo booth, Shiner Bock flavored Amy’s ice cream and more at the shop located at 1902 South Congress Ave. For more details, visit birdsbarbershop.com.

As previously reported, all this info is also available on the koozie medium.

Sounds fun.