Couple weeks ago Parkside had us out for their ‘summer nights’ Independence beer dinner.

It was pretty swanky. Four courses plus h’orderves. Nice.

I’m not a food blogger and I won’t pretend to be. No lie, I was there for the beer, and the food was nothing to scoff at either. In fact, in recollection I think I liked it all. None of the notes I scribbled on the menu are negative.

Also Mr. Justin Rizza, head brewer out at Indy Brewing was present to talk about the beers and pairings. It was nice and educational. Also the Parkside chef came out to introduce the dishes. I like this. I like when beer dinners have someone talking about the beer and the food and why they paired them together. Especially when they can go into enough detail that it shows they didn’t just use that beer/food pairing chart you can find on BeerAdvocate.

Thanks Parkside, Independence for putting some thought into it and educated us on in the process.

I came in a bit late and missed most of the appetizers. Luckily, our server was able to procure some chicken loli-pops for me. These were all paired wt the Freestyle Wheat.

Course two was fun. Pickled stuff. Pickled on premise. I’ll confess- I took the one pickled egg yolk for our table. Sorry team.

Presentation is key. They nailed it. How’s that for some food blogger shit? This is still course one, the charcuterie platter. The pate was my favorite. They paired it wt the Amber. Not bad, but I was craving a Stash IPA.

Course two was grilled halibut, steamed clams, octopus, petite potatoes, etc. Best course of the night, in my opinion. There were smoked peppers in the broth. I love halibut and this was good halibut. Paired with the Pale Ale. Not bad, still would have gone for the Stash.

It was too dark for pics when course three came out, and I get embarrassed using the flash. It was a pork plate paired with the Bootlegger Brown. I liked the pork ribs and in my notes I scribbled “best pairing?”

NOPE. Dessert was the best.

Best. Pairing. Ever. From the notes, “the best!!”

TWO EXCLAMATION MARKS ! !

I meant business. It was outstanding. A cinnamon sugar yeast doughnut, pretzel ice cream, chocolate, and blueberry crumble paired with the Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout. This pairing did it for me. See the photo? I couldn’t even wait to take a picture before I started digging in.

Parkside mentioned they plan on doing more of these. I hope so.

June 26th, besides the Real Ale Anniversary party (which I truly regret missing this), witnessed the Great Austin Beer Festival.

We were there loud and proud. See us in the pic above sporting our new rasterized banner (no, it’s not a pixilated image. It’s on purpose… IDIOT!)

As a disclaimer, I should mention that we were an event sponsor and appreciate the GATXBF guys including us.

GATXBF had a lot going on. 1,600 drinkers last I heard, ~40 breweries, tons of beer (we roughly counted 80 cases left over after!), and a good(ish) time for all. Plus nice local representation from Independence, (512), Real Ale, Saint Arnold, and Live Oak (who’s table was manned by the original party animal himself, Mr. Chip McElroy.)

The good- lots of lots of beer.

The bad- lots of lots of people/lines.

The ugly- some hipster man-boy called me an asshole because he didn’t win the raffle (learn to read the rules you stupid, illiterate, scenester fuck.)

The incredible- (512) blew off some socks with a cellared keg of the 2009 ONE and a rare appearance of the Whisky Barrel 2X Pecan Porter (don’t think I didn’t “sample” a few 6 or 7 of these.)

The from-left-feild- we debuted our BeerTownAustin Mustache glasses. If you got one, yr lucky. If not, we plan to have more available soon. Look left (<–) to see it.

Laser etching and wooden sign by our favorite laser artist in austin at Austin Laser Art.

The unsung heroes- big thanks to the Jester King gents for sharing their wooden banner frame. Sans their generosity, we’d have been left holding our rasturbated sign above our heads and out arms would have gotten so tired.

The rest of the story- Promoter Blake Richards did a quick video and e-mail interview wt us post GATXBF.

Here it is:

BTA: Was Saturday’s event what you initially set out to do?

GATXBF: We set out to give Austin another beer festival (the other being Flying Saucer’s in October) and we wanted the event to be something that could grow in the future.

BTA: Did you expect such a large turnout?

GATXBF: We expected a good turnout because Austin is an event driven town and there is a lot of interest in good craft and import beers.

BTA: Are there plans for a second GAtxBF, and if so, how would you like it be different than this year, if at all?

GATXBF: There are no plans for second event; but I would like to do it.  It would be different, we would go outside and we would work with the TABC to figure out how we can do draught beer.

BTA: Not even hours after the event Twitter, Facebook, forums and blogs were already pouring in reviews of the event, mostly positive, but some negative, how do you respond to those?

GATXBF: They have been about 90% positive, I have responded to as many as I can especially the negative feedback.  We are open to constructive negative feedback, we realize that the venue was way too crowded and the beer was in bottles not draught.  With that being said, there were a ton of beers to sample and there is a good chance that most of the guests could find at least twenty to thirty beers that they have never tried.

BTA: Lots of people are wondering why the beer was mainly served out of bottles, can you comment on that? 

GATXBF: There are a few reasons for the bottles, we are going to work on draught next year.

BTA: What type of post-festival feedback did you receive from the brewers?

GATXBF: The feedback from the breweries so far has been very good.  I strongly believe a good majority would want to come back.

BTA: Why did you choose Austin for your festival?

GATXBF: I have been coming to Austin for years, I have family in Austin, it is simply one of the best cities in the country.  Why not Austin!!

BTA: Assuming there will be a second festival, what are you most looking forward to next year?

GATXBF: If we do it next year, it will be outside.  I am looking forward to that, it will be a completely different event.

Here’s the video:

Here’re more pics: (also by the talented Mr. Haley)

Our friends from Austin Homebrew Supply.

Celeb sighting.

More glasses and some of the raffle stuff.

Eric at the Independence table.

Jeff of Jester King shaking hands wt @madhouselarry (thanks for all the beer runs, Larry!)

The rear of the Saint Arnold booth. Our friend Kevin pouring beers next to Mr. Frank Mancuso.

If you didn’t already know from this or this, Beer Connoisseur magazine held a party at the home of Independence Brewing Company on Saturday, February 27 for the launch of the second issue of their publication.  Some bloggers may have beaten us to the punch with a recap first, but how many had VIDEO?!?! (Scroll down now if you hate reading).

The weather and turnout ended up being great for everyone to rub elbows with fellow beer geeks and industry type folks (and maybe even a few of those professional media types).

While we were disappointed to see that not all the local brewers we had hoped for could make it out, no one went thirsty. In addition to some of the Independence staples, Lovejoy’s brought out their Blonde (which I did not have but heard was tasty) and Pale Ale, while North by Northwest sampled their Black Ale (excellent!) and IPA.

During our time there we also caught wind that Independence would soon be bottling their Stash IPA and Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout, probably their two best offerings in my opinion.

The Beer Connoisseur staff told us they took the time to visit Uncle Billy’s, the Ginger Man (where a pre-party was held for those who just couldn’t get enough beer) and some other local watering holes while in town to get better acquainted with the ever-growing Austin beer scene/brews.

Their publication and site are dedicated to all things related to beer culture. They hail from Atlanta, GA, which is experiencing a small but strong beer transformation (the Brick Store Pub consistently ranks as one of the best bars in the U.S. from Beer Advocate), and are excited about expanding into the Austin area.

Check out the video with Nick Kaye, managing editor, Beer Connoisseur to hear more about the work they are up to and what brought them to Austin. You can look for their quarterly magazine to start popping up around town soon.

Note: We feel it’s our duty to let you know we were extended a complimentary entry. Had I personally paid the entry fee, I would have been a lot more disappointed in the lack of breweries in attendance.

Hmm. So we decided it was a good idea to do this again.

In our defense, we met this guy we don’t know who said he heard the first Knocking ‘em Back podcast… no word if he liked it. BUT that he heard it was all we needed to do a second one.

Thanks to Flying Saucer, our sponsor, and to Rob, Knocking ‘em Back’s resident Cicerone, for having us out, serving us beers, foods, giving us a table, an electric outlet, and professional beer opinions (look out for an Over a Pint featuring the Cicerones Rob & Sam).

Also, huge thanks to Tim from the Get Dressed Show for sitting in and producing this episode (notice how much better it sounds than the last? Don’t get used to it. Tim has invested some $$$ into his recording setup. We spend our $$$ on beers…)

Tim, JIB, Shawn, Josh, and I sat down, drank some beers (Tim had a Lone Star), talked about some local news including the Saint Arnold pub crawl, the Beer Connoisseur party at Independence Brewery, the (512) Brewing 2X Pecan Porter bottle release, and the TX debut of the Stone Sublimely Self Righteous.

And guess what. Rob broke some news on the podcast.

Beans were spilled revealing that FLYING SAUCER AUSTIN GOT A CASE OF THE (512) 2X PECAN PORTER.

Listen for more details.

We had a lot to talk about and not much I felt the world could live without, so instead of editing it down to ~30 minutes, I cut it in half. Look for Knocking ‘em Back at Flying Saucer EP 2.2 next week.

Again, this podcast is not suitable for toddlers, moms, baptists, grandmas, or Rush Limbaugh, so listen in headphones or with trusted friends.

Enjoy!

Direct link to the mp3 HERE.

Hmm. We forgot to bring a camera again. Shawn got a new fancy camera. Maybe he’ll bring it out and we’ll get some photos next time.

Saturday, Feb 27th, 4-8 pm, we are hosting a release party for Beer Connoisseur Magazine. Basically, we’ve invited all the other area breweries to bring their beers over to the brewery for the event for a beer tasting fest. So far we have commitments from: Real Ale, Saint Arnold, Live Oak, 512 Brewing, North by Northwest, and Uncle Billy’s.

Wow wow wow. This already great event just got greater.

We’ll be out there, hope to see you too.

More details on the poster bellow…

Alrighty kiddos, welcome to another episode of Over a Pint, the 14th, with Rob and Amy Cartwright of Independence Brewing Co.

Yup. Rob and Amy, along with new brewer Justin Rizza, have been working on some new beers, retooling some existing ones, and experimenting with some favorites. They graciously invited us out to the brewery to check out what they’ve been up to and try some beers.

First thing is first, Stash IPA in bottles! Stash IPA in bottles! Stash IPA in bottles! …pending TABC label approval. This is great news. I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m a huge fan of what Justin has done with the recipe and have been a Stash advocate since he first cracked one open for me at the Clementine (now Thunderbird) tasting last summer. Look for it in the Spring.

Also they are working on getting the Convict Hill Imperial Oatmeal Stout in bottles soon. I’m also excited about this. Just not copy and paste three times in bold excited (it’ll be a great local IPA in a bottle!)

We spent the business end of the Over a Pint talking about and tasting the Jasperilla 2009.  If you made it out to the 5th Anniversary party, you had the chance to taste and vote on a few variations of the 2009 Jasperilla. They Indy crew made two versions with oak spirals in the fermentation tanks: one on medium oak, the other on dark oak. Lots of ppl tasted and gave feedback and the Jasperilla on medium oak won.

It’s very tasty. We talk about it in the video so I’ll be brief here. The oak makes it very smooth and brings out some nice rich fruity esters, almost like a cabernet. In my opinion, it’s a very foodie beer. Big and flavorful.

It made my mouth water for cheese, steak, cheesesteak, or any other rich, sharp, or semi-spicey type foods.

The 2009 Jasperilla should be on shelves soon (the end of January), so go get some.

Rob, Amy, Justin, and the rest of the Indy crew are doing some cool things, and I look forward to some of the other things they are working on (…did someone mention several current test batches aging?)

We’re all drinking the Stash IPA and Jasperilla. So if you can, crack open a cold one and enjoy the video.

Enjoy!

Welcome to Over a Pint episode 13, the baker’s dozenth.

Recently we went out to Opal Divine’s Marina with homebrew extraordinaire, John “JB” Brack for the Wednesday TX Pint special. John works at Austin Homebrew Supply and is very active with the Austin homebrew club, the Austin Zealots.

If you’re a homebrewer, you’ve mostly likely been blessed by JB’s expertise in recipe selection/tweaking, or in retrospectively assisting you with identifying what went wrong with your brew. If you’re a regular of the better Austin beer bar scene, you’ve prolly shared a pint or a laugh with him.

JB’s been part of Austin beer culture since the 90′s, and even though that’s not that long ago, the ATX beer landscape has undergone quiet a few changes. JB talks about the big brew pub boom of the 90′s, the microbrews of yesteryear, the current resurgence of Texas microbrews, and how homebrewers have played such an intrinsic role in shaping the current scene.

He drops major kudos to Live Oak (of which we are both drinking in the video), Real Ale, (512), Independence, and future brewstars, Jester King.

Thanks to Opal Divine’s, JB, and Austin Homebrew Supply !

Crack open a cold one, watch the video, and next time you see JB, buy him a beer.

Enjoy!

This episode had a surprising amount of out takes. Maybe JIB will have some spare time and compile and post them. It took me a few times to actually nail the cheers and sip wt/out spilling my beer down my face…

We got to sit down and share some beers

Rob gives us an oral history of Independence, the story of how their business plan was “fueled by pale ale“, the story on original three brews, their history with the Alamo Drafthouse and the Austin Amber, and hints at some future plans involving thier new brewer Justin.

Justin spells out the specs (see below the video for these) and talks up some of some of the newer beers he’s had his hands in.
Of the one’s I’ve tried, I’m a pretty big fan of the Stash IPA; Amarillo hops stole my heart long ago.
We’re also into that Convict Hill Imperial Oatmeal Stout… just a little.

We got to try a vertical tasting of the Jasperilla with oak additions that they are tooling around with and were pretty impressed.

If you made it out to the Anniversary party, they were offering the same tasting. What I understood is that the most popular of the oak variations would go into production (go dark oak!) As I remember, the light oaked version was rich, mellow and finished a little like mead. The dark oak, my favorite, was rich and full and grabbed you like a Cabernet.

Justin also debuted their 5th Anniversary ale. It’s a Belgian inspired strong ale with a custom yeast strain.
It’s flavored with mandarin, star sanus, and coriander but still very drinkable. It’s been spotted on tap at Draught House.

Craft Austin posted a pretty good write up of the beers too.

I’ve never tried it, but Rob finishes the video talking about the Southside Special ale. From how he describes it, I’m looking forward to tasting it next time
it’s out.

Rob, Amy, Justin, and all the rest of the Independence team, thanks for 5 years of good beers and here’s looking forward to the next five, cheers!

Stash
Interpretation of Rob’s IPA
Northwest style IPA, bittered to a higher degree than most Indy beers
Amarillo, Tanum, Cascade in the kettle, very florally
Dry hopped Amarillo

Convict Hill Imperial Oatmeal Stout

9% ABV

“huge chocolaty roasty coffee”

5th Anniversary Ale

Belgian inspired stong golden ale
7.5% ABV
Mandarin, star sanus, coriander, flaked barley, flaked rye, and Justin’s special blend of yeast
Very limited time

South Side Special Ale

Based off the bootlegger brown
Chocolate malt
Roasted cacoa beans, ground Indonesia Sumatran coffee, cardimum
Inspired by Turkish coffee

Who thought we’d actually have the stamina to make 9 of these?

I’m going to nick name this one “the reckoning”

So welcome to Over a Pint Episode 9 at the Flying Saucer… the reckoning.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of sitting down wt Sam and Rob (whom I call Sam in the video, sorry Rob) from the Flying Saucer in Austin. Maybe you’ve been there. They’ve got this nice little gig going there wt the beer and such.

We sit outside on a Thursday night; the wind tickles our beards, the casual conversation in the background is loud enough for me to trail off when I realize I don’t know what I’m talking about, the Oscar Blues dry hopped Gordon is flowing, we’re rapping about the Saucer, their upcoming Fall Beer Festival, Rob says “shit”, we cheers like three or four times, it’s revealed that there’s more in store at the festival that you have to show up to find out (of which they spill some beans but also leave some beans left in the can for Saturday), a good time is not missed by any of us.

Do you know when the first Saucer opened?

Do you know in what city?

Can you tell what I do wt my hands when I don’t know what to say next?

What about the special stuff happening inside the Flying Saucer on the 24th?

After watching this video you should be able to answer all these questions and some (meaning they spill some beans in the video that really sweeten the deal).

Check below the video for their cool poster and a hand typed list of the beers we talked about or I was given a list of.

Also, I think we may do a live stream Over a Pint from the festival. TBA.

Sam and I both have a Columbus dry hopped OB Gordon from a cask and Rob is drinking a Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout.

So, if you can, crack open a cold one and join us over a pint,

Enjoy!

The hand typed list:

[I'll bold everything I want and don't want you to drink all of]

Allagash Four

Brooklyn Oktoberfest

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

Dogfish Head Punkin

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale [WTF!?]

Green Flash Hop Head Red

Lagunitas 13 (Mondo Large Red)

North Coast Red Seal Cask

Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout

Sierra Nevada Edge of Darkenss [WTF!?]

Green Flash West Coast IPA

Ska Modus Hoperandi

Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #8

Live Oak Oaktoberfest Cask

Real Ale XII Anniversary Ale

(512) Pecan Porter

Independence Imperial Oatmeal Stout [aka Convict Hill]

Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Breckenridge 471 IPA Cask [WTF!?]

Boulevard Smokestack Tank 7

New Belgium Transatlantic Kriek

So here we go.

If you follow BTA on Twitter you know we go out and drink beer sometimes. Being the amateurs that we are, we don’t make it out to every beer special in Austin, but also being obsessive-if-it’s-advertised-at-us-we’ll-bite type guys, we do try a lot of beer.

Here are our favorite recent ten.

(Disclaimer, I am not a trained beer critic, these are my opinions. Also, some of the beer was given to me free, but that did not influence the list)

(Counting down)

10. Moylan’s Hopsickle
Ouch- this is a hoppy beer. The bottle brags “Tripple Hoppy.” So should you expect a beer three times as hoppy tasting as a regular IPA? Maybe.
I liked that the hops were large and in charge, but a bomber size bottle gave me a hop headache. At 9.2% alcohol, I got a buzz too. Then later hop heart burn. It’s good, but good for sharing. NIce use of Tomohawk hops. I found it for $15 at the Hyde Park Market (also ouch). Thanks for bringing your Hopsickle to Texas Moylan’s.

9. Real Ale Oktoberfest This, Real Ale’s first lager, was not bad. Honestly, I have had enough Oktoberfests this month, that I can barely tell them apart. Unlike Oktoberfests I don’t like, it had a good amount of maltiness, but not too much that you want to pour it on pancakes. Also, they succeeded in avoiding that gross cardboard taste I get from some lesser Oktoberfests (aka, the one I tried brewing at home a few years ago. RIP Spookyfest).

8. (512) Pecan Porter wt Pumpkin Via the Flying Saucer Randall
I want to applaud Flying Saucer Austin for the ingenuity required to produce this beer. A lot of thought and hard work went into it. And adding Pumpkin and spices to an already outstanding porter is close to genius. Sadly, this was an experiment, and for the most part, didn’t really achieve the desired goal. And I was hoping for this one so bad. I LOVE pumpkin beers.
It had a great nose from the spices and pumpkin, but to flavor such a strong and already flavored beer, they needed more pumpkin. Great pumpkin. I hope the think-tank at the Saucer tries this again. FYI, I’m available for taste testing if you guys experiment with it.

7. Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #8 on draft
Saint Arnold released the 8th in their Divine Reserve series earlier this Fall. There was pandemonium among Texas beer drinkers.
People were buying cases at $17 a six pack.
There was a video.
There was much hype (of which we are not claiming to be innocent.)
Not everybody was happy with it.
I drove around. I got the $17 six pack. I drank it in holy silence. I was not so impressed.
Then I tried it on tap. At the Draught House.
AND I LOVED IT.
I think it’s still there. Also saw it on tap at Flying Saucer and Ginger Man I think. Someone should make a web page that keeps track of who has what on tap… and keep it up to date.

6. Real Ale Coffee Porter
Yum. And yum again. I took this photo at Opal Divine’s Freehouse during Go Texas Beer Week the night they had it on cask. If you can find it on cask, try it. I know Draught House did it last year for their Anniversary party, maybe we can look for it there again on November 7. (click the link to see their awesome party art)
Also, it’s now being sold in bottles as a seasonal. Gah, this is a great beer. If only it would stay chilly here in Austin for more than a few days.
Real Ale brews it using coffee from Katz Coffee Roasters out of Houston. Almost a perfect Coffee Porter, at only a 5.6% ABV, I would like it just a bit warmer.

5. Avery’s The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest
This beer was exactly what I needed to cut through my Oktoberfest boredom. A huge beer, malty, hot, sweet, getting me drunk; exactly what I wanted.
Avery rarely fails to come through on the hot-but-hot-like-you-like-it-beers.
With 9.3% ABV and tons of flavor, this beer made my Oktober. I found it on tap at Draught House.
It’s also on draft at the Ginger Man.

4. [edit]Indy Oatmeal Imperial Stout Independence Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout
Probably my favorite beer from Independence. This hearty stout is mighty tasty (why am I all of a sudden blogging like a pirate?). It’s gots flavors of chocolate, licorice, and I think raisins (and now it sounds like I’m reading this from a forum or the brewery’s website). I had it at Flying Saucer on a Sunday night on their TX beer special. It’s a good Sunday night beer. Maybe soon the guys at Independence will put it in bottles. Please.
[via Eric/@AustinBeerGeek, the Oatmeal Stout is now called Convict Hill. Why? "Convict Hill is the name of a Quarry in Oak Hill that the stone for the foundation of the capital is from." Thanks, Eric!]

3. Bear Republic’s Racer X
Name one beer by Bear Republic you don’t like… you couldn’t, could you? And with Racer X they only get better. (although some could take offense at their label art and web design…)
Excuse the rough iPhone pic, but I liked how the baby glass they serve it in at Draught House made my hand look giant. I got this at a Firkin Friday event.
It’s a mighty tasty double IPA. Double like I like. Citrusy aroma, like most hopped beers from Bear Republic, and a solid body. Here’s what Draught House had to say about it. As of now, only on tap in TX. Go get some while you can. It’s a winner!

2. Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale
Oh yeah, this is a great beer. My second pumpkin to love. I won’t speak ill of the first, but alas, it’s not around this season.
This pumpkin beer puts all those novelty ones to shame. Kicks them to the curb. Kicks them hard.
I always recommend this pumpkin beer when someone asks. Mr. Calagione and company did good work with this one. Unlike the pumpkin ales you see in the stacks at the grocery store every fall that smell all right but are just over carbonated cardboard juice with some spices, the Punkin’
ale has a huge body of pumpkin. It’s like pumpkin pie that gets you drunk. I wonder if it would be good with whipped cream on top… I bet it would make a great ice cream float. It’s also good for just drinking, too.
It’s on tap and in bottles all over Austin.

1. Draught House Saison Noire
Yup. At number one I chose the Draught House’s housebrew, Saison Noire (I’m not actually sure that’s a photo of the Noire, it’s just the closest looking image I had that I wasn’t sure was something else… imagine it darker… and taken with a better camera by a better photographer.)
This beer is great. It has all the things I love about a Saison, but the Noire… it gets me. Very drinkable, lots of flavor, hopped just enough, but not too much to that you don’t get some of the yeast.
Looking back on Josh’s past few housebrew batches, he has taken a turn towards the dark side with the Black IPA, the Black Wheat, and now the Saison Noire.
In making this number one, I’m not so much saying that it’s a better beer than the other nine, they are all great beers, I’m saying that it was my number one of the past few months. For some reason, I kept returning to it. And it’s even came to me (via random pitcher dropped off at my table last week- thanks Ben!).

After putting this list together, it reads like I’m getting paid by the Draught House. I’m not. It’s just a quick bike ride from my house, so I go a lot.

What do you think?