A Peek Inside (512) Brewery

Last month, right before Turkey Day, (512) Brewing gave Austinites something to be thankful for: free samples of their new Pecan Porter, and an open-house look at their South Austin brewery. As near as I could tell, the verdict was unanimous: This is a mighty fine, hearty dark beer to keep you warm during the holidays. As with all (512) beers, it's only available in kegs at the moment, so head down to your finer bars and grab a pint.

I can't say my palate is quite sharp enough to detect the pecan flavor, but that's fine — better to go subtle with flavor than heavy. What I did detect was the bold richness that I seek in a porter. I also tried (512)'s wonderful IPA, and stop the presses: I actually found another wheat beer that I like! (512)'s Wit is modeled after the legendary Celis White (which, frankly I was never nuts about), but uses grapefruit peel instead of orange. Maybe that's the difference, because I enjoyed every drop of it.

Some shots of the event, including the glitterati of the Austin brewing scene who attended (two weeks after the event, I guarantee I'm getting some names wrong here; please send corrections and accept my apologies):

On the left, a really nice guy from the Zealots whose name escapes me (dammit I'm an idiot when it comes to names); on the right, Uncle Billy's Brew and Que brewmaster Brian Peters.

Four different beers, but they only give us three sampler tickets? That's just cruel.

Where the magic happens.

Real Ale brewmaster Tim Schwartz and Black Star Co-op's Snax

Bags of malt and a barley mill, a first step to yummy deliciousness

Live Oak's Chip McElroy and his junior apprentice brewmasters

The line got real long, real quick.

Ed inspects the equipment.

Snax, (512) owner/brewer Kevin Brand, and Ed discuss the art.

I dig the classy logo.

Kevin gives a tutorial on how his brews are produced, while enjoying his Pecan Porter.

Kevin holds court like a proud papa holding his new baby. Well done, Kevin! Damn, I need to get to a bar soon for a second tasting.