Beer Fests in Waco and Houston Today and Tomorrow

Hmm. "Let's go to Waco!" is not normally something I say, but this looks like a good reason:

(I'm giving Waco a hard time. It's better than its reputation. Personally, I love the Health Camp and stop there every time I pass through.)


And of course, the similarly named (but presumably much bigger) Texas Beer Festival is tomorrow in Houston:

 I worry that the organizers and my Houston readers think I've been giving them the cold shoulder — the truth is, I've just been much too busy in my personal and professional life to think much about it or this blog. Sorry about that. Now that I have a new job working in a downtown office, I Love Beer is getting neglected a bit. It was much easier to post when I was working out of my house.


The TBF sounds like it will be good. I got this press release from them last week:
With just over one week before the second annual Texas Beer Festival, at Discovery Green Park in
Downtown Houston, it is time to unveil the Specialty Beer List, and “State of the Craft” brewer’s panel.

The Great Brewers Specialty Wall is one of the biggest highlights of the Texas Beer Festival. Several months and great lengths have gone into sourcing many of these beers from our favorite Texas and National Craft Beer producers. We’ve collected over 25 beers that are rare, new to market, or custom made that will be featured both at the Specialty Wall and throughout various brewery booths. Ten of these beers are in firkins,
which are traditional vessels that are often manually tapped and frequently used for one-off beers by American craft brewers. Some will be limited to 2 ounces per patron, and may cost an additional beer ticket or two due to their high cost. We’ve also made the entire specialty wall available for the duration of the day this year, making it much more convenient to taste through your favorite rare beers at your leisure. 

The "State of the Craft" Texas Brewing Industry Panel will feature a lively discussion of where the Texas and National brewing industry has come from, where it's going, and what the future holds. Our very own Beer Commander, Jake Lewis, will moderate the discussion beginning at 2:30 pm at the Demo Stage.


This year's panelists are:
- Ronnie Crocker, Author of Houston Beer and the Beer, TX blog
- Chip McElroy, owner of Live Oak Brewery in Austin, Texas
- Scott Metzger, owner of Freetail Brewpub in San Antonio, Texas
- Brock Wagner, owner of Saint Arnold's Brewery in Houston, Texas
- Rassul Zarinfar, owner of Buffalo Bayou Brewing in Houston, Texas


The Texas Beer Fest, a one day beer tasting festival designed to promote the appreciation of craft beer, will take place on Discovery Green™ in Downtown Houston on April 28th, 2012 from 1:00pm to 7:00pm for general entry and 12:00pm to 7:00pm for VIPs. The Texas Beer Fest is the only craft beer festival in Texas featuring tastings of over 23 local, Texas breweries in one location!