Austin Chronicle 'Beer Flights,' 8/17/12

The newest edition of my occasional beer news column, "Beer Flights," is printed on page 33 of today's Austin Chronicle. Or you can read it here. It includes news on the return of Celis Brewing to Austin, new breweries, the demise of Lovejoys, and Austin beers in cans. Please give it a read.

Upcoming Texas Beer Events

Upcoming beer events, one via Saint Arnold Brewing and two from Open the Taps, the group looking to change Texas beer laws (Note that one of the OtT events is members-only; my apologies for any weird formatting errors):

Saint Arnold Austin Pub Crawl

Saturday, August 25

This pub crawl will feature our open house format starting at 2:00 PM. We will be punching tickets at the first three stops for three hours so people can split up between the establishments. You will get your ticket at whichever stop you decide to visit first. But, VERY IMPORTANT, we will only be handing out the tickets between 2:00 and 3:00 PM. Thus, you still need to start between 2:00 and 3:00. Then, at 5:00 PM, everybody will gather at the final stop, and that is where we will award the all NEW Pub Crawl pint glasses. We will have a large supply, so don't worry about not getting a glass. And as always, designated drivers are both eligible for the award and encouraged to attend.

So here is the layout:  

Between 2:00 - 5:00 PM:

• Brew Exchange
• Kung Fu Saloon
• Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar  

And the final stop:

• Opal Divine's

Saturday, August 18, 2012: One Year Anniversary party at Common Table! (Dallas)

Join us at the Common Table, our first ever sponsor, to celebrate one year of Open The Taps in Dallas! There will be some special kegs and the unofficial band of Texas craft beer, Fish Fry Bingo, will be playing in the afternoon! 12-5 PM.

Saturday, August 25th, 5-7PM: Meet & Greet with new San Antonio Brewery- Old Boxcar Brewing

Members, please join us at the newest San Antonio brewery- Old Boxcar, for a meet and greet! There will of course be some samples to try!

Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible! 

Address: 3633 Metro Parkway, San Antonio, TX, 78247. Google map here: http://goo.gl/maps/XPdLJ

  

Groovy Sundays at South Austin Brewing

Press release from South Austin Brewing:

South Austin Brewing hosts an open house called Groovy Sunday, featuring tours of the brewery, live music, food trailers, fun and games. Most Sundays, from 3-7pm. SABC is located near South Congress, at 415 East Saint Elmo Lane, Unit 1D, 78745. There is no cover charge for Groovy Sunday, and beer tasting glasses and merchandise are for sale. Founder and Brewmaster Jordan Weeks worked for Hill Country Brewing in the late ‘90s. Inspired by Austin brewer Pierre Celis’ Belgian ales, Weeks produces two flagship ales: Golden Ale and Saison D’Austin. Austin’s finer beer stores, markets, pubs, and restaurants host their keg taps and sell 750ml wire-corked bottles. SABC will produce seasonal and specialty beers in months to come. Christopher Oglesby produces Groovy Sundays. Oglesby is the author of the award-winning book about Texas musicians “Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air,” and is associated with many of Austin’s more notorious musicians: “I believe in celebrating local artists. Groovy Sunday is a great way for tourists and visitors to enjoy authentic South Austin culture, and for Austin folk to celebrate local handcrafted beer, food, and music.” South Austin Brewing Company celebrated its Grand Opening in February 2012, an event which drew media attention for hundreds of attendees who arrived to sample Austin’s newest craft brewery and enjoy Texas music. "South Austin Brewing Company was a great partner to join forces with for its opening in February,” says Eric Silverstein, founder of local food trailers Peached Tortilla and Yume’ Burger who served food during the opening event. “They drew an incredible crowd with a never-ending line. We plan to be back at SABC to serve at future events." Other food trailers scheduled for Groovy Sundays include: Be More Pacific, Chi’Lantro, Double Trouble BBQ, Best Wurst, and Belgian Waffle Company. Groovy Sunday schedule is available on SABC’s website: www.southaustinbrewing.com

Flying Saucer Announces Fifth Annual BeerFeast Festival

Press release from Flying Saucer: 

Austin, Texas, Aug. 14, 2012 – Flying Saucer will host its fifth annual beer festival, BeerFeast 2012, on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Triangle Park, located at 4800 Guadalupe St., directly behind the Saucer’s 815 W. 47th St. location.

BeerFeast 2012 will feature more than 40 breweries and 60 different craft beers carefully selected by Flying Saucer’s own resident beer guru, Keith Schlabs, and Austin Flying Saucer general manager, Ted Rowell. In addition, very rare and limited-release beers will be tapped every hour on the hour from 1 to 7 p.m. Some of those hard-to-find beers include Allagash Four, Dogfish Head Positive Contact, Oskar Blues Ten Fidy and Ommegang Art of Darkness, just to name a few. The Saucer has also arranged for popular local food trucks to be back on-site at this year’s festival for attendees to purchase food during the event.

“This event allows us to showcase a large selection of rare and unique brews for Austin craft beer lovers to enjoy,” Rowell said. “We’re selecting 30 bottles and 30 taps to secure 60 different craft beers for this event, which is one of the largest offerings we’ve had at this beer festival.”

Tickets to BeerFeast 2012 are $30, and for a very limited time can be purchased at a discounted price of $25 online at www.Beerfeast2012.com or at the Saucer, beginning on August 16th. You’ll pay the regular price after Aug. 31, and on the day of the festival, if there are any tickets still available, they will be $40 at the door.

Ticket purchase includes admission to the festival, a 2012 BeerFeast tasting glass and a tasting card good for 12 samples of any of the 60 festival beers. A very limited number of VIP tickets will also be available for purchase this year. They are expected to sell out quickly and will only be available online prior to the festival for $65. In addition to the tasting card and glass, VIP ticket purchasers will receive early admission to the festival at noon, food vouchers redeemable at any of the festival food trucks, a 2012 BeerFeast T-shirt and a VIP Brew Caddy lanyard to hold their taster glass. Also, all VIP ticket holders will have access to a VIP only line for the rare brew tappings and will be able to sample the hourly brews 10 minutes prior to general ticket holders. Additional 12-sample taster cards will be available for purchase by general admission and VIP ticket holders only for $6 on the day of the festival. There will be designated driver tickets available for $15, which will include admission to the festival and complimentary soft drinks.

This year’s BeerFeast fun is only for those 21 and older who have purchased a ticket to attend. For more information, call 512-454-8200 or email info@Beerfeast2012.com.

The Austin festival is one of three BeerFeast events happening at Flying Saucer locations across Texas, with the Fort Worth BeerFeast taking place on Oct. 13 and the new Sugar Land location celebrating BeerFeast on Oct. 27.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium was founded in 1995 in Fort Worth, Texas. Offering a wide variety of imported and domestic quality craft beers, as well as a full pub menu, the Flying Saucer family has 15 locations throughout Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Missouri. For more information, visit www.beerknurd.com. 

BrewMasters Fest Coming to Galveston

The third annual BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival is coming up at the end of the month, August 31-September 2. Over 400 beers to choose from, and the beach. Hard to argue against that. Click here for details. (After a now-infamous beer festival disaster here in Austin, I feel compelled to add: I've never been to this festival, and know nothing about it, so I'm telling you about it purely for informational purposes, and this plug is not an endorsement.)

San Antonio beer scene developments

Being that I now work for a state Senator from San Antonio, I'm a lot more plugged in to the SA beer scene than I used to be. Here's a couple of recent articles on what's going on in the Alamo City:


San Antonio Business Journal: "San Antonio’s craft-brewing industry is gearing up to make more suds"


San Antonio Express-News: "Brewery now on tap for East Side"