Big Bend Brewing a Quick Success Story

Last year, one of the pioneering icons of the Austin brewing scene surprised Central Texas beer lovers by picking up and leaving town. As I documented in the Austin Chronicle, Live Oak Brewing's (and before that, Waterloo brewpub's) Steve Anderson announced he was moving out to the wide open spaces of West Texas to open up Big Bend Brewing in Alpine.

I happy to announce his venture into the Davis Mountains has been a success, and the news comes from my good friend Bret, normally a sports writer for the El Paso Times but today taking a turn at beer journalism. Apparently, Bret says, they're drinking up Steve's beer faster than Steve can brew it. Read Bret's great write-up here.

Win a Trip to GABF!

Press release from the Denver Convention and Visitor's Bureau. I think you're gonna want to read it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Denver’s Ultimate Beer-cation Giveaway Offers a Trip To The Center of the “Brewniverse” The Great American Beer Festival® (GABF) Sold Out In Minutes – Giveaway Includes Roundtrip Airfare, Accommodations and Tickets to GABF

DENVER, CO – August 21, 2013 – The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) – to be held Oct. 10-12 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver – sold out in a matter of minutes, leaving thousands of brew lovers crying in their beers. But a trip to craft beer paradise is still within reach! Denver’s Ultimate Beer-Cation Giveaway, running onFacebook.com/VISITDENVER through September 2, will bring one winner and a friend to The Mile High City for a truly brew-tastic weekend. The randomly selected winner will receive: ·         Round-trip airfare for two to Denver on Frontier Airlines (October 11-13) ·         Two nights at The Ritz-Carlton, Denver (October 11-13) ·         Two tickets to the Great American Beer Festival (October 12) ·         Two ‘Hops N’ Honey’ pedicures at The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Denver (October 12) ·         Dinner for two at Ale House at Amato’s (October 11) ·         Two Denver Beer Trail guides Entering is as easy as cracking open a cold one. 1.    Go to Denver Rocks Giveaway page: denv.co/gabf-beercation 2.    “Like” VISIT DENVER (if you haven’t already!) 3.    Fill out the easy entry form and submit Sharing is caring – and pays off! Entrants who share this contest with Facebook friends increase their chances of winning. Every time a friend enters through the post on your wall, your name will receive five more entries into the contest. GABF is considered to be the most prestigious and coveted beer competition in America. It is certainly the world’s largest beer celebration, with a Guinness World Record for the most beers ever made available for tasting at a single event, and this year officials estimate that during the 2013 GABF, an astonishing 3,000 different beers will be available from 600 breweries. But GABF is just the tip of the beer iceberg that month in Denver – a city that brews more beer than any other. From October 4-12, the citywide suds celebration known as Denver Beer Fest, returns for its fifth year with more than 150 events, including Meet the Brewer Nights, an Oktoberfest celebration in lower downtown, beer-paired dinners, firkin nights, brewer versus brewer competitions and a whole lot more. If you love – or even just like – beer, Denver is the place to be this October. All events are listed at DenverBeerFest.com. Were you one of the lucky ones, and already have your GABF tickets but still need a place to stay? Go to denverbeerfest.com/hoteldeals to find special rates and packages timed to the Denver Beer Fest.  . M # M # M # B # E # E # R

Volunteer for Texas Craft Brewers Festival

The Texas Craft Brewers Festival (which I heartily endorse) is coming up next month. Open the Taps (the political arm of the Texas craft beer community) passes along this message from the Festival:

Hello Open The Taps Supporter!

The Young Men's Business League and the Texas Craft Brewers Guild are reaching out to you as supporters of Texas Craft Beer.  The 2013 Texas Craft Brewers Festival will be held on Saturday, September 28th at Fiesta Gardens in downtown Austin. This is the original Texas-only craft beer festival and we will feature 40 Texas breweries this year. We are looking for many volunteers for our event and know you will be a huge help with this task.  We need everything from beer pourers to merchandise sales to volunteer check in and more.  Please consider volunteering for the Festival and visit the Texas Craft Brewers Festival volunteer page.  The sign-up form can be found here:

http://texascraftbrewersfestival.org/volunteer

As a volunteer, you will receive entry into the Festival as well as a Festival t-shirt.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Please email volunteer@TexasCraftBrewersFestival.org.

Thanks for your support of Texas Craft Beer.

Kristin Jacobson

Texas Craft Brewers Festival Volunteer Coordinator

Charles Vallhonrat

Executive Director, Texas Craft Brewers Guild