So Much Beer, So Little Time

Wow, tons of events coming up here in the Austin area, and I can't keep pace with it all. I only have one liver, and not enough hours in the day. Let's do a little run-down, and no doubt I'm missing something here:

• North by Northwest Oktoberfest, Oct. 16-17: A big favorite for my family, I'll probably hit both days of this just because it's so kid-friendly. Oompah bands, German food, German-style brews, bouncy houses and facepainting for the kids, and cute waitresses in dirndls. That's really all I need in this life.
• Flying Saucer Fall Beer Festival, Oct. 16: Apparently those chuckleheads at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission have been screwing with the Flying Saucer and have forced them to modify the setup they originally had planned, but it all sounds too complicated to summarize here. Bottom line, there is still a beerfest, it's happening noon-10pm, and there will be 50 different beers from 30 different breweries.
• Austin Beer Week, Oct. 23-30: An absolutely crazy assortment of activities, too many to list here, spread out all over the city. I won't even try. Just go check out their calendar. At a minimum, I'll definitely try to hit the Draught House's 42nd Anniversary Party on the 23rd, and no doubt I'll go to Black Star Co-op's brewery tour since it's in my neighborhood. The double feature of Strange Brew and Beerfest at Uncle Billy's Brew & Que on the 27th sounds pretty awesome, too. (Note: I really, really wish the people promoting this would have made an outreach to me. I mentioned in my "Beer Flights" column in the Chronicle that it was coming up, but I had no idea of the scope of it until just now. With earlier outreach, I could have done a bang-up feature on it in the Chronicle and really given it good publicity.)

It's Oktoberfest Time

Yes! It's that wonderful time of year when the heat finally breaks (which here in Texas only means it drops into the high 80s) and all the breweries start putting out Märzenbiers and other fall seasonals. And best of all, it's party time – every year about now, hits on this blog go way up with people searching for Oktoberfest events in the Austin area.

This year, rather than compile them here, I wrote them up as a cover story for The Austin Chronicle. Please go check it out – I hope it helps you get your oompah on.

Update: At the urging of my friends Clark and Milena, I got off my lazy butt and made it up to Walburg this past Saturday. A little video here.

Hot Hot Women and Cold Cold Beer

That's the title of one of my favorite songs ever by one of my favorite bands ever, Goober & the Peas. If you like those things too, be sure to check out one of my favorite blogs, Oktoberfest Girls. It's adding a new photo every day throughout Oktoberfest.

Big Beer Weekend

Truly, the fall beer season is upon us. Lots of stuff to do this weekend in Austin. Everything listed is Saturday, except the NXNW event, which is Saturday and Sunday.

• Oktoberfest at North by Northwest: My ideal event. Bouncy houses and stuff for the kids, awesome beer, oom-pah music, and German food for me.
• The Second Annual Beer Festival at the Flying Saucer: Not so kid-friendly, but maybe the place to go if you don't want kids underfoot? Fantastic beer selection this year.
• Independence Brewing's Fifth Anniversary Party: Drink local! They'll be unveiling some new beers, including Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout and a Fifth Anniversary Beer. And bands in the evening.
• Oktoberfest at Ginger Man Pub: The first time they've done this. Featuring eight Oktoberfest beers, games, live music and authentic German food.
• Oktoberfest in Waterloo Park: Don't know much about this, but thanks to Craft Austin for tipping me off.
  

And that's all just a warm-up for Wurstfest in New Braunfels, beginning next weekend!

Oktoberfest/fall seasonals I've tried so far:

• Live Oak Oaktoberfest: Delicious. Had it at Hyde Park Bar & Grill.
  
• North by Northwest Oktoberfest: Delicious.
• Boulevard's Bob's 47 Oktoberfest: Delicious, and seems to get better every year.
  
• Real Ale Oktoberfest: Shockingly disappointing. Very mediocre, a rare let-down from one of my favorite breweries. Had it at Draught House. [UPDATE, October 2010: I'm not sure what was wrong with this beer last year, but my opinion is 180 degrees different this year. One of my favorites now.]
  
• Spaten Oktoberfest: Awful. What was I thinking? As soon as I saw it was in green bottles I should have walked away. Probably good on draft, but don't buy it in the store.
• Saint Arnold Oktoberfest: Best of the bunch. Oh damn, I love this stuff. As good as those others are, this has a richness that puts them a bit above the rest. Unsurprisingly, they were out last night at Draught House.
• New Belgium Hoptober: A really hoppy golden ale, but still has that same kind of richness as the Oktoberfest stuff. Imagine a fall IPA, if you will. This is the best of the fall seasonals in my opinion and really raises the bar for a brewery that already was a standard-setter.
• Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit: I never thought of wit as a fall beer, but this is harvest time for Louisiana satsuma oranges, so I guess "harvest" depends on what your local crop is. This very citrusy wit has been a wonderful find for me this year, as I've finally started developing a taste for wits. This is part of Abita's Harvest trio, the others being a Pecan Harvest and Strawberry Harvest. That Pecan Harvest intrigues me; I'll have to go grab some.
• Real Ale Coffee Porter: I've been drinking gallons of this lately, as this previously draft-only seasonal is now available in bottles. And a scoop I just got last night: This will be the cask offering at today's Firkin Friday at the Draught House (begins 3pm). Oh man, as much as I love this out of the bottle, I suspect the cask will blow my mind. I'm there.
  

Big Festival Weekend

No, not ACL Fest, that's already gone by. Now it's time for the fall beer festivals, what with Oktoberfest time upon us.

North by Northwest's Oktoberfest has always been a favorite of mine, because, much like a scaled-down version of Wurstfest in New Braunfels, it has beer, sausages, and oompah music for me (not to mention cute waitresses in dirndls – that's them in the picture, plus "Pinty the Bear") and activities for my kids (bouncy houses, face painting, etc.). Anything that allows me to drink beer and not have to hire a babysitter is a good thing. That will be Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 4-5).

I'll have to go on Sunday, because Saturday I'll be at the new kid on the block, the Flying Saucer Fall Beer Festival. I don't see anything on their site about kid-friendly stuff, but it will be outside, so I assume the kiddos will have room to run around. (If not, then the Flying Saucer better do some tinkering before next year.)

[UPDATE: Oh, forgot: Today is also the 4th Anniversary Party of Independence Brewing! Happy Fourth, guys!]

Damn, this is really going to get me fired up for Wurstfest. And you know, sooner or later I'm going to have to check out Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, but unfortunately, it's this weekend and I've already made my plans to be here in town. Maybe next year. Those Hill Country towns know how to do their German up right.

(Oh, and speaking of cute women in dirndls, I would be remiss if I did remind you to check out the best blog ever, Oktoberfest Girls, which has been having near-daily updates this month.)

More Great Oktoberfest Beer

Damn, I can tell this is gonna be a good fall. My poker buddies polished off my Saint Arnold Oktoberfest last night, so I just had to swing back over to Grape Vine Market for some more, and look what I found: Boulevard's Bob's '47! As regular readers know, I've been deliriously happy that Kansas City's Boulevard finally started distributing in Austin, but I was worried that they were only going to send their flagship beers (the Pale Ale, Wheat, and Lunar Ale). Nope, they're also sending their seasonals, praise the beer gods. I've raved about Bob's '47 before, and I can't wait to crack one open down here in Austin.

Now, will they send the Smokestack Series to Austin?

Yay, Fall Is Here!

Sorry I've been away from the blog almost two weeks. Been busy, and with the election coming up, I'll likely get busier. I just wanted to jump on here for a second and say that a cool front came in, temperatures are in the glorious 70s (we actually slept with the windows open last night and I went for a hard bicycle ride this morning), and it's time to start filling my recycling bin with several of these bottles. Damn I love Saint Arnold. (Photo stolen from another Austin beer blogger that I just discovered, Pivo Nation.)

Shockingly, this is the first time I've tried Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest. I'm not sure why. But thanks to Nosregref for giving me one the other night. I immediately had to run to the store and get more of this malty goodness. Man I love it when the seasons change (and the beer does too).

EDIT: Oh yeah, when I was in Grape Vine Market getting the Saint Arnold, I also noticed this was back in stock as well. And of course, this and this too.

Avery's The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager

So I was thinking tonight might be when I get around to reviewing the Rahr & Sons IPA, but then M'Lady whipped up a magnificent falltime dinner of roasted chicken, brussel sprouts, fall squash baked with apples, brown sugar, and raisins, and homemade cranberry sauce (the real thing, not the gelatinous stuff still in the shape of a can). So nothing but an Oktoberfest would be appropriate.

Quite naturally, I've been on an Oktoberfest kick lately, so I figured this would be a simple matter of going out to the beer fridge, but woe, despite a very full fridge, the Oktoberfest stocks had gotten low. I looked in this corner and that to no avail, and began to despair, but then hallelujah, I found a beer I had bought about a month ago and then forgotten about: Avery's The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager.

It was a bit more intense than what I sought in a simple dinnertime beer, but nothing else would do. It will surprise no one who has tried Avery's products that it is fantastic. It's like an Oktoberfest on steroids: 9.37% alcohol — and you can really taste it — with a generous dose of malt and a little more bitterness than I expect from this style. And yet, it was also really sweet, as well. I think that's because of the alcohol. If you're into really strong beers, this is a winner from the first moment it hits your tongue, through the entry into the mouth, and on into the sweet aftertaste. It really helped complete the fall experience brought on by the meal and the fading golden light of the first daylight savings time evening, which is about to dissolve into a crisp, cool night.

This isn't a beer that lends itself to mass drinking (if you were served one of these at your local oompah music festival, you'd be in for an early end to your party), but you really must have at least one of these to make your autumn complete.

Austin Homebrew Supply Oktoberfest

Damn, I hate to miss a good party right here in my own neighborhood, but I have to work this afternoon. (Remember what Oscar Wilde said: "Work is the curse of the drinking class.") If I didn't, then I'd surely go down the street to Austin Homebrew Supply for their Oktoberfest party TODAY. Noon-5pm. Click on the link for details. Those of you who were smart enough to get your work done during the week should head on down there.

Yum

Excellent fall food and beer pairing: Oktoberfest beer (Samuel Adams, in this case) and Amy's pumpkin ice cream. I'm in heaven right now.

Lest you think I'm a complete freak for enjoying beer and ice cream together, I'm not the only one: two of Amy's more famous flavors of ice cream are Shiner Bock and Guinness. I used to live on 34th Street near both an Amy's location and the dearly missed Austin Outhouse, one of the great dive bars of all time. I would always go to Amy's first, and then take my ice cream over to the Outhouse and get a Shiner Bock. Everyone always laughed at me, but then one day I walked into Amy's, and there it was up on the menu board: Shiner Bock ice cream. I could kill two birds with one stone! I took it over to the Outhouse, and everyone said "No way!" Of course, I didn't really kill two birds — I got myself a real Shiner, as well.

Keep Austin weird, people.

Wurstfest Is Almost Here!

My favorite little Texas/German beer-n-sausage celebration, Wurstfest, is right around the corner, and you're darn tootin' I'll be there. Since I doubt much about it has changed since last year, I'll just save myself some typing and refer you to what I wrote last year. Well okay, one thing has changed, the dates: Nov. 2-11.

One reason why NXNW's Oktoberfest party is awesome

Because the waitresses wear this outfit. Oh yeah, the beer kicks butt, too.

[EDIT: I'm not the only one who enjoyed the costumes, as is apparent from this posting on craigslist:

I just wanted to give a shout out to the super freaking hot NXNW Octoberfest ladies working at Octoberfest last Saturday. The beer tent wasn't the only one pitched that day. Thank you for making it THAT much better. We'd also like to give a shout out to our friends the wind and your very cute panties. It was certainly a day to remember.]

Another Black Star Co-op Event

UPDATE: THE OCT. 20 EVENT BELOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED. SEE THE OCT. 17 POST FOR MORE INFO.


Message from your friendly neighborhood cooperative would-be pub and brewery:

Dear Members & Friends of Black Star Co-op,

After taking a break last month, our monthly Beer Social will return on Saturday, October 20th. We'll be back at Kenny Dorham's Backyard from 7-10PM with our usual blend of good times, good beer, and co-operation, and we hope you'll be able to join us.  Tell your friends with a copy of our flier:

http://www.blackstar.coop/news/beer-social-flier

But that's not all for October 20th!  On that same day there are two other beer-related events in Austin that we can't afford to miss.

First, we will be again partnering with Austin Homebrew Supply for their annual Oktoberfest party from 12-6pm. They'll have beer from local breweries and brewpubs, food, live music, and specials on homebrewing equipment. We had a blast helping with this event last year and are looking forward to it once again!

And last but not least, New Belgium's Tour de Fat will also be coming through Austin that afternoon.  The Tour de Fat is an event featuring bicycles and beer, two things we wholeheartedly endorse, and benefits local bicycling organizations.  You can find more information on the Tour de Fat website:

http://www.followyourfolly.com/folly_tour_de_fat.html

It'll be a busy day, and we look forward to seeing you at one or more of these events.  Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,

Black Star Co-op

NXNW Oktoberfest This Weekend

The hits on my website have been through the roof lately, more than double what they were this time last year. A big part of that is people searching for the phrase "Oktoberfest in Austin," and they're hitting on my info from last year. Well, here's your first taste for this year: North by Northwest's Oktoberfest is coming up this weekend. Click here for info.

(Thanks to Lance for the heads-up.)

Wurstfest!

We're going to Wurstfest tomorrow! Yea! It's drunken fun for the whole family. This awesome little Oktoberfest party down in New Braunfels, Texas, is billed as a "10-Day Salute to Sausage," but let's be honest: It's a 10-day salute to beer. And despite that, it's still a great family event. There's plenty of good food, ranging from brats and kraut to traditional carnival food for the kids, and even stuff like you'd expect at the state fair in Dallas, like fried Oreos.

Although most of those attending stick to their light beer, the organizers do have the good sense to make plenty of real German beer available, so I get to swill (if memory serves) lots of Paulaner and Spaten and maybe even Hacker-Pschorr. Mmmm. (I don't really comprehend drinking bland, watery American beer at a German festival, but to each his own.)

Plus, a continual parade of oompah music (which I love) in this really huge dancehall, and for the kids there are lots of carnival rides operated by stoned carneys (okay, that's a satirical comment, I have no actual proof, so don't anybody sue me, although I did have an almost deadly direct experience with less-than-sober carney in my youth. The guy was almost lynched right there on the spot by my father and my friend's father). God bless my wonderful wife, who promised to be our designated driver home, not a pleasant chore going up I-35 toward Austin on a Saturday night with likely drunken Oktoberfesters all around. Please folks, don't get behind the wheel until you're ready.

And despite this dispensation from M'Lady, I'll try to pace myself and not be too big of an ass. She said if I start vomiting she'll leave my ass there. Which is pretty good incentive. I don't particularly want to end up in the Comal County jail, as the whole county is run by Republicans.

And despite the way it sounds, no, I'm not going down there with the intention of getting blitzed (oops, poor choice of words for a German festival), but as we've learned, when you give me an endless supply of really yummy beer, I occasionally lose count of how many I've had. In fact, sometimes I completely lose my ability to count at all. But I'll try to be good.

EDIT: Heh-heh. So it ended up being the wife that puked, not me. Except she didn't puke until we got home. And it was pretty obviously some bad food, not alcohol, that caused it. But I'll still consider it a minor moral victory for me. (Kidding, honey!) Actually, I almost puked while listening to the Texas/Kansas State game on the way home.

God bless Germany

And god bless good photography.

(Okay, they might never quite make up for the whole Nazi thing, but this is a good start.)