Black Star Pub event a success

Bobnoxious and I went to the Black Star Co-op's event Saturday night, and I have to judge it quite the success. It was held in the back yard of Monkeywrench Books, a little anarchist bookstore in the hip shopping strip of North Loop, and had quite the crowd. They were serving two beers: Live Oak Pilz, with which all you Austinites are familiar, and one made by one of their members, a weizenbock. Having had lots of the Pilz, I opted for a couple of glasses of the homebrew, and it was quite tasty. They must have high standards, because they were acting like it didn't come out quite right. I thought it was great, and it made me rethink wheat beers. This isn't the first time that I've enjoyed a dark wheat beer, so maybe that's the clincher for me – perhaps it's just the lighter ones that don't agree with me.

The Co-op, in its attempt to evolve into an actual brewpub, is looking for charter members to raise capital. I'm not in a place at the moment where I could shell out $100 ($85 of which I believe is refundable if you withdraw, kind of like how Wheatsville works), but I'd sure like to invest. Instead, I just shelled out $10 for a nifty T-shirt. I encourage the rest of you to go to their website and check 'em out and consider joining, especially if you're the homebrewing type (I'm not – my attitude toward homebrewing is that there are other people who will do the work for me, and probably much better).

Oh yeah – Bob and I headed over to the Draught House afterward, and they were giving away Duvel glasses for every purchase of that beer. So now I have two. I don't know how long that special lasts, so you better get over there. Bob had the Robusto Porter, which lived up to its name.

Yes, I'm a snob

Todd knows me so well. That's why he got me this cool shirt.

Belgian beers and a class at Grapevine

The latest from my favorite store:

Oh, Heavens! Satan's in the Beer Department!


Satan is waiting for you in the Grape Vine Market Beer aisle!

Don't be scared. All he wants you to do is drink his delicious beer.

No soul selling required ... yet


Three beers from the De Block Brewery in Belgium are available in Texas for the first time, and Grape Vine has them.

Check 'em out!

• Kastaar is a Belgian pale ale. This is a beer that's all about balance. It manages to be both dry and sweet. It's quite unique.


3-pack 11.2 oz bottles $7.79


• Satan Gold is 8% alcohol and 100% trouble. This beer is full of flavor with hints of apple and coriander.


3-pack 11.2 oz bottles $7.99


• Satan Red may be the most dangerous of them all. The 8% alcohol is cleverly hidden in the sweet, creamy flavor of this beer. Whatever happens after you drink a few of these is between You and You Know Who.


3-pack 11.2 oz bottles $7.99

Be sure to come by this Saturday, 12-6, for a sampling of these three unique beers.

NEW! Beer 101
August 24^th


Ever wonder how beer is made or what's the difference between a lager and an ale?

Well, our Beerman has teamed up with the experts at Austin Homebrew Supply to tell you all that and more!

This survey course will give you a general overview of the brewing process and what distinguishes one beer from another.

Of course, no lecture is complete without the lab! Rest assured, there will be plenty of hands-on learning!

At $10 per person, this will be one class you won't want to skip!

Beer 101 is a Grape Vine University Extension course, taught in partnership with Austin Homebrew Supply

Combining my passions

I just spotted an ad for this in the All About Beer magazine that Bobnoxious gave me for my birthday, and I just gotta go find some: Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale. Yes, a beer named after Monk, and brewed in what is currently my favorite style. I would have tried it on the name alone, but when I saw it is brewed by North Coast Brewery, which makes several of my favorite brands, my curiousity went through the roof. Guess I better head over to Grapevine or Central Market, and then go home and dig out some of my favorite albums.

EDIT: The brewmaster at North Coast estimates it will be October before we see this in Texas.

UPDATE: It's here! It's here!

Beer Vacations

I need to plan a good European vacation centered around beer. Karla just sent me this article on beer-touristing around the Czech Republic; and in the July issue of All About Beer magazine, there were reviews of a couple of good travel guides to my new favorite nation (that I've never even visited): Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium and the Good Beer Guide Belgium.

Black Star Co-op Brewpub event

From one of the guys trying to start a co-op brewpub here in Austin (I've written about them before):

Hello everyone,

I want to let you know that we will having our monthly beer social next Saturday, August 12th. We didn't have one in July on account of the construction of the brewhouse, but now we're back, and this one should be better than ever. As usual, we'll be in the backyard of MonkeyWrench Books at 110 E North Loop, and the beer will be tapped around 7PM.

At past events many people have expressed interested in becoming members, but we weren't quite ready. Since we now have a membership drive up and running, this will be a perfect opportunity to join the co-op. I (and the rest of the board members) will also be available to answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Steven Yarak
Black Star Co-op Pub & Brewery
http://www.blackstarpub.com

Organic beer

Because being an environmentalist is morally righteous, but being a drunk environmentalist is fun. These messages come from Margaret's friend John up in Chicago:

Message No. 1: Here's a beer article for you from Treehugger. The Mountain Goat Beer brewery sounds like they have a unique energy and water efficient operation and they have just put out Australia's first 100% certified organic beer. "The organically grown and malted German pilsener and light Munich malts combine with organic New Zealand Pacific Gem hops in a process certified by the Biological Farmer's Association" per the piece. At the very least they have a nice label...

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/mountain_goat_b.php

Message No. 2: Boy, I send you one story and then a couple of entries later Treehugger has another story about Anheuser-Busch putting out two organic beers.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/anheuserbusch_r.php

Thanks John! And remember: Hugging trees is better than hugging the toilet.