Austin Beer Week, Day 7

Whoops, almost forgot to print today's Austin Beer Week schedule. See below.

Went to Billy's on Burnet last night for a delicious glass of a cask-version (512) Bruin. Yet again, (512) took a beer that didn't impress me much in its original incarnation, but became outstanding when they tinkered with it. I had the same experience with their One – the first version, for last year's one-year anniversary, was unspectacular, but the One.2 (aged in oak, I think?) blew me away at this year's Flying Saucer Fall Beer Fest.

Unfortunately, the Bruin was soured by the performance of the Texas Rangers in the World Series, but that's not the brewer's fault.

Today's lineup (sorry I'm late on some of these):

11:00 am
Alamo S. Lamar Badass Beers
@ Alamo Drafthouse (South Lamar)

3:00 pm
Craft Cheese Meets Craft Beer: Independence Tasting with Antonelli’s Cheese
@ The Ginger Man

4:00 pm
Special House Brews + Collaboration IPA on Cask All Week
@ Lovejoy’s Tap Room and Brewery

4:00 pm
ABW Happy Hour + NXNW Keg Raffle (4-7)
@ North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery

4:00 pm
Deschutes Brewery’s All-Nighter ABW Specials
@ Icenhauer’s

5:00 pm
(512) Brewing Meet & Greet with Brewer/Owner Kevin Brand
@ Draught House Pub and Brewery

5:00 pm
Live Oak Oaktoberfest Cask Night + Meet & Greet
@ Red’s Porch

5:00 pm
Independence Convict Hill Cask Tapping
@ The Ginger Man

5:00 pm
Independence Beer & Appetizer Pairings
@ Parkside

5:00 pm
Downtown Beer Social: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter!
@ Whole Foods Market - 6th St. & Lamar

5:30 pm
(512) Meet & Greet + Pint Night
@ Clive Bar

6:00 pm
Real Ale Lost Gold IPA Cask - Opal’s on 6th ONLY
@ Opal Divine’s

6:00 pm
Real Ale Meet & Greet
@ Doc’s Motorworks

6:00 pm
Irrational Prix Fixe Beer Dinner
@ Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery

6:30 pm
Real Ale Phoenixx Double ESB Cask Tapping
@ Billy’s on Burnet

7:00 pm
Hoppy Halloween! Hoppy Beer Dinner & Movie
@ HomeField Grill

7:00 pm
Hop School IPA Brewpub Bus Tour & Palate Pop Quiz
@ North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery

And the Winner Is …

My highly unscientific poll is done (see right) and Austin's (possibly) most popular brewery is: 512! Congratulations, Kevin.

Of course, results in these kinds of web polls have to be taken with a big shaker of salt, but I do think we can get a solid generalization from these results: 512, Real Ale, and Live Oak are far and away the best-loved Austin-area brewers. The reasons for this are numerous: First off is, yes, taste. But also, those three are more widely distributed than brewpubs, which can only sell on-site. And Real Ale and Live Oak have been around for a while and built up some brand loyalty. 512 is a quite a bit younger than those two, so 512 has done an impressive job of whipping up a fan base very quickly.

With all the new brewers trying to go pro over the next few months, it will be interesting to see if these results change a year from now.

Okay, this was a fun little exercise, but please don't mistake it for properly done market research.

(512) Brewing 1st Anniversary Saturday

Sadly, I doubt I'll make it, but you should go. They'll be featuring a special anniversary beer. Details here.

Austin Featured in NPR Story on Beer

Austin-based National Public Radio reporter John Burnett did a story Tuesday on how, despite the recession, beer sales are still going strong. In it, he featured two of my hometown favorites, the Draught House Pub and (512) Brewing. Listen to it here.

A Peek Inside (512) Brewery

Last month, right before Turkey Day, (512) Brewing gave Austinites something to be thankful for: free samples of their new Pecan Porter, and an open-house look at their South Austin brewery. As near as I could tell, the verdict was unanimous: This is a mighty fine, hearty dark beer to keep you warm during the holidays. As with all (512) beers, it's only available in kegs at the moment, so head down to your finer bars and grab a pint.

I can't say my palate is quite sharp enough to detect the pecan flavor, but that's fine — better to go subtle with flavor than heavy. What I did detect was the bold richness that I seek in a porter. I also tried (512)'s wonderful IPA, and stop the presses: I actually found another wheat beer that I like! (512)'s Wit is modeled after the legendary Celis White (which, frankly I was never nuts about), but uses grapefruit peel instead of orange. Maybe that's the difference, because I enjoyed every drop of it.

Some shots of the event, including the glitterati of the Austin brewing scene who attended (two weeks after the event, I guarantee I'm getting some names wrong here; please send corrections and accept my apologies):

On the left, a really nice guy from the Zealots whose name escapes me (dammit I'm an idiot when it comes to names); on the right, Uncle Billy's Brew and Que brewmaster Brian Peters.

Four different beers, but they only give us three sampler tickets? That's just cruel.

Where the magic happens.

Real Ale brewmaster Tim Schwartz and Black Star Co-op's Snax

Bags of malt and a barley mill, a first step to yummy deliciousness

Live Oak's Chip McElroy and his junior apprentice brewmasters

The line got real long, real quick.

Ed inspects the equipment.

Snax, (512) owner/brewer Kevin Brand, and Ed discuss the art.

I dig the classy logo.

Kevin gives a tutorial on how his brews are produced, while enjoying his Pecan Porter.

Kevin holds court like a proud papa holding his new baby. Well done, Kevin! Damn, I need to get to a bar soon for a second tasting.

(512) Brewing Open House and Pecan Porter

More info (including their location) is at their website.

Celis Interview in Today's 'Statesman'

The Austin American-Statesman had a wonderful interview in today's edition with world-famous former Austin brewer Pierre Celis. The 83-year-old is now retired and living back in his native Belgium, but Statesman writer Brad Buchholz (and not, oddly enough, regular beer columnist Patrick Beach) caught up with him on one of his frequent return visits. Just in case you're not clear on why he's world-famous: He's the guy who revived the Hoegaarden's wit-style (white wheat) beer back in the Sixties. He then came to America and made a big mark in the Nineties on the Austin and American brew scenes with his own Celis label before financial realities forced him to sell out to Miller.

The article also gives a nice nod to Kevin Brand's new (512) Brewing, which models its Wit on Celis' version. It's worth your time to read it.

(512) Brewery's Grand Opening Saturday

Thanks to Machuca for reminding me of this, because I'd forgotten it. Unfortunately, I also can't make it. But I'm looking forward to trying their beers soon.

(512) beers now for sale

Another Austin blogger is reporting that offerings from the new (512) Brewing are now available in local bars. I look forward to trying them soon. Perhaps even this Saturday, for those of you who know what I'm talking about.

A new brewery is coming to Austin!

And as far as I'm concerned, there's always room for one more. Get ready for the (512) Brewing Company, Austin. Looking at the blog on their website, it looks like they're almost ready to start business.