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.

Texas Brewing Stats

I asked the Brewers Association (the organization for craft brewers) for some stats on Texas brewers and how they stacked up against the rest of the nation. They were kind enough to send me the May/June issue of The New Brewer, the journal of their organization, and it contained some fascinating numbers from 2007.

• In the South Region (Ala, Ark, Fla, Ga, Ky, La, Ms, NC, Okla, SC, Tenn, and Texas), Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner was by far the leader in sales among craft brewers. Their 380,000 barrels (up 9% from last year) was well ahead of the 74,500 of Abita (New Orleans). Also in the top 10, Saint Arnold (Houston) was 5th with 17,811 bbls, and Real Ale (Blanco) was 8th with 11,511. For comparison, note that Saint Arnold's sales would not make the top 10 in the Pacific Region (California and Hawaii) or the Northeast. Also on the South list was Pete's Brewing, but that's a bit misleading – Pete's is really a California brewer, but they're owned by the Gambrinus company in San Antonio (which also owns Spoetzl).

• Spoetzl was the only Texas company in the national top 50 domestic craft brewing companies, a list that includes regional brewers, contract brewers, and brewpubs, coming in 4th. They were well behind the 1.8 million of leader Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams).

• On the national list of "regional brewing companies" (sales of at least 15,000 bbls) Spoetzl ranked 8th (the "craft brewers" list was more restrictive in its definition, hence the lower ranking on the "regional brewers" list), and Saint Arnold ranked 61st.

• On the national list of "microbrewers" (sales below 15,000 bbls):
11th: Real Ale
79th: Live Oak (Austin) — 4,000 bbls
116th: Healthy Brew (Fort Worth) — 2,500
122nd: Rahr and Sons (Fort Worth) — 2,400
172nd: Independence (Austin) — 1,400

Something called Cerveza Cosaco – Spanish for "Cossack Beer" – was also listed as Texas, but as near as I can tell, it's actually brewed in Mexico and owned by a Colorado company. As for Healthy Brew, I've never heard of them, but Jeffrey had a post about them last year. I can't get their web page, www.healthybrew.com, to load.

(And speaking of Real Ale, their 11,511 bbls is a 106% increase (!) from last year, and that follows increases of 27%, 35%, and 35% in the three previous years. For more on their success, read this great article by the Austin American-Statesman's Patrick Beach.)

• Our brewpub scene has a ways to go on the national list. Tops in Texas was Two Rows Restaurant and Brewery in Dallas — they consistently produce 1,400 bbls a year, putting them at No. 105. Two Rows also has locations in Addison and Houston that produce a little less. After Two Rows was Austin's North by Northwest — 1,250 bbls for No. 132 – and various other Texas brewpubs could be found farther down the list. (The top seller in the nation is Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham, Wash., at 5,302 bbls. They must be doing something right up there, because they've almost doubled their sales over the past five years.)

Another Current Addiction

So my wife got on this kick for British-style cream ales a while back, so I grabbed a four-pack of Wexford's Irish Cream Ale (yes, I know British and Irish aren't the same thing, please don't letter-bomb me), and we've both gotten to love it. It's in the tall-boy cans with the nitrogen widget in it, and that nitro makes for some serious creamy goodness. It just glides down the throat, pleasing my tastebuds mightily along the way. Drinking a nitro pour, with its smoother mouthfeel that carbonated beers, always brings back good memories of my lone trip to London which I desperately want to repeat. (2012 Olympics or bust!)

I first heard of this fine brew from Beergirl (recognize that picture, Sara?) and I really owe her big thanks for it.

If you dig Boddington's, shell out the extra two bucks for this instead. Your return on investment will be huge.

Drinkers of the World Unite

So tonight I went downtown to the annual AFL-CIO Labor Day Fish Fry to cover it in my duties as a political reporter, always a fun event provided you like Democratic politicians and fried fish. Fortunately, I'm pretty partial to both.

But damn, my ability to connect with the common working man has its limits. I know those union guys are all about keepin' it real and blue-collar, but does the beer selection always have to be a choice between Miller Lite and Miller High Life? C'mon, throw us beer snobs a bone – I don't expect a Belgian tripel or anything, but could we at least get a keg of Shiner Bock?

Benefit at Austin Homebrew Supply

Message I received about what sounds like a worthy cause (and not far from my house, so maybe I'll go):

Austin Homebrew Supply at 7951 Burnet Rd. will be holding a fundraising event on Saturday August 23rd from Noon-6pm for a young man named Orion Fierro who's family is facing mounting medical bills after Orion had brain surgery to repair malformed arteries. The event will include 3 bands, beverages, and food. There will be a donation jar set up for Orion's fund, along with 10% of the stores sales on that day will go toward Orion's recovery fund. We hope to see you there!

UPDATE: I just came back from this. It's a nice little time. Some good beer (Live Oak's IPA, NXNW's Hefeweizen, and (512)'s Wit, and even a small keg of Lovejoy's Pale Ale), burgers, sausages, and desserts. Hurry on down there and give them a donation.

New Bar in West Campus

I just got an e-mail from Chip Tait, the founder of Lovejoy's, letting me know he's opened a new bar in the West Campus area. Sez Chip:

"The Drungo Ice House recently opened at the corner of 29th and Rio Grande (next to Junior's).

"We have 14 draught beers and 40+ in the bottle. We're open daily from 11am - midnight. We have outdoor seating, free parking and free pool."

And guess what, kids? It's on the No. 3 bus route!!!

Go to the Flying Saucer and VOTE

I could have added this to my "combining my passions" series as well — politics and beer. Beginning Sept. 3 at 7pm, you can go to the Flying Saucer and "vote" for your favorite candidate by purchasing the pint glasses ($5) you see above until election night. Votes will be tallied and updated each day, and customers can vote as many times as they like (presumably, you have to continue shelling out the five bucks each time, but hey, vote-buying is nothing new, right?).

The pint glasses will be available at all Flying Saucer locations.

(Erm, why do they depict Obama wearing lipstick on his glass?)