Texas Beer Tour - Part VI

I guess I need to finish out my Texas journey, so I can write about more recent trips.

Having left Austin, I was now heading up to Dallas. I decided to take a quick detour into my old city, Fort Worth.

Flying Saucer Sundance Square

I love the new place. I guess they took over the old 8.0 location. It is great: they have a covered patio. You can see all of Sundance Square. I decided that I needed to add some more Texas beers to my plate work.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Revolver Sidewinder. It has a stronger fruit flavour to it... almost citrus wheat mixture. I recommend it when you are sitting outside in Texas. I finished up and headed over to Dallas to meet up with my sister.

Lakewood Growler

We got to hang out a bit and grab lunch. I got to see my amazing nieces!

Tempting them with pie

Once I back got to her house, I realized that I needed to pick up some delicious local beers to share. Luckily, right around the corner was a new spot called Lakewood Growler.

This place it very cool. They are outfitted with the Digital Pour boards which allow you to check inventory on the web.

I tried several beers, but my favourite was the Great Scot! by Peticolas. I love that strong Scotch Ale flavour it brings to the table. Peticolas is really making some good beers. I think if you live in the Lakewood, Uptown, UP or HP areas, you should make a trip to Lakewood Growler. It is great.


That night I made plans to meet up with a couple friends out in Rockwall

Flying Saucer on the Lake

Out of all the Flying Saucers I have been too, this one is my absolute favourite layout. It is situated near the Bass Pro directly on Lake Ray Hubbard.

As the sun goes down, it is almost too perfect for words. I was able to get some of the Bourbon Barrel Temptress, which was good, but I wasn't as impressed as I had hoped. The best beer I had was the BB Winter Warmer by Rahr. It has that smooth bourbon burn with a ton of strong aroma. It balances this perfectly with the Winter Warmer backbone.

It is always fun to hang out with good friends

Four Corners Brewing Co

The next day, my sister and I got to hang out. I thought it would be fun to check out some of the breweries in town. Turns out... my sister does not like beer... like at all really. So I guess she is just a really good sister. This place was on the West side of Dallas. It has some cool artwork on the building.

Inside, the tap room is a little crowded, but the staff was top-notch. Their year-round beers were good, but I loved the El Super Bee De Saison. It had a fresh taste that just played with my taste buds. I got my sister to try a couple beers, but I think she is going to stick to wine.

Craft & Growler

My mom and I decided that we were going to get some Pecan Lodge BBQ.

So after that delicious feast, she went with me to the fairgrounds area to check out C&G.

Unfortunately they were closed first, so we killed some time around there, then came on back. Inside it has the feel of a small bookstore/coffee shop: soft leather couches, dark atmosphere.

It was a cool spot. My favourite beer was the Brunch Money. It is a delicious spiced beer.

Community Beer Company

My brother-in-law likes beer. So I knew it would be a good time to go check out Community Beer Company. The outside looks like a big box store, but I am not going to let outside appearances deter me.

As we approached, we were told that there was some event. Saddened, we started to leave, but came across someone who worked there who informed us that the party was ending. We went back inside. This place is HUGE!

I introduced us to some of the employees. They were quick to set us up with a whole spread. The staff could not have been more friendly. They should Michael and I around the brewery and talked us through some of the more complicated Texas laws. My two favourite beers with the Minivan and the BBA Glenstemmons. The minivan is a wheat wine. I hadn't experienced this style before. It was boozey and sweet. I enjoyed it. The Glenstemmons is a Scotch Ale. I guess it is fair to admit that that is one of my preferred styles of beer.

This place is great. The people are awesome, and they are making tasty brews.

The Ginger Man

The next night, I had to check out my old haunt, The Ginger Man with my crew, of course. It was everything I remembered it being.

 I crushed through several Weihenstephaners: Kristallweissbier, Hefeweissbier, and Korbinian. The Kristall was the one I liked the best. It is just so crisp and clean.

Flying Saucer Little Rock

Now that I had hit up a lot of beer all throughout Texas, it was time to head home. But hey, I would be passing through Little Rock in time for dinner. I might as well make the best out of it. I sat down and was greeted by an angel here on earth, Rocio.

She was sweet and knew her stuff about beers. She helped me pick out some Arkansas and regional brews that I can't get in Tennessee. If Little Rock were closer, I would go there more often. She is an asset to that location. I have a soft spot for mead, so I really enjoyed the High Dry and Dusty mead by Leaky Roof Meadery. It was refreshing.

After all of that it was nice to be home.

Thank you to all who stuck through my whole story. I will be going up to Wisconsin next week for Beerfest again. I will do my best to take good notes... hahah

Until next time...

Texas Beer Tour - Part V

I apologize to my readers. With things going on, I have neglected to posted to last legs of my Texas Journeys. I last left y'all in the Hill Country where my sister and I explored the rolling hills and sours of Jester King.

Back in Austin

My sister and her husband were ready to explore her city. We decided to make a couple days out of it. On day one Defonza and I headed out to sample some brews from two breweries and check the stock at a bottle shop.

WhichCraft Beer Store

We headed down to the southern part of Austin to see what this new bottle shop had to offer. The selection was outstanding. They are doing it right there for sure. I expect big things from them.

Adelbert's Brewery

This Brewery is very unassuming from the outside even so when you walk in.

You pay your money for either a normal taster glass or the fancy and bigger tulip glass (worth it) and get your wristband.

Once inside, you gather with the others waiting for the tour.

There is a bar where you can order up to 6 different tastings (or 3 big tastings). D and I mingled and met with some people who were visiting.

The tour was informative and fun, as it wove through the building.

It finished back at the bar, where we were able to have our remaining beverages and purchase some merch.

I was able to try several beers: Black Rhino, Dancin' Monks, Flying Monk, Scratchin' Hippo, The Traveler and Tripel B. I guess to be honest, I enjoyed the Tripel B the night before out of the bottle. It was delicious with a beautiful amber color and smooth head. The flavour had hints of pear with a nice malt. There was light banana aroma with a formidable alcohol presence. It is worth picking up a bottle for sure.

But my favorite was the Philosophizer. This beer should definitely be sampled at the tap room. It poured a great color nearly amber/orange. The aroma was intoxicating to me. It had fruits and spices that just danced together nicely. After the sip, I knew it was my favorite. I loved all the complex fruit flavours. Thumbs up from me.

D and I checked our watched and realized that we could still head on over to check out the next stop.

Austin Beerworks

The parking lot was SLAMMED. so this must have been a popular choice. Now it was time to see if all these people were making a good decision to be there. We had missed the tour, so D and I went in and got our glass and taster coins. We perused the choices. I went with the Karl Kölsch. It wasn't the best, but it was refreshing on that hot Texas day. We enjoyed some food from the truck.

The layout of the brewery is very open. This made it easy to explore the operation. So even though we missed the actual tour, we were able to see a lot of the workings.

We ended up running into our friends from earlier. This was fun to have some touring buddies for the day.

I then tried the Inspector Spacetime while D got the Heisenberg. His choice was tastier than mine, this round.

The next round was the Dunkel Father and the Double Deuce. The Double Deuce took that round for sure.  I am not a big fan of the dunkel style... so that might not be fair. My favorite two beers were the Gold Fist and the Sputnik. Highly different styles, but both tasty in their own right.

The award for weirdest, goes to Mr. Sparkle.

It is their Pearlsnap Pils but with gold glitter in it... hmmm. I mean I had to try it.

This concluded the first part of our adventures for Saturday, but we had a big Sunday planned.

Flying Saucer

Of course, we had to check this one out while we were around.

I needed to get some plate work in with some beers that I can't get in Memphis. I started off with the Weisse Versa Wheat by Karbach. It was refreshing. That Texas heat is nothing to play with. It is an enjoyable Hefe: mildly spicy with pleasant aromas. My next choice was the Iron Thistle by Rahr. It was a little thick for what I wanted, but it was a good beer. very malty flavour. I finished up with the Codex Triplex by Real Ale. I am glad I finished with this beer. It is a great beer. It has strong Oak presence that comes through the sour taste with a strong fruit aroma.

While this isn't my home Saucer, it was a pleasant experience. Quiet location with some cool stuff going on around it.

Draught House Pub & Brewery

From there, we headed to a place that I had been eager to check out all trip. My sister was telling me all about it.

There was a cool looking outdoor patio.

On the inside, it was dark and old feeling. I liked it. The bar had a sense of authenticity.

I surveyed my options and went with the 1836 by Buffalo Bayou. I enjoyed the malty flavour.

I am a sucker for some mead... so my next choice had to be the Frontier by Meridian Hive Meadery. It was Oh SO TASTY! Not too sweet, since it had some hop to it with a very crisp finish. My last choice was the Luchesa Lager by Oasis Texas. It was a decent enough beer but nothing special. Overall, the atmosphere at Draught House was a chill vibe. The bartender rubbed me the wrong way, but I let that slide. There was too much delicious beer to get upset.

We were now ready for a nice bite to eat and then relax and watch some lacrosse.

Pinthouse Pizza Craft Brewpub

When my sister told me about this place, I honestly did not know what to expect. I was imagining some kind of family pizza place mixed with a Gordon Biersch. I wasn't all too thrilled, but I trusted my sister. Man, was I wrong? This place was awesome.

The decorations were fun, the servers were on point and their beers were spot on.

An awesome bartender named Eli took care of us, as I told her it was my first time. She helped me through the different options. She really knew her stuff. If you stop in, she is a rockstar.

My bro and I shared the Fallen Cask IPA Batch #43 and the Czech Mate Imperial Pilsner first. D and I were torn. I liked the Pilsner more, and he liked the IPA. Good. We each got more of what we wanted. Next we tried the gamut. Oseary Drakoulias, Bearded Seal, the rare Burro's Breakfast, Man O' War, Nitro Dude, and Old Beluga. Of them all my favorites were the Oseary Drakoulias for its rich toffee and roasty flavouring and the Man O War for its clean crisp IPA flavour. Since she doesn't really do gluten, Karena opted for the Omission Lager.

I loved this place. The manager, Andrew, came over to introduce himself. I strongly recommend this place to anyone visiting Austin.

Austin was amazing. I got to hang with my family, explore with niece and nephews, eat good foods with my sisters and brothers, meet new people, see the open road, taste great beer, and add to my collection. Cheers to friends and family. 

This was my last stop in Austin. Stay tuned for my next segments. I promise it won't take as long to write it.