Texas Brewers in the News

More news items have popped up recently about various Texas brewers. Rahr & Sons was featured in a local NBC piece last week entitled "Beer Prices Rise With Grain, Fuel Demand" regarding the rising costs associated with brewing, and thus for many other small businesses.

Bringing home a gold medal at the World Beer Cup has fueled local coverage of The Covey and its brewer, Jamie Fulton, appearing recently in both the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with "Tops in hops: Fort Worth restaurateur's beer is the toast of the 'Olympics of brewing'" and the Fort Worth Business Press in "Aging well: Local brew master perfects his beer."

Also, a profile of recent Conroe start-up brewery Southern Star appeared recently in the local Montgomery County's The Courier entitled "Commence pouring."

Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 6

Saint Arnold has confirmed that the next beer in their Divine Reserve series (No. 6) will be a hoppy American barleywine. Brewing began yesterday and this beer should be released in June.

Texas Brewers at 2008 World Beer Cup

Several Texas breweries won medals at the 2008 Brewers Association World Beer Cup. The winners were announced April 19th at the conclusion of the annual Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego, California.

Recognized Texas brewers include:

• American-style Wheat Beer: Silver for Shiner Dunkelweizen from Spoetzl
• Vienna-style Lager: Gold for Vienna Lager from The Covey Restaurant & Brewery
• German-style Heller Bock/Maibock: Bronze for Bucking Bock from Rahr & Sons
• Strong Scotch Ale: Gold for Divine Reserve No. 4 from Saint Arnold
• International Pale Ale: Silver for Elissa IPA from Saint Arnold

The World Beer Cup is a judged competition held every two years and sponsored by the Brewers Association, the craft beer industry's professional organization. This year's competition included more than 2800 beers from 644 brewers in 58 countries.

Awards are given in 91 different style categories of beer, with the top three beers recognized with gold, silver and bronze medals.

Real Ale to Introduce 22-oz Bottles

Real Ale Brewing Company will soon start bottling their beers in 22-oz bottles, a size commonly referred to as "bombers." The first beers to be bottled in this size will be their seasonal offerings.

Real Ale's seasonals are currently not bottled and only available at draft locations.

Spoetzl Releases Spezial Leicht

The Spoetzl Brewery is expected to release a new beer for summer, the Shiner Spezial Leicht. This beer follows in the tradition of the calorie-conscious Shiner Light, which was met with some approval by consumers as a light beer that did not have all the flavor washed out. The Spezial Leicht will have only 99 calories per 12-oz bottle.

While the style of the Spezial Leicht has not been formally announced, it has been described as having a "German and Czech accent," making it most likely a light pilsner style similar to other mass-marketed light beers.

Real Ale Tasting, Apr 18

The Mason Alamo Drafthouse in Katy will host a Real Ale tasting on April 18th. The owner/brewer of Real Ale is expected to speak, as well as a show featuring classic beer commercials and other related programming.

Live Oak Anniversary Party

The Live Oak Brewery in Austin is holding its 11th anniversary party today, April 12th. An annual event, the anniversary party is held on-site at the brewery and includes tours, tastings, food and music. The businesses surrounding the brewery also usually join in with food and treats.

The event is free and runs from noon to 6 p.m.

Dallas TwoRows Closed

The Greenville Avenue location of the TwoRows Restaurant & Brewery brewpub chain in Dallas has closed permanently, effective March 30th. The company cites rising expenses and a changing demographic as reasons for this closure.

Other TwoRows locations in Addison and Houston should remain open.

Iron Mash in Fort Worth, Jul 26

The date for the 2008 Iron Mash has been set as July 26th in Fort Worth, held on location at the Rahr & Sons brewery.

The Iron Mash is a homebrew competition sponsored by the Cap and Hare Homebrew Club. In the spirit of the Food Network's "Iron Chef" program as well as the "Iron Man" endurance triathalon, the Iron Mash features teams required to develop recipes and brew beers based on ingredients revealed only on the day of competition, and do so on one of the hottest days of summer in Texas.

Entry details and deadlines can be found on the Cap and Hare website.