Texas Brewing Legislation Fails

AUSTIN - All three pending bills in the State House of Representatives were left to expire as the current Texas legislative session ended this week.

House bills HB 602, HB 660 and HB 2436 all dealt with modest modifications to the state's TABC codes for selling beer directly to the public. HB 660 and HB 2436 were left pending in committee, whereas HB 602 successfully passed committee but was never placed on the calendar. None were ever scheduled for a vote on the House floor.

Austin Beerworks Opens

AUSTIN - The newest Texas craft brewer opened this weekend, with Austin Beerworks officially pouring its first beers commercially at the Texas Craft Beer Fest in Waco.

Along with a fully updated website, Austin Beerworks plans to bypass bottling operations and sell only canned beers for the Austin area and eventually state-wide.

Twisted X Brewing Opens

CEDAR PARK - Twisted X Brewing Company became the newest independent Texas brewery at an Austin event this week (official opening, May 5th -- Cinco de Mayo).

Twisted X Brewing is located in Cedar Park just outside of Austin and plans to produce several beers with a "Tex-Mex" flair.

Double Horn Brewing Opens

MARBLE FALLS - The Double Horn Brewing Company brewpub opened this week in the Hill Country just northwest of Austin.

New Republic Brewing Opens

COLLEGE STATION - The New Republic Brewing Company has become the latest craft brewery to open commercially in Texas, now fully licensed.

Draft products will be available as soon as this weekend, with bottles to follow after a few months.

World of Beer to Open in Arlington

ARLINGTON - Florida-based beer-bar chain World of Beer plans to open its first Texas location in south Arlington, scheduled for August 2011.

More New Craft Breweries

Several more new Texas craft breweries have come to our attention just this past week, all in various stages of planning, development, fundraising and construction.

• Brewery DADA (Austin)
• Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company (Houston)
• Cedar Creek Brewery (Kemp)
• Down Easy Brewing Company (Houston)
• Karst Canyon Brewing (Austin)
• Yellow House Canyon Brew Works (Lubbock)

Two More from Rahr & Sons

FORT WORTH - Two more beers are planned this year for Rahr & Sons in their special 22-oz bottled "To Thee" series: La Grange, a farmhouse saison, and Angry Goat, a weizen doppelbock.

Denton County Brewing Company

DENTON - Two new breweries are in the development stages in Denton, just north of Dallas and Fort Worth. Denton County Brewing Company plans to be in operation by mid-2012 with an eventual plan of canning their beers.

Also in the early development stage is Independent Ale Works, also located in Denton.

Pierre Celis Dies at 86

HOEGAARDEN, BELGIUM - Former Austin brewing legend Pierre Celis died Saturday at his home in Belgium of natural causes. He was 86 years old.

Southern Star Walloon

CONROE - Southern Star Brewing has revealed its first seasonal beer, the Southern Star Walloon, scheduled for release this month according to Houston blogger Bryan Carey.

Walloon will be a Belgian-style grisette, an obscure farmhouse style of beer with characteristics of both a witbier and a tripel. No word at this time as to whether this seasonal offering will be canned.

Flying Saucer Coming to Sugar Land

SUGAR LAND - The newest location of the Flying Saucer chain of beer bars will be in Sugar Land Town Square, scheduled to open later this year.

Rahr & Sons Gravel Road

FORT WORTH - Rahr & Sons will introduce a new fall seasonal this year, the Gravel Road Altbier, to be available on draft and in bottles.

Saint Arnold Weedwacker in Bottles

HOUSTON - Part of its recent Moveable Yeast series of experimental beers, Saint Arnold's Weedwacker has proven so popular that it will be bottled as a year-round offering.

The Weedwacker is a version of Saint Arnold's Fancy Lawnmower kölsch fermented with a Bavarian hefeweizen yeast strain. It will take the place of the retiring Texas Wheat in the brewery's current lineup.

Jester King on The New Brewer

Jester King brewers and owners Jeffrey Stuffings, Michael Stuffings and Ron Extract appear on the cover of the March/April issue of The New Brewer magazine, the official journal of the Brewers Association.

They also recieve a brief mention inside in the cover story by Horst Dornbusch.

Austin Beer Guide

AUSTIN - A new periodical has been published for the growing Austin-area brewing scene, the Austin Beer Guide.


Issues are available around the Austin area for free, as well as an electronic version online.

Shiner Ruby Redbird

SHINER - Spoetzl is introducing a new summer seasonal this year, the Shiner Ruby Redbird, a beer brewed with Texas Ruby Red grapefruit and ginger.

Another Beer Bill Introduced

AUSTIN - A third bill has been introduced into the current legislative session regarding brewers and their ability to sell beer, HB 2436.

Sponsored by Austin's Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D), HB 2436 is more broadly written than either HB 660 or HB 602, and seeks to allow brewers to sell directly to the public with a cap of 5000 barrels annually.

Jester King, Mikkeller Collaboration

AUSTIN - Jester King has announced its first collaboration effort with the Danish "gypsy brewer" Mikkeller, with two collaborative beers brewed for 2011.

The first beer will be a hoppy wheat session ale named Drink'in in the Sunbelt, a beer inspired by a previous Mikkeller recipe, to be available later this month. The second will be a smoked-malt beer with chipotle peppers to be released later this spring.

Deep Ellum Brewing Hires Huerter

DALLAS - Proposed Dallas brewery Deep Ellum Brewery has hired Drew Huerter as their head brewer, as reported on a local St. Louis blog and confirmed locally by Deep Ellum Brewery.

Huerter was a former brewer at the award-winning Schlafly Tap Room and Bottleworks and most recently at the now-closed Mattingly Brewing Company, both St. Louis area breweries.

Rahr & Sons Pecker Wrecker

FORT WORTH - Rahr & Sons is bringing their Pecker Wrecker Imperial Pilsner out of retirement as part of their special 22-oz bottled "To Thee" series.

Jester King's New Website

AUSTIN - Jester King Craft Brewery launched a newly redesigned and updated website this week, featuring a more uniform look and bringing links to all their online efforts together under one brand.

Rahr & Sons in Star-Telegram

FORT WORTH - Rahr & Sons was the subject of a recent feature appearing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram entitlted "Fort Worth brewery finds silver lining in snowstorm cloud."

Black Metal Selected for Rare Beer Club

AUSTIN - Jester King's Black Metal Imperial Stout has been selected as one of the February 2011 releases for the monthly subscription service of Michael Jackson's Rare Beer Club.

Details about the beer and brewery are available in the Rare Beer Club's February newsletter.