Beer and Hymns at Pedernales Brewing - First Saturday of Every Month

Come by Pedernales Brewing Company one mile south of Fredericksburg, Texas, at 97 Hitchin' Post Trail, for a pint and some singing. Beer & Hymns will be held on the first Saturday of each month beginning March 1, 2014 from 5 to 6 pm. Beer will be $4 a pint, no entrance fee and no purchase necessary. Regular tour hours on Saturday are 1 - 5 pm.

A New Brewery In Salado Seeking Law Changes

Graydon Hill recently relocated to Salado, Texas, and wanted to open a brewery.

Hill led a successful petition drive to turn Partially Dry Salado into Wet Salado. In Texas, partially dry areas do not sell hard liquor off premise. This law prevented anyone from opening a liquor store in Salado. Now, Salado is wet, and that means he can start the licensing process for his brewery.

Yes! Another man doing the Lord's work.

Strike Out ALS at Deep Ellum Brewing Company - September 17

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I find the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) juvenile, and I refuse to participate. But if I were in Dallas on September 17, I think I know of a perfect way to give money to find a cure.

Deep Ellum Brewing Company will host "Strike Out ALS" party on September 17 from 6-8pm. All the proceeds will go to the the Texas Chapter of ALSA, the ALS research organization. Stay dry and warm. Drink beer.

Blue Owl Brewing to Launch Featuring Sour Mash Beers

If you've been reading this blog  for a while, you have probably noticed that I have this bizarre fascination with sour mash beers but have always been afraid to try making one. I may no longer need to try.

Jeff Young and Suzy Shaffer, formerly of Black Star Co-Op, plan to open Blue Owl Brewing at 2400 East Cesar Chavez St. Convinced sour beers will soon enjoy IPA-like popularity, they two want to use sour mashes to make a more consistent product than those soured in barrels.

There are four beers planned: Little Boss, a sour session wheat in the Berliner Weisse style; Spirit Animal, a sour pale ale; Professor Black, a sour cherry stout; and Van Dayum!, a sour amber.

Keep up with their progress on their Facebook page.

Ow! My Back!

The last couple of weeks have been hectic.

On August 2, I had to help Satan cook a birthday dinner for his Dad. On the Thursday or Friday after that, I felt a pimple on my lower back as I slid into my chair. It was a nice, pointed pain that let's you know the darned thing is about to burst.

On Saturday, I worked at Pedernales Brewing Company. What I expected to be a slow day got busy quickly. That made the day go by a lot faster. As I was going home, I  was carrying a case of employee beer, the brewmaster, fresh from an investors meeting clapped  me on the  shoulder and said, "Drinking all the profets, eh?"

I pointed to my chest. "Fox," I said. I pointed up and twirled my finger. "Henhouse."

We had a good laugh, and I went home.

I was feeling tired, so I went to bed early, around 9 pm.  When I got up the next morning, I tried to decide whether or not to visit my nephew in San Antonio. My lack of energy made my decision. I plopped down into my recliner and spent the morning watching Netflix. I cooked lunch, and decided on a nap afterwards and slept until 5 pm.  I got up, had some left overs and went back to bed, sleeping until 8 pm. I watched a little TV and went back to bed at 10 pm.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I developed a fever, and a sore spot on my lower back where I had felt the pimple a couple of days earlier. I decided not to visit Fredericksburg Brewing Company, and just rest. When I went to work Tuesday, the sore spot on my back was the size of my hand. Hard as a rock, red, and radiating heat, I went to the doctor where I learned I had a boil on my back. After picking up some antibiotics, I went back home to bed.

The fever intensified on Wednesday, and I slogged through half a day of work before giving up. I slept through the afternoon, evening and night. By Friday, all the fever was gone, and the boil began to leak. So every day for the last week has been spent changing the dressing and going to work.

Today, the oozing has stopped, and the spot itches like mad! A good sign I suppose. But I realized that I missed a couple of posts.

I am back now. Hopefully there will be more beer fun to follow!

tl;dr I got sick and missed some blog posts.

How to Build a Kegerator Infographic

Source: PartSelect.com

New Braunfels Brewing HotChild has Been Released!

New Braunfels Brewing Company used over 70 lbs of organic local cucumbers and more than 50 organic local jalapeños from M&R Farms to produce this uniquely refreshing hefeweizen.

HotChild is a flavor experience that will literally blow your tastebuds away. The aroma is cucumber, the palate is crisp, smooth and refreshing with a hint of salt. The final lingering flavor is all spice.

HotChild is the perfect pairing to the smoldering TX heat. Enjoy!

Hoppy Belated IPA Day!

I celebrated IPA Day as many of you did: drinking several pints of my favorite beer style. But as my badge popped up on Untappd, I wondered, how did IPA Day come to be, and why isn't there a "Saison Day", "Barrel Aged Day", "American Amber Ale Day" or "Imperial Coffee Strawberry Rye-Oatmeal Stout Day"?

(Wait! I might have just come up with a new recipe!  It's my idea, I tell you. MINE!)

I like IPAs. Don't get me wrong, but a whole Day for one style, and none for any other?

I tried to Google IPA Day history, but couldn't find much beyond that it has been going on since 2012, apparently initiated by Ashley Routson, the Beer Wench. (For the record, I have a HUGE crush on the Beer Wench. But since I'm in my 50s and she is much younger, that's just creepy. I try to ignore it. But, Ashley, if you have an older, fatter man fetish, well, give me a call.) I have a vague recollection that she was working with a brewery at the time this whole thing started, but don't quote me on that.

Does this day exist only so you can get a badge on Untappd? Or, so IPA makers can sell more beer than on any other Thursday? Or does it exist because it is America's favorite craft beer style? (I can get a dozen different IPAs here in Paradise, right at the edge of the Great Texas Craft Beer Desert. That should tell you something. Although, I do have to drive a bit to get some other IPAs.)

I don't know, but I am a bit frustrated that it exists. Not that it will stop me from drinking IPAs.

Got a Cold? Drink Beer.

Sapporo Brewing in Japan recently released a study that says the humulone in hops can help the body fight the virus that causes the common cold. Unfortunately, you'd have to drink 30 cans for it to be effective.

Sapporo is investigating the idea of adding humulone to food.

Meanwhile, the protein in hops also makes you hair and skin shinier.

Hops Make Craft Beer More Expensive

Demand is driving the price of hops up.

Now I have Heard it All! A Running Store and Brewery

As a Texan, I have a love-hate relationship with Colorado.

It's a beautiful state, with a lot of friendly people. And those people are so obsessively health conscious that it disturbs me. It seems like everyone there is either hiking, running, kayaking, mountain biking, or just plain exercising.

Now Colin Anderson, a former Colorado State University cross country runner (of course) has opened a running store where you can buy running shoes, and a nanobrewery called Shoes and Brews.

There's not going to be a tap next to each shoe they sell, the bar and the shoe store will be separated by a glass wall and no beer will be allowed in the shoe store. (A mean streak in me wishes there were no shoes allowed on the bar side, but that would be silly.)

You can buy shoes starting at 9 am during the week, but you'll have to wait until noon to start drinking.