DFW Beercation Stop #5 - Gordon Biersch

The final stop on our beercation was Gordon Biersch at Park Lane, a massive live/work/play complex near downtown, which is a good hump from Rahr & Sons. Naturally, there was some construction. And, like every other time I have been to Dallas, I had to divert through Dealy Plaza where either Oswald, Casto, Hoffa, The Mob, Johnson, or aliens whacked JFK, depending on which conspiracy theory you believe. Apparently, JFK had some construction to deal with, the assassin/s knew it, and all they had to do was wait.
One of the founders of Gordon Biersch is Dan Gordon, a German-trained brewer who insists on authentic German beers in his restaurants. He a four time guest on The Brewing Network and I always enjoy it when he stops by. While Gordon Biersch beer has been sold in Texas in bottles for a while, the restaurants are a pretty new arrival. There are only two Gordon Biersch restaurants in Texas, both in the Metroplex.
Our server was Andrew, and, to give him credit, he did a good job explaining the beers to use. Satan and I refrained from mentioning that we were familiar with beer styles while he described the flavors we would be experiencing. When he got to the hefewiezen, though, he stumbled a bit. He assured us that there was no fruit or spices in the hefe, but said the flavor came from how they boiled the beer. Since our first rule of dining out is "Don't Be A Dick," (especially to people who will be handling your food) we smiled and nodded politely. We did not say that the flavors were the result of the yeast strain and fermentation temperatures. The dude was doing his job, and doing it well enough for civilians.
Satan and I both chose the Märzen, and dishes that had been prepared with it. I ordered a chicken in a Märzen sauce that was excellent. However, the heat of the brewery tour combined with the late night before was beginning to affect us. So instead of another pint, we headed back to the hotel for a nap before joining Satan's brother and family for dinner.
Next time, we plan to focus entirely on the Dallas area and hit the brewpubs and beer bars there. Paul Hightower has promised to hoist a pint or two with us next time we're in town.

DFW Beercation - Stop 4: Rahr & Sons Brewery Tour

I live across the street from a small Catholic church. Everytime there's a service the parishioners park everywhere in the neighborhood, which really POs our neighbor. Me, not so much. They're only there for a couple of hours three days a week. But my neighbor thinks the street in front of his house is his, and no one should be allowed to park there without his permission. (When they have their semi-annual enchilada dinners, we get free food for the inconvenience. Our neighbor always refuses.)

I'm sure Rahr & Son's neighbors feel the same way when, twice a week, they open the brewery for tours. They were probably quite happy when the brewery closed for seven months as they replaced the roof. Fortunately for Satan and me, our visit to the Metroplex coincided with the first Saturday brewery tour since February.

We arrived a few minutes before 11 am and found a line snaking from the brewery entrance to the gate. By the time we parked and joined the line, we were three car lengths from the gate on the sidewalk. As we waited the last ten minutes before they let us in, Satan and I noticed it was getting warm. It was already ninety degrees, and very humid.

Once inside, it got warmer.

The live music this weekend was Fritz Rahr and one of his brewers. They were pretty good, even if they hadn't played in a while. Satan and I drank the first and second of our three pints and sweated ourselves away. We explored the gift shop and came back with a commemorative mug, celebrating the repaired roof.

We bumped into Paul Hightower. Paul is a frequent commenter here, so it was nice to put a face to the comments. We passed along Molly's message, "Stop by and say hello."

By this time, we'd finished our third free beer, and were miserably hot. We decided to head for lunch at Gordon Biersch.

DFW Beercation Stop 3 - Lucky Lou's

Satan's friend picked us up at our hotel about 7 pm, and took us to Lucky Lou's in Downtown Denton. Denton, she explained (and from this point on she will be known as Temptress), was trying to promote itself as Austin North, and was trying to encourage the live music scene and the nightlife the way Austin does. Satan's Brother, not to be confused with Satan's Other Brother, also lives in Denton and told us that Denton is the place all the rich and famous go to turn themselves in because they can bail out faster. That explains the huge county jail and the large number of bail bondsmen in the area. So you know it's a party town!

Lucky Lou's isn't far from North Texas University, and is a definite college bar. The place was packed, and I would not be surprised to learn that we were the oldest people in the building. Satan drank Shiner Black, Temptress Shiner Bock, while I spent the rest of the night drinking Lagunitas IPA. The last time I'd seen Lagunitas IPA on tap was in Oakland! I have to admit, I didn't have big expectations, and the selection at Lucky Lou's easily surpassed them. We did have to show our IDs, despite the gray hairs and walkers we were using.

We found a booth and chatted. It was a fun conversation covering all the important topics: ex-spouses, parents, work and politics. We avoided religion. We were in a bar, for God's sake!

About 10 pm, I realized that I am very old. "I hit the wall," I told Satan. He twisted my arm up behind my back, over my shoulder and made me pat my own belly before ordering My Last Beer, Swear To God! We left the place about midnight, hit a Whataburger and went back to the hotel. Temptress graciously came to a complete stop before shoving us out, and roared off into the night.

I knew that I would be in rough shape, so I used the old standby hangover preventative: Alka-Seltzer Plus. And I still had another day to go!

DFW Beercation Stop 2 - Gingerman Fort Worth

Note: Thanks to my super fabulous iPhone which won't sync, I have lost the photos for the rest of the trip, and my phone has reset to my last good backup on July 3.

The secondary goal of our trip to the Metroplex, was to sample some Franconia beer. I had just read an article about the brewery. I had even tried to get them down to the local Oktoberfest, but the logistics were too daunting for them to make the trip. Paul at TexasBeer, and co-author of Beer Across Texas: A Guide to the Brews and Brewmasters of the Lone Star State, suggested I visit the Gingerman on Camp Bowie Road, a couple of miles north of TCU.

We arrived shortly after the place opened and were the fourth and fifth folks to arrive, if you count the beer salesman having a sandwich at the bar. We seated ourselves at the bar, and we drooled over the selection.

(512) Pecan Porter and Wit!? Dammit! I live less than 100 miles from the brewery and can't get it. I have to drive to frikkin' Fort Worth to find it? Geez! It might have been worse, I suppose, had I found Independence and Thirsty Planet there too.

Ahem! Please excuse the outburst.

The bartender was Molly, a short, dark haired, no-nonsense lady who had a pretty smile and twinkling eyes. (I told her Paul sent me, and she told me to give him a message. More on that later.) I spotted the Franconia Spelt tap and asked for a pint. She gave me the once over, and said, "Let me pour you a sample first."

Butterscotch beer. And I hate butterscotch. Sigh. Maybe another day, Franconia!

I started off with a (512) Pecan Porter! Ah! Bliss! I forget what Satan had. Frankly, I forget what I had after that. We stayed at Gingerman for three hours, sampling beers neither of us can get where we live as more and more people began streaming in. At 6 pm, we left and headed for our motel in Denton, where one of Satan's friends live and had promised that we would go drinking with.

I let Satan drive.

Basin Brewers Garage Crawl

As you read this, I will be on my way to Midland to visit Satan and participate in the Basin Brewers' Kegerator Crawl. I will make my usual stop in Eola for lunch. Pictures and details to follow. Depending on my hangover.

National Homebrewer's Conference 2008

Back in January, I booked a hotel room in Cincinnati over Father's Day weekend for the NHC, "just in case." I mean Satan and my calendars are pretty full. We both work full time, and we both instigated a family reunion for the first weekend in August, which will be the first time the entire Roger Holt family has been together since the 1980s. I didn't think we would have time to make it to Cincinnati!

I was discussing it with Satan, and he said, "Phuk et." I knew he wasn't referring to the village in Thailand, so, we registered. I have planned our route, since we can't afford to fly, and plan on hitting several brewpubs along the way to and from, and even plan a visit to Makers Mark and, NASCAR willing, The Brickyard in Indianapolis. We're taking the "Long Way Home" through St. Louis (to see the Arch), Kansas City (for BBQ) and Oklahoma City ('cause it's on the way back to Dallas).

Anyone else going to NHC?

Nation Homebrewers Conference - Denver, CO June 21-23

I am planning to attend this year's National Homebrewers Conference in Denver, Colorado. Part of the plan is to visit as many brew pubs along the way as I can and enhance my pint glass collection. I hope to visit Hub City Brewery in Lubbock and Phantom Canyon Brewing Company in Colorado Springs on the way up. I hope to visit as many brewpubs as possible in Denver. On the way back, I'm thinking of spending the night in Santa Fe to sample their brewpubs, Second Street Brewery and Blue Corn Cafe and Brewery. With any luck, I'll get Satan, otherwise known as my Cousin Gary, to go along with me to see how much we can drink and how many growlers we can get home. I'll be traveling from Midland to Denver and back to Midland. Anyone have any other suggestions for nearby brewpubs?