Pedernales Brewing Company Spring Break Schedule

Pedernales Brewing Company will expand their tasting room hours Friday March 14th and Saturday March 15 from 1:00 to 6:00 PM. And from Monday March 16 to Saturday March 21 from 1 to 6 pm.

Beer is available by the pint for $4, and tour/tasting/glass is $10.

Reminder! “Beer Talk” at Pedernales Brewing Company - February 21

The brewers at PBC will host a discussion with home brewers or others interested in beer.  There is no charge for the event and if you like talking about beer with a beer in your hand, you will be able to purchase pints from the adjacent tasting room.

1 pm at 97 Hitchin' Post Trail on S. US Hwy 87. (Look for the big beer bottle.) Call (830) 998-7486 for details.

Pedernales Brewing Company Extended Holiday Hours

For those that don't know, I sometimes work in the Pedernales Brewing Company tasting room on weekends. But on November 27, December 26, and January 2 (Fridays), the tasting room will be open from 1 pm to 5 pm.

I won't be there on those because I will be at my day job. Darnit!

Robert Earl Keen Brand Announces 2nd Offering

I was reading Food Flashes blog on mySA.com, and noticed that Pedernales Brewing Company would be releasing a second Robert Earl Keen beer in February.

Initially, the Honey Pils will be the only beer distributed under the Robert Earl Keen label. But [Lee] Hereford [CEO and president] said the brewery is looking at other styles such as a Raspberry Hefeweizen to release as its second beer. That brew is expected to hit shelves and bars by spring 2015.

I have known about this for a couple of weeks, but didn't want to let any cats out of any bags.

In other PBC news, look for a shake up in the year round beers and some special, one-time only releases next year. I won't tell exactly will be happening until I know it's okay to do so.

Pedernales Brewing Company Wins International Medals

Speaking of Pedernales Brewing Company.....

Pedernales Brewing Company (PBC) of Fredericksburg, Texas, brought home three top medals from a professional international brewing contest held in Mexico on Sept 3-7, 2014.

The brewery won Gold for Lobo Texas Lager and Lobo Negro, plus a Silver Medal for Lobo Lito. PBC was also named the overall Best New Brewery for 2014, and was the only US brewery to receive recognition at this year’s Cerveza Mexico.

“We were delighted to learn that our beers were not only accepted, but excelled at this international competition,” said Lee Hereford, Founder and President/CEO. “Mexican beers are respected around the world, and we are proud that our Lobo line stands with the best.”

Cerveza Mexico is the largest and most formalized beer competition in Latin America. Held in Mexico City, the contest judged more than 500 labels from 85 breweries. More than 15,000 people attend the annual event.

-via press release

Pedernales Brewing Company's Robert Earl Keen Honey Pilsner

If you don't follow Pedernales Brewing Company on Facebook, you may have missed this:

It will be released on October 15, and should be available everywhere Pedernales Beers are sold by November 15.

Another Robert Earl Keen beer will be released in May.

In other news, the Classic Porter returns in November.

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.

Hoppy Fourth of July

I hope you have a great holiday.

I have to work until 4 pm, and after that, I'm off to the open house at Pedernales Brewing Company. Tomorrow is Beer and Hymns, so when I leave work at 5 pm, I can go have a couple of pints while others do a hymn sing along.

Beer and Hymns runs from 5 - 6 pm.  There's no cover charge, and pints in plastic cups are $4.

Craft Beer Week at Pedernales Brewing Company and Fredericksburg Brewing Company - 5/12-17

Pedernales Brewing Company: Pedernales Brewing Company now has a Bier Garten for you to enjoy their six craft beers.   In celebration of American Craft Beer Week, the PBC Bier Garten will be open extended hours May 12-17; Monday through Thursday from 3-7, and Friday and Saturday from 1-7.

Fredericksburg Brewing Company: Meet the brewers and enjoy food and beer specials. Daily during normal business hours.

Pedernales Brewing Company Tasting Room Schedule

I've known for a while that Pedernales Brewing Company opens their tasting room and offers tours. I hadn't had the chance to catch one in a while, but last Saturday I got the opportunity to work in the tasting room. It's not as much fun to work in the tasting room, because the employees aren't allowed to drink on duty, but that's not a big deal.  Normally, I don't start drinking until 5 pm anyway. (It's Hell getting old.)

It was hot outside, and the brewery isn't air conditioned. But the fans inside kept it mild enough. On tap there were the flagship beers: Lobo Texas Lager, Lobo Negro, Classic Hefewiezen and Classic IPA. Also on tap was Lobo Lito (a summer pilsner), and their first seasonal, Oktoberfest, which I've already written about.

I was asked if I wanted to do the first tour. While I have taken the tour a couple of times and I know the brewing process, I didn't have enough details to feel comfortable about it. So I tagged along on a couple of the tours. Sure enough, someone wanted to know what the production was. I'm sure "Shit Ton" wouldn't not have been a good answer.

I met a couple of home brewers who had stopped by and we had a nice chat. One group had finished up a wine tour "for the ladies" and now it was the men's "reward".

We guestimated about 50 people had stopped by over the four hours, so it was never too crowded.

Next time you're in Fredericksburg, take the tour. Beer always tastes better at the brewery. And it will be the easiest way to find their quarterly seasonals on tap. (Shh! Don't tell anyone, but I hear a spiced porter is next.)

The tasting room is open on Friday from 3-5 pm, and on Saturday from 1-5 pm. Pedernales Brewing Company is at 97 Hitchin' Post Trail just south of Fredericksburg on US Highway 87 South. Look for the flags on your left. Call 830-998-7486 for details.

Pedernales Brewing Company Oktoberfest

Now into their second year, Pedernales Brewing Company released its first seasonal beer last week: Oktoberfest. They only made a few dozen barrels, so it will be a limited release this year. Plans are in the works for a larger brewery, so I would expect a bigger release next year.

If you're planning to visit Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, it will be on tap in the Main Pavilion and Kinderhalle. If you don't have rooms booked, you better hurry. The weekend is almost sold out!

Robert, one of the investors at PBC tried valiantly to get me out to the brewery to taste it, but I couldn't get away from work.  I guess he felt sorry for me, because he brought me a growler of the Oktoberfest. So I sat down with Star Trek: The Original Series: From History's Shadow (a great read that ties into Voyager's "Future's End", Deep Space Nine's "Little Green Men", Enterprise's Temporal Cold War, and the TOS episode "Assignment:Earth."), and sampled it.

It was smooth and medium bodied. Malty with some slightly assertive hops. It reminded of an Amber Ale, but since Oktoberfest is an Amber Lager. . . Nice and drinkable. I can't want for Oktoberfest to see how it ages!

Pedernales Brewing Tasting Room Grand Opening

I visited the Pedernales Brewing Company Tasting Room Grand opening last weekend. They will be open every Saturday afternoon, with live music until Labor Day. 

Grand Opening of Pedernales Brewing Company's Tasting Room - May 18

Pedernales Brewing Company, 97 Hitchin' Post Trail, will be offering several food trucks and lots of cold beer! Including a performance from Thomas Michael Riley from 2-4 pm, kicking off the Summer Concert series that will run thru Labor Day....promoting local food, local musicians, and local beer.

Come find me there. I'll be the fat guy drinking beer.

PBC is on US Highway 87 south about a mile from town across from Fredericksburg Funeral Home.

Pedernales Brewing Company IPA - Review

Woot! My local brewery just started bottling this beer, so I grabbed a 6-pack.

Appearance (0-4): Pours up a crystal clear orange/ amber with a minimal white head. 3 points


Aroma/Bouquet (0-3): A subtle peppery, spicy hop nose. I was hoping for more hop aroma, and, after a nice visit to Seattle, more citrus in the nose. 2 points


Taste (0-10): Starts off with a flavor that reminds me of a Pilsner. A "brushy" flavor that I find in Pilsners and a lot of ambers. Other IPAs have a nice crystal-y mouth feel. It's hard to explain, but I had a Brew Free or Die IPA after one of these I could taste the malt that I didn't taste here.  Maybe after being quoted in Zymurgy about Pliny the Elder I am too far down the West Coast IPA road. Anyway, the hops kick in with a massively bitter, and not in a good way, flavor at the back and sides of my tongue and back of my throat. Maybe there are too many hops at the front of the boil, and not enough at the finish.  It needs more malt to cut through the hops. It leaves a very bitter finish. It's medium bodied, which is good, but the head falls way too quickly for me.  5 points


Overall Impression (0-3):  Dammit! I wanted to like this beer! But it's just too darned bitter at the finish. But, it is a local beer, and I can buy it here, so I give it full points. 3 points


Total: 13 points

Pedernales Brewery is Coming

From the press release:

“ROLL OUT THE BARREL” 

THE NEWEST CRAFT BREWERY IN TEXAS WILL SOON BE BREAKING GROUND IN FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS…RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY.

DR. PAUL FARNSWORTH, NOTED CRAFT BREWER, SPEAKER, CONSULTANT, AND PROFESSOR OF FERMENTATION SCIENCE AT UNM IN ALBUQUERQUE, WILL BE THE BREWMASTER FOR PEDERNALES BREWING COMPANY.

THE PEDERNALES BREWING COMPANY, LLC IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THEY WILL HAVE MULTIPLE BRANDS AVAILABLE– LOBO, LOBO BOCK, AND LOBO NEGRO; LADDER TRUCK LAGER, WHICH WILL BE A BENEFIT BRAND TO SUPPORT RURAL EMS UNITS AND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS; AND PEDERNALES CLASSICS -WHICH WILL SHOWCASE CLASSIC BEER FROM AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING PALE ALE, PORTER, STOUT, PILSNER, AND OTHERS.

THEY INVITE YOU TO “LIKE” THEM ON FACEBOOK AT "PEDERNALES BREWING COMPANY." MORE INFORMATION WILL BE FORTHCOMING IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AS THEY BREAK GROUND AND PREPARE TO BE OPEN WITH THEIR PREMIERE PRODUCT LAUNCH IN LATE SPRING OR EARLY SUMMER 2011.

PEDERNALES BREWING COMPANY, LLC WILL ALSO SOON BE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT AND IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT LEE HEREFORD, 830/669-2917.

Currently, the website is not active.  The Facebook page says it will be up soon.

Pedernales Brewing Company

I got an interesting email today. You'll recall that I've been blogging about Pedernales Brewing Company, and whether or not it will be in Spicewood or Fredericksburg.

My name is Lee Hereford. I am a principal in the Pedernales Brewing Company, LLC, to be based in Fredericksburg. We are the only valid company bearing the name of Pedernales Brewing Company. We are nearing completion of our initial funding phase, and will be located in Fredericksburg. We are chartered with the Texas Secretary of State, as an LLC, in that name. We also have a Federal EIN in that name. I have no idea who the people are in Spicewood, or why they are trying to use our name, but our legal counsel is investigating it and we will take whatever actions are necessary to protect our name.

Best Regards,
Lee Hereford
President/CEO
Pedernales Brewing Company, LLC
Fredericksburg, TX

I have Lee's permission to reprint this. Lee has also invited me to meet with him, but, due to a family illness, my time is occupied elsewhere for a bit. As soon as I can find time to sit down and talk to him, I will pass along anything he will allow.

Hmm. I wonder if he has a quality control/taste tester position open?

More Texas Breweries?

As Jester King Brewery and Circle Brewing start up, there is word that there soon may be other breweries, including: Pedernales Brewing Company in either Spicewood or Fredericksburg (depending on where you look) is restarting their fundraising, though their website is a bit sparse, there's a few more details floating around on the web; No Label Brewing Company in Katy (Thanks to Texas Beer for the heads up) has found a location for their brewery; Barbed Wire Brewing in Austin is in their fundraising stage; and new entrant Hops and Grain in Austin has just appeared on the landscape.

A friend of mine has some details about Pedernales Brewing and promises to share it with me shortly. Anyone have any details to share?