Ranger Creek OPA Review

A couple of Saturdays ago, I went to San Antonio and picked up a case of Ranger Creek OPA. I have had this beer several times on tap. This is my first time in the bottle. I confess, I feel all giggly and nervous.

Appearance (0-4): Pours up a hazy orange with a thick rocky head that lasts forever. As you refill your glass, you do pick up some sediment, further clouding the beer. Bottle conditioning also makes this overfoam. It's worth the wait.  2 points.


Aroma (0-3): Hints of citrus, pine and pepper. And I get soap. But not in a bad way. 2 points.


Taste (1-10): There is a nice malt backbone here. Starts with a malt sweetness. The hops come through with a grapefruit flavor, and lingers on the back of my tongue. Medium to full bodied, with a nice carbonation tingle. Leaves a sharp bitterness at the back of my throat.  9 points


Overall Impression (0-3): Sorry, Old Dominion, this is now my new Favorite Beer. I like the blend of hops, the way it hangs on the malt base, and I like the mouthfeel. My only gripe (reflected in the scores above) is the bottle conditioning. I respect the idea.  I don't like it, though. But, since they won't let me live in the brewery, sleeping under the bright tanks, with an IV from the tank to my arm.  *sigh*  Where was I? Oh yes!  I love this beer.  I want this beer inside me. I want this beer in a store in my town. (I also want their .36 Bourbon Whiskey in my town, but that's the subject of a different blog.) 3 points


Total: 17 points.


Please, please, please, Ranger Creek, spread out into the hinterlands.

Buy this beer.  Drink this beer. It's very good.

Ranger Creek Brewing on TABC Suit

Mark McDavid of Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling spoke with KSAT.com about the impact of the Authentic Beverage suit against the TABC.  McDavid is looking forward to telling people where to buy his products. He also foresees more out of state competition, as more out of state breweries won't have to have labels designed exclusively for Texas. While he believes that more competition is good for consumers, it may not be so good for small breweries in Texas. "There's a finite amount of shelf space out there, so some breweries are a little nervous," he said.

"The Ranger Creek Blues"

A few months ago I was fortunate to tour the Ranger Creek Brewstillery with Satan.  We sampled OPA and La Bestia Amiable.  Delicious beers.  They didn't have any of the mesquite smoked porter, though, so we were a little bummed.

I bring this up because I know Ranger Creek makes beer.  I've seen the mash tun.  I've seen the fermenters.

What I don't know, and am now beginning to suspect, is that they are not selling it, and are hoarding it for themselves.

A few Sundays after they sold their first keg, I met my nephew in San Antonio at The Flying Saucer, where @RangerCreek_Rob said they had sold beer on the previous Wednesday.  I did manage to get some Smoked Porter this time.  So far, that has been the only time I've been able to get Ranger Creek beers.  I can honestly say that I am 0-5 in trying to get Ranger Creek Beers.

Oh, I've seen tweets that they are delivering beer.  I've seen the photos that they have bottled beer.  Like Bigfoot, ghosts, Santa Claus, UFOs, the Easter Bunny, and winning lottery tickets, I have never seen them personally.

So after a tweet about delivering beer to Flying Saucer, and to pick up the beers my nephew grabbed for me at the Freetail bottle release the week before when I was in Midland, I headed to San Antonio.  I had even taken the precaution of asking @RangerCreek_Rob (aka Rob Landerman, brewer at Ranger Creek) if beer was there.  He wasn't sure if the tapped it, but it was there.

So I plopped my butt at a table on a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon.  After two weeks of freezing temperatures, it was delightful to sit outside in the sun.  It must have been.  The patio was packed and I had to sit inside.

It took about ten minutes for a frazzled, overworked, and well endowded young lady to ask me what I wanted to drink.  I asked, "Do you have any Ranger Creek on tap?"

She thought for a moment.  I could almost see the list of beers running in her head.  "No, we don't." she said emphatically.  I ordered a Real Ale Coffee porter and tweeted: "Not entirely convinced @rangercreek sells beer yet. No Ranger Creek at @FlyingSaucerSA hello Real Ale!"

My nephew arrived and we chatted for a while, and then he hitched a thumb over his shoulder.  "There are the Ranger Creek guys."

Sure enough, three of them were sitting at one of the tables going over spreadsheets.  I wondered what they were drinking, since there was no Ranger Creek on tap.

By the time I got home, @RangerCreek_Rob had replied, "If they don't have it on tap, tell them to tap it!"  Which made me wonder why they didn't tell 'em to tap it.

I am not accusing Ranger Creek of anything, other than not being able to brew enough.  The recently bottled La Bestia Amiable sold out at the San Antonio Spec's before they even received the four cases allocated to them.  And the Flying Saucer blows the kegs as fast as they can tap them.  It's just frustrating that I live an hour away from Ranger Creek, and will not be able to drink their beers until the brewer can afford to add more fermenters.  And they lack the manpower, much less the product, to deliver to my local honey hole.

Rest assured I'll keep trying to buy the beer.  I'm just not sure I'll be able to find it.

Although I just read a tweet from @RangerCreek_Rob that they are delivering beer to Whip-in on Wednesday, I get to Austin even less that I get to San Antonio.