The Draught House 40th Anniversary - 10/25

The Draught House Pub and Brewery in Austin is turning 40! While their selection has grown to 69 faucets and they added a brewing system in 1995, their goal has remained the same; to provide a wide array of fresh draught beers with an emphasis on supplying a variety of styles and flavors.

Head on out to 4112 Medical Pkwy and celebrate on a cool (hopefully) October 25th afternoon and evening. Enjoy cask ales and BBQ under the tent. The bartender, Jubal, will be spinning vintage soul which should compliment the smooth cask ales and Argentina influenced BBQ. Besides the numerous casks, they will have several special beers from local breweries and their own brewing system. The party starts at 1 pm and winds up at 10 pm. Call (512)452-6258 for more information.

Every town needs a brew pub

What do Eola, Texas and Leadville, Colorado have in common?

They are both small towns with brew pubs.

For years, I have labored under the delusion that a brew pub has to be in a tourist town or a big city. But perhaps there's another business model. Maybe being a local restaurant that makes beer is enough.

Take Eola School Restaurant and Brewery, for example. Mark Cannon makes fresh beer and sells it for $2 a cup, and makes a pretty good bbq sammich. He's not pushing the hop envelope. His customers wouldn't stand for it. He's making a living making beer.

I recently visited Leadville, Colorado and Rosie's Brewpub. Rosie's does have more of a bar feel, and has a few more beers on tap. But they are catering to their customer base as well. I was there on a Friday afternoon, with nary a tourist in sight. Except for me, of course. I'm sure they do cater to the tourists, but when I was there it was a room full of locals.

Wouldn't it be great to have a brew pub in every town you visit? Not just in cities, but in small towns?

Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub- Glenwood Springs, CO

After picking the boss up at the airport and returning them to Vail, they cut me loose for the day. Since check-in at the next hotel wasn't until 4 pm, and it was only 1:30, I decided to check out Glenwood Springs. This was the first brewpub I was able to actually see from the highway, and that made it easy to find. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and the place was full. Heck, Glenwood Springs was full.

I only ordered a brown ale. I had to get back to Vail, and I didn't want to deal with the traffic with a buzz. It was a really nice brown ale, and was only $3.75.

If I ever find myself in Glenwood Springs again, I will stay in the Hotel Denver, and spend the whole time at the bar.

Backcountry Brewery, Frisco, CO

I picked up the boss at the airport in Denver, and we stopped by on the way to Vail. Backcountry Brewery was easy to find. We got there a little before noon, and most people were watching the game in the bar. We were seated and ordered a sampler. I ordered the BBQ sandwich. The beers were good. The Wheat beer was great, and the breakfast stout was excellent. It was made with coffee and was not overly roasty. It was creamy and smooth with a finish of coffee. I Should have skipped the sampler and gone straight for the stout. Service was good, delivery was fast, and the food was very good. It's too bad I only get to Colorado every decade or so. I want to come back here.

Gore Range Brewery, Edwards, CO

After a Saturday training session at our software vendor's office, I headed over to Gore Range Brewery to get computer code out of my brain. Like much of the area, places don't have big signs announcing their presence, but this was pretty easy to find. Having had meals in Vail and Lionshead, it was nice to find a place without tourists. It was about 5 pm, and the place was only slightly occupied: a couple on the patio, four of five people at the bar, and a few couples in booths. It took the bartender a few minutes to take my order, but after that he was prompt as could be.

The beers were all good. Nothing spectacular. The honey ale was light and "sessiony." The red ale was surprisingly smooth. There were some hops, but another session beer. The stout was a little too roasty for my taste, but it sure did look pretty, being dispensed with nitrogen.

Some locals brought in their kids, so there was a nice family feel. If your in Vail, this is the place to visit.

Rosie's Brewpub, Leadville, CO

After my computer class in Vail, I thought I'd run down to Leadville and try Rosie's Brewpub. It is only 33 miles from Vail. Over two freakin' mountains! What I thought would be a 40 minute drive was more like an hour.

Cool place. Obviously a local hangout. But it's bright a cheerful and the service is excellent. Rosie's is in a little frame house a block from Leadville's main drag. It is nothing fancy, but the pale ale was pretty good. Just hoppy enough to help cut the jalapeno heat, but not overpowering. I didn't think a 7% stout would be a good idea for the trip back to Vail. It was Happy Hour, and I had a basket of fried jalapeno slices. The total bill was $4.01. No souvenirs for sale though. :(

If you in the area, stop in. You won't be sorry.

Dillon Dam Brewery, Dillon, CO

After Tommyknocker, I stopped by Dillon Dam Brewery en route to Vail. I had read about the chile beer, and couldn't resist a stop, even though I really wanted to get to my hotel.

It was 2 pm on a Thursday, and there were a few people at the bar. and a scattering of customers. I had a chile beer and a pretzel. The beer was cold and the pretzel was fresh out of the oven. Their beer mustard is tangy and delicious, but the pretzel didn't need it. It was crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.

I had planned to detour a bit and hit Pug Ryan's in Dillon, Wolf Rock Brewing Company in Keystone, and Back Country Brewery in Frisco. But I had been up since 4 am, and was in need of a nap. I have more time. I'll make them.

Tommyknocker's Pub, Idaho Springs, CO

I stopped by Tommyknocker Brewery for lunch on my way to Vail for a conference, and sat in the bar area next to the brewery. Most of the brewpubs I've seen put their breweries behind glass. Not here. You can see the brewers working away.
I got there a little before noon on a Thursday, and there were a few people around. More arrived after I ordered. The selection is amazing. I didn't know what to order. I had thought about the rye porter, but they were out, darnit. So I chose a Pale Ale and a Cajun Chicken Sandwich. Great sandwich! I topped it with a little chipotle sauce, and was sure glad I had the pale ale. The hops cut the spice perfectly.
It cost me $20 to get out of there. A little more than I wanted to spend, but, oh well, it's on the expense account. Ssh. Don't tell my boss.

Freetail Brewing Company

Travis Poling, business writer for the San Antonio Express-News, has reported that San Antonio's second brewpub will open on the Northeast corner of Loop 1604 and Military Drive. Called Freetail Brewing Company (which sounds like it should be in Austin), it hopes to open in 2008.

Texas' long brewpub drought may soon be ending!

Eola School and Lodge - Eola, Texas

My cousin, affectionately referred to here as Satan 'cause he's the devil, has longed dreamed of opening a brewpub in San Angelo, somewhere downtown, along the Concho River. I think it's about time that a brewpub opens in West Texas.

But, he too late.

According to BeerAdvocate.com, there's one in Eola, Texas. Eola is a small farming community a few miles east of San Angelo, south of Paint Rock. The school in Eola closed twenty years ago and sat vacant until James "Mark" Cannon purchased it a couple of years ago. He is the only employee. He's brewer, chef, waiter, and janitor.

According to Steve's Soapbox, the beer costs $2 a pint, and $16 for a growler, and $10 for the refill of said growler. And Mark is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays.

I'm going to Midland in a couple of weeks to visit Satan. Sounds like I have need to stop by.

Blue Star Brewing Company, San Antonio

Satan came down for a visit, and we decided to visit Blue Star. It's on the edge of the King William district in San Antonio across the street from Pioneer Mills, and is surrounded by art galleries. As a result, there's an eclectic artsy feel to the place. Only five beers were on tap, Golden, Pale Ale, King William Barleywine, cask conditioned ale, and stout. We ordered a sampler and were impressed and decided on a pale ale. The food was great and reasonably priced. Service was fast, and friendly. What I liked the most was the family friendly atmosphere. Area families were there, and kids ranged from infants to six or 7 years of age. Definitely worth a stop, if you're tired of the Riverwalk.

Brew Ha Ha at Fredericksburg Brewing Company

The Fredericksburg Brewing Company (The Biergarten) in Fredericksburg, Texas, will be the site for a new comedy club with first performances this weekend on Friday and Saturday nights, March 16 and 17, at 8:00 p.m. Robert Hawkins, who has performed twice at the Montreal Comedy Festival and appeared on Comedy Central, Premium Blend and The Late Show, will be the first featured act at Brew Ha Ha. If you are going to be in Fredericksburg this weekend, admission is $20. For more information, call (830)997-1646.

For sale - One pub 900 miles from nearest city

Like beer?

Like pubs?

Here's your chance to own a world famous Birdsville Hotel and Pub is for sale. Located on the edge of the vast Simpson desert in Queensland, the pub is synonymous with the Australian Outback. Sydney is a mere 897 miles away. Just a jaunt, really.

The locals are concerned that the pub might close. The nearest hotel is 120 miles away, after all. Jo and Kym fort are asking $8 million for the property, which includes 27 guest rooms, two residences and your very own pub.