Petrol Station Beer Dinner: Back to Basics

When Ben Fullelove, owner of Petrol Station and Brash Brewing, announced that he would be hosting a beer dinner at Petrol Station for the first time in forever, I was a little hesitant. I’ve now been to four of Ben’s beer dinners and three of them were home runs, while the most recent was not […]

Belgium/France Beercation: Day 2

On the second morning of our trip we woke up and headed straight to Pairi Daiza (pear-uh-die-zuh; translates to “paradise”) a zoo in the south-central of Belgium. Now, this may not seem like a very beer-y thing to do on a beercation, but there are two important things going on at this zoo: 1. RED […]

Belgium/France Beercation: Day 1

As soon as we landed at Charles de Gaulle in Paris we picked up our snazzy Renault rental and headed north for Watou, Belgium. We spent our first two nights in the beautiful Brouwershuis, right next door to the St. Bernardus brewery. The facility used to house the brewers (hence the name) but now is […]

LAX Birthday Trip

After being called out a few times on Twitter recently for not blogging, (OTT, triathlon training, work & life are getting in the way!) I knew I had to write a recap of my birthday/Reserve Society beer trip to the Los Angeles area. Gotta stay sharp! Hopefully, after the 83rd Texas Legislature is over I’ll […]

Beercation: Portland, Oregon

Beer•cation [bɪə(r)keɪʃn̩] n. traveling to a foreign destination to drink local beverages at the source, or close to:  John and Leslie took a beercation to Oregon.  In a whirlwind almost 3 days in Portland, Oregon, and the Columbia River Gorge area, we visited 16 breweries (and a distillery), saw a gorgeous waterfall, learned about the Bonneville […]

Beer Dinner: Stephen Beaumont & Tim Webb at The Flying Saucer Sugar Land

Stephen Beaumont and Tim Webb, Authors of the New World Atlas of Beer, hosted a series of “Tutored” beer dinners at several of the Flying Saucer locations to promote their book. When General Manager of the Flying Saucer Sugar Land location, Jake Rainey, told me that Ben Rabbani (formerly of Rainbow Lodge and Bootsie’s) was the chef designing the menu, […]

Preview: Cottonwood Bar

I’m always excited to hear about a new craft beer bar in Houston and Cottonwood in the Garden Oaks area is no exception. Brought to thirsty Houstonians by the people behind Liberty Station, we can expect a few things to carry over from Liberty and some new features that really take advantage of their huge […]

Interview: The Landermans Head to Idaho

Rob Landerman, head brewer of Ranger Creek in San Antonio, is moving to Boise, Idaho, to start a small craft brewery with wife, Keely, and two sons. After two years at the combination brewery and distillery, he is going back to his roots in the pacific north-west to realize his dream of owning his own […]

Camp Beer XI: Stoutapalooza III

Once a quarter, Cathy Rascoe and the crew from Live It Big, Inc. (a local charity incubator) put on an event called Camp Beer. It’s a structured tasting of craft beers that are usually unavailable in the Texas market, with proceeds going to charities like Friday Harbour. The September version was the third installment of […]

Houston’s Newest Craft Retailer: Premium Draught

With the recent boom in craft breweries and bars in Houston it was only a matter of time before a new, boutique retail store to buy all of that beer popped up. Since our beverage laws don’t allow breweries to sell their beer on-premise, places like Specs, Kroger, HEB, Central Market, and Whole Foods fill […]

Philly/Rehoboth Beach/Atlantic City: Metal & Beer, part 2

Metal and Beer Part Two. Check out Part One here. After a quick breakfast Friday morning, we visited the historical Reading Terminal Market to peruse. All of the shops weren’t quite open yet, but it was cool to see all the fresh seafood, produce, local cheeses and meats getting setup for the day. There were […]

Philly/Rehoboth Beach/Atlantic City: Metal and Beer, Part 1

What would make a trip to the east coast to see Metallica live [twice!], at their hand-picked music festival, better than starting the trip out at a great craft beer city like Philadelphia? Throwing in a trip to the Dogfish Head brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Oh, and shooting dice at a casino. We always […]

Camp Beer XI: Ciders & Tart Beers

Cathy Rascoe, creator of Live It Big, the charity incubator, as well as Houston & Dallas Beer Weeks puts on tastings for 60 people every quarter called Camp Beer. Its an afternoon of beer tasting, and this time cider. It’s usually done in a theme and beer lovers get together to help raise money for […]

A Beer Dinner with Kyle White & Jonathan Jones

I have had the pleasure to experience three beer dinners with Jonathan Jones in the kitchen. I can’t pick a favorite- it’s too hard. Like the beers, the food has all been so different, complimentary in its own right, which is precisely the point. Formerly of Max’s Wine Dive, Xuco Xicana and Beaver’s, his new […]

Camp Beer X: Sourpalooza

Camp Beer is a beer tasting class, usually devoted to a certain style, put on by Live It Big, the charity incubator, to raise money for the various charities they support. These events are limited to 60 people and always sell out in a few hours. The first Camp Beer of 2012 drew an interesting […]

Behind Brash Brewing Company: A Craft Brand Not in Texas

When you get to know Ben Fullelove, owner of The Petrol Station– one of the best craft beer bars in Houston, you’ll find out he has 4 kids, an awesome wife, and a sweet Lincoln. You’ll also discover that Ben’s dream is to open a brewery by the time he is 40. Legally, he can’t […]

Follow-up: Revolver Brewing

Back in July of 2011, Revolver Brewing popped onto the social media scene on Twitter. Shortly thereafter, they closed on a property of just over 16 acres in Granbury, Texas, about 35 minutes southwest of Fort Worth. The Revolver crew chose Granbury to be closer to family, though one of the team members is originally […]

Moon Tower Inn Reopening: A New Brewpub

As February inches closer, Houston (and especially the craft beer community) is anxiously awaiting Moon Tower-Inn‘s reopening. When they posted on their Facebook a few details of the reopening, one part particularly caught my eye: “yes we are putting in a BREWERY!!!!!”. So of course, I had to figure out who it was and what […]

Tour of Texas: Shiner Restaurant & Bar Beer Dinner

When people ask what my “gateway” or first craft beer was, I answer “Shiner!”. I could never stomach the other beers that kids drank in high school and college, so I always went for Shiner. When I got tired of Shiner Bock everyday, I tried the Shiner Blonde, then their seasonals and commemorative series. I […]

No Label Beer Dinner at Ziggy’s Bar & Grill

Originally, this dinner was slated to take place during Houston Beer Week in November, but with so many events going on Ziggy’s Grill decided it would be best to wait a few weeks to let the dust settle. There were a few reasons I wanted to attend this dinner; I want to support one of […]