The 2024 Craft Brewers Conference is in the books and with it another World Beer Cup (WBC). The world’s most prestigious beer competition and a yearly battle between breweries all over the world. Setting itself apart from other competitions, the World Beer Cup commemorates brewing with judges and entries from around the world.
Down a little in numbers from 2023, this year’s competition saw 280 judges from 37 countries, many of whom were from outside the United States. This elite group of judges evaluated 9,300 entries, with 2,060 participating breweries, from 50 countries. Judging of the 172 beer styles took place over nine days totaling 18 sessions.
Texas craft beer producers showed the rest of the nation that the Armadillo State (yeah, Texas has other nicknames) can brew with the best of them.
Yesterday Texas craft breweries brought home an impressive 19 medals at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival in Colorado — Alamo City-area breweries accounted for three of the state's total medal haul. The festival, which draws tens of thousands of people annually, is considered the industry's most prestigious competition in the U.S.
Samsaric Brewing Co out of Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania will release their passion fruit witbier this Friday, June 9th. Previously released last year the beer will make its Texas debut at Mort Subite Belgian beer bar and Celis Brewery in honor of Kama Sutra Day. Yes, that Kama Sutra.
The 2023 Craft Brewers Conference is in the books and with it another World Beer Cup. The world’s most prestigious beer competition, which had been held every two years, became a yearly battle starting last year. Setting itself apart from other competitions, the World Beer Cup commemorates brewing from around the world with judges and entries from around the world.
This year’s competition saw 272 judges from 26 countries, many of whom were from outside the United States. This elite group of judges evaluated 10,213 beers, with 2,376 participating breweries, from 51 countries. Judging of the 176 beer styles took place over nine days totaling 18 sessions.
Winners of First Annual Texas Craft Brewers Cup Revealed at Brewers Gathering
AUSTIN, Texas (February 12, 2022) —The Texas Craft Brewers Guild awarded 81 medals to 57 small and independent breweries from across the Lone Star State in the non-profit trade association’s first statewide craft beer competition.
The best Texas craft beers in 27 medal categories covering 150+ different beer styles were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals during an awards ceremony at the Texas Craft Brewers Guild’s Annual Meeting at Hilton Austin on Saturday, February 12. Judging took place January 29-30 in Austin with 37 judges evaluating 755 anonymized entries from 131 breweries hailing from all different corners of the state. The Texas Craft Brewers Cup judging pool was comprised of experienced brewing industry professionals and members of the homebrewing community with extensive Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judging experience.
Texas craft beer producers showed the rest of the nation that the Armadillo State (yeah, Texas has other nicknames) can brew with the best of them.
Yesterday Texas craft breweries brought home an impressive 19 medals at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival in Colorado — Alamo City-area breweries accounted for three of the state's total medal haul. The festival, which draws tens of thousands of people annually, is considered the industry's most prestigious competition in the U.S.
Winners of First Annual Texas Craft Brewers Cup Revealed at Brewers Gathering
AUSTIN, Texas (February 12, 2022) —The Texas Craft Brewers Guild awarded 81 medals to 57 small and independent breweries from across the Lone Star State in the non-profit trade association’s first statewide craft beer competition.
The best Texas craft beers in 27 medal categories covering 150+ different beer styles were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals during an awards ceremony at the Texas Craft Brewers Guild’s Annual Meeting at Hilton Austin on Saturday, February 12. Judging took place January 29-30 in Austin with 37 judges evaluating 755 anonymized entries from 131 breweries hailing from all different corners of the state. The Texas Craft Brewers Cup judging pool was comprised of experienced brewing industry professionals and members of the homebrewing community with extensive Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judging experience.
Maverick Whiskey— owned by Kenneth Maverick, the fourth-great-grandson of Samuel Maverick, one of the more prominent figures in Texas independence and San Antonio history — has just released its grain-to-glass Samuel Maverick Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Made from a mash of 72% corn grown right here in Texas, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley, their barrel proof is milled, mashed, and distilled all in-house at Maverick.
Cowboys, the Alamo, barbecue, and high school football—these are only a few things that come to mind when you hear “Texas.” Until recently, Texas whiskey certainly would not have been mentioned. In fact, just a decade ago, there were only two whiskey distilleries in Texas: Balcones Distilling in Waco, and Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye. So, unless you were already into whiskey or bourbon, even living in Texas would not guarantee you knew about Texas Whiskey.
Opening this coming Saturday August 29, owner and head brewer James Hansen is hoping Brew Monkey Beer will become a destination within San Antonio. The California native started his brewing career cleaning tanks at Devil’s Canyon Brewing in San Carlos, California, and would eventually go on to handle production procurement and brewing for Gordon Biersch Brewing Company’s production facility.
San Antonio’s latest brewery launches this week on the city’s Northwest side. Nestled away at 4700 Timco West, Longtab Brewing sits just inside the 410 Loop off Bandera road. The Alamo City’s latest brewpub has a two-fold opening this week, with coffee operations having started yesterday at 7 A.M., slinging their single-origin Guatemalan coffee. Patrons will get a chance to try the beer later this week, with small bites from the kitchen.
Another Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is in the books and with it another awards competition. In all, 322 judges from 18 countries took the measure of 9,497 entries from 2,295 breweries, making it the largest GABF competition in the festival’s 33-year history. This years’ competition saw 401 first-time entrants, 37 first-time winners, with 318 total medals awarded.
Texas breweries once again did very well, taking home 16 medals overall: 8 Gold, 3 Silver, and 5 Bronze.
I rarely write a true editorial these days. My coverage of the adult beverage world typically comprises books and research articles. However, in light of yesterday’s momentous day, I felt the need to share my personal thoughts.
How did we get here?
Trying to modernize beer laws in Texas has been an arduous journey over the last 10 years. Until 2011, most of the industry did not think change was possible. Distributors were locked into contracts with the big breweries, and any change to the laws that affected distributors and macro brewers was shut down before a bill could even be introduced. Attempts were made in 2007 and 2009 to pass bills that allowed beer-to-go (taking purchased beer home from a brewery), on-premise consumption (drinking beer from the brewery at the brewery), truth in labeling, and even the right to tell consumers where a brewery’s beer could be purchased. Always to no avail. The old boys club between some legislators and distributors (the biggest bully being the Wholesale Distributors of Texas) was just too powerful.
Pierre Celis’ name is synonymous with the Belgian-style witbier, or “white,” beer style. In 1966 Celis resurrected the style when he founded Celis Brewery in Hoegaarden, Belgium, the epicenter of witbier for the last 400 years. Prior to Pierre, witbier had been last brewed by the Tomsin Brewery in Hoegaarden, where Celis apprenticed as a teenager.
By 1985, Pierre Celis had not only brought the Belgian-style witbier back to Belgium, but the style had also spread all over the world. In 1991 he moved his brewery to Austin, Texas becoming the city’s first craft brewery.
Tullamore D.E.W., named for original distiller and later owner, Daniel E. Williams, has long been synonymous with Irish whiskey. Founded in 1829 in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, the distillery remained open until 1954, when it closed its doors. The brand was purchased by William Grant & Sons, the family-owned distillery behind Glenfiddich Scotch Whiskey and Hendricks Gin, in 2010.
In 2014, William Grant & Sons re-opened Tullamore with a new pot distillery, officially telling the world that Tullamore was back. In 2017, they opened a brand spanking new grain distillery next door to the pot distillery, both located on the site of the original Tullamore distillery. For a company that had long blended sourced spirits for distilling, making the move to grain-to-glass was huge.
Last year, Islla St. Brewing Co. introduced themselves to San Antonio at the San Antonio Beer Festival in the Dignowity neighborhood of downtown.
Now, San Antonio’s newest brewery is ready to bring their wares to the public this weekend, with a more formal opening to include special events set for next weekend.
“We’re excited to finally open our doors to San Antonio,” said Joaquin Pena co-founder and brewer for Islla Street. “It’s been a long three year road and we’re ready to bring our unique brews to everyone.” Pena and brother Josh draw heavily from their cultural influences to create beers that they hope will highlight the unique flavors of their heritage. Josh handles the front end of the house, as well as brewing with Joaquin.
Today has all the ear marks of being a great day. Outside of the pending rain, San Antonio sees the grand opening of Roadmap Brewing Co., headed up by Texas transplant Dustin Baker, along with his wife and father. Baker, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, took to San Antonio after several visits with his wife to visit his sister.
Baker, who, like many, caught the brewing bug after a homebrew kit was gifted to him and once in the Alamo City, felt the urge to open his own brewery. Baker saw a bustling, but still largely untapped market. After months of looking for a location, he took possession of the keys to his location at North Alamo and 8th Street. Baker came upon his brewery’s name after talking with his architect and wishing there was a roadmap to opening a brewery.
nother Craft Brewers Conference is in the books and with it another World Beer Cup. Held every two years, the World Beer Cup sets its self apart from other competitions like the Great American Beer Festival and the U.S. Open Beer Championships, as the competition is on an international scale and not limited to entrants from only the United States.
This year’s competition saw judges from 33 countries, a whopping 72 percent of whom were from outside the United States. This elite group of judges evaluated 8,234 beers, an increase of 25 percent over the number of entries at the 2016 World Beer Cup, held in Philadelphia. Of the 2,515 participating breweries, 807 were from outside the United States.
1978. That was the year that Charlie Papazian published the first issue of Zymurgy Magazine ,along with Charlie Matzen and announced the formation of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA). That same year homebrewing became legal in the United States thanks to President Jimmy Carter. Charlie (he wouldn’t let me call him Mr. Papazian) had been teaching homebrewing classes for years prior to legalization.
He’s authored several books focusing on homebrewing, including the now classic 'The Complete Joy of Homebrewing’, which has been updated many times over the years. His original wooden brewing spoon now resides at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. He’s taught thousands of students, many of whom went on to found commercial breweries including Colorado’s Governor John Hickenlooper, who founded the Wynkoop Brewing Company.
Not ones to give up, the State’s brewers continued with the campaign for education to show just how these archaic beer laws were and how much of a stranglehold they were placing on small business in Texas. They were joined by the grassroots consumer advocacy group Open The Taps, who formed in 2011 in response to the legislative defeat, and together with a few friendly distributors, were able to make some headway in 2013 having a few laws changed for the better.
Though some advancement was seen in 2013, a little was lost as well. When the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions rolled around, the states small and independent brewers saw more inaction. With Open The Taps fading and the distributor lobbies doubling down, it was difficult to see what could be done. With the launch of CraftPac, we have a combined group representing the State’s brewers and consumers giving both a legislative voice.
The Brewers Association, the trade organization which represents the majority of the small and independent craft brewers in the U.S and whose mission it is to promote these breweries, as well as advocate on their behalf, is at it again. The association is known for its efforts to educate beer aficionados about our favorite malted beverage, including how its pairs with food. Each year the association highlights this marriage of food and beer with events like Paired (held during the Great American Beer Festival) and SAVOR. Each event pairs different shelf with different breweries, highlighting this unique relationship.
The Brewers Association has taken this a step further by bringing this unique concept directly to the beer enthusiast. Dubbed the ‘Brewmasters Invitational’ dinner, which pairs five different breweries with five different chefs.
This year's Great American Beer Festival (otherwise known as GABF) competition saw a record 2,217 breweries from around the United States enter a staggering 7,923 brews. The competition saw another record with 276 judges from 13 countries brought together to evaluate the best of American ales, lagers, and specialty brews. Many Texas breweries have been recognized in for their efforts in past years, and 2017 was no different.
This year Texas brought in a record 21 total awards this year 9 gold, 6 silver, and 6 bronze medals with Large Brewpub and Mid-size Brewery winners.
By 1887 Otto Koehler and company had taken over City Brewery and rechartered as the San Antonio Brewing Association. From there it gets wild and crazy through Pearl's second period which runs through 1918 and the start of Prohibition. Welcome to part two of a preview into Pearl; A History of San Antonio's Historic Beer due out December 2017.
" Chapter Four
Though the San Antonio Brewing Association’s beginning is set in 1886, Koehler did not actually leave the Lone Star Brewing Association until 1887. It was during that year that Koehler made his now we'll know trip from San Antonio to Bremen, Germany and to the Kaiser-Beck Brewery to acquire what would become the recipe and trademark for San Antonio Brewing Association’s XXX Pearl Beer.
An alternative theory on how Otto Koehler came upon the name Pearl and possibly the recipe lies with recently discovered match safe bearing the name ‘A. Griesedieck Brewery Co’ with dates stamped on it ranging from 1879-1886, the very year the San Antonio Brewing Association debut its XXX Pearl beer. Coincidence? Perhaps, but consider again that Otto Koehler worked for Anton. Griesedieck. “Kaiser-Beck did not have a Pearl beer and Anton, as well as his future sons, did not continue to call their beer Pearl,” says Charlie Staats a local historian and collector of Texas brewing memorabilia and who discovered the match safe. “It is possible that Otto struck a deal with Anton to purchase the recipe and Pearl name from him, making one wonder what Otto Koehler was actually doing in Germany if he was not at Kaiser-Beck.”
In December of 2015, my first book “San Antonio Beer: Alamo City History by the Pint” was released. Co-written with my friend, and fellow beer writer, Travis Polling, it chronicled the history of brewing in San Antonio from the early 1850's to the present. Two of the chapters alone were just the Pearl. It was through this research I realized that the full scope of Pearl's story could be contained in such a small number of words. Thus my second book "Pearl: A History of San Antonio's Iconic Beer" was born. Though the book will be released in December of this year, I wanted to release a series of 'teaser' posts. Below is the first of six previews.
The early 1880’s were an interesting time for San Antonio. The population had 225,000 by 1880; the city’s second railroad, the International-Great Northern, had arrived and an industrial revolution had gripped the city. Modernization was in full swing, paralleling that of the country’s growth at the time. Having dropped slightly from being the largest city in Texas, San Antonio’s infrastructure boomed as well, with hospitals, paved roads, telephones and the like bringing San Antonio into the modern era and once again the State’s largest city.
