Jeremy Banas
Texas Wins Big at the 2024 World Beer Cup in ...

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 Wins Big at the 2024 World Beer Cup in Las Vegas
Beer and cocktails
Jeremy Banas
San Antonio Breweries Make a Splash At The 2023 ...

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.

San Antonio Breweries Make a Splash At The 2023 Great American Beer Festival
Beer and cocktails
Jeremy Banas
Samsaric Brewing Company Collaborates with Two ...

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.

Samsaric Brewing Company Collaborates with Two Austin Staples
Jeremy Banas
Texas Wins Big at the 2023 World Beer Cup

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.

Texas Wins Big at the 2023 World Beer Cup
Beer and cocktails
Jeremy Banas
First Annual Texas Craft Brewers Cup

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.

First Annual Texas Craft Brewers Cup

San Antonio

Pearl Brewing: A Book Teaser Part II

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.”

It's A StrangeTail After All

It's a tale of two cities. It's a strange tale. It's a tale of two breweries. It's StrangeTail VI. StrangeTail is collaboration between Denver’s Strange Craft Brewing and our own Freetail Brewing here in San Antonio, now in its sixth year. It's collaboration not just between two brewers but between two friends.

Strange Craft’s Tim Myers and Freetail’s Jason Davis first met in 2010 during the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. “His (Tim Myers) small, then nano-brewery lying in the shadow of Mile High Field, was in its first year of production and appeared on the front page of the Denver Post.  Our small crew hiked down there to taste their wares and we’ve been friends ever since.”says Davis describing their first meeting.

Since then, Myers and Davis have had collaborations in both Denver and San Antonio each year. Although the IPA style has dominated their collaborations, the two brewers have also released a hoppy Saison brewed with Piloncillo and a couple of versions of Berliner-Weisse that have included hibiscus, cherry, and ancho chiles. This will be the first time the collaboration will be brewed at Freetail’s production facility on S. Presa St in San Antonio.

This year’s collaboration comes in the form of a hoppy lager, or Texas Lager as the guys refer to it. “We wanted to brew something reminiscent of both cities, yet was easy drinking for the upcoming summer” said Myers. Colorado grown Chinook hops were used in addition to lemondrop hops, Weyermann Pilsner, Vienna and Carafa malts. Expect a very hop forward lager due to late hop editions. The brew should come in around 5-6% ABV, perfect for both Colorado and Texas summers.

As with the last three years, StrangeTail will be entered in the Colorado Collaboration Festival, now in its fourth year and highlights brewery collaborations, giving brewers a way to “brew a unique beer with another brewery.” “The festival will feature 75 projects and 100 breweries,” said Alexandra Weissner of Alexa PR. This year’s festival will be held March 25th in Denver. The festival was created by Two Parts, a Denver based ticketing co, and the Colorado Brewers Guild.

StrangeTail VI will be available in the Alamo City at Freetail’s South Presa location, as well as the usual bars around San Antonio, with a few kegs making their way to Colorado for the festival. As to when it will be available? “When it's ready” said Davis.  You're quite the comedian Mr. Davis.

 

Photo Credit: BeerPulse

 

 

Weathered Souls Opens It's Doors To Excited Beer Fans

Weathered Souls Opens It's Doors To Excited Beer Fans

The wait is finally over. On November 19, Weathered Souls Brewing Co celebrated their grand opening in a very grand fashion. With doors opening at noon, the guys at Weathered Souls (located at 606 Embassy Oaks, suite 500) celebrated long and hard until around midnight with eight hundred of their closest friends. Attendees began lining up around 11:00am awaiting the formal ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:30am and to be first to get a crack at the brew they have been eagerly waiting try.

The décor inside the restaurant side of the brewpub is simple. Sleek concrete floors that are stained a glossy brown hat matches the marble style counter tops, tables and chairs. Comforting earth tones adorn the walls with a tile back splash accenting the sixteen taps available. Next to the restaurant side, is a rolling garage door separating the brewhouse that features a twenty barrel brewing system and several forty barrel fermenters, as well as the cold room and future barrel program.