I have a coworker in Austin, TX visiting our office in Boston in a couple weeks. He offered to bring me out a couple bottles of beer. However, I do not know much about the beer in that area, so I thought I would ask you guys. I was hoping to get some recommendations on what to ask for. I am looking for something available in Austin area bottle shops around now, something I would only find in the Southwest, and something that is delicious. I like most styles of beers, but I guess my favorites are pale ales and sours. I was thinking of asking for something from Jester King, but wasn't what. Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
You can't go wrong with any of the Jester King beers. I've had most of them and they are amazing. If he's willing to swing by the brewery this weekend, he'll be able to buy some of the more hard to get, brewery only stuff. Not sure if they've sold out of nocturn, by that alone is worth th trip. There's speculation that atrial will be released in the next couple of weeks also. Some of the local bottle shops carry JK stuff, and I've seen provenance recently, but the brewery is the best place for those beers. Other than that, Yellow Rose is a great IPA you should definitely try. See if he can get you a growler of Live Oak Hefeweizen as well. Great summer beer.
For me, I need more information about what your coworker is willing to do and how knowledgeable about beer and the scene he is. Ordinary people aren't stumbling across Yellow Rose right now. He is probably going to have to watch out on Twitter or otherwise know when a shipment comes in to a specific place. I completely support that recommendation, but it's not going to happen unless he's willing to do a little work or is already in the know. Otherwise, it sounds like if he's willing to go out to Jester King, it's probably best to just have him go there and pick up a few things. Whatever is available at the time. Whenever Atrial is released, it will be a shitshow at the brewery, but it's not hard to get as long as he's willing to go out there and fight some crowds. If he's more of a casual beer drinker, then he should probably just go to Whichcraft, East 1st Grocery or Sunrise Minimart and just ask them for recommendations for local stuff. And Whichcraft is probably your best bet for that. There are plenty of places with good selections, but your likelihood of having staff on hand to help you is sketchy. If he went to any of those 3 places, someone there would be able to help and they're in 3 different areas of town, so he doesn't have to drive too far.
If you want a good shelf beer, everyone has been raving about Metamodern by Oasis Brewing. It's available in virtually every grocer in Austin. I'm not wowed by it, but everyone else seems to be.
Hops & Grain's Porter Culture Independence's Stash or Redbud Real Ale's Sisyphus or Lost Gold Adelbert's Philosophizer Should be able to find these at Whichcraft on S. Lamar
Great, thanks for the advice guys. I will give him a list based on your suggestions, and ask him to check out one of the bottleshops suggested or head to Jester King brewery.
