Best Texas Craft Beer of 2012

This year was my first experience with Deep Ellum IPA. Delicious!

 

Raspberry Ananke
Peche'cus

 

Peche'cus
Buddha's Brew
Funk Metal

 

Buddha's Brew

 

Jester King RU-55
ABW Einhorn
Thirsty Planet Jittery Monk
Live Oak Roggenbier
Deep Ellum Rocktoberfest

 

SA pumpkinator
Karbach bodacious
512 wdpp

 

ummm....St. Arnolds Endeavor. By far, the greatest TX-made beer released this year.

 

Adelberts, Flyin Monk, black rhino. (i think these were '12 releases, if not, i just never had them til now lol)

Punkinator

 

Southern Star Pro-Am 2012

 

Deep Ellum Wealth and Taste

There have been a bunch of very good releases this year, but not a lot are what I'd call great. Wealth and Taste was the first beer the Wowed me this year.

I really enjoyed the first taste of Barrel Aged Gingerbread Stout that Buffalo Brewing Co. brought to the Draft. But a second taste at their Rockwell beer dinner wasn't good at all. I think they messed with the beer or had different barrels because it wasn't the same beer. It wasn't even as good as the regular Gingerbread Stout.

I'd give honorable mention to Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter.

 

ABW Einhorn
Jester King Das Uberkind
Karbach BBA Hellfighter

 

ABW Sputnik
ABW Einhorn
512 WBADPP
SA Pumpkinator
Hops and Grain Alt
Real Ale Mysterium Verum Imperium

 

H&G / Draughthouse Grapefruit IPA
Jester King RU-55
H&G BA Alt
Live Oak Kellerbier
Freetail Raspberry Ananke

 

For me, more than any other year, this year produced a ton of great Texas beers. Here are my favorites that I would call "world class", and in the order in which I liked them:

Uncle Billys Barrel-Aged Capt. Ivan Drago’s Russian Imperial Stout
Lakewood Bourbon Street Temptress
Jester King/Mikkeller Beer Geek Rodeo
Freetail Peche’cus
Jester King/Mikkeller Whiskey Barrel Rodeo
Deep Ellum Wealth & Taste
Deep Ellum IPA
Guadalupe Oaked Scotch Ale
Real Ale Mysterium Verum Volume XV
Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel #1
Real Ale Scots Gone Wild
Austin Beerworks Einhorn
Freetail Hopothesis F
Deep Ellum Sorachi Ace/Green Tea IPA
Jester King Buddha’s Brew

Cheers!
Chad

 

This list is probably quite fantastic!

Problem is, the hoops you have to jump through to have most of these beers is pretty daunting. This is a big problem with Texas beer and I hope this is rectified soon.

It's amazing what awful beer laws due to stunt growth. Just one trip to Michigan/Indiana/Illinois made this quite obvious. Good beer is available everywhere and you don't have to go to great lengths to get it.

I hope 2013 shows even more growth and more amazing beers that aren't so hard to find.

 

Though I am a New Yorker I spent a lot of time in Houston this year as I have family there and got to enjoy many of the wonderful craft brews being produced across the state. The Southern Star Pro-Am was not only one of the best Texas DIPAs I had in 2012, but one of the best beers period.

 

Thirsty Planet Frankin's BBQ Smoked Porter
ABW Sputnik
JK Funk Metal
Freetail Peche'cus
JK/Mikkeller Beer Geek Rodeo

 

SA Pumpkinator

 

Live Oak released a Kellerbier this year Man, I wish I could of gotten a hold of some of that.

For me, my favorite release this year is pretty easy. After that it is a toss up:

1: Deep Ellum Wealth & Taste
2: Real Ale Brewers Cut Black Quad
3: Saint Arnold Endeavor
4: Live Oak Schwarzbeir
5: Karback Pontificator

I think my favorite brewery this year has been Deep Ellum. I could have almost made a top 5 with just their beers: Wealth & Taste, Rye Pils, Farmhouse Wit, and Darkest Hour are all awesome.