Hi there, I'm from Chicago and I don't plan on moving any time soon. A friend of mine who is one of the people that got me into beer recently relocated to Houston and I was curious to know what you guys drink. What are the Houston area whales? Also what local stuff that I've probably never heard of is worth hunting out. I know he's missing some Chicago area beer and would love to send him down some recommendations, etc. So if you got a top 5, 10, or what have you I'm curious to know favorite beers/breweries in the Houston area. Cheers David
Lone Pint is tap only, but their Yellow Rose IPA is world class. It's a tiny brewery in the suburb of Magnolia. Saint Arnold's is the granddaddy of all Houston craft beer. Largest craft brewer in the state, and their regular stuff is available in almost every gas station. I highly reccomend a trip to their brewery. Their Bishop's Barrel (barrel aged) and Divine Reserve series are limited small releases that are highly sought after. Their Endeavor double IPA is also very good when fresh. Karbach is the second largest brewery in town. Brewery tour there is also quite nice. They are very young, very well financed, and one of, if not the fastest growing brewery in the nation. They have a barrel aged series (F.U.N. series) and 008 just came out this week. They have some very good beers in cans at most grocery/liquor stores. Jester King from Austin is quite nice, and worth a trip up for a brewery tour on a weekend. Some of their non sour offerings can be found in bottles around town. Southern Star is another midsize brewery. They make an approachable blonde for the non craft beer crown (Bombshell Blonde) and an outstanding stout (Buried Hatchet) along with some other beers. In cans at most grocery stores. Their brewery is also in the suburbs, about 45 minutes north of downtown. Other area breweries are Buffalo Bayou, Fort Bend, No Label, 8th Wonder, Texian, Cycler's. Most of these except No Label don't bottle anything, are keg only. Buffalo Bayou does bottle some of their special beers in bombers. Here's a great google spreadsheet a fellow BAer made of all Texas Breweries, if they offer tours, etc. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnWkkVrImx3qdFNQRVhuejhCSDZ5TllveFZsX0toTXc#gid=0
Nice I've had the Buried Hatchet Stout from Southern Star and love it. My friend was telling me about St. Arnolds. This helps a lot.
I'm not going to make the relationship between large or as you say "whale" with quality but of the 14 established breweries in Houston Saint Arnold is currently the largest and Karback has some lofty expansion plans as R. Crocker's article points out (http://www.houstonchronicle.com/bus...Karbach-to-build-a-bigger-brewery-5049458.php). But that does not mean the 12 other breweries in the city are not worth your friends tasting time (Brewery Tour times).
As already mentioned, have your friend send you a growler of Lone Pint Yellow Rose. In my opinion, it's one of the best beers coming out of Texas right now.
If you are going to have someone send you a growler, it might as well be Live Oak Hefe, or Pils. From Austin, but only available in TX on tap. Two of the best beers made in the country IMO. Primus should be out any time now, which is another must try. Plenty of places around Houston have LO available for growlers. If your friend keeps up with this forum, he should be pretty well in tune with anything else being released and when.
Nope. Bamberger WeisseWilde Rose Keller ? 4.881 Ritter WeizenSchwetzinger Brauhaus zum Ritter GmbH & Co. KG5.004.851 HefeweizenFountain Square Brewing Co.5.604.791 Nelson WeisseCamba Bavaria5.204.781 HefeweizenBlackhorse Pub & Brewery ? 4.694 Kitzmann WeissbierKitzmann Bräu5.604.62 Isartaler StationsweizenIsar Bräu ? 4.551 Water Sign WheatNew Holland Brewing Company5.504.51 Biere De Rydeen Summer WeizenOH! LA! HO Beer Club5.004.51 WeizenheimerZero Gravity Craft Brewery / American Flatbread5.104.465 FliegerweisseRestaurant Flieger Bräu ? 4.451 WiessBeSte Bräu4.804.431 Fujizakura Kogen HefeweizenFujikankokaihatsu Co. Ltd. / Sylvans Restaurant5.504.436 Weihenstephaner HefeweissbierBayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan5.404.424846 WeizenNaples Beach Brewery5.204.383 The Honey VanillerRolling Meadows Brewery5.004.382 Live Oak HefeWeizenLive Oak Brewing Company5.204.38762
Seriously? A lot of those only have one or two ratings. Live Oak along with Weihenstephaner have almost always been the two highest rated for the style on this site. LO almost to a 1000 reviews/ratings. Both are in the top 100 (or is it 200 now?) as well. Anyway, back on topic... Edit. Sorry, almost 800 ratings, though getting close. I have not looked, but what other Texas beer has that many ratings with that high if a score?
Yeah, all of those EXCEPT Weihenstephaner and Live Oak have less than 10 reviews (most only 1 or 2). I don't think any of them count.
