My boss is on vacation in Texas and said she would pick up a few bottles for me. I just need to let her know a few brands that might be hanging on the shelfs. Help me out please.
Being from Boston myself, I can tell you that Texas is probably bigger than the entire Northeast, so you have to be more specific. Different stuff on the shelves in Houston, Austin, DFW, etc. Where is she, what styles do you like, etc.?
May als let us know what part of town too. Your boss may not want to drive across Houston or DFW either.
Well, that should make it easier finding beer (at least in Austin). You will probably have to go with bottles (but you'll be missing a lot of good stuff that only make it to kegs). The obvious choice is anything Jester King. The other breweries that can/bottle are Austin Beerworks, Hops & Grain, Adelberts, Rogness and one other that is not worth mentioning. The problem with Austin Beerworks is that it is only 6 packs, same goes with H&G (but their 6 packs are good, just no their best stuff IMO). So that leaves you with Adelberts, JK, Rogness and breweries from other areas around TX that bottle. But that is only if you are going for Texas beer.
Send your boss to the Whole Foods in downtown Austin. They'll allow you to break six packs and sell as singles and should have just about anything that is currently available in town. Plus it's their corporate headquarters so it's impressive just to visit anyway.
I was pretty impressed with Zoe and want to know more about what they have - could you elaborate more on what outside of the sixers you've particularly liked?
They do a majority of their beers in their taproom only. They do tastings on Fridays and Saturdays every week, so you can check the lineup on their web site regularly and see whats new. I think they've done 25+ beers in the greenhouse series, with new ones coming on all the time. The Hops & Grain taproom is something of a secret that is always worth the trip!
I would have to agree that Jester King is probably the best option. I'm not really sure what is around in Austin but my favorites are all limited releases. They only make a few year round beers. Black Metal is a farmhouse imperial stout and is probably my favorite that is available year round. My other JK recommendations are sours that are limited release. I also really enjoy Adelbert's. I haven't had all of their beers but Naked Nun is a pretty awesome whit. So far I haven't been disappointed by what I've had from them.
Specs, Gabriels and Heb Central Market in San Antonio. The best would probably be Specs or Gabriels. There's only two specs and I've only been to one so I don't know how the other is. The only good Gabriels is off 1604 and Blanco and there's also a whole foods around the corner in the same shopping center. You can google map the locations to see what she can do.
Massachusetts doesn't get Alaskan, Deschutes, Deep Ellum, Saint Arnold and a bunch of others. I've seen Alaskan Smoked Porter at a few places still. Deschutes has Black Butte Porter, Obsidian Stout, Deep Ellum has canned IPA, Double Brown Stout, and Saint Arnold has a kick ass DIPA called Endeavour. It would help if you narrowed it down to style, how many you expect to bring back, and a preferable format (cans, bottles, growlers).
There's four Spec's locations in SA now, but only two worth going to (De Zavala and Live Oak). The Live Oak location would be a perfect spot if she's commuting between Austin and SA. Selection isn't quite as good as De Zavala, but special releases sometimes stay on the shelf longer due to the location (inconvenient for locals, very convenient for I-35 commuters). Don't just blindly send her looking for Jester King. Some of their beers are much better than others. My favorite right now is Salt Lick (Censored), a smoked sour saison. Not sure about Austin, but it should be pretty easy to find in SA. I really don't like the farmhouse versions of Black Metal or Commercial Suicide. Noble King is a nice hoppy saison and she may find Das Wunderkind as well (more tart than sour). These are just my personal opinions though. Where JK is concerned, just keep in mind that ALL of their tank-aged beers are fermented with saison yeast. It doesn't work well with all styles, imo. Some others to have her keep an eye out for: Real Ale Sisyphus Adelbert's BA Naked Nun (Vintage Series, very tasty) Independence Convict Hill St. Arnold Endeavour
