American Craft Beer Week 2012

Here are a couple things going on around Houston.
More ACBW events listed by Beer, TX : click here
More ACBW events listed by Examiner.com : click here

Monday:
- Karbach @ Baker Street Bar, Katy
- Real Ale @ Poison Girl
- St. Arnold @ BRC Beer Dinner

Tuesday:
- Rahr @ Canyon Creek: Limited launch glassware! Ugly Pug, Texas Red and Blonde plus good eats!
- Real Ale @ Petrol Station
- St. Arnold @ BRC (RSVP)

Wednesday: -
- Independence @ Onion Creek  (7pm)
- No Label @ Public House
- Rahr @ Saucer downtown: Launch party. Specially made Flying Saucer glassware with beer purchase. VERY limited!
- Real Ale @ Canyon Creek
- Schmaltz @ Petrol Station, tapping He’brew Jewbelation “13”
- Twisted Pine Brewing Specials @ Onion Creek

Thursday: -
- Rahr @ B.R.C.:  1/2 price appetizers and $3 Pints! (appetizer menu at bottom**)
- Real Ale @ Saucer Downtown
- Saint Arnold @ Boondoggles “Victory Celebration”
- Schmaltz @ Whole Foods Montrose (4-6pm)
- Schmaltz @ Onion Creek, Pint Night (7pm)
- Schmaltz @ Hay Merchant with Jewbelation “10”, (9pm)

Friday: -
Karbach @ Firkin & Phoenix: tapping Hop Barran Cask 7pm
No Label @ Boondoggles
St. Arnold* @ Astro’s Game

Saturday:
Karbach @ B.R.C.  Meet -n- Greet Lunch/Brunch with the Brewer
Rahr @ Longwood Golf Course, Cypress: 9 holes & 3 Rahr Beers

Sunday:
North Coast @ B.R.C. : Acme Brunch & Le Merle mimosas. 

Liberty Station will also be running craft beer special all week long, and special tappings will be announced via Facebook and twitter.

Bunker Hill Beer has a sale on Saint Arnold Endeavour all week in honor of ACBW.

*St. Arnold also heading out to New Orleans for the weekend…

** BRC appetizers with Rahr on Thursday:
-Poutine avec Duck Confit: Duck leg, fries, gravy & gruyere cheese paired with Ugly Pug.
-Deviled Eggs & Fried Oysters w/ chicken fried bacon & smoked paprika paired w/ Summertime Wheat
-Mini Beer Brat Corbdogs w/ ale fondue & honey mustard paired with Rahr’s Blonde

Some different articles/ blogs / slideshows of the 2012 TEXAS beer Fest**.

Reviews:
Houston Press: 2nd Annual Texas Beer Fest a Success
The 9-5-0 Beer Page: TxBF
Aggieland Rail Scene: Texas Beer Fest

Picture Slideshows:
29-95, Houston
Houston Press
9-5-0 Beer Page Pics

- As always, check out our Facebook page and flickr for more pictures.

** If there is one thing you should take away from this website, is that this is the TEXAS Beer Fest. We are not connected to anyone else, check our FAQ’s.

The ‘officers’ of the Texas Beer Fest want to send out a big HUGE thanks!! to everyone that helped make our 2nd year such a great one. Moving from Humble last year to downtown was a big leap of faith, and we like to think that our festival helps show local politicians and business leaders that the craft beer community is growing and can have a positive impact in the local community.

Our volunteers did a fabulous job, and stepped up where they were needed to make sure everyone had a safe and enjoyable day. Our fest could not run without the help of our volunteers, Brewers, Distributors, and our Sponsors, so to them we send our utmost appreciation.

All of us are headed back to our normal day-jobs this week, but we will get photos up soon as we can.

Cheers!
- TxBF officers

P.S. Vive Le Craft Beer Revolution.

For more information on particulars for the day:

Events page: Pre-fest events & Post-fest parties
Travel Page: Info about parking, directions, & G-Man / Lucky’s  shuttles.
Music Line-Up: The upcoming soundtrack of our festival.
Brickhouse Tavern + Tap VIP ticket: some very nice ‘extras.’
Specialty Wall & “State of the Craft” discussion panel.
Last Year’s Press: What we did last year.
Food Vendors: Great food slection to pair with your beer.

We’re starting a newsletter for those that feel they are just not getting enough emails in a day… We won’t be emailing every day, just a couple times leading up to the Texas Beer Fest on April 28th.

Sign up, and we’ll be happy to let you know what we are up to and what we have planned, beyond the obvious “creating a great craft beer festival.”

Email newsletter Sign up.

Come join us Wednesday night, April 4th, for TxBF Pint glass night at the Flying Saucer downtown. Austin Beerworks will have a special beer that you can buy a pint of, and keep the Texas Beer Fest glass it is served in.

Additionally, we will be on hand to celebrate Clif’s plate party. He has achieved that mile stone at the Flying Saucer that so many great men and women have achieved before him.

We strive to be a beer festival this city and state can be proud of. We put our names on what we do and stand behind our decisions.

We consider beer to be an artisan craft, which is why we treat it with respect at our festival. Beer will always be our priority at our festival, but we do support other local area artists and craftsmen by inviting local musicians and food vendors to enhance the festival experience.

We strive to be a festival that encourages any person that might be curious about craft beer to come and experience what there is on offer. We strive to truly have a craft beer festival, even if that means not having in attendance 15 breweries that specialize in light lager.

We strive to show the stadiums, ballparks, and rodeo arenas in Houston and the entire state, that there is growing local support for our local breweries and to offer them would be to offer more reasons for tourists to see the uniqueness of our city and state.
- Houston is the only city in the world where you can get St. Arnold, Buffalo Bayou Brewing, Karbach, No Label, and Southern Star in one place, and we’re very proud of that.

You have our word on it.
- Clif & Jake, & the rest of the TxBF officers

   What a year for Texas Beer! Not only have we seen an explosion in beer festivals around the state, but we’re in the middle of a boom of brewery openings, and even changed a law regarding labeling. It’s an exciting time for beer in Texas, and we’re proud to be part of it. Proud to be part of the group of events that are designed to promote our own local, regional, national, and international craft products. Proud to educate people about craft beer. Proud to show that beer is not just for getting trashed over the weekend, but rather that it can be part of a diverse collage of culture, history, flavor, and geekiness.

This year’s Texas Beer Festival beer selection has been very exciting to come up with. Again, we have stayed clear of the big three and their overly marketed, under flavored products. We have stuck with our original mantra of Texas Craft Beer coming first, while celebrating national and international selections that we believe to have merit in the craft world, and are important to the history of beer.

Our Texas selection last year encompassed 17 breweries from around the state. This year, we have approached over 50 brewing companies (yes, there are that many in the works or working), encouraging them that want to showcase them as part of our brewing community – when they’re ready to do so. Many still are working on recipe development, building brewhouses, or even developing their concept. Twenty-three will be in attendance this year. New breweries such as Buffalo Bayou Brewing, Karbach, South Austin, Deep Ellum, and Texas Big Beer will be making their first appearance at the Texas Beer Festival, and we can’t wait to show off their beer. We know you’ll find
something fun and exciting.

As far as national and international brands go, you’ll find a number of breweries that have just arrived in the state. We don’t want to, and in some cases can’t, divulge all of the breweries that will be fresh to the state, but we can say that you should look out for some excellent sours and well crafted beers that some have been begging for.

All in all, we’ve got about 70 breweries on our list. It is wholly craft-centric, and ranges from the new-to-craft friendly to the beer-geek-wetting-themselves over some selections. It’s going to be a fun day.

–
- Jake Lewis, Beer Commander

We need YOU to support the craft brewing revolution!

Even as we speak, millions of dollars are being poured into advertising and local pockets to stifle our local brewers (our own neighbors!) and support the grip that flavorless yellow swill has on our community- on our radio stations, our sports teams, and our magazines.

Change is happening! You can be part of it! Volunteer at the Texas Beer Fest and strive for a better tomorrow: a tomorrow where you can buy a brewer’s beer at the brewery tour; where our sports stadiums proudly sell beer brewed and owned by its citizens; where we can have more than one Texas beer at a Texas sized rodeo!

Texas Beer Fest is celebrating Texas Independence Day (well, the day after, really) with a crawfish boil!
March 3rd kicking off about 1pm at Liberty Station: 2101 Washington Ave, Houston, TX 77007

Strap on your boots, take off your jewelry, and get ready to dive into a plate of crawfish and enjoy some great local beer.

St. Arnold’s Farmer Brown aged in a Chardonnay cask, plus some DR11 bottles, No Label’s Elda M. Milk Stout, and whatever else the Liberty Station might be able to find in their cellar.

Liberty Station (where they have ‘no crap on tap’) opens at noon, and the boil will begin promptly thereafter.

More details as they become available. Facebook event page here.

Vive Le Craft Beer Revolution!