There’s no better way to start off a new year of craft beer reviews then with a dependable well-made IPA like Hop Gusher! This hoppy fruit inspired concoction is on the year round list of the young but hard charging brewers of Spindletap and their two ingenious brew masters. When I...
8th Wonder Brewery did the city justice with Hopston. It's a TX IPA that's light on the tongue, but not light on flavor. I really dig 8th Wonder for their creativity - not only in the beers themselves, but in their names and artwork. Hopston's no different. Hopston is bit stronger in flavor than other IPAs I've had, but it's...
Pine Belt Pale Ale is a bit aggressive for the style, but I still really enjoyed it. It's a year round beer and suitably so as it's refreshing enough to stand up to the Houston heat that fills 10 months of our calendars. APAs are typically a bit more gentle than IPAs when it comes to IBUs, ABV, and hop flavor, but this one...
Rye beers are often moderate in bitterness which allows the spicy and sour characters to flow through the beer, and Ryed Hard is no exception to that style. It’s initial aroma and fragrance gives hints of a mellow citrus that may confuse the drinker, but it in fact...
So there I was, sitting at the bar scanning the chalk board with the list of beer on tap at Hop Stop Humble, and im trying to decide which to get my growler filled with. I'm trying to decide between a few IPA's when out of the corner of my eye I see one I had somehow missed, 7 Spanish Angels from our friends at Brazos Valley Brewing. I tasted it and quickly decided that was the clear choice. Described as Coffee Brown Ale, I expected more of...
Down in Richmond, there’s a new brewery that started putting out cans of its fresh, new beer. That brewery is Running Walker. I happened upon their canned goods at Total Wine by my house and decided to take some of their Running Walker Stout home...
Honey Hole at first seems like nothing special, but you know what they say about looks (If you don’t know, then go look it up. I’ll wait). This beer when poured has an average glow of blonde with hints of citrus and floral that waft into your nostrils. A miniscule amount of head is formed and...
Hop Gusher's got the sort of balance that's a bit rare in IPAs - I feel like the malt backbone and sweetness counteract the hop flavor and hop bitterness that typically turns off macro drinkers, although both are still there and very enjoyable. It starts off light on the palette, despite an aggressive...
Citra Mellow IPA is my first beer from Galveston Island Brewing. Very mild, would be a killer beer for the beach! Very mellow to start, hop bitterness to finish. Slight floral notes along with a sneaky high ABV. A very good intro to IPAs as it not very hoppy/bitter at all. An easy drinking, all day type of beer. ...
Honey Hole ESB is a terrific beer from SpindleTap Brewery, and it's one of my favorites from them. I think I enjoy it so much because it's a bit unusual to see an ESB, and Honey Hole really hits the spot for the style (pun wholly intended). ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter, and Honey Hole's extra special, alright! It starts off clean and...
From the immediate pour to the lift of the glass, I was swarmed with caramel hints and what seemed like coffee undertones. The beer’s physical appearance was a copper with murkiness that allowed very little light to shine through, it seemed almost thick but allowed a thin lace of head to rest on top. My first taste was...
Citra Mellow is a special beer. The team and I have been on a hunt for the last few weeks to gather a handful of certain "special" beers from around the Greater Houston area, and Citra Mellow was on that list. (More info on why it's special soon.) We got word that Galveston Island Brewing had started canning Citra Mellow, and the day the cans were available, we made a drive down to Galveston for a couple 6 packs....
8th Wonder Brewery did the city justice with Hopston. It's a TX IPA that's light on the tongue, but not light on flavor. I really dig 8th Wonder for their creativity - not only in the beers themselves, but in their names and artwork. Hopston's no different. Hopston is bit stronger in flavor than other IPAs I've had, but it's...
Every single time (and I mean every time) I pop the top of that 12oz aluminum can the memories of my days in Germany come flooding back. The aroma is crisp and clean, reminding me of the abundant wheat beers and taps that flowed like honey during festivals. Its Vienna malt...
The Ranga is my first beer from Platypus Brewing, and it tastes great! I've never had an Australian beer, so I didn't know what to expect, but something told me Platypus would be churning out great beer. It starts off clean and sweet and the sweetness continues all the way through until...
I looked at Copperhead Breweries website and was delighted to see that this was a small craft brewery based out of Conroe that distributed only in Texas; making it a true Texan made beer for Texans. The reason for my cheerfulness was that...
One thing about Yellow Rose is, although average in looks, its overpowering smell arrived before the beer touched my lips. It was a full blitz of citrus and fruity blended aromas. My first taste was absolutely pure bliss. Its perfect blend of citrus flavors with just the right amount of hops made this the smoothest IPA I have ever...
Baa Baa Brewhouse is quickly becoming a force in the local beer scene. They have a solid line up, and I think this Father Goose IPA is the headliner! No disrespect to the other beers they brew - they're legit, Father Goose is just that much better to me. Man, hold up, this might just be Beer Chronicle history in the making! I don't think I've ever...
Yellow Rose IPA is touted as one of the best beers in Houston, but that's a pretty bold statement. While the dank, resinous IPAs are good, and so are the crisp floral ones, this Yellow Rose sits right in the middle, pulling from the best of each. That's why I thought it was...
Sweet Salvation is the brown ale to end all brown ales. While it's not as heavy as it looks, it's full of flavor - not for the faint of heart. It's malty, nutty and roasty tasting. It starts off with a powerful roasted malt flavor and ends with thick chocolatey, coffee notes. I really liked it....