Christmas Beer, Texas Style

For those who have visited Texas and gone in search of good beer you know what a difficult search that can be. Now they're nowhere near as bad off as the southern states to the east but when you come from a beer rich environment like Portland, or even Minneapolis-St. Paul for that matter, the difference is immediately noticeable.

That isn't to say that there isn't good beer to be found, it's just much harder to find. It is, however, reassuring to see some old favorites - Summit Brewing (St. Paul, MN) is available as is Deschutes - and then there are some other well known breweries like Ska and Harpoon. While I didn't find a wealth of beer, there was enough to make it through the short, three-night visit over Christmas, including a thoughtfully purchased six pack sampler of Shiner my dad picked up in advance of our arrival.

An unintended "experiment" also yielded good results. Upon opening the extra fridge to store the beer we had just purchased we ran across two bottles of Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA and two cans of Ska Modus Hoperandi. While they might have been better a year ago when I first purchased them, time hadn't treated them too badly and they were still quite tasty.

Hopefully wherever your holidays were spent, be it beer rich Portland or beer poor areas of the country, you were able to find something tasty to accompany your celebrations.

A Trio of Thanksgiving Beers

Happy Cyber Monday! Did everyone enjoy their Thanksgiving? I know I enjoyed eating what was surely a year’s allotment of turkey, stuffing, potatoes and dessert. Oh, yes, and of course there was beer.

In my last post you’ll recall my lamenting of this year’s Thanksgiving destination, Dallas, as one of the virtual wastelands of good beer. I’m happy to report that things turned out much better than I anticipated.

Since our family actually did The Big Meal on Friday, I headed out in search of beer on Thursday. I figured there wouldn’t be any problem finding open liquor stores but after my first stop on liquor store row I started to get concerned. It, along with the rest of the roads I had traveled, resembled the post apocalypse (less the roaming bands of zombies). After making it to the end of the row and turning around, I spied one more place boasting a neon OPEN sign.

Walking in I was a little disturbed as all of the patrons appeared to have been past their prime, not too far removed from rotting flesh zombies. (That may be a little extreme but these were not the folks stopping in for something to bring as a contribution to a lively Thanksgiving dinner.) But as I hooked a right and took in the beer coolers, the skies opened and the birds began to sing. There were many readily recognizable beers, and not just the “will do” variety. In fact, there were so many choices I had to reign myself in and remember that I would be flying out in less than 48 hours.

So what did I end up with?

BrooklynBrewery Local 2 (bomber) – While I’ve heard of Brooklyn, I’m not sure I’ve had any of their brews nor am I sure if it’s distributed on the West Coast. Described as a bottle conditioned Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed with honey and spices, I was intrigued even if I wasn’t sure I would like it. As it turned out, it wasn’t too bad, not something I’d buy again, but something I’d recommend to others who like the style.

Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi (6 pack – cans) – This was my concession to buying something that I already knew I liked. I’d had it at The Guild’s Can Fest over the summer and in addition to a great label, it’s a hop-packed brew. Yum!

Harpoon Brewery Leviathan Series Imperial IPA (4 pack) – Another brewery/beer I hadn’t had and didn’t think I’d be able to find back in Portland. The beer was packing heat at 10% ABV and may have been more than I needed, I couldn’t say no, it was a holiday after all. It was a bit boozy but well balanced overall and I think that the remaining two bottles in my grandmother’s fridge will age better than the two bottles (a brown and a pale) I found from my last visit (at least 1 ½ years ago).

Were there any Thanksgiving beer winners on your table?