Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing

Your Guide to American Craft Beer Week in Dallas (Updated)

It's American Craft Beer Week. For many of you, this means it's business as usual. For some of you, it's an excuse to imbibe in some craft beers all week long. The Brewers Association, a national non-profit group, created this "Mother of all Beer Weeks" to advance the beer culture and give beer geek ... More >>

Shock Top Sent Me $100 Worth of Swag and Two Awful Beers. That Sums Them Up Perfectly.

Yesterday I received a box full of suburban "camping" gear and a couple of sample beers from Shock Top, a package that stands as the perfect symbol of Anheuser-Busch InBev's utter contempt for and cluelessness about the culture of craft beer. Packed inside a shock-resistant SwissGear Synergy laptop ... More >>

State Senate Passes Craft Brewing Bills That Would Allow Expanded Sales

Earlier this week, the Texas Senate approved a family of bills dear to the heart of Texas craft brewers. The legislation lets brewpubs sell a limited amount of beer through distributors, while craft breweries will get to sell their products to consumers on-site. See also: - Public Hearing Set for C ... More >>

Could Craft Cider Join The Craft Beer Movement In Dallas?

It's already started. Joel Malone is well on his way to open up a cidery right in the heart of the Bishop Arts District. His brewing operations and storefront, which he expects to open in May, will be right next to Cretia's on Bishop Street behind Lockhart Smokehouse. Malone tells me he's working t ... More >>

Craft Brewers Say People Really Like Craft Brews. Especially Canadian People.

Beer-drinkers across the globe are growing ever more thirsty for American craft brews, and more craft breweries are opening as a result, according to two not-remotely-unbiased reports from a craft-brew trade group. On Monday, the Brewers Association, which represents small and independent crafter b ... More >>

Craft Beer Bills On Their Way to Senate Floor, The Good and The Bad

Craft brewers had one week to reach a compromise with the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas (WBDT) regarding five pieces of legislation recently introduced through Senate Committee on Business and Commerce. Senate bills 515, 516, 517 and 518 were a set of bills carefully crafted after a year of w ... More >>

Senator John Carona's Bill Could Raise Cost of Beer Across State

On Tuesday morning the Business and Commerce Committee convened at the capitol in Austin to discuss, among other things, the future of beer in the state of Texas. In the front of the room, some of Texas' most powerful state senators sat behind their nameplates at a long curved table. Facing them in ... More >>

State Senator John Carona is Walking Back His Support for Craft Brewers

Dallas Republican state Senator John Carona wormed his way into beer lovers' good graces two weeks ago when he cosponsored a quartet of bills aimed at making things easier on craft brewers in Texas. The legislation, which has the support of both an impressive roster of lawmakers from both sides of ... More >>

Sen. John Carona Responds to Backlash; Didn't Bring Up Craft Beer Issue to Craft Beer Group

On Friday, when we wrote about a bill introduced by Dallas state Senator John Carona that would prohibit breweries from earning money by selling distribution rights to wholesalers -- undercutting an important source of revenue for the state's fledgling craft breweries -- his office jumped into our c ... More >>

Dallas Senator John Carona Files Bill that Would Close a Tap for Craft Brewers

Recently we wrote about four bills Republican state Senator Kevin Eltife of Tyler introduced that would open new revenue opportunities for craft breweries around the state. As the law stands now, Texas requires a clear separation between those who make, distribute and retail beer in Texas. None of t ... More >>

A Texas Lawmaker Filed Four Bills Yesterday to Make Life Easier on the State's Craft Brewers

State senator Kevin Eltife, a Republican from Tyler, filed four bills yesterday that could breath new life into the craft beer industry in Texas. The legislation "will modernize laws that unfairly advantage out-of-state beer producers over Texas' small businesses of the beer industry -- craft brewer ... More >>

A Chat with the Matt Leff of The Dallas Winter Warmer Beer Festival

Tapping into the burgeoning local craft beer scene, The Dallas Winter Warmer is a one-day craft beer festival on December 15 featuring some local and national craft brewers. See also: - The Dallas Craft Beer Guide - Rise of the DFW Brew Today I spoke with the architect of this event, Matt Leff of ... More >>

The Rise of the DFW Brew

Free from the hangover of the '90s craft beer bust, Dallas' small brewers cheer another round of growth.

City Inches Forward With Beer-Friendly Zoning Rules

Wouldn't it be nice if you had a magic wand you could wave and -- voila -- a keg or three of small-batch craft beer from a local microbrewery. The city of Dallas is working on its own version of the trick which, this being the city, happens in slow motion as it requires approval from several layers ... More >>

Dallas Beer Week Vs. Meddlesome Moth: Drama in the Craft Beer World

​After the first Houston Beer Week last year, Houstonians Cathy Clark and Jay Rascoe (aka Guns and Tacos) decided Dallas needed its own week to celebrate craft beer as well, as we first told you back in February. Since then, the events planned for Dallas Beer Week, November 12 through19, have draw ... More >>

Brewtopia, Beer Dinners, Oktoberfest and More Ways to Build Up Your Winter Beer Gut

Spaten will be among the beers available at Addison's Oktoberfest.​What with Central Market's Brewtopia beginning today, Addison's Oktoberfest starting tomorrow and several beer dinners planned for the rest of the month, there are enough brew events in the next couple weeks that your liver should ... More >>

Stomp Then Sip

Calais Winery Launches Recycling Program. Not Convinced? It Involves Free Wine.

​On Saturday, Calais Winery will launch its new wine-bottle recycling program with the first rendition of what will become semi-annual event. From its rustic little shop on Commerce, the winery will accept empty bottles from any Texas winery. In exchange, generous winos will receive free tas ... More >>

World Beer Company Bottle Shop Pub and Store Soft-Opens Saturday, and More Local Beer News

No word on whether Obama beer is among the 500 available at World Beer Company Bottle Shop.​A hat tip, along with a couple of corrections, to UrbanDaddy, which scooped us on this beer bar and package store, but must have spent a little too much time coming up with a trademark story-ending zinger t ... More >>

Why Texas' Craft Beer Bills Are Doomed, And Why They Would've Been Baby Steps Anyway

Daniel KramerMaybe it's a good thing HB 602 is doomed. Think how much longer the line for this Saint Arnold tour would be if guests could take beer home.​If you're a passionate beer drinker or state-legislation fetishist, you've probably read by now  that two of the House bills favoring Texas ... More >>

What Would Happen if the Proposed Beer Legislation Becomes Law?

​Three bills bouncing around the Texas Legislature are being trumpeted as game-changers for the state's beer industry. In quick review: HB 660 would permit brewpubs to sell directly to wholesalers and distributors; HB 2436 would allow small breweries to sell their product for on- or off-site c ... More >>

Sigel's Discounts Mysterious Cheap Wines

Sigel's is readying to put its 90 Cellars wines on sale, making the label Time recently described as a "magical combo" of good wine and cheap prices an even better deal. ​90 Cellars, the subject of a feature story in The Boston Globe this week, has been garnering attention for its unique bu ... More >>

Texas Craft Liquor Makers Belly Up to the Bar to Challenge Kentucky Bourbon.

Texas Wineries Ask "What Do Hispanic Wine Drinkers Want?"

​Hispanics represent a growing share of Texas' wine drinking population, but wineries are still grappling with how to pitch their products to them. "No information is available about the Hispanic wine market," Natalia Kolyesnikova, assistant director of the Texas Wine Marketing Research Insti ... More >>

Texas Wine Industry Considers Identifying Best of the Bunch

​Texas wine enthusiasts seeking a better way to convey to consumers which local wines deserve their attentions are broaching the possibility of creating a wine quality program. Russ Kane, a wine writer who's moderating a panel on wine quality at this week's Texas Wine and Grape Growers Associ ... More >>

Houston Beer Lovers Plan Dallas Extravaganza

​The organizers of Dallas' first-ever Beer Week say the city's lack of microbreweries has proven to be a selling point in luring leading craft brewers here for the November event. "Because there aren't a lot of local breweries here, other breweries stand a chance," Cathy Clark explains. "Brew ... More >>

If You Think It Sucks Dallas Can't Buy Liquor on Sundays (And Especially This Sunday) ...

Via.​... imagine how the people who sell it feel. Actually, no need to imagine it: The D.C.-based Distilled Spirits Council of the United States issued a press release today demanding the state of Texas drop its "outdated law banning Sunday liquor sales," especially considering the many millions i ... More >>

Get Epically Stoned Tonight At The Common Table, Meet Jim Koch Friday At Ginger Man

​Paul Hightower at Dallas Craft Beer Examiner has a good round-up of the month's beer events on his January Craft Beer Calendar, and Brian Brown of Plano Craft Beer Examiner has a more thorough run-down of the week's area beer events. Both of them mention something I've had penciled on my calendar ... More >>

Enchanted Rock: Not Just a State Park Near Fredericksburg Anymore

​Another Texas vodka has reached the Dallas market, although an owner of Rebecca Creek Distillery says his spirits company won't confine itself to vodka for long. "These are the first two products," Brian Lowrance says of Enchanted Rock vodka and a single malt barley whiskey set for release n ... More >>

Girls Just Wanna Have Booze. Manly Booze.

Now THAT'S a girly drink, though we hope he doesn't keep his vodka in the freezer.​A record number of women are vying for Senate seats and gubernatorial offices today, suggesting the political sphere is inching, ever so slowly, toward parity. Now if only the liquor industry could catch up. Wh ... More >>

Faux Belgian Brews: Ranking Celis Grand Cru And Flying Dog Raging Bitch

​This week's special Avery events at the Libertine Bar, The Common Table and the Meddlesome Moth are putting a special emphasis on the Colorado brewery's Salvation Belgian-style golden ale. The Libertine and Common Table have already offered up food pairings especially made to go with the beer, an ... More >>

Go Texan Winery Passport Program: Drink and Be Rewarded--But with What?

​The other day on City of Ate, my colleague, Hanna Raskin, bemoaned the state of the Go Texan Restaurant Week, one of the numerous programs designed by the Texas Department of Agriculture to spur interest and business in our state's food industry. She noted that only seven restaurants in Big D sig ... More >>

Five Tips for GrapeFest-goers

Cookingbytheseatofmypants.com​GrapeFest is underway, which means the People's Choice Wine Tasting Classic - billed as the nation's largest consumer judged wine contest - is back. We asked Jeff Siegel, a Dallas wine educator who blogs as The Wine Curmudgeon, to offer first-timers a few tips for mak ... More >>

Llano Estacado Vintner's Selection Signature Red Meritage

​Meritage or Claret? What's the difference? Typically, both terms refer to Bordeaux-style blends, heavy on the Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot, with one or more of the regions classic blending grapes added for body, spice and completeness. Most fans of Argentinian reds would be surprised to l ... More >>

Big Tex Will Go All Texas With Wines
At State Fair

​Kroger has pulled out as a wine garden sponsor at the State Fair of Texas, taking its West Coast wines with it. With the Texas Department of Agriculture left as sole sponsor of the wine tasting and teaching space, all of this year's featured wines will come from Texas. Jeff Siegel, who will ... More >>

Grapes of Wrath: Too Much "Texas" Wine,
Too Few Grapes Threaten Lone Star Vintners

​Here's a romantic scene: Two wine connoisseurs in love pack a basket with cheese and crackers, roll down the roof on a rented convertible and spend the day zigzagging the scenic, hilly roads between Texas' newest wineries. But by the second or third stop, the young couple begins to grow crab ... More >>

Did You Know It's American Craft Beer Week? These Bars Do.

​As mentioned in Hophead a couple of weeks back, this week (May 17 to 23) is American Craft Beer Week. That item already mentioned the Texas Craft Brewers Festival Saturday night at the Dancing Bear Pub in Waco, but there are a few other ways to celebrate closer to home. This effort by the Brewer ... More >>

Wish They All Could Be

Want More Beer? Change This Law!

Beer Is Good

Texas law stifles state's craft brewers

Get a Cru

Take a Stags Leap this Thursday

Statute Stomp

Wine Me, Dine Me

Sour Grapes

At Tony's Wine Warehouse, there's a sucker born every minute

Drink Up

Loosened Texas laws spawn a litter of Dallas street wineries. Ready for Preston Hollow Pinot Grigio?

Lotus Blossoms

There's a flurry of curry in the metroplex

Near Beer

The fad fades, but brewpubs survive

Return to blender

Maritage's mix of flavors doesn't quite mesh

Hash Over

A far cry; Mixed hash

Whine capital of Texas

A rigged wine contest peels away Grapevine's grandiose label as the Napa Valley of Texas, revealing instead another cheap import