We’ve finally beaten the Germans at their own game. That’s the only rational conclusion one can draw from the results of Oktoberbest 2011, in which the lone Teutonic entry got its ass handed to it. Paul Hightower and Brian Brown, Craft Beer Examiners for Dallas and Plano, respectively, narrowed down…
The judges have spoken. The Elite Eight of our Oktoberbest 2011 have been winnowed down to the quaff-able quartet to be sent on to the Final Pour. And in our quest to determine the best Oktoberfest beer available in North Texas, Dallas Craft Beer Examiner Paul Hightower, Plano Craft Beer…
It’s that time of year, when pumpkin-flavored, -scented and -shaped merchandise invades virtually every supermarket, convenience store, coffee shop, liquor store, restaurant and bar. Pumpkins are everywhere, and each year there’s more pumpkin stuff to sift through. City of Ate wants to help you figure out which pumpkin items are…
Never in the dozen-plus years that I’ve been of legal drinking age have I seen beer as cheap as the $2.99 six-pack of Big Flats 1901 I espied at Walgreen’s the other day. Not even the Schlitz, Natty Light or Beast we drank in college was that cheap. There was…
Dallas loves its half-priced food and drink deals, and we’re no different. That’s why we built the above calendar of half-price food and drink deals, listing the restaurant and time under each day. Every week, we’ll do our best to keep you up-to-date on a large chunk of weekly half-priced…
First off, a big thanks to Observer art director Alexander Flores for the beautiful bracket above. As you can see, Round One of Oktoberbest 2011 is complete; Dallas Craft Beer Examiner Paul Hightower has determined the Texas Division winners, and Plano Craft Beer Examiner Brian Brown has picked which two…
… and were delicious. The end. What, you were expecting a Polack joke? This is Texas, where the butts of our jokes are Aggies or blonds, not Polish people. Not that we have many Polish people to offend, anyway. Apparently, there isn’t enough demand to import Zywiec or Okocimskie beers…
The first round of Oktoberbest 2011 is halfway over, with a couple of surprising upsets and a couple of shocking, bit-spitting failures by favored programs to even make the sweet 16. (Well, actually, they’re just too hard to find in stores, but that doesn’t quite have the same drama.)Plano Craft…
Now that I’ve graded more than 50 beers since introducing the Hophead Beer Scoring System, it seems a good time to take a look back at all of them and list them in order. The system (which I have called by a different name in every post, a running gag…
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 be in fighting shape by the time October rolls around. Gotta build that tolerance…
Dallas loves its half-priced food and drink deals, and we’re no different. That’s why we built the above calendar of half-price food and drink deals, listing the restaurant and time under each day. Every week, we’ll do our best to keep you up-to-date on a large chunk of weekly half-priced…
It would be quite the understatement to say that Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. has recovered from the roof collapse that shut down the brewery in February 2010. In fact, the rally of community support behind the brewery after the disaster and the resulting “To Thee” series it inspired has…
Timbo, the Dallas Zoo’s oldest gorilla, died yesterday in surgery at the age of 49, and we’re still bummed by the news. Even though we didn’t know her personally, we still plan to mourn her the same way we’ve marked the deaths of friends, family members and celebrities alike: with…
Recently, I asked my Twitter (I’m @DallasHophead) and Facebook friends for recommendations on beers from the Carolinas, as Lady Hophead was headed there for a wedding. And, while I got plenty of great tips I’ll check out if I ever get a chance to make the trip myself, it turns…
After the bills supporting small breweries in Texas each died a slow, torturous death while being chipped away by compromise in the most recent legislative session, we drowned our sorrows, saddened to see our cynicism about the corporatocracy ruling our state proven correct once again, and tried to forget about…
By now you’ve probably noticed the banners across the top of our blogs or seen the Mixmaster post touting Brew at the Zoo September 10, but perhaps were hesitant to commit to a $30 ticket without knowing just which beers would be available. How about I just tell you that…
There are people who will tell you that when it’s more than 100 degrees out, you need to drink water because alcohol will dehydrate you. Ignore those buzzkills — especially today, it being International Beer Day, making for two international beer holidays in a row. Here are some of our…
If you haven’t checked your 2011 Calendar of Made-Up Food Holidays, today is International IPA Day. (It’s also National Catfish Month, National Peach Month, National Water Quality Month and National Picnic Month, so consider that when deciding on food pairings with your IPAs.) We’re on the fence about this. Just…
With its gargoyle logos and its cocky slogans and beer names, not to mention its intensely bitter IPAs, Stone Brewing Co. — which celebrated its 15th anniversary Tuesday — may try to maintain a bad-ass image. But a couple of new collaborations coming out this summer show that they’re really…
Sunday is National Tequila Day, a “holiday” Dallasites can celebrate with extra exuberance as residents of the city that fucked up margaritas forever. Mariano Martinez birthed the margarita machine here, 40 years ago, after a frightening opening night nearly handed him his ass. Turns out his bartenders couldn’t figure out…
Where: Burger Girl, 4444 McKinney Ave. When: 3-10 p.m. daily, all day Sunday What: $2 canned beer, $4 you-call-it Why: Because burgers and beer are synonymous with summer, and if a backyard barbecue isn’t an option, cheap booze and a decent menu will do in a pinch. Beer priced at…
Like St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco De Mayo and Bastille Day before it, Belgian Independence Day is gaining in popularity with revelers (beer drinkers, in this case) as an excuse a perfectly legitimate reason to toss back a few pints this week.Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld becoming the…
