While last week’s Hophead focused on just a very few of the great Christmas beers available this time of year, this week’s is a more general look at winter seasonal beers along with beers that are well suited to drinking by the fireplace or in a warm pub escaping the…
Spring ales, summer hefes and autumn’s Oktoberfest beers are nice when the season arrives. But for many beer lovers, including myself, nothing can compare to the rich variety of beer that winter brings. Along with seasonal stouts and porters (which I intend to write about next week), winter also heralds…
Dearest Smoke,On two separate occasions you have wooed me and my posse with food and drink divine. I’m not even going to get into discussing the hominy casserole for fear I’ll abandon all responsibility and drive to you to eat it now. But the drinks? I would be happy to…
It’s not carbonated. It is aged for years in a variety of barrels, served in 2-ounce pours at room temperature, contains 27 percent alcohol by volume (54 proof, in other words) and carries suggested retail price tag of $150 for a 24-ounce bottle. And it’s beer. The 2009 version of…
If barley be wanting to make into maltWe must be content and think it no fault For we can make liquor to sweeten our lipsOf pumpkins and parsnips and walnut-tree chips. –Anonymous colonist, 1630Though some dispute the story, many beer lovers cling to the legend that the Pilgrims landed at…
Last week, Pyramid’s Haywire Hefeweizen proved a tad, shall we say, underwhelming. This week seemed a perfect opportunity to try a couple of macro-brewed attempts at craft-brew styles, just to put things in perspective. After all, if a relatively small outfit like Pyramid can’t get the wheat-beer style right, surely…
It’s hard to believe that just over a year ago, I sat at a patio table at the Double-Wide with Jen as we got trashed on Hurritangs and I lost my camera. Oh, memories. Sweet, sweet memories. Well, since then, my girl drinkers and I (and a few boys thrown…
A Pyramid PR representative recently sent a press release announcing the Gold Medal awarded to the brewery’s Haywire Hefewiezen at the Great American Beer Festival, and offered to send over sample bottle or two. As if she needed to ask.Ben E. Keith beer distributors did her one better and delivered…
It was a brisk night. Jessica and I had set out to see John Spriggins’ Paper Dolls exhibition at the South Dallas Cultural Center. We made several illegal u-turns before successfully achieving our goal (the SDCC is precariously located at a wonky intersection) and perusing the collages of women’s magazine…
San Diego’s Stone Brewery is known for creating some monstrously, even arrogantly hoppy brews. So it was somewhat of a surprise when I sat down to try a pint of the recent 09-09-09 Vertical Epic Belgian-style imperial porter, and the first adjective that came to mind was “subtle.” Expectations are…
Fort Worth’s Paul Hightower may make his living as a technical writer, copywriter and indexer, but one of the great passions in his life is beer. On his Dallas Craft Beer Examiner blog, he is a relentless and well-informed cheerleader for the best beers available in North Texas, whether they’re…
A beer tasting event like last Saturday’s Fall Beer Festival at the Fort Worth Flying Saucer is an easy way to try several new beers at once, hang out with fellow beer people and see a lot of hilarious T-shirts. However, as I discovered, it’s also an easy way to…
I met with girl drinkers Marla, Melissa and my sis Tracy for a night of comedy and cheesy appetizers. And drinks. Of course there were drinks. We were all geared up to see the partly-cloudy comic with a side of soapbox, David Cross. Unfortunately, we had no idea what time…
Brooklyn Beer brewmaster Garrett Oliver’s visit to Whole Foods yesterday afternoon was first and foremost a cooking demonstration with beer pairing suggestions. But as Oliver described how the flavors of each brew complemented each course, he kept returning to a central thesis: When it comes to food pairings, beer is…
The day I have been waiting for since I bought my starter kit back in August finally arrived yesterday, as Lady Hophead and I popped open our first couple of “H.M.N.I.” home-brewed beers. (The initials, incidentally, stand for “Hi My Name Is,” for the name-tag stickers we’ll probably use to…
As it is now officially Rocktober, Oktoberfest beers are replacing summer brews on store aisles, bar coolers and tap walls. Apparently, though, not all brewers have the traditional Oktoberfest German Marzen-style amber lager in mind for this month. New Belgium, best known for Fat Tire, has introduced a new golden…
You may not be in Dublin, New York City, Kuala Lumpur or any of the other cities holding official Arthur’s Day celebrations today. But that doesn’t mean you have to feel left out of the party.Not to be confused with the annual Great Guinness Toast every February 13, which is…
So this week our Best of Dallas issue hits the stand. Last night the staff of your Dallas Observer got together at Trees for a little celebratory shindig, wherein we imbibed, ate, listened to live music and watched tasseled titties. What? Yeah. There were burlesque dancers. Seeing as how this…
Vermont brewing company Magic Hat has a fall sampler that is making its way to Texas beer stores, which according to the company marks the arrival of the brewer’s full line of beers in the state. Magic Hat is best known for its apricot-infused #9 (which got a nice little…
Eins, zwei, drei, g’suffa! (One, two, three, drink up!)–Bavarian toastThe beginning of Oktoberfest 2009 in Munich is still more than a week away, but the celebrations are already cranking up locally. Just as you can already find Halloween costumes and decorations at some stores, German and German-inspired Oktoberfest beers are…
What? You sick of all the Mad Men talk? About what a great show it is? Chances are that’s only because you haven’t watched it. Get on the scene, hoss, and catch the eff up! A few weeks ago (I took a week off; I know you’ve missed me), Jon…
The importance of serving wine and spirits in the correct style of glass is pretty well established. Order a Cognac at even the most laid-back of bars and it’s unlikely that the bartender will pour it into a shot glass. Beer, on the other hand, rarely gets the same respect…
