25. April 2010 by Brother Spargealot.

The brothers traveled to Conroe Texas today to take part in the judging of Southern Star’s Pro-Am competition. A total of 53 entries were submitted and 15 moved on to second round, among them a number of bocks and one Dopple Bock (my personal favorite). Judging began at 10am and all was completed by 2pm (including a short respite and bar-b-que lunch provided by our gracious hosts). Ultimately by consensus and then a final vetting by owners Dave and Brian the winner was chosen - the next Pro-Am will be a Smoked Porter submitted by KGB Homebrew Club member Ed Condon. We congratulate Ed and look forward to trying this delicious libation in the future.

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22. March 2010 by Brother Spargealot.

It seems as if the brewing industry is always looking for the next big thing. Recently we have seen wave after wave of Belgian IPA’s, and other Belgian hybrids, followed by a rash of black IPAs. So what will be the next “big thing”, especially within the state of Texas? For some reason I think we will see more Pro-Am selections, collaborations between homebrewers and professionals. Sure, Sam Adams has done it with the Longshot line and others followed suit making it a sizeable category now at the GABF, but it seems as if breweries that had not considered it before are finding fertile pastures in the land of homebrew. And lets face it there are some great homebrewers out there making beers that could easily compete against the pros at GABF. So this year watch for more Pro-Ams at brewpubs and your local beer bars. The next up will be two beers selected at the Alamo Cervezafest, the best of show will be brewed at Blue Star Brewpub in San Antonio (but not taken to GABF), and the other will be brewed at Freetail also in San Antonio and entered into GABF. In April  Southern Star will hold their second annual Pro-Am competition which will be entered into GABF(see details on entering at http://www.southernstarbrewery.com/SSBNews.asp).  Nearby in Houston during the month of May homebrewers attending the Big Batch Brew Off will judge the best barleywine to make into the next Divine Reserve also entered into GABF. In Austin there will possibly another two opportunities for GABF entries  this year - Uncle Billy’s Brewpub intends to hold a competition this summer (stay tuned for details, but rumors are that it could be in the Bitter category) UPDATE - curiously the category is correct -  http://austinzealots.com/files/UncleBillysKeepAustinBeeredProAmRules.pdf and Jester King says they will likely solicit recipes for a GABF entry as well (they are not sure whether they will have a competition to do so - UPDATE - according to BA rules they will have to if they want to enter anything in the Pro-Am). There we have it, several opportunities for Texas homebrewers to see their beers up in lights.

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1. March 2010 by Brother Spargealot.

Over 200 people showed up for an AHA rally on Sunday. Alas no sign of Charlie this year, but Brock Wagner gave personal tours of the shiny new brewery, or as they labeled it, their “newery”. The 120 bbl brewhouse obtained from a 12th century monastic brewery in Germany was operating while we were there and it was possible to see the batch go from mash, lauter to whirlpool. In the picture of Brock you can also see a glass canister where the grain is doused with water on the way into the tun so that it is completely saturated (that’s the kind of thing the beer geek in me loves). Brock said the old system was sold to a startup in Oregon that submitted the highest bid. He also added the new system should improve the overall quality of their product and alleviate other issues such as the production of DMS which some people claimed affected the pilsner they produce. Check the website www.saintarnold.com for expanded tour dates and go see what 240 bbl fermenters look like. Good job Brock!

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2. February 2010 by Brother Spargealot.

Dave and Brian have been busy, not just selling beer but also scheduling a bunch of events taking place this Spring at the Brewery.  First the up is the second annual Pro-Am competition with entries of four beers due by April 17th. Check the website for guidelines as there are some parameters (must be ready in two months, above 5% ABV etc). I will post a judging date once one is established as they will need people to help, especially those BJCP certified. Next up on March 27th from 4 to 8pm is their Anniversary party. Total attendees will be limited so you must book in advance ($10 or $15 at the door if they don’t sell out). Lastly they will roll out the red carpet for homebrewers again on May 1st as they invite up to 100 people to help Dave brew a batch on the 15 bbl system and then take home 5 gallons of wort at the end of the day. Brian will be making a small 5 gallon batch on a homebrew system at the same time. There is no charge but only 100 homebrewers will be allowed to sign up and as of today (February 1st) over 25 already had, so if you intend to go send them a note soon. Information on all of these events can be found at www.southernstarbrewery.com.

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17. January 2010 by Brother Spargealot.

Southern Star Brewing in Conroe Texas, just north of Houston continues to grow with the recent addition of four new fermenters (two used and two new) thereby more than doubling their capacity.  At this point they are brewing three times a day back to back on their 15 bbl brewhouse. They are also hoping to secure an automated canning line soon as they are still doing it manually two at a time and might soon need to schedule people to work around the clock to keep up with demand. In addition to the tallboys of Pine Belt Pale Ale and 12oz cans of the Blonde, the company recently launched its Buried Hatchet Stout in the form of a 12oz four pack which they say has been very well received. Tours on Saturdays now attract over one hundred people and gone are the days of unlimited sampling. Each person of age gets four tokens. Also note they have food at reasonable prices provided during every tour now. So what’s next? The boys are working on a double IPA recipe which might possibly be named Invisible Monkey, but a launch date remains uncertain. What is certain is that there will be another homebrew competition to find their 2010 GABF Pro-Am entry in late March or early April. Once they determine the date and details I will relay the information via this blog as well as to area homebrew clubs. See http://www.southernstarbrewing.com/ for more information.

In other area news, Brian of Southern Star also relayed that another local homebrewer is likely to open a brewpub in the Woodlands perhaps later this year. While many rumors of this sort usually fizzle out, Brian claims the person will follow through as they have financing and are starting to scout the area in order to secure a long term lease possibly near I-45.

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22. September 2008 by Brother Spargealot.

Many of our brothers and sisters were without basic necessities over the past week after Hurricane Ike ravaged the Houston area and there remain some without power today. The state of Zymurological stocks remain a source of concern given all our kegs and bottles lacked refrigeration for five days until we regained power on Thursday. St Arnold’s Brewing Company did indeed cancel its tour after the storm, a first in the company’s history, although several volunteers still showed up at the door ready to help that Saturday morning. St. Arnolds suffered no real damage and other area breweries reported the same, although Southern Star in Conroe lost its kettle stack. The state of its new Rauchbier (made form 100% Bamberg Pilsner malt) which was in secondary remains uncertain. Most quality beer establishments are open again in the affected area with a few new quality beverages just making their way into the markets to the South after first being introduced into Austin and other locals. Among those new offering Stone Smoked Porter and New Belgium’s Lips of Faith have garnered the most attention.

Peace and beer,

Brother Spargealot

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9. September 2008 by Brother Spargealot.

Greetings from the World Headquarters of the Church of Zymurology! This is indeed an uspicious occasion as it is the eve of the arrival of nasty weather. But we have faith…and plenty of commecial as well as local brewed beer to sustain us during these trying times. On this occassion I will begin the evening with a Chocolate Stout brewed by Brooklyn Brewing Company from New York of which we here at the Church have several. For those that have not tried this delicious concoction it is well worth seeking out and contrary to both the label and taste does not contain chocolate at all - rather miraculous.  Following the Brooklyn selection we anticipate delving into the finer points of well aged Bigfoot, the barleywine made by Sierra Nevada in Chico California. Recent study by our clergy scholars deemed 2002 a very good year and I must make sure they have nto been led astray by sampling one from our precious collection myself. Tomorrow I shall attempt to brave the weather and possibly volunteer my humble services at Saint Arnold Brewing company in Houston which claims it has never missed a tour in fourteen years. Wish me luck and stop in should the winds of fortune blow you in that direction.

Cheers,

Brother Spargealot

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