Photo by cordeauphotos

If you haven’t already (or even if you have, but from a different computer), get on over to The Full Pint blog and vote for Rahr & Sons Brewing as the best “Down South Craft Brewery”. Consider it your penance for drinking crappy beer. You know who you are.

What happens if they win?

“Fame and glory, kid. Fame and glory.”

Everyone’s favorite beer bar will be hosting a beer dinner/tasting this Thursday, February 26th, featuring the Lagunitas Brewing Company. Petaluma, California-based Lagunitas has been tearing up the beer world with their unabashedly over-the-top beers, and they’re bringing a nice selection of seasonal brews to the Fort Worth Flying Saucer for a beer/food pairing.

They’re keeping the crowd small to make it an intimate affair and to ensure that everyone has a chance to soak up the knowledge dropped by Lagunitas’ co-founder and “Head Beer Weasel”, Ron Lindenbusch.

Tickets are $40 for the riff-raff and $35 for UFO club members. (UFO club membership is $14. With it you get a free t-shirt, a card to track the beers you try, and you’re exempted from cover charges on the weekends. Once you’ve done 200 different beers, you get a platter with your name and a pithy slogan on it (look for mine on the patio), and a party thrown in your honor with a $100 bar tab to help pay for it.)

Sure, I know the Lege is wrestling with lots of thorny issues like school finance reform and children’s health insurance, but there are plenty of little bills that could have a big impact. For one, State Rep. Lon Burnham’s HB 1062, known as the Texas Brewers Parity Amendment, would amend the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission code to allow small in-state brewers to sell bottled beer for off-premise consumption at their breweries. About damn time I say. It’s stupid that I can visit the Rahr Brewery but not be allowed to buy a six-pack to take home.

Update: Bernie Scheffler informs me that the companion Senate Bill 754 was filed today.

The Flying Saucer will be hosting its 3rd annual Fall Beer Festival this Saturday in the parking lot behind the bar. This year they’ll have 20 beers on tap in 5 categories: Texas’ Best Brews, Belgian Ales, German Uber Lagers, Cap’n Keith’s Picks, and Cask-Conditioned Ales.

I’ve had a great time at the last two, and I’m sure this years event will be just as good.

The party starts at 2PM, call 817-336-PINT if you have any questions.

Spring may bring to mind thoughts of the opposite sex and the birds and the bees for some people, but for us Monks it means something totally different — Maibock (and other bock-style) beer!

True maibocks tend to be lighter in color than other bock beers, like dopplebocks. They’re also usually a bit more hoppy and spicy than a dopplebock. (Dopplebocks are the most likely style of bock beer that most folks have tried.)

The prototype for the dopplebock is Paulaner Salvator. Salvator was originally brewed by monks and served during lent as a replacement for food.

Photo by dubswede
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Earlier this month I conducted Mass in celebration of Winter and specially crafted winter and Christmas beers. A few parishioners gathered here at the Abbey for a blind taste test.

I went to my local purveyor of fine alcoholic beverages and selected a random assortment of winter and Christmas-themed beers, pictured below.

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Beer Abbey,

I heard in England, they drink their beer at room temperature! That sounds disgusting! Are they retarded? I like an ice cold brew on a hot Texas night. I heard their food sucks too.

Cheers,
Bud

Like many who wander, you’re half way there, my son. You merely need to put the other half of the knowledge with the part you already have, and you’ll come to understand the deeper meaning of beer. Follow me into the cellar where we’ll talk about which “room temperature” people are referring to…
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There are times in everyone’s life when they must turn to a higher power for guidance. Are you having relationship issues — like which beer to pair with your fruity dessert? Wondering if there’s really a beer out there for you? Maybe beer isn’t your drink of choice, and you’d like to know which locally available vodka is the best value for your money. Ever thought of making your own wine?

The Monk is here for you, my child. Just like those OTHER monks you may or may not have experience with, he spends his time cloistered away pondering the great questions, like should Oktoberfest beers be blondes or maibocks? Which is nicer for sipping, Pinot Noir or Pino Grigio? What the hell is the difference? And does anyone really care?

Send your questions to The Beer Monk, and begin to unravel the mysteries of life.