Beer tasting (all photos by Matt Shelley)

Matt Shelley, the guy who tends to save my computer from utter destruction, is also a closet beer nerd. I have even paid him in beer before. Yesterday, he attended this year’s Brew Riot celebrating homebrewing in the Bishop Arts District between 7th and 9th street. Here’s what he has to say. It reads like a prose poem, so don’t judge him for the lack of rhyming.

Lots of homemade artisan beers.
Very crowded, but never without a beer.
Hundreds of different beers to taste: Stouts, Ambers, Wits, IPAs, ciders, Ales, Lagers, Pilsners, Doubles, tripels, Dunkels, California Commons, etc.
Dowdy Studio made t shirts just for the event at a sale price of $15. They ran out of larges, so I’ll have to live with just being medium.
$20 dollars gets you a small cup and unlimited tastings. A bit dangerous when coupled with the heat.
There was a great energy, as is usually the case with beer people. Best event I’ve been to for beer.

Jump for my IT guy’s photos.

Nate Steele of Steele Brewery served taster of his Himalayan IPA (left); Bacon crème mini cupcakes to go with beer (right)

Brew Riot on Bishop

Three Pucks was a stand out for me. Amazing cider with fresh raspberries and honey.

Allie Steele, Jessica Baldwin, and Tricia Baer enjoying some suds

Monday

• St. Arnold’s Brewing Co. Dinner at Union Bear. The brewery’s founder, Brock Wagner, is your drinking companion for the evening. Michael says he’s neutral on St. Arnold beers in general, but there’s no way this won’t be fun. One word caught my attention: sherbet. Easy math: sherbet + beer = disaster or delicious. Time will tell. Tickets are $55, seating is limited to 50.

Course 1: Oysters on the Half Shell served with a Farmer Brown Mignonette Sauce Paired w/ Chardonnay Barrel-Aged Farmer Brown Cask

Course 2: Seared Scallops with Melon Consomme and Creminelli Coppa Paired w/ Fancy Lawnmower and Weedwacker

Course 3: Union Bear’s Barolo Pizza- Drunken Salami, Toasted Onions & Peppers, Black Olives, Rosemary Paired w/ Spring Bock Course

Course 4: Steak and Frites Paired w/ Amber Ale Course

Course 5: Lemon Raspberry Thyme Sherbet Paired w/ Elissa IPA

• Pyramid Night at Flying Saucer on the Lake. Show up around 5 pm for a tapping of Pyramid Curveball Kolsch. Later, a rep from the brewing company will lead tastings of various Pyramid brews and food pairings. Raise your hand if you’ve drank your weight in Pyramid Apricot Ale. Unadvised.
• Shmaltz Brewing Company Vertical Jewbelation at Meddlesome Moth. 5 PM tapping, as usual.
• Franconia Oak Aged Mai Bock at the Holy Grail Pub.
• Franconia Mai Bock at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. $4 beer special, an appearance by Franconia brewmaster Dennis Wehrmann, and a small plates menu created by chef Anthony Bombaci. 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Oskar Blues Brewery Beer Dinner at The Common Table. Five beers, five courses, $55. Starts at 7 pm. Beers: Mama’s Lil Yella Pils, Double Dry Hopped Deviant Dale’s Cask, Oaked Old Chub, Gubna, and 2011 Ten Fidy
• Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer tapping at Strangeways.

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Tuesday

• Alaskan Brewing Co. Tapping and Dinner at Flying Saucer on the Lake. It’s $35 for dinner with the brewery’s head brewer, Curtis Holmes—four courses with beer pairings, prepared by guest chefs Chad Bowden from Culpeppers Steakhouse, Greg Bussey from Victor Tango’s, Nathan Tate from Ava’s and Keith Grober from Meddlesome Moth.
• North Coast Grand Cru at Meddlesome Moth. Belgian beer out of Fort Bragg has to be good, right?
• (512) Whiskey Aged Double Pecan Porter at Holy Grail Pub. Michael drove to Lone Star Beverages in Carollton the day this Austin brewery’s pecan porter went on sale.  I’m pretty sure this stuff went fast, and that he’s now hoarding the bottles in his closet. But Holy Grail has a keg. Recommended.
• Real Ale Mysterium Verum at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. $4 beer, appearance by brew master Erik Ogershok, small plate menu. 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Clown Shoes Muffintop tapping at Strangeways.

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Wednesday

• North Coast Night at Flying Saucer on the Lake. If you didn’t get enough North Coast Tuesday at the Moth, head here for the brewery’s Scrimshaw Pilsner and ACME IPA. Fort Worth’s Rahr and Sons will also be featured.
• Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head Collaboration at Meddlesome Moth. It’s called Life & Limb. I’ll be hanging on to both of those, hopefully. The 10% ABV dark beer is brewed with maple syrup.
• Sam Adams Homebrew Competition Winners at Holy Grail Pub. I am generally mistrustful of strangers, so I don’t know how I feel about drinking stuff that has been stirred up in a stranger’s house. That said…adventure!
• Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Boss Tom’s Golden Bock at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. $4 beer, appearance by Boulevard cicerone Jeremiah Wallis, small plate menu. 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Left Coast Brewing tasting at Strangeways. Reps from the brewery will stake out the bar area and trot out their offerings (four year-round beers—Hop Juice Double IPA, Asylum Belgian Style Tripel Ale, Trestles IPA and Voo Doo American Stout.)

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Thursday

• Avery Brewing The Beast Grand Cru at Meddlesome Moth.
• Dogfish Head Brewery Night and Dinner at Flying Saucer on the Lake. Seven courses, plus pairings. Featured beers are: Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA, Midas Touch, Red & White, Indian Brown, Immort Ale, and Palo Santo.
• Unibroue Glass Night at Holy Grail Pub.
• Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Single Wide IPA at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. Craft beer happy hour (complimentary small bites paired with featured craft beers. Menu: Grilled Sweetbreads with Pico de Gallo, Slider with Cheese, Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Manchego, Chorizo & Pepperoncini). 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Raiders of the Lost Hops keg tapping at Strangeways. It’s the bar’s last keg of the Sierra Nevada IPA.

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Friday

• Allagash Curieux at Meddlesome Moth. According the Moth’s Facebook page, this is the crown jewel—and probably the last keg of this stuff in Texas, though Michael thinks you can still find it in bottles. Anyway, it’s a beautiful bourbon barrel aged Tripel (strong pale ale). Michael hasn’t tried it, and neither have I. We’ve got a winner.
• Full Sail Brewery at Flying Sauce on the Lake. Full Sail’s a Portland brewery that totally preys on my “cute label” problem, meaning I often buy stuff because the bottle looks cool. They’re also giving away koozies, so there’s that.
• Sierra Nevada Glass Night at Holy Grail Pub.
• Stout Night at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. Featured: Left Hand Brewing Co. Milk Stout (Irish “Car Bomb” Whiskey Gelee, Bailey’s Ice Cream), Left Hand Brewing Co. Milk Stout Boulevard (Guanaja Chocolate Ganache, Stout Air, Burnt Sugar Toffee, Valrhona Chocolate Pearls), and Deschutes Obsidian Stout (Sour Cherry Tart, Obsidian Stout Ice Cream). 5pm-10 pm.
• Super-secret double IPA tasting at Strangeways. Owner Eric Sanchez tells me that this is the only keg of mystery brew to grace the state of Texas. To find out what it is, you’ve got to go drink. You don’t need GPS to know where I’ll be Friday night.

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Saturday

• Dogfish Head Black & Blue at Meddlesome Moth. The black means blackberries and the blue means blueberries, so you should taste the tart. People seem conflicted on this particular brew, but I think this might be easy. If you like fruit beers, you will probably enjoy this one. If you don’t, you will probably want to drink something else.
• Leftover Madness at Flying Saucer on the Lake. My Beers With Friends friends and I are huge fans of Union Bear’s $3 “fire sale” beers, so this similar concept gets a thumbs up. Go nuts drinking everything left over from the week’s festivities at discounted prices.

Centric's Baked Alaska

This week I attended a media event at Centric, the new restaurant at The Marriott City Center in downtown Dallas. The Marriott wanted to draw attention to their $16m renovation of the hotel that includes a new concierge room on the 16^th floor, a  state-of-the-art 24-hour fitness center, room upgrades, lobby art, and a new name and menu for the restaurant. The executive chef is Yoni Heredia, a California Culinary Academy graduate who has been a  chef positions at Hilton and Westin hotels around the country.

Mesquite BBQ Cedar Planked Salmon, roasted fingerling potatoes, broccolini

Centric doesn’t become too eccentric. The primary evening visitor (80% midweek) is the hotel guest (while the primary lunch visitor, 90% midweek, is the Dallas local). As a result there are the familiar steak cuts of bone in rib eye ($37) and grilled center cut filet ($39). However, there is an acknowledgement of local and farm-to-table trends. For example, the salmon ($29) is a fillet grilled over mesquite. The rigatoni with sausage is made with Jimmy’s sausage. The chicken breast ($26) is battered with Brazos Valley Parmesan cheese and served with wilted organic arugula. For the more adventurous seafood eater, there is a bouillabaisse with French bread ($31) that features shrimp, mussels and salmon with fennel, tomatoes and saffron-Pernod broth. We enjoyed the domestic rack of lamb ($39) atop a salad of quinoa, mango, rosemary and garlic marinade. It was perfectly cooked medium-rare and only lacked a more pronounced rosemary flavor.

For starters, the lobster bisque soup of the day ($7) was chock full of lobster meat. The tuna and avocado tartare ($12) had well-conceived flavor combinations and the tower of ingredients was so tall that, after the removal of the ring mould, it faced ‘gravitational challenges’ resembling a vividly painted tower of pisa.

The baked Alaska was a tour de force. I do hope they make this in-house as it is a memorable end to the meal.

Domestic rack of lamb, mango, rosemary & garlic marinated with minted quinoa salad

The bar has its own menu that, while repeating some of the appetizers from the dining room, also offers items like BBQ chicken flatbread ($12) and select three artisanal Texas cheeses ($15). On the night we were there, the latter featured Deep Ellum Blue from The Mozzarella Company and Van Sormon Brazos Valley cheddar. Check out the flight of four Texas draft beers ($7). I chose Franconia Wheat, St. Arnold’s Brown, Rahr and Sons Ugly Pug and St. Arnold’s Elissa IPA from the six available. The interesting beers offset a very abbreviated wine list with only about 20 selections (although half are available by the glass). There is also a selection of popular cocktails.

With its location two blocks from the Meyerson Symphony Center, the hotel is another downtown choice for pre-event drinks or dining. Or, with that baked Alaska in mind, a post-show dessert.

Blue Mesa Grill Teams up with Ambhar Tequila for a series of workshops called Tequila Lab. Marcelo Nascimento, Ambhar’s lead mixologist, is teaching each lab participant how to make, mix, and enhance tequila drinks. Three drinks and a Blue Mesa menu are included with the class, so hurry and sign up if you would like to be one of the 35 participants.

7 PM Wednesday, February 29th.
Dallas/Northwest Hwy. location only – Lincoln Park, 7700 W. Northwest Hwy.
Limited to 35 participants. Please call (214) 378-8686 to sign up.
$35 per person includes drinks and appetizers.
For more information see www.bluemesagrill.com.

Not in the mood for tequila? Beer could be your answer.

For the first time in DFW history, there is going to be a Local Brewery Beer Pairing Dinner over at the Common Table. Deep Ellum Brewing Company (DEBC) is joining up with four other breweries (Franconia Brewing Co, Lakewood Brewing Co, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co and Peticolas Brewing Co) to host this sweet dinner. Chef Mike Smith will be cooking 5 courses paired with 5 beers. There are still 16 spots open for the March 5th dinner, and $15 per person is being donated to Open the Taps, a grassroots movement fighting for beer equality.

(photo by Bud Force)

In honor of Dallas Beer Week, the ever-vigilant Teresa Gubbins over at Pegasus News posted a bang-up synopsis of Dallas’ growing growler scene. She covers all the basics, and frankly I couldn’t have said it better myself, so follow the link for her tips on where (and why) you should add growlers to your weekly routine. They’ve also put together a extremely user-friendly rundown of all of the Dallas Beer Week activities.

Can’t-miss events are scheduled at restaurants and bars all over town from the kick-off party at Franconia Brewing in McKinney, to the Deep Ellum Beer Brunch at The Common Table, to the Left Hand Brewery Growler Day at The Bottle Shop, to the 200-year-old Firkin Tapping at Amsterdam Bar. Don’t miss the wrap up on Saturday when craft brewers from around the U.S. will converge at Fair Park’s Food & Fiber Pavilion for tastings and general merriment. Click here for the full schedule

There is also a notable list of unaffiliated events going on all over town. Here are a few worth noting:

Jump for a list of UNAFFILIATED EVENTS at The Media Grill and Meddlesome Moth…

Rahr & Sons Beer Dinner at Media Grill + Bar/Hilton Anatole

Thursday, Nov. 10: The Media Grill at the Hilton Anatole will host a Beer Dinner with Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. Prepare for a “unique pairing of food and beer.” Cost is $58 per person (plus tax and gratuity), and reservations can be made by calling 214.761.7439. Limited seating available. Complimentary valet parking will also be available.

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Meddlesome Moth

From Saturday November 12 through Friday November 18, The Moth will be tapping a new sour beer daily.

Saturday, November 12:

Sour Beer: Ommegang, Aphrodite (1 PM)
Bear Republic, Cask Conditioned Racer 5 IPA (1 PM) (Fresh & tasty. Keith Schlabs points out that we haven’t seen this one in Texas before.)

Sunday, November 13 (Beer Brunch)
Sour Beer: New Belgium, Clutch (11 AM) – Sour Imperial Stout – all of their sours are part of the experimental Barrel Aging part of their brewery.
Real Ale, Empire (11AM) (Barrel aged IPA)

Monday, November 14
Sour Beer: New Belgium, Tart Lychee (5 PM)
Three Green Flash Tappings hosted by Brewmaster Chuck Silva.
Cask Conditioned Imperial IPA (Keith: this is BIG and its gonna be GOOD) • West Coast IPA • & a surprise tapping (5 PM)
Tuesday, November 15
Sour Beer: Petrus Aged Pale (5 PM)

Wednesday, November 16
Sour Beer: Real Ale, WT3F? (5 PM) (Keith says: This is a wild ale with Devil’s Backbone as base)
Dogfish Head 120 Min. IPA vs. Ska Cask Conditioned Modus Head (A dry-hopped Modus Hoperandi in cask form – are rare treat for Texas) (8:30 PM)

Thursday, November 17
Sour Beer: New Belgium La Folie (5 PM)
Garrett Oliver (in person) Book Signing featuring The Companion, The Concoction, and Vintage Black Chocolate Stout all on draught. (9 PM)

Friday, November 18
Sour Beer: Bockor Cuvee des Jacobins (5 PM)
Barrel Aged Mikkeller Black Hole (5 PM) (Keith says this is some rare shit.)

Old Monk
Wednesday September 21—Oktoberfest kickoff at The Old Monk. Keg tapping at 7.30 pm. Dennis from Franconia will bring a 200 year old wooden keg of his Oktoberfest which we will tap at 7:30. Keg tapper this year will be our very own Tim Rogers. The beer is served in ceramic steins with the Old Monk logo. A 24 oz stein full of beer is $15 and you keep the stein. Bratwurst and knockwurst are available.

Beer for a cause. Every year The Monk hosts a pumpkin carving event to raise money for charity. Guests pay $10 and get a scooped out pumpkin, carving tools and a pint compliments of Guinness (Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks, Half and Half, or Black and Tan ). The Monk matches the $10 (last year they wrote a check for $5,500 to North Texas Food Bank) Carving begins October 19 and runs through Halloween night.

Currently The Monk has cask conditioned Fireman’s #4. Get it before it runs out.

Six firkins of Green Flash West Coast IPA (7.3% ABV and 95 IBUs) are literally on a truck from San Diego right now. They should arrive any day to go on the beer engines at The Monk and The Idle. This beer will most certainly go quickly; it’s pretty highly regarded in craft beer circles.

Holy Grail Pub:

Mon., Sept. 26: Beer Dinner with Ayinger Celebrator, Pinkus Organic Hefeweizen, Avery Kaiser Oktoberfest, Kapuzinger Schwarz-Weizen, and Breckenridge Vanilla Porter.
Tues, Sept. 27: Magic Hat Hat Hex “Ourtoberfest Glass Night”
Weds., Sept. 28: Summit Oktoberfest Glass Night
Thurs., Sept. 29: Avery Kaiser Oktoberfest Glass Night
Fri., Sept. 30: Spaten Munich Mug Night

jump for the rest of the listings…

Libertine

Monday Sept 26: Guided Tasting of three Deschutes beers including the very special The Stoic with guest brewer Robin Johnson.

Wednesday Oct 26: 7 pm Halloween Costume & Spaten Beer Dinner. Five courses paired with five spaten beers for just $50. Reservations required. 214-824-7900.

Every Thursday Pint Night. Buy the beer and keep the cool logo glass. Check website for weekly feature.

Every Wednesday $2.50 Texas Beer Night. Draught, bottle or can. If it is from Texas, it is just $2.50. Week to week will include: Rahr, Southern Star Bombshell Blonde & Pinebelt Pale, Shiner, Lone Star, Saint Arnold Amber, Real Ale Fireman #4 and more…

Flying Saucer

Fort Worth Flying Saucer (Sundance Square) hosts its Sixth Annual Fall Beer Festivalwith seasonal brews from Avery Brewing Company; Ayinger Brewery; Boulevard Brewing Company; Brooklyn Brewery; Franconia Brewing; Harpoon Brewery; Live Oak Brewing Company; New Belgium Brewing; Real Ale Brewing; Rahr & Sons Brewing Company; Samuel Adams; Spaten Brewery; Saint Arnold Brewing Company; Summit Brewing Company; and Warsteiner. Saturday, Oct. 8 from noon to 9:30 p.m. – $25 online pre-sale ticket price, $30 week of event and at the door.

Addison Flying Saucer Draught Emporium will host an end of summer beer dinner with New Belgium Brewery this Monday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. Celebrate the end of summer with featured brews from New Belgium and a specially designed food menu that will pair with a selection of seasonal brews and selected offerings from New Belgium’s Lips of Faith lineup. The evening will be led by New Belgium representative and “North Texas Beer Ranger,” Jerry Bushon.

Flying Saucer on the Lake will host a special beer dinner with Brewery Ommegang on Thursday, Sept. 29 beginning at 6:30 p.m. The dinner will feature a special five-course food menu, paired with a selection of brews from Ommegang. Pairings include: Witte mussels with beer-baked fries and Ommegang Witte Ale for the evening’s first course; a second course of velvet corn soup with chili shrimp and Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale; next, guests will be treated to Ommegang Rare Vos Amber Ale served with sweet and spicy fried chicken tacos with jalapeno and mango slaw; the fourth course consists of the Saucer’s special “kicked up” meatloaf served with Ommegang Abbey Ale; and the dinner will conclude with Dulce de Leche, coconut and chocolate chip Magic Bars with vanilla bean ice cream, served with Ommegang Three Philosophers Quadruple.

Idle Rich

Cask conditioned St Arnold’s Elissa IPA is flowing at The Idle.

Also, The Old Monk, Idle Rich, Blackfriar and Renfield’s Corner all now have Spaten Oktoberfest on draught and offer litre Spaten steins of Oktoberfest for $15. The stein is yours to keep.

Each course will be paired with a beer selection from her prized cellar and will include:

jump for the menu…

First course:

Pate de canard and chicharrones de pato (duck pate with crispy duck pork rinds) paired with Transatlantique Kreik, a spontaneously fermented Lambic ale made with Polish cherries

Second course:

Roasted beet salad with an almond gazpacho and white balsamic syrup, served alongside Biere de Mars

Third course:

Breast of Guinea fowl with curried potatoes, arugula puree, and dried mango chutney paired with Super Cru

Fourth course:

Wild California Sturgeon filet with tempura pineapple and a “cherry coke” glaze, served with Dunkel-weiss, a “grand cru dunkel-weiss”

Fifth course:

Pork belly confit with Cannellini beans and a rosemary pesto with roasted grape marmalade served with La Folie

Dessert

Sticky bun bread pudding served with an Abbey Grand Cru.

Tickets for the event are $85, which includes tax and gratuity, and can be purchased by calling 214-628-7900. Tickets are limited, and reservations are required.