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.
I know, I know. You’ve been waiting on pins and needles for Part II of Beers With Friends. But consider this an extra, in which I give you a run down of the various American Craft Beer Week activities. It all starts on Monday. I’ll break it up by day, and then maybe tell you which ones my expert, Michael, and I are most interested in checking out. Armed with excellent tolerance (debatable, in reference to myself) and tastebuds (definitely, in reference to Michael), we will boldly go where several of you are probably also and already going. Check back for specifics from Strangeways, and as always, add more ideas in the comments.
Teresa “Gubshoe” Gubbins reports the Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse will open its first branch in Dallas-Fort Worth in the Richardson Heights Shopping Center. The theater-restaurant has 740 seats, a full kitchen, and 40 beers on tap. It will takeover the former Pep Boys store. This is not your average first-run theater. It is a movie-lovers dream. They do festivals, both beer and movie, and special events like “Quote Alongs” for films like The Big Lebowski and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. You get kicked out if you don’t talk along with the film.
UPDATE: Peter files a report on FrontRow.
It’s that time of year again. Time to load up your amigos and head to the local Mexican watering holes for mariachi music, discount drinks, and too much tequila. Check out our list of 10 best bets for getting in the spirit of the annual fiesta.
CHUY’S
11 am to 11 pm
Drink This: All day happy hour with $3.95 house margaritas, $7.25 house Texas martinis, and $2.75 domestics along with Corona specials and onsite alcohol promotions
Festivities: Tune in to the sounds of a mariachi band at 7 pm.
HACIENDA ON HENDERSON
11 am to 11 pm
Drink This: $5 margaritas
Festivities: It’s a whole block party full of live music, mariachis, and DJs. If you get bored, head to the dunk tank, onsite photo booth, or giant Jenga. Bring a receipt and prove you caught a cab there, and the $5 cover is waived.
Hi. Remember me? I wrote this thing about Tillman’s and got all choked up about tater tots. When Carol asked me last week to write something about beer, I said, “Oh. Well, I like beer.” And then she showed me a photo of the beers Bolsa Mercado has just gotten in stock. I said, “I recognize most of these. They can’t be THAT interesting.” But I’m no aficionado. The only reason I recognized some of the labels is thanks to my good friend Michael (yes, the one who says that not liking seafood is akin to not liking sandwiches). He really likes beer, in an intelligent sort of way, and he knows a lot about it.
Thus, I have dubbed this thing “Beers With Friends,” in which I gather Michael and two other friendly persons with distinguished palates, PCP’s Bradford Pearson and his fiancée Kelleen, to drink hoppy stuff and talk about it like humans with a limited budget for booze-buying. We will strive for equal parts real opinion and total BS (like when I say something ridiculous like “I definitely think this tastes like beer.”) Hopefully, you have fun and learn something new, which is how last Thursday night went down for us.
Starting this Thursday, Deep Ellum Brewing Company will host Thursday evening tours of the brewery from 5-7PM. They kick off their new program with live music by Whiskey Folk Ramblers. Food, for purchase, is available from Buzzbrews Deep Ellum. $10 at the gate which includes DEBC souvenir glass and DEBC beer. 972-439-2413.
Melissa Monosoff is a Master Sommelier who moved to Dallas in January to become the Director of Wine and Education for Pioneer Beverage Company. She is the 17th woman in the world to gain MS status. Before coming to Dallas, Melissa created the largest wine list in Pennsylvania, and was a multi-year recipient of Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, both at Savona Restaurant in Philadelphia. Her presence in Dallas brings our female Master Sommelier population up to two: Barbara Werley, of Pappas Bros. is also a MS. Only San Francisco has more: three. And we are tied at two with Southgate, Michigan. For those of you scoring at home, Texas now has seven Master Sommeliers. (Wine sabermetricians will enjoy this site.)
James Tidwell, the MS at the Four Season’s Resort and Spa and co-founder of TexSom, knows Melissa. “She has a palate that is scary sensitive and accurate; much better than mine,” Tidwell says. “In short, she’s a badass.”
Which is why I am pleased to announce that Melissa and James have teamed up to write together. I hope to make them the new “Dottie and John,” the duo who, for 12 years, wrote a tasting column for the Wall Street Journal. Their first column is a review of the recent Victory Brewing Company dinner at the Meddlesome Moth.
Bill Covaleski, co-founder of Victory Brewing Company, was in town on Monday evening to host a beer dinner at Meddlesome Moth. Bill was a homebrewer who went on to complete beer studies at the Doemens Institute in Munich. Despite his vast technical knowledge, Bill relays information in a way that even non-hopheads can understand and he is entertaining in front of a group. He has grown Victory to become a leader of the craft brewing movement, and a staple of the Pennsylvania brewing culture. Pennsylvania native and the Moth’s new executive chef Nick Amoriello provided the food pairings. Based on this dinner, we have to say Amoriello is a talent to watch for food and beer pairings. His grasp of flavors and textures between the food and beer was remarkable.
Hop here.
Dallas continues to set the standards high when it comes to events designed to wine and dine you. Here are some that shouldn’t be missed over the next few weeks.
One of my favorite wineries in Napa Valley is Miner Family Vineyards. From owner Dave Miner’s succulent Wild Yeast Chardonnay to his impressive use of the Merlot grape in his Stagecoach Vineyard Merlot and his big red blend The Oracle, a wine I would easily put up next to any other red blend from Napa in a blind taste test, his wines are simply delicious. Thursday evening Miner’s Sales Director Rocio Gonzales will be at the Sigel’s-Elite on Fitzhugh from 5pm-7pm to taste all of these wines and more….best part, some nice discounts will be available for each wine tasted (including the 2007 Oracle, one of the best years in recent history for Napa Valley’s, which usually sells for $85, discounted to $72 a bottle.) Reservations required – 214-635-3162
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Good heavens, Walnut Hill and Central is turning into Booze Row. Centennial has been on the corner for a long time and Spec’s, the ginaormous liquor and wine store, opened there in mid-December. This morning comes news that Total Wine & More will open in “early summer” just a few blocks down (or up) from Spec’s. (Note: They’re hiring!) This will be the chain’s first store in Texas and 80th overall location. Here is their claim:
“Total Wine will offer a greater selection of wines, spirits, and beer in its store than any retailer in Dallas.”
Yow. Zah. That’s ballsy. I guess we’ll wait and see. Oh wait, Co-Owner and President David Trone has something to say:
“Total Wine & More will offer a shopping experience unlike any other in Dallas. We feature wine from nearly every wine-growing region in the world, as well as a tremendous selection of spirits from every price range, and a diverse offering of beers, from America’s most popular beers to hard-to-find microbrews and imports. I believe Dallas residents will be surprised and amazed when they first enter our store.”
Bring it, Hoss. We’ll be the judge. Say, how much Texas wine are you bringing?
Deep Ellum Brewing Company’s Brand and Sales Ninja, Tait Lifto, sends the news. This may be the place to hang before Savor Dallas’ sold-out reserve tasting:
Deep Ellum Brewing Company is proud to introduce the next step in our young life: a brand new beer garden premiering to the public tomorrow, Saturday March 31, 2012 from noon to 3pm. We will be open to the public for a brewery open house with a tour at 2pm. Come see the brand new beer garden, a new painting by the Davies brothers, listen to Fish Fry Bingo and more. You are invited to attend – we now accept credit cards at the door as well. I’m attaching a photo of the beer garden at 90% completion – it will be 100% by tomorrow.
Details: (more…)
First, a few St. Patrick’s Day fun facts:
St. Patrick wasn’t Irish.
Almost 37 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. (The rest just pretend on March 17.)
Nearly 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick’s Day.
There are four towns in the United States named “Shamrock.” Texas has one of them.
My sister used to eat all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms box growing up.
Leprechauns exist.
Now, without further ado, we present a guide to boozing on the mean green holiday, organized by our favorite ‘hoods. We know we’ve left off some great bars that will be hosting great times (great time = green Irish beer, Celtic jams, and corned beef and cabbage), but this is just a little taste from a few different DFW territories.
In celebration of our recent Texas Independence Day, Texas Flag Day and Sam Houston Day (all of which occurred last Friday, March 2) Sigel’s is holding a TexasFest with a Lone Star sized celebration of all things Texas including some of the state’s best beer, wine and spirits. This Saturday from 1pm-4pm at the Sigel’s-Elite on Fitzhugh 24 Texas beers, 20 Texas spirits and 8 Texas wines will be poured including beer from Deep Ellum Brewery, Rahr and Sons, St. Arnold, Real Ale and more, with spirits from Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Tito’s Vodka, Dripping Springs Vodka, Pecan Street Rum, Waterloo Gin, Rebecca Creek Whiskey, Balcones and more, and wine from Lone Oak including their San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition winning Viognier. What could be better than celebrating our Texas heritage with a few sips from some of Texas’ finest. Reserve your tasting passport giving you twelve sips of any of the above here.
SAT analogy lesson for the day:
New Orleans : Mardi Gras ::
Germany : Fasching Fest ::
If you didn’t understand that, retake the SATs and jump below. (more…)
While other children my age were perfectly satisfied with eating buttered noodles (a bland phenomenon I will never understand), I spent my summers and winters in Taipei demanding to eat Peking duck. Give me some fat, crispy-skinned duck caramelized in its own juices, and I will be the most well-behaved kid on this planet. It worked every time.
Let it be known that I hardly eat Peking duck in the States. It is always a sure disappointment that will make me start itching to buy a plane ticket to Taiwan the very second I finish my meal – money be damned. When I heard that Mr. Wok serves up a mighty duck, I decided that it was time to break my golden rule and see what all the fuss was about.
Jump or quack for more.
Does it really matter if you’re rooting for New England or New York? A Super Bowl watch party is just about having more fun than you’re supposed to on a Sunday. (And winning any bets you may have placed.) Here are 10 hot spots that guarantee a good time whether or not the Giants wipe the field with the Patriots.
It has only been a month Deep Ellum Brewing Company released their first beer so they must have been knocked for six on Saturday when at least 500 people turned up for the party celebrating the release of their Deep Ellum IPA. They pouredthe IPA along with several other beers including the Backslider Blonde which reminded me of a girl I once dated. She was certainly that hoppy. The Double Brown Stout had a distinctive chocolate note which no doubt came from the chocolate malt used in the brew. It could also be called a Baltic porter or a Baltic oatmeal porter. The Darkest Hour represents DEBC’s tête de cuvée of dark beers. It’s a full 9% ABV (alcohol by volume) and made from rye and barley. It is the most intense beer that I have tasted for some time. However, the flavors that brew master Drew Huerter imparts in his beers are clean and well-defined. I would drink both of these stouts with foods such as cheese with some rough textured farmhouse bread. Aaron Baxter, who along with Tait Lifto, is a ‘Brand Ninja’ at DEBC suggested I pair the brew with spicy Tex-Mex or Mexican food as an alternative.
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