Austin, TX

I know there is at least 1 person who is from Austin here.

I will be leaving for Ft. Hood on Sunday. I will be going to playing tourist in Austin and San Antonio over the following weekend (10-11 Dec).

Anyone want to get together at a pub for a round or 2? Or at least make some recommendations for some "you can't miss this" sight in either place?

I've been the the Alamo and the River Walk before so I will be taking my wife there to experience them.

Right now it looks like my wife will be coming along too, so your significant other is more than welcome also.

A friend of mine already recommended Dan McClusky's Butchery in Austin and the Mi Teirra (sp?), Hung Fongs and Earl Abel's for pies in SA...something about pubs being located around 6th St.

As always, the first round's on me.

Greatest pub in Austin: Gingerman on 4th and Guadalupe down town.

check out http://gingermanpub.com/austin/draught.html for their beer list. I think it's slightly dated, but they have about 90 things on tap.

That's a decent list.

Is that St Armold the special Christmas, oops, sorry, holiday, brew that everyone carries on about? I need to take some home.

Actually, there's one brewer in IL, you know who you are, who mentioned a relative delivering him a 6'er. Now, if I can only figure out which beer it was.

I also need to pick up a case of Shiner Bock for a co-worker.

Can anyone else recommend a seasonal/special brew?

I have some of their Christmas Ale. I think it's in close relation to Yak Vomit.

Mindflux said:

I have some of their Christmas Ale. I think it's in close relation to Yak Vomit.

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"Yak Vomit"! Now there's one I haven't tried.

I saw a Musk Ox once or twice in Norway...and I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

I'll have to dig through my fridge. I think I've got 5 of the 6 pack left. If that is the case I can give it to you on the 11th if you want to meet up somewhere. I'm partial to gingerman myself

Sure, we could meet up at the Gingerman...Anyone else?

I'll PM you with my cell phone number...Oops, you've exceeded your limit in the PM region.

Hrm, it's a shame you aren't around on the 17th. The Austin Zealots group gets together at gingerman every 3rd Saturday. I've never been, but it seems like it would be fun.

homebrewer_99 said:

I also need to pick up a case of Shiner Bock for a co-worker.

Can anyone else recommend a seasonal/special brew?

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Shiner has a seasonal out...a dunkelweizen. It's not much like any dunkel I've ever had tho.

El Pistolero said:

Shiner has a seasonal out...a dunkelweizen. It's not much like any dunkel I've ever had tho.

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I've had plenty in Germany. How does it stand up?

El Pistolero said:

Shiner has a seasonal out...a dunkelweizen. It's not much like any dunkel I've ever had tho.

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Yeah their "Shiner 96" (A Martzen) isn't like any Martzen style I've had before..

Overall the only shiner I've liked is their normal Bock (which isn't very Bock like anyway).

homebrewer_99 said:

I've had plenty in Germany. How does it stand up?

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Not very well IMHO.

That's my take on Shiner's also...a bit weak, or lighter body (watered down).

I was at Lawton, OK last year and the one sport's bar I went to had Shiner's as an IMPORT. All imports were $.50 more than domestics. I talked to the manager and told him if I lived there I would take him to court for ripping people off...even Sam Adam's was an import.

Yikes, hb99 you've got 24 years on me.. Maybe I'm not the right age bracket for your type of partying

check out the thread on independence brewing. i didnt see this and recomended gingerman, but im telling you you gotta check out the draughthouse. id recomend a long windy drive through the hill country on your way from austin-san antonio, screw i-35 and take the most back ass roads you can find. you could go through fredericksburg, its kinda touristy (very touristy actually), but its a cool old german town, you can get some good german food. theres a brewery there, my parents got married at it,, but i was a little to young to drink so i cant vouch for their beer quality. kerrvilles cool as well. make sure you get bbq. cant beat texas bbq-although someone from NC might disagreee with me.

What's that mean? What type of partying?

You afraid I'll keep you up all night drinking? I've got work in the morning....

It's only a social get together to pass some time having some beer, BS about all the beers we've had, and take a picture or two to share with the rest of the crew on this forum.

Of course, all of that is non-committal.

drengel said:

make sure you get bbq. cant beat texas bbq-although someone from NC might disagreee with me.

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Thanks for the cross-country tour I think we'll check that out.

As for the BBQ, I just saw a show on A&E or something like that and Texas BBQ was beat out by Memphis...as for NC BBQ, I don't care for vinegar BBQ...and I lived in NC 3 times!

Supposedly Salt-Lick BBQ was voted best BBQ in texas, but I say nonsense. It's dry, yack-tacular and I've had better bbq from my grocer.

To each their own.. though.

i dont like NC bbq either. as for memphis, ive eaten at all the best bbq places there, many times in fact, one time me and my dad drove from florida to memphis just to get some ribs--true story. we ate ribs that night, the next day again, and drove back. when driving back we wanted more ribs, so we stop in alabama, at dreamland bbq, and those are actually the best ribs ive ever had. ate there many times again. but overall, Texas has THE BEST bbq (the south has the best ribs). cant beat it. and if youre into food, check out the whole foods on lamar and 6th. only grocery store i know of where you can walk around drinking a beer while you shop. good beer selection too. central market is fun as well. and im serious about not taking i-35, its my least favorite road in the world. when i lived in austin i would take the most backass ways to get around just to not drive on that road. its hell...

Mindflux said:

Supposedly Salt-Lick BBQ was voted best BBQ in texas, but I say nonsense. It's dry, yack-tacular and I've had better bbq from my grocer.

To each their own.. though.

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agreed. dont go to the salt lick just because everyone recomends it, the people that recomend it are probably from california and sure as hell dont go to the salt lick 'bistro' in westlake.

Mindflux said:

...yack-tacular

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Are you anti-Yak?

drengel said:

cant beat texas bbq-although someone from NC might disagreee with me.

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homebrewer_99 said:

I was at Lawton, OK last year and the one sport's bar I went to had Shiner's as an IMPORT. All imports were $.50 more than domestics. I talked to the manager and told him if I lived there I would take him to court for ripping people off...even Sam Adam's was an import.

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Yeah, welcome to Oklahoma, otherwise known as beer hell, unless you live in Tulsa or OKC! At almost all of the restaurants here Rolling Rock, Sam Adams, and yes Shiner, are all considered imports.

HB 99, try to make the Live Oak Brewery. i think they do tours around 1 o'clock on Sat and it's just east of the tu campus, west side of IH 35 i believe? good brews! also hit North by Northwest Brewpub on Capital of Texas Highway North. good food, good brews. i like ther bock, nice and malty. if you like Belgian style's, go to Lovejoy's Tap Room. they brew their own, but it's a LITTLE eclectic. also, you better get some Real Ale Brewing Co. beer while in town. they have a good seasonal coffee porter, and IPA out right now, only on tap. they bottle 4 others and a barleywine if you can catch it. you get Live Oak, Saint Arnold's, Real Ale at the Ginger Man too. there's another brew pub called Bitter End Bistro, but they recently had a fire. don't know if there back open, but should be. beers are okay, and it's a nicer brew pub than normal. the Draught House is also another. go to www.txbrewersfestival.com for addresses and maps of the brew pubs in Austin.

Thanks. I'll check out the site.

billybrew said:

Yeah, welcome to Oklahoma, otherwise known as beer hell...

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Yeah, I know. I served (Army) time at Ft Sill and I've been back several times.

Incidently, for you Texans..I also lived in Texarkana, TX for 9 months. I have friends in texas from New Boston to El Paso, from Denton to Corpus Christi. I think I'll be OK.

a tid-bit on the Saint Arnold's Christmas Ale (and it was Rhoobarb who said his parent's where gonna bring some up).

Saint Arnold''s Christmas Ale
Gold Medal, Real Ale Festival, Old Ale/Strong Ale, 2000
Gold Medal, Real Ale Festival, Old Ale/Strong Ale, 1998
Bronze Medal, World Beer Cup, Old Ale/Strong Ale, 1998
Silver Medal, World Beer Championships, Strong Ale, 1997

pretty good for yak vomit ;^)

So, is it good or not?
I don't know which way to go or with the Yak Vomit comment.

homebrewer_99 said:

So, is it good or not?
I don't know which way to go or with the Yak Vomit comment.

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well, it ain't yak vomit to me, but i get it pretty damn fresh. plus, my HBS had a clone on tap this past weekend, and it was good too. so my vote's a for yak vomit!

HB99, damn you picked a bad weekend. I got company coming that weekend.
I'd love to sit and chew the fat with ya some time .

D.B. has the best beer pub suggestion in my opinion. The Draught House is very good and the Gingerman is also a good pick. Pick up some Real Ale Rio Blanco Pale Ale if you have a chance they sell it in the H.E.B grocery stores if you see one.

The Live Oak Brewery does tours Mon-Thur . 10:00- 2:00 best times to scedule.

Sudster said:

HB99, damn you picked a bad weekend. I got company coming that weekend.
I'd love to sit and chew the fat with ya some time .

D.B. has the best beer pub suggestion in my opinion. The Draught House is very good and the Gingerman is also a good pick. Pick up some Real Ale Rio Blanco Pale Ale if you have a chance they sell it in the H.E.B grocery stores if you see one.

The Live Oak Brewery does tours Mon-Thur . 10:00- 2:00 best times to scedule.

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I didn't pick anything...my Uncle Sam says go...the soldiers need you again!

Thanks for the leads on the pubs and beers. I'll do my best to check them out. I only have the weekend since I'll be working at Ft. Hood for 2 weeks. I have friends up there that I've been stationed and deployed with. We're going to do some partying up there (Killeen) also.

I really don't do brewery tours anymore...similar to castles in Europe...how many can you really appreciate after the first 100 or so? After a while they're all (basically) the same.

What's the DB? I must have missed that one.

I'm thinking about getting a room in SA for me and the wife and doing Austin on the way back to Killeen on Sunday.

Well it seems The Draught House is a popular pick. I've never been, so Bill if you'd rather go there I'm open to new pubs!

Mindflux said:

Well it seems The Draught House is a popular pick. I've never been, so Bill if you'd rather go there I'm open to new pubs!

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That's fine with me...I mean...I'm the tourist here! It'll probably be Sunday as we are planning a day in San Antonio (still looking for a hotel) on Sat.

Is there a game going on next Sat? Seems like a lot of places are booked.

Sudster just told me you guys are brewing together today. Have one for me!

Sorry about the confusion earlier about the age thing. But to give you a short idea of me, I cut my 16 inch ponytail off last year (I had a ponytail in the 60s - cut it off, the 70s - cut it off, the 80s cut it off, the 90s - cut it off, and cut this last one off in 2004), I play guitar, mostly classic rock, 70s-80s, I have 5 working guitars, 3 amps, and about a dozen effects pedals, I brew beer and I retire in less than 4 years!

Unless I scared you away, then all the small talk is over...now, let's drink something dammit!

It's all good, i was just ribbin ya anyway

Mindflux said:

It's all good, i was just ribbin ya anyway

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HEY! You pickin on old guys?

El Pistolero said:

HEY! You pickin on old guys?

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You outta know...you are the professional psychic here or did you forget you were psycho?

Judging from EL. P's portrait I think he is beyond psycho.

Well, I'm in the last hour of my Wee-Heavy ..4 hr boil..my brewing bud adios'd on me..can't really blame him. He stayed for 7 hrs . He hung in there for the most part though. I think he enjoyed the beer.... a 4 hour boil is almost too much for me to bear.

So after 7 or 8 hours, how do you hang in there for the clean-up. I usually bale, and risk the wrath of SWMBO.

Sudster said:

Judging from EL. P's portrait I think he is beyond psycho.

Well, I'm in the last hour of my Wee-Heavy ..4 hr boil..my brewing bud adios'd on me..can't really blame him. He stayed for 7 hrs . He hung in there for the most part though. I think he enjoyed the beer.... a 4 hour boil is almost too much for me to bear.

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I worked for a while in a funny farm...I related very well to my "clients".

I'm drinking a wee heavy now that I'm kind of proud of. Can I bring you a couple for a critique...I'm thinking I could meet you in Luling or somewhere some evening when you're on the way home from work?

El Pistolero said:

I worked for a while in a funny farm...I related very well to my "clients".

I'm drinking a wee heavy now that I'm kind of proud of. Can I bring you a couple for a critique...I'm thinking I could meet you in Luling or somewhere some evening when you're on the way home from work?

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Absolutely, my friend. Just say when.