Guest article by Judy Rae Merhar

At the intersection of East Sixth Street and Chicon, you’ll notice a spruced-up teal structure with a navy crest logo reading Lazarus Brewing Company. A barrage of open garage doors allow melodies to drift onto the street. Next to me is a parked pickup with a friendly golden lab wagging its tail from the truck bed. The scene appears like an open invitation to explore this new Austin brewery, and so it is.

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When you think of a fun hang, your first thought typically isn’t about an industrial park. But that’s where I found myself on a beautiful evening. Friends and colleagues lined the outside picnic tables. Friendly bartenders served friendly beer in a friendly environment. Everyone had a brew in hand, enjoying the impromptu celebration.

And for good reason. With a balanced line of consistent crowd pleasers and beer geek favorites, Austin Beerworks has earned its place among the ATX craft beer elite. And with this month’s announcement of a massive brewhouse expansion, Austin Beerworks is celebrating its five-year anniversary in style. [Read more…]

Austin’s newest urban brewery has opened on Caesar Chavez, offering a collection of rare brews you won’t find anywhere else in town. Blue Owl Brewing is Austin’s only all sour-mashed brewery. Those who know a thing or two about Austin beer might immediately think of Jester King, which for a long time has held the market on farmhouse-style sour beers.

Blue Owl brews don’t have the dramatic sour taste you might expect when you think of a tart sour beer. Instead, the one-of-a-kind sour-mash process creates a delicate sour that is gentle enough for anyone who is just trying out sour beers, yet complex enough for the pickiest of craft beer drinkers. [Read more…]

I’d like to talk about beer.

Since Austin is really starving for microbreweries right now, it’s nice to finally see one open up. JOKING. It’s actually quite the opposite. Honestly, I can’t go a day at work without some craft beer snob gloating about this new hops-shop he/she “discovered.”

Bottom line, there’s no shortage of microbreweries around here, so it can be overwhelming to find one that will suit all your needs. That said, I totally want to tell you about this new microbrewery, 4th Tap Brewing Co-op, that I discov…uh…that just opened up in North Austin. #hypocrite [Read more…]

Walking into the taproom at Adelbert’s Brewery is like stumbling upon a country chic party. Hip music fills the air. Dart boards, foosball and ping pong tables stand ready to be played. Racks full of barrels containing sleeping beer, some resting for weeks, others for years, serves as the back wall. An inviting combination of warm and cool.

In the ever-changing ocean of Texas beer, Adelbert’s has been brewing Belgian styles for years. And with a heart towards charity, innovation and quality, it remains a flagship brand in the expanding craft beer scene.

Old School Innovation

Founded in 2011, the Adelbert’s mission has never wavered: create authentic Belgian beer in Austin, Texas. Thanks to this focus, they became one of the first “widely [Read more…]

I swear by the beers I love. For this reason, it’s difficult for me to stretch beyond my usual suspects to sample all the exploding craft beer market has to offer. This article was an exercise in getting outside my comfort zone.

For the last two months, I, along with my courageous tasting team, dove gullet deep in Austin’s bombastic brew culture. We ventured into the cruel and recently very wet traffic to satisfy our insatiable desire to find the best beer flights in Austin.

Why beer flights? Beer flights are about relationships. They force you to consider not just what’s within the glass, but what’s between them.

We let our bartenders dazzle us with their selections, giving each one [Read more…]