Brewmasters was the event last year that really got me motivated to write about Texas craft beer and stick to it, simply because there were so many craft brewers attending from Texas. I was able to be introduced to Fetching Lab Brewery, who really introduced themselves to the Houston area at the festival. Also, we were able to see who to watch for the future, like B-52, Galveston Island Brewing, and Goliad, to name a few.
This year’s event was more about seeing some first timers and seeing how much the Texas craft beer scene has grown. With over 40 Texas breweries represented from SHADE (San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Everywhere in-between), it’s clear this event is one of the must-attend beerfests for our local favorites. All of the normal players were there including Saint Arnold, Karbach, Southern Star, etc. However, some new faces also made their debut at the event. New Braunfels Brewing Company made their first Brewmasters appearance and brought four offerings, including one never seen outside of their taproom. We’ll get to that beer later because it’s worth talking about in more detail.
Also making their Brewmasters debut were two more central Texas breweries, Altmeyer & Lewis from San Marcos and BS Brewing from Seguin. When I asked owner Stewart Altmeyer how long they had been open, I got the reply of “since today,” which surprised me because they truly had “try it here first” beers at the festival. BS Brewing really took their beers to the Houston area for the first time at the event as well.
Keep in mind that with any festival serving over 400 craft beers, you’re bound to have a few superb beers and a lot of forgettable ones. I’ll sum up our top 3 we sampled at the festival.
The best beer I sampled at the festival was New Braunfels Brewing’s Saison de Peche. Pucker gangster (his official title) and owner, Kelly Meyer, uses Fredericksburg peaches from Engel Farms and creates a wild and fruity sour saison that is unlike anything you will ever imagine. With sours being in limited supply at the festival, it’s usually hard to vote for one unless it’s outstanding. This exceeded all expectations.
Another beer that caught our attention was BS Brewing’s Pecan Ale with Honey. I had another pecan beer at the event that shall remain nameless because it didn’t hold a candle to this gem. You can always tell when somebody takes time to perfect a recipe because it hits all the right flavors on your palette at all the right times, as opposed to rushing something to market that’s not quite right. Sweet pecan flavor is balanced out by vanilla undertones and finishes nicely with a slight hoppiness to clean out your palette. Honestly, I could have been fine drinking several pints of this because it was that good.
Finally, my bias is showing. Our friends at Fetching Lab continue to put out beers that impress. Last year, the talk of the festival was the introduction of their Bound & Determined Chile Stout. This year, B&D returned but with a different partner in crime, their new fall seasonal, Fetcher in the Rye. Fetcher is a juniper rye that is intended to taste like fall in a glass. With everybody putting out Oktoberfest marzen beers, it’s nice to see somebody taking risks to put out something different and unique. The herbal taste is balanced out by the clean finish from the dry-hopping. Plus, getting a chance to sample it a week before the official launch is welcomed.
This is my absolute favorite event of the year and it’s becoming more of a destination for many visitors. I can’t wait to see more Texas craft brewers participate and make it a complete statewide beerfest takeover. No offense to the other non-Texas brewers there, but I passed right by all of you to get to my local favorites.