The Brewmasters Craft Beer Festival on Saturday was a haze to say the least. Twenty-four one ounce pours are more like twenty-four three ounce pours of high ABV beer. Fortunately, my planning was better than usual and I actually made (somewhat) legible notes throughout the event to recap what was great and what was not.
Key points from the event:
- The first beer of the day was my favorite beer of the day
- An unexpected star brewery emerged
- A brewery I was most curious about didn’t even show up (or wasn’t visible for me to find)
I sampled an unbelievable amount of beers I was either curious about or absolutely loved. Of those, a few standouts were clear and a few disappointments left me wondering what went wrong.
As I mentioned, the first beer I tried ended up being the best beer of the day. Luckily, that turned out to be my local, Galveston Island Brewing’s Samson in a Barrel. This was a beer I perceived as a Russian Imperial Stout aged in a Makers Mark whiskey barrel. The stated ABV was 11.5%, however after enjoying a sampling at the festival and then a snifter post-event at the brewery, I believe it to be much higher than this. This beer was absolutely perfect in every way and talking with brewmaster Jason, this is going to be the first of many beers they will produce using whiskey barrel aging. If any of these beers hold up to their first, they will be producing some of the best beer in the state.
However, the star of the day for us was a brewery in Alvin called Fetching Lab Brewery. Owners Brett and Theresa were very friendly and more than willing to answer questions about their beer offerings. The brewery opened in February of this year with distribution going out to local area pubs in June, so this appeared to be a coming out party of sorts. Available for the event were the Round Up Amber, Laelaps IPA, and our personal favorite, the debut of Bound & Determined Chile Stout. The chile stout came a VERY close second to Samson in a Barrel as it was a sessionable stout that features a chocolate and vanilla mix flavor with a small chile finish on the palate to add a little heat. According to Brett, this may end up being the first beer they bottle as they indicated a bottling line will be starting soon and the overwhelming response to the chile stout has caused them to think about making this a featured staple in their lineup.
Our most anticipated brewery to try that did not show was Galactic Coast Brewing. If we missed them, then we apologize in advance, but we did a few laps around the area specifically looking for them and could not locate them. Two beers listed in the program as being available for sampling were the Rocket Ride brown ale and the Goblin Hunter fall seasonal ale. I even checked social media to see if they were there and we just didn’t see them, but to no avail. It was quite a shame to miss them as this could have been a golden opportunity to bring their beer to market in their local county.
Some highlights were Ronnie Crocker being a complete gentleman and talking to everyone who came by asking him about beer, including myself. He signed a copy of his book, Houston Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Bayou City, and spent a good 10-15 minutes talking about the history of brewing in the local area, even mentioning how much Galveston County has grown in the past few years in the craft beer world. My wife, a bit inebriated by that point, had a difficult time using her cell phone camera, so no picture with Ronnie ended up being taken. Another highlight was Southern Star debuting their Buried Hatchet Stout infused with cold pressed coffee that was an absolute dream beer. They managed to take a stellar beer, tinker with the recipe, and make it even better. Hopefully this becomes a featured brew for them in the future. Finally, the Texas staple, Saint Arnold’s, came bearing gifts in the form of Divine Reserve #13 and #15. With the Russian Imperial Stout being among the best DR versions ever produced, it was a treat to drink again.
Honestly, some disappointments for us were 8th Wonder only bringing Rocket Fuel and Phree Kick for sampling to the event. This brewery is one of the state’s absolute standouts in the craft beer world. Ultimately, we felt like they could have geared up for their brewery expansion and introduction of their packaging line through this event. Also, I wish Buffalo Bayou would have brought a larger selection of their best offerings (their Secessionist series), such as Figaro, Red Velvet Stout, etc. Instead, their heritage series of More Cowbell, 1836 and new Secessionist series beer, Sam’s Daily, were the featured brews.
Judging by the attendance and the overwhelming number of craft breweries in attendance, this event was quite the success. Every year around Labor Day, we look forward to this event on Galveston Island as people come from all around the area. Hopefully next year, we’ll be introduced to some even more adventurous brews taking the Texas craft brewing scene to the next level!