Any time a brewery is opening up on my side of town, I want to be there to experience it first-hand. When owner Jason Graham reached out to me and invited me out to the brewery, I was thrilled and excited to see what they had in the works. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it before the soft opening, but I’m glad I waited and got a chance to try a large array of samples that gave me a good idea of their brewing style, quality, and future.
My wife and I attended and were later joined by two friends who know a thing or two about beer. To start, we ordered a pint of their citrus wheat and a flight that consisted of the citrus wheat, pale ale, amber, vanilla cream ale on nitro, and milk stout on nitro. Round two was the dreamcicle (a mixer of half citrus wheat and half vanilla cream ale on nitro). To close, we had the peanut butter milk stout on nitro.
The Beers:
First, let’s start with the good. The citrus wheat is packed with orange flavor and tastes similar to a Blue Moon for reference. A wonderful beer, this should end up as one of their flagship brews due to its mass appeal and how sessionable and enjoyable it is. I really wished they had those push-up pops that I used to enjoy as a kid since it would have been a cool pairing with some ice cream.
The vanilla cream ale seemed to be a hit with just about everybody visiting the brewery. We talked to several individuals who raved about this beer and it didn’t disappoint. The vanilla flavor is a bit strong, so it may be overpowering to some, but for a sugar addict like me, it hit the spot. The vanilla cream ale is very smooth and at 5.3% ABV, it certainly is one that can be enjoyed with friends all day long. My wife commented, “it tastes like Cap’n Crunch cereal, but without cutting my mouth up.” Nailed it!
Finally, the ultimate hit for us was the dreamcicle mixer. According to owner Austin Webber, the beer was actually created by accident through a pouring screw-up. Yeah, whoever did that is our personal hero. I guess I had ice cream on the brain because, when infused, the lack of subtlety to the vanilla and orange flavor created this perfect storm that tastes identical to a dreamcicle. This was our favorite beer of the day and one that I had to add into Untappd to log. No doubt, this will be a repeat check-in.
As with any opening, there is some room for improvement. For me, that improvement is needed in the pale ale. How it was called a pale ale was a mystery to me as it was amber in color and did not have the typical flavor characteristics of a pale ale. At one point, we actually questioned whether we were drinking the amber or the pale ale until one of our friends ordered the same beer and confirmed. To me, it tasted like a bitter amber ale which missed the mark. However, we’re hopeful and optimistic that with the quality of their other brews, this beer will be tweaked and refined in the future. Judging by a small sample of the IPA that is being prepared, they know how to execute the creation of a hoppy beer, so we’ll chalk it up to some opening weekend hiccups.
The Atmosphere:
As with any new brewery, you want to know if it’s a place you’ll want to return. Sitting in a business park just a stone’s throw away from I-45 south, it certainly has a solid location. The outdoor area is a bit small, which can be a challenge on a beautiful day like Saturday with limited seating. However, inside, they had two huge projection screens showing the Astros game with a good amount of seating available.
Initially, we had to stand to enjoy our first round, but with the beer ledges close to the bar, it still made it enjoyable. I’ll be curious to see if they have some seating options closer to the bar in the form of stools or something that will allow more access to one of the projection screens.
With people playing dominoes, Cards Against Humanity, and other board games, it’s definitely the type of place to bring friends and enjoy some brews all day long.
The People:
What makes a brewery stand out from the rest is the people involved in it. For me, it’s the difference between me liking a place or hating it.
Everybody we met was very eager and proud of their establishment and with good reason. The way we found out about the dreamcicle was through Austin checking on us, asking how we liked the beers and which ones were our favorites. When we told him the vanilla cream ale on nitro and the citrus wheat, he asked us if we had tried the dreamcicle. Since we hadn’t, he said, “don’t move, I’ll be right back.” Returning with a sample, we were floored by how uncanny the flavor was to a dreamcicle and made that our next round.
Hearing the story of how he wanted to get out of doing law and how Jason wanted to get out of coaching made me connect to them. It made everything more personal and real; ultimately, it showed us that they are all-in on this project and are doing everything to make it succeed.
During the brewery tour, we asked brewmaster Josh and assistant brewer Alexander numerous questions about the beer. Curious about the hop blend used for their IPA, they shared that it’s going to be a blend of Simcoe, Centennial, and Cascade hops. And on a personal level, we asked what their soundtrack is when brewing. The answer was flawless. Without skipping a beat, they said, “we ask ourselves, what would this beer want to listen to?” Hopefully the beer wants a blend of metal, ska, and old school rap.
Overall, we loved Saloon Door Brewery and this will certainly be a regular spot for us to visit. In fact, I’m sure we’ll be stopping in this coming weekend to try the IPA that should be ready for Friday. Do yourself a favor and try these guys out. Some good beer is brewing out in Webster.