Beer me

Sampler cups with tickets --- ready to drink!

 We went to the Texas Craft Brewer Festival yesterday which was a lot of fun! For just $20, you are able to sample 6, 4oz craft beers from 40 different Texas brewers, in a sample glass that you get to keep. Several breweries had special beers made just for the event and there were hourly tappings at multiple tents throughout the day.

Exploring the map of 40 breweries, and special beer tappings every hour!

At Revolver brewery tent

 I found a new favorite beer called Blood and Honey from Revolver Brewery. To be honest, I was first intrigued by the name (much to what we're all thinking, it does not have real blood in it) but then as I read the description [An unfiltered deep golden ale made with malted two row barley and wheat. The brew is finished with Blood Orange zest, local Fall Creek Farms Honey and other spices that bring special flavors to this unique beer], it sounded wonderful! On top of that, the people behind me in line were there for their second serving, so I knew I would LOVE this beer.

Rain, sch-main. Gimme more beer!

To add to all the excitement of the good beer, delicious food from the local Austin food trucks, we had a thunderstorm. It didn't really take us by surprise, because it was expected to be rainy all day. However, we had a good amount of time without any rain, but crazy humidity. And then, the water works broke free, along with wind. It helped make the place cooler but mostly everyone took shelter under the covered stage area. There were some die-hard beer fans who stayed in line for the next special beer tapping. I personally enjoyed getting wet in the rain. It was too darn hot before and you only live once so there's no point being prissy, worrying about your clothes or your hair.  Al and I had a great time and will probably go again next year :)

Fall Festivals

So fall officially started on September 22nd but there wasn't the big hoorah or marketing emails that I received way back when Summer started. What I have been getting a lot of are festival emails. I get it, the weather is nicer, which in Texas means, not swealtering hot, so it's the perfect time for outdoor gatherings! Even Watson is loving the cooler weather, as shown by his multiple outdoor petitions (he taps on the door when he wants to go out).

Here are a list of festivals only this weekend, so prepare to not sleep, just eat, drink and be merry this weekend!

• Texas Craft Brewers festival (we're going to this one)
• The Old Pecan Street festival
• AUSTOBERFEST
• Texas Mead fest
• Getting Sauced! BBQ-sauce contest/festival - yum!
• Austin Teen Book festival
• Annual Grape Stomp
• Hairy Man festival - yes, I know!
• Moody Cotton Harvest festival
• Texas Tribune Festival
• Austin County Fair Kick-Off Dance & Shrimp Boil
• Capital City Black Film festival
• Out of Bounds Comedy festival
• Dharma and Yoga fest

 

Austin beer tour

Austin is a craft beer town.

There is not just one great craft brewery here but at least ten and since Al's dad was in town, we decided to do a little beer tour of our own. We went to Circle Brewery for their Smokin' Beech Open house. This is a beer tapping even for the smoky Oktoberfest beer which was good but my favorite is still the Circle Blur, a hefeweizen.

We then went to Adelbert's Brewery, which has one of the coolest indoor setups for a brewery with an actual bar, with stools/tables, Foosball and darts. I had only ever tried one of their beers, but found that I really liked the Belgian style Dubbel and Tripels from Adelbert's. 

 

We also made our way to Black Star Co-op pub and brewery the next day. While we weren't really hungry, the food smelt amazing and we'll have to come back again to try the food, which I've heard lots of good things about. They have a great selection on tap and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather. A huge plus is that it's dog friendly so we'll have to bring Watson with us next time.

Ahoy, me mateys!

Well, apparently it's the National Talk like a Pirate Day, and if you're so inclined, a handful of places are actually giving away free stuff if you talk and even dress up as a pirate! See below.

And if you're not sure where to start, get this, there are official pirate translators on the web. And just in case you need it, here are tips for the grown-ups, but this is my absolute favorite of today though.

Question: What letter comes after Q? Scroll down to find out.

 

Answer: Arrrrr!

Love it!