The Art of Craft Beer

"From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world."

-Saint Arnold of Metz

Sounds like St. Arnold was a wise man if you ask me, not to mention the whole multiplying beer story is pretty sweet itself (you can read it here).  Even though Arnold has been dead for hundreds of years, his presence is as strong as ever as the patron saint of brewers and the recent uptick in microbreweries and craft beer. 

I love this current trend, don’t get me wrong I love a good Bud Light, but the ability to pick and choose different styles and flavors of beer makes life that much sweeter.  Houston is late to the scene compared to some of the other cities around the country, but it is starting to come on strong in recent years.  St.  Arnold Brewing Company is the oldest craft brewery in Texas at 16 years old, but in the past year a new face has come to the market and others are preparing to start up. 

Personally, I prefer their Lawnmower and Weedwacker beers over some of their other offerings, especially in this hot Houston summer that we are suffering through these days.  The Lawnmower is a Kölsch with a good crisp cool feeling to it.  While the Weedwacker is an altered version of the Lawnmower with an almost fruitier taste to it and a lighter feel.

I drank my first No Label Brewing Company beer the other night, and needless to say I am a fan.  The brewery started up during 2010 in Katy, Texas a suburb on the west side of Houston in an old rice dryer.  Needless to say I was skeptical as I read the articles that were circulating around various news outlets here in Houston, but these guys certainly seem to know what they are doing.

That evening I enjoyed a couple pints of the Pale Horse Ale (a reference to Revelations 6:8, fortunately the horse was lacking its rider), and would have drank others but the bar was lacking in variety from this start up brewery.  No doubt though, I will be looking for more opportunities later to get my hands on a pint or three of No Label’s delicious offerings.

Now this blog might be a disappointment to some so I will end it with some delicious bar food that Firkin & Phoenix (located on Westheimer near Montrose) had to offer us that evening.  Sure we sampled the standard appetizer fare that you see in most bars, but the star of the show was definitely the pretzels.  The fresh baked jumbo pretzel was perfect with the cold beer, cheese sauce was okay, but let’s be honest this is Texas give me my mustard.

Until next time.