Houston specialty beer distributors

One point of clarification: the IPA is for a commercial bar and grill as opposed to a personal bar at home. Thanks.

C.R.Goodman and Glazer's carry most of the specialty/import/micros. Don't know if Advantage is in Houston yet. I'd recommend the Saint Arnold's!

Thanks a lot Frank.

I said Advantage, but the company's name is Authentic Beverages. Glazer's carries our brands.

No wonder I couldn't find Advantage. Thanks again.

So, Bill, you gonna tell us which bar will be serving these good IPAs? I'm always looking for a reason to spend a night in HTown.

dave in austin

I'd love to say but I'm still in the paperwork pipeline to purchase the place. It's in NW Houston though so it would be an easy trip down SH290. Once I take over I'll inform the group.

Got any suggestions on what keg beers I should carry?

I'll only have six taps so I have to make the most of it (and still make money). Subject to availability I'm thinking of 1)Harp or Fosters, 2)Anchor Steam, 3) Fat Tire or Sierra Nevada, 4) Fullers ESB, 5) St. Arnolds (rotating types) and 6) a Porter from somewhere in wintertime and ??? in summer, and 6) ???. Bud, Miller, Coors and the rest will only be had in bottles.

Rgds.

specialty/import/micros.

Thinking some more about this I realize I need to separate the beers by serving temperature. There are two True two-door 3 keg/pump dispenser. One frig can be set for 36 degrees and the other for 50 degrees. So, I think it would look more like:

Frig #1 -- 36 degrees:

1. Fosters/Harp
2. St. Arnolds Seasonals (Bock, Summer Pils, Oktoberfest, Christmas ale)
3. St. Arnolds lawnmower or ???

Frig #2 -- 50 degrees:

1. St. Arnolds Elissa IPA
2. Fullers ESB
3. Fat Tire or Sierra Nevada or ???

Rgds.

In my dream bar, Slot 3 in Frig 2 would be a rotating Sierra Nevada product: Harvest, Celebration, etc. I have a feeling, though, that economic reality is going to overwhelm that and demand Guinness claim a tap.

And as much as I support St. Arnold, I'd suggest you give them two taps and hand one tap over to Real Ale, out of Blanco. Gotta spread the Texas beer love.

Don't hit me, Frank.

dave in austin

Thanks for your suggestions. I just heard about Real Ale in Blanco from the Authentic rep in town. I'll have to check it out. I hadn't heard of them before this week. I think I had the Sierra Nevada Harvest and Celebration before and liked them but had forgotten about them. I'm confident any SN would beat Fat Tire easily so I may rotate SN brews as you say subject to availability. Surprisingly to me, St Arnold brewery told me not to worry about the cellar temperature (50 deg). They liked that I was trying to be true to the style but they said not one customer will ever thank me for doing it. He also said it would be easier to pour with less head at 36 degrees. Since the beer will soon warm up in the glass he may have a point. That way I can always swap something out of fridge #2 and put in a lager if I wanted. As for Guinness, I may be surprised but I really don't expect it to be asked for or sell well especially in non-winter months. St. Arnold does a seasonal Stout in Winter too but I never had it. Maybe I'm all wet on this but I also very much doubt the folks around here know of or have a palate for a Black and Tan or Half and Half. I was also thinking of changing Fullers ESB to Fullers London Pride since LP has a lower ABV and can be a good session beer (although I love ESB).

Rgds.

It's only anecdotal, but I see boatloads of Guinness being guzzled every time I go out, winter and summer. They've done a brilliant job of marketing, and their reps are very good at getting the product out. And I'm always amazed at how many people I see and hear ordering black and tans because "the light beer cuts the alcohol." But I digress. My point is that there's more of a palate and market for Guinness in Texas than most people might think.

It's a shame, but the SA folks are spot-on about the beer temp. We few, we proud beer geeks will appreciate your efforts, but the vast majority want cold beer with very little head, because more head = less beer in the glass. Education efforts continue, but it's a slow process. I still have to ask for a non-chilled glass in most bars, even some that sport an impressive array of taps.

Best of luck. I'll be looking forward to attending the grand opening.

dave in austin

Celebration

Interesting observation on the Guinness. I am ready to stand corrected. 8-) The solution to the head problem is to find glasses that have a line drawn for a pint and still have 1/2in or so above the line to accommodate the foam. The bar doesn't have those. I may try and find them. Rgds.

If you can gat Czechvar on tap I will be there since I live on the north side of town. It is the only way I can see to get it somewhat fresh.

So many beers so few taps. 8-) I'll put it on the list. Cheers.