2012 Taste of Great Brewers Houston

Alt. The name of this beer style comes from the German word "alt" meaning "old". This refers to the aging that alts undergo since they ferment more slowly and at colder temperatures than most ales. Slow fermentation helps condition the flavors in Alaskan Amber, contributing to its overall balance and smoothness.

Richly malty and long on the palate, with just enough hop backing to make this beautiful amber colored "alt" style beer notably well balanced.

Alaskan White Ale is based on a Belgian-style witbier, literally translated to "white beer." White beers, or "witbieren," are named for the suspended wheat proteins creating a cloudy appearance in this unfiltered beer.

Alaskan White Ale has a soft, slightly sweet base with the unique spice aroma of coriander and crisp, citrus finish of orange peel. A light and effervescent body combined with the smooth palate creates a complex and delicate beer that is deliciously refreshing in any season.

A special top-fermenting ale yeast is used during fermentation and is responsible for many of Liberty Ale's subtle flavors and characteristics. Carbonation is produced by an entirely natural process called "bunging," which produces champagne-like bubbles. Dry-hopping (adding fresh hops to the brew during aging), imparts a unique aroma to the ale. It is a process rarely used in this country today.

San Francisco's famous Anchor Steam®, the classic of American brewing tradition since 1896, is virtually handmade, with an exceptional respect for the ancient art of brewing. The deep amber color, thick creamy head, and rich flavor all testify to our traditional brewing methods. Anchor Steam is unique, for our brewing process has evolved over many decades and is like no other in the world.

Subtlety. That's what makes our Avalanche amber ale such a treat. We blend pale and caramel malts - and just a kiss of bittering hops - to create a refreshing-but-flavorful, any-time beer. Aromas of pale grains, a semi-sweet middle and a clean-as-Colorado-snow finish make this our best-selling beer.

Who would have thought deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and Madagascar grew the perfect ingredient to build an extraordinary Porter in Colorado? An ale that has all the chocolate and roasted nut flavor of a classic Porter, with an enigmatic surprise thrown in for good measure, real vanilla bean. Breckenridge Brewery's Vanilla Porter. A vanilla kiss in a rich, dark sea.

The award-winning Brooklyn Lager is amber-gold in color, and displays a firm malt center supported by a fine bitterness and floral hop aroma. Caramel malts show in the finish. The aromatic qualities of the beer are enhanced by "dry-hopping," the centuries-old practice of steeping the beer with fresh hops as it undergoes a long, cold maturation. The result is a wonderfully flavorful beer, smooth, refreshing and very versatile with food.

Every two months Brewmaster Garrett Oliver and company turn out a new and inventive beer. We call these draft-only releases our Brewmaster’s Reserve. The latest batch goes by the name of Sorachi Ace. Here’s what Garrett has to say about it: Most Brooklyn beers are made with a blend of hop varietals. As a chef does with spices, we look to get the best qualities of each hop and create a harmony of flavors and aromas. However, a few years ago, we ran into a hop unique enough to deserve its own moment in the sun.

The British colonists who once visited India invented India Pale Ale. But we seriously doubt they ever enjoyed one after a day of fullblown kiteboarding. What a shame. Generously hopped to 60 IBU's in the classic style, our IPA is a real thirst quencher. It has a full, malty body and there's even a hint of fresh citrus to it. Perfect after your favorite water sport. Even if that happens to be the grueling drag-the-poolside-lounge-chair-into-the-sun event. The British colonists who once visited India invented India Pale Ale.

How big a bummer was Prohibition? As if taking everyone's brew away wasn't bad enough, hundreds of little independent breweries that once made super tasty beers basically got worked. And when they went out of business, America not only lost the breweries, it lost what American beer used to taste like. Session is our way of bringing back the pre-Prohibition American Lager. It's an all-malt Continental Pilsner brewed with American and European hops, so it's flavorful, refreshing, and has a touch of that import-style taste.

In 1986 Harpoon co-founders Rich Doyle and Dan Kenary began brewing Harpoon in Boston to share with others the joy of making—and drinking—great beer. In 2000, we added a second brewery in Windsor, Vermont to keep up with the demand. As a regional craft brewer, we gained interest and respect for cider, a drink with strong roots and history in New England. Harpoon’s cider is our contribution to the long heritage of cider made with fresh juice from locally grown apples.

“The Leviathan Series is a way for us to experiment with stronger flavors and bigger beers,” says Harpoon CEO and co-founder Rich Doyle. “We have always wanted to challenge ourselves as brewers and offer our drinkers a broader range of taste and styles.”

Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA will challenge your senses and your palate. As the vibrant aroma rushes out of your glass you will notice the blend of piney and tropical fruit notes. At first sip, this big beer starts with apowerful hop bitterness up front and an aggressive hop flavor and character throughout.

Thanks for choosing to spend the next few minutes with this special homicidally hoppy ale. Savor the moment as the raging hop character engages the imperial qualities of the Malt foundation in mortal combat on the battlefield of your palate!

Crisp, full and firm bodied, with the classic golden color of a true Czech Pils. "Like Adam and Eve, Isaac and Ishmael, Mao and Confucius, Good and Evil, Day and Night, Hittites and Visigoths, John and Lorena, or Groucho and Moe, Ales and Lagers are as different as can be. Still, we must love each other for who they are, separately but equally, with liberty, and justice, for all. Cheers!"

Dark & delicious, America’s great milk stout will change your perception about what a stout can be. Pouring hard out of the bottle, Milk Stout Nitro cascades beautifully, building a tight, thick head like hard whipped cream. The aroma is of brown sugar and vanilla cream, with hints of roasted coffee. The pillowy head coats your upper lip and its creaminess entices your pallet. Initial roasty, mocha flavors rise up, with slight hop & roast bitterness in the finish. The rest is pure bliss of milk chocolate fullness.

Sane or senseless? Harmless or harmful? Sometimes it takes awhile to get to know a stranger.
Initial impressions are not always reality, so you must delve deeper. Beyond the initial floral hop aromas, malt sweetness is revealed, yet with a spicy undertone that exposes a very rye sense of humor. Take your time to get to know the Stranger. It’s strangely satisfying.

What sailors really come to shore for...

Our filtered Munich Helles Lager brewed with floral hops and Pilsner and Munich malts. This is the closest thing to an American Lager from Maui Brewing Co., but not skimpy on flavor.. Bold, smooth, refreshing.

Where's My Ukulele?!?!

An unfiltered freshly handcrafted American-style wheat ale infused with Maui Gold Pineapple. Our crisp and refreshing wheat ale is lightly hopped to allow the fruity sweetness of the pineapple to shine. The yeast stays in suspension making the ale traditionally cloudy.

Produced in the tradition of 19th Century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia's Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin seems to develop a cult following wherever it goes. It's a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish.

Named for the delicate engravings popularized by 19th century seafarers, Scrimshaw is a fresh tasting Pilsner brewed in the finest European tradition using Munich malt and, Hallertauer and Tettnang hops. Scrimshaw has a subtle hop character, a crisp, clean palate, and a dry finish.

Dale's Pale Ale is our flagship beer and America's first hand-canned craft beer. It's an assertive but deftly balanced beer (somewhere between an American pale ale and an India Pale Ale) brewed with hefty amounts of European malts and American hops. It features a meringue-like head, a copper color, and a hoppy nose, thanks to a big post-boil addition of Centennial hops. To complement its hoppy first impression, Dale's also sports a rich middle of malts and hops, and a bracing finish.

Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous. Mama’s is made with hearty amounts of pale malt, German specialty malts, and traditional (Saaz) and 21st century Bavarian hops. It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast. While it’s rich with Czeched-out flavor, Mama’s gentle hopping (about 35 IBUs) and low ABV (just 5.3%) makes it a luxurious but low-dose beer.

This refreshing blonde ale strikes a perfect balance between the smoothness of the malt, the subtle fruitiness of our house ale yeast, and zesty citrus notes from Crystal hops.

Our winter seasonal is inspired by the great ales of the UK but brewed with a distinctively American attitude. English crystal malt gives Phoenixx its subtle toffee and caramel notes, but this ale is about hops. The blend of English hops, highlighted by its namesake, Phoenix, yields a complex hop character that dominates this special brew.
ABV: 7.2%, IBU: 50

This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory–maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beverage will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make things taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.

First brewed in 2007 as the Stone 11th Anniversary Ale, this ale was an instant hit. With us. Other folks with great taste loved it too, but we were focused on how much we liked it, and we felt it was truly sublime. That euphoria didn't last long though, as it was soon replaced with the grim reality that when we sold out of it there wouldn't be any more. For us. And that was simply unacceptable. So, we are now blessing ourselves, and you the enlightened, with this ale. Thusly, you may now revel in your own self-righteousness as you see fit with this glorious example of ours.

La Fin du Monde has a brilliant golden color with vigorously effervescent foam. It is mildly yeasty with a complex palate of malt, fruit and spice notes followed by a smooth, dry finish.

Witbier (White Beer) is a very old type of beer, a specialty of the farm-breweries of old Brabant. The master brewers used their very best crops to make this beer. Blanche de Bruxelles owes its natural cloudiness to the large percentage (40 %) of wheat that goes into its composition.

Its aroma evokes the perfumes of a lovely summer. Its strawberry flavour confirms the nose’s impression without sweetened saturation. Moreover, it’s even enhanced by a real feeling of freshness, recalling those tiny green granules that are found around ripened strawberries. Its taste is consistent and spreads very quickly throughout the mouth to finish its journey on a touch that is fruitier rather than sweetened.

Duvel is unique. No other beer is made like it, or tastes like it. Blonde and refreshing like a Pilsner, but with the flavor, depth and complexity of an ale, Duvel defines the Strong Golden Ale category. The beer's golden hues originate with its Pilsner malts, while Bohemian hops and a unique yeast strain add character, intensity, and a certain verve. It's this beguiling nature that has made Duvel a Belgian favorite.

With a lovely golden color with a rich, lingering head, La Chouffe's flavor is characterized by a most pleasant lemon grass aroma and taste, a result of an addition of the spice coriander.

Long before hops were common in most beers, various fruits and herbs were used to season beers. The clean, bright aroma and flavor of apples melds beautifully with the complex tartness of lambic. The pronunciation in English is "PUM." Glowing gold in color. Smooth, light body with the fresh flavor of real apples and a light green-apple tartness.

Straw color, crisp and delicate with a firm bitterness.

The Classic Bavarian Dark Beer

History: The Brew that first brought fame to Bavaria and Munich over a century ago is its Dunkel Lager. It is an old fashioned beer that resisted change. Using authentic Munich Malt is resulting in a beer deep amber in color and unmistakably Bavarian

Flavor Profile: Pronounced malty aroma and flavor that dominates over the clean, crisp moderate hoppiness. This Munich Bavarian specialty beer is full bodied and complex without being very heavy or strong

Old Speckled Hen has a wonderful, warm flavor bursting with body. Malt loaf and toffee flavors combine with a bitterness on the back of the tongue to give a beautiful, balanced sweetness without being cloying. Warming, fruity, malty and balanced.

A light-coloured, spicy single-bock wheat beer, for both beer lovers and the beer connoisseur. Extra long and cold storage in our monastery cellars makes this single-bock a really special beer with full body and a distinctively great mouthfeel.

Weihenstephaner Vitus chosen ‘World Best’

Estrella Damm INEDIT was crafted in partnership by the Brewmasters at Grupo Damm and the globally acclaimed chef Ferran Adria and his team of sommeliers at the world famous el Bulli restaurant. INEDIT is a beer created to pair specifically with food served at the world's finest restaurants. Estrella Damm INEDIT represents a beer with unrivaled uniqueness; it is a hybrid blend between a lager and Belgian wheat beer.

Skillfully brewed with a complex aroma and opaque appearance, INEDIT is lightly carbonated with a creamy texture, sweet spices, and a subtle hop flavor with mild bitterness.

Port Royal is the leading beer brand in Central America. It's a well balanced gold lager that delivers a clean crisp taste and a mild hop finish.

•Awarded a Bronze Medal at the 2009 Australian International Beer Awards

•Port Royal is bottled in a classic green long neck bottle with a traditional look which makes it an on-premise favorite

Regia Extra is brewed and bottled by Cerveceria La Constancia, S.A. – the largest beer company in El Salvador.

Regia Extra has been produced in El Salvador since 1959. It is an exquisite beer of intense flavor, brewed carefully with a long process of maturation for the delight of our consumers.