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Posted (edited)

Stopped by 602 Brewing in Bastrop tonight - hadn't been yet (I live here - long story). One of two breweries here apparently. Had the Drunken Monk (Belgian IPA - 7.6 ABV) and Slaughterhouse Red (Red Ale 6.0 ABV).

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Funnily they look close to identical. The Drunken Monk was pretty good but had a strange lack of head. Also thought it was a little too malty and could have used more hoppiness. Drinkable but meh.

The red ale was pretty damn good, actually. Had two of them. 

I sampled some of their other stuff and it was, um, not good. 

But the venue is cool and the staff was very cool and they have some local staples on draft (mccoughnahaze, pinthouse pils, two hearted Ale, love street). They let me sample everything. 

The food looks good but I didn't have any.

Edited by ztejas
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Posted
11 hours ago, ztejas said:

Stopped by 602 Brewing in Bastrop tonight - hadn't been yet (I live here - long story). One of two breweries here apparently. Had the Drunken Monk (Belgian IPA - 7.6 ABV) and Slaughterhouse Red (Red Ale 6.0 ABV).

20250225_192721.thumb.jpg.f610e5f3f6b7bca3934e61653aaf8317.jpg

20250225_211154.thumb.jpg.c8543a75f25f43dc074ceb25bc1e6965.jpg

Funnily they look close to identical. The Drunken Monk was pretty good but had a strange lack of head. Also thought it was a little too malty and could have used more hoppiness. Drinkable but meh.

The red ale was pretty damn good, actually. Had two of them. 

I sampled some of their other stuff and it was, um, not good. 

But the venue is cool and the staff was very cool and they have some local staples on draft (mccoughnahaze, pinthouse pils, two hearted Ale, love street). They let me sample everything. 

The food looks good but I didn't have any.

Terrible brewery… at least it was when I went 5 years ago

Posted

Yeah only one of the beers was worth a shit but it's a nice bar/restaurant and the people working there were cool as fuck, honestly. 

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Posted

HOMES Brewery, Ann Arbor. Bulgogi fries  and a flight: SWELL Double IPA, Same Same Different IPA, METAFORM Key Lime IPA Sour, King Cold Brew Cream Ale, and Tri-21 Pilsner. SWELL (they love caps) was solid but my least favorite. The cream ale and key lime both surprised me in a very pleasing way. Really well made food and excellent beers, with IPAs their specialty,  according to the bartender. Highly recommend. 

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Posted

Double Feature:

Jester King - Commercial Suicide  and Bloodpact

Thumbs down for both and won't be trying anything else from Jester King. Commercial Suicide was similar to previously posted Cerveza Indio. Of the two, I'd favor Indio, but it was meh. Of course, your mileage may vary.

JesterKing-CommercialSuicide-1.jpg.44daaf01cb8115e6e527c539536e415d.jpg   JesterKing-CommercialSuicide-2.jpg.48e55df9d2108a8fb879bd0dc5eb5521.jpg

           JesterKing-Bloodpact-1.jpg.bb49edb13ba2e17d27893f7271052e98.jpg               JesterKing-Bloodpact-2.jpg.96e9395aacd25c4cd1a8dbd24f0bd0b9.jpg   

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Posted
11 hours ago, sith_horn said:

Double Feature:

Jester King - Commercial Suicide  and Bloodpact

Thumbs down for both and won't be trying anything else from Jester King. Commercial Suicide was similar to previously posted Cerveza Indio. Of the two, I'd favor Indio, but it was meh. Of course, your mileage may vary.

JesterKing-CommercialSuicide-1.jpg.44daaf01cb8115e6e527c539536e415d.jpg   JesterKing-CommercialSuicide-2.jpg.48e55df9d2108a8fb879bd0dc5eb5521.jpg

           JesterKing-Bloodpact-1.jpg.bb49edb13ba2e17d27893f7271052e98.jpg               JesterKing-Bloodpact-2.jpg.96e9395aacd25c4cd1a8dbd24f0bd0b9.jpg   

I gave up on jester king too. I haven’t been a fan of any of the beers I’ve tried from them 

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Posted

Had never heard of Jester King, but looked it up. How's the pizza there? I don't suppose we'll be in danger of getting any of their beer up here, but appreciate the opinions.

There's a similar place -- Stoney Acres Farms -- outside Athens, WI, whose pizza is pretty good and I think is the only one in the state that brews its own beer. I remember the beer being solid but that was back before I started trying to keep track of my beer consumption and opinions. And the symbiotic relationship between beer and pizza always seems to make both of them better.

Posted
19 hours ago, ztejas said:

Two Hearted Ale.

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Not sure I've ever had this on draft. Almost always in the can. 

Can never go wrong with that one. Fairly common to find it on tap up here and it never disappoints.

My happy hour buddies and I keep talking about a Michigan road trip and that's definitely on the list. Looks like they have a cafe with live music. I just drove through Kalamazoo a couple of days ago and If I hadn't been trying to get back home from Detroit by midnight, I might have stopped there.

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Posted
On 2/27/2025 at 7:48 PM, elguapo said:

Brooklyn Black Ops stout aged in four roses small batch barrels

This one has my interest. Their Black Chocolate Stout is excellent.

 

Posted

Bartender at HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor said this was his favorite of their offerings last week, but only in pint cans, so I brought home a four-pack for happy hour. APHOS Czech Dark Lager. A little toasty, crisp, refreshing.

Also had a Surly Axeman and a few swallows of Drekker's How Strange It Is hazy. Both good, but Axeman is better, IMO.

@elguapo, given the other opinions above on Jester King, what's your take on their beers? 

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Posted

Real Ale Brewing - Devil's Backbone, 8.1% Alc.

Reminds of Celis Grand Cru from back in the day, but not quite as intense as memory serves. Real Ale continues to impress. Thumbs up.

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Posted
On 3/2/2025 at 7:39 PM, Hayduke said:

Bartender at HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor said this was his favorite of their offerings last week, but only in pint cans, so I brought home a four-pack for happy hour. APHOS Czech Dark Lager. A little toasty, crisp, refreshing.

Also had a Surly Axeman and a few swallows of Drekker's How Strange It Is hazy. Both good, but Axeman is better, IMO.

@elguapo, given the other opinions above on Jester King, what's your take on their beers? 

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JK got famous for their sours and farmhouse style ales, people used to line up in their cars for some of those releases. I don’t think that happens anymore with those styles falling a bit out of favor. They’ve ventured into IPAs recently and the ones I’ve tried from them are very good. They also brew some great stouts. I’ve only been once but their property is awesome and I highly recommend driving out there, the pizza is supposed to be legit too.

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Posted

I used to trade for JK sours and farmhouses and absolutely love those beers.  I'd buy them if I could, but I don't really have the time and energy to trade for beers these days.

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Posted
15 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I used to trade for JK sours and farmhouses and absolutely love those beers.  I'd buy them if I could, but I don't really have the time and energy to trade for beers these days.

I went out there for a SPON release, that is a really great beer. I need to get back for a brewery tour - they use very traditional brewing methods. It's a great place to take the kids too, they have goats!

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Posted
5 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Devil's Backbone is an excellent beer. Real Ale's best, IMO.

I agree. It is excellent. Haven't really given thought to which of theirs I'd name best. I really like Commissar and Real Heavy too, but all three are superb in their own right. Have not been disappointed with any of their offerings tried yet.

Posted
2 hours ago, elguapo said:

JK got famous for their sours and farmhouse style ales, people used to line up in their cars for some of those releases. I don’t think that happens anymore with those styles falling a bit out of favor. They’ve ventured into IPAs recently and the ones I’ve tried from them are very good. They also brew some great stouts. I’ve only been once but their property is awesome and I highly recommend driving out there, the pizza is supposed to be legit too.

The food out there is really good.

Posted

Was planning on a Fat Tuesday beer and had something in mind, but got word this afternoon that my younger brother passed. He had ALS -- a brutal, brutal disease.  We saw him at Thanksgiving and I was able to get out to the Detroit area to see him late last week. It was tough. We're all grateful he got his meds adjusted and died peacefully today. 

He was an unpretentious, big-hearted guy who never had his own kids but took in the kids of his two ex-wives and gave them a home. The first wife was a nutjob and he cared for some of those kids long after she was out of there (and long after a couple of them should have been, too).  His second ex-wife came back and did most of the hard work of these last few months, repaying him for some of that generosity.

The only time he got out here to see us, he spent a ton of time on the porch and deck smoking and drinking Point Special, which he loved until the end. There was still a full, and very old, bottle of it up on his shelf in November.

Here's to you, Craig. Love you and glad you're out of pain.

 

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Posted
On 2/23/2025 at 5:50 PM, Hayduke said:

We drink a little of everything at happy hour, including the occasional classic. 

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Ain't no shame in a stroll down memory lane.

Posted

Back in May did some work in Stephens Point.  Went to the brewery. Their beer was available at the main restaurants, and I favored the bock.  That was a good local beer.
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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Iceman said:

Back in May did some work in Stephens Point.  Went to the brewery. Their beer was available at the main restaurants, and I favored the bock.  That was a good local beer.

That is a good one. Took a case to my uncle in Galveston last year while he was incapacitated but still able to enjoy some beers, and the bock brought him a lot of pleasure.

They just had the Point Bock Run a couple of days ago -- always the first Saturday in March and celebrates, in part, the brewing of each year's batch. The race is generally pretty cold, which is why the ram on your fridge has a muffler and mittens. My neighbor worked it this year and said the cups of water had a layer of ice on top by the time they handed them to runners. But there's plenty of bock at the end!

Edited by Hayduke
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Posted (edited)
On 3/2/2025 at 2:17 PM, Hayduke said:

Can never go wrong with that one. Fairly common to find it on tap up here and it never disappoints.

My happy hour buddies and I keep talking about a Michigan road trip and that's definitely on the list. Looks like they have a cafe with live music. I just drove through Kalamazoo a couple of days ago and If I hadn't been trying to get back home from Detroit by midnight, I might have stopped there.

Dude that served me said that CenTex does a monster amount of sales for Two Hearted (Bells - I guess) and that one of their reps personally came by to visit them and give them a bunch of merch and shit.

Travis County and surrounding drinks with the best of them nationwide. 

Edited by ztejas
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Posted
4 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Was planning on a Fat Tuesday beer and had something in mind, but got word this afternoon that my younger brother passed. He had ALS -- a brutal, brutal disease.  We saw him at Thanksgiving and I was able to get out to the Detroit area to see him late last week. It was tough. We're all grateful he got his meds adjusted and died peacefully today. 

He was an unpretentious, big-hearted guy who never had his own kids but took in the kids of his two ex-wives and gave them a home. The first wife was a nutjob and he cared for some of those kids long after she was out of there (and long after a couple of them should have been, too).  His second ex-wife came back and did most of the hard work of these last few months, repaying him for some of that generosity.

The only time he got out here to see us, he spent a ton of time on the porch and deck smoking and drinking Point Special, which he loved until the end. There was still a full, and very old, bottle of it up on his shelf in November.

Here's to you, Craig. Love you and glad you're out of pain.

 

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Really fucking sorry to hear that man. Thanks for having the courage to share that here. Sounds like he was a whale of a man compassionately and that the world lost a good one. 

I hope that Craig has found some peace and relief from his pain.

God Bless

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Posted
8 hours ago, ztejas said:

Really fucking sorry to hear that man. Thanks for having the courage to share that here. Sounds like he was a whale of a man compassionately and that the world lost a good one. 

I hope that Craig has found some peace and relief from his pain.

God Bless

Thanks, @ztejas. Anybody who walks this earth and does some good deserves a tribute, however small. Craig wasn't a Longhorn but he loved to drink a beer and spend time with family.

As rough as Surly can get, it's a place that understands the value of raising a toast, remembering to hug your loved ones, and help 'em out as you can. This is a great thread for that. So here's to y'all, too -- although it's just with morning coffee right now.

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Posted
On 2/24/2025 at 9:14 PM, sith_horn said:

Shiner Premium Beer

     ShinerPremiumBeer-1.jpg.411c0b1e0a7b10d7b89616d6148fdee2.jpg  ShinerPremiumBeer-2.jpg.66bf0f3146d7d565e84e1f0a71c076aa.jpg

First time I found that in the grocery store up here, I was overjoyed. Now Shiner products appear regularly at our Sunday happy hour. Bock is appreciated often and somebody picks up a Shiner sampler pack once or twice a year so we get to try all the prickly pear, peach, pecan and other stuff they're tossing into their brews. Shiner's another place on our pilgrimage list. Do they still pull a keg outside every afternoon, or is that a tradition they've let go of?

Posted
1 hour ago, Hayduke said:

First time I found that in the grocery store up here, I was overjoyed. Now Shiner products appear regularly at our Sunday happy hour. Bock is appreciated often and somebody picks up a Shiner sampler pack once or twice a year so we get to try all the prickly pear, peach, pecan and other stuff they're tossing into their brews. Shiner's another place on our pilgrimage list. Do they still pull a keg outside every afternoon, or is that a tradition they've let go of?

I've not been to Spoetzl Brewery and wouldn't know about the keg. Perhaps someone else here does.

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Posted
49 minutes ago, zlavydra said:

That's a great beer, and I regret not bringing some back from Wisconsin last year 

The crazy part is that it might not be one of the 5 best beers that brewery makes 

Posted
13 hours ago, Hammerin Hank said:

Had to leave the baseball game early to get the kids to bed, but at least the beer is cheaper here. Bill Pickett Porter by Texas Beer Co. 

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We were talking at happy hour last week about how some of us are more susceptible to buying beer just because of the label, and that brand is one that makes me guilty. Picked up something from TBC about three years ago -- can't remember which -- on the way back to Wisconsin for that very reason.

The Texas FM sign is an icon and just looking at it makes me homesick. Stick it next to a Horn silhouette and I'm ready to daydrink.

Posted
13 hours ago, zlavydra said:

That's a great beer, and I regret not bringing some back from Wisconsin last year 

 

12 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

The crazy part is that it might not be one of the 5 best beers that brewery makes 

I once thought Spotted Cow was overrated. My attitude changed after a hike on the Ice Age Trail down by Devil's Lake, Wisconsin, a few years ago. It was the only craft beer in Mama Mia in Baraboo, run by Macedonians, which has pretty damn good pizza. And Spotted Cow, as a fairly light ale, really hit the spot. I now appreciate it more, but think one reason others go nuts is that it just sorta says "Wisconsin" like @Hammerin Hank's TBC above says "Texas." And both of those states also mean beer -- probably for different reasons.

I also didn't know New Glarus didn't sell out of state. Found out a couple of years ago when talking beer with my son's friends on dorm move-out day in Minnesota. His buds raved about it. So now we usually take some with us to the Twin Cities, and I always take it to Texas. My Galveston uncle had never had it when I brought him some along with the Point bock @Iceman talked about above. My uncle also passed last year, so that's yet another beer I'm happy to have shared.

And of course @Al_4_ISU is right. New Glarus makes a ton of fine beers, and if you ever get a chance to visit, you should. Take a brewery tour and you'll get a token that gets you a New Glarus beer at most, if not all, of the restaurants in the town. We used ours at Sugar River Pizza, which sits on the Sugar River Recreation Trail and also makes a fine pie. (Apologies for no beer or trail in the shot, but it's a fine beer setting, right across the road from the Little Sugar River, which joins the Sugar not far from there.)

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Posted

I'll be back up there for Milwaukee Metal Fest in May. Last time we hit Central Waters and another place by the old Pabst factory y and both were fantastic. 

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