Texas Craft Brewers Guild Announces Texas Craft Brewers Festival

The Texas Craft Brewers Guild, who's membership consist of the breweries and brewpubs of Texas, has announced the Texas Craft Brewers Festival will take place on Saturday, September 24th at Fiest Gardens in Austin, TX. This is the first beer festival organized by an actual brewers association in Texas in quite a few years (for those that remember the last one, that logo may look a little familiar). There's not a whole lot of information released about the event yet other then the creation of the official Facebook page, so this is mainly just a Save The Date announcement.

2nd Annual Beer & Cheese Festival at Hubbell & Hudson

I don't get up to The Woodlands very often, but this would be a great reason to. Hubbell & Hudson, a culinary world market and bistro located in The Woodlands Town Center, is hosting their 2nd Annual Beer & Cheese Festival on Saturday, July 2nd from 12pm ~ 6pm. Live music will be on the patio while beer and cheese experts will answer questions and help you pair up artisan cheese with craft beer. There will also be demonstrations by Carmine Chiricio in the cooking school on making and using mozzarella cheese. Its free to attend, but you will need to prove you're over 21 to sample any beer.

If you're not heading out of town for the long weekend, I would definitely check it out. And if you've never eaten at their bistro, then I highly recommend you try it. They have some of the best steaks I've ever had. Its a great place to catch dinner before seeing a concert at the Cynthia Woods Pavillion.

Real Ale Beer Dinner at Benjy's on Washington

The Benjy's on Washington Ave is hosting a Beer Dinner with Real Ale Brewing on Thursday, July 28th. The cost is $65 per person (plus tax and tip) and includes six courses paired with beer from Real Ale (see menu to the left). Brad Farbstein, owner of Real Ale, will also be on hand to talk about the beer and answer any questions.  Call Benjy's at 713-868-1131 to make your reservations.

Pre-sale Tickets for 2011 Great American Beer Festival

One of the perks of being a member of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is the opportunity to buy tickets to the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) before they go on sale to the general public. The members-only pre-sale starts at 10:00am MDT on Tuesday, June 28th and includes the opportunity to buy tickets to the Farm to Market Pavillion as well. Members should have received an email message with instructions and a link to purchase tickets. If you're not currently a member, you can still quality for the pre-sales event by joining the AHA before June 26th (click here for membership info and benefits). The remainder of the tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 30th.

Considering the GABF has sold out for the past four years (and did it earlier then ever last year), I wouldn't hold off on buying tickets if you're thinking about attending. The session that typically sells out first is the members-only session on Saturday afternoon which is when the winners of the competition are announced. I think the Thursday evening session is the best as all the beer is available and most of the brewers are usually around and still energetic. And if you are going, don't forget to pick up a ticket for the Denver Rare Beer Tasting as well.

Denver Rare Beer Tasting III

In 2008, Rick Lyke, a veteran beer and wine journalist, was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a friend who was recently diagnosed with it urged him to get tested. After undergoing treatment, Rick decided to make more men aware of the risk of developing prostate cancer and the simple blood test that can help detect it by using the universal language of beer and formed Pints 4 Prostates. After organizing several small events at bars around the country, he set his sights on something larger and organized the Denver Rare Beer Tasting to take place during the 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver. I attened that first event (recap here) and the second one held last year. Now on its way to becoming an annual event during the GABF, the Rare Beer Tasting III is schedule for Friday, Septh 30th from 1:00pm ~ 4:00pm at the Wynkoop Brewery (the same location as the first two).

If you plan on attending the GABF, then I highly recommend taking in this event. Not only does the money raised go to a very worthy cause (100 percent of the net proceeds from the sales going to Pints for Prostates), but you will also get the opportunity taste some very rare beers (beers not even available at the GABF) and meet the brewers that created them (list of attending breweries and beers is still being finalized). Tickets are $80 each and go on sale Sunday, June 19th at noon.