Beer brands in Houston...? (Austin, Conroe: live, bars, best)

[Tiger Beer]

Having lived in different parts of the country, different options seems to come up in different places.

For example, when I lived in Oregon, there were tons of microbreweries everywhere, all kinds of local beers, and few national beers. It was an extreme in that direction though.

When I lived in NYC...all the bars seemed to be dominated by about six common beers - Amstel Light, Red Rock, Corono, Budweiser, and a couple others I forget.

Michigan is predominately just main stream beer available like Bud, Busch, Michelob, etc. However, now they have Bell's Beer...a microbrewery which is creating a name for itself.

HOW ABOUT IN HOUSTON?

[SilverWings]

Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coor Light, Shiner Bock, (sometimes Ziegen Bock) and often Blue Moon are the standard Tap fare.

The only prominent "local" brewery I know of is St. Arnolds. Shiner is more or less the main local brand.

Avoid Lone Star. Yuk. (and I believe it's brewed in Chicago area)

[LostInHouston]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Michigan is predominately just main stream beer available like Bud, Busch, Michelob, etc. However, now they have Bell's Beer...a microbrewery which is creating a name for itself.

D@mn you for putting Bells in my head, jk. Every time I make it back to Michigan, I bring a few six packs back with me. Oberon should be appearing around this time of year, and is my personal favorite from Bells.

As for Houston brands, they seem to be severely lacking. Like a previous poster mentioned, the only "local" brands I hear people talk about are St Arnolds and Shiner.

[tstone]

For microbrew we have St. Arnolds which has NOTHING on any of those Pacific NW microbrews. Truth be told, most of St. Arnolds is crap except for their IPA. It's a decent IPA, very similar to Abita's Jockamo from Louisiana, but again these don't touch to those out of the NW. Otherwise don't waste your money on St. Arnolds. Anyway, I'm not familiar with anything else from Houston. Shiner is a couple hours down the road which has a pretty decent German-style bock. Their Blonde and Black are ok I guess, but nothing worth mentioning. We have ZiegenBock which is ''Budweiser Bock'' only available in Texas, which is not a bragging point whatsoever. It is pretty bad for a Bock. You're better off going true German for that style.

This is pretty much mainstream beer country, too. Busch is cheap rot-gut, Bud Light is standard, Michelob is "good" and Shiner Bock is "fancy." I think our lack of anything very good is a climatic thing. The best domestic beers IMO come out of the NW and NE, where the climates are cooler.

[Mr. Krinkle]

St. Arnlod is the only Houston brewer- and I like it. Other popular Texas beers are Live Oak, Shiner, and Real Ale. Live Oak and Real Ale are good.

Go to the Flying Saucer in Sundays for the $2.75 texas beers if you want to taste them all and learn about the flavors. They have about 15 or so on tap, and most of them are good.

Now that I think about it, there is a startup brewery in Conroe that has a decent beer. I forget what they are called.

[brownybaby]

The "Real Ale" brewery is getting really popular here - but it is brewed in the Hill Country.

There is a small bar in my neighborhhod that only serves microbrews - it is quite yummy. But they get to your head alot faster.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by brownybaby

There is a small bar in my neighborhhod that only serves microbrews - it is quite yummy. But they get to your head alot faster.

That's the point, right? This is probably what makes the Northwest beers the best IMO... 7% with no biting aftertaste, all day long. It's like certain wines in Northern California, which are more like 15%+... the smoothest way you can fry your brain in short order.

Oh yeah, I just had Real Ale not long ago. It was pretty good, NW or NE 'lite.'

[mikeyyc]

The most popular beers starting about now are "cold" and "more" and will remain popular until about October.

[nikku]

St. Arnolds is fantastic. There's a reason they have won multiple awards in national and international competition. I highly recommend the brewery tour, which runs every Saturday from about 1 to 4 (show up at least an hour early).
Real Ale is harsh. I'm not a fan at all of that stuff. Picked up a 6 pack sampler--didn't like a single one of their beers.
If you are out, The Flying Saucer downtown and The Gingerman in Rice Village both carry a fantastic selection of brews. My current personal fave is Hoegaarden. Yeah, I know it's not local but it sure is tasty
Here's a good link to some local Pubs, Brewpubs, and Microbreweries:
Houston Brewpubs (http://ericsbeerpage.com/Beer/Brewpub/Texas/houston.html - broken link)

[Mr. Krinkle]

Which Real Ale beer did you have nikku> They have a wide selection.
Real Ale Brewing Company (http://www.realalebrewing.com/beer_styles.php - broken link)

Here is a link to all of the Texas breweries. Only 2 in Houston unless you want to try that crap beer at Two Rows.
TEXAS BEER: Austin Microbreweries in Daily Texan