As San Antonio Beer Week continued everyday with an event, I did not get to my next event until Saturday May 18th. I find myself back at Freetail Brewing Company for their “Battle of Wits” event, which they released multi-flavored wit beers. This year included Rye Wit, Spirulina Wit, Blueberry Wit, Cherry Wit, Chile Limon Wit, and Jamaica Wit.
On this day I did not get to drink all of their wit flavors, but I will list them in the order I rated them.
- Jamaica Wit, brewed with hibiscus, this beer had a strong, inviting flowery aroma, and an almost fruit punch flavor. Way too easy to want to chug this beer as if it was Kool-aid or something. Favorite of the flavors!
- Cherry Wit, another fruit punch-like beer. Very tasty, and a beautiful color!
- Blueberry Wit, as I did enjoy this beer, this was my least favorite of the 3 I tasted. Still good though, so don’t get me wrong. Blueberry is a hit or miss flavor for me with beer. I don’t usually like them, but this was was tolerable and pleasing.
The next attended event which I was really looking forward to for a while, was the “Zero Anniversary Party” for 5 Stones Brewing Company in Cibolo, TX. My first experience with a 5 Stones beer was at the opening ceremonies for SA Beer Week when I was able to sample their Aloha Pina, a Pineapple, roasted Jalapeno golden ale, which was just simply amazing, by the way. I was looking forward to having another glass of this fine beer, as well as trying their other creations. They had six beers to sample at this event, and I have to give them all a thumbs up, as I did not hate any of them. All of their beer was creative, and tasty. Before I get into the beer, I need to mention a few things. The owner of 5 Stones, Seth Weatherly and his family really helped out this experience with them by showing great hospitality towards their guests. They had an awesome spread of snacks, and food for us all, games to play, just a real down home family atmosphere.
The staff of brewers, family, and volunteers were keeping busy as there was a good sized crowd who made the trip to the small town of Cibolo, just a hop, skip and a jump outside of San Antonio. The beers were flowing steadily for sure. Here is a list of their beers in the order in which I rate them…
- Aloha Pina, Golden Ale brewed with pineapple and roasted jalapeno. Not sure if these guys can top this beer. If they do, then holy shit!!!
- Rhubarb-Cherrylicious, Wheat Ale aged with fresh rhubarb and sweet cherries.
- Zero Anniversary Ale, Belgian-style Saison with American hops and honey. Brewed specifically for this event. Not sure if this beer will be a regular, under another name or not,but I sure do hope so.
- Manmosa, a Wheat Ale brewed with pulverized orange and orange peel. Obviously, very citrusy.
- Fox Tail, an Irish-American Red Ale. Very well rounded beer.
- Flower Child, a dark Shandy, brewed with chamomile and lemon peel. This one could be drank on it’s own, or by mixing sparkling lemonade. I did not try it with the lemonade, as I am not a fan of this style. On it’s own, it was a unique beer.
My overall experience at 5 Stones was definitely a positive one, and I really look forward to more events from them, and the opportunity to have their beer at home once they are on the shelves at our local craft beer destinations.
Having enjoyed some fine local Texas beer, I wanted to leave you all with a fine local band from the past. Enjoy some S.A. Slayer!
part 3, the conclusion of S.A. Beer Week review coming soon…
Beer Metal Media 