Place Visited: Texas Craft Brewers Festival in Austin, TX at Fiesta Gardens
Date Visited: 09/28/13
BMD on Tour Song of Choice: SLAYER – Raining Blood
Well as the saying goes… Better late than never. This event took place over a month ago, and it should have been posted up a lot closer to the actual date of the event, but a lot has happened on my end to prevent a small delay.
Here we are, the second Beer Fest I have ever attended, and this one was a lot closer to me, as this event took place in Austin, TX at a nice park called Fiesta Gardens. This event was an awesome way to get introduced to new and upcoming breweries from the great state of Texas as all the booths here were from TX only. As we all know, we live in a huge state down here, so there are a crazy amount of breweries opened in Texas. Even though, not all were present at the Texas Craft Brewers Festival, there was still a lot of them in full force, ready to conquer all! I counted 39 breweries on the list, all armed with no less than two beers each. Some had as many as five different beers, making a total of more than 130 beers. Not only did these breweries have their normal arsenal of brews, there was a total of 19 special taps scheduled throughout the day.
The day started off with a blazing sun, and hot temperature, as we were burning and sweating while waiting in line for the gates to open, as I look at the VIPs already inside the part with a death-stare! Luckily we were one of the first ones in line, so at least we didn’t have to wait long after the gates opened. Once inside, we did our rounds, saying hi and hello to all our fellow friends in the craft beer world before diving into the beer.
As the day went on the weather started to get pretty gloomy, and finally in came a nice heavy rainstorm, complete with massive thunder and lightning. As most attendees, brewery workers, and volunteers sought shelter under the massive pavilion, others just went under the nearest beer booth tent, which is where we found ourselves. We were in the Branchline Brewing Co. booth along with other friends. As beers were still flowing at the booth between us under the Branchline tent and Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co.,who were right next to us, the storm came through causing a massive mud pit, and slight destruction of the tents and grounds. Good times, indeed! It seemed as if nobody left the grounds, and didn’t let the storm phase then a bit. Once the storm passed, the lines starting growing a gain at each booth. This made for an exciting rest of the day, avoiding falling, and trying to stay clean while walking the muddy grounds.
Here is a list of beers I had at the fest…
New Republic Brewing Company:
– Dammit Jim! (Bellows) Amber Ale
Cedar Creek Brewery:
– Scruffy’s Smoked Alt
Ranger Creek Brewing Company:
– Oak-Aged Oktoberfest
Rogness Brewing Company:
– Rogtoberfest
– Boomslang IPL
Twisted X Brewing Company:
– Chupahopra
– Fuego Jalapeno
Karbach Brewing Company:
– F.U.N. Series 006: Cherries of Fire
Circle Brewing Company:
– Blur Texas Hefe
Branchline Brewing Company:
– Mielito
Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company:
– More Cowbell Double IPA
Lakewood Brewing Company:
– Goatman India Black Lager
Cycler’s Brewing Company:
– 55-11Imperial Red Ale
– Breakaway IPA
Jester King Brewery:
– Atrial Rubicite
Texian Brewing Company:
– Old 300 Pale Ale
– Battle Line Brown Ale
Overall, despite the rapid change in weather, and the fact that my fiance got sun burned and then sick on top of that due to the weather, we had a great time. We look forward to them holding this event again next year. We will be there, regardless of the weather!
Inspired by the rainfall that happened this day, I chose an awesome live performance by the band Slayer, performing g their classic song, “Raining Blood” from their Still Reigning DVD. Enjoy!
Cheers!
BeerMetalDude!
Beer Metal Media 