My Last Pint #19 – Josh Hare
Photo: Josh's Facebook
Josh Hare is owner and brewer at Hops and Grain. Hops and Grain is one of the numerous breweries planning on opening within a year in Austin. At this point they are in the planning and fundraising phase. They are currently looking for a space for their brewery and honing their beer lineup. Not only are they planning on brewing fantastic beer for Texas, they are also selling dog biscuits from the remains of their brews. Beer for your dog! Isn’t that a Toby Keith movie?
.
Mountain Sun
MLP: What would be the last pint of your life?
JH: Colorado Kind Ale from the Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery in Boulder—An amazing blend of caramel sweetness and insane hop flavor and aroma. Has a really big mouthfeel but ends very dry and crisp, perfect finish for an incredibly hoppy beer. I’ve been working on my own version of this beer for the past 4 years. It smells incredibly similar to Pine trees and the smell would remind me of trail running in the mountains. Every once in awhile they will have it available on a Nitrogen tap, excellent!
.
Photo: Alaskan Dude (Frank Kovalchek)
What would be the setting for your last pint?
There is a place in Wyoming at the foot of the Grand Tetons called Oxbow Bend. It is on a stretch of the Snake River that forms a bend and if you’re on the East Side of the river and the wind is calm you can see a perfect reflection of the Grand Tetons. This is also a place that I have spent some time fly-fishing. One particular trip I was fighting probably the largest fish that I have ever caught on a fly rod. It took at least 20 minutes of fighting and as the fish got to within almost five feet of me it jumped out of the water and broke my line. This made a huge impression on me as a 12 year old. At first my adrenaline was rushing and I was mad that I had lost the fish but I was so overwhelmed with excitement that I couldn’t help but smile at the battle, I even shed a few tears (you know when you are a kid and you get in a fight and then you start crying from the rush of it). I’ve held onto this memory and have always subscribed to the idea that life is about the journey, not so much about the finish line. So, I would sit on the banks of the Snake River at Oxbow Bend, drink that Colorado Kind Ale and I’d leave just a tiny bit of it in the bottle.
What would you eat with your last pint?
No food. I’d want to soak up the moment and save my palate for the beer and the mountain air.
.
Suzy
With whom would you drink your last pint?
My Golden Retriever Suzy, and I’d have a Colorado Kind Ale in her bowl.
.
Thanks Josh!
My Last Pint #9 – Tammy Smittle
Photo: Thirsty Planet Website
Thirsty Planet Brewing poured their first beer, Yellow Armadillo Wheat, last week at a private party in Austin. They are almost ready to unleash their IPA as well. Weighing in at a hefty 75 IBUs, it’s bound to be a hop bomb. As Tammy told Patrick Beach, “I like IPAs that take the enamel off my teeth.” Sounds good to me.
De Dolle Brouwers
MLP: What would be the last pint of your life?
TS: There is a Belgian sour from De Dolle Brouwers in a very small village outside of Brugge, Belgium that I would choose. The folks there aged it for 10 years, and it was the best stuff that ever touched my lips! The brewery tour was in Flemish, but the beer spoke for itself. Yummmmmmmmmm.
.
Mountains
What would be the setting for your last pint?
I would opt to drink this fine ale on the back porch of a cabin in the middle of the mountains somewhere.
.
Cheese
What would you eat with your last pint?
I would have to go for some different cheeses.
.
With whom would you drink your last pint?
I would want my family next to me. Brian of course would be explaining the beer to our family, but that is how I see it and what makes me happy.
.
Thanks Tammy!
My Last Pint #8 – Brian Smittle
Photo: Thirsty Planet Website
Back to Austin. Like I’ve mentioned before, Austin’s brewing scene is blowing up. Thirsty Planet Brewing, started by husband and wife team Brian and Tammy Smittle, popped up out of seemingly nowhere earlier this year with an almost complete brewery and plans to start brewing with a quickness. May 11 came quickly and their initial batch of Yellow Armadillo Wheat hit the kettle.
Yellow Armadillo Wheat
MLP: What would be the last pint of your life?
BS: Anything I had made, so I could enjoy the fruits of my labor.
.
Harlaxton Manor
What would be the setting for your last pint?
In the basement pub of Harlaxton Manor where I fell in love with beer.
.
Photo: stu_spivack
What would you eat with your last pint?
Cheese, Olives, Hummus, Crackers, all European fare.
.
With whom would you drink your last pint?
My wife, family and friends.
.
Thanks Brian!
My Last Pint #5 – Joe Madia
Joe doing some heavy lifting at the brewery. Photo: Jester King website
I guess we will go ahead and make this Jester King week. If I can just get Michael by Monday we will have a trifecta. But today: Joe Madia is the most recent addition to the Jester King lineup. He was Jeff’s roommate at Notre Dame and he has now moved to Austin from Pittsburgh to help launch and grow Jester King.
.
Old Heathen
MLP: What would be the last pint of your life?
JM: Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout
.
Pittsburgh
What would be the setting for your last pint?
I like stouts in cold weather, so preferably on a brisk November day, back in my hometown of Pittsburgh. Don’t get me wrong, I’m stoked to be here in Austin, but I remember drinking this beer when I had an apartment back there, with a best friend of mine who’s now in Baghdad. We’d get the Weyerbacher Big Beer sampler pack and fight over the Old Heathens, as we sat on the couch and played Call of Duty.
.
Joe Camel
What would you eat with your last pint?
This beer begs to be eaten with red meat and potatoes, cooked on a little Weber charcoal grille. Do Camel Lights count as well?
.
With whom would you drink your last pint?
I hate drinking alone. This is a hefty beer, and by the end of Old Heathen #2, you’re all well on your way to figuring out life’s big questions…or telling dirty jokes. Either way, it’s a great time!
.
Thanks Joe.
My Last Pint #4 – Jeffrey Stuffings
Photo: Jeffrey's Facebook
Austin is blowing up, beer-wise. It already has a thriving craft beer scene and is fixing to get a heavy shot of beertosterone . . . there are no less than five breweries that are planning on opening their doors within a year. Jester King is one of those breweries and is in the midst of building their brewery in Southwest Austin. Before moving to Austin in 2006 he worked as a public defender and a teacher. But he has put that all behind him to follow his dream:
Jester King seeks to help restore the 12,000 year-old tradition of full-flavored beer. It is dedicated to helping as many people as possible realize the true majesty of beer that is brewed with artistic passion and creativity, rather than with the mindset of cutting production costs and increasing economies of scale. It also seeks to become woven into the extraordinary and original fabric of its home city of Austin, Texas, and in return have a positive impact on the local Austin community.
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock
MLP: What would be the last pint of your life?
JS: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock
.
The Draught House
What would be the setting for your last pint?
Draught House
.
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock
What would you eat with your last pint?
Nothing. I think I’d experience my last beer just as the brewer crafted it.
.
With whom would you drink your last pint?
Close family and friends.
.
Thanks Jeff.