Texas Distilleries

When it rains it pours. And when it pours, it's whiskey or vodka in Texas. Not a week after having learned about San Antonio's first distillery, Ranger Creek Brewing & Distillery, the Current ran an article about the Garrison Brothers distillery producing bourbon in, at least, our backyard. Located in Hye, TX just 22 miles east of Fredericksburg on US 290, Garrison Brothers distills bourbon from 75% organic, Texas corn.

The article also talks about another Bexar county distillary: Rebecca Creek, which distills vodka. Granted they're just barely Bexar county, north on US 281, but another distillery nonetheless.

Apparently the thousand bottles of Garrison Brothers' bourbon distributed to a few liquor stores disappeared just 72 hours after arriving at stores. Hopefully some of these fine spirits will make their way onto shelves in enough quantity to slake more than just the first fifteen customers' thirst.

Olmos Bharmacy (microreview)

I've been meaning to go to Olmos Bharmacy for quite some time. I tried once a while ago, but I was too early and the bar, grated up in the back of the diner, sat dark even in the middle of the day (well, late afternoon, I swear). So on Friday, I ducked in for a quick beer.

Instinctively, it reminded me of the Korova Milk Bar somehow, but without the naked mannequin coffee tables. Maybe it was the high backed boothing that ran along the far wall all the way to the bar (though red and leathery in this case), or maybe it was the smattering of "down and out" 09ers slumped along it. Still it was a comfortable, undroogish atmosphere. The contentment I felt couldn't have been from the $4 Sierra Nevada that I slugged back. Nor the vaguely cheesy, but vaguely jazzy band: The Lewis and Clark Musical Expedition (I think the name is a pretty good description of the music). Perhaps the green neon lights that laced the window looking upon McCullough behind the band and the ones up above the bar (red blue red: Rx Prescriptions Rx) that hued the air in that way only neon can lent the abandoned diner its atmosphere. But I liked it. The silent metallic equipment behind the short diner counter top suggested being in a restaurant after closing, silent and dim and relaxed after the chaos of a dinner rush. The open area created from getting rid of the short wall that cleaved the room in two and cramped the space not three months earlier contributed to the surreal, laid-back atmosphere. Plus the bartender was friendly. Everything merged into a smooth, cool light.

I didn't have time, but it would be a great place to sit and talk and drink a glass of milk, um, I mean, wine, and pleasantly stare into space.

Sweet, sweet nectar of the gods: Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling

Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling is coming soon. We're working on getting ourselves a bit of a brewing repertoire. Austin360 ran an article about the owners (why didn't the Express-News or Current?) and their progress ("product rolling out the door ... in September or perhaps late August.") They've bought their equipment, but I can't find anything on their site about location yet. Hopefully, it will be accessible (read: not halfway between here and Austin).

I would have taken a sip (come on, they must have supped)

From Freetail News (of course this was an April Fool's Day joke -- posted here on the 2nd. Ha ha.):

"Freetail Sets Record by Brewing Strongest, Hoppiest Beer Ever

Freetail Brewing Co. has announced that it has created the strongest, most hoppy beer ever weighing in at an astonishing 92.73% alcohol by volume and 11,312 IBUs, far surpassing recent achievements by Scottish brewer BrewDog and Danish brewer Mikkeller.

To create the beer, Freetail used a patented cryogenic freeze distillation process they hope to eventually sell to ethanol fuel production facilities. “We’ve developed a very alcohol tolerant strain of yeast to produce our high-gravity beers, but even it stalls out at around 13%,” said Freetail Founder and CEO Scott Metzger. “At that point we begin our cold distillation process. We got the inspiration for our process by watching Encino Man starring Brendan Frasier and Pauly Shore.”

Metzger went on to describe the hopping process. “I hoped this would never be made public, but I’ll go ahead and spill the beans,” Metzger said with a sheepish grin. “We were responsible for the 2007-08 hop shortage. To make one half barrel of finished beer we used over four thousand pounds of cascade hops in 120 barrels of wort. We could have just as easily used a higher alpha hop at an earlier stage of the boil, but we didn’t want to lose all that terrific flavor and aromas obtained by this American noble variety.”

To mark the achievement, Metzger and Head Brewer Jason Davis ceremoniously poured the beer down the drain together."

That does, however, leave my tongue feeling a little numb. I suppose it was a virtuoso performance.