Monday, July 18, 2022

Funky Picnic to host Smoke ‘Em Out Homebrew Competition

Image courtesy of Funky Picnic Brewery & Café.

Calling attention to a relative rarity among specialty beers, Fort Worth-based neighbors Funky Picnic Brewery & Café and TexMalt have teamed up to create a first-of-its-kind all smoked beer competition.

Naturally, this unique event will highlight all things smoky, including traditional smoked beer styles like rauchbier and lichtenhainer, but it also will allow participants to get creative with open-ended freestyle categories. Entrants will receive up to 5 lbs. of smoked San Jacinto 2-Row Heritage Malt from TexMalt to design their recipes around.

The goal, of course, is to create a well-made smoked beer, exhibiting a balance of beer and smoke. Competition entries should have enough smoke to enjoy the subtle nuances in the flavor and aroma of the wood used, yet be light enough in this regard to tell that there is a beer behind all that smoke.

Online registration is open now through August 28th. Entries will be judged by experienced brewers, beer judges, maltsters, and all-around smoked beer enthusiasts. Winners will be selected for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards based on technical style categories, as well as a Brewer’s Choice award that will be brewed at Funky Picnic and placed on the tap wall.

For more information, or to throw your own hat into the smoke ring (if you will), visit the official competition website at: https://www.funkypicnicbrewery.com/smoke-em-out-homebrew.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

More on plans for Armor Brewing Co. in Allen

Image credit: Armor Brewing Co.

Last night, the Allen City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to amend its land use code allowing Armor Brewing Co. to make modifications necessary to operate a brewpub at the address of 9 Prestige Cir.

Mike and Jennifer Todryk first made their plans known for Armor Brewing Co. in July of last year. The couple purchased the site formerly occupied by Nine Band Brewing Co., which up to that point had been in business as a production brewery. Now, though, they intend to refurbish the facility, making it more of a family-friendly, dinner and drinks-type entertainment destination.

Image credits: Armor Brewing Co., Plan B Group (click for larger view).

According to a presentation at the Council meeting, the taproom of the previous firm will be remodeled into a restaurant, with a new 1250 square foot kitchen extension added along the west elevation (formerly a patio). In addition, a portion of the front parking lot will be re-purposed to create a new covered patio comprising nearly 2300 square feet.

Total cost of the renovations, including additional building upgrades (new cooler to the north, decorative awnings, etc.), interior finish-out and more is expected to be in the $2.5 million range.

Look for Armor Brewing to debut the new digs later in 2022.

Monday, July 11, 2022

North Texas hauls in 19 medals at 2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship

Image credit: U.S. Open Beer Championship.

Medals, medals and more medals for North Texas - that seems to be the theme when winners are announced at the annual U.S. Open Beer Championship. And, this year is no different.

As for a few details, the 2022 edition of the event drew more than 9000 entries from breweries around the world, with those broken down into 150 different categories for evaluation. Reviewing the list of winners, eleven breweries from North Texas were awarded 19 medals combined (6 gold, 5 silver, 8 bronze). From that group, False Idol Brewing of North Richland Hills represents the area's lone first-time honoree, while Deep Ellum Brewing Co. of Dallas appears for the first time since 2016.

Winning beers from North Texas are summarized below. You can also click here for a complete competition summary.


903 Brewers, Sherman
  • Silver for Fragile Like a Bomb in the Aged Beer category.
  • Gold for Low Beams in the American/German Light category.
  • Silver for Cold Fort Worth Beer in the American Premium Lager category.
  • Silver for Dallas Blonde in the Golden or Blonde Ale category.
False Idol Brewing, North Richland Hills
  • Gold for Banquet Boy in the American Lager/Pilsner category.
  • Gold for Feisty Blonde in the Honey Beer category.
  • Silver for Mi Familia in the American-Style Fruit Beer category.
  • Bronze for The Hop Root Beer in the Root Beer - Kids category.
  • Gold for Muy Importante in the American-Style Fruit Beer - Lime category.
  • Gold for Bavarian Classic in the Munchner Helles category.
  • Bronze for Red Wine Freaky Deaky in the Wine Barrel-Aged Beer category.
  • Bronze for Freaky Deaky in the Aged Beer category.
  • Bronze for Great Scot! in the Scottish Ale category.
  • Bronze for Velvet Hammer in the Imperial Red Ale category.
  • Bronze for Top Shelf in the Experimental Beer category.
  • Bronze for Golden Opportunity in the Ukrainian Golden Ale category.
  • Gold for Midnight Delight in the Imperial Porter category.
  • Silver for Chocolate Reign in the Imperial Stout Specialty category.
  • Bronze for Dreamsicle Kayak in the Specialty/Anything Goes category.

Cheers and congratulations to all!

Friday, July 1, 2022

Happy Hippie hopes to build hip new brewery and taproom in Richardson

Image credit: Happy Hippie Brewing Co.

Happy Hippie Brewing Co. is putting plans in motion to open a destination taproom and brewery in the City of Richardson.

Products from the team of Michael and Kellie Frederick, along with partner Scott Schwieterman, first appeared on the market in early 2020. This, after Happy Hippie entered into a joint proprietorship agreement with Hop & Sting Brewing Co. of Grapevine. Since then, a total have 10 beers have been released, one of which is the firm's highly-rated Belgian-style tripel, Captain Tripels (which is also available in a rum barrel-aged variety).

Going forward, though, Happy Hippie hopes to establish a brick-and-mortar facility in the Lockwood District, an area of development in Richardson anchored by Lockwood Distilling. To be located at 500 Lockwood Dr., Happy Hippie's future home would sit across the street from the spirit maker, and be contained in a existing structure comprising nearly 11,000 square feet.

To aid in this endeavor, Happy Hippie is gauging the public's interest in providing investment by way of crowdfunding. Set up on Wefunder, the company's campaign wants to thank loyal customers for their support by offering them a chance to be a stakeholder in the future of Happy Hippie Brewing Co.

For more details and further insight into Happy Hippie's overall vision for its future, visit the landing spot for the campaign at : https://wefunder.com/happyhippiebrewingcompany.