Celestial and Oak Highlands secure wins at 2024 USBTC Summer Competition

Image credits: Celestial Beerworks, Oak Highlands Brewery, United States Beer Tasting Championship.

Regional winners have been announced at the 30th Annual Summer Competition of the United States Beer Tasting Championship (USBTC).

As is the norm for this event, submitted beers were evaluated across 18 different style categories, with judges singling out Regional Champions first (North Texas breweries compete in the Rockies/Southwest region). Within style groups, regional winners then compete side-by-side to determine a Grand Champion for each category. This final round is still pending, with results to be released in early August. 

Local honorees include Celestial Beerworks and Oak Highlands Brewery, both of Dallas. Oak Highlands has made regular appearances on this list since 2016, while Celestial Beerworks is receiving USBTC recognition for the first time.

For more on the 2024 USBTC summer event, click here to visit the official competition website.

Celestial Beerworks, Dallas

• Stellar Remnants - Regional Champion in the Hazy IPA category.

Oak Highlands Brewery, Dallas

• Derelict - Regional Champion in the IPA category.
• Allgood - Regional Champion in the Cream Ale/Golden Ale/Kölsch category.
• Golden Mustache - Regional Champion in the Dortmunder/Helles category.

Cheers and congratulations to Celestial Beerworks and Oak Highlands!

A look at 2023 North Texas production numbers

Click to enlarge.

This is an update of the annual breakdown of brewery sizes in North Texas, with 2023 production data added as reported to the Brewers Association and published in the May/June 2024 issue of The New Brewer.

Note, not all brewing companies provide their numbers (assumptions are made for a couple of "Large" tier breweries based on past history), while some report statistics combining multiple locations. Data also includes production from breweries that closed during the course of 2023. As a result, the number of entities represented in the chart is not equal to the total number of breweries open and operating at any given time.

Inside the numbers:

The large-size brewery tier in North Texas, based on production (shown alphabetically):

• Community Beer Co. of Dallas.
• Deep Ellum Brewing Co. of Dallas.
• Manhattan Project Beer Co. of Dallas.
• Martin House Brewing Co. of Fort Worth.
• Revolver Brewing of Granbury.

Tier movement

• Advancing from "Mid-Size" to "Large" tier: Manhattan Project Beer Co. of Dallas.
• Advancing from "Very Small" to "Small" tier: Fort Brewery & Pizza of Fort Worth, Second Rodeo Brewing Co. of Fort Worth (includes data from Beard Science Sour House of The Colony), and Union Bear Brewing Co. of Denton/Plano.

Year-to-year production change

• Overall production in North Texas was down roughly 9% for those reporting in 2022 and 2023. This value is influenced somewhat by numerous "Small" tier breweries showing significant drops, though in some cases this involves cuts occurring prior to closing a second location or closing permanently.
• Comparison: Craft beer volume was down 1% nationally in 2023, according to the Brewers Association.

Significant year-to-year production gains (based on those reporting in 2022 and 2023)

• For the second year in a row, Manhattan Project had the largest reported year-to-year gain in raw barrels produced locally for 2023. In fact, sales of the brewery's beers have more than tripled since 2019.
• The largest year-to-year percentage gains for brewing companies with production greater than 1000 barrels were realized by 3 Nations Brewing Co. of Anna/Carrolton, Celestial Beerworks of Dallas (two locations), Fort Brewery & Pizza of Fort Worth, and Second Rodeo/Beard Science of Fort Worth/The Colony.

Meddlesome Moth details 13th anniversary plans

Image courtesy of Meddlesome Moth.

Set to mark its latest longevity milestone, Meddlesome Moth has announced plans for its 13th anniversary celebration, with festivities to take place the weekend of April 27-30.

Things kick-off on Thursday, April 27 at 6 p.m., with a Beer Garden Party featuring the Moth’s new spring cocktail menu, complimentary light bites from the kitchen, and music from renowned Dallas DJ Steffi Burns. This event represents the “official” opening of the Beer Garden for the season and is free and open to the public.

Then on Sunday, April 30, guests will join Celestial Beerworks founders Molly and Matt Reynolds, along with Moth beer director/certified cicerone Matt Quenette, for a guided pairdiné. Featured brews will be paired with five courses crafted by guest chef Anthony Langston. These include:

• Polyphia: Paradiso - American-style pilsner.
• Sonus - blended bourbon barrel-aged stout.
• Kaleidoscope - double hazy IPA with Galaxy, Vic Secret and Rakau hops.
• Visual Pathway - cold IPA with Centennial and Azacca hops.
• Echo Chamber - fruited sour.
• Mango Triple Stars - triple hazy IPA with Strata, Vic Secret and Citra hops.

Tickets for the beer dinner are available at a cost of $90 per person, and seating is limited (click here to purchase individual admission or to reserve a full table).

Naturally, beers from around the world will be featured throughout the weekend as well. Quenette has curated several rare finds expected to be available on draft, with flights also available.

Local brewers join All Together collaboration to help hospitality professionals

Image courtesy of Other Half Brewing Co./Stout Collective.

The spirit of community within the craft beer family is apparent again, as breweries around the world are taking part in an open-ended beer collaboration designed to support members of the hospitality industry.

Organized by Other Half Brewing Co. of Brooklyn, New York, All Together is an initiative that seeks to raise awareness and provide relief to workers struggling in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As part of the program, Other Half is offering participants the tools they need to brew, brand and promote the collaboration beer, All Together IPA. The beer's base recipe has been created by Other Half, while resources for label design, label printing, and an online presence for the project are being provided by Stout Collective, Blue Label Packaging Co., and Craftpeak respectively.

Local brewers are free to add their own twist to the beer, with the only stipulation being that a portion of the proceeds go to hospitality professionals in the brewer's local community. Up to now, over 550 breweries from 39 countries have joined the cause, including the following North Texas companies:

Turning Point Beer, Bedford

• Beneficiary - North Texas Food Bank.

Celestial Beerworks, Dallas

• Beneficiary - Everybody Eats/8020 Concepts.

False Idol Brewing, North Richland Hills

• Beneficiary - United States Bartenders' Guild, Dallas-Fort Worth.

Panther Island Brewing, Fort Worth

• Beneficiary - United Way Creative Industry Relief Fund.

Turning Point's take on All Together IPA is on sale now, and can be purchased online for curbside pickup. Beers from Celestial, False Idol and Panther Island are currently in the works, so be sure to follow each brewery on social media for updates on availability.

Brewers weigh in on the next phase of hazy IPAs

Alex Knight of Turning Point and Matt Reynolds of Celestial Beerworks brewing a batch
of #juicebros, a collaborative double IPA with blueberries released in July (Turning Point Beer).

The juice is loose, not just in North Texas, but across the country as juicy and hazy IPAs are making a play for the title of craft beer's most popular style.

Earlier this year, the Brewers Association added three "juicy or hazy" styles to its competition guidelines, and one of those ended up being the most-entered category at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival. "Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale" wrested the top spot from "American-Style India Pale Ale," ending a reign that began in 2002.

Once considered a fad by some, hazy and juicy beers now enjoy a level of legitimacy with the establishment of formal descriptions and the quick ascendancy to the top of the competition ranks. The question now: Where do brewers go from here in terms of the evolution of these highly sought-after styles?

According to Matt Reynolds, owner and head brewer at Celestial Beerworks in Dallas, a first step may be to spend time improving on what's already out there.

"I feel like consistency and quality are something that lacks with these styles," says Reynolds. "We hope to dial in our system and show that these beers can be delicate and well-executed like some of the other popular styles out there."

Optimizing aspects of production is also a focus for Alex Knight, co-founder and director of brewing operations at Turning Point Beer of Bedford.

"We're working to get better extraction and higher volume, as well as trying to get more juicy characteristics into our beers, says Knight. "Another thing is seeing how to push the limits with more hops, while maybe increasing the malt and making more balanced beers."

From there, the sky is seemingly the limit, especially considering the open-ended nature of the newly-minted definitions. Baseline characteristics only call for beers to be hazy, with low bitterness, a softer texture and high hop content. Hops can be of any variety, which opens the door to a direction Reynolds is looking to explore.

"We plan to focus heavily on new or underutilized hop varieties to showcase different flavor profiles than what typically is associated with these types of beers," says Reynolds. "I love Australian hops, so we will be using those a lot in our juicy/hazy recipes."

Knight believes mash-ups of existing styles are also a possibility, with brewers bringing together elements from different types of beers to form a new breed of IPA.

"One thing that pops into my mind is the brut IPA," says Knight. "We've been tinkering with ideas that combine the dryness and drinkability of a brut IPA with the adjuncts and high hopping rates from juicy IPAs."

Of course, brewers have already expanded on the category by adding lactose to create milkshake IPAs, while oat and wheat cream IPAs are also being made at breweries around the country. As for what is destined to be the next big thing in juicy and hazy styles, that revelation is likely to come from brewers choosing to delve into uncharted territory.

Here in North Texas, breweries like Celestial and Turning Point are already operating in that realm, working to stay a step ahead as the haze craze enters a new phase.

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Originally published as part of a special section on NTX Beer Week in the November 1, 2018 edition of the Dallas Observer. An online copy of the complete newspaper is available by clicking here.

Otherworldly art and offerings on tap at Celestial Beerworks

A large external mural greets visitors as they enter the brewery's taproom
at 2530 Butler Street (Photo: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D). 

Should you feel a slight tug as you drive through the northwestern section of Dallas, don't be alarmed. It's just a cosmic force telling you the time has come to visit Celestial Beerworks, as the brewery is now open in the city's Medical District.

Matt and Molly Reynolds founded Celestial on the premise of bringing together the couple's three favorite things - art, science and beer. It's appropriate, then, that the company's space sets up as a sort of out this world escape, with cosmic renderings setting the stage for a brewery universe where beers are "Celestial" bodies.

Stop in and sip on space-themed selections like Kepler (IPA), One Small Step (pale ale) and One Giant Leap (DIPA), while spotting constellations depicted on the walls. Those beers are just a preview of what's to come, though, as the brewery is operating on a soft basis while working to build up its portfolio.

"Now that we're open, I can finally turn my brewing brain back on and start to think about recipes," says Reynolds. "We plan to have up to seven or eight beers ready for the grand opening. There will be IPAs, but we've also got an imperial stout and a pale wheat session beer in the tanks right now."

Looks can be deceiving from the outside, but inside Celestial has ample elbow
room with seating options inside and out (Photos: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

On that note, Reynolds admits he's a fan of hoppy beers (he built a following brewing them during his first stint in the industry at Malai Kitchen), but consumers can expect Celestial to serve up a variety of styles. Reynolds also mentioned that the brewery will do some barrel-aging, with the first foray into that territory being a coffee stout that's set to spend six months resting in a Maker's Mark vessel.

Regarding availability, early indications are that the taproom will be the primary place to purchase and enjoy Celestial's products, at least for the time being.

"Starting out, we're going to focus on sales here at the brewery," say Reynolds. "Once things get settled, we may look into mobile canning and some limited distribution, but for now we'll pour beer in the taproom and offer crowlers to-go."

As for the official debut, a grand opening celebration will happen on Halloween. After that, Celestial will begin regular taproom hours, with the brewery likely to be open later in the week and on weekends.


Soft opening hours:
Friday, October 12: 4-10 p.m.
Thursday-Friday, October 18-19: 4-8 p.m.
Saturday, October 20: 2-8 p.m.

Hoppy Halloween Grand Opening Celebration:
Wednesday, October 31: 4 p.m. - 12 a.m.

North Texas Craft Beer Conspectus - July 23, 2018 edition

Updates on new and renewed brewing operations in Dallas and Denton headline this edition of the Conspectus, with a look at upcoming operations out west on the agenda as well.

Cheers!


Barley & Board back to brewing in Denton

Idle since early 2016, brewing operations have re-started at Barley & Board of Denton. House beers will be tapped monthly as part of the brewpub's Home Brewers League, an initiative that gives local homebrewers the chance to brew a commercial batch. Barley & Board supplies ingredients for the collaborative effort, while local hobbyists are charged with making the beer. The beer for August is a French saison by Brian Tiensvold. It follows Cole Haley's black IPA, which kicked things off in July.


Steam Theory debuts in Trinity Groves

After roughly four years in development, Steam Theory Brewing Co. is now up and running in Trinity Groves. The brewpub is currently serving culinary offerings from a summer dinner menu alongside a selection of guest beers. House brews are said to be in the works, presumably ready in time for Steam Theory's official grand opening on August 25.


Cans coming from Manhattan Project

Packaged products are on the way from Manhattan Project Beer Co. of Dallas. Set to arrive at retail in September, the brewery will can its three core beers - Half-Life, Hoppenheimer and Plutonium-239, and a seasonal pilsner - Necessary Evil. As for when Manhattan Project's taproom will open at 215 Sulphur St., look for that to occur sometime in Q1 2019.


Celestial receives TABC approval, introduces Space Camp

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has issued a brewpub license for Celestial Beerworks of Dallas. Currently under construction at 2530 Butler St., owner Matt Reynolds is targeting an early fall opening. The company has also introduced Space Camp, a membership program that provides consumers with one free crowler of beer per month, along with swag, taproom discounts and first access to special releases (click here for more information).


Edgewise Wight launches crowdfunding campaign

Looking to raise funds for a brewpub to be located in Weatherford, Edgewise Eight Brewing has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. The company has set an open-ended goal of $5000, with funds earmarked for amenities and other items that will help make Edgewise Eight "the most inviting place to go in Weatherford."


Soul Fire begins work on building in Roanoke

Demolition has begun on a space to be occupied by Soul Fire Brewing Co. in Roanoke. In addition to housing the brewery's production equipment and a taproom, plans for the building at 206 N. Oak St. include facilities for live music and a food hall.

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Image credits (top to bottom): Barley & Board, Steam Theory Brewing Co., Manhattan Project Beer Co., Celestial Beerworks, Edgewise Eight Brewing, Soul Fire Brewing Co.

North Texas Craft Beer Conspectus - January 26, 2018 edition

Along with new release recaps, updates on a handful of North Texas breweries in development are included in this edition of the Conspectus, as is information on Mug Club memberships at a long-time local restaurant.

Cheers!


Nine Volt gets packaged at Pegasus City

Pegasus City Brewery of Dallas has packaged its Nine Volt D.P. & L. Tripel, choosing unique 750mL ceramic flip-top bottles as the vessel for delivery. Availability is limited, however, with only Craft Beer Cellar and select Dallas locations of Spec's currently stocking the beer.


Rahr & Sons publishes 2018 production schedule

Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. of Fort Worth is the latest brewery to provide consumers insight into its 2018 production schedule. Notably absent from the list are Bucking Bock, Snowmageddon and The Regulator. As for other changes, Paleta de Mango (a mango lime chile kölsch) and Adios Pantalones (a session beer with lemon and lime) will join the year-round lineup, though neither beer will enter the market until March.


Legal Draft launches new premium American lager

Nowhere But Texas, the newest beer from Legal Draft Beer Co., was unveiled during an event at the brewery in Arlington last evening. The beer, which is a premium American lager, takes its name from a popular song penned by the Steve Helms Band, and its release coincided with the premier of the song's music video.


Eno's welcoming new members to its Mug Club

Beginning February 1, Eno's Pizza Tavern will accept new members into its Mug Club. Memberships, available at a cost of $50, include a 17-ounce personalized mug, taller pours, a free birthday beer and discounts on food. Those interested may apply in person, either at Eno's original Bishop Arts location, or at the company's new restaurant in Forney.


Seguin beers now available in North Texas

According to a social media post, Seguin Brewing Co. is now shipping its products to North Texas. Available exclusively at area Total Wine locations, consumers can purchase the following Seguin beers in six-packs of 12-ounce cans: 9-Pin Kölsch, Bock-N-Röhl, Honey Pecan #5 Cream Ale and Lake Breeze Blonde.


New brewery blurbs

A brewpub license for Turning Point Beer has been approved by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). The company's facility is currently under construction in Bedford.

The Manhattan Project Beer Co. took ownership of a property in Dallas last week. To be located at 2215 Sulphur St., those behind the effort are now in the process of submitting construction plans to the City of Dallas for approval.

Also working through the approval process, Celestial Beerworks hopes to obtain permits soon in order to begin construction on a building at 2530 Butler St. in Dallas.

Brewing operations are no longer part of the plan at Navarro County Brewing Co. of Corsicana. Citing excessive costs and development delays as reasons for abandoning the brewing aspect of the project, the ownership group will instead focus on building a taproom and growler fill station.

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Image credits (top to bottom): Pegasus City Brewery, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., Legal Draft Beer Co., Eno's Pizza Tavern, Seguin Brewing Co., Turning Point Beer, Celestial Beerworks, The Manhattan Project Beer Co.