Rahr & Sons and Lakewood team up again for DFW

Image credit: Lakewood Brewing Co., Rahr & Sons Brewing Co.

Building on a successful partnership started last year, Rahr & Sons Brewing Company of Fort Worth and Lakewood Brewing Company of Garland have joined together again to create the 2015 edition of DFW: A Collaboration of Two Breweries.

Brewed on site at Lakewood's facility (last year's version was crafted at Rahr & Sons), this year's beer is a rum oak-aged Cherry Baltic Porter that finished out with an ABV of 9.5%. And, as before, DFW's release will be timed to coincide with North Texas Beer Week, which runs from November 6-15.

Image credit: Lakewood Brewing Co.

Last year's recipe, a Belgian-inspired dubbel, sold out at distribution and marked the first time two Texas production breweries had collaborated on a beer. As for the 2015 release, Rahr & Sons co-founder and CEO Fritz Rahr says, "We're excited to collaborate again with our friends at Lakewood on such a unique beer. Our special partnership represents the impressive growth of the North Texas craft beer community in recent years."

Lakewood founder Wim Bens expressed a similar sentiment in saying, "Rahr and Lakewood have a shared history and a shared love of creating brews that are unique in North Texas. With DFW, we've done it again. This collaboration allows us to showcase the best of both breweries in one amazing brew."

DFW will be available on draft and in 22-ounce bottles at local retailers beginning the week of November 2.

Throwback Thursday: A past and present look at the old Dallas Brewery

Since Throwback Thursday seems to be a thing these days, I thought it might be interesting to play along while looking at some images of the old Dallas Brewery. The business, which originated at the hands of Anton Wagenhauser in 1885, was the largest pre-Prohibition brewing operation in the city, and it was located on the site currently occupied by the present-day Dallas Brewery Building at 703 McKinney Avenue.

Present day Dallas Brewery Building (left: Google Maps, right: Brian Brown/Beer In Big D, click to enlarge).

One reason to bring up the topic is because co-author Paul Hightower and I weren't able to locate any images of the original structure or brewery advertising for inclusion in our book on local beer history, entitled North Texas Beer. The search didn't end with the book's publication, however, and I'm happy to say I've since found a few usable images in the public domain.

Ad from the 1894-5 Dallas City Directory showing the brewery's Texas flag-inspired trademark.
The flag appeared in promotional materials and on glassware available at the time (click to enlarge).

Another reason to look more into the history of the building is to perhaps set record straight on the origins of the Brewery Building as it stands today. While there are remnants of the old Dallas Brewery on the site in question, despite what you may read in area newspapers or real estate ads, the four-story structure at the intersection of Woodall Rogers and I-35E wasn't built in 1890.

To start, no four story structure other than a portion of the brewery itself is shown on Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps up to the year 1905 (the number of stories is indicated in the upper right corner of each rectangular section of the buildings in the map below).

1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Dallas (University of Texas Libraries, click to enlarge).

While the physical plant reaches upwards of four stories at different points (not counting smokestacks and/or flagpoles), no support building nearby rises higher than two stories tall. This can be seen more clearly in a rendering of the full site from the 1906 Dallas City Directory.

Image of the Dallas Brewery site from the 1906 Dallas City Directory
(rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise to compare to Sanborn map, click to enlarge).

Okay, so when was the Dallas Brewery Building actually built?

Evidence to answer that question can be found in accounts from the Dallas Morning News, which tell us that the site was cleared "for the construction of a four-story and basement warehouse building for the Morgan Warehouse and Industrial Company" in March 1925. Morgan Warehouse was a distribution business run by those behind the Dallas Brewery after Prohibition shut down the brewing industry in 1920 (the group failed to stay afloat as a soft drink manufacturer prior to 1925). Anything remaining after the initial demolition was removed in 1930, also according to the News, with other refurbishments over the years leading to building we see today. Regarding the basement mentioned in 1925, it just so happens that two modern-day breweries operated in that space during the 1990s (these were the Dallas Brewing Company and the St. Andrew's Brewing Company).

As for what's left from around 1890, that's limited to a 50-foot artesian well that was uncovered by workers in 1983. Up until 2011, visitors to the building could actually see the well, which was left exposed inside Newport's Seafood Restaurant. It must have created some level of intrigue, since a 1999 story in the Dallas Observer says that waiters would actually dive into the murky waters during the summer in order to explore the well's depths. Alas, once Newport's closed and Draft Picks Sports Bar moved in at the end of 2011, the well was capped for liability reasons, essentially locking away one of the last bits of history from the city's bygone brewing era.

From Shiner, something Wicked this way comes

Image credit: Spoetzl Brewery.

I'm always curious to find out what's in a certain little white box that shows up on my doorstep every now and again. It's always the same size and shape, and it always has a Shiner stamp of approval somewhere on the outside. The curiosity is natural, I suppose, since I know there's some sort of beer inside, but given the brewery's history and how they've taken a few steps outside the "bocks" over the past few years, lately when I see the package I start to ask myself, "What have they gone and done this time?"

In this case, at least, it turns out that the "little brewery" has gone and done something wicked. It's a new year-round offering called Wicked Ram IPA, and it's the first India pale ale Shiner has brewed in its 106-year history.

Wicked Ram arrived at my door packaged in box full

of hop cones (click to enlarge, © Brian Brown/Beer In Big D)

Now, first off, I think it's important to note that when Shiner makes a statement saying Wicked Ram is "the wickedest brew we've ever made", the word "wicked" is a relative term. Remember, Shiner has focused on lagers for most of its 106 years, and only over the past few has the brewery tried to do some things differently. Even then, Wicked Ram represents a departure compared to other recent releases, in that it's probably the first relatively hop-forward beer in Shiner's portfolio and it's got the highest ABV (6.0%) of any beer the brewery is currently producing.

With that in mind, you can probably gather that Wicked Ram isn't going to have you putting aside your favorite West Coast IPA. Shiner's IPA may be hop-forward, but there's nothing tongue-buckling about it in terms of either intensity or bitterness. The hop character in Wicked Ram is mild-to-moderate (at best), with the hop additions geared towards flavor and aroma much more so than bitterness. As far as the flavors go, Wicked Ram is grassy and floral on the nose, with a bready feel and a touch of caramel malt forming the beer's foundation. There's also some citrus in the finish, though it's more lightly lemony in nature and not like the orange or grapefruit notes that are typical in many American IPAs.

Something else worth mentioning, in case the thought crossed your mind, is that Wicked Ram doesn't really fit the mold of a session IPA. For one thing, the beer's ABV puts it firmly outside the sessionable range. Beyond that, though, Wicked Ram just has more body than I've come to expect from that particular (made-up) craft beer category. In fact, I would argue it has more body than a lot of Shiner beers. That said, we're talking "medium" in that respect, as opposed to something lighter.

So, what's the verdict? I'd say the above more or less speaks for itself. Wicked Ram is an easy-drinking, milder version of an IPA. There's not a lot of bitterness to it, which may appeal to someone looking for an introduction to the style, but there is a reasonable amount of flavor. It's just that it's a little atypical in being florally-based and not having the citrus or pine elements more often associated with today's most popular IPAs. Some will enjoy it...others won't. Like anything else, it all comes down to personal taste.


Wicked Ram
Style: India Pale Ale
Malts: 2-Row Pale, Caramel, Wheat
Hops: Bravo and Crystal in the boil, with Centennial used for dry-hopping.
ABV: 6.0%
IBU: 55
Availability: Year-round in 12-ounce bottles and cans, as well as in 24-ounce bottles and on tap.

Bird Café to host The Avery Experience

Image credit: Bird Café.

You may or may not remember, but back in 2011 the Meddlesome Moth put on The Avery Experience, a five-course dinner led by Adam Avery himself. Well, here we are four years later and it seems that the Moth's sister restaurant in Fort Worth is looking to do that event one better.

Coming up Wednesday, November 11 at 6:30 p.m., Bird Café will host a new incarnation of The Avery Experience, once again led by Avery, but this time with an even more impressive lineup of rare brews paired with courses crafted by Chef David McMillan. Cost is set at $85 per person, an amount which includes tax and gratuity. For more information or to make reservations, visit www.birdinthe.net or call 817-332-2471.

Meet the Brewer

Liliko'i Kepolo (Belgian witbier with passion fruit and spices added - 5.6% ABV)

First Course

Insula Multos Collibus (sour ale aged in bourbon barrels with cherries added - 9.7% ABV)

Roast antelope toast, fig preserves, Boursin and onion pickle on Boston brown bread

Second Course

Fortuna (sour ale aged in tequila barrels with lime zest and salt added - 8.1% ABV)

Hamachi crudo, yuzi ice, bourbon barrel soy, charred shishito and taro chips

Third Course

Tectum et Elix (sour ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels - 6.5% ABV) and

Raspberry Sour (sour ale aged in oak barrels with raspberries added - 5.5% ABV)

Savory latte de goat cheese, beet and raspberry panna cotta and Thai basil

Fourth Course

Tweak (stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee added - 17.81% ABV) and The Beast (grand cru - 15% ABV)

Whole roasted and carved smoked bacon slab, anadama pain perdue and warm "A" Vermont maple syrup

Fifth Course

Rumpkin (ale brewed with pumpkin and spices aged in rum barrels - 16.73% ABV) and

Pump[Ky]n (porter brewed with pumpkin and spices aged in bourbon barrels - 17.22% ABV)

Malted pavlova, milk chocolate mousse, anglaise, pumpkin juice caramel and toasted pumpkin seed brittle and oil.