Can we all admit that Houston makes some damn good Pilsners? This week Ryan and Drew set up another spectacular blind tasting to crown Houston’s Best German Pilsner in an episode rife with controversy. Will Lil’ Snack from 11 Below hold onto its blind tasting crown, or will one of the new challengers steal their thunder? Listen to find out!

Featured Beers:

Lil’ Snack. 11 Below Brewing, Houston, TX. 4.5% ABV.

Cloud Punch. Bad Astronaut Brewing, Houston, TX. 5.2% ABV.

Dollar Pils Y’all. Holler Brewing Co., Houston, TX. 5.4% ABV.

Professor Pils. Paradigm Brewing Company, Tomball, TX. 5.5% ABV.

Other Shout-Outs:

Fredericksburg, TX

Karbach Brewing

Pilsen, Czech Bohemia

Josef Groll - inventor of the Pilsner

Huggy Brewer

Untappd

Nook Brewing

713 Music Hall

Blackberry Smoke

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

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After many months on the road gathering the latest and greatest beer news, Ryan and Drew highlight the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs, and the the rising and falling breweries of the Houston area and beyond. It’s not all gloom and doom my friends… in the words of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, craft beer is “not dead yet.”

Featured Beers:

Nectar Double IPA. Seventh Tap Brewing, Shreveport, LA.

Spin Craft. Bad Astronaut Brewing, Houston, TX

The Fallen:

Urban South HTX

Buffalo Bayou Brewing

Family Business Brewing (Austin, TX)

Klaus Brewing

Cascade Brewing. Portland, OR

The Rising:

True Anomaly Brewing

Gulf Coast Distillers / Giant Texas Distillers / Tejas Beer / Big Bend Brewing Co. / Marfa, TX

Anchor Brewing / Chobani Yogurt

Project Halo Brewing

Craft Culture X / For the Culture Brewing / Ovennik

Other Shout-Outs:

Parish Brewing

Frida Kahlo

Hip Hop Vintage Flea Market

Hulk Hogan / Real American Beer

11 Below Brewing

Fortress Brewing

B-52 Brewing

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE! Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

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Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at beeringainteasy@gmail.com, or follow our beer quest on Untappd, username BeeringAintEasyDrew.

And the winner is… America, obviously. The Beering Ain’t Easy podcast embarks on a blind tasting adventure through the most recognizable American Lager macro beers and one notable exception - Troy Aikman’s patented Eight Beer. Can Troy’s beer redeem the Cowboys playoff losing streak, or will he be relegated to the Keystone Light division? Will Ryan’s love of conspiracy theories finally pay off in a big way by being the first to uncover Houston Brewery moves? And lastly, will Ryan love or hate his Nickelback concert experience? You don’t want to miss this one.

Featured Beers:

Bud Light. Anheuser Busch, St Louis, MO. 4.2% ABV

Miller Lite. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 4.2% ABV

Coors Light. Coors Brewing Company, Golden, CO. 4.2% ABV

Pabst Blue Ribbon. Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX. 4.8% ABV

Eight Elite Light Lager. EIGHT Brewing Co, ?? United States. 4% ABV

Other Shout-Outs:

Troy Airman / Dallas Cowboys

Barry Switzer / University of Oklahoma

Faubourg Brewing Co. New Orleans, LA

Verona, WI

Oregon State Food Science Dept

Phil Leinart (AB, Harpoon, Ommegang)

Gayle Benson: New Orleans Saints, Pelicans

Keystone Light

Michelob Ultra

Hipster Sauce

11 Below Brewing

Fortress Brewing

B-52 Brewing

X Files

Salt & Oak Brewing / Hazeboiz

Nickelback / Houston Rodeo / Houston Chronicle

Drake/Bun-B

Vector Brewing, Dallas, TX

Oak Highlands Brewing, Dallas, TX

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!
WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE! Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

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Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, X,Threads, or YouTube, email us at beeringainteasy@gmail.com, or follow our beer quest on Untappd, username BeeringAintEasyDrew.

We drink two of the best sours in Texas, Atrial Rubacite from Jester King and Sea of Waves from True Anomaly, all while sharing our opinions and detailed instructions on how to perform the biggest faux pas when visiting breweries. Ryan brings it home with some beer news and Drew shares his toddler woes on airplanes.

Featured Beers:

Atrial Rubacite. Jester King Brewery, Austin, TX. 5.8% ABV.

Sea of Waves. True Anomaly Brewing, Houston, TX. 8.5% ABV.

Other Shout-Outs:

GABF

Texas Craft Brewers Conference

Houston Beer Guide

Houston Beer Month

Elder Son

Southern Yankee

Yelp

4J Brewing

Texas Roadhouse

Home Alone / Kevin McAllister

Draught Queens

Idaho Springs, CO

Westbound and Down Brewing

Lion King

Spindletap

Keyboard cat

PETA

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

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Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at beeringainteasy@gmail.com, or follow our beer quest on Untappd, username BeeringAintEasyDrew.

We back? It’s been a minute since our last episode, so we pay penance to the beer gods by drinking weird beers while we bring you up-to-speed with the state of affairs in craft beer and in our hoods. Tarot cards, anonymous Facebook posts, and Troy Aikman branded beer, all in the same episode?

Featured Beers:

Slice Sipper. Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn, New York. 5% ABV.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier-Marzen. Schlenkerla (“heller-Brau” Trum), Bamberg, Bayern Germany. 5.1% ABV

Evan’s 5 Year Beer. Eureka Heights Brew Co., Houston, TX. 3.5% ABV.

Buckle Bunny. Eureka Heights Brew Co, Houston, TX. 4.5% ABV

Other Shout-Outs:

Mike’s Hot Honey

Ingenious Brewing

Black Page Brewing

H-Town Brewing

Astral Brewing

North Shepherd Brewing

Vallenson’s

Misfit Outpost

Equal Parts Brewing

Location Six Brewing

Project Halo Brewing

Galveston Bay Brewing

Great Heights Brewing

Holler Brewing

Bad Astronaut Brewing

Nook Brewing Company

Nextdoor

Shell Houston Open

Swag Brewery Hoppy IPA Craft Beer Candle

Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

Bill O’Brien

Houston Texans

Jumbo Fischer

Nick Saban

Bill Belicheck

Troy Aikman’s 8 Beer

Ace Ventura

Dan Marino

Pineapples on Pizza

LL Cool J

Love Guru

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE! Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

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Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at beeringainteasy@gmail.com, or follow our beer quest on Untappd, username BeeringAintEasyDrew.

It has been well established on our Podcast that host Ryan likes his beers (and other drinks) unadulterated. So what did we do to him? We made him face his fears and drink a wide range of beer mixed drinks for the first time ever, tournament style! And let him talk about more conspiracy theories.

Featured Beer Mixed Drinks:

Michelada: Spicy Michelada Mix by Space City Snax. Maracas Mexican Lager by Nook Brewing Company, Broken, Arrow, OK (or Zeno’s if you are Ryan).

Black and Tan: Guinness and Zeno’s Pale Ale by Lone Pint Brewing Company, Magnolia, TX.

Black Velvet: Guinness and La Vostra Prosecco

Shandy: Zeno’s Pale Ale and Lemonade

Other Shout-Outs:

Joe Rogan

Fear Factor

Harp

Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy

Goose Island Summer Shandy

Sierra Nevada

Left Hand Milk Stout

Craft Culture X: Ovinnik and For the Culture Brewing

Anchor Brewing / Sapporo

Houston Beer Block Party

Squats and Hops

Is it Cake?

Mini Boss / Eureka Heights

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE! Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

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Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at beeringainteasy@gmail.com, or follow our beer quest on Untappd, username BeeringAintEasyDrew.

Ryan and Drew crack into some of the best beers from Belgium and Germany while sitting outside on the edge of the Austin, TX wilderness. In an episode rife with bad accents and pronunciations, your hosts discuss why Euro beers have fallen down so far on the Beer Advocate ratings while paying homage to these classic styles. Will Ryan learn to appreciate the Belgian quad? Will we be able to finish the episode without being interrupted by coyotes? Tune in and find out.

Featured Euro Beers

Duvel. Duvel Moortgat. Puurs, Vlaanderen Belgium. 8.5% ABV.

Ayinger Celebrator. Ayinger Privatbraurei. Aying, Bayern Germany. 6.7% ABV.

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier. Bayerische Staatsbraurei Weihenstephan. Freising, Bayern Germany. 5.4% ABV.

Abt 12. Brouwerij St. Bernardus. Watou, Vlaanderen Belgium. 10% ABV.

Trappistes Rochefort 10. Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy. Rochefort, Wallonie Belgium. 11.3% ABV.

Other Shout-Outs:

Beer Advocate

Asa Hanrahan - Flying Saucer Houston

Toppling Goliath

AB InBev - Breckinridge, Shock Top

Kid Rock - Bud Lite

Karbach Brewing

Surly Brewing (MN)

Spindletap (HOU Hobby Airport)

King’s Bierhaus

Chimay

Cool Runnings

The Trappist - Oakland, CA

Kloster Kreuzberg Dunkel

Side Project

Guiness

Trappist Westvleteren 12

Jester King

Fat Tire

Epic One Water Brew (recycled water beer by Devil’s Canyon Brewing)

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/may/02/recycled-wastewater-beer-epic-cleantec-san-francisco-drought-california

Beer Advocate Rankings from 2010

https://web.archive.org/web/20100828090327/http://beeradvocate.com/lists/top

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE! Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at beeringainteasy@gmail.com, or follow our beer quest on Untappd, username BeeringAintEasyDrew.

In this episode, we do what we love best - beer news and blind tastings - but also answer some pretty important questions. Mexican Lagers are often considered basic beers, but are craft Mexican lagers an exception? And more importantly, could you pick them out of a lineup? And while we’re at it, where do you stand on putting fruit in your beer? It's time to take a stand.

Featured Mexican Lagers:

Scout. True Anomaly Brewing, Houston, TX. 7.6% ABV.

Dos Equis Lager. Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma S.A. de C.V. 4.2% ABV

Modelo Especial. Grupo Modelo, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. 4.4% ABV.

Pacifico Clara. Grupo Modelo, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. 4.5% ABV.

Tecate Light. Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma S.A. de C.V. 3.9% ABV

Houston Beer Block Party on Aug 19th

https://houstonbeerguide.com/houstonbeerblockparty/

Other Shout-Outs:

Anchor Brewing (Christmas Ale, Liberty Ale, Anchor Steam)

Sapporo

Black Page Brewing. Houston, TX

Spindletap Brewing

Laser Brewing

Corona

Bacardi Limon

Micheladas

Total Wine

Anita Brewing

Space City Snacks

White Oak Music Hall

Dumb & Dumber

Wayne’s World

Chuck Norris

HTOWN Brewery Challenge Tracker - See how we’re doing on our challenge to visit all breweries within 50 miles of Houston!

NEW WEBSITE and MERCH PAGE! Check out all the great podcasts that are a part of Cross the Streams media!

https://www.crossthestreamsmedia.com/show/beering-aint-easy/

Follow @beeringainteasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, email us at beeringainteasy@gmail.com, or follow our beer quest on Untappd, username BeeringAintEasyDrew.