Independence Brewing Company

Independence Brewing Company
512 707-0099
3913 Todd Lane #607, Austin, TX 78744

Some friends came to visit us for the Austin City Limits Music Festival from San Francisco. During there visit, they wanted a slice of Texas cuisine, what better way than a large BBQ feast and cold beers from a local brewery. We chose the Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, aside from great food, you can bring your own cooler of beer!

Independence Pale Ale

PALE ALE STATS:
Style: American Pale Ale
Alcohol by volume: 5.5%
Beginning gravity: 13.5º Plato
Ending gravity: 3.0° Plato
Bitterness units: 39
Yeast: Ale yeast
Bittering hops: Horizon
Finishing hops: Cascade, Saaz
Malts: Two-Row Pale, 20° Caramel

Nice aroma and clean, hoppy finish. The woman firing the cannon is Angelina Eberly, who saved Austin with single cannon shot.

Freestyle Wheat Beer


Style: American Wheat Beer
Alcohol by volume: 4.7%
Beginning gravity: 11.0° Plato
Ending gravity: 2.0° Plato
Bitterness units: 15
Yeast: Ale yeast
Bittering hops: Cascade
Malts: Two-Row Pale, and
American White Wheat.

Great refreshing beer after a long day at ACL, it was even better enjoying it while we were at ACL! Light, clean and crisp, no bitterness. The diving boards at Barton Springs represented on the label, my dog like to swim there!

Bootlegger Brown Ale

Style: Brown Ale
Alcohol by volume: 6.0%
Beginning gravity: 14.5° Plato
Ending gravity: 3.0° Plato
Bitterness units: 14
Yeast: Top-fermenting ale yeast
Bittering hops: Cascade
Malts: Two-Row Pale, Chocolate

Great Beer to finish the meal with, nice and smooth finish. Nice shot of the Capital in Austin, he is probably cruising down S Congress trying to avoid hitting any first Thursday folks.

Independence Brewing also makes an Austin Amber Ale, Jasper Old Ale and a limited Oklahoma Suks Brand. I am going to try and get my hands on a few of those.

Breckenridge Brewery: Small Batch 471 ESB

Breckenridge Brewery
600 South Main Street
Breckenridge, CO 80424
Phone: 970-453-1550

Extra Special Bitter: Limited Edition
9.2% ABV
Reddish Copper in color, thick head with a hoppy nutty nose. Hops are the first in line for flavors, then the bitterness kicks in. Bitter aftertaste with a slight tinge of the alcohol.

Available in Austin: Yes

New Sam Adams Pint Glass

According to Jim Koch, they have developed the ideal glass to enjoy your Sam Adams beer from. I have placed my order and look forward to testing them out. Below are all of the details.
The glasses come four to a box, and they are made in Slovenia. A few minor differences were observed with each glass, leading me to believe they might be hand blown. The beers are definitely easier to drink from these glasses, still too early to tell if they improve the taste, more testing is necessary, much much more.