ATX Beer Party Returns with an Old School Austin Bottle Share

Thursday, February 22 starting at 6:30 p.m. at WhichCraft Tap Room and Bottle Shop 

ATX Beer Party, a dynamic new promotions group, returns this spring with a lineup of unique events across the city in celebration of the local beer community and to raise funds for nonprofit organizations. Led by three experienced beer industry veterans – Pam (me), Jordan, and John – ATX Beer Party is set to kick off its year-round activities with an Old School Austin Bottleshare at WhichCraft Tap Room and Bottle Shop on February 22 starting at 6:30. This time, ATX Beer Party has invited friends at Jester King Brewery to join in the fun, so guests can expect some special surprises and are encouraged to bring their dusty bottles of Jester King beers to share. Of course, all are welcome and all styles of beer are welcome too. The event benefits the Texas Craft Brewers Guild who will be onsite with their popular merch pop-up, and the party will be jamming to the ATX megamix by DJ Gross Yall. 

I reached out to Jeff Stuffings, co-founder of Jester King Brewery to talk about the share: 

Pam: We are thrilled to have you bring some of your treasures to share with folks. How do you see collecting and hoarding beers has changed since over the years? 

Jeff: A night and day difference has developed over the last three to four years. It’s rare to find anyone these days who collects beer. I commonly see people selling off or giving away their collections. What used to be a fairly robust practice — trading and collecting beer — seems to have pretty much vanished. I used to have a personal collection of bottles from other breweries, but now I drink everything I get within a month or two. 

Pam: Are there any Jester King completists out there you’re aware of? Are there non-employee superfans whose collections/cellars rival the breweries?

Jeff: I think a few are still out there. Although the context in which I see them via the internet these days is not acquisition, it’s liquidation. 

Pam: Do you personally keep each release? What does your home cellar look like in terms of JK beers and/or anything else?

Jeff: We don’t keep each release, as these days we’re mostly making lagers and IPAs best served fresh. We do keep a release cellar that has several hundred bottles dating back to 2014. The cellar is composed largely of one-offs and limited releases from our SPON and barrel-aged wild program. 

Pam: What exciting things does Jester King have in store for us this year?

Jeff: We’re really focused right now on making lagers, especially lagers with native grains. For instance, our Oaxacan Green Corn Lager with corn grown in Amarillo might be my favorite beer Jester King has ever made. 

Important Note on Event Guidelines:

  • Please patron WhichCraft by buying at least one beer (draft, or packaged to go).
  • If possible, bring your own plastic taster. This will help cut down on the amount of glassware the staff has to clean.
  • Speaking of the staff, please remember to tip generously!
  • Only bring 2-3 things to share max, there will be tons to try.
  • Don’t know what to bring? Buy something to share from WhichCraft.

About ATX BEER PARTY

Austin has the best beer in the world and its community deserves to be celebrated. ATX Beer Party exists to amplify the hard work being done by Central Texas breweries with collaborative and charitable events. The group is three industry vets, uniting to make each event stamped with the ATX Beer Week something special and unique: Pam Catoe, owner of CraftBeerAustin.com, Jordan Golembeski from Austin Ale Trail, and John Gross, mover and shaker of GrossYall LLC. No boring “meet the brewer” nights. No “keep the pint glass” nights. Austin deserves better. ATX Beer Party pledges to offer experiences as unique as the beer it lauds, while raising funds for important local charities in the process.

“ATXBP is an initiative to highlight all of the talented people who make the Austin beer scene so special. We celebrate beer, breweries, and the greater brewery community to showcase the industry and its interesting and amazing people.” – Jordan Golembeski, Co-founder of ATX Beer Party

“We hold Austin to a high standard of what we can do to celebrate our beer community. No ‘meet the brewer’ snooze fests, no ‘keep the pint glass’ blandness. Austin’s better than that. ATX Beer Party is collaborating with our local beer heroes and supporting our favorite charities to boot!” – John Gross, Co-founder of ATX Beer Party

“The three of us are deeply ingrained in the beer community and uniquely qualified to curate fun events to celebrate the incredible talent and community that exists here.” – Pam Catoe, Co-founder of ATX Beer Party

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