Craft Beer Austin Staff Picks | Summer 2024

 

Welcome back for the Summer 2024 edition of Staff Picks. We once again polled the team to see what they recommend as the weather starts to heat up in Central Texas. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and let us know your favorite  beers of the moment on our social platforms. 

 

David

Vacancy | Turbulence | Hoppy Lager

Jet Lag won the GABF Gold Medal in 2023 for Hoppy Lagers and Vacancy owner/head brewer Brent decided to change perfection and add another Hoppy Lager, Turbulence, to the menu. It somehow improves on perfection. This is a fantastic beer in one of my favorite styles. Go support this amazing local brewery – great place, great people and great beer. 

 

Pam

Meanwhile | Fore | Kolsch

I love tea and I love tea beers. This one has the perfect combination of black iced tea with a hint of lemon to make it a refreshing and delicious summer beer.

 

Aaron

Pinthouse Brewing (Collab w/Lone Pine) | Cove of Opuntia | Cold IPA

Two of the craft beer things that I will almost always try and almost always be disappointed by are Cold IPAs and Prickly Pear beers. The idea of the Cold IPA (an IPA brewed with the body and yeast of a lager to make for a lighter, cleaner, vehicle for expressing hops) is right up my alley, but the results are often underwhelming. Similarly, the subtle earthy sweetness of prickly pear is a favorite of mine, but it usually gets lost in the sours and wheat beers that most often include it as an ingredient. The brewers at Pinthouse Pizza have managed to thread the needle with Cove of Opuntia, a Cold IPA brewed with prickly pear. The gentle, smell-after-a-thunderstorm sweetness of the prickly pear leads off, but before it gets too cloying, the crisp, piney hop bill washes it away. This is not a beer that should work, but it absolutely does.
 

 

Caleb

St. Elmo (Collab w/Vector Brewing)  | Doomskröll | Black Rice Lager

It’s too hot outside, so my summer recommendation is to stay inside and doomscroll while drinking a Doomskröll, the black rice lager collab from the brightest minds of Austin and Dallas. Doomskröll is made with 3 variations of rice: Forbidden Black Rice, Yamada Nishiki Rice, and Puffed Jasmine Rice. This toasty lager is available on tap and in cans at St. Elmo.

 

Dani

Austin Beerworks | La Verdad | Mexican Lager

My go to summer seasonal this year is Austin Beerworks La Verdad. It is a nice refreshing Mexican Lager. I am often sitting at the bar on Sprinkle Valley and this has been my go to as of lately. It keeps you cool on a hot summer day, even though ABW – SV does have AC. It is only 4.5% abv and has a nice, crisp finish. It is usually only available May- July in cans and on tap. You really don’t even need a lime in it but it is always an option!

 

 

See you for the Next Edition of Craft Beer Austin Staff Picks in a few weeks!

Also, See our Comprehensive List of Central Texas Breweries!

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