Category Archives: Beer

Nutemptress

Posted on by Bill Chance

“Oh, this beer here is cold, cold and hop-bitter, no point coming up for air, gulp, till it’s all–hahhhh.”
― Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow

nutemptress beer, from Lakewood Brewing

I’ve written about the Temptress Milk Stout from Lakewood Brewing – I consider it one of the best things in the world. Once, I rode my bike to the train then all the way to Fort Worth because a restaurant there had chicken and waffles with Temptress syrup.

The beer is often sold in different varieties/flavors. I have had (and written about) Mole Temptress and Bourbon Barrel Temptress (a personal favorite).

The other day, on the way back after dropping Candy off at the airport, I stopped at a Central Market to buy some coffee beans (they have a huge selection). Walking past the beer section I noticed a variety pack of Temptress – two each of Sin Mint Temptress, French Quarter Temptress, and something called NuTemptress. That looked like a plan to me – I don’t (usually) drink more than a beer at a sitting, so this could get me through a pretty good week.

I had not heard of the NuTemptress and assumed it was some New Temptress… but I was wrong. The nu stands for Nutella – it’s a hazelnut flavored milk stout.

And Oh God is is good.

This is truly the best of all possible worlds.

Cherry Bomb!

Posted on by Bill Chance

Hey, street boy, what some style?
Your dead end dreams don’t make you smile
I’ll give you something to live for
Have you and grab you until you’re sore

—-Cherry Bomb, The Runaways

Bottle cap from the bottle of Cherry Bomb! by Prairie Artisan Ales

Pre-Covid one time, I rode my bike to the Whole Foods at Renner and Plano road – it’s exactly five miles from the house, a nice round-trip. It’s my favorite bar – they have a craft beer growler room there and sell it by the glass too. It’s bright and clean and there are always interesting people there.

But most importantly, whoever manages the place has a good, strong touch in the beers he stocks. Of course, there is a nice selection of local favorites, but there is always a couple of interesting selections from out of town. So, this one time, I’m sitting there chatting with a young couple that had been there a while before I arrived and had been hitting the beers and were now into the wine selection.

Looking up at the board I noticed a dark beer listed called Bomb! from Prairie Artisan Ales in Oklahoma. One thing that jumped out at me was the 13% alcohol content – that’s pretty stout for a beer, even a stout. I ordered one and it was good. It was black as used motor oil and had notes of Oklahoma and petrochemicals.

“That’s pretty damn good,” I said to the couple next to me.

“Yeah? Well, we’ll have a couple,” they said to the bartender.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “You’ve had enough and that beer’s too strong, I’m going to have to say no.”

Well, that didn’t go over too well. I have a feeling that the place has some sort of tracking system and alerts the bartender when to cut off the customers. The two sure didn’t seem drunk to me.

At any rate, they paid their bill and stormed off in a huff. A while later they came by and showed me something. They had gone into the store and bought a whole six pack of Bomb!.

“Ha! That’ll show her,” he said to me.

After that little incident I’ve had a soft spot for Prairie Artisan Ales and Bomb!. Some of us have been talking about a road trip to Oklahoma to visit the place.

But Covid has ruined everything. I’ve barely had two beers in the last year and a half.

The other day, however, I stopped at Central Market for coffee and saw a display that included single beers for sale and I couldn’t resist a Cherry Bomb! by Prairie Artisan Ales. I packed the bottle in a cooler and took it to a party this weekend.

And it was good.

Afternoon at the Brewery

Posted on by Bill Chance

“Never underestimate how much assistance, how much satisfaction, how much comfort, how much soul and transcendence there might be in a well-made taco and a cold bottle of beer.”
― Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

Four Corners Brewery, Dallas, Texas

Four Corners

A Pink Floyd Reference

Posted on by Bill Chance

Lime and limpid green, a second scene
A fight between the blue you once knew
Floating down, the sound resounds
Around the icy waters underground
Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda and Titania
Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten

—-Pink Floyd, Astronomy Domine, from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

 

One of the order boards, Braindead Brewing Company, Deep Elllum, Dallas, Texas

Nick and I took the DART train towards downtown with our bikes. He got off before me and went for a longer ride – but we met up at Braindead Brewing in Deep Ellum for a late lunch and a beer. Braindead has a lot of taps with their own unique brews displayed on the wall. I ordered a number 14 from a very young-looking waiter.

“That’s a Pink Floyd reference,” he said, with pride.

“I’m old,” I said, gesturing at my gray hair, “I know that album,” (although I was only ten when the album was released… Actually I think I heard it on re-release in the 70’s).

“I’m just showing off that I know what it is,” the waiter replied.

And I was suitably impressed.

And the beer – a strong dark Scotch ale, brewed with coffee, was good… worthy of classic early Pink Floyd – with Syd Barrett.

 

 

 

Four Bullets Brewery

Posted on by Bill Chance

Front door to Four Bullets Brewery, Richardson, Texas

Front door to Four Bullets Brewery, Richardson, Texas

For about I year I watched the progress of a new small brewery here in my own town of Richardson. It was established by two experienced home brewers that wanted to take the next step and open up their own establishment. It was called Four Bullets Brewery and has finally had its soft opening, with the official grand opening scheduled in a couple months.

It’s been open on Saturdays from noon to six with the typical tour deal – ten bucks for a glass and three beer tickets. I have been enjoying these craft beer tours for a few years now and really wanted to check out Four Bullets. The last couple weeks were too busy for me but today I was able to make a visit.

The brewery is located in a little industrial area north of downtown, near the Arapaho DART train station. It’s very close to where I live – but there is a railroad track blocking the way, so I rode north past the rail station and doubled back. It was a nice, easy ride, about three and a half miles.

I folded my Xootr Swift and locked it to a sign out in front – I should have ridden around to the back of the building, but I didn’t know.

My bike folded and locked up in front of Four Bullets.

My bike folded and locked up in front of Four Bullets.

The brewery is small – about the size of a generous garage, but it has an extensive open area out back with tables and some games. The crowd grew throughout the time I was there, until they had a very respectable bunch hanging around. A food truck sold barbeque in the back – he had his smoker located upwind and the smell made it impossible to resist.

The crowd grows in the patio in back of the Brewery.

The crowd grows in the patio in back of the Brewery.

I’m not expert on beers – but I enjoyed the three I tried. They all had the complexity and freshness you expect in a small batch craft beer. I especially liked the Oatmeal Stout – excellent and not too heavy, and the Pale Ale – very drinkable with a lot of flavor without being too hoppy. It’ll be interesting to watch Four Bullets as they go along – see if they get more adventurous with their beer varieties.

The City of Richardson looks at this industrial park as a potential little Design District – with the same kind of development – restaurants, galleries, breweries – that Dallas is working on in the area between downtown and the river. A food truck park is slated to open soon. I hope the trend continues – it would be a cool thing.

I will definitely go back, maybe try and organize a bike ride from a DART station through the east side of the city down to the brewery.

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Good Review of Four Bullets