Stop for a Shiner in Gruene, Texas

When people think of the regions where great American craft beer is brewed, they usually think of the West Coast, the Northeast and the Great Lakes region.  Texas and the Southwest are typically not thought of as great beer regions. In fact when people think of beer in Texas, Corona, Tecate and Shiner Bock are probably the first brews that come to mind.  However, after visiting San Antonio and Austin last week, I can say that Texas does have good beers, breweries and most importantly great beer culture.

 Real Ale Brewery

Of all of the new (to me) breweries I sampled in Texas, I was most impressed with the Real Ale Brewery out of Austin.  Since they offer a variety pack, I was able to sample all of their year-round beer.  Included in the pack were refreshing blonde ale, a sessionable brown, and an interesting pale ale hopped with Saaz.  While all were very tasty, my favorite was their Full Moon Pale Rye Ale.  Pale ales with rye (or Rye-P-As) are quickly becoming one of my favorite new styles. While Full Moon wasn’t quite on par with the superb Bear Republic Hot Rod Rye, it is definitely in league with others like Founders Red’s Rye and Terrapin’s Rye Pale Ale.   

Draught House Pub and Brewery

The two most important aspects of a successful beer bar are selection and price.  Who cares if there isn’t enough wood paneling and the waitresses are inattentive?  Good beer at a reasonable price is really all that matters.  The Draught House Pub and Brewery definitely has these two bases covered.  There were about 40 taps in all, including Bigfoot, Yakima Twilight, A Little Sumpin’ Extra, Arrogant Bastard and some very tasty ales brewed on sight.    In addition to the top notch selection, the prices were very reasonable.  Emily and I had 8 beers altogether and the tab was under $30.  Try finding that in DC!  The only real problem was that the barroom was packed and to place your order you had to wait in a line that snaked out the door.  I don’t mind standing at the bar waiting to be served, but there is something unsettling about standing in a line at a bar that isn’t for the bathroom.   

Central Market

Imagine the selection of a great bottle shop but with the convenience and prices of a mega-mart; that’s Central Market.  Central Market is a gourmet grocery that is like a cross between Wegmen’s and Whole Foods.  They seem to be everywhere in Texas.  We happened to venture into the one in north Austin.  Their selection was amazingly good.  There were sixpacks, bombers and single bottles of wide variety of brews.  I even saw some pretty rare “wet hop” beers that have been off the shelves in DC since November.  At this point they’re probably past their prime, but it’s nice to see a store that doesn’t get completely picked over the second a new seasonal comes out.  Along with the usual suspects like Stone, Rogue, Bear Republic and Sierra Nevada, Central Market also featured a lot of local Texas beers, as well as a few breweries that don’t distribute to DC like Boulevard Brewing out of Kansas City and New Belgium out of Fort Collins Colorado.

The view from behind a bike wheel

The oddest part of the cathedral, isn’t the actual structure. It’s the act of parking in a normal suburban subdivision street and walking right into someone’s backyard — only to find a towering junk pile there. When we visited, the owner and he dog, were standing right in the driveway chatting to some neighbors. Kids were chasing each other around the pile. I felt like I was part of some subversive flash mob of weirdness. 

Although, in these photographs, the cathedral just looks like a giant heap of trash. It’s really an ornate construction with towers and spiral staircases. You can climb up to the third floor and peer out the bicycle-spoke window. Don’t worry. It’s sturdy and has been tested by city engineers. 

According to this site, the owner, Vince, has been working on the pile since 1988. The Cathedral has hosted weddings, CD debut parties, bachelor parties, and is a popular destination for tour groups of schoolkids and senior citizens.

Cathedral of Junk

Address: 4422 Lareina Drive, Austin, TX

Directions:

On the south side of town. US 81/290 to the Hwy 71 (Ben White Blvd E.) exit. Hwy 71 west to the Congress Ave. exit. Head south a couple of blocks, turn right on St. Elmo Rd W., then take the second left onto Lareina.

Admission: Free, donations accepted.

Hours: Tu-Su 9-6 pm . (Call to verify)

Phone: 512-299-7413

In case you forgot where you were

Junk is all around ... even in the sky

Zebras approached cars at the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

I’ve never been to Texas before. I had been warned that it is a country on to itself. When I visited my brother — a new San Antonio resident — over Christmas and New Years, I found that to be percisely true. The two hour drive from San Antonio to Austin showed us exactly the sort of wierdness I hoped from Texas.

Safari Park

Our first stop was the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. We had to be the only adults there unaccompanied by a child under the age of ten. The parking lot was full of minivans with Oklahoma license plats.  But no matter! People for all ages love to feed pellets to overwieght wild animals out of their car windows.

We drove the track through the safair park twice. The first time, we followed the directions that the park gave us. We threw our feed pellets on the ground when the animals approached us. We did not stick our hands out of the car. Or allow any animal heads in.

Other safari park vistors feed the ... um... reindeer

We viewed reindeer, buffalo, llamas, zebras and ostrich from a safe distance, and a herd of over eager mountain goats mobbed our car.

Boring! The next drive, we got brave.

Wild animals invaded our car. We barely escaped.

We stuck our heads out of the window. Let the zebras and misc. animals eat from our hands. This ostrich nearly pecked Greg’s eyes out as I tried to get a close-up shot of it.  Ahhh. Nature’s so exhilerating.