Texas Beer Fest Poster
Texas Beer Fest Poster

Craft beer is incredibly delicious. Admittedly, up until a few months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to name any other local breweries besides St. Arnold’s and Shiner. However, thanks to the folks at the Craft Brewing Revolutionary Guard (CBRG), I can now name not only other great Texas Craft Breweries, but also know which of their beers I am particularly fond of.  For instance, St. Arnold Amber by St. Arnold Brewing Company (Houston, TX), Stash by Independence Brewing Company (Austin, TX), Smoked Porter by Southern Star Brewing Company (Conroe, TX) and Envy by Circle Brewing Company (Austin, TX). This year, CBRG set out to create the first Texas Beer Festival featuring beers from local, national and international beers that all represent and celebrate the art that is Craft Brewing. The one-day festival was held at the Humble Civic Center on May 7th, 2011.

Sound Check before Texas Beer Fest
Sound Check before Texas Beer Fest

After hearing what they were up to, I quickly joined ranks in their humorous but still serious, officer team which included a couple Beer Commanders, a Colonel and a Mess Captain among other essential roles such as media, accounting, merchandise and volunteering . I was given the hearty title of Noise Co-Captain because between myself and Brandon Warnke, we coordinated the list of amazing Houston bands that belted out a true-to-texas sound all day at the festival stage. Our lineup included: DJ Mikey Two-Shirts, Stefanie King, The Brandon Matthew Band, Folk Family Revival, with Robert Ellis and the Boysheadlining. In addition, I coordinated media interviews, wrote press releases, founded the hastag #TxBF, provided community outreach and emceed the stage the day of the festival.

Crowd at Texas Beer Fest
Crowd at Texas Beer Fest

Each festival attendee received 12 coupons at the door which could be used towards food at the delicious lineup of food trucks from Houston and beyond including OhMy!PocketPies, Zilla Street Eats, Clem’s Hot Diggity Dogs, and Phamily Bites or at any of the Brewery booths in total featuring over 250 beers! The great thing about the festival was that no wait was a long one. And many breweries sent representatives to chat with you about the way the beer was brewed, what sets it apart and which of their beers would best fit your palate. And apparently, I’m not the only one that was pleased. The press leading up to and the reviews after have been fantastic. I’m looking forward to hearing what CBRG has up their sleeve for next year. Cheers to Craft Beer!

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