On Jan. 26, the Munday Library in Austin, Texas, welcomed guests to enjoy “Hilltops” an event showcasing the history and variety of Texas beers. Thirty-three vendors attended to present their beers and help educate guests about the tradition of beer-making in Texas.
Four Corners Brewery is very proud of their design and marketing, displaying the art for all of their labels at their booth. “We’re one of the few beers where the branding is as good as the beer,” said the brewery’s representative. To them, beer isn’t just about taste or experience, it’s also about culture. It was explained to me that all of their designs are based on Lotería, a Mexican card game, and even their brewery’s name comes from the neighborhood they started in.
Katie Lowe, the head brewer at Koko’s Bavarian, is showcasing one of their traditional German IPAs. She believes beer is a lifelong learning process and was happy to share part of it with me. Explaining how traditional beer has no flavor additives and instead uses the manipulation of yeast, hops, and malt to achieve a myriad of flavors. She had me try the banana cream Hefeweizen to showcase how specific their flavoring can be.
Beerburg Brewing displayed most of their beer selections in glass bottles, as they’re currently too small to justify the massive expensive of canning beer. I spoke to Kris Holland, Beerburg’s event coordinator, and Greg Klein, their sales distributor, about their experience opening in January of 2020, just months before Austin went into quarantine. They explained that beer delivery became the primary way they distributed. Now they can finally draw people out to their in-person location with delicious appetizers, tacos, and even brunch.
As one of the few vendors with a tapped keg at this event, Bold Beer Republic Brewing Company stood out amongst the crowd. Adriane Hodgers, one of the owners, explained the importance of head on a beer as a sort of “first idea of the taste of a beer through the aroma.”
On the sidelines from the vendors was a display of antique beer steins from The Beer Museum. Along with the physical steins there was “The Beer Stein Book” by Gary Krirsner available to flip through. One of the museum’s proprietors, Virginia Benavidez was available when I came to the booth. She explained that beer steins, as opposed to wine decanters which help enhance the flavor by incorporating oxygen, were likely created as a practical way to stop debris and particulate from falling into your beer.
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