It’s already moved to a bigger location. Then a second stage was added. The line-up features numerous  bands with headliners including The Antlers and Givers. The beer list will whet even the snobbiest beer drinker’s appetite. And there will be food trucks galore (and vintage stores on wheels!). If last week’s cooler weather were in for a repeat, September 8 might be the best day of the year.

Take the Margaret Hunt Hill West to the Untapped Festival, which will inhabit Trinity Groves from 1 to 11 p.m. (even earlier if you’re a VIP) on September 8. There will be plenty of beer to try and bands to listen to, but here are two of the day’s selections you won’t want to miss.
Peticolas Brewing Company.

Michael Peticolas had two precious assistants for his Saturday tour.

Did you know that a year ago Peticolas Brewing Company couldn’t exist? There were zoning laws that kept breweries out of Dallas. That’s why Michael Peticolas was brewing his own beer and traveling to cities like Ft. Worth and Austin to get good local brews.

When progressive minds in the city made room for breweries, they began popping up all over town, Lakewood Brewing Company and Four Corners Brewing Co are two craft brewers that appeared lately.
Peticolas is proud to be one a Dallas brewer, saying he hopes people from Austin will start driving up here for our beer.

A few Saturdays ago, I went along on one of their private brewery tours (they announce them on Facebook and the first 50 people to respond get put down on a guest list) and not only is it impressive that he and wife Melissa established this petite brewery in the Design District – the beer is damn good.

They are promising to bring three brews to Untapped: Vanilla Bean Velvet Hammer, Golden Opportunity, Great Scot! And I cannot recommend the Golden Opportunity highly enough for a crisp golden ale. I plan on sipping the Great Scot! as well, because Peticolas doesn’t come in bottles and I haven’t seen it on the menu at any of my local haunts.

For the festival’s full beer list, go here.

Fish Fry Bingo

As I was typing out this band’s name, I realized it sounds like a newfangled food truck (you know one with games or something). But Fish Fry Bingo is a hillbilly jug band and they just might be my favorite new discovery.

When I emailed Dan Benjamin (the band’s only original member) requesting an interview he invited me to join them at one of their Saturday gigs. It happened to be the same Saturday I attended the Peticolas tour and after a greasy burger and a disco nap (READ: Peticolas has a high alcohol content) I met up with the guys before their show that evening at Gingerman in Uptown.

When was the last time you saw someone play a jug or an electric washboard?

One of the first things a bandmember said to me (I couldn’t keep track who was saying what, there were five -or maybe six – and only one of them didn’t have a beard…I think….), “If I never drink another Coors Light, I’ll be good.”

These boys were dubbed “The Official Band of Craft Beer” at the Texas Beer Fest in Houston, which has given them a mission and allowed them to book some cool gigs. But it’s a well deserved title, because now that I’ve been privy to the stylings of Fish Fry Bingo – they’re my new drinking music.

With songs that imitate a bald eagle (you read that correctly) to a song called “Drinkin’ Beer” (about drinking), these men are seriously fun. They played multiple sets at Gingerman that evening and my friends were all thanking me for introducing them to a new band.

Tickets for Untapped Festival are $30 for concerts and beer. $20 for just the concerts. But we’re giving away a pair to one lucky winner on Facebook.