Despite the on-and-off drizzle and the cooler temperatures, the masses came out for the Untapped Beer and Music Festival in Fort Worth. Personally, I was the one hoping the weather would keep away more people, leaving shorter beer lines for the rest of us.

Local Brews

All of the local breweries came out with their newest and unique beers yet. For the first time outside of the brewery, the Peticolas Brewing Company brought out their Imperial Stout Black Curtain; Lakewood released the next beer in their Legendary series, with Antigoon’s Revenge; Martin House debuted their beer-of-many-flavors, Kafkaesque, combining oak, smoke, rye, and raspberry flavors, into one finely balanced beer; Rahr provided several one-off variations from their usual beer line-up, including: Snowmacocoagaddeon, Hatch Chile Blonde Ale, and Unfiltered Dry Hopped Stormcloud IPA; and Deep Ellum presented their latest clean-tasting Double Dry Hopped IPA, Tongue Punch.

Local new comers Cobra Brewing (in Lewisville) and Grapevine Craft Brewery, also made their beer festival debuts. As Cobra is still getting started, they had their only two beers available: Best Mistake Stout and Hoppy Dazed IPA. Grapevine Craft Brewery, only having a little more time under their belts, had a few more options, including their year round beers like Lakefire Rye Pale Ale, as well as a new offering in their Raspberry Cocoa Brown Ale.

From Around Texas and Beyond

Other Texas breweries also came in with their latest creations. Jester King, from out in the Hill Country in Austin, brought their latest raspberry sour beer, La Vie En Rose (which you could get with infused either peppercorn or Satsuma orange peel), as well as another sour beer Cerveza de Tempranillo, in which they added Tempranillo wine grapes to a barrel-aged pale sour ale. Saint Arnold, out of Houston, was also there with the latest in their Bishop Barrel offering, a rum-barrel aged version of their typical Fall seasonal, Pumpkinator.

Some of the more national brands impressed the crowds with Ballast Point’s Habañero Sculpin IPA (with plenty of heat on the finish), Boulevard’s Chocolate Ale (which is deceivingly not dark in color at all), Firestone Walker Anniversary XVII Strong Ale, and an entire line-up from Odell Brewing, which is brand new to Texas, only arriving in the state a few weeks ago.

The rain and cooler temperatures may have caused us all to huddle around a little more (and maybe even drink a little faster), but it did not dampen our spirits, well beer. I am completely looking forward to Untapped Festival coming back to Dallas in September, where we will probably endure the exact opposite weather.