Whilst out in Texas I couldn’t resist a tour of a local brewery, I was on holiday after all. The experience was simply fantastic, I’ve got to hand it to the team at Independence Brewery, and they know how to keep fans happy! It wasn’t your normal stuffy tour of the brewery as I’ve done so many times in England, it was more like a party for locals, what I can only imagine Tailgating is like, without the football.
A queue of about locals gathered pre the opening, wristbands on entry, and a live band. Being a true English man I immediately began looking for a bit of shade from the 37c Texas heat, second on the list was a beer, obviously.
There were six beers on offer (which you will see me ),
review in the weeks ahead), I started with the enigma to the English beer fan, the US Style IPA. The Stash IPA is a beast of a beer, beautiful malt, powerfully hopped, but in such perfect balance it’s effortlessly drinkable. What followed was the special release Saison, a brew they were very proud of, and I can understand why, a delicious beer with all the delicate flavourings of the European style, cardamom, grapefruit wrapped in a creamy smoothness.As the day rolled on the beer flowed, the band (imagine Crosby, Stills and Nash going a cappella) sounded sweeter and the company got more entertaining. My thanks goes to all the great people of the brewery who make such days so great, I don’t doubt a lot more Stash IPA gets sold every time they hold one of these events.
During my visit to the USA it struck me that there many American craft breweries, who despite much love and care for what they do, simply go through the motions of trying their hand at recreating the standard styles of US beer, and European clones, with rather bland results.
There is however another group, who thrive to innovate and dare to do something different, in a way that only a handful of English brewers can say they do.
There is no doubt which category Independence fall into. Their approach is typically Texan, not affraid to break the mould and lead the charge on innovation.
You can take part in the tour on the 1st Saturday of each month, details here.
