You may recall an earlier post where I mentioned taking a trip to the Southern Star brewery, a trip I completed this past Saturday. It started off like any other Saturday: waking up early to feed the dogs, eating a quick breakfast, and relaxing. However, this day I had plans, beer plans. Around 11 my dad came into town from Austin, and picked up Mindy and I. About 40 minutes later, we were eating some quick Mexican food in Navasota, and about 40 minutes after that we were entering the town of Conroe, the home of the Southern Star Brewing Co.
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Pulling into the driveway, we could already see the crowd. I wasn’t expecting so many other people to be there, I was expecting just a quiet tour and a small tasting. If I had to guess, I’d say about 75 other people had the same Saturday plans I did. Everywhere around the small brewery were groups of people, mostly in their mid 30’s to late 40’s, sitting in their collapsible chairs and chatting away. My dad noted how strange it was to see such a large group of people gathered here, as if it were a German style biergarten; although, instead of being in a comforting patio surrounded by lush flowers and ivy, we were in a swelteringly hot warehouse surrounded by brewing paraphernalia. Did I mind the heat? Not really, I don’t mind sweating a little bit. Besides, we were at a Texas brewery; I was in my element.
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| Craft beer drinkers, assemble! |
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| Huzzah! |
We joined the long line, reaching well past the front door. After a few minutes, Mindy and I walked up to the front to see what it was we were actually waiting for. We soon discovered that we were in the refill line, and that we wanted the short merchandise line. A few more minutes later, and all three of our party had a beer. If you buy a glass, they fill it up to three times. I’d say that’s a very generous tasting portion, especially if you buy the tall glass like we all did. My first selection was their first brewed beer, Pine Belt Pale Ale. Mindy and my dad both tried Southern Star’s most famous beer first, Bombshell Blonde.
We looked around a bit, and then promptly got back in line. Since so many people were also waiting, we had time to finish our first brews before we got to the front. For our second picks: Mindy ordered their Buried Hatchet Stout (which is probably their best offering), my dad ordered Pine Belt, and I tried their summer seasonal which I never knew existed. The beer, a grisette style, was called Walloon. More on that later…
Around 2:30, an informal walkthrough tour began. The tour guide Jeff said this was their first ever walkthrough tour, which I was glad to be a part of. We saw and sampled some of their malt, we wandered through their tanks, we learned about their brewing process, and we saw their canning system. It was a concise and well-executed tour. One thing I learned, and was sorry to hear, was Southern Star brews no longer ship out of state (except for South Carolina) due to supply issues. They once shipped to a handful of Midwest states like Ohio, but now due to increased demand in Texas, they can only handle one market. Fortunately, with the addition of a new canning system, and a 350% increase in productivity, Southern Star might be able to widen their distribution again.
I’d really enjoy seeing Southern Star grow, because as a proud Texan, I love Texas beer and want to share it with the rest of the world. I don’t only like Southern Star because it’s Texan, they make fantastic beer. The Buried Hatchet Stout is a phenomenal brew (scoring an impressive A- on Beer Advocate). However, this isn’t a review for Buried Hatchet; this is a review for Walloon.
As I said earlier, Walloon is a grisette style, which is an old Belgian style of saison or farmhouse ale. Grisette brews were allegedly brewed for coal miners to drink during the summer months and were lighter bodied than other saison beers. Walloon uses a measure of wheat and barley for the mash making it similar to weizenbier. All other Southern Star brews are fermented with American ale yeast, but Walloon is different, it uses Belgian Trappist yeast.
The Walloon I had came from the second to last keg in stock, which also happened to be the second to last keg around, and they aren’t brewing any more this year. I had some of the last Walloon for the year, I felt special. The beer drew from the tap well, forming 2 fingers of lofty white head with great retention. I’d describe the color as a warm golden straw.
The brew smelled very refreshing, like juicy lemon and orange. There was also a bit of a bready aroma. The beer tasted equally refreshing. The first thing you taste is pale malt with a very light bread flavor, then more of the juicy lemon flavor. The last note you get is of fresh whole wheat. The beer was bursting with carbonation which made it even more refreshing. The brew was very drinkable, and finished clean.
I would rate that particular Walloon 4.5 out of 5. I can think of nothing else I’d rather be drinking during the summer, it’s just a shame it’s now gone. Also, to try Walloon in the hot brewhouse where it was first made really added to the experience. I’m very glad I had the chance to visit Southern Star, and I’m also very glad Mindy and my dad got to experience it with me. Sometimes a beer is only as good as the company you share it with.
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| This one's going on the fireplace |
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