Exploring the Houston Beer Scene in search of community, good times, and good beers!
If you don’t know us already, here are the dudes behind HoustonBeerScene.com.
Peter M. (The Boss)
Peter’s history with beer starts out about as typical as the next guy. The first beer he really got into was Shiner Bock, and it stayed that way for a long time. But after he moved to Kansas for two years and then Michigan for a year, and not having his go-to beer around, the journey started. Every journey needs a compass or a guide, and Founders Brewing Co and Bell’s Brewery did the job!
After moving back to Texas (North of Dallas), Peter started exploring all the Texas beer he had previously overlooked. This eventually led to homebrewing, and working as a volunteer in a local brewery taproom. He is also a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone program. Peter and his wife have two dogs, named Porter and Dunkel!
First Brewery ever visited: Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., Fort Worth, TX
Favorite Style: Saisons, Wild Ales, and IPAs
Favorite Breweries (That I have visited):
Side Project Brewing, Maplewood, MO
Casey Brewing and Blending, Glenwood Springs, CO
Weldwerks Brewing Co, Greeley, CO
American Solera, Tulsa, OK
Cellarmaker Brewing Co., San Francisco, CA
Favorite Sports Teams: Liverpool FC, Texas A&M, and Dallas Cowboys
Fun Fact: As a child, I broke my leg playing kickball. You should have seen the ball, I’m a beast. But really, first base was a giant wooden fort. Kids are smart.
Ryan W. (The Enthusiast)
Ryan’s craft beer interest began years before he ever visited his first brewery.
Working with one of the largest energy drink companies in the world, it wasn’t the drink itself, but the culture around the brand that sparked his interest.
After leaving the beverage industry, Ryan was in Tulsa, Oklahoma working in the oil patch when he visited his first brewery, Prairie Artisan Ales. Again, it wasn’t JUST about the beer – it was the same atmosphere and familiar culture built around the brewery experience that he enjoyed in the energy drink world, that made Ryan a craft beer believer. Today, you can find him frequenting the breweries that are about their brand, as much as their beer.
First brewery ever visited: Prairie Artisan Ales Tulsa, OK and B-52 Brewing Conroe, TX
Favorite Style: Porters/Stouts/Saison/Anything on Nitro
Favorite brewery: 8th Wonder, Houston, TX
Jester King, Austin, TX
Favorite Sports Teams: Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, Bayern Munich
Todd W. (The Savant)
Todd is a lifelong Houstonian, except for his years away at college of course. His obsession with craft beer actually started with a Summer trip to Germany while still in high school. Because Germany’s legal drinking age is 16, and his mother’s liberal view of consuming alcohol, Todd tried some beers that were nothing like the mainstream American macro beers he had ever had the opportunity to taste. This trip gave Todd a real appreciation for craft beer, and he was on the search for all the good Hefeweizens and Munich Helles’ he could find.
By the time he graduated college, in 2005, a handful of local breweries were starting to thrive in Texas and more options, both domestic and international, started to become available. Then the IPA craze took full effect, helping to propel craft beer to greater and greater popularity, and fueled the fire of Todd’s desire to try new and interesting beers.
Todd truly enjoys the community and camaraderie that Houston craft beer fans cultivate, and strongly believes in supporting our local scene. When not drinking beer (and sometimes while drinking beer), Todd enjoys cooking, reading, film, listening to all types of music, visiting museums and being out in nature.
Favorite Style: Stout/Porter
Favorite Breweries: Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Houston, TX
Brash Brewing Company, Houston, TX
Holler Brewing Company, Houston, TX
B-52 Brewing Company, Conroe, TX
Freetail Brewing Company (original location), San Antonio, TX
Martin House Brewing Company, Fort Worth, TX
Lakewood Brewing Company, Garland, TX
Pinthouse Pizza (either location), Austin, TX
Real Ale Brewing Company, Blanco, TX
Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
Cascade Brewing, Portland, OR
Alesmith Brewing Company (especially the “speakeasy” at their tap room), San Diego, CA
Favorite Sports Teams: Rockets, Astros, Texans, Saints, and LSU Tigers
Fun Fact: I have visited 162 of the roughly 275 breweries in Texas and I’m always seeking out the next new one.
Bryce A. (The Captain)
After a decade in the military flying helicopters Bryce made the jump to civilian life a few years ago. While the biggest benefit was getting to spend more time with his wife and kiddos, another benefit was the chance to get more involved in the beer scene. While in grad school, Bryce helped manage a bar in Vermont that exposed him to some of the great New England breweries like Hill Farmstead, The Alchemist, Switchback, and Two Roads to name a few. Bryce grew up in Dallas, and having lived all over Texas, has been able to try many breweries outside of the Houston-area. Now settled in Houston, he has had the great opportunity of getting to know the Houston Beer Scene and is loving it!
Favorite Style: As a bourbon lover, I am always on the hunt for great barrel-aged porters or stouts.
First Brewery: I believe it was Boulevard in Kansas City; however, my first really memorable visit to a craft brewery was Lakewood up in the Dallas-area.
Favorite Out of State Brewery: Schilling Beer Company, Littleton, NH. One of the best European-style breweries I have had in the US. They also have a great Whistle Pig barrel-aged porter called Kamrade.
Fun Fact: One of my favorite memories from overseas is drinking a non-alcoholic Budweiser in a Kuwait City rooftop hookah lounge with a bunch of Army and Air Force pilots.