ACL 2022: The Drinks

Back in the day, they would list out all of the drink options that you could get at the Fest.  No longer.  Eater Austin mentions a few changes to the menu, but they don't list the whole menu.  I guess I'll just provide you with last year's listing and discussion, add in the new ones listed on Eater, and hope they stayed pretty close to the same listing?

But first, shout out to my friend Pat for his ProTip about getting enough beer to properly forget that show you are about to go see.  

If you like cold beers and fewer trips to craft beer tent, the 36oz Yeti Rambler with the screw top lid is amazing – might even go so far as to call it life changing.  Rambler + carabiner + solid belt to hold pants and Rambler = 2 full cold craft beers in the magazine, 1 or 2 quickly-warming beers in the chamber and extended beer drinking and music enjoying time.  Still traveling light so no backpack needed.  Just show that it’s empty on your way in.  Yeti is totally overpriced and I got mine as a coaching gift, but based on festival experience last weekend, I’d buy one for ACL alone.  

Bam!  I like it - cold beer in the Yeti like having a pitcher with you!  Although it will sting when you load that sucker up and drop $40 right then...  I pulled this off last time, and other than it being kind of hard to walk with the Yeti trying to damage your thigh while full of beer, it worked like a champ.

The years of trying to sneak booze into the park are over.  First, they started seriously hassling me a few years aback about the re-sealed Aquafina bottles and it was always just a pain in the ass to be all nervous about it.  Then they said no outside liquids at all.  And this year, the only bags you can bring in are either tiny (fanny pack, clutch) or small and clear plastic ones.  No more backpacks.    For real though, the security is going to be even harder this year, so I doubt anyone is sneaking in booze anymore.  [walks in, immediately see's a guy with a handle of bourbon, is angry]

But I do plan on having a few beers to get me through the days out there in the sun.  In case you are new to this whole ACL thing, they have several ways to get booze into your system. First, you have the jenky yellow BAR kiosks all over the grounds.  Literally, there will be like 20 of these spread all over the place.  At that BAR kiosk, you can likely get Miller Lite, Coors Original, Sol, and Fireman's Four (or some derivation of those choices). These will be tallboy cans, and likely $9 unless the price has been jacked since last time.  This is your easy access beer choice.  You will have many of these.

There is also usually a wine choice as well.  A power move is to grab the carafe of red wine at the BAR and power through that while yelling that P!nk is YAAAASSS QWEEEEEN!

For the real beer action, there is the Barton Springs Beer Hall, which will have some big screen TVs and a long bar full of taps of better beer choices.  Of note, unless they change things from the past, you are not getting a fresh pour of these beers.  The folks working this tent will have two or three cups of each beer sitting there ready for you to buy, so that you don't have to wait around for a pour.  However, if it is a million degrees, then your beer is not going to be cold.  I've never gotten a truly hot one either, but just know what you are getting.  If Super cold beer matters to you, then get the BAR cans.

On to the action!  According to prior experience and the Eater folks, these are (maybe) going to be your choices (along with commentary from me) [and no, I actually have no clue anymore what will be there, because nothing is published on the web anymore]:

• Austin Eastciders Blood Orange; Austin Eastciders Original.  (5.0%).  Austin.  $12!  I have tried the original one, and it is pretty solid for a cider, but that is like saying V-8 is pretty solid for a tomato juice when you can't stand tomato juice.  So enjoy, if this is your thing, at least it is local!
• Bell’s Two Hearted IPA. (7.0%). Kalamazoo, Michigan.  What is with a Michigan beer?  I've had this several times (they had it in Colorado at lots of stores) and it is a good beer.  Pretty bitter, but strong.  Also, the label (kind of jenky, like the writing on Ghostface Killah's Twelves Reasons to Die, with a fish underneath) is boss.  Seven percent sounds good though...
• Appears to be independent.
• Whitestone Long Gone Blonde. (5.2%).  Cedar Park, Texas  Hey, that's almost local!  Never heard of this brewery, but a blonde ale is usually a pretty good style to make me happy.  I'd give it a shot.
• Independent.
• Celis Pale Bock.  (4.9%).  Austin, Texas.  I've enjoyed the new Celis beers that I've had around town, and this is my favorite.  The Pale Bock is great, heavy malt sweetness, but a very welcome break from the overly hoppy IPAs.  Give it a shot.
• Celis went into bankruptcy a few years ago, but appears to be plugging along anyway.  Hopefully they are doing well!
• Celis White. (4.9%). Austin, Texas.  Yeah, I liked this one back in the day when Celis was first around, and have enjoyed it at a few bars since it came back to life.  This is a wheat beer, so its a little sweet, a little cloudy, and would be refreshing on a hot day, although I find wheat beers to be worse when they get warm, so you gotta go fast with this one.
• Independence Brewing Company Native Texan.  (5.2%). Austin, Texas.  German pilsner.  I think a good pilsner is a great hot weather beer, and this one being over 5% sounds sweet.  I'll go for at least one.
• Owned in part by Lagunitas, which is owned by Heineken.
• Karbach Big & Bright IPA. (6.7%). Houston, Texas.  Of course, now that the evil empire has purchased Karbach, it becomes the biggest "craft beer" offering here and they cut Real Ale out entirely.  I've had a bunch of the Karbachs and they are fine.  
• AB InBev owned.  And here is some Class A shade from the awesome dudes over at Austin Beerworks, calling bullshit on ACL listing Karbach as "craft."  I love their message - Karbach is good beer and I'm glad people enjoy it, but understand that beers brewed by AB InBev shouldn't be misleadingly labeled as "craft."
• Karbach Lemon Ginger Radler and Blood Orange Radler (3.5%). Houston, Texas.  God, I bet this is horrible.  First, you are getting about the same amount of alcohol as hand sanitizer.  Second, you are getting a beer flavored with ginger.  Ginger is a cool hair color, but not an acceptable beer flavoring device.  Finally, you are paying like $10 for this honor.  I would not do this.  Just go get a water instead.
• Karbach Hopadillo. (6.6%). Houston, Texas.  This is a pretty solid beer.  Not too crazy hopped in my recollection, but still pretty bitter.  Again, though, give me the ones at 7.0% instead of this less powerful business.  Damn mega breweries screwing me on a few percentage points of booze.
• Karbach Love Street. (4.9%). Houston, Texas.  This is a pretty damn tasty Kolsch, real light and a little bit fruity.  I got our firm to carry it in the beer fridges and I have it with some regularity.  The Fest says they are offering the regular serving as well as the "Taller Boy Can," which I had the other night at Bass Concert Hall, which is a 19 ounce can.  I'm sure we'll all pay and extra $3 for that 3 ounce addition...
• Karbach Weekday Warrior. (4.5%). Houston, Texas.  An American IPA, I've never seen nor heard of this one before.  Not sure why I'd go with a full point less of alcohol than the Weekend Warrior...
• Karbach Weekend Warrior. (5.5%). Houston, Texas.  My favorite of the Karbach offerings, this one is an American Pale, so it refuses to listen to medical experts without doing its own research.  Hoppy, but nothing nearly as brutal as many of the full IPAs.
• Karbach Staycation. (4.8%). Houston, Texas.  Oh yeah, actually this might be my favorite of the Karbach beers.  This one is a very good, smooth American Pale that is easy to drink.
• Kona Big Wave.  (4.4%).  Hawaii.  American Blonde Ale.  I had a few different Kona beers the other day at someone else's house, and while I'm not sure I had the blonde, I liked all three that I had.  Too bad that the alcohol content is so low, I'd like to have this one but doubt I'd waste the money.
• Just because I'm a beer nerd, I was curious what the deal is with Kona.  Here is what I found online: "While you may not be intimately familiar with the name Craft Brew Alliance, you’re probably familiar with its brands – Kona, Redhook, Widmer and the gluten-free Omission. Despite its name, the brewer isn’t considered “craft” under Brewers Association standards because a third of the company is owned by AB InBev, essentially so Craft Brew Alliance [CBA] can utilize AB InBev’s monstrous distribution network."  So this brand is also part of the AB InBev world, same as Karbach.
• New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA. (7.5%).  Colorado.  Damn, Gina - 7.5 is legit.  I just bought a twelve of the regular Voodoo Ranger for the house the other day and enjoyed it while smoking some ribs on Labor Day.  Good beer, not too bitter but well hopped.
• New Belgium is apparently employee owned.  So hell yeah.
• Twisted X McConauhaze. (6.5%). Austin, Texas.  This beer is really yummy.  In the past, I haven't loved the Twisted X offerings, but I've bought this at home a good number of times and really enjoyed it.  Obviously a hazy IPA that tries to get clout by making you think of the movie star.
• Pinthouse Pizza's Electric Jellyfish. (6.5%). Austin, Texas.  The rockstar of all Austin beer.  This is the one that people ask for all over town, and pay freaking $18 for a four-pack of in the grocery store.  It's a damn good IPA.  Not sure it is the best beer in Austin, but it very well probably is.  Eater thinks this will be $12 per beer.  Which is outrageous.

I know, each year I bitch and moan about not having any local options, but they've been making that better each year.  In 2016, we had two local brews (an Oasis and an Adelberts) and then the Real Ale options from nearby, but a ton of brews from far away.  2017 had an almost even mix, with 13 non-Austin beers and 10 Austin beers and ciders.  This year you get seven Austin beers and ciders, eight more from Texas, and only three from out of state.  Vast improvement in my opinion.  I'd still love to have Austin Beerworks and 512 and Hops & Grain and Zilker in there, but a little progress is good.  Also, they dropped Zeigenbock, which is a major victory, as that stuff sucks on toast.  

2018 WINNERS:

Actual best beer Category:  Of a relatively mediocre field, I think I'd go with the Electric Jellyfish.  Very easy to drink and quite tasty.  Winner. 

Beer on the list I'd like to try Category: Whitestone's Long Gone Blonde.  

Best bang for your buck Category:  Voodoo Ranger - 7.5% booze.  You'll lose your tastebuds for the next hour or so, but you'll get into party mode a touch quicker.  Assuming the Juicy Haze is as good as the regular one, then this is a winner.  More bang for your buck and a good brew.  And independently owned by employees, so that is tight.  I recall a beer there in 2019 called Elysium, that was super duper strong.  So, yes you can be smart with saving some bang for your buck, but use caution!

Curious about the BAR beers, but no way to know what will be carried there.  I expect we'll still get the usual stuff at the BAR.  Just for comparison's sake, the alcoholic content of the BAR beers that I expect to see:

• Miller Lite: 4.2%
• Coors Heavy: 5.0%
• Sol: 4.5%
• Fireman's Four: 5.1% (winner!)

They'll likely have a craft-ish beer too, like those extra tall Love Street cans (4.9%).  If those extra three ounce cans are the same price as the others, then I'll be drinking that Love Street all day long!