Island Time

Moody Brews: Your guide to Galveston's International Beer Festival, craft beertips included

Galveston's Moody Gardens is hosting the second annual Brewmasters InternationalBeer Festival Friday through Monday.
The festival celebrates craft beer and features more than 400 offerings,
Photo via BrewMasters International Beer Festival/Facebook

Got big Labor Day Weekend plans?

If you, like us, feel a compulsion to head toward the water, there's really no better time. Galveston's Moody Gardens is hosting the second annual Brewmasters International Beer Festival Friday through Monday.

The festival celebrates craft beer and will feature more than 400 offerings, as well as various tasting events and seminars by brewmasters and other industry experts.

Here's what not to miss:

Brewlicious in the Ballroom

The BrewLicious VIP beer and food pairing and the Friday night pub crawl might be sold out, but you can still whet your appetite for sustenance and suds at the Frances Anne Moody Ballroom on Friday night. A $55 advance ticket gets you 16 beer samples paired with food created by more than a dozen participating chefs and restaurants, a commemorative mug and a tasting card good for 24 additional samples.

Friday from 7 until 10 p.m.

Texas Brewery Tasting Tour

This Saturday event is our No. 1 must-attend. With five new breweries slated to join our existing craft breweries, $25 is a pittance for samples of the brewmasters' favorite selections from Austin Beerworks, Rahr & Sons, Ranger Creek, Real Ale and Houston's own Karbach Brewing Co., No Label Brewing Co., Saint Arnold and Southern Star. Be on special look-out for Southern Star (of Bombshell Blonde fame) brewer David Fougeron and Karbach's current brewmaster (and ex-Flying Dog CEO) Eric Warner.

Tastings are limited to 50 people, so act fast and get there early. Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the floral rooms.

BrewTopia Beer Garden

BrewTopia Beer Garden at the Oleander Bowl is a dependable spot to listen to live music and enjoy a rotating selection of featured beers. The beer garden is open to the public and free to enter, but guests are encouraged to donate canned goods and spare change.

Friday through Sunday till 10 p.m.; cash bar.

BrewHaHa Grand Tasting

Sure to be crowded, but worth it, this is where we get to the serious sampling. $40 at the door or $35 in advance gets you a tasting card for 24 tastings of your choice (additional tasting cards are $5 for 12 additional tastings); a souvenir sampling mug; access to more than 400 specialty, imported and craft beers; live musical entertainment and access to industry expert seminars.

Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 6:30 p.m.

South of the Border Beer Brunch

You're going to be in need of some hair of the dog. Get what you crave at the Frances Anne Moody Ballroom and enjoy a full-on breakfast cornucopia along with your two included beers. $35; for reservations call Jeannie Walsh at 409-683-4404.

Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Brewmasters in part benefits the Galveston County Food Bank. You can find a great tasting list and other info at the TexasBrews blog here.

unspecified

one last hurrah

Staple downtown Houston bar announces imminent closure

Dean's Downtown/Facebook

Dean's is closing this Sunday, April 26.

One of downtown Houston’s favorite casual bars will serve its last drink this weekend. Dean’s will close after service on Sunday, April 26.

First opened in 1999 as Dean’s Credit Clothing, the bar rebranded as Dean’s when current owner Bobby Stark took over in 2013. He tells CultureMap that Notsuoh owner Jim Pirtle, who also owns the bar’s building at 316 Main Street, offered to buy out the last two years of Dean’s lease so that he could open a new concept in the space.

“[The buyout] allows me, my partners, and my employees to do something else,” Stark writes in a text. “Some staff want to get out of the business. Some want to start their own bars and restaurants. Some just want to continue, and Jim’s new bar will be mostly the same vibe — maybe just a little bit more low-key.”

Dean’s opened at the same time as other game-changing bars and restaurants such as Goro & Gun, the Original OKRA Charity Saloon, and Captain’s Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge. Stark says he’s watched the area evolve from an area that people viewed skeptically into one of Houston’s most popular nightlife spots.

“Back then, downtown still had the perception that it was dangerous somehow. I don’t know why,” he says. “Now, it’s more mainstream. In a way, I think Houston is becoming more metropolitan as opposed to just a car city.”

Dean’s will celebrate its last night with “Party Like Its 2013.” Expect a soundtrack powered by songs from the era from artists such as The Weeknd, Rihana, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Taylor Swift, and more. The party runs from 8-11 pm.

closing nightlife