Beer Swatches

Beer swatches? What’s that?

There are a lot of strange logistical issues that come up in a restaurant/bar. One of them is how to get information to guests about what we have on the menu. Beer, in particular, is a challenge. We switch out our draft beers regularly, so it’s difficult to keep them on a printed menu. (Before you say anything, yes, I know it would be easier to keep the same beers on all the time. But where would be the fun in exploring new things?)

Instead we decided to post our beer chalkboard to our website (look on the menu above!) and create something we’re calling Beer Swatches. Here’s an example, using one of my favorites we have on right now:

It gives tasting information, brewery information, and an overall better idea of what to expect. The cool thing is that the little booklets we’re making are modular–we can change pages out as quickly as we change beers. The complete booklet should be ready in a couple days, so feel free to ask for one if you’re trying out our draft beers!

Houston Beer Week Dinner with Karbach

In celebration of Houston Beer Week, Down House is teaming up with Karbach Brewing Company, Houston’s newest craft brewer. We’re featuring a five-course dinner pairing with each of their beers (including one currently unreleased beer!) and some beer cocktails as well. Speaking at the event will be representatives and brewers from Karbach to talk about the beers, and Down House chef Benjy Mason to discuss the dishes.

This event will sell out! Please make sure to purchase tickets as early as you can, and e-mail any questions to chris@downhousehouston.com

Purchase tickets here: http://dhbeerdinner.eventbrite.com/

 More about Houston Beer Week:

http://www.houstonbeerweek.com/

twitter.com/houstonbeerweek

More about Karbach Brewing:

http://www.karbachbrewing.com

twitter.com/karbachbrewing

We <3 bikes

Our brand new bike racks are here!

These were created for us by Installations Antiques–located here in the Heights on 22nd and Lawrence. They are made from reclaimed plumber’s pipe, hand-welded, and powder-coated here in town. They were installed by our Heights neighbor Justin Hegan and his crew. We started with a very simple idea: We wanted to make a big statement about our support for the bicycling community, and we thought it would be a cool opportunity to be creative and beautify our front door. Take a look:

Sour Sunday!

Here’s our first menu for this weekly special. I actually think it could be a hit for folks who are into these flavors. I’ve really enjoyed some of the other New Belgium Lips of Faith sour beers (like the La Folie), so I’ve got high hopes for the Kick. We do have a few other large-format bottled beers (that aren’t sours) that we picked up if you’re the kind of person who likes experimenting.

Our sour cocktails are also very much worth checking out. We just put on the amazing Harvest Sour–a variation on a classic sour cocktail with Laird’s Bonded Applejack (100 proof!) and rye. We’re also doing a traditional daiquiri, and I highly recommend trying out some different rums we have behind the bar.

See you on Sunday!

Daily Drink Specials

We’re so excited to announce our new daily drinks specials and happy hour!

The biggest question I’ve been asked so far is about Sour Sunday. What’s it all about? We’re planning on sourcing some great sour beers by the bottle and offering them as low as we can–probably $3 or $4 bucks depending on what it is. Sour cocktails will be of course our almost-famous Amaretto Sour, Whisky Sours, Santa Cruz Sour, Pisco Sour, Sidecar–and whatever other amazing drink the bartenders come up with.

Check it out: 

Current Beer Board

Here’s a peek at our current beer list. It changes frequently, although we make an effort to represent a wide range of styles, focusing on the season. We do have a copy of our beer list in our menu section, but the best way to see what exactly is on tap is to check out the beer board here on the blog, on our Twitter, or better yet in the store. Here ya go:

Wing beans, Unroast beef, Leprechaun Cider

This just in . . .

We just got these great-looking winged beans in from Utility Research Garden. According to David Cater, owner/farmer, they’re to be used like “one would treat like a Winter Snow Pea.  They hail from Southeast Asia, but are perfectly suited to the hot, humid Gulf Coast in Spring and Late Summer.” We also got in a few different varieties of kale, which will go on a new dish not yet on the menu. (I love kale!) We’re thinking of putting these beans in one of the dishes on our fall menu: the Bean, Bacon, and Egg salad. Here’s a picture of one we made the other day.

Speaking  of our new fall menu, here are a couple of other items that I particularly love:

The Unroast Beef Sandwiches. These are raw, thin-sliced beef tenderloin with horseradish creme fraiche and chives. When I eat something I like, I frequently make a sound that’s kind of hard to spell–but it’s something like “Unnnngh.” That’s what these make me do.

Also there’s these:

Black mussels with cider and leek broth. Unngh. The cider is Houston’s own Leprechaun Cider–a delicious cider if you haven’t tried it yet.

There’s plenty more on this menu that I’m excited about–more to come later.

–Chris