Cask-apalooza is coming!

Down House is teaming up with Real Ale Brewery (Blanco, Texas) for an ALL CASK four-course paired beer dinner! [BUY TICKETS HERE!]

Real Ale has been pushing the limit with their limited-release and cask beers, and we decided that it would be amazing if we could do an all-cask beer dinner with some of their most incredible beers. Here’s what we’ll be serving:

- Cold boiled Gulf Crab and country ham paired with cask of the Real Ale “15th Anniversary Ale” Russian Imperial Stout, 10.2% ABV

- Spicy local winter greens and a scotch egg with HP viniagrette paired with cask of the Real Ale porter, hopped with “Falconer’s Flight” hops, 6.2% ABV

- Curried Gulf Fish and Chips paired with cask of the Real Ale dry-hopped Extra Special Bitter (ESB), 5.2% ABV

- House-made Bangers and Mash paired with cask of 2011 vintage Sisyphus Barleywine, 11.2% ABV

- Cranachan with whipped cream, whiskey, and fresh fruit

Menu subject to change due to availability and discretion.

As with all of our ticketed dinners, this event WILL SELL OUT! Get your tickets as soon as possible. [BUY TICKETS HERE!]

FAQ:

- Tickets are $80 a person including tax and gratuity. Sorry, we are not able to offer any discounted tickets to this event.

- Yes, gratuity and tax ARE included in the price of the ticket. Once you buy your ticket, there’s nothing more to worry about!

- Yes, you MAY purchase tickets in person at Down House. Just stop by and let our staff know that you’d like to purchase tickets to Cask-apalooza!

- Yes, you may request to sit with your friends. Let us know any preferred seating arrangements via e-mail: chris@downhousehouston.com

- Yes, we can offer vegetarian (or pescetarian) alternatives. Sorry, we won’t be able to accomodate vegan diets. Please make sure to let us know any dietary restrictions at the time of ticket purchase. chris@downhousehouston.com

Karbach beer dinner menu

The Karbach Beer Dinner menu is here!

We’re pretty proud of this menu. We’ve managed to create a specialty cocktail and six dishes created specifically to pair with these amazing beers–all at an incredibly affordable price. (We really didn’t want to make the experience prohibitively expensive.) We’re excited to be a part of Houston Beer Week, and to get out the word about all the great brewers in Houston and beyond!

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

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!

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: