Take a deep plunge into all things craft beer at Big Brew, a weeklong celebration featuring pub crawls, craft beer dinners, home brewing demonstrations and more from Monday, October 20 to Saturday, October 25, 2014.
Big Brew kicks off with craft beer events around Houston on Monday, building up to the headliner events from Thursday through Saturday at George R. Brown Convention Center in Downton. In its very first year, Big Brew is already the second-largest craft beer festival in the U.S., featuring more than 1,000 craft beers.
At least eight of the 16 winning beers from Texas at the Great American Beer Festival will be available at Big Brew. Confirmed beers include Grapevine Craft Brewery’s Sir William’s English Brown Ale, Community Beer Company’s Public Ale, Oasis Texas Brewing’s London Homesick Ale, Austin Beerworks’ Fire Eagle, 5 Stones Artisan Brewery’s Aloha Pina, Spoetzl Brewery’s Shiner Bock. Rahr & Sons Brewing’s The Regulator and Saint Arnold’s Weedwacker.
Official Big Brew Events
- Southern Star Brewing Beer Dinner at Américas River Oaks | Monday, October 20 – Kick off Big Brew with a special five-course menu expertly paired to Southern Star beers by Executive Chef David Cordúa. $49. 6:30pm.
- Karbach Brewing Company Beer Dinner at Witchcraft Tavern & Provision Company | Tuesday, October 21 –Enjoy favorite and unexpected Karbach beers at this special pairing at Witchcraft in the Heights.
- Saint Arnold Brewing Beer Dinner at RDG + Bar Annie | Wednesday, October 22 – James Beard Best Chef Southwest winner 1992 Robert del Grande and Saint Arnold founder Brock Wagner present a special meal highlighting some of Saint Arnold’s best.
- The Great Match at George R. Brown Convention Center | Thursday, October 23 – See some of Houston’s favorite culinary talents perfectly pair delicious foods with featured brews. Chefs from Cordúa Restaurants, The Grove, Liberty Kitchen, Radical Eats, Hubbell & Hudson, BRC Gastropub, Carmelo’s will be on hand to serve up tasty dishes paired with flavorful beers. For example, Chef Randy Evans will serve lamb street tacos paired with a Rogue Ale while Eatsie Boys‘ Matt Marcus will pair an ice cream cookie cake with 8th Wonder Rocket Fuel Vietnamese Coffee Porter. Chris Spradley, a 2010 finalist on Master Chef with Gordon Ramsay and host of Destination Beer, a new travel, food and beer show, will be teaching attendees the basics of beer and food pairing. $100. 6pm to 9pm.
- Suds in the City Pub Crawl | Friday, October 24 – Hop aboard one of the Greenlink buses outside of the George R. Brown Convention Center for a tour of four of Houston’s favorite pubs. $25. 8pm to 12:30am.
- Texas Brewed—a Texas Brewery Showcase at George R. Brown Convention Center | Friday, October 24 – Forty Texas breweries demonstrate why the Lone Star State is a grand innovator in the craft beer movement. $50. 6pm to 9pm.
- Big Brew Beer Snobs VIP Zone at George R. Brown Convention Center | Saturday, October 25 – Gain early entrance to the afternoon Big Brew Grand Tasting, and early access to the new craft beers on tap, along with the usual VIP bennies. $100. Noon to 4:30pm.
- Big Brew Grand Tasting at George R. Brown Convention Center | Saturday, October 25 – Enjoy the big event featuring more than 1,000 craft beers and five educational stages. Beer experts and aficionados like Hay Merchant‘s Kevin Floyd, Saint Arnold’s Brock Wagner, Southern Star’s Dave Fougeron, 8th Wonder head brewer and University of Houston beer professor Aaron Corsi and Revolver Brewing’s Grant Wood will be on hand. Many new craft beers will be on tap. Click here for a complete list of breweries. $45. 1pm to 4:30pm.
- 8th Wonder “Good Morning Brewston” Brunch at Shula’s – Wrap it all up with a three-course brunch featuring 8th Wonder’s French Toast, Rocket Fuel and Mimosa, perfectly paired with a brunch menu hand-crafted by Shula’s executive chef. $50. 11am to 1pm.
Big Brew Houston
- Dates: Monday, October 20 to Sunday, October 26, 2014; Main events Thursday, October 3 to Saturday, October 25, 2014
- Times: Vary by event
- Locations: Around town and the George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida De Las Americas, Houston, TX 77010
- Admission: Tickets start at $45 and vary based on individual events. Click here for select event details and prices.