Food And Drink: Live Oak Brewery Tour Saturdays At Noon (Free Beer, Y'all!)
If you need more incentive to sign up for their brewery tour, which takes place most Saturdays at noon, you should know that a few weeks ago the Austin Chronicle named Live Oak "Best Brewery" in its Best of Austin 2010 Awards. As the Chronicle notes, this isn't an easy win now that Austin and the surrounding area has a respectable number of breweries (nine, according to their count).
So what sets Live Oak apart? When they say they brew authentic Czech- and German-style beers, they mean it -- they import their malt and some of their hops from the Czech Republic and Germany. Says Live Oak office manager Teresa Ueltschey, "We use time-honored and labor intensive processes to brew our beer. Tour attendees pretty much learn about beer from start to finish. Starting with the ingredients, why certain ingredients are used, what makes Live Oak unique, the process of brewing, etc. -- they'll even have an opportunity to taste some malt (which I personally find to be delicious)."
The tour lasts about an hour and is free, though the classy thing to do is bring a little cash to tip your tour guide. They'll teach you everything you'd want to know about the science of beer -- probably the most deliciously interesting science lesson you'll ever receive. The brewery itself is charming in its informality, kind of like spending an hour having a beer and some good conversation in your cool neighbor's over-sized garage.
Oh yeah, and did we mention you get free beer? Live Oak brews four beers year-round (Big Bark, HefeWeizen, Pilz and Liberation Ale) and three seasonal beers. The fall seasonal on tap at the moment is the Oaktoberfest (heh), which is rich and malty. You'll get to try all five, so probably best not to show up on an empty stomach.
Sadly, this Saturday's tour is already booked up, but next Saturday, Oct. 2 still has a few spots. Visit their online reservation site to book your spot.
Live Oak Brewing Co. is located in East Austin at the corner of 5th and Allen Streets, between Pleasant Valley and Springdale.
