The Highly Coveted 'Care Package' and Houston's "Crystal"

One of the great perks about my occupation is the number of acquaintances and friends that I've made in certain parts of the world. Nowhere is this more true than my beloved Scotland where I can honestly say some of my very best friends are from and live. Unfortunately, I don't get to travel there on business any longer simply due to my current role. However, occasionally one or more of my friends and colleagues travels to Austin as was the case recently when Bruce Robertson came here on business a few weeks ago.

Bruce was one of the first people I worked with in Scotland starting roughly twenty years ago and he has become one of my greatest friends. Having Bruce here was almost like being on holiday as he is simply one of the most fun people to hang out with that I have ever met. On many of these trips, my other great friend from Glasgow, Alan McRobb, is always kind enough to provide me with what I call my highly coveted 'care package'. I have extolled my praise of Alan before as he is really the catalyst for this Scottish beer obsession of mine. He introduced me to cask-conditioned ales and taught me many of the things that separate truly great ones from ones that need some help - most of the time due to poor cellaring, not the quality of the beer itself. These care packages include an ever changing mix of Scottish beers, most of which you cannot get anywhere in the United States and I always look forward to receiving them with great anticipation. Bruce was the lucky courier this time. My thanks to them both.

So, what does this mean for the blog? Glad you asked. Starting with this post, I'll provide my comments on each of the beers that I received in this particular care package. They will be separated into successive posts so as not to mix my palate on a given night and to give each beer its own attention. The first of these is the fine bottled beer, Crystal, from Houston Brewery attached to the Fox and Hounds Pub in the small town of the same name in Renfrewshire, Scotland, a short distance from Glasgow. I visited this pub on my last trip to Scotland with none other than the aforementioned Alan McRobb. Ally McCoist happened to be in the pub that evening, apparently a regular, and this was just before he was appointed to Glasgow Rangers coaching staff. I found it somewhat ironic as Alan and I are both Celtic fans but I recognized Ally from his appearances on the sadly gone Setanta Sports network for their coverage of the Scottish Premier League.

Anyway, back to topic. Crystal is Houston Brewery's staple bottled beer. The brewery's classification as a Pale Ale fits well albeit on the strong side with an ABV of 5.0%. Despite the alcohol level, it has a session beer feel to it. It is dark golden in color and has a sweet and slightly fruity aroma with some hints of grassiness from the hops. The beer is medium to light in body and has a really nice malty sweet and fruity flavor, the latter provided primarily by the yeast (in my opinion) and to some degree by the hops. It finishes slightly dry but not overly bitter. I found the flavor of the hops to be quite earthy (my preference in hops) and with good citrus notes. For me, this is a highly drinkable beer with all the things I look for in a beer of this style. I wish I had some more.

Yours Aye!
Neil