notes on HBC reserve
I started brewing beer when I was in high school. Since then, a lot has changed. By no means am I old, but I’m old enough to have seen a few things. One of them is that beer, like my life, seems to have become too complicated. Too many choice to make, too many options to pick from, too many activities and extracurriculars and events. Not enough hours, not enough substance.
Our brewery reserve was brewed to address that. Each beer is brewed with a style and tradition that makes it commercially unviable unless it’s done in small batches. I choose ingredients by their pedigree and layer flavors instead of just mixing them. Each bottle is hand-filled, capped, and labeled by my family and me (yes, my boys help, too). These bottles are the final fermentation vessel for each beer, so the bottle from which you decant is a part of the process. So is your glass.
There are no frills here, no large commercial marketing campaigns. There are no negotiations. All of the art and embellishment is in the bottle. Because another thing I’ve learned along the way — the same simple message I received as a boy and I teach my boys these days — is that it’s really what is on the inside that counts. Building that takes the most work, but it’s always seemed to carry the most worth.
Current Reserve
Honey Wheat (2019)
German-style wheat ale. Deep gold color. Effervescent. Brewed and fermented with strained clover honey, bottle-conditioned with a blend of three selected Texas wildflower honeys.
Farmhouse Dunkel (2019)
Blended German and Belgian malted barley, including Munich, chocolate, and biscuit malts. Fermented on Belgian trappist/abbey yeast. Hints of stone fruit, raisin, and chocolate. Finished on Steen’s.