Since two of my great passions in life are Walt Whitman and beers from Texas, it seems like a natural thing to try to pair my favorite Lone Star brews with bits of verse by my favorite poet. Yes, pairing beer with food is a more traditional thing to do, but I'm not much of a chef.
Here are my five favorite beers from Texas, along with a little bit of Walt Whitman's poetry that encapsulates some part of the essence of that beer.
1. Hops & Grain, New Zealand IPA
This is an extremely rare and marvelously flavorful single-hop IPA from a small craft brewer in Austin. I am lucky enough to have a dozen of these delicious beers in storage, and I plan to open them only for very special occasions. No, you probably won't be able to get your hands on this beer, unless you live in Austin or have a connection that lives there, but I think the following lines from Whitman perfectly replicate the experience of drinking this beauty.
"A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . .I do not know what it
is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful
green stuff woven.
Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped,
Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we
may see and remark, and say Whose?
Or I guess the grass is itself a child. . . .the produced babe
of the vegetation.
And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves."
2. Ranger Creek Brewing, Mesquite Smoked Porter
Smoked beer is not a new phenomenon - the Germans have enjoyed their rauchbier for centuries. But it is a new thing for Texas beers, and Ranger Creek's Mesquite Smoked Porter is the best example of this rare and mysterious variety produced by any craft brewery in Texas.
"This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson
done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the
themes thou lovest best,
Night, sleep, death and the stars."
3. Independence Brewing Company, Independence Pale Ale
This is an easy beer to come by if you live in Texas, but can be downright impossible to find even one state away. The Independence Pale Ale is a nod to the independent spirit of my home state, and this highly-drinkable pale beer is one of my go-to beers, matching well with just about any food.
"Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear'd, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair'd in the adamant of Time."
4. Southern Star Brewing Company, Walloon
Walloon is a Grisette-style beer, a version of everyone's favorite alcoholic drink originally invented to cure the thirsts of 19th century European miners who were looking for a pleasant, light, drinkable, less-hoppy beverage. Walloon is the perfect hot-weather drink, which is good because it's only available in the summer. I happen to be down to my last single bottle of Walloon, and I'm holding onto it until temperatures get a bit warmer.
"Then my realities;
What else is so real as mine?
Libertad and the divine average, freedom to every slave on the face of the earth,
The rapt promises and luminé of seers, the spiritual world, these centuries-lasting songs,
And our visions, the visions of poets, the most solid announcements of any."
5. Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner Bock
A rarity for me - this is a mass-produced Texas beer available all over the world that I actually really like. Shiner Bock is to Texas what Champagne is to Epernay. It's easy for me to get, so I've always got a little supply of this highly-drinkable and slightly bitter beauty on hand.
"I see the ships, (they will last a few years,)
The vast factories with their foremen and workmen,
And hear the indorsement of all, and do not object to it."
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