My One Night Stand… with San Antonio (Part 2)

The next morning (read part 1 here) we drove out to the Alamo Heights/Industrial side of town (Jennifer was schooling me on San Antonio neighborhoods) to visit the Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling gang. On a quiet street of various unknown businesses sits a gem of a place, an unassuming building minus the huge windmill out front! I had an absolutely awesome time. Not only was it about the superb quality of the beer or learning how they brew beer and distill bourbon whiskey, but being around the brewers (Rob and Pete) and Rob’s wife Keely (the cupcake master) who completely adore what they do and it shows.

Inside the door there is a small tasting room, not all the way built-out yet. They explained to us the concept for what wasn’t done- a bar, to have eight or so taps, and more tables and chairs for an intimate tasting and visiting room. They had a bunch of stuff set out for us to look at, the bottles of the four initial offerings they will have, along with information sheets, as well as a table at the back with jars full of ingredients like the grains, hops, and a layered jar of the types of malts. They really made the experience all inclusive, from the ingredients they use, how they use them, and the final product (the best part- beer!).

L to R: South Texas Lager, Oatmeal Pale Ale, La Bestia Aimable, Mesquite Smoked Porter

Ranger Creek's Ingredients

First, Rob and Keely took turns talking about the history of how Ranger Creek got started, then we had a taste of the Oatmeal Pale Ale before starting the tour. Rob quipped, “Does anybody have a problem with hops?” a good question since this beer was definitely heavy on the hops. While that is not my favorite style, I quite enjoyed how fresh it was, and the good balance of malts and nutty oats. It has an ABV of 5% and an IBU of 36. It’s definitely a very solid classic beer style for these guys to start with.

Ranger Creek Oatmeal Pale Ale

After some visiting and Q&A with the brewers and Keely (our awesome tour guide), we went back into the brewing/distilling warehouse style space to see how it’s done. We started off looking at the barrels and Mill room, where they prepare the grains, like the mesquite smoked malts, to be used in the brewing process. The Ranger Creek guys sure do have a sense of humor, they named the grain auger John Holmes, for reasons apparent in the picture below. HA.

John Holmes the Grain Auger

Next we looked at where the grain goes after it comes out of John Holmes (haha again). To the tanks where the brew process begins. There are four tanks where different steps take place, and they finally end up in either Stan, Michael or Charlie (don’t even have to say anything), 3 tanks all named after people famous in the beer industry.  After the explanation of the beer brewing process, we ventured outside to look at the massive smoker they use to smoke their own malts. It’s a massive storage unit that has been converted into a big wood smoker. The inside is lines with shelves to put the grains on, and a unique system to keep the wood off of the coals to prevent burning and the off taste that it would result in.

Keely Landerman and the Ranger Creek smoker

Then we all went back inside to see the custom built, Hungarian (they even flew out to help install their one-of-a-kind product) distiller and learn that process as well. This was a little more over my head, but from what I understand it is not an efficient process because the starting amount of ingredients yields a small final product, but I suppose with good quality, it is worth it. Rob told us a funny story about the installation of the distiller, they didn’t account for the height of the distiller so they had to add a sky light, which actually adds to the character of the place. They also had quite a time getting it put in place with a makeshift ramp and a forklift. Check out the hard work on their YouTube channel here.

Ranger Creek's Distiller

Next, we visited the cold room to try samples of the Mesquite Smoked Porter and La Bestia Aimable (the Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale):

Mesquite Smoked Porter
ABV: 6.1%
The Porter didn’t have an overwhelming smokey flavor like the two at Freetail I had tried the night before. It has a great chocolate, spice and hop balance. It is creamy, and smells of coffee, spices and of course, the smoked mesquite. I would definitely request this to pair with brisket and other barbecue.

Ranger Creek Mesquite Smoked Porter

La Bestia Aimable
ABV: 9.5%
Style: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale
This was probably my favorite beer of the day. The aroma has hints of dark fruits, cinnamon and other spices. It is a full-bodied, but very drinkable, silky beer. They use Texas honey in the brewing of this beer. Ranger Creek is all about being local. After the grains have been used for brewing, a local farmer picks them up for livestock feed, creating a mutually beneficial relationship; the grains don’t go to waste and the farmer can sustain his livestock virtually free of cost. It’s awesome to see two different industries supporting each other in that way.

Ranger Creek La Bestia

For our final hoorah, we finally got to taste the Mesquite Smoked Porter cupcakes that Keely made for us! They use so many elements that are central to the Ranger Creek brewing. The recipe includes “flour ground from spent grain, wort from the brewing process, and mesquite smoked sea salt on top of a very special ganache”. YUM. The sea salt on top was a great contrast to the super rich and dense chocolate cake and ganache. I wanted to smuggle the leftovers back home, but I didn’t have a good vessel for transportation. Hopefully I get to try those again- very soon. nd what would dessert be without more beer? We got to try a special Black Saison (Saison Oscura according to one of Rob’s tweets) brewed just for a beer dinner they are having next week. Saison’s are not something I have had a lot of, especially since it isn’t the most frequent style brewed today, but this was excellent. The saison was light and drinkable and I would be interested to know what it was brewed with!

Mesquite Porter Cupcakes & a Special Saison

A special thanks to Rob, Pete and Keely Landerman, as well as Luke the distilling master, for a great time. Thanks to opening up your “other” home to us ladies and sharing your great brews with us! I can’t wait to go back when I will be able to bring some back to Houston.

Check out all my pictures here on Flickr!