One Year with DARKSIDE Beer

The sound of live music and a full bar filled the air when I arrived at the Root Cellar Café for the Darkside Fermentation First Anniversary Party on February 13th. Beer enthusiasts from around Central Texas gathered in the local restaurant to congratulate Brewmaster Silas Parker and sample the variety of beer offerings. Parker’s hand crafted Belgian-style ales have become  a great contribution to burgeoning Central Texas craft brew scene.

That night they offered patrons the opportunity to purchase seven varieties of beer. Five of these ales -a blonde, a brown, a golden, a barley wine–came in bottle form. In walking around the room, I found that most tables had a bottle of “Mark of the Yeast: 78666”. This 11% abv ale has a DARK color and a complex flavor. “The Yeast” gets its flavor from raisins, elderberries, sage, wormwood, and brettanomyces. In addition to their bottles, they were also selling the Blonde, Pale, and IPA on draught.

While the celebration was well organized to reflect on the past year, Parker took the opportunity to get everyone focused on the future. There was some discussion about this year’s Texas House Bill 660.  HB660 would allow brewpubs (such as Darkside) to be able to sell to wholesalers, distributors, or retailers for resale.  Currently, his beer is only available at the Root Cellar Café. However, with passage of this bill, Bobcats from all over the state would be able to pickup a little bit of San Marcos at their local beer store.

To learn more about Darkside Fermination – http://www.rootcellarcafe.com/dark.html

To learn more about HB660 – http://www.petitiononline.com/TXHB660/petition.html