Houstonist

Houstonist was there: We helped open the "newery"

Brittanie Shey — 2009-10-29T18:00:00-06:00

Houstonist is just waking up from the glory of last night's Saint Arnold Brewing Co. grand opening party at their new digs at 2000 Lyons Ave., northeast of downtown. Who advised us to bring our long-discontinued half-liter St. Arnold's beer stein?

To be honest, we're a little sad to see the old brewery retired. Houstonist has been to many a birthday party, wedding and wang-dang-doodle in that strip center out on Old Hempstead Highway, but the new brew….. ohhhh shiny! Lookit those perty brand new brewing vessels! As Houstonist's ~~nerd~~ engineer companion said to us, "That's 316 stainless steel!"

The old brewery has seen upwards of 50,000 people a year tour the facility. Back in the old days tours used to be free, but even then the crowds were huge, so Saint Arnold's started charging $5 a head. Tours at the new facility, which start this weekend, will be $7 (but free beer! And a free glass!). The new facility is expected to accommodate 100,000 touring visitors a year. And let us tell you, this place is HUGE. There is plenty of room for the beer Houston loves to grow as they continue to add more brewing vessels and fermenters. At peak production, the brewers expect to make 100,000 kegs a year, 65,000 to 70,000 more kegs than they currently brew (and enough for every person on those tours).

Houstonist was accompanied to the opening party by friends — one is an investor in St. A's and one is a Houston-area teacher. Both gave us some insight into the building. We got to see the top secret investor's bar, a swanky-looking room in the back with a lovely carved wooden bar-top. We also heard the story of how the building, which was once an HISD food distribution facility (a.k.a. a giant freezer and refrigerator) had to be literally thawed out — there were icicles hanging from the ceiling — before it could be inspected. The Saint Arnold crew were recognized by the City of Houston for their efforts in renovating the historic building and also helping encourage growth in the ever-gentrifying EaDo district. But more on that in a minute.

The newery has four floors, but most of the action is in the middle two. The first floor is where the brewing takes place. The second floor, with huge windows looking down to the first floor, is where the tastings are and where parties will take place for those who have rented out the brewery. The company is thinking of using the basement for aging beers, and the third floor, right now it's just filled with storage.

They have a new kegging rig that can fill a keg in 40 seconds — almost as fast as Houstonist can drain one. And the three brew vessels, well they came direct for a bona-fide brewery in Bavaria, along with Wolfgang, a master welder from Germany who is in town a few more weeks to get the whole set-up running. One of the brew vessels had a little accident on it's way to Texas — it hit an overpass "and the overpass won," said David Jenny, who was leading a tour of the new facility. Jenny also said there are rumors of the building being haunted. What, with the souls of old lunch ladies?

To start the party off, members of the City of Houston city council presented Saint Arnold founder Brock Wagner with an official proclamation from Mayor Bill White declaring the day Saint Arnold Day. Then Wagner cut the red velvet ribbon in front of the taps with a pair of tiny utility scissors scrounged up at the last minute.

The ribbon down, it was time to get a drink on. Local businessman Ed Schipul earned the dubious honor of being the first person to break a glass in the new facility. Mayoral candidate Gene Locke showed up to shake hands and kiss babies. Wagner served him a Saint Arnold's Root Beer, telling him that it was brewed with cane sugar instead of HFCS. C'mon Gene! Even Obama enjoys a beer now and then. There were rumors that Locke's opponent Peter Brown was planning an appearance, but Houstonist never saw him.

So what does Houstonist like most about the newery? Two things: It's air conditioned, and there's more than one toilet in the ladies room.

Photos by Houstonist Marc Brubaker

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Astros Tap Mills to be the New Skipper

Jason Bargas — 2009-10-28T10:00:00-06:00

When the going gets tough, you get a new manager. That's not quite the way the saying goes, but it's the way things are playing out in the Astros clubhouse. Last night the ball club named the Boston Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills the manager for the 2010 season. This posting will be Mills first chance to run his own team in the bigs after a running the show at three clubs in the minors and apprenticing around the majors for 11 years.

Aurora Picture Show break-in — they need our help

Brittanie Shey — 2009-10-28T09:00:00-06:00

If you didn't read it on Twitter last night (Houstonist's source for all breaking news) the Aurora Picture Show was broken into and robbed a few nights ago. The lowlifes made away with a number of Aurora's expensive projection equipment, so the indie cinema is asking for Houston's help in replacing their valuables. See the wishlist here.

Urgent: Adopt a Pet!

Marc Brubaker — 2009-09-18T14:03:17-06:00

It's been brought to our attention today that the Humane Society in Conroe will be closing its doors tomorrow. In an effort to avoid any of the animals being put down, they are offering free adoptions. Go find yourself a furry friend and give a deserving animal a home. More information can be found in this story on KPRC's website: http://www.click2houston.com/news/20982678/detail.html

Photo by flickr user bill barfield.

Morning Roundup

Jason Bargas — 2009-09-16T08:30:00-06:00

Harris County plans to begin charging business owners for failing to remove unwanted graffiti from their property. What if the business owner and sheriff's department disagree on what constitutes graffiti?

Houston PD busted a large identity theft ring and advise the public to be careful with your personal information

Some drivers realized that texting and driving don't mix thanks to an educational program during which teenagers were required to combine the two

High Island residents are stuck between a rock and Galveston since FEMA is kicking them out of their Ike trailers and there are few rental options in their community

Molotov cocktails made it through the window of a Houston home, but did not explode

The new Whole ~~Paycheck~~ Foods planned for Waugh and West Dallas is one step closer to construction

The Houston housing market is softening, but we're still doing better than most everyone else

Texas lawmakers are leading the charge to get more money for NASA

Blockbuster plans to close nearly 1,000 stores; no word yet on the fate of the Houston locations

An 11 year-old Dallas girl died from swine flu

Oswalt ND'd as the Astros lost to the Reds 5-4

Hampton is done for the year, but then you should have expected limited productivity when the Astros signed him

Today's weather: Expect a chilly high of 83 with a posilutely freezing 70 as the low.

Guilty Plea Entered in Death Of Art Car Museum Curator

Mary Jane — 2009-09-15T14:00:00-06:00

The man who crashed into a parked car in May, 2008 and killed Tom Jones, then curator of the Art Car Museum has pled guilty. Dustin Allen Poe faces two to twenty years in prison for intoxication manslaughter. He will be sentenced in January.

Remembering Patrick Swayze: 1952 - 2009

Mary Jane — 2009-09-15T13:00:00-06:00

Houston native Patrick Swayze lost a well-fought battle with pancreatic cancer yesterday, at the age of 57. Upon hearing this sad news, Houstonist began reflecting back upon his career, his life and his celebrity. Swayze proved to be a talent the likes of which Hollywood rarely experiences, fully-rounded and achieving success as an actor, dancer, singer/songwriter (“She’s Like the Wind”) and to a degree, a comedian. Though his films did not always achieve commercial success, many of his roles received critical acclaim and he was nominated for three Golden Globes for his performances. He will live forever in our hearts and DVD players for his roles in “Dirty Dancing”, “Ghost”, “Point Break” and “Road House”. Accepting roles ranging from dance instructor, bouncer, thrill-seeker, spirit and drag queen, Swayze seemingly strove to expand his craft and ensure that he would never be type-cast. Who can forget his “Chippendale Dancer” skit with Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live? Classic!

Patrick Swayze was more than a talented man. In a world in which many celebrities and musicians succumb to drugs and alcohol and/or are splashed across the tabloids more for their antics than their philanthropy - he is a bright star. If we had to describe him in two words and “hot” was banned from use, we would chose “dignified” and “humble”. His private life rarely in the public eye, he accomplished a feat almost unheard of in today’s celebrity world, remaining married to Lisa Niemi, whom he met while she was a student of his mother’s, for over 30 years. His realness, work ethic and “guy next door” persona is most endearing to us. You see hard-working, responsible people who have not achieved the wealth and fame of celebrity regularly. To find these qualities in someone who has achieved their dreams and found wealth and celebrity is rare indeed. He was a role-model worthy of imitating, as he proved to us that if you work hard and do the very best you can, you can be anything and you can achieve anything.

Remember his career, but honor the man - he set a fine example of being true to yourself and your beliefs, while achieving a success that few who try ever realize. The celebrity who never gave in to celebrity - will be missed.

Morning Roundup

Jason Bargas — 2009-09-15T08:30:00-06:00

The world lost a great Houstonian, big brother, bouncer, dancer, bank robber and heart throb when Patrick Swayze died yesterday

Rice students left the dorm, built shanties and lived in them to help raise awareness for living conditions of the poor around the world

A former mob bossis living in Houston and running a strip joint just like the old days

Our fading coast line will be shored up thanks to $135 million earmarked for improvement projects

Safe Clear works according to advocates

The Brookings Institute says Houston is a great place to be if you're going to ride out the economic downturn because we're stable relative to the rest of the country on employment, unemployment, output, home prices and foreclosure rates

Politicos are already eyeing the 2010 census since they may lead to redistricting including a new seat for Houston

UH football players are getting their propers for last week's victory over the OSU Cowboys. GO COUGS!

Houston Texans football players need more passion

The Astros lost to the Reds and are now 11.5 games back in the Wild Card race

Today's weather: Hot in the day time and cool in the night time...in theory. High: 88. Low: 70.

RIP Patrick Swayze

Jason Bargas — 2009-09-14T20:50:39-06:00

We knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier. Patrick Swayze died tonight after battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years. The Houston native began his career as a dancer and made his way from Waltrip High School in Oak Forest to the big screen as his star grew throughout the 1980s.

Swayze's career provided some of the best "watch 'em 'til the VHS tape breaks" guilty pleasures of the era. He played tough big brothers in The Outsiders and Red Dawn. Dirty Dancing sent his star soaring as he flexed his musical theater skills with Jennifer Grey. He took down Brad Wesley and his band of thugs as a coffee drinking, Red smoking cooler in Road House and got vengeance redneck style in Next of Kin with Liam Neeson. Ghost garnered him a Golden Globe for his portrayal of a romantic murder victim. And who can forget Swayze as Bodhi the bank robbing big wave surfer in Point Break? Note: we're not ashamed to say that we watch every second of that flick anytime we run across it on the tube.

Rest in peace, Mr. Swayze. We hope you're surfing the big break in the sky.

Morning Roundup

Jason Bargas — 2009-09-01T08:30:00-06:00

The City of Houston needs to cut $50 million from the budget

An amateur yachtsman found the missing Matagorda fishermen this weekend

Houston tops the nation in teen births. Classy.

The UN recommends teaching kids about HIV prevention at age 5

Allen Stanford had heart surgery while his number 2 plead guilty

Captain Daniel Moran (USMC Retired) received the keys to a new Houston home from Defense Secretary Robert Gates

Heads up. Identity thieves are targeting Houstonians.

Pilots filed suit against Continental alleging discrimination based on military service commitments

Snicker all you want, but the $5.5 billion merger of Baker-Hughes and BJ Services is no laughing matter

Baseline Oil & Gas filed for Chapter 11 protection citing current economic conditions

Not sure what Baseline is talking about? How about the fact that a dip Chinese stock market dropped the price of oil in the US.

Mickey Mouse bought the X-Men ~~and promises new stadium~~

The Rockets GM says that Yao is still status quo. He may play in the fall but probably not.

That pseudo-retired quarterback came to town and beat the Texans as our QBs struggled a bit

Today's weather: It's posilutely chilly today. High: 90. Low: 68.

Morning Roundup

Jim Parsons — 2009-08-26T08:48:16-06:00

Five locals, one an ex-HPD officer, have been arrested and accused of running a teen prostitution ring; there's a sixth suspect in Tulsa

Harris County officials have replied to federal criticism of conditions at the county jail with a 300-page rebuttal

Metro hasn't gotten bonds to cover construction on its four new light rail lines, a decision some worry could put taxpayers at risk

More Texas students took SATs this year than ever, but their scores remain behind the national average

Bush Intercontinental Airport will get $1.9 million from FEMA to cover repairs to Hurricane Ike damage

The FBI is asking for the public's help in identifying a man who knocked over the Compass Bank branch in Hedwig Village during the lunch hour yesterday

Artist Mat Benote sneaked his art into the MFAH this weekend; officials removed it and say they won't press charges

City Councilman M.J. Khan was robbed outside his home while working on a car Sunday night

The mother of an 11-year-old accidentally shot and killed by his 13-year-old brother: 'I have to deal with it every day, not seeing my child'

This cycle of heat, humidity and rain is typical for August, a meteorologist says — and yes, unfortunately, we remember

In northwest Houston, homeowners in the Hanover subdivision are making their homes in a neighborhood that's mostly unfinished

A proposal to redevelop Sharpstown Center into a mixed-use development has led to a lawsuit from the mall's owner and manager

Dr. Conrad Murray's Houston pastor: 'He's a good man, a very good man'

Today's weather: Again, a chance of rain with a high in the mid 90s and a heat index around 102; tonight, look for the possibility of storms and a low near 75

Morning Roundup

Jason Bargas — 2009-08-25T08:30:00-06:00

Dr. Conrad Murray is misunderstood according to his lawyer. Last night, cable news shows nearly convicted the Houston doctor of killing Michael Jackson now that the King of Pop's death has been ruled a homicide

Texas is gearing up for a flu season that expects to see hundreds of thousands of cases across the country

The Ashby Highrise was approved to move forward by City Council, which has left residents pissed off and two mayoral hopefuls aren't psyched

NASA pushed back blast-off for space shuttle Discovery until Wednesday at 12:10 AM due to weather concerns

Houston gardening icon John Teas has passed away

Austin has implemented speed limits for emergency vehicles prompting some to wonder if the change will trickle to Houston, particularly in the wake of the horrific accident between firetrucks on Westheimer at Dunlavy

A Federal appeals court told Allen Stanford, "NO SOUP FOR YOU!" and by no soup, they mean he's staying in jail

New traffic laws take effect on September 1: hands-free in a school zone and seatbelts for everyone are the big hitters

Harris County law enforcement has a new unit designed to target sex businesses that are breaking the law

Three anglers are missing off the coast near Matagorda

“'You wonder what they were smoking when people put [the state hurricane recovery plan] together,' Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said Monday."

Some of your favorite Astros are getting old and want a World Series ring before they hang 'em up

Today's weather: warmy and moisty. High: 95. Low: 76. 20% chance of t-storms

Morning Roundup

Jim Parsons — 2009-08-24T08:30:00-06:00

Several law enforcement agencies are on the lookout for five suspects in the murder of a prominent Houston doctor at his ranch near Bellville

Terry Grier, the man expected to be HISD's next superintendent, visited a local high school and chatted with the Chronicle

As local students head back to school today, they won't be getting unhealthy foods in the lunch line

And, speaking of school, don't use your cell phone in a school zone beginning Sept. 1 or you could end up with a $200 fine

More than half the inmates in the Harris County Jail are still waiting on their day in court — and at least 500 of them have been waiting for more than a year

For the Harris County Hospital District, buying Memorial Hermann Southwest may be a tough deal

Coast Guard crews are still searching for three men who went missing during a Saturday morning fishing trip off the Matagorda coast

Donna Shurley, the widow of a man who died of flesh-eating bacteria he encountered in Galveston Bay: People need to know how dangerous this stuff is

Two people at the Westin Galleria got sick Friday when a maintenance man spilled swimming pool chemicals near an elevator

Police in three states are comparing notes on a string of robberies at J.C. Penney stores, two in the Houston area

The Ashby high-rise project finally has the city's green light after months of delays

Almost a year after Hurricane Ike hit, the Galveston Bay ecosystem is getting back to normal — but will it ever really be normal again?

Today's weather: In a word, hot — expect a high of 96 with a heat index around 104 and a slight chance of rain; tonight, look for clear skies and a low in the mid 70s

US DoT Says Continental Passengers Should Have Been Deplaned

Jason Bargas — 2009-08-21T11:11:00-06:00

The first phase is finished in the US Department of Transportation's investigation of the stranding of Continental Express passengers on August 8th. Early findings indicate that Mesaba Airlines officials are to blame for the travelers not being allowed to disembark.

“We have determined that the Express Jet crew was not at fault. In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or obtain a bus for them,” Secretary LaHood said.

“The local representative of Mesaba Airlines improperly refused the requests of the captain to let her passengers off the plane. The representative incorrectly said that the airport was closed to passengers for security reasons, which led to this nightmare for those stuck on the plane,” he said.

The refusal was based on the fact that no TSA personnel were at the airport since it was after midnight.

Application of common sense would have cleared up the issue. Passengers get off planes, walk through airports and board connections without being re-screened unless they are selected for random screening at the next gate. This scenario could have unfolded the same way with the passengers going the restroom and lounging in the gate area before reboarding the plane.

To be fair, the press release also states that Continental execs should have been more involved with attempting to resolve the issue.

Morning Roundup

Jim Parsons — 2009-08-21T08:30:00-06:00

HISD trustees on Thursday voted unanimously to name a new superintendent: Terry Grier of San Diego, who said he'll work to reduce the district's dropout rate

A police chase early yesterday afternoon ended when the suspect hit an innocent man's truck, causing it to roll seven times

And, in related news, the father of an innocent woman killed during a 2007 police chase spoke out Thursday, saying he still hopes to see changes in HPD's chase policy

Six more people have been charged in connection with last month's shooting on the TSU campus, but they aren't yet in custody

Houstonian David Morgan was arrested yesterday, accused of filing a false claim with FEMA days after Hurricane Ike hit

After the first cut of possible U.S. host cities for the World Cup, Houston remains in the running; San Antonio didn't fare as well

A man in pajamas crashed into an HPD patrol car early Thursday morning; police say he had gunshot wounds and died before paramedics arrived

Air Canada will begin nonstop Houston-Montreal service on Nov. 30

What does the city's new Urban Corridors ordinance mean? Wider sidewalks, for one thing

Robert Carroll Gillham, the man accused of setting a Gallery Furniture warehouse on fire in May, was formally charged with burglary in a Montgomery County court yesterday; the charge isn't related to the Gallery blaze

A Houston family was upset to find voodoo paraphernalia at their relative's gravesite in an eastside cemetery

The third of the Stansel sextuplets died Wednesday, the children's parents reported on their blog

Local hotels can expect higher occupancy rates beginning in the second quarter of next year — not bad news, considering that occupancy is dropping now

Keep Houston Ugly. Really? Why, yes

This weekend's weather: A fair chance of rain today, followed by lots of sun the rest of the weekend; look for highs in the mid to upper 90s and overnight lows around 72