I’m taking a break from my ongoing survey of Everman dives to shill (completely unsolicited) for the sports equivalent of a promising local band: This summer, you should get behind the Fort Worth Vaqueros soccer club.
Sorry. Fútbol club. I’m still learning about the sport, but I do know how to get drunk and yell about something, and cheering on a minor-league soccer team sounds at least as much fun as watching a new band I will probably forget about by the time the headliner goes on. The Vaqueros are playing their home games at Texas Wesleyan’s Martin Field this summer, where booze will be sold. The team has partnered with Uber to offer first-time users a $20 discount on their first ride, so if you’ve never downloaded the app before, use the promo code “FWVaqueros” to get the hookup. I’m not saying that soccer is a sport that’s tailor-made for lushes, but if you’re going to day-drink outdoors, why not support some local athletes the way you’d pack a bar for your friends’ new band?
One way to start is by actually packing a bar, because on Wednesday, April 22, at Lola’s Saloon (2736 W. 7th St., 817-811-0666), the Vaqueros are picking the winner of their jersey lottery. To raise funds, the Vaqueros offered businesses and individuals a chance to have their names on the club’s 2015 jerseys as the official sponsors (for a nice, fat, helpful entry fee), and on Wednesday, via the magic of a randomly selected, appropriately labeled ping-pong ball, the winner will be chosen. Will you see Fort Worth South, Inc. on the squad’s jerseys? Or will it be a cagey, future mayoral contestant? Maybe you can see a famous former Fort Worthian like Bill Paxton on those shirts! Anyway, if you show up at Lola’s at 6:30 p.m., you’ll be treated not only to the spectacle of the sponsor selection process but also the chance to vote on your favorite beer from various free samples. There also will be free Topo Chico, which sounds like a refreshing way to wash the taste of a well-tequila shot out of your mouth. After the winner is announced –– by Miss Fort Worth Latina, no less! –– Atlantic Records signees and Fort Worth rockers The Unlikely Candidates will play a crowd-friendly set. –– Steve Steward
Firkin-A, Right?
You know what a firkin is, right? If not, it’s a quarter-keg (equal to about nine gallons), which, in addition to making a keg of beer more easily portable (still, always lift with your knees), is popular for brewing cask-conditioned beer. During cask conditioning, the yeast is unfiltered and unpasteurized, and it continues fermenting the beer. In a cask-conditioned beer, no extra carbon dioxide or nitrogen is added, so the carbonation is au natural. The goal with this type of brewing and keg is to create a beer that’s closer to pre-industrial-era brewing techniques, which tend to kill or otherwise remove the yeast from the final product.
Besides a beer that is ostensibly more nutritious (apparently, cask-conditioned beers have more B vitamins), the fermentation process and smaller volume allow a brewer to add whatever weird ingredients strike his fancy. I recall a Rahr firkin from a few years ago that combined Rahr’s Stormcloud IPA with a hibiscus tea from Avoca. The results were … interesting. But if you’re a beer geek or foodie, you’ll want to see what various brewers are firkin around with on Saturday, when Globe Life Park hosts the North Texas Firkin Fest. From 1 to 5 p.m., try creations from 15 Texas breweries, including locals like the newly rebranded Rahr & Sons, Martin House, Collective Brewing, Rabbit Hole, Grapevine, and Chimera (formerly Zio Carlo’s), not to mention your favorite Dallas craftmeisters. The $35 ticket includes a commemorative glass and eight sample tickets. –– S.S.
Contact Last Call at lastcall@fwweekly.com.
