How often is it that a brewer will name their beer “Commercial Suicide”? How often is it that a brewery, will take on the ABC. Not just any Alcoholic Beverage Commission…. but perhaps one of the wackiest in all fifty states? Well. I introduce you to Jester King. This brewery, located in the Texas Hill country is anything but ordinary. Now, I won’t go back through my review of their tour, or their beer that I have sampled in the past (Spoiler alert: It’s awesome!) But I will make a couple of important notes.

One. These two guys are putting their money where their mouth is, and standing up for injustice. Read their notes about their pending legislation AGAINST the TABC (here). I am all for this, and will support these guys with whatever I can. This is a long standing law that needs to be changed. It puts brewers at a huge disadvantage to wineries, and frankly is just not right. But they will get it all sorted out, I have no doubts. These guys are passionate about their beer. Now, could this be considered commercial suicide? A small brewery that produces small batches of high quality beers. But wait, due to the TABC laws, they cannot call their brews “beer” due to wacky ABV content labeling restrictions. But I digress, more to come on this when I track down new information and become fired up.

Now, secondly. I want to talk about one of their brews aptly named Commercial Suicide. I feel as though I was shafted, through no ones fault. I purchased one of these at Central Market in Austin the other day. Now, I will be buying another one as soon as I trek back into Austin. The reason is that I was not given an ample taste of the one that I bought. Now, the bottle has a punk rocker-esque gentleman on the label. Complete with red mohawk and piercings. The beer itself is noted as a “Oaked Dark Mild”, and at a meager 3.6% ABV it is exactly that. Now, as for the taste, this is where my bottle became spoiled. In transit home, the crown managed to snag on another item in the truck and released all of the carbonation from the brew before I was ever able to garner a solid taste. Now, even without carbonation, the beer was enjoyable, but I will have a full tasting impression upon my second attempt.

So, I for now will recommend this beer for its oakiness and abundance of hops, just be weary of your bottle committing… Commercial Suicide.