Sondra Hernandez Staff writer February 20, 2025

To mark the anniversary of downtown Conroe’s devastating fire this week in February 1911, Fass Brewing is releasing a new fire-themed beer. 

The beer is called The Great Fire and it is a traditional Bavarian Smoked Red Lager. The release event is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and will coincide with Root for Conroe’s Arbor Day event and the 60th Annual Conroe Go Texan parade both taking place in downtown Saturday. 

Fass Brewing is in the first floor of the Gentry Building on the downtown courthouse square. 

“The great fire is a historical event that’s very important to us because The Gentry Building was the first building to be finished with construction after the fire,” said Dylan Emmons who owns Fass with his dad, Tom and cousin, Aaron Edrington. “We’ll be releasing our annual beer that pays tribute to that event. It’s a traditional Bavarian Smoked Red Lager that has a very unique campfire and smoke aroma.” 

Here’s what to know abut the beer and the fire that changed Conroe’s history. 

CONROE CURRICULUM: Conroe ISD adopts controversial Bible-infused Bluebonnet Curriculum for upcoming school year

The Conroe fire and its impact

Conroe’s big fire of Feb. 21, 1911, was so significant to the town, it is the subject of a Texas State Historical Marker downtown and it is still being commemorated 114 years later. 

It has been said that a cold front had come through town the night of Feb. 21 and during the night fire broke out in the upstairs of a drug store the eastern side of the courthouse. At the time, nearly all the structures in downtown were made of wood. 

A rudimentary firefighting squad rolled out hoses on metal reels, but they quickly ran out of water. All that could be done was to drag the contents of the buildings out into the street.

When the fire was extinguished, 65 wooden buildings and three blocks in downtown Conroe were destroyed. City council members quickly set in motion an ordinance declaring buildings going forward would be built of non-combustible material like brick. The Gentry Building was the first building completed later in 1911. 

It was built back by a railroad official named A. L. Koonce and was first known as the Koonce Building. 

The smoky beer

This is the second time for the brewery that opened in 2021 to mark the fire’s anniversary. This year’s beer is a smoked red lager. 

“To celebrate the release we’ll be performing bierstacheln, the practice of dipping a red hot steel rod in the beer,” Emmons said. “This changes the flavor by caramelizing the residual sugars in the beer and gives it a delicious toasted marshmallow effect, and it happens so fast that the beer stays cold.”

He called it a labor intensive and precise practice that is cool to see and is not done often. The hot rod is only in the beer for approximately half a second. The bierstacheln will likely be in front of Fass Brewing as a visual treat for beer drinkers. 

This particular style of serving the beer will only be around on Saturday. However, the beer itself will be around for a month or so, he said, both on draft and in cans. 

GO TEXAN PARADE: Conroe’s Go Texan Parade is in its 60th year in 2025. Here’s everything parade goers need to know.

Also in downtown Conroe 

On Saturday, the day kicks off in downtown Conroe with Root for Conroe’s Arbor Day event at Founder’s Plaza at Metcalf and Main Streets. From 8 a.m. until 12 p.m., the Root for Conroe organization is giving away free trees and will have gardening experts on hand. 

At 1 p.m. the 60th Annual Conroe Go Texan Parade kicks off at FM 2854 and Texas 75 and winds through downtown Conroe. The parade is about an hour long and features bands, floats, horses and riders, decorated cars and more. 

Texas Lagerfest at Fass

Coming next on March 22, Fass Brewing hosts Texas Lagerfest from noon to 6 p.m. 

Emmons said this beer festival will feature 20 brewers from Texas. Simonton Street in front of Fass will be closed for the day as festivities spill into the street. 

The featured food vendor for Texas Lagerfest is KG BBQ from the Austin area.

“A recent Michelin Bib Gourmand award winner, KG BBQ specializes in Texas style barbecue with an Egyptian influence that pays homage to the owner, Kareem El-Ghayesh’s homeland. KG’s unique take on Texas BBQ pairs perfectly with the diverse selection of over 70 lagers available at Texas Lagerfest,” according to Fass Brewing’s Facebook page. 

If the full content does not display, visit the article originally published on this site