Homeward Bound

This is what I did....


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And now I'm coming home to cool my heels before the next big run. I've got updates coming: A beer dinner recap, an easter egg to my new blog, some pictures of food in the form of a January highlight reel. Possible rambling about Giant Eagle Market District's complete owning of Wegman's in the chain grocer with everything (but competitive beer margins) to offer category, who even knows what else. Until then...tunes that got my through the miles:









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Everywhere.

Aye carumba.

I was supposed to blog so many times. Those of you who haven't talked with me recently might not know this, but maybe the lack of posts would imply, i have been travelling a lot and i have been waaaay busy. It's a bit late for a full recap, so i am just going to mention the really good stuff, maybe point you towards some things.

West Asheville, NC: The Admiral

This exhumed dive bar is one of the highlights of my recent travels. I didn't get to spend nearly the time i'd have liked to there, but i will be back. Bought in the past few years and turned into a hangout with good beer and great food, The Admiral is the kind of place you'd be blessed to have around the corner. An exciting and ever-changing food menu with a combination of local and exotic ingredients, there's more to choose from than you'll do in one sitting.

Here's the kicker: Best jukebox i've ever seen in my life. Here's what i typed in the notepad on my phone as i was being driven away:

Os Mutantes
Jorge y Gil (great album, people. Check it out)
Captain Beefheart (Safe as Milk)
T Rex
Ram by Paul McCartney
John Coltrane
Elvin Jones
Silver Jews (American Water)

I think there was Bonnie Koloc too. There were a lot more, had we been there in the beginning of the work day i'd probably have remembered a lot more when it came time to type them in my phone.

Another helpful fact for West Asheville Travelers: there's a music venue across the street with good beer on tap and Harvest Records whose roster is just sick is also across the street.

Harvest Records Artists:
Akron/Family
Budos Band
Brightblack Morning Light
Bonnie Prince Billy
Kurt Vile
The Books
Espers
and more....
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Washington, DC: Little Miss Whiskey's

It's a wood grain door with either a hood ornament or an old tap marker for a door handle. That's it. No sign, no nothin'. And it's awesome. Mark Thorpe's follow up to Jimmy Valentine's is a knock out. You can get lost in the decor alone. With Dragon's Milk a proud member of the great beer selections, this is a place i need to spend a long night in. Thorpe's collection of concert posters pulls together the antique store explosion of mind warp knick-knackery that adorns most of the rest of the place. You can lose your mind here.


Little Miss Whiskey's Back Patio


Little Miss Whiskey's Interior
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Arlington, VA: Galaxy Hut

Not my first trip to Galaxy Hut, but my first session there. We ended up sitting in the silo outback and i managed to meet a gal who's family moved to Pottstown (where i was born and grown), she'd just come back from a trip out there and hung out at Craft Ale House. Small world.

The Galaxy Hut is a bustling boom of conversation. Folks pack into the tables and it gets loud, raucous and ridiculously fun. Great beers on tap and a tiny kitchen make this place the perfect spot to go with a group of folks who can sink in and chat the night away (even if you're halfway to a yell).



Galaxy Hut is also right around the corner from a great, great kebab place that stays open late. I also found a 24 hour kebab hut in Arlington on the same trip.
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Asheville, NC: Bruisin' Ales

Bruisin' Ales is up there with the likes of the great take out spots that are always mentioned in beer talk. When they support a brewery they hit you with a good chunk of the lineup, which to breweries is crucial, but their enthusiasm towards the beers that they like is what makes Bruisin' Ales what it is. One of those rare places (although the numbers are growing) where you can sample from draft or get a growler (correct me on growler fills if i'm wrong - if not now, soon). This isn't the biggest shop out there, but the attention to detail and the selection of what to have on hand is top notch.


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That's it for now. Bedtime, more from the road to come, because i'm still on it. Read more!

S A V O R .

Early morning drop off at Savor, the room looks awesome.

Golden Cap Saison and Dragon's Milk pouring on the main floor, Fred and Gail's Salon will feature some amazing pairings:

#1) Fig infused truffle & Sundog Amber Ale
#2) Shitake truffle & Dragon’s Milk – Barrel Aged Stout
#4) Lemongrass & ginger truffle & Black Tulip Trippel
#5) Seasalted Caramel and Pilgrim’s Dole Wheatwine
#5a)Raspberry truffle with cacao nibs
b)Cinnamon & cayenne truffle with Night Tripper Imperial Stout

SAVOR. Read more!

Well worth all those $ .50 tolls

NoVa, where it all goes down. I have been to Northern VA several times in the last year. There's a bunch of good beer going on and as i learn more and more each trip, there is some amazing food. Best part of it all of course is that in most cases the two can be found in the same place at the same time.

After reading and hearing about the triumvirat of Magnolia at the Mill, Tuscarora Mill, and Fire Works, i finally got a chance to hit all three in a couple of hours last week and holy smokes, talk about a best foot forward. Now, in eye catching 'list' format is a quick word on each for those in the area who may only have time for one.

Fire Works - Leesburg, VA

We popped our heads in just for a beer and a hello and the hunger that was majorly present prior ballooned when the smell of the wood grill hit me. The pizza special of the day featured shrimps, ramps, and fiddleheads. Oh how i love seasonality. Everything looked and smelled delicious and after a pint of Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown it was time to see about some lunch of our own.

Tuscarora Mill - Leesburg, VA

Tuskies had a strong lunch crowd. A good weekday lunch crowd tips the odds towards the probability of a nice plate of food. The taps are set low, just under the bar so you have to look down at the markers to see what's on (aside from the up to date beer list of course) and after turning down an Aventinus draft (i'll have to make a run to Quotations) we set about ordering and just grabbed a little bit of everything. My lunch mates and i settled on a small mid-day feast and darn near cleared every inch of every plate. We had house charcuterie with a really nice country pate, pork rillette, soppresatta, chorizo, and pepperoni before diving into a plate of sweet breads, a nice seared ahi with soba noodles, Cippino with lobster butter, little necks, mussels, corvina, and scallops, broiled trout with fresh asparagus (tis the season, ya know) and one of the day's specials: Tempura oysters on spinach salad with lava salt. Wow, that's lunch mind you. Stone Brewing just did a beer dinner at Tuskies and i would go to any of their events in a heartbeat. The staff knows their beer and their food and it's mighty good. Those in the area can rush in to see if our Golden Cap Saison is still on tap.

Magnolia's at the Mill - Purcellville, VA

Mile long tap towers in a beautiful old building greet you at Magnolia's and chef Mark Morrocco's food is just plain out of site. We were in for the New Holland beer dinner and i found myself keeping my beer intro's on the short side because i couldn't let myself stray from any of the courses for very long. A nice, fun crowd came out for the event and the pairings were spot on. A'la a little cut and paste i present you the menu:

Greeting Beer
Full Circle Kolsch-Style Ale

1st Course
Chilled Sweet Corn & Crab Soup
With Avocado & Chili Oil
Golden Cap Saison Ale

2nd Course
Hickory Grilled Lamb Slider
With Harissa & Mint Aioli
Served with Spring Herb Tabouli
Mad Hatter IPA

3rd Course
Soft Shell Crab
With Pickled Green Tomatoes
Black Tulip Trippel

4th Course
Hickory Grilled Veal Medallion
With Dijon Rosemary Potatoes Au Gratin
Dragons Milk Aged Oak Barrel Ale

5th Course
Espresso Panna Cotta
With Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans
Poet Stout

Finale
Existential Ale
Water-Barley-Hops-Yeast
That’s it

I loved the pairings here. Dragon's Milk and Black Tulip both, because of their strength and construction, often end up as dessert beers and i was very excited to see these earlier in the meal. Every single course was more amazing than the one prior. I still have the taste of the panna cotta on my tongue.

So there you have it. All three are sure fire can't misses if you are in the area. Also some great finds on this trip were products from the Haskins Family Farm, the wonderful selection & delectable BBQ @ Paeonian Grocery, as well as James his hard work at Red, White, & Bleu in Fall's Church.

The latterest of the above in addition to great beer, wine, cheese, and meats had some exciting news (and samples to share) this was my first time hearing and tasting anything (a smoked duck sausage that was just amazing) from Jamie Stachowski. Stories of an outlandish looking man who smells like a smokehouse had me, the list of different charcuterie he offers was the nail in the coffin. Other than restaurants, it seems Red, White, and Bleu is the only place you can buy Stachowski's offerings for home use.

In all, a great pre-Savor trip with fun food surprises. Read more!

This Beer Wagon Kills Flies

*Boredom alert: there are pictures of food below*

My windshield is covered in the gritty dreams of flies and bugs from hives and hideouts all over the East Coast. I haven't been in my apartment since 4/2. I'm not going to be there until 4/19. What's the occassion? Golden Cap Saison, our new spring and summer seasonal. A delicious farmhouse ale made with spelt from our farmer friends in Washington State.

The swing into Virginia was unfortunately delayed by a bit of sickness, most of you reading this probably got it. I think everybody got it. I may have caught it just by reading about it on the internets. Anyhow, i missed what looked like an amazing New Holland Beer Dinner at Can Can in Richmond, VA. Mr. George held things down at the dinner while i wondered how cold you can feel and how much of a fever you can have at the same time.

So on then to NoVa. Northern Virginia is full of great beer spots, from bars with mile long walls of taps to classy brewpubs to a flagship Whole Foods in Fairfax where you can sit down mid-shopping and have some crab cakes or ribs and have a craft beer on tap. The day we stopped by New Holland, Stone, and Weyerbacher had three of the four taps. That's umm...well guys, that's next level. Whether this type of thing makes it to PA i'll have to ask Mr. Bryson about (i am way behind on my PA grocery, six pack, etc sales reading), but i can tell you for sure that my trips to both Whole Foods and Wegman's on this trip found stores very focused on serving up craft beer.

Another hotspot for me was Carpool's Reston location, a fun bar with many great craft beers on tap. Let my extensive quality control efforts assure you all: The Poet is pouring just fine in there. Whatever you do, don't challenge Rama to a game of shuffleboard, the man is a hustler.

On to The Triangle. The Raleigh/Durham area is packed with great places to grab a bite to eat and a good beer. They've got big places like Tyler's who are known for their many great beers and savy staff. Flying Saucer has their anchor dropped in town as well. Then there's a slew of up and coming bars doing great things for the area. Places like Sitti, Busy Bee, and The Borough, and The Raleigh Times Bar are all pulling the weight of resurgence and doing a mighty fine job of it. The Raleigh Times is serious. They have a beer list that could stop a truck full of BA's dead in their tracks. Marraige Parfait, JW Lee's, the list goes on. I spent the night (all but the sleeping part) at Raleigh Times for a Dragon's Milk and Poet promo and had a blast. They have some amazing ideas and an amazing attitude towards their business and the potential of craft beer throughout the entire Raleigh area. A bunch of thumbs up from this guy. Oh, the food...it looks delicious.

Still going (I'm on the road here, remember?) on down to Charleston, SC. Have you been here? Holy smokes, this place is amazing. I hit town with just a hot second to get settled in before a Growl and Greet at the new beer outpost, Charleston Beer Exchange. Should you find yourself in Charleston, stop in and say hi to Rich and Scott, these are great guys who are very serious about beer. They've already gathered a loyal following and its due largely in part to their great service, great selection, and exciting specialty beers. So this is where i get jealous about the retail beer situation in other states. This is one little shop and it works simply like this: Walk in, buy single bottles, buy six packs, get a growler filled and be on your way. I mean what these guys are able to serve with their limited space is pretty incredible. Think Capone's with no bar, but growlers still available. It is le' bomba.

A new beer friend recently told me about a Philly tansport down to this area. Stefan Visilis stepped out of the Triumph Old City brewpub and came down the coast to open Farringdon Bistropub with his wife and their friends Dan & Amy. The whole mess of them are Charleston restaurant vets and are bringing craft beer and well thought out food to Summerville, SC. They're already a hit among the beer contingent. I had some fine beers and a great chicken salad sandwich (with apples, raisins, and yellow curry) over lunch and a great beer chat with owner Dan and bartender Michelle. They are committed to supporting local products both on their taps and in their kitchen. Look up Low Country Local First and the Sustainable Food Initiative for more info.

And that brings me to the finest meal of my trip so far....take thee to Chai's on King Street. Chai's is a great combination of comfortable surroundings, classy decor, and a great list of tapas that's pulled off just incredibly. The beer list is well put together and there were some goodies left over from a recent Allagash dinner that made our stop even more exciting. I am going to borrow Gina's hat here for a hot second and take you through.

We started with a pint of Hop Art from Coast, we'd been on the hunt for this beer since Friday evening. The Coast guys do a great job with their beers. A quick relay of the night's specials revealed our first course...



Bread Salad with Heirloom Tomato, Arugula, Feta, Balsamic, and a fried Pancetta wheel

We got a taste of some special things that were hanging in the kitchen as well. Deep fried ginger? Tasty, interesting. Then a great ice cream made with Allagash black. Wow, amazing flavors, amazing idea.

A little Micros slip led to our next plate...



Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi on an oil dipped ciabatta crostini with daikon sprouts and a sriracha aoili.

More raw stuff coming at you...



Tartare Trio - Tuna, Salmon, and Beef with Wonton Chips.

The return of the belly:



Pork belly over spaghetti squash with a reduction of its own braising liquid. My butter knife practically fell through the belly.

The meat wagon did not stop its wheels yet either, next up:



Lefthand Juju Ginger braised short ribs and rice. The meat and the bone hardly even knew each other anymore. Amazing flavors, nice soft texture, really really delicious.

Finishing up now...Duck confit lettuce wraps. As with everything before...delicious.

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Dear Blog, i love you.

Sorry i've been absent without notice lately. It has been a pretty hectic, busy, and productive week and a half or so.

Anyhow quick update from the road. I love North & South Carolina. I've had a great day meeting new bar owners and managers and revisiting those i've made friends with on past trips. It's beautiful land down here and the cities are laid back.

My pal Mundy told me to blog about something and i complete forgot what it was, so i need to solve that and post up. Also that thing i told y'all (dude, i'm in the south- i can say y'all) that i'm thinking about is still bubbling inside my head. I have about 8 hours of drive to cultivate it tomorrow on the way to Lexington, KY.

Anyhow....Aiken Brewing/Brewpub in Carolina. Delicious beer, run buy a bunch of folks with full time jobs who put their shifts in to make and serve great beer. Awesome.

Sexual Chocolate is as popular down here as it is mystical and sought after up in the northlands of Philly.

It was 60 degrees yesterday, i took a walk and was over dressed. Take that January.

I have to man the New Holland table at World Beer Fest Columbia, SC today and i have been progressively losing my voice over the past couple of days. A scratchy throat has spiralled downward into me barely being able to project at all. To top it off, i just read an article about Lost Voice and Laryngitis remedy myths and found out that the three things i was doing to cure it all actually cause more harm than good. Hootie Hoo.

Be good beer world. Catch you soon. Read more!

Charlotte...finally.

This post was supposed to have happened three times already, but finally i've got some time to post. I hit Charlotte last week and got relief from December's chilly (although you wouldn't know it the past two days) hold on Pennsylvania. Great drive down, but the second my wheels hit Charlotte it started raining and might not have even stopped yet for all i know.

When you're in Flying Saucer land you've got to stop by and that's where lunch happened. Chatted with the folks at the Saucer over fine food and some New Holland beers. I also got a sneak peek at Flying Saucer's holiday pint, all ready for inauguration:



With some good hard business before and after it was soon time to meet up with the Charlotte Beer Club. After chatting for a minute with the club's Founder Darrin Pikarsky it became clear that this thing is more of an army than a club. They have a few hundred members that can show up at any of their gatherings. Organized to the hilt and becoming moreso everyday, the Charlotte Beer Club has got the knack for keeping their beer talk completely relaxed and fun.

One member of the club you all may know is Beer Columnist Rick Lyke, who also came out for the tasting. Worth checking out if you are unfamiliar, in addition to Rick's drinks blog, is his awareness effort: Pints For Prostates A prostate cancer survivor himself, Rick has raised both awareness and funds to help further the message of the importance of prostate screening for men.

I met with the Beer Club at one of the absolute coolest places i have been to in a while, the Common Market on Commonwealth Ave. For Philly folks, its The Foodery meets the P.O.P.E. meets Spencer's Gifts. Folks can walk into Common Market and grab a sandwich, pull a beer out of the cooler, pay, then sit down with a book and hang out. A couple of craft beers on tap (including He'Brew Jewbulation on this trip) a little indoor/outdoor smoker's lounge, some old school toys and magic tricks on the racks and a ton of craft beer and wine round out the offerings. Oh and there was a DJ too.











We tasted through a handful of New Holland beers and chatted about the upcoming World Beer Fest in Columbia, SC. Some of the crew hung late, which i was more than happy to do as well and we tasted the night away. This is definitely a spot to hit if you're in the Charlotte area. Despite having to be on the road in the early AM the next morning i really didn't want to leave.

I didn't get deep into the heart of Charlotte or explore its beer community fully, but i definitely connected with some of its essential inhabitants. I love being able to go to a city i've never been to before and have a network of folks to tap into who share similar ideas about beer. I talked for hours with people who didn't know me from Lex Humphries and we had a blast. Beer club folks Chad, Chris, Kelly, John and the rest of the bunch made a great trip even greater.

For inspiration to start your own awesome beer club check out the Charlotte gang's current web activity at beer.meetup.com/196 Read more!