Brews Clues from All Over the State of Tennessee

During visits to three different towns here in the great state of Tennessee recently, I was able to add four more beers to my list over the past couple of weeks and also met a nice fellow with an interesting beer-related business.

Chattanooga - While visiting relatives back home in my old stomping grounds the weekend before last, I stopped by the magnificent Greenlife Grocery to peruse their splendid beer aisle and bought two interesting single-bottle pints to sample when I got back home the following week. The first was Greene King Export IPA from England. Fairly disappointing to be honest with a harsher bitterness than most IPAs that I have enjoyed in the past and not near the hoppy aroma I look for in IPAs. The story of the origin of this IPA that was printed on their bottle also seems to differ from what I understood of the history of IPAs. It is my understanding that extra hops were added in IPAs in the 1700s to keep Britian's ale drinkable until it got to the far reachs of the Empire - such as India. But according to the Greene King bottle their "Export IPA" was designed specifically for British citizens at home desiring the IPA taste that was sent abroad...maybe that's the problem...this stuff reallly should be sent to India...and left there...and the real IPAs left at home. Per their website they do have a regular IPA and several other brews that might be worth a try including Old Speckled Hen which I have seen before, but never tried.

The second beer I bought at Greenlife was Kelpie Seaweed Ale - you guessed it - the name just suckered me right in. "Infused with seaweed" - well, of course, I had to try it! Brewed on the coast of Scotland (hey, that's where the seaweed is) by Heather Ale Brewing, this strange little concoction was actually pretty good. I can't say I got a real whiff of the sea from it's aroma as the bottle claimed, but it had a pleasant taste and gentle finish that was quite satisfying.

Nashville - While waiting on a movie to start at the historic Belcourt Theatre on West End Avenue last Friday night, my wife, Ashlee, and our friend, Carolyn, stopped in Bosco's Brewery and Restaurant for dinner and a few beers. I clung stubbornly to my true love for the first couple of pints there, their Bombay IPA, but then decided to give their featured Cask Conditioned Olde FoolAle a try during dinner. I went back to the IPA to finish off the meal. Plain and simple: I didn't care for it too much. Seemed almost flat to me with little body and less finish than I was expecting. It's very popular among the Bosco faithful, but I can't say I am one of them. While standing at the bar waiting for our table, two seats opened up actually at the bar and I ushered Ashlee and Carolyn into them. A guy in the chair next to Ashlee offered me his seat explaining that he was getting ready to go. I thanked him and upon reading his T-shirt - "Nashville Brews Cruise" - I told him I liked his shirt. He thanked me and we struck up a conversation about it. His name is John Cummins and he is the proprietor of "Nashville Brews Cruise." His service allows groups of beer loving visitors in Nashville to be escorted to 3 of the 4 breweries in Nashville (on a rotating schedule) and sample their wares and then be delivered back to their hotel or wherever they were picked up with no fear of DUIs, no worries with directions, no problems trying to find parking (ALWAYS a problem at Bosco's on West End) and a chance to try most of what Music City is brewing in a short amount of time. John was having a couple of pints after a long day of driving a 17-member rugby team from Philadelphia around (in a 15-passenger van) who he said "were already drunk when I picked them up at Hooter's." This man deserved a quiet pint or two after that ordeal! John and I continued talking until our table was ready for dinner discussing beer, craft brewing, regional beer (including our love of Asheville and it's beer scene - guess where John got his idea for a Nashville Brews Cruise?). It certainly was a pleasure meeting him and I will certainly be spreading the word about his service. Starting with a link right here:

http://www.brewscruise.com/nashville/

Murfreesboro: FOUND: A real beer store within a half-hour's drive of Lebanon! Hoo-ray!! Total Beverages on Thompson Lane is a spacious new store with an incredible beer selection (now if they will only get kegs and growlers like my favorite beer store - Riverside Beverages in Chattanooga). My wife and I were in Murfreesboro to get our Honda Accord serviced at the dealer last Saturday and we were scheduled to have a Wine Group Meet-up later in the evening and since Ashlee has given up wine for Lent she opted to find a beer she could take instead and still stick with the theme (chocolate). She had seen this store before but never stopped there and I didn't know it existed....glad I do now (thanks, hon!). After looking over our vast amount of options she went with an excellent choice: The Black Mocha Chocolate Stout from Highlands Brewing (from where else...Asheville).I had this wonderful medal-winning stout before (pre-blog) and knew she would like it. She did despite not having much of a history drinking stouts. Good chocolate aroma with a gentle smokey taste and pleasing aftertaste. I, of course, couldn't leave the store without snapping up a new (to me) IPA six-pack and my choice was Avery India Pale Ale from Avery Brewing in Boulder, Colorado. Excellent bottled IPA. Good aroma, nice finish, completely satisfying. It's a great feeling all day to know you have a beer in the fridge that you look forward to drinking that evening.

Pub Crawl, Ya'll

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patty's Day! Well, the holiday known for green beer gave me an opportunity to avoid that silly crap and rack up four more real beers for my list. I was able to grab one new beer for each of the four bars my wife, Ashlee, and our friends, Nate and Emily, and I "crawled" to in East Nashville's Five Points area. This region of the city has been depressed and rather crime-ridden in the past, but a rebirth is definitely underway with several popular bars and restaurants taking a foothold along with many restored houses and neighborhoods.



The first was a bottle of Samuari Ale at the Batter'd & Fried Boston Seafood House from Great Divide Brewing in Colorado. This beer was actually supposed to be featured at the Fiele Franklin Irish Festival we attend this past weekend (see previous post), but was not for some reason, so it was cool to find it here. The taste was rather diminishing from what seemed like a good start and turned out to be a bit of a disappointment overall. Great Divide does some great beers, but I can't rank this one among them.

Next was Dale's Pale Ale on tap at Beyond the Edge. This is a unique quality pale ale that is actually distributed in cans. I haven't had a chance to try it in a can, but on tap it was excellent. Smooth and satisfying. I definitely need to try it in a can because if it's good, it would make an excellent beer to take to Bonnaroo this summer which doesn't allow glass containers. Last year I took Boddington's English Ale which I love, but it would good to have some variety.

The third bar was 3 Crows Bar and the third beer was Yazoo Nitro draught, a super smokey stout with a great finish. Yazoo, the local Nashville brewery, was one of the sponsors of the St. Patty's Day crawl, and did themselves proud with this representative. Basically, it's Yazoo's regular Onward Stout with nitrogen added in the tap. This really helps tone down the aftertaste and add to the smoothness without losing that distinctive smokey/coffee taste

The final stop was the Red Door Saloon East whose beer selection wasn't too diverse (PBR seems to be the popular choice here for some ungodly reason). I settled for the Fat Tire on tap. Although this New Belgium amber ale brewed in Colorado has become fairly well-known recently in the Southeast, this was one I hadn't tried yet. Not bad but nothing to seek out for any real reason in the future.

Thanks East Nashville for hosting a great St. Patty's Day Pub Crawl.

I-rish I Had More Beer

Saturday, March 14, 2009

My wife, Ashlee, our friends, Nate and Carolyn, and I attended the 6th Annual Fiele Franklin Irish festival this past weekend and it turned into a wonderful opportunity to try out a bevy of new (to me) beers - none of which happened to be from Ireland. The festival was free during the day with the option to partake in a beer-tasting at over 20 different stations around Franklin's historic downtown afte 6 P.M. Nate, who is also a beer affecienado (and has actually probably tried more different kinds than I have), and I looked over the list of samples to be offered and while not every stop was of interest since they were fairly common beer labels there were at least a dozen or so that we were unfamiliar with and had an interest in trying. But what's a guy (and another guy and two gals) to do until 6 PM during a rainy Irish festival - why head to the local Irish pub, of course! It's called McCreary's and we chose it because we were hungry, it was an Irish festival and the weather just wasn't that great to hang around outdoors. We put our name on the waiting list and I grabbed a Guinness - in a plastic cup (ho-hum) - and waited a half-hour to get into the tiny establishment....it was so worth the wait! Great atmosphere, excellent food and A BOTTLED BEER LIST THAT WAS AMAZING for such a small place with very fair prices as well. Here's what I had while we were there for what turned out to be close to three hours....

Naked Lion Copper Flask - an interesting Cervasa-style lager (hey, I didn't know it was a lager or I probably wouldn't have ordered it in an Irish place) that is brewed in Memphis. I admit it was a strange choice after having a Guinness to start the day, but I actually enjoyed it's unique flavor and love that it's a Tennessee brewery. I hope to see more from these guys in the near future.

Young Double Chocolate Stout - as Dave Attell would say, "yum and dum, dum!" This English product was delicious from start to finish with a great body and ultra-smooth finish. Easily moves into my Top Ten of all time. I highly recommend this to my long-time friend (and probably the most consistent reader of this blog - thanks, bud), Craig, who loves stouts. You will probably have to go to a liquor store to find it, however, because it's alcohol content was well above the state-restricted 5%.

Fiddler's Elbow Pale Ale - another top notch Limey concoction of lovely taste and texture. Great artwork on the label as well. All the the Wychwood Brewery selections have kind of a Tolkein-esque theme in name and artwork. My friend, Nate, had their Hobgoblin Brown Ale as one of his selections and enjoyed it as well.

St. Pete's Organic Ale - well, I knew it would happen eventually and now it did. I ordered a beer I thought I had never had before and yet when the barkeep brought the uniquely-shaped bottle to the table along with a fresh glass (did I mention I love this pub?) I instantly knew I had made an error. Luckily, it was a delicious error that I enjoyed to the last drop. This Scottish product is a beautifully-crafted beer that I highly recommend...again and again.

As if that wasn't enough, it was now time to leave McCreary's for the actual designated Fiele Franklin Beer Tasting...and here's the long list along with a quick review of each one:

- Manis Otter Pale Ale - Blackstone Brewery - Nashville - thumbs up - the only local brew I tried (Yazoo was there but had nothing I hadn't had already) and the only draught beer I had. Everything else was poured from a bottle.
- St. Bernardus Watou Tripel - Belgium - oh yeah, those monks know what they are doing!
- Great Divide Wild Raspberry - Colorado - interesting
- Great Divide Denver Pale Ale - Colorado - bravo!
- Lost Coast Alley Cat Amber Ale - California - good stuff
- Lost Coast Downtown Brown Ale - CA - yes, please
- Belhaven Scottish Ale - Scotland - pretty good but they advertised an IPA they didn't have - boo!!!
- Wells Brewing Banana Bread Beer - England - incredible aroma, so-so taste
- Wells Brewing Bambardier Ale - England - top shelf
- Boulevard Irish Ale - Kansas City - well done
- Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat - KC - cute, but not my thing
- Star Hill Brewery Dark Star Porter - Virginia - more, more, more
- Star Hill Northern Lights - VA - my favorite of the show , an IPA, of course
- Magic Hat Seasonal High IPA - Vermont - much better than the Magic Cat IPA in my opinion

ADDENDUM: Sticking with the Irish (but not really Irish) beer theme. I also had a pint of Big River's new Irish Red Lager Friday night during dinner. Fairly bland and uninteresting as is most of Big River's fare except their Stout and Red Ale which are decent.

A PITCHER is Worth a Thousand Words (most of them slurred)

but a PICTURE is usually only in need of a few for the caption...

A giant mug of Dos Equis Amber at our favorite little neighborhood Mexican restaurant here in Lebanon, Los Compadres - good thing it's within walking distance!!

First beer on the patio in 2009 thanks to some early March mild weather. Hop Project # 10 from Yazoo.

Thanks to my wife, Ashlee, and her fab new Blackberry for taking these great pix.

A Nice Big Pair of Jugs (Hanging Out in The Projects)

The title(s) for this new blog entry were so easy and so obvious that I had to go with two even though they don't seem to have anything to do with each other. Kind of an ode to those song titles where it seems the artist just can't decide which is the best title...my favorite example: Vertical Horizon's incredible song "Grey Sky Morning (Best I Ever Had)."

My wife, Ashlee, and I stopped by Yazoo Brewery in downtown Nashville last Friday night because I had read on their blog:

http://www.yazoobrew.blogspot.com/

that they had just ran some batches of what they were calling Hop Project #10 and #11. So as not to offend, (of course) I took both of my Yazoo growlers with me and got a half gallon of each after trying a pint of each on site...and I am so glad I did...because not only did I like both but Ashlee preferred # 10 and if put to the test I happen to prefer # 11 (more hoppy, of course), so it was a win-win for everyone. On the way out Ashlee referred to the growlers as "big jugs" of beer and naturally I went straight to a gutter smirk and guffaw and an innuendo blog title was born.

Now "The Weekend of the Growler" (hey, another good title) did not end there. We left the lovely big pair of Yazoo jugs in the fridge and headed to visit family in Chattanooga on Saturday. When we got there, my first mission was to hit the incredible Riverside Beverage Company and their new "beers on tap" offerings with - what else - two big jugs (i.e. growlers) that I had gotten from them before. I chose the French Broad Altbier but got there too late on a Saturday night evidently. The keg blew dry just after just a few swallows of beer where drained out (which I got as a free sample - thanks RBC!! It was great what little I had. Hope to get some more of it soon). French Broad (named after the river, not someone's old lady in Paris - man, I am on a roll!) is yet another strong brewer from Asheville, North Carolina. This smallish city has an amazing seven microbreweries (did I mention I love Asheville?). My second choice of Terrapin "Dark" Pale Ale from Athens, GA, was good to go, and I pondered my second choice from the few remaining taps. I was offered an ESB that the clerk said he was about to tap, but I told him I was more into the hops and he suggested another libation from French Broad Brewing - the Rye Hopper - Hopper? why, of course!! Both selections turned out to be terrific with my leanings toward the Rye Hopper by a slim margin. I really did think Terrapin's production of a rather darkish India pale ale (kind of an oxymoron, huh?) was superb and very creative. Those two growlers didn't last the weekend thanks to me, Ashlee and my brother-in-law, Andy, who I am slowly converting to the "dark side." Ashlee and I will be savoring our Yazoo jugs over the coming week and may just have to venture to downtown Nashville again this weekend and hang out in "The Projects."

ADDENDUM: One new bottled beer experience from the last few weeks was Copper Hook from the folks at Red Hook Brewing out of California. Red Hook is a veteran in the microbrewing arena and this copper-colored Irish-style ale is a fine addition. Very smooth with a nice flavor and finish for a bottled beer. I took a six-pack of it to The Poker Barn a few Fridays ago (thanks again Mt. Juliet Kroger for your great beer selection) but I can't say my "finish" was as smooth as my pocket kings got cracked early by a rivered straight. Good beer heals all wounds.