New HOPShire

My wife, Ashlee, and I took a trip recently up north to New Hampshire to visit our friends, Amy and Jeremy, who live in Portsmouth.  Happily, Amy and Jeremy share my love of good beer and a few beer stops were on the agenda.

Our first stop right off the plane was the Red Hook Brewery of New England outside Portsmouth.  This west-coast-founded  pioneer  in craft brewing (1981) set up shop in the northeast in 1996.  Pictured above is the largest beer cooler in the eastern United States.  They have a beautiful brewpub attached to the brewery with tasty food and all their beers on tap.  Ashlee and I both had their sampler paddle.  After lunch, we went on an entertaining (and generously-poured) tour of the brewery for $2.

Tiny Portsmouth Brewery is located in the charming downtown district near the famous seaport.  Their beer was good and their food wasn't bad either.  We ate there for lunch on our second day of the visit.  I had the Rye Not Pale Ale.  They have been doing it right here since 1991.

We found this place quite literally by accident on our way back from visiting The White Mountains on our last full day in New Hampshire.  Moat Mountain Brewing is a small brewpub located in the touristy town of North Conway.  We stopped for lunch and I was impressed with their beer selections.  I tried their pale ale and their IPA.  Moat Mountain, by the way, is one of the nearby peaks that make up The White Mountains.

A few other new-to-me beers I had on the trip were a bottle of Long Trail Ale (Vermont), a bottle of Hooksett Ale from White Birch Brewing in Hooksett, NH, and a bottle of Octoberfest Hex from Magic Hat Brewing over in Vermont.  Thanks to Amy and Jeremy for finding these great beers for us to try during our visit.

Speaking of travelin' and beer....

On our second music cruise of the year (and our second visit to Mexico), we docked in Cozumel (we were on  the smaller dingy to the left) and I got to try my first Victoria Cerveza in a bottle.  Not bad, just your basic light Caribbean-style lager beer.  But the day was hot and it was cold...can't ask for much more.

Brews New's - August/September 2011



Saturday, September 10, 2011:  A lovely Red Hook IPA at a harbour bar in Key West, FL while waiting for a rain shower to push through the area.

 Some other recent "new to me beers" include:

Schafaly (St. Louis) American Pale Ale (Cask) draught at WOW Wingery in Mt. Juliet, TN

Triple Haze (New Orleans) draught at WOW Wingery

Napa (CA) Smith Organic IPA (bottle) at Buckley's Steak House in Memphis, TN

Hop Project # 56 draught at the new Yazoo Brewpub in Nashville, TN

Legend (VA) Brown Ale (bottle) at Diamond Shoal Restaurant in Buxton, NC (Outer Banks)

Post Road Pumpkin Ale draught from Brooklyn (NY) Brewing at WOW Wingery

Hoptober from Fat Tire (CO) draught also at WOW Wingery

Spechers Double IPA (Wisc.) bottle at Drifters BBQ in East Nashville

Jackalope (Nashville) Pale Ale draught at Grassy Knoll Movie Night in E. Nashville

Jackalope Maple Brown draught at Grassy Knoll

hIPA from Magic Hat Brewing (VT) bottle from Conch Republic Liquours in Key West, FL






August 26, 2011:  Enjoying a Ghost River Pale Ale atop The Madison Hotel in Memphis, TN where it is brewed.

 

Downtown Asheville Brewery Crawl

We drove up to Asheville, North Carolina, recently for the weekend to catch a concert and before the show on Saturday night, my wife, Ashlee, and I did an impromptu brewery-crawl from the music venue, The Orange Peel on Biltmore Avenue, and back.  Since Asheville boasts at least seven microbreweries in the area, you don't have to go very far to find great beer.  And, of course, that fact also makes Asheville one of my favorite towns in the South.  Our first stop was a repeat for us.  Asheville Brewing is one of the legends here in town and has been a favorite of ours for a long time.  Their air-conditioned brewpub a few blocks down on Coxe Avenue was a welcome stop from the summer heat.

Our second stop was a new one for us and a fairly new craft brewer on the Asheville scene. Craggie Brewing is located on Hilliard Avenue.  Started by a former assistant brewer at Highland (another big name in the Asheville brewing game), they are small, but serious about their beer including the delicious Antebellum Ale shown above.

Our next and last stop was Wedge Brewing, an even newer player n the Asheville craft beer circus.  They are located in the kooky, Bohemian-style River Art District in the Wedge Studios building down on Roberts Street.

Wedge Brewing's boisterous Third Rail IPA (photo above) is strong in taste and ABV.  How's 10% grab you?  Since it's an English-style IPA, I wasn't blown away by it, but I do appreciate the results and the mastery of its creation.  I was a bigger fan of their "Derailed" Hemp Ale.

With still a few minutes to go before the show, we stopped in a little restaurant/bar back up by The Orange Peel called Storm.  I was happy to see they had Green Man Ales on tap...yet another strong and talented Asheville craft brewer.  The beer selection inside The Orange Peel was even good and I enjoyed a bottle of Starr Hill Northern Lights IPA (one of my favs out of Virginia) during the show.

OBX Beer

On a recent trip to the beautiful Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina, I found a nice little trio of small brewpubs to visit.



The Weeping Radish isn't technically on the Outer Banks (it used to be we learned later), but it's close enough in Javisburg, NC, and was right on the way from our drive down from the airport in Norfolk, VA.  It's a German-based brewery with a half-dozen taps of beer made on the premises.  I tried their sampler and wasn't overly impressed to be honest.  Not their fault really, I am not the biggest fan of German-style beer (despite my heritage)...too much malt and not enough hops for my taste.  My favorite was their Black Raddish, a nice, smooth dark lager. I should mention that their food was very good including their amazing fresh-made sausage sampler platter.



The Full Moon Brewery and Cafe in Manteo, NC, was actually a surprise find.  We just happen to be staying two nights in Manteo and stumbled upon this place located near the lovely town harbor.  It was an easy walk from our B&B.  They are a fairly new establishment and their own beer was limited in variety and was OK in taste at best.  Their menu also featured some other regional beers and I had a good  pint of Endo IPA from Cottonwood/Carolina Brewing in Mooresville, NC.  Like the Weeping Radish, Full Moon's food was the best thing they had going, and my enchilada stuffed with local shrimp and crab was outstanding.

The largest, most well-known microbrewery in the OBX is The Outer Banks Brewing Station.  We stopped in here briefly for a beer sampler and were pleased with the results.  Nice hoppiness in their pale ale.  This was the best beer in the area that we found and we will definitely come back here.  We didn't eat here, but the food looked good and smelled great.





The coolest thing about The Outer Banks Brewing Station is that it is the first and only (so far) brewpub in the U.S. that is completely wind-powered.  Note the windmill behind the building.  Its location near famous Jockey's Ridge in Kitty Hawk made the choice to harness the ample wind power a smart and obvious one.



I also had a pint of Sky Blue Golden Ale at a pub up in Corolla, NC. It's brewed by Carolina Brewing as well and was good going down after a hot day on the beach and dunes of The Outer Banks.

Beer in "The Middle"

Some beer encounters in "The Middle of America" from two recent road trips to and through Indiana, some of Illinois and a little of western Ohio,  for the Indy 500 in May and then for a couple of concerts in Cincinnati and Chicago the following weekend:

Three great words on a sign in downtown Nashville, Indiana



Big Woods Brewing is a relatively new microbrewery located in Nashville...no, not that one...Nashville, Indiana, a very cool little town in the regionally popular Brown County. It's about an hour south of Indianapolis.  Their beer was pretty good and their food was excellent.  The brewpub is a very nice place with a hunting lodge type of feel to it.  Favorite beer I tried was the Busted Knuckle Red Ale.





The generous tasting sampler from Lafayette Brewing Company in Lafayette, Indiana, near Purdue University.  Wonderful beer and their food was excellent as well. 

A craft beer veteran that opened their doors way back in 1993.



I had this pint can of  hoppy beauty in downtown Chicago at Stanley's Kitchen & Tap.   Half Acre Brewing is a Chicago-based brewery that I will have to check out next time I am in The Windy City.  I also had a pint of Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale from Lagunitas, CA, at The Pubic House bar in downtown Chicago. It was excellent.



A couple Goose Island Brewing (Chicago-area-based) craft taps at Stanley's in Chicago plus their own "house" beer, SKT.  I had the Green Line which is an American pale ale.  It was pretty good.

Other stops in "the middle" included a re-visit to New Albanian Brewing just across the river from Louisville in New Albany, IN, where I had their Henna Black IPA.    Also stopped at Powerhouse Brewing in Columbus, Indiana, but wasn't real impressed with their beer.  Their Two Daves IPA was yucky sweet in taste.  Oaken Barrel Brewing in Greenwood, Indiana, on the outskirts of Indianapolis was much better.  I enjoyed their Razz-Wheat and their Super Fly IPA. We took a six-pack of the Razz-Wheat with us to the Indy 500.

One of our favorite stops was 3 Floyds Brewing just before the Illinois state line in Munster, Indiana.  All of their products are superb with specials nods going to the Artic Panzer Wolf IPA, the Dreadnought IPA and the Alpha King Pale Ale.  One of their guest taps was none other than from California's Pizza Port Brewing which my wife has visited and is acquainted with a gal pal who works with them.  I had a pint of their A.B.L.E. (Above Life's Expectations) American Imperial Double Stout which was tremendous..  3 Floyd's beer was so good that we brought a good amount of it home and invited over some folks for another beer tasting.  This one had an Indiana theme since we also brought some of the Oaken Barrel product back as well.

During a food tour in downtown Cincinnati, I also had a half pint of cask-conditioned Alba Scots Ale from Williams Bros. Brewing in Scotland at a cool pub called Nicholson's.

EXTRAS:

In a recent variety six-pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company near home I had a few new-to-me's including:  Sarnac Summer Ale (NY), Black Hawk Stout (NY), Truckstop Honey Brown Ale (Back Forty Brewing, Birmingham, AL), wild Blueberry Wheat Ale (Sea Dog Brewing,  Maine)

Attended my first beer tasting hosted by WOW Wingery in Mt. Juliet featuring several beers from Schlafly Brewing out of St. Louis. This is third tasting that has been done out on the patio at WOW and hopefully there will be many more to come because it was great.

BEEReno 911

Favorite that I tried was the Ichthysaur IPA, just say "gimme an Icky," Also tried Risky Biscuit Barley Wine - 4 oz. sample - first time for me and barley wine - not my thing, Also had Whoop Ass Wit w/ an orange slice (4 oz. sample), and the Slam Dunkel (4 oz. sample).  Great place in downtown Reno.

Also in downtown Reno, my favorite was their IPA with an honorable mention to their Rye Knot Pale Ale.  This is a beautiful facility with a roof patio with great views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains ringing the city.

I won this tasty IPA (or the money to pay for it at least) playing video blackjack at Silver Peak Brewing.  Ah, only in Nevada!

I would follow you anywhere, sir.  Great craft brewing company out of Oregon.

Buckbean Brewing Company, Reno, Nevada.  I bought what I thought was a 4-beer sampler from Groupon.com for $10.  Turns out it was a 16-count pint-can sampler box!  I had to buy an extra bag to get them all home!!

Have no fear Chris and Tarryn, the place is still here!



The Brewery at Lake Tahoe - Whiteout Wit and Killebrew Brown Ale were their seasonals on their 9 beer sampler paddles.

 

Ashlee clutching her Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock at the outdoor bar
at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe at 10,000 feet plus

A very good restaurant/brewery just over the California state line.  I enjoyed their Pale Ale, but my favorite beer was a Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale (NWPA) from Deschutes Brewing in Oregon which they had as a guest tap.  Did I mention half pints are the best thing ever invented for counting calories and for safe driving?



Patio Beer Tasting

I hosted an impromptu beer tasting out on our back patio at home this past weekend. In attendance were my wife, Ashlee, our friends, Nate and Ginny, and our friends, Chris and Tarryn. Nate and Ginny had went on a trip to Kansas City a few months back and had brought some craft beer back from the area plus others from different areas that we can't get here due to different distributors. Nate, as I have mentioned before, shares the same passion for real craft beer as I do. I added a couple of new ones as well to the mix that I found locally. Chris and Tarryn brought a few as well although I warned them we would have plenty of beer available. Which we did. The weather was perfect for sitting outside most of the late afternoon and evening sipping on a great selection of different brews. Here's what we tried in a somewhat reverse chronological order:



Some of the dead soldiers left on the beer-tasting battlefield



New Holland Brewing's The Poet oatmeal stout - this was in bottles brought by Nate. NHBC is out of Michigan.

Ska Brewing's ESB Special Ale - in cans brought by Nate. This Colorado can-only brewer has some great stuff.

Red's Rye Pale Ale by Founders Brewing - this was in bottles brought by Nate. Also a Michigan-based brewer.

Sierra Nevada Celebration - I provided this in bottles - I found this seasonal ale from the legendary California brewer at a new liquor store here in town that had a decent selection of high-gravity beers to choose from with a promises from the store owner to get more. I also provided pint cans of Dog Bite Lager which I had discovered recently (see previous blog) and figured Nate would enjoy which he did as did everyone else.

Ska Brewing's Modus Hoperandi IPA in cans provided by Nate. Obviously this hoppy concoction was one of my favorites of the day.

Meantime IPA - England - I provided this pint bottle which I had bought at Mid-Town Spirits in Nashville a few weeks back. It is one of the best English-style IPAs I have had and I am most certainly a hard critic of them.

Tin Mill Brewing's Midnight Whistle Doppel Bock in bottles provided by Nate. This Missouri-based brewery was one of the local spots visited by Nate and Ginny on their trip.

Caldera Ginger Beer in a pint bottle provided by me per the request of Ashlee (a big ginger beer fan). We bought this Oregon-based product at a great beer store down in Murfreesboro last weekend. It was very tasty.

Ska Brewing's True Blonde Ale in cans provided by Nate.

Chris, who is new to the craft beer game but is making good strides, brought some Kona Longboard Island Lager which Nate and I had tried long ago, but we appreciated the effort. We actually added some ginger extract to it which was excellent especially on a warm afternoon. The funniest contribution of the event was a bottle of some Lake Tahoe craft beer brought by Chris and Tarryn from their honeymoon....12 years ago!! One thing you have to learn about craft beer, my dear friends, is that it's not wine and it doesn't get better with age...yeeech!! The stuff was pretty nasty! But again, I do appreciate the effort, plus they know we are going to Lake Tahoe next weekend, so they thought it would be timely and funny. And it was. I hope to have and report on some much fresher Tahoe brews very soon.

Also-rans:
At WOW Wingery last week I had two new bottle selections from Schafly Brewing out of St. Louis. Their American Pale Ale (very good) and their Kolsch (not bad).