Adventures - Travels of the Muse

Adventures - Travels of the Muse

Archive... January 2007 through April 2007

	April 30 - Windsor, ON - Charly's Brew Pub - They only brew one beer, a lager called Buck-Off Beer. That's because it's always a buck off. It's clean, crisp, fresh, but not my kind of beer. Better than the Canadian they also had on tap, though! That's Brian there on the right... the bartender... with my English Double Diamond ale. They have a ton of imported beers in bottle or can. I also had a Well's IPA. The best thing about this place is the friendly atmosphere. Are all Canadians this friendly?
	April 16 - Bloomington, IN - Upland Brewing - That's assistant brewer Eileen Martin pouring me a Dragonfly IPA - a good example of the style, not too hoppy and well-balanced. Last time I saw "Aleleen," she was in the Louisville area at Browning's Brew Pub, and then at the BBC. I also tried a very nice Belgian ale called Ard Ri. It's an imperial red ale, strong at 9% and well balanced with 70 IBUs of Amarillo hops. The Upland Wheat, a Belgian wit style, is their most popular brew, accounting for 60% or so of their sales. Bad Elmer's Porter is a medal-winning chocolate roasty porter. Nice hop aroma and very smooth. Lastly, I tried the Chocolate Stout and took a six-pack home with me at $3.99. I just wish they hadn't been out of the Rhubarb Cobbler... would have gone well with the stout!

April 11 - Greensboro, NC - Red Oak Brew Pub - Had to go back for the "Drunken Chicken!" Outstanding spicy barbecued half-chicken. Yummy with the Battlefield Dunkel!

April 10 - Greensboro, NC - Red Oak Brew Pub - Closed on Monday night, they were open tonight. I've heard the food is good here, but I'd already eaten at Foothillls. The beer? All German style lagers. They don't do ales. They had a light Munich Helles, a Vienna lager, and a Dunkel. That's all. Only three beers... but they do those three very well! They are building a new brewery along I-40, east of Greensboro, to be opening in June.

April 10 - Winston Salem, NC - Foothills Brewing - Yeah... that's the Muse...with a sampler of Hurricane Hefeweizen, Rainbow Trout ESB, Foothills Festive IBA, Hoppyum IPA, Peoples Porter, and Total Eclipse Stout. My favorite was the IBA, an India Brown Ale. Nicely balanced hoppy brown ale! Picture was taken before the horseradish encrusted salmon with soy-ginger sauce arrived.

April 5 - Pittsburgh, PA - Church Brew Works - You really have to visit this place, if you never have. The brewery is actually in an old church with the brewing tanks where the altar was, and the pews used as benches for the booths. Great place. Food and beer worth the visit, too!

April 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Manayunk Brewery - First brewpub I've ever seen with a Sushi bar. Had a decent imperial IPA. They're having a Brew Fest Extravaganza on April 28, if you happen to be in Philly, featuring over 50 microbrews from all over the Delaware Valley region.

March 29 - Fairfield, OH - Jungle Jim's - This place is worth a special trip to Fairfield (just north of Cinci on Rte. 4) Besides having an outstanding selection of beer (and wine), they are a huge grocery store. More than four acres under roof, with the largest selection of international food and produce I've ever seen.

March 28 - Louisville, KY - Cumberland Brew Works - I love this place. Matt (the brewer) is always happy to give me a few samples and sit down and chat... get me up to date on the local brew scene since I don't get here that often. The food is really good, too.

March 27 - Louisville, KY - Bluegrass Brewing Co. - Not much changed here. Same beers on tap. The APA was the only hoppy one. The barley wine is pretty good. They still do the bluegrass jam on Wednesday nights. My first time here was 4 years and one month ago!

March 27 - New Albany, IN - New Albanian Brewing Co (aka RichO's Public House) - GRAVITY HEAD, the annual celebration of high gravity is in full swing! Better hurry, you don't want to miss this!

March 22 - Grand Rapids, MI - Grand Rapids Brewing - nice Belgian Farmhouse ale on tap. One of the few breweries around that always seems to have their own lambic on tap, too!

March 19- Mishawaka, IN - Mishawaka Brewing Co. - Loopy Lupulin Double IPA - WOW! Also tried the Lake Effect Pale Ale. Went well with the seared ahi tuna!

March 10 - Lakewood, OH - Buckeye Beer Engine - Way to go, Garin and company (Robert, Cathy, Kevin, Jason, et. al.)!!! I think you've hit a home run with this one! Great place. Great selection of beer. Great food. I love it.

March 7 - Cassville, MO - Where the heck am I now? Where to find good beer? For the middle of nowhere, I was surprised to find the Boulevard Brewing (of Kansas City) Unfiltered Wheat and Goose Island's Honker's Ale on tap at a local restaurant. Not bad, not bad, when all I expected to find in Missouri was A-B

March 3 - Columbus, OH - Gordon Biersch Brewery - Tried them all... the Golden Export, Czech Lager, Hefeweizen, Marzen, Dunkles, and Altbier. I noticed a little more hops that I would expect in the Hefe, but I never complain about too much hops. All in all, nice German-style beers, but the most unique thing I found here was the garlic fries!

March 3 - Columbus, OH - Mad Mex - A Mexican restaurant with an excellent beer selection. I tried the Avery Collaboration not Litigation - a Belgian strong ale that is a collaboration between the brewers at Russian River Brewing and Avery, after both had a beer named Salvation which they blended to come up with this one. I also sampled the Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball - a nice fruity well balanced American strong ale (9%).

March 3 - Columbus, OH - Columbus Brewing Co - Located in the old brewery district of Columbus. Had an array of beers here but the standouts were the 90 Shilling Ale (a Scotch Ale) and the Barley Wine.

March 3 - Columbus, OH - Elevator Brewing Co - So many beers, so little time...At least 10 on tap here. Among those I tried were the Necessity IPA, Coal Porter, Procrastinator Dopplebock, a yummy Chocolate Stout, and a Dunkleweizen....oh, and a spicy Winter Warmer. Not bad, not bad.

March 3 - Columbus, OH - Barley's Smokehouse and Alehouse #2 - You will have guessed by now that my taste buds, if not my brain is shot by now. Sorry Barley's, I know Scott Francis is a good brewer, but my notes say I tried MacLenny's Scottish Ale, a Pale Ale, an IPA, Alexander's Russian Imperial Stout, a cask ESB, and Robert Burns Export Ale, and I don't remember any of it. I do remember tasting somebody's single malt scotch.. that was memorable!

March 1 - Charlottesville, VA - Tried to find a brewery... checked Starr Hill Brewery and South Street Brewery, and didn't find either one open for lunch, and unfortunately I had a flight out that evening. I did find a pub with a forgettable Starr Hill IPA on tap. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.

February 28 - Kent, OH - Riverside Wine & Imports

Riverside Wines in Kent, Ohio is the best beer store I've ever seen. Best because it has a selection of over 400 bottled beers. Best also because there are six good beers on tap. At this writing it was New Holland Dragon's Milk, Magic Hat #9, Three Floyd's Alpha King, Flying Dog Gonzo Porter, Lindeman's Framboise, and Dogfish Head 90-Minute Imperial IPA. This selection rotates to feature different micros, imports, and specialty beers.

As the name suggests, they also have a selection of over 1800 wines. About 90 or so of these are available by the glass. They have seating for 55 indoors and a wonderful outdoor patio overlooking the scenic Cuyahoga River. They offer a menu of gourmet cheeses, fresh bread, crackers, fruit, spreads and salamis. Jazz or blues music is usually playing and often is live on the weekends. It's a fun place to peruse the aisles of beer, pick out a favorite or a new one you'd like to try, and drink it on the premise. Many are available in singles so you can try before you buy a six-pack or mix your own six-pack.

Owner Bob Morson is planning to expand the building to include a glassed-in patio with a fireplace. I can't imagine anything else he could do to make it a better beer store. It's a great place to get those hard-to-find beers and to relax and enjoy them with friends!

February 26 - Bellingham, WA - Visited Boundary Bay Brewing for a quick lunch and a few 5 oz. samples and some Yam alechiladas (enchilada's filled with yams, topped with mole, salsa, and cheese). Only had time to try the Cabin Fever imperial IPA and the Imperial Oatmeal Stout...both nice big beers!

February 25 - Seattle - Stopped in to Elysian Brewery for a fantastic lunch and equally good brews!

With 12-13 of their own brews, a few guest beers, and a cask conditioned ale on tap, the choice was tough. I tried the Stolen Fire IPA (an imperial IPA), the Immortal IPA, the BiFrost Winter ale, Pandora's Bock, Schadenfreude Weizenbock, Achilles, Amber, Perseus Porter, and the Dragontooth Stout. Samples, of course, as I still had a two-hour drive to Bellingham, WA. The porter was slightly smoky, rich, dark, creamy, and with noticeable hoppiness... nice! The stout, at 36 IBU and 7.45% abv was also a nice big beer. As usual, I preferred the Stolen Fire, billed as a NW-style IPA, using Chinook, Centennial, and Cascade hops nicely balanced with pale, Munich, and crystal malts. (6.7% abv, 60 IBU).

I've been to other Seattle breweries in the past, and this was the one I chose, knowing I only had time to visit one on this trip. The black bean cakes over fresh greens, topped with corn salsa and guacamole was delicious!

February 17 - Rock Bottom Brewery, Cleveland


Cleveland's First Winter Warmer Festival! Nine local breweries and at least 24 different brews! The venue was great... I liked the 1 pm to 9 pm hours. It gave one plenty of time to try them all, and also to relax and enjoy the great food at the Rock Bottom Brewpub. List of Beers on tap at the festival