SoCal

When I was growing up, I never thought I'd be able to say that 'I went to California for the weekend' but I did!.  Tony had a conference in San Diego and planned to drive up toward L.A. to see his brother.  So, not wanting to miss seeing Peter, I decided to join him for a few days.


Stone Brewing Company
Never wanting to miss an opportunity to try new beers, we stopped at Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, CA  Tony and I both agree that this might be the best all around brewpub we have ever visited. The food, beer and beautiful surroundings of the restaurant (not to mention the absolutely perfect weather) made this one of the very best.

The inside of the restaurant / bar is surrounded by glass. One side is the brewery - which is a beautiful thing. 

 







The other side of the room faces the gardens.  The glass windows apparently go up like garage doors although they were down the day we were there. This photo is taken from Stone's web site but I thought it did a great job of showing the ingenuity of the architecture.

http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/gallery/architecture.asp

Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, Stone IPA and Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale (l-r)

We decided to start with a sampler of the beers.  We had tried the Stone IPA and the Arrogant Bastard before but they are so good we were happy to try them again.  The Smoked Porter was very good with just enough smoke flavor. 

I enjoyed the Pale Ale the most.  Although Tony liked the samples, he ordered another sample - the Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. 

 

When the waiter brought it he said, 'sorry, I asked for a sample but they filled it all the way to the top.'  Tony didn't seem to mind!

We wanted to try a variety of food so we ordered two appetizers:  The Stone Pale Ale & Garlic Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts and the Spud Buds (IPA garlicky mashed potatoes deep fried in Arrogant Bastard batter, served with a side of Smoked Porter BBQ sauce.  The BBQ sauce and the sauce that the brussels sprouts were in would have been good on just about anything!

After eating the appetizers we noticed the Stone Ruination IPA Soup on the menu.  Of course, it was warm outside but how many times does one get to Stone Brewing Company?  We ordered one to split.
Garlic Cheddar and Stone Ruination IPA soup.  (from the menu - A.K.A. the Pungent One.  It is very bitter and we love it! Tons of roasted garlic, extra-sharp white cheddar cheese & more than a splash of Stone Ruination IPA for good measure.  Served with broccoli tempura.  The orange color comes from our fabulous smoked paprika!

I wish we had saved room for dessert.  I would have loved to try the Blueberry Blue Cheese Jalapeno Cheesecake or the Cocoa Pate surfeit Medjool Dates.  There were so many other interesting things that all looked fantastic.  Check out the dessert menu here!

Jen capturing menu info for the blog!

But, we decided to forgo dessert and walk the gardens instead.

I got to climb the rocks! 

Someone was nice enough to offer to take our picture together.  We don't have many of us together on our trips since one of us is usually doing all of the camera work. 

Jen and Tony @ Stone

The bistro and gardens were beautiful!

Manhattan Beach Brewing Company

The name of the establishment implied that they brewed beer on site, but alas, they did not. However, our disappointment in that fact was soon washed away, like sandcastles on the shore, when we noticed how many beers they did have on tap!

But our first beer was not a pint from the on-tap selection.  We noticed the bottle menu listed Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Elder.  This beer is at the top of nearly every beer rating you'll find.  Beer Advocate gives it A+ status and Rate Beer gives it a score of 100.  Tony loved it!  I didn't love it as much.  The taste was okay but it smelled a little like trout to me.  I know I'm probably the only person who feels that way about the smell, but I like the smell of a beer just as much as the taste.

Other notable beers from the visit were Uinta's Dubhe Imperial Black IPA, which tasted a little like a delicious Jamocha Shake Beer, Kern River's Just Outstanding IPA, which was truly outstanding and a new brewery in the area - El Segundo Blue House IPA. 

Illiana Mayfest - Crown Point, IN

Tony and Rick studying beer options

We missed it last year but we sure are glad we made it to the Illiana Mayfest this year!  Our great friends Rick and Steve were able to join us for an afternoon of tasting delicious beers and lots of laughter! 

Rick knows a little something about pacing himself so early in the afternoon he purchased a pretzel necklace!  The pretzels are great for keeping a little food on your stomach as well as cleansing the palate from one sample to the next.

Many of our favorite microbreweries were represented:  Crown Brewing,  Backroads, Moylan's, Breckenridge, Broad Ripple Brew Pub, Mad Anthony's, 3 Floyd's, Figure Eight, Shoreline, and Flossmoor Station.  But we got to sample beers from two new pubs - Sun King and Flat 12, both from Indianapolis.

Tony, Ryan, Drew (l-r)

Tony got to spend a little time with his son, Ryan.  Ryan has become quite the craft beer connoisseur.  He has even collaborated with us on a beer which was aptly named Rye-Pa.

We have attended several beer tasting events and we all agreed that this one seems to have been the best organized.  The logistics were well planned and there were plenty of food options, restrooms and fresh air.  The event was held at the Lake County Fairgrounds in a great building and the D. J. played great music.

The Haymarket Pub & Brewery

We drive past this place every single time we go to a Hawks game.  We saw it turn from a Bar Louie into this secret prize wrapped in newspapers (on the windows) while they remodeled.  Tony had heard it was going to be a microbrewery and he was right.

The Haymarket Pub and Brewery opened on December 24, 2010. The chef and the brewmaster both have experience in the industry and the beer and the food show it.

I don't have any pictures (next time!) but Tony tried the Peace Frog American IPA, the Anarchy  Double IPA and the Black Wobbly Robust Porter.  No surprise that the IPAs were his favorite.

The food was also great.  Tony had The Riot - a spicy Italian pork patty, pulled pork, giardinera and mozzarella on a a brioche bun and a side of Mac and Cheese.  I had the burger with blue cheese.

Beer Geeks

Breaking with tradition, I'm posting about a beer bar - not a brew pub.  However, due the special circumstances which include the fact that this place has an amazing selection of beers, and they are located about five minutes away from our house, I couldn't resist posting.

We've been to Beer Geeks on 45th in Highland several times now.  One of their best attributes is that it seems to be a pretty popular place and therefore the beer selection changes fairly rapidly.  So, if you stop in and don't see a lot of beers that you'd enjoy just give it a week or two and try again.

Having said that, they really do have a great selection.  There are twenty tappers and quite a few more in bottles.  One drawback is the fact that they don't serve food.  But, they're more than happy to let you bring food in.

In addition to the great beer, their next best feature is that they are completely non-smoking.  None of this 'non-smoking until 8 pm' like Danny Z's is doing, but non-smoking all the time.  This is a huge deal for those of us who actually enjoy tasting our beer and don't enjoy smelling like an ashtray (or perhaps it is the fact that I also have asthma).

Tribes Alehouse

Although not a brewpub, Tribes Alehouse has many more beers on tap than most brewpubs do.  On the date of this posting, Tribes boasts 39 beers on tap from 25 different brewing companies.

When we can, we try to order a sampler in order to get a taste of as many beers as possible.  Here we tried Bridgeport IPA, West Coast IPA from Green Flash, Resistance IPA from Two Brothers and Pinstripe Red Ale from Ska (L-R).

While all were good, the Green Flash West Coast IPA was the favorite.  And, since we sort of cheated (we had already had the Bridgeport and Green Flash beers before), it wasn't a huge surprise.

We split the small nachos (which were enormous!) and Tony also ordered the Bison Black and Bleu burger.

We ordered a pint of the Lagunitas Hopstoopid and a pint of the Imperial Hatter from New Holland.

We would highly recommend this place and we plan to go back soon.

Figure Ei8ht

What a fitting day to stop at the new microbrewery in Valparaiso, IN.  After eighteen and a half years (plus roughly nine months) of dreading the day that I'd take my one and only child off to college, the day had finally arrived. 

Fortunately, I took her to Valparaiso University - a familiar place with a home-like feeling to me.  Probably because I spend nearly half of my waking hours working there.

But the bizarre feeling of packing up your child and leaving them 33 miles from their home had left me in need of comfort.  Tony decided this could come in the form of a visit to Figure Eight.

As is our custom, we decided to start with the sampler so that we could take our pictures and notes (except I was without a notebook).  So, I'll do my best to order the sample glasses pictured here.

The dark one is certainly the Rye Knot (Baltic Rye).  Directly below it in the forefront of the picture is the Snake Pro (Double IPA). 

Okay, I guess I can't really remember which order the rest are in but here is the menu... you can try to figure it out.  Although all of the beers were very good, the Snake Pro Double IPA was the favorite of the day.  Ro Shampo Imperial Red Ale was also tasty.

March Madness - Bracket time again!

No, not basketball! Don't you know me?

Hoosier Beer Geek has a beer bracket!

Check it out and vote now.

Hoosier Beer Geek: Hoosier Beer Geek's Springtime Tournament of Beer Champions

Flossmoor Station Mug Club

Mmmm, Flossmoor Station IPA... (insert your image of Homer Simpson tipping his head back and drooling here)

Tony and I attended our second ever Mug Club event. This was the tapping of Hoppy, Hoppy, Joy, Joy - "8% American IPA with loads of pacific northwest hops."

I tried to describe it to our friend, Steve, but all I could come up with was that it might be the most perfect IPA I've ever had.

All I can say is that you should try it for yourself and be the judge.

We met wonderful people (as we always do at Flossmoor and brewpubs in general) and got to spend a little time with Bryan Shimkos the brewer. He was gracious enough to spend time talking shop with us about our venture into home brewing.

Road Trip! Hockey, Microbrews and Triple D

What a trip! Here is the run down:

12/25/09 - Drive to Nashville. The weather was pretty good once we got past Indianapolis. We snacked on the pretzels and Sun Chips Kirsten suggested we take (thanks, Kir!) and stopped to eat a tasty dinner at Arbys. (Honestly... the best Market Fresh Turkey I've tasted in a long time!) Arrive in Nashville and have a drink at the hotel bar where some NFL network guys were hanging out enjoying their 15 minutes of fame.


12/26/09 - Boscos Nashville and Hockey. We had a great lunch at Boscos. We tried four beer samples: (left to right) Boscos Bombay IPA, Ice Age Pale Ale, Festive Ale, and Oatmeal Stout. All were good but the IPA was our favorite.

We were pretty hungry so we decided to start with an appetizer of Smoked Duck Spring Rolls (Crisp Spring Rolls Filled with Smoked Duck, Grilled Scallions, Julienne Carrots, and Cabbage; Served with Spicy Szechwan
Chile Sauce). They were very good. I probably could have eaten about three more plates of them.

Tony ordered the Muffeletta (Genoa Salami, Pepperoni, Mortadella, Provolone, and Marinated Olive Salad) and I had the Calzone de Bosco but I converted it into a pizza (Pesto, Spinach, Artichokes, Tomatoes, and Kalamata Olives with Whole Milk Mozzarella; Topped
with Marinara and Parmesan)

We were both very happy with our selections. Maybe that is why I took so many pictures?!

After lunch we were off to the Blackhawks game. We had great seats near center ice. It was fantastic game (the Hawks won 5-4). We met quite a few other fans - some from NW Indiana and the Chicago area.

After the game we headed to the Broadway Brewhouse & Mojo for nachos and beers.


12/27/09 - Drive to Memphis. We arrived in Memphis in the late evening and found a hotel. We were pretty hungry and were going to try our first Diner, Drive-in and Dive restaurant. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that they were closed on Sundays. The guy at the front desk of the hotel suggested the Blues City Cafe.
In the spirit of Memphis, we both had ribs. They were pretty good. Although they were very tender and tasty, we agreed that we prefer the bbq sauce variety of ribs as opposed to these which were dry rubbed. I think this would be a better place to visit when it isn't cold outside. We sat near the door and windows so we ate with our coats on!

After dinner we walked a block or so to a beer bar called Flying Saucer. This was such a cool place but there was almost nobody there. I guess Sunday nights in Memphis when it is colder than usual are good nights to stay home, but we enjoyed a huge variety of beers on tap and in bottles. Somebody should open one in NW Indiana!


12/28/09 - Drive to Dallas. We arrived in Dallas, again, in the late evening. We had a little trouble with the GPS sending us to the wrong end of Stemmons Freeway but we eventually found our hotel. I don't usually gush about the accommodations. We try to stay in nice hotels when we travel but this place was especially cool. The Hilton Anatole was darn near palatial. The hotel grounds (yes, they have grounds) contained the meeting rooms, guest rooms, five restaurants, seven bars and lounges and a full service health club and spa. While we were there we stayed on the Tower side of the hotel. The Atrium side was home to the Cotton Bowl folks. If you're ever in Dallas, check it out. At the time we were there - it wasn't outrageously expensive.

We found a cute steak house for dinner. The Hoffbrau was cute and very "Texas" looking. Dinner was very good.

12/29//09 - Our first Triple D. So, many of our readers know that Kir and I are huge fans of the Food Network. And, as things sometimes happen, Tony will often wander into the living room or kitchen when we have the Food Network on the TV. Diners, Drive-Ins' and Dives is a show about funky places off the beaten path. We've always wanted to try some and have just never gotten to the ones in the Chicago area. So, we found one in Dallas. Avila's Mexican Restaurant is a tiny little place that looks like little house with a purple door.

We had watched the video of the Triple D segment on Avila's website so we wanted to try some of the same foods ghat Guy Fieri ate. Now, I have to tell you... we arrived at Avila's at 2:30 p.m. for a late lunch. We did not know that the restaurant closes for a break in the afternoon. Unfortunately their hours are not listed on their website. So, the chefs were just walking out the door when we arrived. Our waitress was able to catch one gentleman (who's nickname is Tortuga) and he came back in to fix our food. We were very impressed with the customer service!!

So, we tried the pozole soup, the tamales and the brisket gorditas (which just happened to be on the lunch special menu!).



Everything we ate was delicious. The pozole was pretty spicy (especially for a lightweight like me) but was fantastic. I would eat it every day if we lived closer to Dallas. It came with a plate of red cabbage, radishes, purple onions, oregano, lime and what I thought was green pepper (which in fact were jalapenos - as Tony will confirm). All of the flavors mingled together to make a delicious meal. The tamales were as almost as good as El Taco Real (my all time favorite tamales) and the gorditas were very good as well.

After we came out of the mexican food comas we both enjoyed, we got ready for the Hawks game. Although we loved visiting the American Airlines Center and watching the Dallas Stars game, the did not enjoy the outcome of the game as the Hawks lost 4-5. However, we also had great seats and met some local teens who played hockey.

After the game we ate in the sports bar in the hotel called the Rathskeller. It was near closing time so the place was pretty quiet but the burgers were outstanding.

12/30/09 - After Tony checked out the Heath Club workout facilities at the Anatole... we hit the road for Oklahoma City. We checked out the Bricktown Brewery. We missed the IPA by one day so we tried the Copperhead, the Red Brick Ale and the Porter. All were good but the Porter was my favorite. We ate chili and salads. The salads were enormous, but very good. We even had a chance to chat for a little bit with the brewer.

Off to Tulsa where we were unable to find a microbrewery but there was another beer bar. Downtown looked closed and deserted but when we arrived at McNellie's we found that everyone was there!! The place was hopping. We later learned that it was $3 burger night, which attracts a crowd each week.

12/31/09 - Drive to St. Louis. As we left the hotel in Tulsa and watched as everyone arrived for check-in with coolers and margarita machines for long, loud nights of partying... we decided that perhaps we needed to stay on the outskirts of St. Louis so that we could get some sleep. We drove around and looked for some place to stay but didn't really have a lot of luck. We were tired, hungry and ready to relax and getting frustrated and feeling desperate. Tony decided to say a quick prayer and ask God to help guide us. (He is so smart! I was talking about Tony, but God is, too!) We hopped on 270 which looped around the city and landed in a great little suburb called Creve Coeur.

We found a Courtyard hotel with almost nobody there. They even had a sign a "no party" agreement... how cool is that?! The charming girl at the front desk provided us with a list of restaurants in the area. Right next door to the hotel was the Bristol Bar and Grille. The front desk gal even gave us a $10 off coupon for the place. Tony called because we figured being New Year's Eve and all we might not be able to just walk in off the street. We got reservations for a half hour later and were seated soon after we arrived. The food was outstanding! We ate like a king and queen and talked about our fabulous kids, brothers and sisters and our wonderful friends. It was a great night to remember all of the blessings we have received throughout the year.

Better Late Than Never - Our Trip to Wisconsin Dells in September

The Corner Pub? Does anything good really ever served at the Corner Pub? MGD, Bud, but wait! This Corner Pub brews their own beer and has a chef trained from the Culinary Institute of America. The Red was good and the Porter was pretty good. I tasted the smoked porter... interesting. A sip was probably enough but it was good.

We also visited The Grumpy Troll in Mount Horeb. We visited it twice. The first day we ate nachos and coupled them with the Vegetarian Black Bean Chili.
I tried Erik the Red and Tony had the Maggie IPA. We saw the Imperial Stouts being served around the bar and decided we should try one at the bar for dessert.




















While we sat at the bar sipping our Stout, we discussed some of the unique beers on their menu. They had a jalapeno flavored beer called Slow Eddie.

I am not much of a jalapeno lover but this was a tasty beer. On the way back to the hotel we both noticed a little delayed "heat" in our throats.

The Slow Eddie was so good we decided to come back the next day on our way home for another lunch and a growler to share with Rick and Steve (two of our best beer aficionado friends).

The Livery 4th Anniversary Festival

How do you celebrate your 4th anniversary in business? With 16 beers on tap and the Fabulous Thunderbirds in Concert!

It was an awesome night in Benton Harbor, MI on August 15th. Our ticket got us an all you can eat buffet of pulled pork, burgers and brats, corn on the cob, potato salad, watermelon and baked beans.

After we gorged ourselves on food and had a few beers (specifically the McGilligans IPA, the Herb Superb Black IPA, and the Double Paw IPA) we headed to the upstairs bar for the band.

I had no idea the T-Birds were that great of a band. I knew they had a couple of hits but they play can really play the blues.

There were only about 60 or so people in attendance so it was an intimate event. The band hung out after the show to sign autographs. I'd recommend checking them out if they are ever playing near you.

Vermont... who knew?

I went to Burlington, Vermont for a work thing and is our tradition, I checked beermapping.com to check out the microbrew situation.

Burlington itself had three microwbreweries so Tony had to fly out and join me for the tail end of the trip.

The Vermont Pub and Brewery was the first place I visited. I went the very first night in town and sampled their Bombay Grab IPA. Tony went one night while I was working and drank so much IPA, he finished the keg that night (whoo hoo!). He had wings and a burger and said the food was very good.

We returned later in the week and tried a few samples. We really love this picture since it shows off the great color differences. Left to right are Handsome Mick's Smoked Stout, Dogbite ESB, Forbidden Fruit (raspberry), Burley Irish Ale (Red) and Grand Slam Baseball Beer (summer blonde). Each beer was good but our favorite was the Burley Irish Ale (Red). It was delicious with a light roast flavor. Although the raspberry looks very pink, it was lightly flavored and not sweet. This was my first smoked beer and it was quite interesting. I could see drinking it while eating cheese or making it into a BBQ sauce.

South Burlington is home to Magic Hat Brewing Co. The tour was somewhat overrated but it lead to the free sample bar so it was worth it. The place is dark with quirky lights and signs but interesting. Did I mention they gave out free samples? We tried almost everything they had on tap that day including Single Chair Golden Ale, Lucky Kat IPA, The #9 Apricot Ale, Belgian Chocolate Stout, Wacko and one of the Odd Notions. I found a nice t-shirt with the logo in the gift shop and Tony got... wait for it... a magic hat.

On to The American Flatbread for dinner. The experience was all around fantastic. We each had an IPA to start. My TLA IPA was similar to the 3 Floyds Blackheart in my opinion (on the right). Tony had the 2G Double Dry Hopped TLA IPA cask conditioned.

I tried another Vermont local, Lawson's Finest Chinooker'd IPA. Tony had the Berkshire Lost Sailor IPA, also on cask conditioned. Both were very good.

The flatbreads are worth mentioning as well. I built my own with garlic oil sauce, corn, black beans, caramelized onions and Vermont goat cheese. Tony had organic tomato sauce, nitrate free pepperoni and sausage, onion, green pepper and cheese. The flatbreads were out of this world.

The next day we hit the road and went to The Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury (home of Ben and Jerry's). The beer gods were smiling on us the day we visited The Alchemist because they had five IPA's on tap. Tony told his good friend Steve that he had "found his final resting place."

Left to right are: Donovan's Red, Holy Cow IPA, Pappy's Porter, Celia IPA (gluten free, hence the name), The Crusher Double IPA, Rapture Dark IPA and Rapture Dark cask conditioned. Simply because of the amount of IPA's, this was our favorite pub. The atmosphere, staff, beer and customers were all what you'd want from a great pub. The Holy Cow IPA was my favorite with the most citrus flavor and Tony really liked the Rapture. The Celia was okay but had a honey and clover flavor which didn't really taste great. The young lady next to us, though, loved it and was thrilled that the had a gluten-free beer since she is a celiac.

We heard that The Bobcat Cafe in Bristol had decent beer and fantastic food but we were not hungry enough to order any food. The beer selection on the day of our visit was not to our liking. The IPA and ESB were not in stock so the hoppiest thing they had on tap was the Pilsner at 3.85% ABV and a mere 39 IBUs. I tried the Baltic Porter which actually was delicious. It had that Russian Imperial Stout flavor going on. The sign was cute, though.

Last, but certainly not least, we headed to Three Needs back in Burlington. We had heard lots about it from everyone we asked. We heard that the beers were hit or miss but that the clientele and the atmosphere were worth checking out. I think we were there a little too early to get the full effect but it was interesting.

Our trip to Burlington was fantastic. The beer, food and sights were great. Lake Champlain is beautiful and the town really does a lot to take advantage of the lake shore. Downtown Burlington is worth a visit. The town is very dog-friendly with water stations on the street and many stores posting "dogs welcome" signs.