Chicago, Day I - Three Floyds

So today turned into a hajj of sorts. Ever since my "craft brew enlightenment" if you will, I have been a fan of Three Floyds, even if I've only had a handful of their beers. This brewery, touted as one of the best in the country, crafts some aggressive brews such as Dreadnought, Behemoth, and the highly coveted Dark Lord, along with standards such as Robert the Bruce, Pride and Joy Mild, and their flagship Alpha King.

So how has FFF as it's know in the craft beer world become my Mecca of sorts? Well, Mecca used to be Pottsville, PA, the home of Yuengling (been there, done that - twice) was unseated by the boys named Floyd after my first encounter with Alpha King, such a solid American Pale Ale that it changed my take on the style. From there I was so interested in this brewery that I HAD to get to it's home in Munster, IN.

So after a quick search for a hotel, my Sales Manager and I trekked the two or so miles to the brewpub (coincidentally attached to the brewery) for dinner and a few brews. After a pint of AK and the Royale with Cheese, I started hitting the big ones. I started with a pint of the Tatooed Monk, a dark hefeweizen, quite like a dunkelweizen, only not as roasty, only a hint of black patent hidden behind the fresh hefe quality. Next up was the Blackheart English IPA. Served in a half pint due to it's high alcohol (9%-ish, according to the bartender), this golden elixir had the perfect balance of English malt and hops to make it a fantastic DIPA. Such a tasty brew. I capped the night off with a snifter of the Behemoth, an aggressively hopped barley wine with a ton of malt balance and the alcohol to go with it. Thankfully, said Sales Manager was kind enough to be DD.

I left with a small arsenal of bottles and bombers, the price of which I won't comment on here. It was a fantastic experience, well worth the monetary expense. Hell, it was my birthday present to myself. If you're in the Chicago area, stop by. You won't be disappointed.

Cheers,

Dave

One Night in Ft. Wayne

. . . on our way to Chicago, and we had a few calls to make in Ft. Wayne. After a fantastic lunch of "hot dogs" and chili and dumplings at Tony Packo's of M*A*S*H fame, we rolled into Ft. Wayne late in the afternoon. After securing lodging for the evening, we took a quick trip downtown to Mad Anthony Brewery for dinner. Great joint. I had what they call an "unwrap", which was basically a tortilla-like shell covered in delicious toppings (I opted for the Hawaiian). Great idea and a tasty treat, to say the least. Along with dinner, I partook in a sampler of their brews and a couple pints, their American Red and Imperial Porter. While what constituted the sampler was pretty standard, both the red and Impy Porter were super tasty. The Red was more of an IPA, only red, and the Porter was absolutely fantastic. They are currently barrel-aging the Porter to be ready in six months, making me want to schedule a return trip just for it. Overall, a great start to what should be an exceptional beer week, including stops at Three Floyds Brewing, Flossmoor Station Brewpub, and The Map Room in Chicago.

Stay tuned for some more jealousy.

Cheers,

Dave

The District Part Deux

Well, technically Frederick, MD. After the work day, I headed north on I-270 for the 4+ hour trip home. Now that time estimate doesn't account for traffic. So after battling Friday DC traffic to Frederick, I was rather hungry. Luckily, Frederick is the home of two brew pubs, Barley and Hops and Brewer's Alley (and some other breweries, like Flying Dog). I chose to have dinner at the former. Now I have almost stopped in here what must be a half dozen or times or so. When I would be working in Frederick, I stayed directly across the street, but for some unknown reason decided to patronize the Houlihan's directly in front of the hotel than the brewpub across the street. So this time through, I decided to finally try it.

The brewpub is classic American decor - a wide open, warehouse-esque room with beer-related paraphernalia throughout. I took a seat at the corner of the bar and ordered a sampler and an order of wings. The sampler was 6 brews, 2 oz. each, which was nice because you could drink it and still have a pint and not be 5 beers in, but it only gave you a few sips to judge the beer. Now I've rated beer from less, so I was cool with it. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the beers. The Annapolis Rocks Pale Ale was the best offering (great malt and hop balance) and the Tuscadora Red was solid (caramel and chocolate notes). The service was fantastic - definitely top notch. You could tell that the regulars were there as much for Chelsea's service as the food and beer. The food was pretty standard, but then again I did only have the the wings, so don't take my word for it.

I would definitely recommend stopping in for a pint when in the area. Nothing off the charts, but a great little local brewpub with some good offerings.

Cheers,

Dave

One Night in DC

Well, not actually DC proper, otherwise I'd be writing about The Brickskeller and Capital City Brewing. No, this "One Night Only" trip to the DC metro area found me in Falls Church, VA around Seven Corners which is officially (IMO) the worst intersection in the US. But I digress, we're all here for the food and beer.

So where did I hit tonight? Well, after battling rush hour traffic and checking into my hotel, I headed over to Sweetwater Tavern to meet an old college buddy (a current theme on TravelBLOG) for dinner. The brewpub was warehouse-esque, one large dining room with a horseshoe bar in the center. They offered 5 taps (sparse for a brewpub) and an moderate upscale menu. I ordered a sampler of the brews to rate along with an appetizer of seared ahi tuna and the jambalaya pasta for my meal. The food was great, service was a bit slow (the place was slammed), but the beers lacked anything standout. They were solid offerings, but nothing about them put them much above par for the course. The Pale Ale was pretty standard, but the Oatmeal Stout and the Vienna were tasty, but not mind blowing. I guess I could have expected worse from a chain.

For a night cap, I ended up at the Dogfish Alehouse near my hotel. This was a converted Uno's Pizzeria (I had been there a couple years prior), and offered all the DFH standards and seasonals. I thoroughly enjoyed the Festina Peche on draft, and was quite intrigued by the Alehouse 75 (combo of 90 min and 60 min). There was also live music by a local band, Brother Shamus, a sextet that had some serious musical chops and only added to the ambiance, even if they were a bit loud playing to an almost empty house.

A pretty laid back night overall. If you find yourself in this area, definitely check out DFH, but don't go out of your way for Sweetwater. It was pretty standard.

That is all.

Cheers,

Dave

New Jersey, Part II

Ah, New Jersey and your lax liquor laws (as compared to Pennsylvania). It's great to spend time in a state that has independently run liquor stores, especially the kind that can sell all types of alcoholic beverages. It is in one of these little gems I found myself on Thursday night (on my way to meet said college buddy). I guess it's the fact that there's not a store on this level within 30 miles of my home that I still get all giddy walking through the doors. At this moment the true name of the store escapes me, but I'm sure "Discount" and "Wines" were in there somewhere.

At any rate, somehow I curtailed my wanton desire to spend a small fortune and left only with a bottle of Flying Dog Barrel Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter. Quite a find, IMO, among a solid selection of sixers, bombers, and 750s. The only thing that go me was the complete disorganization of the aisles. This did, though, make it more like a treasure hunt than shopping.

That evening, we grabbed dinner at Old Man Rafferty's in South Hillsborough. This place has a great atmosphere, sort of up scale American pub. The menu offers normal pub fare with some house offerings. Definitely get the chili (ether a bowl or on the Nachos) and I would recommend the Reuben, which was probably one of the best I've ever had, and that's saying a lot. On the beer front, they have the usual craft beer suspects such as Hoegaarden and Sam Adams. I had a draft of the only offering that I'd never head of, Acme California IPA. This was a hop-centric offering with a modest malt backbone. Unfortunately I didn't take notes, so we're going from memory, but if it serves me well, it was a solid offering. All in all, this place, be it off the beaten path, is definitely worth the stop.

Friday was a travel day, so after a quick meeting first thing in the morning, I was on my way. Now being the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, I decided to take the "back way" across the Commonwealth, steering clear of any major interstate. That, and it just so happened that this way took me past Selin's Grove Brewing Co. in (where else) Selinsgrove, PA. Now I had heard a lot of positive feedback on this place, and it didn't disappoint. Set in historic Selinsgrove, PA, this brewpub is in the basement of an old house that has been turned into a commercial office building. Coming off the main drag, you wind down a stone staircase to a small patio surrounded by a garden. The interior is a rather "rustic colonial" motif, dark with low ceilings. It's a very comfortable atmosphere with a small bar. About 10 taps and two beer engines dispense a rotating cast of brews, the latest of which is the acclaimed The Phoenix Kriek. This alone was the reason I stopped. I needed to pick up a growler to share with my tasting club. While I was waiting on it to be filled, though, I did have a pint of SNAFU IPA on cask. This was absolutely incredible. It was a roasty, well hopped IPA weighing in at 7.2% that reminded me of Stone XI and my home brewed Batch XI. This would be a staple if I could get it bottled. Just fantastic.

I didn't get to eat at the brewpub, only the pint and growler and I was on my way. I'll be sure to post my thoughts on the kriek, which I sampled while there, but didn't get the full effect since it was intermingled with the hoptasticness of the SNAFU. Selin's Grove Brewing is a definite "must see". I will be returning to this establishment.

As for future travel, I will be heading to DC tomorrow, and luckily staying next to a brewpub. Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Dave

North Jersey, Part I

So It's Wednesday, and I'm playing catch from earlier in the week. Here we go.

I hit up Harvest Moon Brew Pub in New Brunswick right off the bat Monday evening for a sampler and an appetizer before meeting an old college buddy. I had seven of their offerings and a bowl of their French Onion Ale Soup (which was fantastic). The beer was hit or miss with some of the best offerings being their Elmes' Mild Manor (great stylistic example, IMO), Helles Bock Lager, (a clean example of a helles bock - very tasty), and their Full Moon Pale Ale (tops, IMO - a very tasty pale ale without being overpowering).

The Hops(squared) IIPA was the most interesting offering that they had. From reading the reviews, I expected a big American DIPA. It was far from it. Now I don't know if I should attribute this to the hop shortage, but the brewer used American, English, and German hops to make this intriguing ale. The hop flavor came from all of the varietals, causing them to compete with each other on the palate, giving this a peculiar character. It was just odd. Now, it did grow on me, but where I expected a big grapefruit/citrus nose and taste, I got a combative earthy/floral/semi-resiny citrus treat that really made my tongue go crazy. Good try, but I wouldn't recommend trying it again. There was just too much going on, and without a very solid backbone to balance it out, it really didn't work. But Kudos on trying.

Tuesday found me at Wegman's Wine and Spirits. Living in PA, anytime I can buy liquor/beer at a grocer, I'm happy. This place didn't dissapoint. It had a great bottle selection, both cold and shelf-temp, ranging from craft and import sixers to 750s and bombers from all over. The Belgian selection was pretty solid - nothing exotic, but it had the usual suspects for decent prices. I picked up a couple 750s from Ommegang, (Three Philosophers for $6.69 = awesome) and a bomber of Mikkeller. Not a huge haul, but I could have spent a lot more. Oh, and I did. Later in the evening, with the aforementioned college buddy, we returned to said grocer to pick up a couple sixers. My choice - Southern Tier IPA (very solid - I enjoyed it).

Today, said college buddy and I hit up The Office Beer Bar for a late dinner and a few pints. I stuck with a favorite, Stone IPA. The selection was pretty lacking for being called a "beer bar" with the usual craft suspects. The beer list was only about 45-60 offerings, and lacked a solid Belgian section, which IMO, makes a bar a "beer bar". Food wise, this place is solid, though. I had the Philly Steak and Cheese which was money, while the chicken sandwich my friend had looked tasty as well.

That's pretty much the week so far. I'm planning on hitting a few fun joints on the trip home, so there will be more to come.

Cheers,

Dave

First Day!! First Post!!

Yeah, so I'm not excited as the multiple exclamation points say that I am. But I am rather excited. So here's the extention of the Muckney Brewing blog on my end. This is my "travel-log". Now that I'm back on the road for work, I'll be able to put down my impression on an area, their local food, and of course, their local beer. I'm sure it will be focused more on the beer/food angle than the actual "touristy" angle, only due to my lack of time to run around and my abundance of time to be in the pub.

Hopefully, I'll be able to shed some light on some lesser known food/beer gems throughout my travels. Stay tuned to find out.

We're starting with Northern New Jersy this week. A bunch more to come tomorrow. Notes and such. Enjoy the evening, and hopefully the blog.

Cheers,

Dave