beer travel – Page 16 – thebeergeek.com

December 12, 2010July 9, 2011

Birthday Wishes

For many people birthday wishes include sleeping in, spa treatments, and having friends and family wait on them hand and foot. I guess I wish for that, too, but my birthday doesn’t usually turn out that way. And I’m okay with that.

The last few years I have been whisked away to great beer places on my birthday, including Belgium, Australia (via San Francisco), and Ireland. Admittedly, however, this year started with a bit of grumbling.

We arrived in London the day before my birthday then proceeded to spend the afternoon and night drinking beer. With only a few hours sleep, Chris and I were on a train to Heathrow at 6:30am the next morning; not exactly the leisurely morning of birthday wishes. I was tired and cranky, but the complaining stopped when we reached Dublin city center later that day.

My first birthday treat was a pork belly lunch at the Bull and Castle near Christ Church. One of Dublin’s first craft beer bars, we’ve been going there for a number of years. They have a good selection of American craft beer (the bartender recognized my Speakeasy sweatshirt from the eyes on the back), but of course, I didn’t travel to Ireland to drink American beer.

I enjoyed a Galway Hooker from Roscommon to start, but eventually moved on to Buckley’s Golden Ale, a beer brewed by Carlow Brewing especially for Bull and Castle. Chris was happy to try Black Rock Irish Stout from Dungarvan Brewing for the first time and loved it. Dungarvan opened in April of this year to rave reviews and continues to do well in the still growing Irish craft beer market. However, Black Rock’s smoky flavor was a little out of my taste, so I ended my lunch with the tried and true O’Hara’s Irish Stout from Carlow Brewing.

Our friend John (aka thebeernut) told us about another great beer bar, Against The Grain, that opened a few months ago. Not too far from Bull and Castle, we braved the icy sidewalks to get there. When we found it, we weren’t sure the corner pub was open, but fortunately it was. The quiet pub was a lot brighter inside than it first appeared. It’s quiet and mellow (there are no TV’s or blaring music) and they have a stack of board games for patrons to play. It was the perfect place to continue recovering from my jet lag and lack of sleep to get more into the birthday spirit.

The Belfast Blonde, a clean and refreshing 4.3% pale ale, from College Green in Belfast, was my beer choice at Against The Grain, while Chris drank a Galway Hooker. Despite confusion about the pub being open (while we sat at the bar a pair of guys came and went thinking it was closed), the staff was friendly and so were the other few customers seated near us. If you’re looking for Irish craft beer in a pub off the beaten track, this is the place.

Some of the beer available at L Mulligan Grocer

We then made a quick stop at the Porterhouse in Temple Bar, so Chris could get his Wrassler’s 4X before ending my birthday night at L. Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter. This “eating and drinking emporium” opened in July 2010 and serves an amazing food selection along with Irish craft beer.

At the back of the long and narrow bar area is the warm and cozy main dining room. Each of the thick wooded tables had a ‘reserved’ sign made of Scrabble tiles, which made it all the more endearing to me and Chris. One of the waitstaff seated us at a table for 10, which confused me at first. As our friends trickled in, it became clear that Chris had something special in mind for me. He also had something special in mind for the people who so generously came out to celebrate my birthday, a California beer tasting.

The California beers were indeed enjoyed by our table, but I stuck with Trouble Brewing’s Ór, a refreshing golden ale. The food at our table was amazing. From the parsnip and chestnut soup and the potted crab to the turkey and ham roulade and fish special, everything was cooked to perfection. Conversation was never lacking, as we were all jolly and the Irish gift of gab was alive and well. The only thing that quieted us down was the dessert, a chocolate cake made with Trouble Brewing’s latest brew, a porter called Dark Arts. Crunchy on the back edge, moist inside, and topped with a cream cheese frosting, it was one of the best birthday cakes I’ve ever had! Plus, made with beer, it was a girl beer geek’s birthday dream.

The moral of the story? Birthday wishes come in all shapes and sizes. While my birthday started in an early, harried, and extremely tired state, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Early departures can be unsavory and difficult prospects during vacations, but I didn’t come all this way to stay in my hotel room. It was a magical and fun-filled day and we wouldn’t have gotten in nearly as much as we did if it wasn’t for Chris seeing the bigger picture during the planning stages of the trip. Go raibh maith agat to all who made my birthday wonderful!

View all the Dublin images

December 12, 2010July 9, 2011

London Crawling

Our original plan had us missing London on this trip and starting our European holiday in Dublin. But fortuitously, the Dublin flights necessitated passing through London to get to the Irish capital. If we needed to stop in London, we might as well stay for a day.

When we last visited London in August 2008, there were only a few breweries left in the British capital, Fullers, Meantime, and Brew Wharf. In the subsequent 26 months, London has experienced an American-style craft brewery explosion throughout the city.

An early landing at Heathrow gave us time for a full day of beer exploring in London. Luckily, we were able to take a quick shower at our hotel before getting on the Tube for Greenwich. We met our friend and beer guide for the day, Paul, at Meantime’s brand new Old Brewery. Located in the old Royal Naval College, the Old Brewery was the first in a succession of the new breweries we were going to visit on the day.

The full range of Meantime beers at the Old Brewery

Paul, Merideth and I took a seat in the bar area which occupies the front part of the building. Behind that separated by the short corridor, is the cafe by day, restaurant by night. It is also where the brewing plant is located. The six barrel kit is meant to be a research and development platform for Meantime, as well as experimenting with unique, limited edition brews.

The full range of Meantime brews were available for us to try. That wasn’t necessary, though, as we visited their pub on our last trip. Being in London, I started with their London Pale Ale on cask. Merideth, not being a real ale fan, was delighted to hear that the house brew they had on was a Kellerbier. She ordered it with great enthusiasm. I followed up my Pale Ale with the Kellerbier as I needed to try the house beer for the brewery to count on The List. Merideth really liked the Kellerbier, where I felt it could have had a bit more ‘keller’ feel to it. Both beers were light and very easy to drink, something that our first day, jet-lagged, minds appreciated. It was going to be a long day, so we moved on after both of us had filled the brewery list requirement.

The first of the ‘new breed’ of London breweries we visited was Kernel. Since Kernel first came on the London scene, there has been a great amount of buzz on the Interwebs about their brews. This was the one place we HAD to visit on our one day visit. A good 10 minute walk from London Bridge, Kernel was located in an industrial space below the railroad tracks. Oddly enough, the first smell that greeted us as we entered what we thought was the brewery was cheese. It turns out that Kernel shares their long and narrow space with a cheese maker and an importer. As we passed the huge wheel of Parmesan, we had to remind ourselves we were there for beer.

Very happy while trying the beers at Kernel Brewery

Brewer/owner Evin O’Riordain runs a hands on operation at Kernel, down to the “hand crafted” beer labels that adorn their bottles. We were able to try three beers during our visit. Thanks to Phil Lowery who magically appeared while we were waiting for Evin to return from a delivery, we started with a rich and powerful Imperial Stout. At 12.5% ABV, the inky dark brew, while not best for our jet lag, was the perfect antidote for the chill in the air.

When Evin returned, we made our introductions and continued with the sampling. Simcoe IPA, at 7.1% ABV, was an example of what sets this new breed of brewer apart, the marrying of English brewing traditions with American hops. The IPA was one of those ‘wow’ beers that could challenge anything the West Coast has to offer. Our last beer, an 7.8% ABV Export Stout, was based on a 1890 London recipe.

The next stop on our beer journey in London took us from south of the Thames to north London. Getting off the train at White Hart Lane, it was a another 10 minute walk to the industrial park that housed Redemption Brewing.

Owner/Brewer Andy Moffat did what a lot of us in the beer geek community talk about doing. He left an unfulfilling banking job in London to start Redemption Brewing. Another small operation, Redemption opened in January 2010 and is quickly building a good reputation in the London beer community.

The first beer we tried was still in the conditioning tanks. At 3.8% ABV, Andy was reluctant to call it an IPA but it was a hop bomb nonetheless. Dry-hopped with Cascades (if I remember correctly), this brew was a perfect example of the marriage of a low ABV English beer with American hops. The second beer we tried was at the opposite end of the scale. Someone suggested to Andy that he barrel age his Urban Dusk, thus Bourbon Dusk was born. Lacking barrels. Andy used oak chips soaked in rum. For Merideth and I, not being spirits drinkers, the result was a very hot brew. However, after a couple years of mellowing, it is easily anticipated that Bourbon Dusk will be a real gem.

Our final brewery of the day was Brodie’s in East London. The oldest of the new London breweries we visited, sibling owners Jamie and Lizzie Brodie took over the abandoned Sweet William Brewery and recreated Jamie’s homebrew recipes. The resulting brews are served conveniently next door at their pub, the William IV.

Enjoying one of the many hoppy brews at the William IV

At the William IV, our group of three doubled. We were joined by Paul’s wife Eilís as well as two Marks, one of the Dredge variety and the other from Beer. Birra. Bier. The William IV looks looks like many a London pub, complete with the requisite set of lager taps. There was a fair sized crowd with many waiting for Arsenal’s Champions League match to start on the TV.

Walking up to the bar, the regular London pub image disappeared. That’s when I noticed the dizzying array of Brodie’s Beers on handpumps, sixteen in all. While I started with the more English style IPA, Merideth, true to her heritage, ordered the Californian, a 5.3% ABV, more West Coast style brew. I moved on to try the Californian, Citra, Amirilla, all delicious low ABV, highly hopped beers.

We were having a great time talking beer with Paul and the two Marks and catching up with Eilís. Unfortunately, jet lag really started to kick in and the conversations began to drift off. I kept having to stop myself from staring blankly into space. Merideth later admitted to doing the same thing.

Euston Tap... tiny from the outside, tiny on the inside

But we still had one more stop, luckily in the direction of our hotel. Since opening a few weeks ago, Euston Tap has been getting a lot of attention for their international beer selection. The second in a maybe growing chain of train station multitaps, the pub is housed in a tiny obelisk-looking building out front of Euston Station. Walking in, I half expected this huge TARDIS-like bar area. But Euston Tap is not the TARDIS. It was as tiny on the inside as it looked on the outside.

The cool looking beer taps at Euston Tap

An impressive selection of international beers, eight cask and twenty keg, confronted my fading mind. I wasn’t even going to try to contemplate some of 150 bottle choices. Mark Dredge offered advice suggesting I try the Thornbridge Wild Swan as well as the Thornbridge/Darkstar collaboration, Thornstar. Familiar with both those names, I tried both.

Despite the enjoyable company and a hoppin’ Euston Tap, I was pretty numb at this point. It was pushing midnight and we had to be on the train at 6:30am the following morning. We parted ways with our friends and returned to Paddington. A nice comfy bed was calling our names.

View all the London images

December 6, 2010January 25, 2013

Xmas Trees & Beer on the Central Coast

Apparently, we have a new Thanksgiving weekend tradition. For the second year running, we journeyed down to the southern Central Coast to check out their growing beer scene. Last year, we concentrated on the San Luis Obispo/Paso Robles area [Read A New Beer Destination – California’s Central Coast]. This year, our focus was the Santa Ynez Valley.

Blue skies reigned on our Christmas tree hunt

But we had one piece of business to take care of first. With a busy schedule prior to leaving for Europe in early December, we needed to get our Christmas tree. Limited time meant that driving an hour and half north to our normal Christmas tree farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains was out of the question. After a quick internet search, I located Holloway’s Christmas Tree Farm in Nipomo, just south of Pismo Beach.

Three hours after leaving our house, we were wandering the fields of Holloway’s Farm under a warm California November sun. Out of our familiar Santa Cruz Mountain Christmas tree farm environment, we struggled to pick just the right tree. After taking 45 minutes to explore the whole farm, we finally chose the very first tree Merideth had picked out as a possible candidate.

Rooney’s Irish Pub houses Shanty Irish Brewing Co.

With our Christmas tree hunt completed, it was time for a beer. We hoped to satisfy our thirst at Rooney’s Irish Pub, a short drive away in the tiny town of Orcutt. Visiting Rooney’s was a gamble because we weren’t sure they were pouring their own beers yet. Rooney’s opened last summer, but due to construction issues with the brewery, there was a delay getting Shanty Irish Brewing Co. up and running.

We’d been to Orcutt before. In fact, it was last Thanksgiving when we visited Orcutt Brewing Company. Having been to this seemingly sleepy little burg, we were somewhat surprised to discover that Rooney’s was one of those ‘upscale’ Irish pubs. Bustling early on a Friday afternoon, the pub was filled with multiple large family groups. The bar area was crowded with college football fans watching Auburn vs. Alabama. After some difficulty, Merideth ascertained that they did have ONE house beer on tap. One beer was all we needed to count Rooney’s on The List, so we grabbed a table in the bar area.

Sausage Plate and Pork Belly Sliders at Rooney’s

The beer was a 9% ABV Amber. Admittedly, I thought that was an odd choice for a first beer. The dark amber brew had a very mild flavor with a slight amount of alcohol hotness, which became more prominent as it warmed up. Nothing in Rooney’s first beer said ‘wow’ to us. But, it was a credible first effort.

The star of the show at Rooney’s was the food. Merideth and I shared Pork Belly Sliders and a Sausage Plate with Pickled Vegetables to accompany our beer. Both were excellent.

We look forward to visiting Rooney’s again in the future when they have their full beer lineup available. When we do, I think I’ll get my own order of Pork Belly sliders.

With fortuitous timing, we visited Figueroa Mountain Brewing, located in an industrial park just off Hwy 101 in Buellton, during their ‘soft’ opening. However, nothing said soft as we walked through the crowded reception area into the even more crowded tasting room. A boisterous and lively crowd chatted in groups as the staff busily tried to keep the beer flowing and glasses full.

Three of their five beers were available to try on opening day. All were clean and well-crafted, very impressive for a new brewery. Wrangler Wheat is a unfiltered American-style Wheat beer. Davy Brown Ale, named after a Santa Ynez Valley pioneer, was a delicious Brown Ale. Most impressive, though, was the Hoppy Poppy IPA, a 6.5% 65 IBU brew that even Merideth, a non-hophead, really liked. It’s not often we agree on the favorite beer.

While drinking our sample set of beers, Merideth and I both marveled at the swanky tasting room digs. The owners seemed to spare no expense in making an industrial building feel warm and cozy. The dark rustic wood tables and wood paneling in the tasting area were a nice contrast to the cinder block walls of the brewery.

Success is never guaranteed, but we left thinking that Figueroa Mountain Brewing is going to do very well.

Still in Buellton, we finished our day across the highway at Firestone Walker’s Tap Room Restaurant. Huge fans of their beers, every visit to the Central Coast requires a stop to fill our growler. While we are frequent visitors to the tasting room in Paso Robles, this was our first visit to the restaurant. Despite being much larger than the tasting room, the restaurant had a familiar and comfortable vibe. The only difference was the addition of an open kitchen and large dining area.

My Union Jack and Fish Tacos and Merideth’s Velvet Merlin and Mac-n-Cheese were a perfect way to end a productive day on the Central Coast.

View all the pictures from our day…

December 2, 2010January 25, 2013

The Urbane Beer Hikers

We’re not unfamiliar with walking all over a city visiting pubs, brewpubs and breweries. From our earliest days of beer travel, this was our favorite mode of transportation.

Turns out, there is a whole website devoted to this mode of beer crawl, urbanbeerhikes.com. Thanks to our friend, Chris Devlin, we met the website’s owner and urban beer hike guru, Dave, for a Saturday hike around San Francisco.

Starting the hike with a smile and a beer

On a pleasant early November day, our five-some began the hike at City Beer Store. The quintet included Dave, Chris Devlin, Renee, Merideth and myself. This was Dave’s first visit to the City so we would be covering familiar ground on our hike.

The beers that began our day included Russian River Redemption, Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela, Auburn Alehouse Festbier and Bear Republic “Mach 10”.

With a good base of beers, it was time to find some food. In a city where walking can can be quite vertical and challenging, our journey to the Public House at A&T Park (1.4 miles) was typical of what we mostly would experience on the day, nice and flat.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo on draft at the Public House

In contrast to the previous week’s World Series bedlam and subsequent celebrations, the Public House was relatively quiet on this Saturday afternoon.

While most of our crew ordered the house cask beer, Billy Sunday Bitter, Merideth began with Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout. Accompanying the beers at the Public House where high-end pub grub items such as Mac-n-cheese, Pulled Pork Sliders, a BLT and Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream.

It was a short walk to 21st Amendment (.4 miles). Where the Public House was quiet, 21A was buzzing with activity. We ended up grabbing a table up in the loft.

It was the first week of the BRU/SFO Project, the Belgian-inspired brews month at both 21A and Magnolia. There were three BRU/SFO creations available on our visit. Merideth and I both passed on the cocoa Witbier to try Via, a really nice Belgian-style Single. Our valiant leader, Dave, couldn’t turn down an opportunity to have Watermelon Wheat with a slice a watermelon.

After 21A, we had the longest leg of the day, a 1.8 mile walk to North Beach. If there are any hills on this hike, it would be the walk up Columbus Ave. After a quick stop at Golden Boy Pizza for some more food, we walked around the corner to the Church Key.

The Church Key is one of my favorite beer spots in the City. I just love the laid back neighborhood atmosphere of the tiny bar. Unfortunately, on this evening, the beer selections excited no one in our group. So, we were ‘one and done’.

From the quiet Church Key, it was another short walk (.4 mile) to the opposite end of the spectrum, the loud and boisterous La Trappe. Descending the stairs into the cellar, we were greeted by a din of noise from an almost packed house. Luckily, we found a few seats at the bar.

Another one of my favorite beer destinations in the city, I could only manage a St. Bernardus Christmas beer before the Saturday night crowd got the best of us. Looking back, La Trappe maybe should have been our first North Beach stop.

We finished the evening at Specs’ Twelve Adler Museum Cafe, the first new place of the day for Merideth and me. Better known as just Specs’, this old-school dive bar was only a half mile from La Trappe. Like any good dive, Specs’ was located down a alley.

We found a table in the very,very dim bar and ordered a pitcher of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. To accompany our beer, Merideth ordered a wedge of cheese and saltines. After spending the day at the higher end of the San Francisco beer scene, munching on cheese and saltines chased with Pale Ale in a dimly lit bar was oddly satisfying way to close our evening.

In the end, from City Beer Store to Specs’, we walked a short 4.5 miles. Adding in the walk to and from our hotel, Merideth and I walked close to 7 miles. Not bad for a day’s beer drinking.

View a map of of our hike

[Read Merideth’s article on another San Francisco Beer Hike]

Here are a few more pictures to enjoy…

November 21, 2010May 24, 2013

New beergeek.TV Episode – GABF 2010

Barrel-aged Life and Limb at the Great American Beer Festival

“GABF 2010” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.

This was our third straight year in Denver attending the Great American Beer Festival. After our first visit we thought we could take or leave America’s largest beer tasting. But since then we have grown quite fond of GABF.

So enjoy our latest beer adventures at the Great American Beer Festival…

For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.