The Beer Traveller

For my last night in the Pensacola area Rick wanted to try out Hurricane Brewing in Mobile, AL.  After spending most of the day updating my ‘Beer Library’, a few accidental key strokes deleted all of my work from the past 5 hrs. You can probably imagine I was more than ready to head the bottle once Rick got home.  He temporarily eased my pain w/ an Old Chub until he was ready to leave.
An hour in the car gave us some time to catch up on stories like Rick watching a cement  truck rear-end a logging truck & decapitating the driver.  We arrived in Mobile after a minor wrong turn only to find us in a sketchy area of town.  No worries, the brewery was better than expected.  Clean, choices, & Southern hospitality.
The menu gave several good options, including southern specialities pulled pork & catfish.  Rick & I both settled on the brick oven pizza; he b/c of a co-workers recommendation & me b/c of the waitress’s (Sarah’s) recommendation.
I was unsure what to expect in regards to beer as the South (land of the almighty bud & miller drinkers) doesn’t exactly scream quality.  To our surprise, the beer was phenomenal.  The Satsuma wheat was Undrinkable, but I’m told it’s either a love it or hate it beer.  Everything else was better after that.  Floating Car Blonde Ale led to an issue b/c of the menu advertising it as such, but the placemat stating it was a Golden Lager.  This provided me the opp to question & educate Ms. Sarah on the differences between ales & lagers.  She commented on her wish for the brewmaster to be around…he arrived & clarified later in the night.  Although the Pilsner was stated as using some leftover raws, I found that it was one of the better Pilsner’s I’ve had.  It & the Projected Path Amber Ale both received a Likable even though they tend to be two of my lesser liked styles.  Both the Insurance Adjustor Pale & Storm Surge Stout received an Exceptional.
We later met both with Manager Joe & Brewer Todd.  Todd was not as expected & was an endless supply of brewing knowledge.  Not only does he do all the brewing, but he also makes the wine at a local winery & appears to have several other projects going on as well.  Rick & I both commented on how this was the first time we had heard anything about Esters since college. Usually I get an ear full of the different barley, hop, & yeast varies used in brewing, but Todd provided a chemistry course on the subtleties.  Easily could ace a course on the said material, but he is actually self-taught.
Hats off to Hurricane for making some killer food & even better beer.  I always appreciate brewers than know quality even though local competition is non-existent.