The Beer Traveller

Upon my arrival to Montgomery Brewing Co, I was initially excited for 2 reasons.  First & foremost I scored a no pay parking spot directly in front of the establishment.  I’m not used to that in a city of this size. Secondly, there were a large number of business professionals leaving the building; usually that’s a good sign that the food is good.  Not necessarily the beer considering it was lunch time during a week day.
I was soon proven wrong.  The menu could not have been any more basic; typical burgers, salads, chx, fried this, & fried that.  I chose the shrimp po-boy (i.e. heavily breaded shrimp on a where’s the beef bun) w/ a side of fries.  Combined w/ the beer I guess this could have also been called Atkin’s nightmare.  The fries were excellent, but this isn’t surprising as the South has kind of mastered the art of deep fat frying.
The beer also left much to be desired.  It wasn’t horrible, but it definitely wasn’t inspiring.  I probably could have guessed this as the room was decorated with Miller Lite, Sharps, & Michelob Ultra signage.  I hate to make generalizations (yea right), but it was obvious that this was a southern bar that catered to true southerners (bud & miller drinkers).  This was further supported by the fact that they had what looked like a mini-fridge, that was stocked w/ cigarettes, behind the bar. The Goat Hill Pale Ale, Montgomery Blonde, & Wipe Oat Stout all scored a Likable although they were very low on the Likable scale.  The Lightening Route Light was barely Drinkable while the Riverboat Red was Drinkable.
Although rather trivial in nature, the one thing that would keep me from coming back here or recommending it was that they charged me $0.75 for an extra side of sauce.  It’s a matter of principal!  I don’t get charged for using a sprinkle of salt or an extra squirt of ketchup/catsup.  If your balance sheet is that close where you need to charge for a side of sauce & can’t figure out how to roll that additional cost (maybe $0.05) into the overall picture, you shouldn’t be in business!

I was not planning on going to McGuire’s in Destin as I had already hit the one in Pensacola w/ Rick & was told the beer is the same in both places.  However a crappy day in Panama City Beach calls for a road trip.  Both Kevin (host) & Jen had the day off & the three of us decided to go to Destin as it had slightly more going on than Panama City Beach.  After a afternoon on the miniature golf coarse it was time to go find a 19th hole.
We just happened to be by McGuire’s.  I already knew the quality of the other establishment & figured this would be a sure bet for a great beer & some great apps.  Inside was very similar to the Pensacola location with the exception of a lot smaller & a lot less money.  We happened to meet the brewer, Tom, & were given a tour of the facilities.  Although most brewers love their craft, Tom takes it to a new level.  I have yet to meet anyone that has as much energy & enthusiasm for brewing (& beer in general).  Not only was he enthusiastic, but he also was a wealth of knowledge.
He was in the process of brewing a double hefe & allowed me a pint even though it had yet to hit the menu.  He was a little disappointed as he had treated the staff to a sampling a couple nights back & they ended up polishing off 15 gallons.  Guess that’s a testament to his skills.  Keep up the great work Tom!

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.

McGuire’s was a large Irish decorated pub/restaurant that seemed to go on forever.  Many different rooms that seemed to come from nowhere. It was a combination of mounted animals & twisted Irish humor…two of my favorite things.  I guess the other thing that should be mentioned is the $500,000 in cash that had been stapled throughout the establishment.   Rick & I both agreed that we were not the type of individuals to get off on having our hard earned cash stapled to the ceiling.  I’m not quite sure of the enjoyment folks get from this, but we appeared in the minority from the looks of things.  There’s a place in Portland, Kell’s, that does the same thing but they put a thumb tack through the dollar & catapult it into the 15 ft ceiling.  They also donate the money once a year. 
McGuire’s brews generally ranked above average & got better as they got darker.  Towards the bottom of the list were the Old Fashion Ale which I immediately called horse piss or bud light want-a-be.  McGuire’s called it “similar to but a step up from ordinary American factory beer”.  Guess I was under the impression that the point of a brewpub is to move away from that awful garbage.  The Irish Raspberry Wheat also ranked a low Drinkable.  On the other side of the spectrum were the Irish Cream Stout rating a respectable Likable & the seasonal Imperial Pale Ale coming out with an Exceptional. 
In regards to food, it doesn’t get much better.  Rick & myself split some potato skins; I’m not usually a fan as they tend to be pretty bland, but these were delicious.  The prime rib that I had was probably one of the best steaks I’ve ever had.  I actually cut myself off mid meal so as not to ruin the beef w/ an upset & bloated stomach. 
McGuires ranks high with both the critics & local magazines…I couldn’t agree more.

I had arrived at Murray’s house in Matthews, NC.  Originally I planned on hitting a brewpub in Charlotte before going to his house, but per usual I was running late.  After  doing a quick catching up & meeting both his new (not really but 1st time I met her) lady & their dogs, it was off to the Hops Grill & Brewery. 
Hops had a major franchise feel to it; this may have had to do with the fact that it is indeed just that.  The smoking didn’t help matters either.  I was happy to have been able to hit another brewpub, but this place was sub-par at best.  The sampler came out & was set in front of me in no particular order w/ no labeling. Usually I can differentiate pretty well between beers, but when they’re very close in color & flavors are bland it can be near impossible.  Luckily our waitress gave me another run-down of what was what.  Everything from the Clearwater Light to the Hammerhead Red to the Hops Pale Ale fell under Drinkable.  They only had two Likables out of the bunch, the Alligator Ale (mahogany porter) & the Fun Zen Bock. As for the Lightening Bold Gold, it tasted of vinegar & received the dreaded Undrinkable.  The food was decent, but nothing spectacular.  Luckily for me I had some great company.  Thanks for footing the bill Mister Murray.

At first I thought my GPS was fucking with me when it said to turn on to Lowes road & all I saw was a Lowes.  Than off to the side across the way was Carolina Brewery. It didn’t look like much & felt kind of diner-ish when I walked in the restaurant door.  The bartender was sitting inside the door reading the paper, but immediately snapped to attention the second I walked in.  I was even greeted w/ the quintessential “Hun” that is so commonly used in the South.  The bar provided a little more atmosphere than the restaurant, but still wasn’t worth writing home about (blogging’s a different story). 
They only had 6 Beers on tap, but I’ll take 6 great Beers over 12 okay ones any day of the week.  As I was working on my notes, a gentleman a few stools over inquired where I had been travelling.  Turns out Jim had actually spent several years in Bainbridge Island; close to my home base of Seattle.  We chatted for quite a while as he filled me in on the local scene.
My lunch soon arrived.  I figured BBQ would be a good bet & I was right.  I lived in AL for a summer & remember how much better BBQ was in the South vs. the North.  Doesn’t mean you guys won the war!  Served in typical NC fashion with a vinegar sauce & coleslaw on the actual pulled pork.  Excellent.  The fries matched the restaurant…diner-ish. 
Back to the Beers…did I mention they were excellent.  Both the Flagship IPA & Oatmeal Porter were Exceptional.  As for the other 4 Beers, they all ranked Likable.  Keep up the great work guys!

I only had limited time in DC as I was hoping to make it to Cary, NC for some free room & board.  I checked my usual source www.goodbeermaps.com for a list of local breweries, but for some reason this one map was not coming up.  Off to google & what pops up but Capitol City Brewing Company. What better place to hit than the first brew pub to open (1992) in our nations capitol after prohibition.  One of the only smart things the Gov’t has done; although it was preceded by the dumb-ass decision to outlaw alcohol in the 1st place.
The place was a little hard to find as they are actually located on the backside of what their address states.  Needless to say, if there is Beer…I will find it.  Kelly was lucky enough to be taking care of me as I ordered both a Blackend Ahi Tuna salad & Beer Sampler; not in that order.  I received more looks than usual as I started snapping photos & taking notes in this town of VIPS & extra security.  It was almost fun seeing how nervous I could make people.  Also noticed I was a lil’ underdressed for this establishment. My uniform of Beer Traveller shirt, shorts, & Birks stuck out like a Democrat @ a Ron Paul rally in this sea of suits. The Beers were better than expected considering the other crap that comes out of this city.  For the most part they were pretty average with the exception of the Extra Pale which received an Exceptional.  Unclear (like most things in DC) what makes it ‘extra’ since it had less hops & less bite than their regular Pale, Pale Rider Ale. Either way I’ll take a good Beer when I can.  The Capitol Kolsch was decent, but nothing special.  Fuel, the imperial coffee stout, was definitely strong (10% AWV), but somewhere lost the taste of both coffee & roasted malt.  The Hefe was very fruity & Likable.  ESB was all bite w/ no flavor, but the English Strong came back strong & balanced.

It was than off to do the tourist thing & Kelly was a dear in pointing me in the right (I was actually already there) direction.  Capitol City is a well done place with great food & decent brews.  They also have 2 other locations, one of which brews all their beer.

I had gotten a later start than I had wanted from Brownville & was aiming to hit York, PA by nightfall.  But I would be traveling through my hometown & though I’d give a shout-out to the ol’ man to see if he was free for lunch.  Unfortunately he had an appt & wouldn’t be free till about 2PM.  This was going to put me behind schedule, but I’ve come to realize how important it is to take family time whenever you can get it.
I arrived a little early & made my way underground to Empire Brewing Company.  The place was empty other than a few of the employees chatting around the bar.  I proceeded to order a sampler.  As sometimes is the case, as soon as I started taking pics & notes, someone decided to stop over & find out what I was hope to.  I was lucky enough to have it be Tim Butler, the head brewer. I gave him the low down on my little adventure & he was more than accommodating, offering to pick-up my sampler as well as sample me anything more I wanted.  Dad showed up & said I’d be having 2 more surprise guests. Shortly thereafter, Megan the other half of Melissa showed.  We commenced ordering while Kim the bartender raved about how good my plan was.  Commenting on the possible potential once I take myself off the beer circuit.  While we were awaiting our food, Tim came back over & offered a tour of the brewing facilities. This guy knows his stuff (hence all the awards) & I soon found out knows how to brew a great batch of beer.
Stars of the show were the IPA & Aphrodisiac Ale.  The IPA was extremely well balanced while the Aphro had a lot of flavor, incorporating honey, ginger, & lavender.  He only had one beer towards the bottom, the Instigator Dopplebock.  Although fairly high in alcohol, it received a Drinkable for tasting a little watery.  Other his other brews received above average markings of Likable. 
Tim & Kim were great, the food was superb, & Empire sported a uniques atmosphere of being subterranean.

Sunday was hangover day after the big party, but I didn’t have to drive to PA, MA, or FL like some of the folks that actually have jobs. John’s oldest son, Wally, had offered to take me to Sackets Harbor Brewing Company to try some of their beers. Unlike some of the other towns in which I find brewpubs, Sackets Harbor is a great town to visit. It’s located in a little harbor (obviously) right off of Lake Ontario. Some interesting history on the town is in 1812 U. S. declared war on Great Britain. Sackets Harbor become headquarters for the U. S. Navy and Army on the northern frontier. 
The brewpub is located right on the water w/ a couple of outdoor patios. Inside is cramped in both the bar & restaurant portion, but the decor makes up for it. For the most part, the beers were average with the Independence Wheat sticking out & getting an Exceptional. I had brought a few bottles of beer from Tim @ Flying Bison to give to Andy (brewer of SH), but was unable to catch up with Andy. Don’t worry Tim, I still left the beer for him. Stacy the bartender was bubbly & had some mutual friend w/ Wally. Small towns tend to be like that.
There was a minor irritation in the establishment & that was a patron who was a little off his rocker. After talking up & down that he knew all the brewers & that one of the bar pictures was one of them, Stacy informed me that the picture was not who he said it was & she had never seen him before. Other than about an hr ago when he had come in a bought his 1st beer. This second he was paying with change. The gentleman than told me his name was Bruce Lee & offered to sell me a business that wasn’t worth anything. Luckily I wasn’t too drunk or else I may have fallen for it.

Geekapooloza is a get together of a bunch of us that went to college together, all for Paper Science & Engineering. It was named after the music festival lolllapalooza & consists of a bunch of highly intelligent individuals, who now have families & good jobs, trying to re-live their college partying days for one weekend a year. Every year someone (w/ spouse’s permission) agrees to host the event. This year it was held in a little town called Brownville by the gracious John & Kathy. It involved a lot of talking shit, quotes out of context, beer pong, horseshoes (who doesn’t like heaving heavy things @ each other when their drinking), frisbee, & ladder golf. John & Kathy also had some local friends & their 3 sons in town. I’d like to say more, but things are a bit fuzzy & how much can you really say about a party. It’s about being there…right Brian, Stuckey, & Amy?

I will be posting pics in my photo album section of the website.