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Went to a “story telling” evening last night called Second Tuesday at a place called The Heavy Anchor. Neat little venue … stories were about “First Dates.” Most were awkward, but funny! Here’s a few pictures of the place … Continue reading
Woo Hoo! I took this 180 beers in 180 days challenge two years ago (see previous posts) … and I ended up making it to 250 beers/250 days. This time … I’m going for the full year! (I have to pad my Beer Drinker of the Year resume … (haha).
The first beer? It is a Perennial Artisan Ales work … the Hommel Bier.
Yep, I went for the growler! Beer advocate gives this beer an 89 and I have to agree. It is almost a match to the Poperinge Hommel Ale (almost) … I just close my eyes and I’m back at the Hotel de la Paix enjoying one on draft! But I digress … I liked this beer so much I did a taste test while at Tripel in Lafayette Square.
If you are in St Louis, I really recommend a visit to Perennial. They are a little difficult to find (the GPS address takes you to the backside of the place … just drive around the block!) The folks are awesome, they are really passionate about their brews and you can tell. The Head Brewer has some side projects on-going and they usually have something really special on tap. Worth a Trip! Here’s a few pics of the place …
Enjoy! Beer Mentor
I had the opportunity to travel to South Africa in June of 2012. While there I made it a point of touring the oldest brewery in South Africa … Newland’s Brewery. Technically it was the Mariendahl Brewery in the early 1800’s, but all breweries eventually change, don’t they? Well … maybe not some German breweries. haha.
Yes … Newland’s is a part of the SAB family of breweries. Regardless, the brewery was awesome, the people were great, and the beer was good. I recommend a quick pass out that way if in Capetown. The tour is 5 Rand I think … and you get to sit in the pub at the end and have a few!
This place has quite the history — and it’s well worth the tour. I know most people think of wine in South Africa but there is definitely a tradition of beer brewing. I enjoyed the lagers (naturally … what country doesn’t server lagers on the African continent?) and the Stout. Like I said — you get to enjoy yourself at the end of the tour. Reminded me of all my US brewery tours. haha.
Enjoy! Beer Mentor
On my way back to Texas in December I was looking for a place to stop overnight … I was scanning the map (should have been scanning the “Beer Mapping” tool), but I was just using good ole’ Google. I was trying to make my way through New Orleans so I could stop at Cooter Brown’s. Since I had my Mountain Bikes on my car and all my luggage, I didn’t want to stop downtown New Orleans so I was looking for a place up around the I-12/I-10 interchange and realized Abita Springs was up there!! Yes. What did that mean? Well, Abita brewing obviously! After a little more searching I found out they have a brew pub in their Original Brewery.
I pulled into this place and was pleasantly surprised. It was not crowded at all, the people were friendly, and they had a full selection of their beers on tap. I spent a couple of pleasant hours in this place — best of all, they had a cask-conditioned version of Abita’s Restoration Ale. Wow! It was very good.
If you are passing through and would like a refreshing, local brew and some pretty good food I recommend a stop. It was a nice diversion on my drive to Texas!
I understand that the brew pub is not owned by Abita but it was nice anyway. Once I was finished I drove by the Brewery just to say I’d been there — I think they were having their Christmas Party that night! haha.
Enjoy!
Beer Mentor
So if you come visit Djibouti I would recommend staying in a couple of places. There’s a Sheraton here. There’s also this place: Kempinski Resort. This place is a five-star hotel/resort. You have to see it to believe it. It has as many as five bars to choose from … Check out the details here.
Last Friday I had the pleasure of hanging with some friends at the Kempinski. What was special about it? Well … besides the live music, great scenery, they had both Stella Artois and Leffe on tap. The only drawback on having Belgian beers available was that they didn’t have the right glasses for it. However, that’s ok — I enjoyed the glass they gave me for my Leffe … especially since I could only have two!
Ha ha. Again … the Kempinski is a nice plan to go if you are in the area! :o)
Beer Mentor
In December I had the pleasure of visiting the Lost Rhino Brewery with my good friend Brian (and his lovely bride).
I think the place has had a face-lift since then … it was pretty nice then–I’d like to visit it again to see the changes! It is out a little ways in Loudon County (Virginia) … but worth the drive. The folks who own this place were originally brewers in the Old Dominion Brewery. When they saw their original brewery (and brewpub) closed in the area they decided to open another place … Lost Rhino.
We sampled all their beers (thanks for driving, Lynne!) We also showed up for the tour … the fellow who gave it (I can’t remember his name, darn it) did a great job.
Very knowledgeable … you were able to walk around and look into everything … it was the way a brewery tour should be! These folks are passionate about their beers… yes … we even got to sample the fresh stuff (see pic).
I only had one complaint with the trip … the ladies serving the beer weren’t very pleasant. Actually they were downright cold (a little rude). However, everything else was worth it. Make the trip, drink the beer. You’ll be glad you did. And tell the ladies hi for me.
Beer Mentor
In December of 2011 I was fortunate enough to be visiting some friends in Washington DC who have the same “hankering” for good beer. My friend Brian decided to tote me around to a few places I hadn’t been in DC, one of which is DC Brau.
I was pleasantly surprised … and not about the beer. I had already had a six-pack or two so I knew what to expect. I was surprised about how compact it was. They really pack a lot of great things into a space under a Post Office. Make the trek over and you’ll see what I mean. They have a very comfortable tasting area. The selection of beers they have is good (the beer is really good … give “The Public” a try!) The day I was there they had a guy making brats/sausages–I wish I’d had one! They smelled great.
Although the owners didn’t give the tour, they were serving up the beer (one of them is in the photo above). This is kind of an upscale clientele hangout place though. That’s not bad … just want you to know what to expect. You’ll probably hear some pretty interesting conversations. Maybe even some about the art in the place!
If you are in DC it is worth a trip over. They are doing some great things with their beers. They just celebrated their one-year anniversary. You can tell by the wood casks above that they are not afraid to branch out into some experimental stuff too. My hat’s off to them — I wish them the best (I’ll be back again … I want to try “The Corruption!”).
Beer Mentor
Back in December I had the chance to go MTB riding in the Raleigh-Durham area … it also afforded me the opportunity to visit one of my new favorite breweries–Fullsteam Brewery. After being photo-bombed by the owner at the World Beer Festival I knew I had to visit this place in Durham. Wow! Well worth the trip … check this place out …
They embrace the weird here … I guess that’s why I like them. You won’t find any menu … but if you want something to eat, just head out to the food cart (or two) outside. They are in a ‘renewing’ neighborhood–a very nice experience. I showed up on Saturday for two reasons. 1) To take the tour (see below) and 2) to drink the Hogwash–their own hickory-smoked porter. Well, dang, they were out of the porter (I’ve had it … it’s good), so I had the Working Man’s Lunch and the Carver Sweet Potato (oh, and Maybe the Rocket Science IPA).
These beers were a good warmup for the tour … given, not surprisingly, by the owner. These guys are definitely passionate about their beer, they all seem to enjoy themselves, and the tour was well done, well documented and presented.
Even better, they served samples through out … and it was free. You just show up at the right time on the right weekend (first Sunday of every month … reserve your spot on-line … only 25 people get a spot!)
They are a pretty small operation really (a somewhat limited selection) but all of their beers were very good (plus, if you look close at the tap picture above you will see they also have guest local beers). Interestingly, one of the things that limits them is this combined mash-tun/kettle setup … first one like it I had seen … I think the owner mentioned that they may be changing this setup somewhat.
You could tell that they really liked experimenting — they had their hombrew setup in the brewery … all the extra kegs, different brew materials–I mean, who thinks to brew with Sweet Potatoes? Again … this place is great!
No photo-bombing in the following photo! Haha. Thanks, Sean, for the great tour!
Beer Mentor
Back in December I was in Norfolk for a couple of weeks and I just happened to find this place – The Birch … how did I find it? A sheet of paper with the name and the words “good beer” was tacked to the wall in my classroom. Obviously I will be the judge of whether it has good beer or not. haha. So, I did what any self-respecting beermentor would do … I looked it up on the internet. It received great reviews for beer geekness so I headed on down there! Pretty unassuming entry way …
Once you get inside though … look out! What a great list of beers they had on tap … check this out …
A Japanese Witbier? An Italian IPA? Craziness! And this was a rotating list. The young couple (I think are the owners) were very passionate about their selection, what they served, how they presented it, etc. They really put some effort into gathering an astonishing selection of eclectic and unique brews. This place is deserving of its rating and well worth a trip. Now I will tell you not to go there if you think you are going to have a sit down dinner. The have a very small selection of bar foods — but that’s not the point of this place. This place is a place to drink Great beer … here are a couple of examples of bottles that the owner brought out .. fantome and kukumerla. Both art house and worth trying just see the different brews being made around the world.
How was the presentation you ask? No need to ask … always the right glasses for the right beers. My wallet was quite a bit lighter when I left here the 3 – 4 times I made it over to this place. I didn’t mind. It would be very difficult to match the selection they had on tap and in the cooler (and you never knew what he might have lurking in the back … all you had to do was ask!)
Give it a go!
Beer Mentor
Another stop on my way through Atlanta — the Brick Store Pub. This is my 39th stop on the Growler List (#106 on their list).
I snuck in here on 27 Nov 2011. Just a quick stop through — fantastic selection of beers! Not only great beers but served in the appropriate glasses … no wonder this is a highly rated stop on Beer Advocate. It was very difficult to hold myself to just one (ok two)–but I had to hit the road … very cool pub and worth a stop (actually, it’s worth a detour or a planned trip).
Enjoy!
Beer Mentor
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