Nothing going on in the kitchen this week, faithful readers, but I did want to give ya'll a quick heads up about a couple of upcoming brewfests.
October 28th and 29th, Copper and King Distillery in Louisville is hosting this year's Shelton Brothers The Festival. This will be my first chance to attend this festival, which is hosted in a different city each year, but it looks to be an absolutely awesome fest! There will be 3 separate four hour sessions: Friday from 5-9 pm, Saturday from 11-3 pm and the final session will be Saturday evening from 5-9pm. (I'm going to have to pace myself carefully to make it through the weekend intact! LOL) Tickets are still available for all three sessions at $65 per session, and there is a weekend pass for $175, saving you $20 if you want to attend all three. VIP tickets sold out like Dark Lord Day tix and the Early Bird savings tickets are all sold out as well.
They have an absolutely astonishing list of beers being poured at this year's festival! So many tasty choices! I plan on making a "must-try" list, but mostly I think I'll just play this one by ear...there are just a ton of amazing breweries on this year's list that I could hardly go wrong!
So far as the physical location goes, Copper and Kings has a very nice campus, though I'm not sure how they'll fit in the entire list of brewers! Their Lock, Stock and Smoking Barrels Brandy Barrel Beer Fest in 2014 was a lot of fun, and they had plenty of patio heaters available and a huge fire pit! Dress for the weather though...y'all can always step back from the fire pit, but you might not be able to crowd in as close as ya might be hoping!
I do hope Copper and Kings has their rinse stations out! They do make a brew fest so much more pleasant! (And I hope other brew festival organizers take note! Rinse stations don't have to be as fancy as Copper and Kings, but they shouldn't be an afterthought at any brewfest!)
Ya'll are prolly reaching the point where you'd poke me and remind me, "John, you said a couple of upcoming brewfests!"
And yes, tickets have gone on sale online for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth's 4th annual Kentucky Kicks Ass Brewfest! (Early Bird special is only $20 until November 1st!) This fest is held indoors at the Grand Reserve. It is indoors, so no worries about the weather. They'll have some live music and several food trucks in attendance. If your politics line up with KtC's, they'll even let you use your ticket as your yearly membership dues! The best thing about this brew fest is ALL the breweries represented will be Kentucky breweries! You are supporting local industry, and they are all within driving distance if you need another taste soon!
Hope to see all ya'll soon!
Friday, October 21, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
Asheville Beer-cation Babbling
I recently posted some random babbling about the 20th annual Brewgrass Festival in Asheville, NC, but failed to mention any of the fabulous spots in Asheville I visited....so entirely in the interests of remedying those sins of omission:
But before I redress those particular omissions, I have to add one more detail regarding the 2016 Brewgrass Festival. I did a terrible job taking pictures at the fest and an even worse job of taking notes. The one time I did get all fan-boy and insist on getting a picture was at Brown Truck Brewing's tent:
Brown Truck had a tasty little Brett Saison on tap and sounded like they were on track to make some truly outstanding beers. (GABF judges seemed to agree!) Loved the perspective on brewing and the results!
(This pic occured quite near the video of me dancing a jig mid-field, but fortunately that video hasn't surfaced. I assure you, any copies of such you may find are entirely photoshopped!)
Burial Brewing also had some lovely beers, as well as some incredible artwork on the way to the can. All in all, Burial had the most interesting physical location of those I visited over the weekend. Very cool space indoors and out.
Green Man is nearby and also has some lovely brews. Around the block from Green Man, Catawba Brewing has another Untappd Verified Venue. And just a short jaunt up the street from there you'll find Twin Leaf Brewing. Gaming fans will love Twin Leaf: Foosball, ping pong, board games galore and 2x4 jenga tournaments!
Farm Burger has some delicious burgers (who'd of thunk it?) but I have to say it: why does every place in the south double-dip their onion rings? We don't need a quarter-inch thick armor of breading protecting the delicate onions from our industrial grade robotic teeth, ffs. Slice your onions thin, soak them in buttermilk, then dip them in your lightly seasoned flour (with mebbe just a hint of cornmeal) ONCE. Dip them ONCE, then drop them in the fryer. Lovely crispy light delightful tasty treats that no one would ever mistake for used auto parts.
I was fortunate enough to visit two very lovely, but very different bottle-shops in Asheville. I've heard there are other exceptional bottle shops there, but I've only visited these two:
Tasty Beverage Company is right across the street from Funkatorium. Very wide aisles, decent organization. Lots of seating and a really bright, wide open feel to the entire place. Engaging, personable staff. Great selection for their ten taps and a beer-tender willing to speak boontling! If I lived nearby, this would probably be my go-to spot for picking up a few. Any friend of Dave's is a friend of mine!
Bruisin' Ales is a tiny little shop with an absolutely amazing selection. (They can ship to most states if you aren't able to visit.) Fantastic selection of NC brews, and a good selection of Belgian and national brews. Super friendly and helpful (even helped carry my cases to the car!) My sole and piddly nit-picky beef is they put their price tags on the front of the damn bottles. Sure, it's easy to see how much it costs without turning the bottle around, but for those of us who like to take pictures of our beers it's a pain to remove the gd price tag. And WOW, that looks like an even more piddly whiney ass gripe than I imagined. Still...
Anywhos, Asheville is a lovely little town with a boatload of breweries, tasting rooms, restaurants and all kinds of sights to see and music to hear. Go hungry, go thirsty and don't forget to grab an Uber back to the hotel!
But before I redress those particular omissions, I have to add one more detail regarding the 2016 Brewgrass Festival. I did a terrible job taking pictures at the fest and an even worse job of taking notes. The one time I did get all fan-boy and insist on getting a picture was at Brown Truck Brewing's tent:Brown Truck had a tasty little Brett Saison on tap and sounded like they were on track to make some truly outstanding beers. (GABF judges seemed to agree!) Loved the perspective on brewing and the results!
(This pic occured quite near the video of me dancing a jig mid-field, but fortunately that video hasn't surfaced. I assure you, any copies of such you may find are entirely photoshopped!)
And on to Asheville! This was my first trip to Asheville, so certainly neither the definitive guide, nor by any means conclusive. There are a bazillion more fantastic places in Asheville that you simply MUST visit, this is just a short description of the few that I've managed to get to!
Started the weekend at Wicked Weed. This is a pretty busy place and you can wait for a table, but you should ask to be seated at one of the large family-style tables. It's quicker and you will meet some wonderful new friends who enjoy good beer and good food. The house burger was excellent, and went really well with Wicked Weed's Dark and Stormy ale (Their take on brewing towards the taste of the rum/ginger beer cocktail. Once you've eaten, head downstairs for a broader selection of brews, including some on cask. (Is that even how you'd say that? On cask? Cask ales. Beer out of big wooden barrels, ffs! LOL Didn't try any here, mostly for lack of noticing their availability.)
We'd planned on hitting Burial next, but got distracted by Brahmari. They had some lovely beers, food and some decent live music out on the patio. Did not have enough of any of these, so they are definitely on my list for future visits! They are the first Untappd "Verified Venue" I've had an opportunity to visit. I hadn't known this while I was there, but it will definitely influence my return visit.
Burial Brewing also had some lovely beers, as well as some incredible artwork on the way to the can. All in all, Burial had the most interesting physical location of those I visited over the weekend. Very cool space indoors and out.
After Burial, it was on to the Funkatorium, Wicked Weed's barrel-house. Lovely sour&funky brews on tap and some great pesto flatbreads and other snacks that complemented the brews very nicely.
Green Man is nearby and also has some lovely brews. Around the block from Green Man, Catawba Brewing has another Untappd Verified Venue. And just a short jaunt up the street from there you'll find Twin Leaf Brewing. Gaming fans will love Twin Leaf: Foosball, ping pong, board games galore and 2x4 jenga tournaments!
These are just a few of the brewpubs in Asheville...I'm definitely on my way back soon!
After a night of pub-crawling, don't miss out on brunch at Biscuit Head! Biscuits big as a cat's head, flights of gravy, a bacon of the day and other deliciousness!!! Don't be discouraged by the lines at either location, it is totally worth the wait!!!
Farm Burger has some delicious burgers (who'd of thunk it?) but I have to say it: why does every place in the south double-dip their onion rings? We don't need a quarter-inch thick armor of breading protecting the delicate onions from our industrial grade robotic teeth, ffs. Slice your onions thin, soak them in buttermilk, then dip them in your lightly seasoned flour (with mebbe just a hint of cornmeal) ONCE. Dip them ONCE, then drop them in the fryer. Lovely crispy light delightful tasty treats that no one would ever mistake for used auto parts.I was fortunate enough to visit two very lovely, but very different bottle-shops in Asheville. I've heard there are other exceptional bottle shops there, but I've only visited these two:
Tasty Beverage Company is right across the street from Funkatorium. Very wide aisles, decent organization. Lots of seating and a really bright, wide open feel to the entire place. Engaging, personable staff. Great selection for their ten taps and a beer-tender willing to speak boontling! If I lived nearby, this would probably be my go-to spot for picking up a few. Any friend of Dave's is a friend of mine!
Bruisin' Ales is a tiny little shop with an absolutely amazing selection. (They can ship to most states if you aren't able to visit.) Fantastic selection of NC brews, and a good selection of Belgian and national brews. Super friendly and helpful (even helped carry my cases to the car!) My sole and piddly nit-picky beef is they put their price tags on the front of the damn bottles. Sure, it's easy to see how much it costs without turning the bottle around, but for those of us who like to take pictures of our beers it's a pain to remove the gd price tag. And WOW, that looks like an even more piddly whiney ass gripe than I imagined. Still...
Anywhos, Asheville is a lovely little town with a boatload of breweries, tasting rooms, restaurants and all kinds of sights to see and music to hear. Go hungry, go thirsty and don't forget to grab an Uber back to the hotel!
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Brewgrass Babbles
In closing my last post, I mentioned how excited I was getting about my trip to Asheville, NC for the 20th Annual Brewgrass Festival...well, the fest was all it was cracked up to be, and then some!
Arrived in Asheville the night before the festival, so after checking into the hotel, there was definitely time for a some brewery-hopping downtown. I won't burden ya'll with a brewery by brewery account of the pub-crawling in this post, but you may have to suffer through the boozy details in some future post, so be whining about a lack of warning! Anyhow, much fun was had, many tasty beers sampled and some tasty treats eaten! There are a multitude of brewpubs and tasting rooms within walking distance of each other in downtown Asheville, but if you need a ride to and from the hotel be sure you have Uber set up on your phone: Lyft is not yet available in Asheville. :-(
The Brewgrass Festival was held at the Memorial Stadium and ran from 1 PM to 6 PM. There was quite a line of folks prior to the gates opening, but the staff got tickets and IDs ck'd pretty quickly once it was time for the event to begin. Plenty of folk brought camp chairs, beach umbrellas and the like, as there wasn't a whole lot of shade or seating available. (Memorial Field is a football field, after all! Lots of AstroTurf, very little shade.)
Unlike many beer fests, there were no tickets provided with your tasting glass: tastings were limited only by the length of the lines and the length of the event. The 60 participating breweries all had tents lining the outside of the football field. Though there were a handful big name breweries there, the vast majority were from North Carolina. North Carolina has an absolute boatload of amazing breweries though and fifty-four participated this year, were so there was no lack of choices!
There seemed to be quite a few jalapeno IPAs and several mole-flavored stouts available this year...hot new trend sor just what folks had on hand for the fest? Valley River Brewery brought their Holy Mole Porter, which was one of my personal favorites from the fest.
One of the best things about this beer/bluegrass fest was the inclusion (at every single table!) of jugs of water for rinsing and dump buckets. Every brewer's table had at least one big jug of water and a bucket nearby. Fest sponsors, brewery participants, attendees...insist on these at every brewfest! It makes for a more pleasant experience for everyone.
There were a number of food trucks/tents towards one corner of the field (about 15 beers in, if you were lining up at every tent!)
The music stage towards one end of the football field, The sound setup was decent and the music sounded great throughout the venue. The big name this year was the Travelin' McCourys with Peter Rowan, but all the artists provided some fantastic tunes to go with the great beers!
Fantastic brews, fantastic tunes. What more could anyone ask for?!? I'll certainly be going back next year!
The Brewgrass Festival was held at the Memorial Stadium and ran from 1 PM to 6 PM. There was quite a line of folks prior to the gates opening, but the staff got tickets and IDs ck'd pretty quickly once it was time for the event to begin. Plenty of folk brought camp chairs, beach umbrellas and the like, as there wasn't a whole lot of shade or seating available. (Memorial Field is a football field, after all! Lots of AstroTurf, very little shade.)
Unlike many beer fests, there were no tickets provided with your tasting glass: tastings were limited only by the length of the lines and the length of the event. The 60 participating breweries all had tents lining the outside of the football field. Though there were a handful big name breweries there, the vast majority were from North Carolina. North Carolina has an absolute boatload of amazing breweries though and fifty-four participated this year, were so there was no lack of choices!
There seemed to be quite a few jalapeno IPAs and several mole-flavored stouts available this year...hot new trend sor just what folks had on hand for the fest? Valley River Brewery brought their Holy Mole Porter, which was one of my personal favorites from the fest.
One of the best things about this beer/bluegrass fest was the inclusion (at every single table!) of jugs of water for rinsing and dump buckets. Every brewer's table had at least one big jug of water and a bucket nearby. Fest sponsors, brewery participants, attendees...insist on these at every brewfest! It makes for a more pleasant experience for everyone.
There were a number of food trucks/tents towards one corner of the field (about 15 beers in, if you were lining up at every tent!)
The music stage towards one end of the football field, The sound setup was decent and the music sounded great throughout the venue. The big name this year was the Travelin' McCourys with Peter Rowan, but all the artists provided some fantastic tunes to go with the great beers!
Fantastic brews, fantastic tunes. What more could anyone ask for?!? I'll certainly be going back next year!
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