Tag: brew

Vermont Again

On By Chris ElliottIn Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I’ve been to Vermont several times now. Stowe, Vermont to be exact. It’s a small little town straight out of a Hallmark movie. Stowe is home to the Trapp Family lodge. The Sound of Music family for those trying to place that name.

The last time I was up there was 2018. A lot has changed for me since then and while some things have changed in Stowe, a lot is the same. The beer quality continues to be high. I visited several that I had been to last time including Von Trapp, Idletyme, Alchemist, Stowe Cider, and Lost Nation. The new place I visited this time was Ten Bends Beer. This little brewery was going through some licensing issues so I was only able to get tastings but I was still really pleased. Their Mexican lager, Scintilla, was the best beer there but I also really liked their IPAs.

Ten Bends

However, the best beer of the whole trip was Society & Solitude #6 which was on draft at a restaurant in Town called Doc Ponds. This beer was astounding. A really well done Double IPA. It was so drinkable for being a Double IPA. Top beer of the week award winner.

Beyond the beer, Stowe is such a great little town where everything shuts down by 8:30 every night. The weather this time of year is perfect. The hiking around there is really something and the food and beer are worth the trip. I’ll be back again of course.

Interesting Name:Crooked Pecker

On By Chris ElliottIn BreweryLeave a comment

Chagrin Falls is one of the nicest towns in North East Ohio. I don’t go often, but it’s always enjoyable when I do. Over there, is Crooked Pecker Brewing Company. This was my first visit. It’s a interesting name obviously, but they had a couple solid brews that I tried out.

Tucked into a industrial shop a few minutes from downtown Chargin Falls, the brewery made a pretty solid Hazy IPA and lager as well. I preferred the Hazy IPA though. The place is on the smaller side and was pretty full that day. The bartender was personable, even tried to get my fiancé who hates beer to try it. I would definitely stop in again.

Queen Of Beers

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, History, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

After a week of schmoozing people for my day job in Charlotte, I decided to stay the weekend and see a bit more of the city. Between a baseball game, a museum (New South Museum) and eating I found some time for a few beers. Ok, more than a few. Over just a few days, I visited seven breweries. My body needs a rest now.

I started off my work trip with a visit to D9 Brewing in Uptown. What’s interesting to note about this place, is that they also looked to be big into coffee. That’s not my thing, but I think beer and coffee lovers have a lot in common in appreciating a unique craft.

On the weekend, I jammed the next 6 into just two days. We started Saturday off with brunch and beer at Suffolk Punch. This was my favorite stop. Between a juicy biscuit chicken sandwich and two sours that even non-beer fans would love, this place hit the spot. From there, after watching a college baseball game at UNC-Charlotte, we visited Armored Cow and then finished the night at Sycamore Brewing with some live music. Shoutout to the guy in a cowboy hat living his best life as the hype man. Oh yeah, before I forget, a very good Hazy IPA there called the Slurricane too.

For Sunday Funday, we visited three more breweries after brunch at The Stanley (get the doughnuts). First stop was Legion Brewing then onto Pilot Brewing and finally Trolley Barn Fermentory. Each of which had some solid beers to tide me over for a bit. Or at least till next weekend. See ya Queen City.

From the Ashes: Phoenix Brewing

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, TripsLeave a comment

The number of breweries out there is pretty amazing. Lot of small towns across the country have them. Many of them are really good. A couple weeks ago, I drove to Mansfield for dinner with a buddy and we took in a few beers at Phoenix Brewing there. Mansfield is probably most known for the old prison that has become a tourist site. The brewery, Phoenix Brewing, is located right in downtown Mansfield. A really nice looking downtown. Straight out a small town downtown movie set. Now, the beer at Phoenix Brewing was pretty good (I enjoyed the sour: Project HG). The most interesting thing though was that they don’t accept tips. They said they raised the prices of the beer to pay staff more but the beer seemed pretty cheap to me. Must have been giving it away before. Interesting concept. Anyways, I would definitely go back to Mansfield to see the downtown more, check out some other places and grab some more beers.

Georgia Beer on My Mind

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Distillery, History, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I should have wrote this a week ago. Thinking of it, I have not done much writing in general lately. I’ll try to change that.

I’ve been to Georgia before but my time there previously had been limited. A couple weekends ago, we made a long weekend trip to Savannah. Savannah is a trendy place to go. Millennials love to go for the insta post. Had to make the trip eventually.

We started off with a walking tour of the city. Lot of cool history to check out there. Among all the site seeing, I tried out three breweries and a distillery in Savannah. We saw Moon River Brewing, Service Brewing Company, and New Realm Brewing (which also is a distillery). Additionally, we went to Ghost Coast Distillery.

Ghost Coast Distillery

All were solid places, but the beer of the trip goes to Service Brewing. The Raspberry Jelly Donut Pastry Sour was like the first bite of an actual jelly donut. I love me a good sour.

Ghost Coast Distillery was also a really good spot. Further away then the main downtown part of Savannah, it was worth the walk. Additionally, we had great food and drinks throughout the city. The wings at Cotton & Rye were top 3 wings I have ever had. Before I forget, Savannah allows open containers. More cities should do this. Creates an amazing atmosphere. Cleveland, I am talking to you. No reason the Ohio City neighborhood shouldn’t be open container. I digress.

Savannah is a beautiful city. It’s also surprisingly small. You can conquer most it in a long weekend. Good food, good history and Southern Hospitality. Great combo.

Jelly Donut Sour

Cornerstone Brewing

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

Cornerstone Brewing Company has been a long standing establishment in Berea, Ohio, located just 20 minutes from my house. Yet, Saturday was my first trip. Not sure what took me so long.

I have been wanting to try this place out for some time and I finally made the effort to. We stopped in for dinner and some beer. Not only was the food very good (try the pretzel), but the beer was delicious. I was really pleased with both the Erie Blu (fruit beer) and the Seven (IPA). Both had great flavor, but I’d say I prefer the Seven. A really strong rendition of an IPA. I really enjoyed their take of a West Coast style blended with an East Coast style IPA. Additionally, Berea had a nice little downtown that I would go back to. An underrated city and brewery.

New Year, New Beer

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment
Hollywood Brewing on Las Olas

Time to turn the pages on what most people would say is the worst year of their life. To celebrate the year ending, or maybe just to get away from the Cleveland cold, I went to Fort Lauderdale for New Years. While most of my time was spent on the beach, I did manage to get in a few brewery visits.

I have been all over the sunshine state, but this was my first trip to Fort Lauderdale. The three breweries we stopped into were Invasive Species, Hollywood Brewing, and Orchestrated Minds.

Invasive Species was our first stop. I tried out several beers via a flight and had a pint. The brewery tap room is a smaller bar with a decent sized patio out back filled with metal picnic tables. Here was where I had the best individual beer of the trip. The Slurps (a sour beer) was like drinking a beer smoothie. I could have this for breakfast with a side of eggs and bacon. Incredibly delicious.

Next up, on New Years Eve before dinner at Louie Bossi, which is an incredible Italian restaurant by the way, we got a drink at Hollywood Brewing at their Las Olas location. Las Olas is the main strip in the downtown area of For Lauderdale. Filled with higher end restaurants and shops. Hollywood was solid from a beer perspective. Nothing amazing but nothing bad. I wish they had some rotational beers on tap, but they did not. I tried the Brew Hefner Wheat and the Locals Only Light Lager for your reference.

The last brewery visit was Orchestrated Minds. The depth of beer quality here was impressive. I had three really good beers plus a sip of a 4th from the owner when I was checking out. That 4th was incredible and almost made me decide to have one more. It was another sour and I wish I had remembered the name. This place was my favorite of the three from an overall standpoint. Very good beer and the owner was their working in the small tap room making sure each customer was enjoying the beer. The personal touch was appreciated and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Orchestrated Minds Tap Room

Besides the beer, the food at many locations was amazing. Though we did honestly have some slow service at many points and some bizarre waiters. It seemed that every restaurant was short staffed. Pandemic related? Maybe. Regardless, the food was great. Some of my favorites were Shooters, Louie Bossi (mentioned above), Nanou (awesome French bakery), Tinta and Lona Cocina. Here is to more good beer and food in 2021. Now, time to burn this trip off in the gym.

Nanou: I couldn’t pick one meal

Beer in Amish Country

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I went down to Amish country on Saturday where I gorged myself on four plates filled with fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, noodles and enchiladas at Mrs. Yoder’s kitchen. Surprisingly the Amish like Mexican food. Did not see that one coming.

After that, we stopped at Millersburg Brewing Company. Located in downtown Millerburg, which for those that don’t know is the county seat of Holmes County Ohio. Knowledge is power.

The brewery is in an old brick building and maintains a lot of the building’s character from the exposed brick to the old bar top. The food menu appears delicious but after my Amish buffet destruction I don’t think I could fit any more food in my belly. However, we always have room for beer.

I went with a beer flight to give myself a good variety since I knew I was not going to be able to down multiple full beers at this point. All 4 tastings were very good, but I have to say the Edgy Elf was my favorite. A sweet winter warmer beer that they even put cinnamon on the beer flight glass. That was a nice touch.

The other beers I tried included Belouded (NEIPA), Jolene Jolie (Red Ale), and Haskins 1819 (Blackberry Tart) and were all really solid beers that I would have again. It’s a bit of a drive for me from Cleveland, but I would definitely go here again and would like to sooner rather than later.

Wuh-Ster Day Trip

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Distillery, Restaurants, Trips, vacations, whiskeyLeave a comment

Personally, I think this pronunciation of Wooster, Ohio is idiotic. It should be Woo!-Ster like a drunk girl shouting at a bar. However, the locals prefer the WUH so I’ll roll with it.

This past Saturday we took a day trip down to Wooster and walked around the town, had a burger and indulged in some beverages. Traveling during the Covid, is weird. A day trip is easy enough and Ohio has a lot to offer.

First off we visited Muddy’s where I had the cheesiest of cheese burgers. If you have a lactose sensitivity, stay away.

After Muddy’s, the main reason for this trip was to visit the JAFB taproom. Just Another Fucking Brewery, is a pretty spacious taproom and I was able to try several brews. My favorite of the ones I had was the Hefeweizen, though the Summer Forever (New England IPA) was very good as well. The Hefeweizen is a good solid rendition of this beer style with just enough banana taste. I really enjoyed this one. I was told after that I need to try the Apricot one, so next time I’ll give that one a taste.

After the brewery, we had two more stops to make. First off was Minglewood Distilling Company. I am by no means an expert on bourbon but I’m starting to get into it more. They had a variety of alcohols and I did a tasting. I wish the tours were open but again the virus got in the way. I picked up a bottle of the bourbon to take home. Then one last stop at Hartzlers Dairy Farm for some ice cream. Perfect dessert to end the day.

Brewery 33

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

This will be a quick post. I really don’t have a lot to say because I wasn’t there long and only had one beer. Took a few days to head down to Hocking Hills down in Southern Ohio. I love a good hike and with all the craziness out there in the world, it was good to get away from it all.

It wasn’t my first trip to Hocking Hills but it was my first visit to Brewery 33. Named after the main road through Logan, Ohio. I stopped in for a growler and went with the Gateway Gose. It was a solid beer and nothing spectacular. Wasn’t bad, just seemed to have almost no carbonation.

The brewery itself was small inside from what I saw, but that could have been I just didn’t walk around enough. They did look to have a nice little outdoor spot. Bartender was great, very friendly and helpful. I would like to get back there at some point when I can actually sit down and enjoy the place.