Spring House: Not Just for Stouts Anymore!

Spring House is one of those breweries that I've been enjoying right out of the gate. Brewslut and I were early visitors to the Spring House tasting room housed at the production facility in Conestoga, PA, which is just a few miles outside Lancaster city limits. Over time as Spring House got more and more popular, they opened their very own Tap Room right in downtown Lancaster. We tend to visit Lancaster quite often, so naturally we make it a point to swing by for at least one beer every time we're in the area. I've often called brewer/owner Matt Keasey "The Stout King of PA" due to his penchant for making amazing stouts. If you don't believe me, go to the Spring House Tap Room in Lancaster and try Planet Bean... or Kerplunk!... or Big Gruesome... or, well, you get the picture. But despite his ability to brew these delectable dark beers, I've always been a bit underwhelmed with his hoppy offerings. Sure, his flagship Seven Gates is a solid Pale Ale any way you look at it. But I was never bowled over by his Beyond the Gates DIPA or Mango IPA. This, I later found, was largely due to a sub par hops contract he was locked into, which only allowed him access to a limited variety of hops.

Well, I am pleased to say that Matt has since secured a new hops contract, and let me tell you, his hoppy beers are now every bit as good as his stouts... and that's saying A LOT!!! On the recommendation of my good beer compatriot Dan (aka BA FooFaa), I decided to give it another shot during one of our more recent visits. Well, I can honestly say that it is indeed one of the better East Coast DIPAs that I can recall drinking in the last several years. It's bright, crisp, and hoppy without bludgeoning you over the head with tons of alcohol heat. Sure it's assertive and bitter, but it's also very balanced for a DIPA. The new and improved Beyond the Gates has quite the - dare I say it? - West Coast vibe.

I love the artwork and overall vibe of The Tap Room!

Same goes for the Mango IPA. On previous visits, I always found the Mango IPA to be good, but not earth shattering. The combination of ingredients gave the beer an almost chalky texture (if you can imagine) and the hop flavor seemed slightly medicinal with not much of a tropical fruit character. These days, the Mango IPA (recently named The Astounding She Monster) is brimming with a fresh mango juiciness, tropical fruit flavor, and citrus-forward aroma. This new recipe is clearly a major improvement over the original release. Matt's willingness to experiment with his beers and tweak his recipes is without a doubt one of my favorite aspects of Spring House. Matt never seems to get stuck on a recipe just for the sake of keeping a beer on tap regularly, and he constantly strives to hone his recipes and improve his beers. With that said, I feel that he consistently makes forward strides with his beers. The last two times I visited, I did not drink a single stout. I simply was too thirsty for Beyond the Gates and Mango IPA. OK, I also got a Smoked Porter, but hey, it's not a stout, right? If you haven't tried the new-and-improved Beyond the Gates or The Astounding She Monster, then you are definitely missing out on something special.

This bitch is mangolicious!

Brewing can be a zesty enterprise!

Being the bad Christian that I am (or perhaps the good Christian I ain't), I decided to spend my Easter helping Terry and company brew a new beer at the brand new, not-even-open-yet Pizza Boy Brewing Company. This beer was extra special because Deuane and Carolyn's friend/brewer/brewpub owner Jean-Sebastien was visiting the area from Canada in order to attend the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, DC held during the previous week. He is the owner and head brewer for A l'abrie de la Tempete in Quebec, a French-speaking providence of Canada. In order to make this Saison/Biere de Garde hybrid, Brewslut and I were relegated to zesting and juicing 50lbs. of navel oranges. Much to our chagrin, Terry brought a single zesting device (sorry, but I am unfamiliar with the correct nomenclature for said device) so one of us zested whilst the other juiced. 

Our tools of the trade.

I opted to zest, and I thought it would be less sticky. I was correct. In addition to the orange zest and juice, the recipe also called for fir tree needles and a touch of smoked malt, both of which were brought from Canada by Jean-Sebastien. He also smoked the malt himself. I felt like packing it into a bong and smoking it, it smelled so good! (I'm kidding... don't do drugs, kids.)

These fragrant fir tips were put in a large tea-bag and steeped into the wort.

After about an hour of zesting, I started to get a cramp in my hand, so Deuane took over my duties for a while. Jean-Sebastien and Brewslut each took turns juicing. Dan and Kristen eventually showed up, so Dan helped with the oranges as well, giving Deuane and I a bit of a break from the tennis elbow blues. Overall, I think it took us about three hours to successfully zest all of the oranges. 

Zesting my life away!

Once we finished zesting and juicing, we gathered the bucket of zest and container of freshly squeezed juice for the next step of the brewing process. The fir needles were submerged into the juice and added to the wort via a tea-bag (as mentioned above). The zest was also added directly to the wort. 

Deuane zesting the last orange!

Al, owner of Al's/Pizza Boy eventually stopped by as well and helped zest a single orange. He did, however, bring two growlers of Pizza Boy goodness (Sunny Side Up with Little Amps, a personal favorite of mine, and Ninja Snipa, which Jean-Sebastien absolutely loved). He was also gracious enough to bring a bunch of food for us all, including salad, garlic bread, asparagus, and linguine with clams. 

More zesty magic... my favorite pic of the day!

After the wort had boiled, I caught a whiff of the steam when Al opened up the tank, and I must admit that the smell was amazing! You could really pick out all of the individual ingredients, especially the orange zest, fir and smoked malt. I can't wait to taste the fruits of our labor. Brewing can be a zesty enterprise, indeed!

Group shot (l to r: me, Brewslut, Terry, Kristen, Jean-Sebastien, Dan and Deuane)

Imminent Liquidation III - Details inside specially marked packages!

The third annual "Imminent Liquidation" Bottle Share Event will take place at The Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown, PA on Saturday, March 2, 2012 between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM.

The event encourages craft beer enthusiasts to dust off and share rare beers from their cellars with fellow BAs. If you don't have any rare beers, feel free to bring a favorite from your fridge to share. It doesn't have to be a white whale or an expensive corked and caged, hand-numbered, limited edition, once-and-done batch. Just bring some good beer to share with everyone!

There is no admission cost to enter the event, although you are required to bring beer (typically a few bombers, a growler, or some 12oz. bottles, or any combination of the above). Food will be available via the standard Warwick Hotel menu, and will be pay as you go. You are not required to buy food at the event, however. Additionally, The Warwick will provide a few light snacks and appetizers at no cost to participants.

All participants are required to wear name tags, which will be available at the greeting table upon entry to the event. Participants will also receive one FREE raffle ticket upon entry, and throughout the day we will raffle off a few beer-related items donated from fellow BAs and local businesses. Please note that raffle tickets will NOT be available for purchase, and each participant will receive only one raffle ticket. ALSO, PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN TASTING GLASS. Please bring a small 4oz. to half pint glass rather than a full pint glass, if possible. Finally, please plan on bringing a few dollars to contribute as a tip to the staff of the Warwick Hotel for assistance during the event.  Event volunteers will pass around the proverbial hat towards the end of the day.

Imminent Liquidation is sponsored by The Warwick Hotel in conjunction with The Pour Travelers beer blog. Visit The Pour Travelers at www.ffejherb.blogspot.com.

For more information about Imminent Liquidation, please email ffejherb@gmail.com. Please do not contact the hotel directly for questions specific to the event. The phone number and web site for the Warwick Hotel is listed below in case you need directions or other information. Thanks and cheers!

The Warwick Hotel
12 W. Main Street
Hummelstown, PA 17036
www.thewarwickhotel.com

Pizza Boy: Killin' It!

I suppose it's about time that I give mad props to Pizza Boy Brewing Company for recently killing it.  The term "killing it" refers, of course, to making a string of some simply amazing beers over the last several months. Ever since Al's of Hampden burst onto the Central PA Beer Scene, owner Al Kominski has done nothing but cater to beer geeks and, in turn, created perhaps THE premier craft beer destination on the West Shore. 

Al and I enjoying a beer at Al's of Hampden

Al's beer geekdom eventually rose to new heights when, in 2011, he installed a state-of-the-art, 15-hectoliter BrauKon brewery in the basement of the current Al's of Hampden location.  He quickly jumped into the deep end and began brewing in earnest, producing several test batches.  Citing Pizza Boy as a work in progress, some of the beers were fantastic, while some were less than stellar.  But for someone with literally no brewing experience whatsoever, Al was definitely on the right track.  Some early favorites include his Pilsner, Citra IPA and Arck Angel 4IPA.  This long and winding track eventually led Al to a goldmine, when ex-Bullfrog Brewery head brewer Terry Hawbaker signed on as Pizza Boy's official brewer.  Needless to say, the throngs of local Bullfrog/Terry fans were ecstatic (myself and Brewslut included), and since Terry's appointment, Pizza Boy has been knocking beers out of the proverbial park. 

 

Terry and I at Little Amps Coffee in Harrisburg

The beer that deserves the most praise, in my humble opinion, is Sunny Side Up / Little Amps, a massive yet incredibly smooth 11% Imperial Stout brewed with coffee beans from the local Harrisburg coffee shop, Little Amps.  I will go on record and say that this is my favorite Coffee Stout I've ever had.  If you get a chance to try this beer via a firkin or beer engine, then you are in for a serious treat.  Seriously folks, this might be my beer of 2012!

 

Enjoying a Sunny Side Up / Little Amps Coffee Stout

Ironically, my next blog will most likely be a re-cap of yesterday's bottling of the first-ever Pizza Boy bottled beer.  Terry asked Brewslut (a part-time employee at Al's) and myself to help with the bottling, and we were happy to assist.  But more on that later.  For now, get yourself over to Al's for some Sunny Side Up / Little Amps and judge for yourself!

2012 - The Beer in Review

As I sit on my couch and contemplate 2012 over a freshly bottled Nugget Nectar (oh, the perks of working at my favorite brewery!), I can't help but think that 2012 may have been the absolute best year for me, not only beer-wise, but in general!  I successfully parlayed a hobby (writing about craft beer) into a career (working at Troegs Brewery).  That in itself is worthy of "best year ever" status in the annals of Ffejstory!

But let's backtrack a bit to last year around this time, when I published The Pour Travelers' 2011 - The Beer in Review after our first full year as a bona fide beer blog.  I constructed a list (and a pretty lofty one, at that) of my top ten resolutions for the coming year, which looked something (OK...exactly) like this:

1. Finally host my long-talked-about stout tasting.
2. Return to Portland for a REAL beer trip.
3. Finally get to Selin's Grove's Hops and Vines festival.
4. Get Ffej of JulIPA brewed for the 10th Anniversary of Ffej of July.
5. Have a Troegs beer named after me (OK, a long shot, I know)!
6. Visit Barcade Philly.  Classic arcade games + beer = awesomeness! 
7. Make Imminent Liquidation an annual event.
8. Get back out to Great Taste of the Midwest.
9. Increase my overall number of beer blogs on this site.
10. SAN DIEGO... AGAIN!!!

Numbers one, two, three, five and nine never happened, although I will say that, looking back, my quality over quantity vastly improved (in my humble opinion, anyway), rendering number nine... number nine... number nine... (sorry, couldn't resist a good Beatles reference) a success, at least in my eyes.

Number one might happen this year, as I am continuously adding a variety of Imperial Stouts to my beer cellar.  Number two needs to happen ASAP, as we never even scratched the surface of the beer mecca that is Portland, OR, during our inaugural trip back in 2011.  Brewslut also needs to get to Portland, ME, but that's a different story!  I'm afraid number three will never happen, as it always seems to coincide with my annual Ffej of July festivities (sidebar... if you are an avid reader of The Pour Travelers and want an invite to this epic shindig, shoot me an email).  And as for number five... well, even though I didn't get my name attached to a Troegs beer in 2012, I can say quite happily that I get my name on a paycheck every other week from Troegs, so I guess that counts for something, right?

I'm proud to say that the other five resolutions were met.  Number four was accomplished after my good buddy Al of Pizza Boy Brewing Company brewed a special batch of his Citra IPA and dubbed it Ffej of JulIPA for the 10th anniversary of Ffej of July.  We finally made it to Barcade in Philadelphia, which you can read about by clicking here if you'd like.  Thank God they have a killer beer selection; otherwise, I'd have an extremely difficult time luring Brewslut to this man-cave of a beer bar.  As for number seven on the list, I think it is safe to say that "Imminent Liquidation" has secured a slot in everyone-who-is-a-beer-geek-in-Central-PA's calendar, planner, or date book.  It's coming up on its third year in March (this year's event will be held on Saturday, March 2 at The Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown).  I was ecstatic to check number eight of my list of resolutions in 2012, as Brewslut and I consider our trip to Great Taste of the Midwest to be the pinnacles of our 2012 beer season.  (FYI - the link included here only represents part one of a multi-part blog... yeah, this was an epic trip!)  And finally, number ten.  Yes, San Diego.  Anyone who reads this blog is sure to notice our collective love for this southern California beer goldmine.  This past year saw perhaps our most epic trip to San Diego yet, as we visited the fine city for a total of eleven consecutive days.  (Note that this link is only part one of a SEVEN PART mini-series.)  We also were able to meet my goal of visiting Pizza Port Ocean Beach every day for at least one beer per visit.  It's good to have goals in life, right?

Some other highlights of 2012 were:

1. The Sly Fox Goat Races and Bock Festival (always a perennial favorite!)
2. Multiple trips to Philadelphia, one of our favorite beer cities not only in PA, but the country!
3. Our annual Beers-giving trip, this year to Charleston, SC.
4. Getting hired by Troegs (this goes without saying).
5. Winning the coveted "Metal Brewer" award at Troegs

With that said, let me present my ten resolutions for 2013:

1. The Stout Tasting (yeah, I know... I fucked up last year)!
2. Portland, OR and Portland, ME (not on the same trip, though)!
3. Great Taste of the Midwest.
4. Put Harrisburg Area Beer Week on the map and make it an annual event.
5. Hit 1000 unique beers on Uptappd.
6. Make "Imminent Liquidation" a bi-annual event.
7. Help brew the Metal Brewer-winning beer, Beet It Red Saison, as a Troegs Scratch beer and also for Pizza Boy Brewing Co.
8. Visit Florida for a beer trip.
9. Get Brewslut to write a beer blog.
10. Keep working for Troegs!

Thanks to all who follow The Pour Travelers and read about our little beer excursions.  We've met some amazing people along the way (many of whom we call friends) and that makes traveling in the name of beer all the more rewarding and worthwhile.  Cheers to another new year that will find our glasses brimming with the liquid we all know and love!

Vertical Epic Fail!

On Friday, December 21, a group of my closest beer friends convened at long-time friend and former Shamokin Area High School alumnus Jason Kramer's house for his annual holiday party.  Having attended for the past several years, Brewslut and I look forward to this event each year.  Kramer was the first real beer geek I met (though I knew him since high school, we didn't become good friends until many years later when I stumbled upon his name on the Beeradvocate.com and Ratebeer.com web sites).  At any rate, a few days prior to the party, I learned that Kramer would be dusting off and breaking out his complete Stone Vertical Epic collection, dating all the way back from 2002.  He needed two bottles (2007 and 2008, I believe) to round out his collection, which were graciously provided by Jason Pendall.  At one time, Kramer did in fact HAVE the entire set (multiple sets, I believe), but he was able to... well, let's just say he was able to parlay one complete set into quite a pretty penny, thanks to a certain on-line auction site).  Since the 2002 bottle alone was indeed an über-rare find, needless to say Brewslut and I were quite thrilled to partake in such an epic undertaking (no pun intended).

Stone Vertical Epic 2002-2012

However, what transpired was literally a chronological bludgeoning of sub par, virtually undrinkable swill from this revered brewery.  Now, it was my understanding that the whole point of this series was to age each beer and enjoy them all as a "vertical" event, meaning drink each year in succession.  To beer geeks, this is how the vertical works.  Well, after drinking all of these, I'm not so sure that's what Stone initially had in mind.  Without going into too much detail, I've decided to transcribe my Untappd notes and share a bit about each release.  Let me first say that I enjoy Stone's beers and respect them as a brewery.  Their brewpub alone is worthy of much praise.  But be warned... most of these comments are not kind... at all!

2002
"Not as bad as I was anticipating."  Still, this evoked hints of wet cardboard and air from Camden, NJ.  Not bad, but unfortunately not even in the vicinity of anywhere near what I'd call "good."

2003
"Not holding up... at all!" This may have been the worst of the lot, but unfortunately my notes were sparse, to say the least. 

2004
"Lemon Pledge."  Yes, this beer tasted little more than lemon-scented cleaning spray, I'm afraid.

2005
"Prunes."  Yes, constipated elderly beer drinkers may think this would be a match made in heaven, but alas this year's offering was not enjoyable.  I did fill me with the urge to defecate, though.

2006
"Shitty black bow tie licorice!"  Remember that waxy licorice candy in the shape of bow ties?  Yeah, me too... and this beer was even worse!  I was expecting the "666" beer to hold up a bit more, but unfortunately even Satan couldn't save this one from the fiery depths of Hades!

2007
"Spicy."  That was all I could muster up to say about this one.  If you want to try and re-create this beer, just fill a glass with tap water, then rummage through the spice rack in your kitchen and add a teaspoon of everything you find.

2008
"It has to start getting better soon!"  These words indicate another in a long line of shitty beers.  By this time, I was losing faith in this experiment, and was praying for the end.  If only I knew what I had in store for me next...

2009
"Rancid coffee with a hint of Doberman anus."  Perhaps my most evocative description thus far, I must have been inspired by Brewslut, as this hearkens back to one of the first-ever Pour Travelers blogs: The Anomalous Olfactory Anecdotes of Brewslut.  This was undrinkable.

Between 2009 and 2010, I needed a well-deserved break from what I described as the "Stone shit show" and enjoyed a small pour of Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout by Goose Island.  Now there's a beer that you can actually age in your beer cellar!  But back to our regularly scheduled program...

2010
"Better... closer... warmer!"  This was probably the best of the bunch, and it only warranted three out of five stars.  This was described as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, so the "strong" portion of the beer allowed it to age for a bit without producing notes of dog ass, for example.

2011
"Grass with dog shit."  Another canine reference for all you dog lovers.  Ever step in dog shit out in your neighbor's yard, take off your shoe to scrub the sole, and catch a whiff as you run hot water over it?  Yup, that's what this beer evoked... at least in my twisted mind.

2012
"Thank God!  What a chore!"  I had already had a sip of this beer, courtesy of Deuane during a recent visit to Al's of Hampden.  I was not impressed, to say the least.  This was even spicier than the 2007 release, and although this was brand new (released only nine days prior), this just tasted like a spicy mess to me.  I took one single gulp and raised my fists in victory (and anger) at the end of this horrific crucible.

Vertical Epic fail, indeed!

Beers-giving 5: The Journey to Charleston, SC - Part II

After a longer-than-anticipated visit to Coast (due to waiting for the stout to kick and the barleywine to go on), we headed over to the new Westbrook Brewery.  When we pulled up to the front of the building, I was quite surprised to find a pretty huge, modern-looking facility that was in stark comparison to Holy City and Coast.  This place reminded me of one of the mid-sized breweries in California, both for its functionality and atmosphere.  We immediately could tell that they plunked down some serious dollars for this brewery!



Westbrook Brewery

We bumped into the trio of guys from Coast, but they were just about ready to leave and move on to Holy City, their next stop on their birthday crawl.  It was fairly crowded in Westbrook's tasting room, but we were able to snag the vacant seats recently left by our departing friends.  Perusing the tap selection, it appeared there was plenty I wanted to try, so we went with two sampler flights.  My flight included the following: IPA, Nelson Sauvin Rye Pale Ale, the previously-imbibed-and-thoroughly-enjoyed Citra Rye Pale Ale, and finally Mini Growler Imperial Stout, a collaboration with Evil Twin Brewing Company.  For those of you not in the know, Evil Twin is the mastermind of Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, brother of Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, founder of Mikkeller. Born in Denmark, the brothers each went their separate brewing paths and opened two distinct breweries.  Without going into too much detail, Evil Twin latched on to Westbrook, who does some bottling and canning for Evil Twin; hence this collaboration beer. 

Inside Westbrook Brewery.

We arrived just in time to take a tour of the facility, which was quite impressive (as you can see from the pictures) for a start-up brewery.  While I always enjoy touring a production brewery, our guide was not the most knowledgeable guide by any stretch of the imagination.  She responded to many of the of the questions asked by the tour group with, "That's a good question" or "I'm not sure."  When we got to step inside the barrel room, someone asked what was in the barrels, and she looked at one and said, "Well, this one says 'quad' so I guess a Quadruple IPA."  Despite her lack of knowledge, it was still a nice visit, and we were quite impressed with not only the facility, but also the beers.

Mountain of cans!

Hill of kegs!

In typical fashion, I picked up "one of everything" for Deuane and also purchased several bottles for future use and "beer cellar decorations."  In addition to its usual offerings, Westbrook had a nice variety of specialty bottles, including Bearded Farmer Saison, the aforementioned Mini Growler, a Greman Lichtenhainer Weiss (think pale, sour and smokey wheat ale), and a Belgian Tripel aged in apple brandy barrels.  I can't wait to tear into some of these bottles in the near future!


Wall of barrels!

A sea of six packs!

We had decided to visit EVO Pizza, another Deuane-recommended establishment, for dinner and drinks, but unfortunately they were closed when we arrived*, so we had dinner just up the road at Taco Boy. I was happy to scarf down some delicious shrimp and fish tacos and wash them down with a tasty michelada made with Dos Equis.  Brewslut got the same, except she opted for chicken tacos. 
*Editor's Note: I absolutely despise when restaurants close for two or three hours between lunch and dinner.  M'wah!

Micheladas made with Dos Equis Amber (Brewslut) and Lager (me).

While the food was quite good and the michelada was indeed refreshing, our service was lackluster.  It took forever to get our check and almost as long to get our change.  Chalk up another M'wah!

Afterwards, we were off to The Charleston Beer Exchange to (hopefully) purchase some more bottles.  To be honest, I totally forget what we purchased here.  I think we only got a total of about six bottles, but it was a great place with an amazing selection, especially if you like obscure Belgian beers (not me, really, but I appreciated the diverse selection).  It reminded me of a cross between Capone's and Bruisin' Ales.  The clerk was very friendly too, so I gave him a bottle of Mad Elf to enjoy for the holidays.  He also gave a good recommendation to the next stop on our itinerary, The Griffon.

Since The Griffon was only a few blocks away, we left our car outside the Charleston Beer Exchange and walked down the scenic street to our destination.  This place could be described as a dive bar with a very good beer selection.  Inside, The Griffon also has the distinction of having around $10,000 of one dollar bills stapled to the walls by thousands of visitors over the years.  I asked the bartender if they had that factored into their insurance should the place ever burn to the ground!  All in all, this was quite a unique place.  I decided to give Lazy Magnolia's Timber Beast DIPA a shot, as I've only ever had its flagship beer, Southern Pecan, on a previous occasion.  I must admit that I didn't have high expectations, but I must say that this was definitely a solid DIPA.  I'm not sure if I was just craving a DIPA or what, but this beer just hit the spot.  It was fresh, balanced and had plenty of hop flavor and aroma to satisfy my craving.  Brewslut tried an Amber Ale from Palmetto Brewery, a Charleston production brewery that we were unable to visit due to limited hours and no tasting room.  I suppose it was a good thing, because Brewslut wasn't impressed... no, no, no, no no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no... she wasn't impressed at all.  This was a one-and-done spot, and the evening was winding down, but we still had one more place to hit before calling it a night.

Lucky for us, Liberty Taproom was pretty much right across the street from our townhouse.  We arrived just in time to get on the Happy Hour train, which was about to depart for the evening.  I ordered their house IPA, which was decent, but at only $2.50 during happy hour, it was a bargain. Brewslut opted for the house Porter, which was also on special.  We also got an order of grilled wings and followed up with Hawaiian chopped salads for dinner. This atmosphere was your typical Sports Bar feel with dozens of televisions blaring college football games and even more loggerheaded sports fans causing a ruckus every time a twenty-year-old kid scored a touchdown, sacked a quarterback, or performed just about any other mundane sports act, it seemed.  We especially appreciated the attractive-but-overly-annoying young lady at the table next to us with the excruciatingly high-pitched voice.  It was enough to make me order another beer.  I closed out the night with a Brrr from Widmer Brothers, a winter seasonal.  It reminded me of toasted bread and had very little hop presence, unfortunately.  I had wanted to try it based on the name and also after having some stellar IPA selections from them as of late.  However, this beer was nothing to write home about.  Still, kudos to Widmer for the name of the beer.  Afterwards, we retired to the townhouse and watched the fantastic A Mighty Wind.

The following day, we decided to return to Closed for Business for Sunday brunch. We arrived to find a young couple sitting outside on a bench waiting for the doors to open.  It was just 11am, and they said, "We're here for brunch and waiting for them to open."  After standing there for five minutes, Brewslut decided to try the door on a whim.  They were indeed open.  Apparently, the oblivious young couple hadn't even tried the door when they arrived.  Um, yeah.  Once inside, we sat at a small two-person table, but quickly moved to the cozy fireplace seating (pictured below).  I decided to try something adventurous, so I ordered an oyster omelet with home fries.  Despite enjoying mussels and clams, I had never been much of an oyster fan.  However, the lightly breaded oysters made for a very flavorful (and textured) omelet indeed.  Brewslut and I also shared some delicious home-made banana bread with walnut cream cheese. We enjoyed the coffee quite a bit, too.  For beer, I went back to my old faithful (on this trip, anyway), Westbrook Citra Rye Pale Ale.  Brewslut had a Holy City oyster stout.  We talked a bit more to the staff this time around, as we had less on our agenda for this day. 

Inside Closed For Business.

After brunch, we swung by Charleston Beer Works for a quick one, which was right down the street from Closed For Business.  We caught them as they were just opening for the day, so the place was empty.  Overall, this was you typical Sports Bar with televisions and a decent tap selection that boasted some good local brews.  Since the Schwartz was with me, I ordered a Dark Helmet, Westbrook's cleverly-named Schwarzbier derived from the classic Mel Brooks film, Space Balls. Brewslut also opted for a Westbrook offering, its White Thai, a twist on a classic Belgian Witbier.  This place wasn't offering much in the form of ambiance or conversation, so we finished our beers quickly and headed to our next stop, a rare non-beer destination - a record store! 

As much of a beer geek as I am, the only thing in my life that tops beer is music.  I had to coerce Brewslut into swinging by Monster Music and Movies by assuring her I'd only be "about an hour."  She opted to stay in the car and catch up on some Kindle reading.  As promised, I was out in an hour (or so) with some cool vinyl in tow.  When visiting a city for the first time, I always try to seek out the best record store in town (assuming there is one, as records are virtually extinct.  Hell, most music mediums have fallen by the wayside in light of recent iTunes downloads and the like.  All I have to say is, "Fuck that shit!")

After my little detour to Monster Records, we were off to Smoky Oak Taproom, which turned out to be a real diamond in the rough, as far as we were concerned.  The place wasn't much to look at (yes, another Sports Bar), but we had an awesome server and the tap selection was perhaps the best we'd encountered thus far on the trip.  I opted for another Westbrook offering, a saison named Bearded Farmer, then followed it up with a favorite of mine, Foothills People's Porter. Brandi got New Belgium's Lips of Faith Peach Porch Lounger and finished with Your Black Heart, a Russian Imperial Stout by Odempseys, a brewery that was new to us both. We needed a light snack, so we shared an order of chicken tacos that were quite tasty.  Afterwards, we'd decided that we could have hung out there much longer, if only for the fantastic tap selection.  There were certainly five or six other beers that I would have liked to try, but alas it was time to move on. 

After a short drive, we landed at Oak Barrel Tavern, where I ordered another Westbrook Dark Helmet and Brewslut, a Bells Christmas Ale.  The tiny establishment was decorated nicely, with cool barrel tables and a short bar.  We talked to Matt the bartender for a while, and it turned out he used to live in Harrisburg for several years and even knew several of my friends and bandmates.  Though Oak Barrel's tap list was short, it was still decent, and we ended up purchasing a bottle of Evil Twin's Imperial Biscotti Break, a beer we were denied last year during Philly Beer Week, when Eulogy was having difficulty with their tap line.

Right up the street was Gene's Haufbrau, another dive bar with a pretty good local tap selection, where I enjoyed a Westbrook Covert Hops (black IPA) and Brewslut a Holy City Porter over a game of Yahtzee.  We also enjoyed watching an inebriated middle-aged woman mack on her boyfriend while waiting for a cab.  People watching at its finest, folks!  And with that, we retired to the townhouse to get a good night's sleep before shipping out at the ass-crack of morning and heading back to PA. 

We kept our stops to a minimum, but we did manage to stop for lunch at Rosa's Italian Restaurant in Hopewell, VA, where they had Legend Brewing Company's Brown Ale on tap.  That was a nice surprise, as I figured we wouldn't have another beer until we got back to PA, where we were planning to meet up with Deuane and Carolyn for a quick recap and some more... yep, you guessed it... beer!  Until next time...