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NoDa Brewing Company (Spring Break 2013, Part 7)

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on April 14, 2013

NoDa Brewing Company sampler

My sampler rack at NoDa Brewing Company

Continuing the beer travelogue of my Spring Break road trip through the heart of Appalachia — eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

One of the highlights of our 2013 Spring Break trip was our excursion to Charlotte to see my sister. After a full day exploring the beer scene in Asheville on Thursday, we left our campground early Friday morning and drove towards Charlotte to meet up with Jen and her roommate Meghan.

We decided to meet at Tiger World, a small zoo in Rockwell, NC that rescues exotic animals, mostly big cats. The low-key zoo houses about two dozen lions, tigers, and other wild cats, including three cute cubs. After being entertained by the odd assortment of animals at Tiger World, it was time for lunch…and beer!

Almost a week into our trip to TN and NC, we still hadn’t had any barbecue, so Jen took us to Mac’s Speed Shop, a biker bar known for its BBQ and beer selection.

Mac’s has a huge beer menu of over 200 beers, and I focused on the drafts from local North Carolina breweries. My pulled pork BBQ sandwich was complemented by:

The lunch at Mac’s was awesome and I definitely want to go back the next time I’m in Charlotte. After our late lunch, we killed some time walking around Charlotte’s historic arts district, NoDa, known for its art galleries, bars, and one of North Carolina’s premier breweries.

I had been looking forward to visiting NoDa Brewing Comapny for a long time. Jen is friends with the couple who started the brewery and she has been telling us about the great beer being brewed at NoDa since it opened. Jen has been bringing me growlers from NoDa whenever she visits us in Maryland, and it was awesome to finally set foot inside the brewery and try the beer straight from the source.

I ordered a four-beer sampler from the large menu of intriguing beers:

NoDa Brewing Company chalkboard

  • Hop, Drop ‘n Roll, an expertly balanced IPA (7.2%)
  • NoDaRyeZ’d, a delicious Double Rye IPA (8.7%)
  • Woody & Wilcox, a hoppy American IPA (6.0%)
  • Monk’s Trunks, this Belgian Pale Ale is an intriguing palate pleaser with flavors of apple, banana, vanilla and grapes (5.6%)

I also sampled Beth and Jen’s pints of Weizen Up (Hefeweizen), Ramble on Red (Red Ale), and Cold Crash (Winter Ale).

We arrived at NoDa when they opened at 4:00 p.m. and the large tap room was packed by the time we left. After sampling the brew, it was easy to understand why — the beer from NoDa was among the best brew I sampled during our entire Spring Break trip. I bought a 22 oz bomber to-go — Pacific Reign, a Double IPA that clocks in at 9.8% and 1,000,000 IBU, according to NoDa. I brought it home to Maryland and decided to cellar it for a bit, but as I write this post I’m tempted to break it out now – I bet it will be amazing!

We didn’t want to leave NoDa, but it was getting late and we had to get back to the campground. But we couldn’t resist a quick visit to Birdsong Brewing Company, which was literally across the street from NoDa. We found a table in the back of the tap room and I ordered a four-beer sampler of the first four brews on the menu:

Birdsong Brewing Company chalkboard

???????????????????????????????The Jalapeño Pale Ale was the second jalapeño-brewed beer I had during my Spring Break trip – and the second I’ve had in my entire life. Seems to be a popular thing in North Carolina but I won’t be disappointed it the trend doesn’t make its way to the DMV. Birdsong was fun, but I think the next time I visit Charlotte I’ll go to Birdsong first then NoDa, to save the best for last.

The brewery two-fer was a first for me – I don’t know of anywhere else in the country with two breweries across the street from each other (please leave a comment if you do). As the day came to an end, I left Charlotte with a new respect for the beer scene in the Queen City, and North Carolina’s beer reputation took a major step forward in my mind. And I still had another full day in Asheville yet to come!

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Pisgah Brewing Company (Spring Break 2013, Part 6)

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on April 10, 2013

Continuing the beer travelogue from Asheville, North Carolina…

After a tour of Biltmore, lunch at Cedric’s Tavern, and a flight at French Broad Brewing Company, we headed back to the campground. But not before a detour to Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain.

We pulled off of I-40 and quickly found Pisgah in low-slung building in an industrial area beside the interstate.

Pisgah Brewing Company entrance

We wanted to pick up a growler for the campsite, so I ordered a flight of four house brews to see what we wanted to take to-go. With 15 house brews on tap, picking just four was a tough call. Plus there were eight guest taps! Here’s a pic of the taps in panoramic mode:

Pisgah Brewing Company taps

My four-beer flight featured:

  • ???????????????????????????????Pisgah Pale (6.0%), the flagship beer is crisp, clean, and well-balanced
  • IPA (7.5%), Pisgah’s IPA is an American version of a classic strong ale
  • Porter, hoppy, rich, and smooth
  • Benton’s Bacon Snout (6.8%), this Stout is brewed with Benton’s Smokehouse Farms bacon — this one-of-a-kind stout is chock full of Bacon flavor, from the smokey first sip to the rich bodied finish. Very tasty indeed!

I also sampled Beth’s Spring Wheat, and we both liked the easy-drinking unfiltered Wheat Ale so we got a growler to-go. I wish we could have stayed longer to explore the entire beer menu – I was intrigued by brews with intense names like Vortex II, Cosmos, Equinox, and Hellbender, but it was late afternoon and we still had to get back to the campground.

As our first full day in Asheville was coming to an end, I savored the fact that we’d be back for more beer explorations. But we had a different beer destination on the next day of our 2013 Spring Break trip: Charlotte.

Posted in Beer Travels, Brewery, Spring Beers | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

French Broad Brewing Company (Spring Break 2013, Part 5)

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on April 8, 2013

French Broad Brewing CompanyContinuing the beer travelogue of my Spring Break road trip through the heart of Appalachia. After spending the first half of our trip near Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we moved on to Asheville, North Carolina, AKA Beer City, USA.

On our first full day in Asheville, we toured the Biltmore and then looked for a brewery or brew pub. Asheville is home to 12 craft breweries so I didn’t think one would be hard to find, and I was right – French Broad Brewing Company was conveniently nearby, practically across the street from the entrance to the Biltmore estate. (Thanks BreweryMap app!)

We entered a small tasting room that opened to the bustling brewery. I ordered a 7-beer flight of house brews, which we sampled at a picnic table in the patio out front.

French Broad Brewing Company Chalkboard

  • IPA (6.5%), a well-balanced IPA
  • Gateway Kölsch (5.3%), a refreshing German-style Kölsch
  • Anvil Porter (5.2%), a smooth and drinkable Porter
  • Wee Heavy-Er (7.0%), this strong Scottish-style Ale is rich and full-bodied
  • 13 Rebels ESB (5.3%), this complex ESB was named for the 13 colonies
  • Rye Hopper (5.8%), an American-style Pale Ale with strong rye notes
  • Barleywine (10.8%), this limited-release brew is deliciously strong

All of the beers were excellent and I grabbed two bombers to-go, for back at the campsite: Anvil Porter and Wee Heavy-Er.

French Broad’s description of its tasting room on the website is spot-on. They implore you to “come by our hyper-friendly, polite, unassuming tasting room and have a pint of our wonderful beers, or perhaps a dab of each, known as a flight.”

French Broad Brewing Company Front

We could have lingered, but the afternoon would soon fade to evening and I wanted to make one more beer stop before heading back to the campground: Pisgah Brewing Company.

Posted in Beer Travels, Brewery | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Biltmore Brewing Company (Spring Break 2013, Part 4)

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on April 6, 2013

Continuing the beer travelogue of my Spring Break road trip through the heart of Appalachia — eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

I had a lot to look forward to as we began the second half of our 2013 Spring Break road trip. We left Tennessee and were headed to Asheville, North Carolina, AKA “Beer City, USA.”

Why does this small southern city tucked in the Appalachian Mountains call itself “Beer City, USA?” According to the Explore Asheville website, “Asheville beer has garnered so much enthusiasm that it was named the winner of the Examiner’s “Beer City, USA” poll four years running. Boasting more breweries per capita than any US city (roughly one brewery per 8,000 people), Asheville is home to 12 craft breweries.”

We got a taste of Asheville — lunch at Asheville Brewing Company — when we drove through town on the way to our campground. And I couldn’t wait to get back.

We started the next day at the Biltmore, the mansion built by George Vanderbilt in the late 18oo’s. The Biltmore is the largest privately owned house in the US, with 250 rooms. The estate covers over 8,000 acres, and admission includes a self-guided tour of the amazing Biltmore House & Gardens and access to Antler Hill Village, which includes a farm with a petting zoo, a museum, a winery with free wine-tastings, children’s garden maze, shops, and restaurants.

After touring the mansion and walking through the gardens, we drove over to the village for lunch at Cedric’s Tavern, named for George Vanderbilt’s beloved St. Bernard, Cedric. This relaxing tavern serves beer from Biltmore Brewing Company along with delicious pub grub. I washed down lunch with:

  • Cedric’s Pale Ale, an approachable English-style Pale Ale that complemented our order of Fried Ashe County Cheese Curds with chipotle ranch dip.
  • Cedric’s Brown Ale, an easy-drinking English-style Brown Ale that paired perfectly with my order of Guinness-glazed Tavern Wings.

Biltmore’s beers are brewed at Highland Brewing Company, and the tavern had a Highland brew on draft too – Gaelic Ale, Highland’s flagship brew. We shared a pint of this American Amber Ale.

After lunch at Cedric’s we had a fun time exploring the village. It was a great day so far, and it would only get better. We still had a couple of brewery visits on our itinerary. Next stop: French Broad Brewing Company.

Cedric's Tavern front

Posted in Beer Bar, Beer Travels | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Asheville Brewing Company (Spring Break 2013, Part 3)

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on April 4, 2013

???????????????????????????????Continuing the beer travelogue of my Spring Break road trip through the heart of Appalachia — eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

The first half of our Spring Break trip took us to snowy Tennessee. After four nights of camping just outside of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we broke camp and drove east on I40 into western North Carolina. We were spending the second half of our trip near Asheville, AKA Beer City, USA.

We had to drive through Asheville and go further east to get to our campground, so we decided to stop for lunch at the Asheville Brewing Company, north of downtown on Merrimon Avenue. I was drawn to the brewery-restaurant by the description on their website, “At our original Mothership on Merrimon Avenue, you’ll find the most kid friendly brewery this side of the UK.” As the father of twins in 5th-grade, this sounded like our kind of place!

It turned out to be perfect. There was a large parking lot in the back where it was easy to park our van and RV. We sat ourselves and were quickly greeted with friendly service. There was a pizza and salad buffet, but we decided to order off the fun menu that featured dishes like Lord of the Rings and Jaws Sandwich. Deciding what to order was a really tough decision, but I was happy with my pick. I had the best quesadilla ever – the La Bamba Quesadilla, made with spicy Spanish chorizo sausage, black beans, red onions, bacon, mozzarella, provolone, and cheddar.

The beer was outstanding too! I ordered a five-beer flight:

  • ???????????????????????????????Shiva IPA, this well-balanced IPA was my personal favorite (6.0%)
  • Rolands ESB, we left with a growler of this sessionable Amber Ale (5.0%)
  • Ninja Porter, Part stealth power and part pure secret creates a rich, satisfying body and hard-hitting chocolate finish with notes of coffee and caramel. Let your inner ninja out!! (5.3%)
  • Escape Artist, a straight-forward Pale Ale - No smoke and mirrors here. (5.5%)
  • Fire Escape, this spicy brew is made with freshly roasted jalapeños…its a fiery yet balanced pale ale. Wow! (5.5%)

For dessert, I sipped a half-pint of the mellow Scout Stout. I also sampled Beth’s Rocket Girl, a light Kölsch — later in the trip we bought a six-pack of Rocket Girl cans to enjoy around the campfire.

We loved Asheville Brewing Company and I hoped to visit their other location downtown during our trip, but we never got there. It will be a must-visit on our next trip to Asheville – I’m definitely headed back to Beer City USA.

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Tennessee Brews and Views (Spring Break 2013, Part 2)

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on April 3, 2013

Continuing the beer travelogue of my Spring Break road trip through the heart of Appalachia — eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

Spring Break 2013 didn’t offer typical Spring Break weather – it snowed! Despite the winter weather, we enjoyed our four-night camp-out near Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When we weren’t admiring the beautiful snow-swept mountains or listening to the rushing mountain stream as we sat by the campfire, we stayed warm and cozy inside our trusty pop-up with local Tennessee brew.

Here are some brews and views from the first half of our Spring Break trip:

Great Smoky Mountain National Park Sign

Entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 

Six-Packs from Blackstone Brewing Company,
Nashville, Tennessee

 

Our camping site in the morning after light overnight flurries…
and then it continued to snow the entire day

 

Boxcar Bundle from Depot Street Brewing Company,
Jonesborough, Tennessee

 

Snow Swept Smokies

 

Bottles of Brew from Yazoo Brewing Company,
Nashville, Tennessee

 

Winter Waterfall in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 

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Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant (Spring Break 2013, Part 1)

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on April 2, 2013

The Boa Beer Blog is back from Spring Break. After a 1,500-mile road trip through the heart of Appalachia — eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina — I’m home, fully recovered, and ready to post my beer travelogues.

Spring Break 2013 started on Saturday, March 23 with a road trip from Kensington, Maryland to Cosby, Tennessee, which is just east of Gatlinburg and the entrance to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We set-up in a beautiful campsite nestled between two fast-running streams in the Great Smoky Jellystone.

The next day we toured the Smokies, highlighted by a walk up to Clingmans Dome, which at 6,643 feet is the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi (we drove most of the way).

On our way back through Gatlinburg, we stopped at the Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant for beer and appetizers. Beth and I shared the nine-beer sampler tray:

  • Mountain Light, an American Pilsner
  • Velas Helles, a light German-style Lager
  • Windy Gap Wheat, a light Wheat Ale
  • Cherokee Red Ale, flavorful Irish Amber Ale
  • Black Bear Ale, an English-style Brown Ale
  • Thunder Road Pilsner, a Bohemian Pilsner
  • Appalachian Pale Ale, a hoppy Pale Ale
  • Tuckaleechee Porter, a roasty dark Porter
  • Capricator Bock, this spring seasonal is a strong, German-style Dark Lager

There were only a couple of stand-outs among the large menu of easy-drinking light beers, and Beth and I quickly settled on our favorites – the hoppy Appalachian Pale Ale for me and Capricator Bock for Beth. These would become our go-to brews over the three days we spent around Gatlinburg – we went to Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant three afternoons in a row! Whether we were touring Great Smoky Mountain National Park or exploring touristy Gatlinburg, we always seemed to find our way back to the Smoky Mountain Brewery for its friendly service and satisfying pub grub.

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Sea Dog Brewing Company – Clearwater, Florida

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on March 24, 2013

Wrapping up my beer travelogue of my recent trip to Tampa…

Sea Dog Brewing Company comes to Florida!

I’ve been going to the Sea Dog brewpubs in Maine since we took our first family vacation to Maine in the late 90′s. We love Sea Dog and have hit their brewpubs in Bangor, Topsham, and Camden (now closed). And now I can add Clearwater, Florida to my Sea Dog list.

I had a business trip to Tampa and flew down a couple of days early to see family. While watching the Orioles-Blue Jays spring training game in Dunedin, I saw an outfield billboard for the new Sea Dog brewpub in Clearwater, so I decided to check it out.

Sea Dog makes me think Maine, so I didn’t know what to expect as we walked into the Sea Dog in Florida. A familiar feeling crept in as I looked over the tap handles and beer selection – a full offering of the Sea Dog and Shipyard brews I’ve enjoyed on our many summer vacations to Maine.

I ordered two 4-beer sampler racks:

Sea Dog Clearwater Sampler

  • Blue Paw Wheat Ale
  • Old Gollywobbler Brown Ale
  • Old East India Pale Ale
  • Riverdriver Hazelnut Porter
  • Sea Dog Stout
  • Monkey Fist IPA (Shipyard Brewing Company)
  • Export Ale (Shipyard Brewing Company)
  • Sunfish Wheat (Shipyard Brewing Company)

As usual, the beer was great – Shipyard’s Monkey Fist IPA was my favorite.

And I’ll give the whole experience a strong thumb’s up – friendly service and delicious pub grub in a comfortable, upscale atmosphere.

Sea Dog with a Florida vibe – love it!

I have family nearby and when I’m back in the area, I will definitely be back at Sea Dog with wife and kids in tow. Actually my wife will be towing me – Sea Dog’s blueberry ale is her favorite beer!

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Dunedin Brewery

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on March 19, 2013

Continuing the beer travelogue of my recent trip to Tampa…

I had a business trip to Tampa and flew down a couple of days early to see family. After watching the Orioles-Blue Jays spring training game and a stop at 7venth Sun Brewery, we went to Dunedin Brewery for dinner.

It was crowded when we arrived but we found an open table on the small outdoor patio. Since I’ve tried the year-round offerings from Dunedin Brewery on several past visits, I focused on the limited-release beers. I could have ordered a pint, but the 10 oz. pours allowed me to sample several brews on the menu, including:

  • Biere de Cafe (6.0%), an American Brown Ale brewed with locally-roasted coffee and chocolate
  • Dropkick Murphy’s Erin Red Ale (5.5%), a whole-cone Amarillo dry-hopped red ale
  • Chronicle #8 (7.3%), this “Scottish IPA” is essentially a hoppy Scottish Ale

Here’s the full beer menu on the day I visited (March 5, 2012):

The great brewpubs not only have great brew, but they have great pub grub too. Dunedin Brewery fits the bill. This is pub grub at its finest – we shared plates of Fried Cheese Curds, Fish Tacos, and Pulled Pork Sliders. I love the beer, but I would go out of my way to visit Dunedin Brewery for the Fried Cheese Curds alone!

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7venth Sun Brewery

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on March 14, 2013

???????????????????????????????Continuing the beer travelogue of my recent trip to Tampa…

I had a business trip to Tampa and flew down a couple of days early to see family. After watching the Orioles-Blue Jays spring training game in Dunedin, we had some time to kill before heading to Dunedin Brewery for dinner. So we stopped at 7venth Sun Brewery, and I admired it so much I went back the next day!

I’ve been exploring the beer scene in the Tampa area for years, but I had never heard of 7venth Sun Brewery. And I probably wouldn’t have found it on this trip, except that it was Tampa Bay Beer Week.

Quick aside: Talk about perfect timing…they must have known I was coming to town! This is actually the second such coincidence, after my visit to St. Louis during St. Louis Craft Beer Week.

Anyway, there was a great article in the Tampa Bay Times about Tampa Bay Beer Week and the exploding beer scene in Tampa, which my mother cut out of the paper for me (thanks, Mom!). That’s where I learned about 7venth Sun, and lucky for me it was less than a mile from where we had planned to get dinner at Dunedin Brewery.

7venth Sun Brewery is on the end of a small building with a row of store fronts on a busy street, and you might miss it if you don’t look for it. We pulled into the large parking lot and then ambled into the small tasting room not really knowing what to expect. And let me tell you, for what looks like a small operation, 7venth Sun had it going on!

With 10 house brews on tap, it took a while to process everything on the two large chalkboards. I was glad to see the 4 oz. pours, which allowed me to try seven different brews over two visits. Sorry for the quality of the pics; there was poor lighting in the tasting room:

I visited 7venth Sun Brewery twice in two days, so you can be sure I would go back again. Why? The variety of well-made interesting brews, friendly service, and friendlier locals make 7venth Sun a must-visit. But next time I’m bringing a growler!

I almost forgot the amazing hand-blown glass tap handles – I’d never seen anything like them. The pic doesn’t do them justice – you gotta see them for yourself.

7th Sun Brewery Barrels

Posted in Beer Travels, Brewery | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

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