Pizza, Beer, and Pickles

Warning: this blog contains little beer talk, and mainly goes into detail about all of the food I consumed over the weekend... I wouldn't recommend continuing reading if your hungry.
We made it back from New York City in one piece, but I can't speak for our luggage, or my shoes. I arrived Friday afternoon, just in time for Austin's hangover to clear up and for me start working on mine! We ate pizza at Fornino in Brooklyn, supposedly famous, along with every other corner pizza spot, but this was the real deal. We had the Margherita Classica and I enjoyed a glass of sangria (the beer list was not worth the calories).  Preston and Ginger live a few stops from this joint, so we went back to digest, drink a beer, and head out for a second meal at their restaurant Peels. We got treated like VIP, yes I am using that term because we received the royal 'your a badass' treatment for being related to/knowing the head chefs, when we arrived to a very full and adorable restaurant. They led us upstairs to our corner table, where the drink and food menu was overwhelmingly full of delicious options with a unique twist on classic southern fare. I was having a hard time deciding, when Ginger came from the kitchen to recommend the fried chicken. She didn't have to mention any else, fried chicken it was! It was covered with gravy and came with a side of the most amazing chunky mashed potatoes. I was having a hard time keeping any on my plate, because Austin was helping himself to the one thing he swears he doesn't like, mashed potatoes. We also shared the potato dumplings with kale and mushrooms, which were very similar to Italian gnocchi and melted in your mouth!  we had creamed collards and Austin got the pork loin steak with hominy, which we learned is the corn that is used to make grits. This dish was all around perfect, Lane you would love it, the sauce reminded me of mole and the meat was so tender it made me forget I usually don't like meat. They tried to send up dessert, but we were both on the verge of falling asleep at the table and we still had some beer drinking to do. Back at the apartment we drank a Cantillon Classic Gueuze and Guava Grove from Cigar city while playing a few round of darts. I surprised myself at my aim, considering I haven't played darts in about a year, regardless of the fact we have a dart board. The next day came quickly and we had lunch reservations, excuse me...Brunch reservations, at their other restaurant Freemans. We walked down the long alleyway to the door which you would not guess was a restaurant until you pass the black curtains keeping the cold air out, to a completely full, bustling, and obviously very well known restaurant. It has the rustic feeling of a southern gentlemen's hunting club, with tastefully stuffed deer and birds strategically lining the walls.  I never knew taxidermy could be so hip! We were waiting for our friend Richard, who also shares a passion for beer and we occasionally have the pleasure of drinking with in LA. He was in NYC for business and had a free afternoon to meet up. Where to begin? We ate ourselves silly, and I drank enough coffee, bloody mary's, and grapefruit/champagne cocktails to fill a 200 LB man's bladder four times. Yet, I only peed once before we left Freemans to go on a beer buying adventure (not the brightest idea I had....although my pee was pretty fluorescent when I finally made it to a bathroom). For food, we had the famous artichoke dip, poached eggs and grits with a side of thick cut bacon. Preston sent out lamb ribs in a spicy apricot thyme sauce which had just the right balance of spicy and sweet with the tender meat falling off of the bone. I have only had lamb chops, this was my first experience with lamb ribs and hopefully not the last....sorry cute baby lamb, you're just too damn delicious. Not sure what everyone else ordered because I was so excited and focused on my grits (it's been at least six months since I have had them, and those are one thing that will make me miss the south, especially since I have such a sweet Mamma to cook them for me when I go home). After leaving Freemans, we made it two beer stores in the Bowery and just about broke my wallet, which ironically did actually break right after we left the second beer store. We got some things I am excited to try from goose island (I don't want to talk about the recent purchase of the majority shares of the brewery by Anhueser-Busch, but maybe it will make the beers we got, which were supposed to be for onsite composition only, have that ahh! factor for being pre-sell-out beers). We also bought the Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak gift set and a few other beers that will hopefully arrive safely.
On to more food...The Pizza Trials:  our last day in New York was upon us and we decided to make pizza at Preston and Gingers, which was what I was looking forward to the whole time. They recently got a wood fire pizza oven for their back yard and we needed to try it out. Preston made the dough, Ginger made the sauce, and we all watched as Preston worked the dough in to prefect round pies, just enough for us to each get a slice per pizza. They made a total of four pizzas which each were prepared, cooked, and then eaten separately. We had a mushroom and thyme pizza, mushroom and sausage, a white pizza, and another mushroom and sausage because it was of the three. Due to the cold weather outside, Preston was having a hard time keeping the surface hot to crisp up the bottom, but after a little critical thinking it was decided to put the coals on the surface while we made the next pizza and then brushing them out of the way when it was time to put the pie in (it worked!) During this time, Austin packaged all of our beer up and it was decided that we would check his luggage with the beer and pay the $25, instead of having Preston and Ginger ship it (their schedules are fairly full and it might have been awhile before we got the beer). The next dilemma was if the bag was under the 50 LB limit? After each of trying to do arm curls with a rolling suitcase, comparing the bag to a 60 LB container of liquid sheet rock(not sure why they had this?) and Ginger throwing the bag over her shoulder to compare it a 50 LB bag of potatoes she frequently carries on her shoulder, it was decided that the bag was too close to the limit to make a valid estimate without a scale. After asking the neighbors if they had a scale, which they didn't (whats wrong with these people in New York, who doesn't have a scale and obsessively weigh themselves?) Austin took the bag to the local laundry to put it on an industrial scale. The moment if truth, 47 lbs!!!! Whew, we were good to go, so I thought. We said our goodbyes to Preston, Ginger, and the cats Clementine and Pickles, and headed to the airtran. We arrived just in time to find out we were five minutes too late to check a bag! The options given by the Delta Concierge were to take the bag with us (It has $200 worth of beer...a liquid, we can't carry it on)..."Why don't you leave the beer here", "It's $200 dollars worth of beer". "You could put it on the next flight tomorrow morning". "Okay, great, I'll leave it here and put it on the next flight", "No, sir, you have to travel with your baggage, I can put YOU and your bag on the next flight tomorrow morning" We obviously needed another option and were running very low on time before our scheduled flight was scheduled to depart. Austin ran to the International terminal where he paid $80 to ship his entire bag to our home, and had to convince the FedEx guy not to open his luggage and he wasn't sending a 'boom boom' bomb (as the FedEx guy put it). He also couldn't say it is full of expensive beer, as it is illegal to send alcohol via FedEx. I am last in the line to board the plane trying to come up for ways to stall if Austin doesn't hurry up....he was cutting it REALLY close by now. Finally, a sweating red faced Austin comes running to the terminal just in time for the last final boarding call. At this point he looks like he could pass out from heat exhaustion and decides to strip his long sleeve shirt off in the line for the short sleeve one he had. Almost to our seats, with absolutely no overhead room for my bag. We get to our seats which were suppose to be one in front of the other in the middle seat (really looking forward to that!) but thankfully two ladies wanted to sit next each other and we got to switch for a middle and aisle seat next to each other. And to my surprise there was only a coat in the overhead bin that could be moved to fit my bag. But wait, the guy across from me needed his jacket to be in that spot, and it couldn't move because it was an expensive jacket. The guys behind us start yelling at the guy to move his jacket for my bag, but I was over it at this point and just sent my bag to the front to be checked underneath.....which resulted in my brand new shoes to fall out and disappear. But don't worry the trip isn't over yet, we left Austin nice light jacket in the seat when we de-boarded!!!
All in all, it was great trip minus the mishaps on the way home. We are still waiting for Austin luggage to arrive, I will keep you all updated on its status. Thanks for reading this rather long post about food and how much I dislike Delta!

Rare

For those of you not up to date with the current beer scene, I'll let you in on a little secret... it is all about stocking your cellar with limited release, barrel-aged, high ABV beers, with prices that could have bought you a decent pair of shoes or an hour-long thai massage. Sure, we may be straying away from the trend of drinking quality accessible beers at reasonable prices, to trading for four year old barley-wines at 11% ABV to complete a vertical (collecting the beer, usually only released once a year, and then opening the collection at one time to compare each year), but that is the fun of the game!! Being able to flaunt your spreadsheet of rare cellared beers only to be opened on a special occasion, or a really bad day, is part of the commitment to joining the 'beer community'. Don't get me wrong, a good beer is a good beer, regardless of price, style, or brewery. Just because there is a lot of hype, the beer is hard to get, and probably cost more than my dinner, does not mean it is going to be worth the trouble either, but maybe it is! I'll take my chances and drink the $50 bottle of Bourbon County Stout 'Rare' . The perfect way to end/begin a Saturday night if you ask me.

We have not had time to go on any fun beer trips lately, but don't worry, we have been drinking plenty of tasty brews. Austin is a great trader, sending local California beers to people across the country that he has met through the beer forum Beer Advocate, in return for equally good beers that are not distributed to our area. Last night we enjoyed a Cantillon Rose De Gambrinus after our hike in Malibu. We decided if a Tsunami was going to hit, we were going be high up on the mountain watching it. Thankfully, my Aunt and Uncle, who live in Japan, were not effected by the Tsunami, but my thoughts go out to all of those that were!

Wishing my parents a happy weekend in Charleston celebrating the final payment of our house (yes, I plan on inheriting it in the future, and I am grateful they went ahead and paid it off before that day!) In all seriousness, I am very happy for them and glad they are able to spend the weekend somewhere fun. I wish I was with them, drinking some local beers of course!

In other news, Austin is off to visit his brothers in Boston and New York City next weekend for a week during his spring break. I am meeting him for a few days in NYC. I am very excited to eat at his brother and sister-and-law's restaurant Peels. Thanks again, Preston and Ginger, for letting us stay at y'alls house. I am sure I will have lots of fun events, beer and non-beer related, to blog about. Until then, I've got Rare on my mind.

Citra, Citra, Citra

While it is still fresh on my mind and palate, I want to start my beer adventures in Kernville at Kern River Brewing Company. Austin and I have become well aquatinted with this small mountain town, about 45 minutes east of Bakersfield. We have successfully made the trek up there for the past four Citra releases.  Usually, we make a long weekend out of the trip and camp along the rivers edge in an undeveloped beach site. A forest ranger suggested the site on our first trip there, which happened to be during one of the largest fires of the year. The road opened to the public an hour before our arrival and we lucked out on very private spot and a great view of the helicopters dipping into the river for water to put the fire out. Quite a site!

Back to the real reason for our trip, not just the amazing mountain views or gorgeous river, it's all about Citra. The brewery only release of their Double IPA, appropriately named Citra, is brewed with the hop variety Citra. The citrus aroma is just as intense and delicious as it taste. I put my carsickness and fear of heights behind me for this! I will drive the long and windy mountain road any weekend for a fresh pint of Citra.
Our last two trips have consisted of staying at the local quirky hotel closest to the brewery. While we would assume setting up camp next to the river, the last few visits the weather has deterred us and The McCambride Lodge is the next best thing. The hotel defines what I envision as being the 80's. I am not quiet sure if the carpet is brown or green? The floral curtains match the throw pillows but are a direct contrast to the striped comforter. The television and the bowl full of candy have not changed at all since 1987. But it is very comfortable, they let Frank, the dog, stay for free and it is the only place in town with a river view. Not too shabby, except for the carpet (oh yeah, that's shag, whatever!)

Our most recent trip was during the annual Whisky Flats Festival. I was instructed by the motel owner to bring my corset, long skirt, and shawl to properly dress like a prostitute for the festival. Fortunately, I own none of those things and therefore had an excuse for not dressing the part. We did managed to walk down to the main square for the Whisky Flat Parade. I was more than ready for a beer after watching the unusually long parade for such a small town, which featured a western 'shoot out'. Thankfully the brewery anticipated the need for alcohol and opened an hour early for the weekend festivities. I also finally got to try Class X, which is Class V stout aged in bourbon barrels, and was even better than I anticipated.


We had one growler of Citra left in the refrigerator and decided to take it to the Clusterfork event today. The one time we are not in hurry, there was no traffic in LA and we made it to Orange County in 35 minutes. A bit earlier than we planned! We managed to the circle the town and twenty antique shops of Orange City twice before the Bruery Provisions opened. I have decided to stay out of the antique shops due to our last visit where I clumsily knocked a glass off of a cluttered table and was practically run out of the store. Opps! (We hadn't even started drinking). Then it was off to the main event at the actual brewery, The Bruery. For some reason we weren't on the list but Austin was one step ahead and printed out the tickets. After a few minutes of Patrick, the owner, looking over his list and our tickets, he waved us through.  I always forget how manly beer events are until I arrive to one. Sure there are girls, but they are few compared to the sea of overweight, bearded men in brewery t-shirts. I am surprised the place doesn't smell worse, all of those dudes drinking beer, eating meat, and farting. I got to drink plenty of Barrel Aged Two Turtle Doves, try the surprisingly delicious Cornballer Malt Liquor, and the bottle share was pretty good. It helped to keep the lines down because people were more interested in who brought what, instead of what was being poured by The Bruery. I am happy to say that the only line was to the bathroom, and well...I was expecting a line somewhere, so I guess the bathroom will do.
I am off to prepare for my first front of the house employee meeting as manager tomorrow morning. I am definitely going to need a beer for that!

Rainy Day Brews

It is a cold and rainy day in Santa Monica. Perfect background weather to start a blog. I've realized that over the past year and a half, (more like two and a half, but for this blog, I will start when I turned the legal drinking age of 21) I have traveled to dozens of breweries tasting a wide range of beers. I thought it was time to start documenting these trips, as they are starting to blur together. I am sure that has nothing to do with the consumption of alcohol, just the considerable number of breweries I have visited! I hope to keep all of my friends and family up to date on my very exciting life, no sarcasm intended. And for myself, a well documented journal of my beer adventures.

First stop, The Bruery in Placentia California. Austin and I are going down tomorrow for a Reserve Society Clusterfork tasting. The event is limited to 80 people and will include an epic bottle share, I'm sure. The Bruery plans to host small Clusterfork events throughout the year, to make up for the colossal clusterf*ck of the Reserve Society Party in January. Thankfully, my boyfriend believes in punctuality and made us show up an hour early for the party. We had an awesome time at the party, while others were less fortunate and waited in unreasonably long lines for a three ounce pour of Chocolate Rain, if they were lucky enough to guess the correct line to stand in.  As for me, I would have liked to have another pour of Barrel-Aged Two Turtle Doves, but no complaints about not getting my share of pours from each station (there were three set up throughout the venue). The 'bacon mac and cheese' grilled cheeses served by one of the food trucks gets an A in my book, and the overall event a B+ (not an A+, only due to the lines). I have a feeling tomorrow is only going to validate my love for The Bruery.