Shenanigans With Dave: Go Ahead and Fall in Love with ... The Grill Next Door

This weeks Shenanigans brought us to a local place that I had no idea existed.

The Grill Next Door is located in Haverhill, MA on Rte. 97 as you're headed north towards Salem NH. I was aware there was a brewing supply/darts store and craft beer shop at this location, but really never knew a restaurant was in that little group of stores... much less a restaurant with so many great brews on draft! Normally I'm cruising past at top speeds in order to get to tax-free Salem NH to buy essentials, and watching out for crazy drivers through that stretch of road.

Dave and I were welcomed in by the bartender, Brittany (didn't ask the spelling of her name so I'm figuring it is the traditional way).

Taking a corner spot where we could see all the pulls and make our picks, we quickly found Dave's old index card in the boxes that they use to track how many different brews you try so you can "go around the block a few times" with the Grill... I started a card too. We'll be back, I'm sure.

I ordered a Bear Republic Racer 5 but the keg was empty and there wasn't a backup. That's okay -- there are 35 other choices!

Next choice was a Southern Tier 2x IPA. I'm a big fan of the Double IPAs lately, thanks to our friends at Cape Ann Brewing Company. Dave got a Berkshire Brewing Company Coffee House Porter after a long walk stroll through the extensive beer menu.

For lunch I ordered a Tuna Melt (light rye with cheddar, bacon and tomato). It could have been grilled a little longer, the bread was warm but not like ... grilled. The cheese wasn't very melty. But the tuna salad itself was perfect, and the fries were excellent. Crisp and firm -- not swimming in oil and flaccid (what a great word, that you don't hear too often unless it is used to describe something ... else. If you know what I mean). All told, it was a decent sammitch. Dave didn't order a meal because he had stuffed himself at home earlier in the day. Not even an appetizer for him... which surprised me.

We had a great time talking with Brittany and another gentleman at the bar, got his name but didn't write it down. He asked our opinion of places like "The Tap" in Haverhill after he heard me tell Brittany about the Shenanigans blog.

I moved onto the Alltech Kentucky Bourbon Barrel, which I'd wanted to try for a long time. You could totally taste the whiskey flavor in the beer, it was very sweet, served in its own brandy snifter glass.

I wasn't crazy about it, not being a huge whiskey fan. But it was a nice thing to try somewhere (and check off on the list) without having to buy a six pack of something. This is the joy of being able to go places where there are a lot of different choices.

Try one, and if you don't like it or love it, you can make note of it and not have it again. Try something different next time!

Dave enjoyed several samples of beers such as the Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout, Stone Imperial Russian Stout. Allagash White, Tucher Helles, Ballast Point Navigator, Firestone Walker Double Jack... Lots of samples equal a whole beer if you ask me. We talked all about the beers with Brittany, and finally he ordered an actual full pour with the Bellhaven Scottish Ale, which I enjoyed last week at the Holy Grail.

There were also two Pumpkin beers on tap, and Dave has been fighting them for a couple weeks. "It is too early!" he would insist. Summer is still in the air and we are all in no hurry to give it the bum's rush out the door. We're not ready for hay rides, apples, and pumpkin beers.

But ... he caved. He ordered a Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, and both of us decided that we hated it.

I have NEVER seen Dave come across a beer he doesn't like.

He isn't a fan of the fruity summer beers, and he'll make fun of me for putting oranges and blueberries into my brew. But this beer didn't taste like anything beer. It was as if someone opened the spice cabinet and all of the allspice, nutmeg cinnamon, and whatever else fell out of the cabinet and exploded in our faces. I had a hard time even holding it up to my face to try and take a sip. Dave actually sent it back. Shocking, to me.

He'll finish anything... but not this one.

Brittany wanted him to give the Shipyard Pumpkinhead a try. He was very reluctant to do so, after the last experience...This was a much better beer. It smelled of spices but didn't bring me to fall over sideways, and tasted of pumpkin.

It was delightful. So much better.

For my last beer (I always limit myself to 2 maybe 3 if they are low ABV) I selected Sweaty Betty Blond from the Boulder Beer Company (too many BBCs floating around out there if you ask me).

Brittany and I talked about the image that comes to mind with the name of this beer. I had a picture in my mind of a really hugely fat lady in a polka dot dress waddling around, sweating. I almost didn't order it based on the name. Like the Big Bertha game at an arcade, the one where you throw the ball into the basket and it inflates her dress until air comes shooting out like she's farting. Quite the image, if you ask me.

We talked about the whole Clown Shoes label controversy too, which I wrote about a few weeks ago, and the concepts of "can a name or a label alone drive people away from trying your beer?" "Is your beer the draw or is it the name or picture on the bottle?"

As far as beers go, Sweaty Betty was alright... but like many summer wheats I felt it needed an orange slice or a bit of lemon or something to bring out the flavor. I didn't lose my mind over it and say "boy! I am so incredibly glad I didn't let the name stop me from trying this! It is the best beer I've ever had in my life!"

Next, Dave had a Wurzburger Pilsner. We thought it would settle out, but it was very cloudy. Not what we expected at all for a Pilsner. It looked just like the Sweaty Betty, but you could taste the distinct difference between the two.

While we were enjoying what I thought would be our last beer, Dave's "Black and Blue," which is half Guinness and half Wachusett Blueberry, John DeMarco from Wachusett Brewing Company came in with several bottles of their very first shot at Pumpkin beer.

Dave wanted to give that a try, so he set the Black and Blue aside and we got two sample glasses of Wachusett's Pumpkin.

Better than the Shipyard, this was lovely.

Tasted like pumpkin pie, without that overwhelming sens of too many spices. It had a great flavor and a nice finish. We sat for quite a while with John from Wachusett, and he and Dave had a Blueberry while talking about industry trends, logs and kegs, brewery tours and life as a beer rep.

The bar was starting to get crowded, and we'd been holding court for quite some time. All told, I will be back because being the driver I don't drink too many beers and I sure don't venture over many that are higher than 5% ABV. So if I'm going to fill out my dance card, I'll have to have Doug behind the wheel for me so I can get the 10% beers!

Thanks Brittany and everyone else at TGND. A great day of Shenanigans for sure. Below are some more photos from the day.