Ardent Craft Ales, Richmond VA

We recently spent a few days in Richmond, Virginia (see the Mekong write up earlier this week). Doug had done a lot of research on the brewing scene in Richmond and we were eyeballing a lot of spots on the Richmond Beer Trail. 

My cousin was in the hospital recovering from surgery, and I was his after care specialist for when he was released. Doug came with me to hang out, and we were both planning to have a full work day from the cousin's apartment. 

After walking up the street to the delightful Riverbend Roasters for coffee and bagels, we settled into work.  

But fate would have other plans. 

The internet was out (thanks to down detector we were sure it wasn't just a problem at his address but his neighborhood). Both of us did what we could to reschedule meetings and alert our teams to the lack of internet (thank you, phones and Slack!) Then we thought... what to do, what to do... I thought for sure my cousin would be spending the second night in the hospital, Doug said that he'd be released when the hospital felt that he should be released.

Doug had downloaded the pdf of the beer trail map, because he is smart like that. We then had our plan for the day. 

We opted to head to the most dense part of the beer trail on the map, a neighborhood labeled Scott's Addition. Looked like we'd be able to visit a couple breweries in one fell swoop. We'd grab a beer at a couple locations and take out for the rest (gotta drink responsibly!) 

Ardent Craft Ales is centrally located at spot 2 on the neighborhood map featured above, so it seemed to be a great option for a starting point. As it was early in the day, we were looking forward to lunch (Doug had scoped the menu out while planning, and was looking forward to the charcuterie board). 

He wanted to sit outside, but immediately it became obvious we were destined to hang at the bar when I started to talk with the beerkeeper, Maddy, who was delightful, welcoming, vivacious. 

Thinking about the recent visit I had to a northern Virginia brewery which I didn't enjoy and felt ignored and overlooked, this was refreshing. Talking about the industry and brewing, the neighborhood and the Beer Trail with Maddy was a lot of fun. 

To be honest, I always recognize when it is busy in a brewery or a bar, the staff are not going to have time to shoot the shit with some rando amateur beer blogger. I know I'm not important, I know I'm not some sort of professional. I just think small talk is sometimes the heart of things in this industry, so when you can get some and get GOOD some, it's even better. 

Beats the shit out of a middle distant stare-through when your glass is empty and the person doesn't ask you if you want another. If you're sitting at the bar, it usually indicates you're gonna be looking for your glass to be filled. 

Maddy made sure of that. If anyone from Ardent ever reads this - please know your staff was exceptional, and it's why we didn't end up leaving and going to a secondary or tertiary location on our "tour" of Scott's Addition, and also why I'll be back in June when I am back in Richmond. 

Anyway. The beers. 

I started with the Cold IPA which sounds like a weird name until you look at the art on the beer board in the picture above.

Instantly it brought up the image of the ICEE art and other similar cold fruity summer heat slaying snacks of our youth. 

It was crisp, clear, lovely. 

Doug got the Ardent Wheat, which had such an amazing flavor. Pictured to the right here, the Ardent Wheat is on the left and the Cold IPA is on the right. And down below the Ardent Wheat is hanging out with the Doug-desired and very well adored by both of us charcuterie board. 

The charcuterie board had three different cheeses, two different meats, pickled onions and wee pickles, and olives. The pear, delightfully sliced, was perfectly ripe and lovely with a piece of cheese against it. 

My only complaint about the charcuterie board was I usually love a nice piece of toasty bread or two for building up a mini stack of the cheese and meat together. That would be the only thing I think that would improve this presentation. The bleu cheese would have been best suited against a cracker or toast. The Appalachian in the middle was perfect against both meats, and I think the cheese at the far right was the Carolina. Smooth and creamy. The Ardent Wheat was a perfect pair to all the flavors here. 

Next, I went into Gose territory to get the Mixed Berry Gose. Initially, I'd wanted the Orange & Clove but they didn't have it on draft, just can, so I'd wanted it on draft. I'm not a huge fan of mint so I didn't go the pomegranate route. 

It's times like this that a flight is nice, but in some ways that's cheating in my book, especially with checking into things on Untappd. 4 oz samples are not exactly a full experience. 

The mixed berry gose was a beautiful color, vibrant and happy. The flavor was subtle, and it wasn't very sour so if you like your Gose to be puckery, this isn't it. It was a good transitional choice between the first course and the sandwich to come.

Doug went with the Defenestrator. 

A collaboration with the Cask Cafe, this was a great doppelbock. We ordered our sandwiches. Doug got the Pressed Avocado, which came with ham, fig jam, brie. Struggling with my decision, I ordered the Roast Beef which came with gouda, spicy mustard and garlic aioli. 

I asked the beerkeeper (Maddy was off on other duties) what he'd recommend with the sandwich and if the IPA X or 14 would be the better bet. He steered me toward the IPA 14 (noting IPA X doesn't mean 10, the way one might interpret). 

Doug had the Kellerbeer with his sandwich. Note that I didn't photograph either beer at this point because we were very busy eating our delicious sandwiches with the amazing side slaw.  

The IPA 14 was great with the roast beef and the Kellerbeer came home with us in a takeaway bag along with some Ardent Wheat. All told, both great choices with the meals we had. 

To be honest, I am sad that I didn't get his name but the beerkeeper we had was delightful. A lovely person, and I would recommend going to Ardent to meet him. I asked him to pose for me with his Sláinte tattoo, as it is a big part of my family heritage to see such a marking of a great server and one who shares such cheer. 

Cheers, dears!

If anyone from Ardent does social media or tracking of web referrals in Google Analytics, leave a comment and let me know who this lovely human is. I won't post Maddy's picture that she let me take because she's mostly sharing her tattoos and I don't have permission necessarily. I wanted to take pictures of them for our kid Jess to show them a fellow sea creature liker. But I did tell this human why I wanted the picture.

Everyone in my family would agree this is awesome. 

We were thinking of swinging round to the cidery or another stop on the beer trail before heading back to base camp in Church Hill. My phone rang and it was the hospital telling me my cousin would be ready for pick up very shortly. Oh! okay! So that changes things. Doug brought me back to the house, and he headed north to home. 

I waited for the pick up call (which didn't come for another 2 hours, but that's okay - I was happy to get a nap) and my take away beers were in the fridge, waiting to keep me company later on that week. 

Where my cousin lives there isn't a brewery right handy - there are some good beer bars, and one restaurant within walking distance where we had some Ardent and others during the week. I understand someone is opening a brewery in Church Hill this spring/summer so that'll be another addition on the beer trail to go visit when we go back! 

Thanks Ardent for a great day and visit! 

Astro Lab Brewing, Silver Spring, MD

Date of Visit, February 19, 2022

Feeling cooped up for a couple of weeks, Doug suggested that we head to downtown Silver Spring to visit Astro Lab Brewing for some lunch and brews. Twist my arm, wouldya? 

We'd only been to Astro Lab one time, back in July 2021, where we actually ran into one of my co-workers hanging out on the patio. We had a wonderful visit with him, so I didn't log my beers for a write up. Happy to return to do an official blog entry on the space. 

Downtown Silver Spring currently hosts three breweries. The most popular is Denizens, everyone seems to know it if you mention breweries in town, and they have a second location s they've expanded their vision and mission in brewing. There's also Silver Branch, which is conveniently right on the Red line of the DC Metro line. In the Before Time when I'd be commuting, Doug would sometimes text me to say he was stuck in traffic in Virginia. I'd bail in downtown, grab a pint or two, a container of popcorn, and do a little more work for a half hour or so to avoid waiting or languishing in the cold at my stop (or, walking the 3/4 mile home in the cold or rain, or brutal heat). 

Astro Lab is located right on the main drag through Silver Spring, parking on the road in the immediate vicinity is sometimes a challenge, but garages in the neighborhood are free on Saturday and Sunday, and after 7pm weekdays, which makes it a little easier. They have a small limited menu of food, and they do not allow outside food to be brought in, which is kind of a shame when you scan the nearby neighborhood and realize the huge assortment of cuisines from Chinese to Indian to Ethiopian and good old American Subs right in front of your face. 

We were hungry in addition to thirsty, so we did get the hand pies they serve. Having been to a number of places that serve this sort of nomage, they're similar to Cornish Pasties or my favorite KO pies from Australia which  we used to enjoy all the time in Boston. They're not very filling, so we were careful not to overdo it with the beers vs. having a nice full belly to offset the ABVs. 

I only checked into 4 beers on Untappd, which is not the full experience of what we had. We share beers when we go out, Geoff always wants to try what we got so we've just all gotten used to trying from one another's glasses. It's a family thing. 

I started out with the Rock Creek Lager .. Lagers should be simple, easy, and clean and this one certainly is. Does not disappoint as a first choice.

Geoff got the Ripple, which was a nice berry stout. It had a lot of "nose" as it were, very berry scent but the flavor wasn't to match. Still, quite tasty overall.

Zero to 60 was Doug's choice, described as an Imperial/Double IPA/New England Hazy, tremendous flavor and scent. 

Gravitas Rainbow was my second beer, chosen for the nod to Thomas Pynchon novel. Which I've never read and I actually only know one person who has - Doug. This beer is fruit-full and delicious. The rainbow being all the flavors you get out of the mix, like peaches, nectarine, melon. Incredibly tasty without veering into any sort of Gose or sour. It remains a true IPA. 

We also had the Groovier (Geoff), and Battle of Nantes (Doug), and Geoff had a third to go with his awesome ice cream sandwich, but I didn't record what he had. I was busy goofing off and playing with the brewery cat. I really should do a whole write up of awesome brewery cats. Gotta protect the ingredients from mice! Keep doing amazing work across the country, you good babies.

I should mention the hand pies again. I had the curry and Doug had the beef. Both were delicious, but like I mentioned - small. Usually when I head out to a brewery I really also want a decent nosh. Potato chips on the side don't necessarily increase the experience. Overall though, the flavor made up for the small, and hand pies are supposed to be hand pies... and not the hands of a giant. 

It's nice to have some really good choices close to home!

Caboose Brewing, Vienna VA

Date of Visit: February 21, 2022

For several weeks, Doug and I have been spending time over in Reston helping a family member with some issues at home. That's not beer blog fodder. But. After spending several hours and feeling like no progress is getting made, filled with the overwhelming sensation that we're not getting anywhere, a person should just take a detour to get a cold one. 

This was one of those days. 

Presidents' Day is a holiday for many, but not for my husband. So I went and did the family duties with care and love all by myself. I had been eyeballing options for places to stop but found the couple I wanted to visit were closed on Mondays. 

So I picked Caboose Brewing. Slightly out of my way but I figured it would be great to just sit, relax, and have a beer. 

The place was super crowded when I got there. It was a gorgeous day, and the tavern backs up onto a rail trail. Dozens of cyclists and families with kids were hanging out enjoying a break on their long or short hauls on the bright and sunny afternoon. 

I entered the tavern, the signs said to wait to be seated so I waited. For a rather long time. I was about to give up and leave when one of the staff noticed me and asked if I wanted anything. Yes. To sit. Somewhere. Please. 

She told me that I could sit anywhere, gestured around and gave me a big smile. I thought it odd, and pointed out that the sign said to wait to be seated. 

She shrugged. I headed straight to the bar. 

The bartenders (they have a full bar) basically ignored me as they washed glasses and cleared the bus corner where the waitresses were bringing things back.I finally flagged one down and asked if I could order. He said sure. Again, kind of a weird feel to this but okay.

I chose To Helles and Bock because I love good pun names. It was very refreshing, especially after hours of cleaning and working. Great taste and a nice maibock. I downed it fast, but got a picture for the socials. 

I wanted a second one, and just couldn't get the attention of anyone behind the bar. There were two or three people back and forth, filling orders for the wait staff bringing things to the tables. I even got a middle distance stare through by one of the staff, like I wasn't even there. Eventually I walked over to the to go case because there were a couple beers I wanted to try, and when I came back I asked for my second beer, and the guy heard me. 

"I'll take a second pour and these to go. You can close out the tab then." 

I ordered the Dunkelweisen, and got the Fog Hazy IPA and Blackberry Gose to go home to the boys. My notes in untappd are blank from the check in, so I think that I just wanted to drink it and go. I don't have a really strong mental note either of what I thought.  

Caboose serves food too, but I knew I was headed home to a fully made dinner in an hour, and I didn't want to ruin my appetite. The menu looked good, and the bike rider next to me had a buffalo chicken sandwich. It smelled amazing and he made a couple audible groans of delight at the deliciousness of the sammitch. I asked him how was it and she shook his head, asking "are you married?" 

Laughingly, I admitted to such and he told me that if I had that sandwich, I'd leave my husband, and live with the sandwich forever. His wife was sitting on his other side, and she was laughing (with her salad in front of her, probably not feeling the same about her salad). I asked him if he was going to leave his wife and go live with this sandwich, and he said yes. Yes he was. 

Note to self that the sandwich is worth divorce. 

I had to flag down one of the waitstaff, while sitting at the bar, to pay my tab. I realized that the bartender was paying attention to the couple next to me and I still felt that this was just weird. 

It was time to go. I felt overall that the beer was good here, but my experience was negative. I'm not used to ever sitting at a bar and not getting attention. Luckily the ride home was swift, and we were able to enjoy the Fog and Blackberry Gose at home. I didn't take notes or photos of them, but we overall really loved the Gose. 

To be honest, I'm not sure I will ever go back to Caboose, even for the divorce sandwich. Even with Doug. 

Mekong, Where Beer Is The Answer

 Hello Shenanifans! I've been neglectful and have not updated since Thanksgiving, but have been to a couple of good places that I do want to write about! So I'll back track on my beer trail soon and fill in some blanks. Watch for those updates.

I find myself in Richmond, VA right now. We have come down to help my cousin from his surgery this week. He is still in the hospital, and we are hanging at the apartment. 

A couple years ago, Doug did some travel work and found himself here. He stayed at a hotel within walking distance of a Vietnamese restaurant with a brewery. Well. There ya go. He enjoyed his visit so much that he wanted to go back. That's where we ended up last night.

Mekong is indeed for beer lovers, and food lovers as well, I'll say. With an extensive beer menu that spans north to south, styles and flavors, they even brew their own. Doug had wanted to go into the brewery area but they're closed on Mondays, sadly. Well, it isn't like we don't have choices. 

We ordered pan fried dumplings and rocket shrimp wraps for appetizers, and surfed the beer list. I always like to do the locals when I travel, so I got the Space Invaders Hazy IPA from Final Gravity Brewing here in Richmond. Doug got the Animal Balloon SIPA from Hudson Valley. 

Space Invaders is pictured to the left and Animal Balloon on the right in the photo above. They look so wonderfully similar, but taste wildly different. The Space Invaders was nice. Good flavor and mouthfeel, it went down easy for a DIPA. The SIPA tasted like a mimosa, or a spree candy once the hard coating starts melting off when you're sucking on it. Both of them were fantastic. 

 

In a lot of ways it is weird to me to drink fruity sours with the flavors of Vietnamese cooking. They don't really go together. 

But we're here to eat delicious food and drink tasty beer, dagnabbit, and if necessary, rinse between tastes so you can go from a tart cherry to a spicy curry and not get your palette  completely confused. 

We next wandered into two very different looking and tasting beers. 

On the left is the Enga Ikizere from Mast Landing in Maine. A coffee brown ale that was super, very heavy coffee taste and smell. Almost like having that morning coffee for sure. 

I am a huge  fan of Mast Landing because they've been the brewers for Guster's take over of the city of Portland, Maine for the past few years. I'm hoping they'll have yet another concoction mixed up for us in August for the next On the Ocean 2022. 

Doug picked the tart cherry Amarelle from another Maine state brewer, Oxbow Brewing Company. It was very cherry, tart, fantastic. Not as tart and puckery as the Animal Balloon, but a different feel due and flavor due to cherry vs. orange. Really tasty. Good for sipping and talking. 

We enjoyed our dinners with this pair, the Tom So Xao Hanh Gung, which was shrimp and scallops breaded and fried, then glazed with a ginger sauce and scallions, and the Bo Xao Lan, which is beef sauteed with onion and spicy yellow curry sauce, sprinkled with crushed peanut. The curry could have been hotter or spicier, but to be honest, going with a lot of the fruity styles of beer maybe it was better this way. It was a tremendous meal.

Lastly, we had another pair of mismatched looks and tastes but very much a dessert course in and of themselves. 

In the back is the Geisterzug Rhubarb by Freigeist Bierkultur, and in the front a tiny but potent Buntastic by Prairie Artisan Ales. 

The Rhubarb was yet another nice sour, almost like wine or cider. It was delicious, and very flavorful, not that I ever think of rhubarb itself as flavorful. All of my rhubarb experience have usually been in pie, and always better when the pie is made with a mix of rhubarb and something else. But this was good.

Mekong failed me at not actually having carrot cake to serve with the carrot cake beer. That would be a nice coupling. It has a very high ABV, but it's not a face punching hot alcohol forward brew. 

When I held it up to my nose, I honestly could barely detect any aroma to it so I got a little worried it would be a dud. Doug said he got the hints of vanilla but other than that not much. I got nothing. 

But then you sip it and all the flavor is there. Carrot, sugar, vanilla, spices, maybe a hint of coconut, and it's a slice of cake right in your face. I understand the tiny glass because of the ABV but this left me wanting some more.

And a slice of cake. 

As a restaurant, the staff was fantastic. Everyone had on fun shirts that were plays on pop culture references and their motto of beer being the answer. I thought about the Todd Rundgren song of Love is the Answer and sang about beer instead. The Virginia is for Lovers tag gets a nod with Mekong is for Beer Lovers, Run DMC's logo is turned into ANS WER (I didn't want to ask my waiter if I could take his picture. 

I loved their logo on the seats and tables to remind you at every moment that you're in the beer lover's place. A bottle cap edge with the river running through it, as a nod to both Vietnam and the Mekong river and Richmond with the James, both places united by water that divides the land. 

One of my favorite bands, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, have a song called Mekong about an American serviceman at a bar ordering rounds of Mekongs from the barkeep as he makes friends, and he bemoans that he hasn't seen his girl in 15,000 miles. The refrain goes: 

"And if it's true it's always happy hour here, then if it is I'd like to stay a while. 

As cliche as it may sound I'd like to raise another round,

And if your bottle's empty help yourself to mine. Thank you for your time.

Here's to life." 

It put a smile on my face to look around and see people enjoying themselves so much with friends and food and drink. Here's to life, indeed. The lighting is very bright, the bar is lined with bottles and pulls. Giant TVs were showing car racing and NCAA tourney games at the bar. The place was hopping with families, dates, Moms and Dads with their VCU students, it was a true mix of folks enjoying the food and atmosphere. 

All told this was a fantastic night out. Richmond, you're lucky to have this gem! I'd go back for sure, and recommend others do too!

Where beer is born at Stone Path Malt

Date of Visit: November 24, 2021

I am not sure if we just aren't paying attention or if we are just railroaded into going to one restaurant and one restaurant only by my mom when we visit, but there is a hidden gem incredibly close to where my folks live that I had no clue about. 

Stone Path Malt Taproom in Wareham, MA

Stone Path is a malt distributor and they have a taproom where they feature beers brewed by their customers. So they aren't a brewer themselves, but super essential to the brewing process. 

If you're reading this blog, you know what malt is, but, if you stumbled upon this site somehow completely by accident, I recommend reading this write-up from Stone Path, and another good one by Allagash Brewing Company where the malting process is explained.

We arrived at 4pm, when they opened and came in to find the regulars already lined up and playing cornhole and ping pong. We met the owner and co-founder, Mark St. Jean. He was running the taps, greeting the regulars, and taking care of business. I don't usually seek out the management, but we seemed to grab his attention, and he was super friendly. We pointed through the woods to where my parents live and I had visions of my dad figuring out this place was within walking distance for him if he was feeling up to it, and him planting cheeks at the bar.

The taproom is in the front of the warehouse, where you can look straight back and see the giant stacks of malt packaged up in bags, and the shining steel silos or tanks where barley goes to be stored or malted (I'm not sure of the actual name of the containers) and the game area right in front of where the business action is. 

From left to right: Porter's Porter from Broad Brook; Moat Mountain Czech Pilsner; and South Coast Saison from Moby Dick Brewing Company.  Not sure why the glasses look warped, but I love this picture and think the shot just came out kinda neat! 

When I read on their site that they served the beers their customers made I initially thought maybe this was super nano or hobby brewers, like Joe's Basement Beer in Barnstable (making that up, of course)  

Thankfully, my brain was wrong. 

These are not hobby or basement outfit breweries. Stone Path features draft beers from a lot of breweries I've been to or have enjoyed their beers over the year: Jack's Abby, Moby Dick, Buzzards Bay, Aeronaut, and others (Tap list is here). Gotta admit this was much to my joy. I wasn't sure if I wanted hobby brew sampling time but I'm sure that would have been fun too. 

I had the Porter's Porter from Broad Brook Brewing, Suffield, Connecticut. It was a nice dark and bready porter - exactly as the name says it is a "porter's porter!" 

Doug had the Czech Pilsner from Moat Mountain and we both agreed was clean and crisp. 

Geoff got to enjoy a brew from Moby Dick Brewing that was not on tap when we visited there in June - The South Coast Saison. 

I also enjoyed the House Lager from Jack's Abby (pictured left). 

Back when I first started the blog we went to a couple of Beer festivals with Dave and Jack's Abby was always there. 

Here's a link to the Haverhill Beerfest Shenanigans we enjoyed, TEN YEARS ago!!!!  Find the picture of the dude in lederhosen, and there's your Jack of Jack's Abby (with Abby, naturally!) I have not made it a habit of going back and reading old posts, but knowing that at the time both Doug and Dave thought Smoke & Dagger was too smoky is kind of funny. Jack's Abby, according to their website, was founded in 2011, so we were enjoying their brews from the get go. 

The Jack's Abby Red Tape Lager was a really nice brew  Smooth and easy. Great offering from them. And unlike the Red Tape they had to cut through to open their brewery, this nice and easy version is a fantastic experience. 

Sadly, we never got to go to their taproom in Framingham when we lived in Massachusetts, and that's a regret. The beer and food menu look great. Love to see them still crafting great flavors and by all appearances doing really well. 

And we know where they get their malt! 

After a while, I was feeling incredibly wiped out due to a poor night's sleep (our dog was very anxious all night, and I was up with him for quite a bit of it). Doug and Geoff decided to go visit Lucky Goat in downtown Wareham and Buzzards Bay Brewing to continue their beer tour along the canal towns. 

I didn't go to Lucky Goat so I don't have a write up to share, and we've been to Buzzards Bay in the past. We did get back there on Friday night after a day touring around to see my mom's family. And because Buzzards Bay uses Stone Path, here are some pictures of beers I had on this visit that I didn't enjoy on the last visit, which you can read about here. 

Here is the Dumpling Rock Bock, which was great - and the video games behind it were not there when we came to visit in June. 

And here is "Boo" which was a wonderfully malty brew. Not listed on their website, I think this is a lager (if I recall, I should take better notes and not rely on the websites). I enjoyed this with some pad thai from the restaurant next door. Beer was far more flavorful than the dinner. I'm not usually disappointed by pad thai, but. This was not the best. 

We have become fans of Buzzards Bay, so I'm already looking forward to another visit back to Wareham for Stone Path and Buzzards Bay! 

Backbeat Brewing, Beverly MA

Date of Visit: November 23, 2021

We visited Massachusetts to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. We opted for a day up at ye olde stomping grounds on the North Shore. Our friend Natalie visited a couple weeks ago and told us that her husband Caleb is the assistant brewer at Backbeat Brewing Company. 

To see Caleb and have nice beer, well. There's a thing to be thankful for. 

We got there on what I'd consider the early end of things at 11:30am, but they actually open at 5:45am! Located across the street from Beverly Depot, commuters can grab a breakfast sandwich and coffee to go on the train.

Indeed, the brewery has a restaurant, great coffee, and a mighty fine selection of teas as well! 

Our friend Amy does not drink coffee or beer and she came to mind when I saw the tea selection on their website, so we invited her to join us for lunch. 

For sure this is the kind of place that makes welcome all the varieties of people in the world from breakfast wanters, to imbibers wanting of non alcoholic items, lunch seekers, and craft beer lovers at any hour. Great ideas for the location in wonderful downtown Beverly.

A quick note, when Doug and I were first married we live here in town, brought our first baby home after delivering at Beverly Hospital. There are few towns I'd want to maybe go back and live in, and Beverly is one of them. 

I started with the nitro Bobby O'Brien (pictured above/left) which is described on the website as an Irish Red. 

There was no notable red to this - it was a pretty dark brown, photogenic for sure, and quite tasty. (I forget exactly what Geoff and Doug had on the first round because I was focused on taking in the menu for my next choice. Doug may have had the Czech Dark Lager if I recall).  

We ordered lunch, Doug and Geoff got the mac & cheese with pulled pork on top, and Amy and I each got the chicken pot pie. 

I got the Background Vocals Blonde Ale (pictured below) to go with the pot pie, and it was a very nice pairing. The pot pie was delicious, toasted nicely on top, and very hot.  And the guys loved their mac and cheese too because it got inhaled by both of them without me getting a li'l taste. 

Amy recalled that a friend of ours, Jim Infantino, has a song called Background Vocals and we talked about the lyrics and laughed. We chatted about Jim, music, musical friends.

One of the fun things about the brewery is that the Union Jack British Market that used to be located up on Rte 1 south in Peabody has relocated shop here. We had fun looking at all the chocolates and the cut-out of the queen. Amy went home with some Walnut Whip from Cadbury with promises of a review on it. 

Next, I had Express Lane NEIPA (pictured left) while we all four split a toffee graham square as a treat. 

The cookie was delightful, chocolatey and tasty, wonderful. 

I maybe should have gone the way of a stout here with Coffee/Toffee/Chocolatey tones to go with but the Express Lane was really fun, and I do not regret getting it. Bitey, hoppy, flavorful, it was contrary to the sweetness of the desert, and wonderfully delicious. 

Doug also had gotten the two beers on cask, the Bitter an Ale that isn't on the tap list on their website. We aren't sure it even has a name maybe? We both liked that one more than we liked the bitter. 

But to be honest, the bitter was not bad, it's just that the ale was better. 

This is a fun sentence to say out loud a few times. 

We finished our visit up, said our goodbyes and went on our way to drive around Beverly, look at the water, head up to Ipswich where I always fantasy house hunt, and we didn't go to the Ipswich Brewery because we were having dinner somewhere else. 

Next visit "home" to the North Shore we'll be sure to be back and check out the Old Planters (closed until April, according to the website) and Gentile Brewing (steps away from Backbeat). 

Beverly, I miss you already. 

Oh, and here is a picture of Caleb and me. I look awful as I was super tired from the travel up to this point. 

Sour Sapwood Treat

I'm a procrastinator. It is well known across all the land. Famously, most recently, was the EZpass registration I didn't complete back in June. I went to register it online and it told me that I couldn't. Calling customer service, they said I could go to the RMV or come see them in person.  Seeing as we need it next week, well. I needed to unprocrastinate my life.

We opted to go in person to one of the EZpass offices in Baltimore, and then make a day of it. And, of course stop at a brewery in or out of town. Baltimore has a lot to offer, and we were looking forward to food and drink! We did our errand and I was relieved to get the EZpass all set up (whew!) heading to Federal Hill and Mount Vernon in B'more for a walk after the deed.  Normally we'd probably head to Max's Taphouse in Fells Point because the beer selection there is outrageously good, and the food is too. But we wanted to hit up somewhere we had not been before.

The plan was to visit The Brewer's Art for a winning combo of lunch and tasty brews, but found they don't serve lunch until 4pm on Saturday (basically nothing in the area was open until 4pm either!). No lunch for us! We will have to go back one night for dinner! We'll see you soon, Brewer's Art!

Thinking of our pivot as we walked back to the car after grabbing a quick bite at a beerless restaurant, Doug said had been wanting to visit Sapwood Cellars, and told me that one of the founders/brewers had written the book "literally" on sour beer. We had to basically drive past there (sort of) anyway to get home, so off we went. 

One point to make quickly is I work in web content for a living. It's really nice to have a brewery put up a website that has content, which Sapwood has done. 

There's a lot to read here, a great "About" section where you can learn all about the brewers' philosophies and their beer styles.

Michael Tonsmeire runs his own blog called the Mad Fermentationist, and Scott Janish has his own blog too. I tend not to dive in too much before going to a place we haven't been yet (which I didn't have time to do anyway because we made a spur of the moment decision to head there) because I don't want to go in with preconceived notions put out by the marketing team. Gotta say though, I had a great time reading through the site, brew/beer descriptions, and the blogs with a take-home can by my side.

Their main site and both blogs have a beer science vibe, videos, and lots to learn about the process that makes the flavor. Knowledge of beer science and the visual proof that they know what they are talking about meant that we were in for a treat.

Another brewery located in an office park (seems to be a thing here in Maryland) they did have a sign out on the street letting us know the tasting room was there so there was no getting lost. We had grabbed lunch in Baltimore sans beer as I mentioned, so we didn't get to check out the food truck, sadly. It looked pretty great so I'll give them a shout out here - DM Sliders. This is their Facebook page and it turns out yesterday was their last gig of the year until next March at current fave True Respite! We'll make a note of it.

Sapwood Cellars presents a beautifully appointed tasting room, lots of wood (naturally, based on their name!) and a really cool mural wall on the right side that made for a nice backdrop for taking pictures of the beers for Untappd (and here!)

Doug and I usually like to sit at the bar so we can chat with the bartender, but it was full (happy for them to have a ton of visitors!) so the table would do just nicely. 

I started with Pillowfort (pictured above), and Doug went with Threat Level Morning (pictured left). 

Pillowfort is a delicious hazy DIPA, and at 8.5% ABV I'd be building me a pillowfort if I had too many of them. It has a really strong aroma coming up to the face, and a fantastic flavor. 

Threat Level Morning is a coffee version of their Threat Level Midnight stout. We probably should have ordered one of each for the compare contrast. Suffice to say, the coffee notes in this "Morning" version were notable. Very flavorful and a fantastic aroma. Note to self to try the Threat Level Midnight next time round!

I had a friend once ask me if people actually drink beer for breakfast, noting that there are so many coffee or breakfast themed stouts. I personally don't but hey - if you do, you do you! Coffee, or oatmeal to carry on the breakfast theme, are flavors just like any citrus or banana or anything else you'd expect in a beer. So many breweries go with the breakfasty "theme" for those products. 

Next we headed towards the sour offerings. I had the Plush Pop, and Doug went with their Sekund: Cab Franc Wit. They look somewhat similar, but the flavors and experience of each are for sure different. 

Plush Pop (below, right) was almost like a raspberry lime pie, or soda. Amazing flavor, tart and juicy. Sekund indeed had the wine flavor from the second-use grapes, as described on their menu. Embodying more of a strawberry flavor, it had a totally different feel and flavor to it than Plush Pop. 

They both were unique and flavorful, really a joy if you like this kind of thing. I'm a fan of sour beers but usually if I'm out, I can't have more than one. Sometimes sour beers are too tart, or taste like the Spree candies of my childhood, with sort of a tasty candy beginning and then a sour stab of a tang that hurts your tongue the longer you suck on those solid little discs (if you are not familiar with Spree, I feel for you, friend. Read here from Wikipedia!)

Figuring we still needed to get home it was time to pick our last hurrah. We opted to split a bottle of Opulence 2021, served in these beautiful stem glasses and a lovely pouring basket. This made me think of great opportunities for picnics out in the wild in the spring (which I'm already looking forward to) with lovely blankets, dappled sunlight through the trees as the new leaves emerge, and interesting sandwiches. It would be a really sweet little thing to impress my friends with to pour out of this basket for them! 

I think I could have done better for taking a photo, but the light was weird behind my head and I didn't want my hand and camera in the shadow. 

The beer was delightful. Again, a lovely fruity and flavorful brew. I'll copy right off their incredibly helpful website and share their own description here: 

With each step of the brewing process our goal was to saturate Opulence with rich dark fruit flavors. We began with a base of toasted and caramelized European malts to deliver fig and plum. Fermentation with a red wine strain enhanced the jamminess of the early dose of dried sour cherries. Aging in Bourbon and red wine barrels creates oaky depth. A final infusion of fresh local sweet and sour cherries from Milburn Orchard (Elkton, MD) instills a bright cherry pie aroma.

No lie. No joke. Jamminess. Sour Cherries, aged in Bourbon barrels (which I didn't take any flavor of and that's good because I'm not a fan of beers from Bourbon barrels). The bright cherry pie aroma is there, and lingers long after a sip. 

Damn fine finish to our visit! 

Realizing we've barely scratched the surface here if you go look at their full beer list, we'll have to come back through.  Looking forward to that like I'm looking forward to picnics in the spring.

The True Respite & Saints Row Mac and Cheese bake off - Welcome to The Buffalo Chicken District

This entry is more about me and macaroni & cheese, with guest appearances about beer. 

I feel like most of this could be an entry for my regular blog, but, I wrote it all here, and it feels like it all belongs. After all, Shenanigans were had. And that's the goal of the blog, right? 

Read on, if so inclined.

After a couple of challenging weeks at work, and life drama we are experiencing here in the family, the plan was to have fun this Saturday and participate in the Mac and Cheese bake off at True Respite, with their co-sponsoring brewery Saints Row. 

We went and picked up the tins last weekend, and my write up of our visit is linked here. 

To be honest, I spent most of the week looking forward to doing this so very hard. But by Friday afternoon though, I couldn't get out of my own way mentally. I had to go to the market, I had to prep all the things. I don't like making this recipe the day before, the noodles soak up all the moisture in the mix, and then I feel like it is dry and nasty. So you have to make it the day of.  I began to experience regret for agreeing to do a thing.  I don't like sending Geoff to the store when I am making something super specific, because sometimes he can't find the thing I need/want and comes home without it (not that I can fault him, really) so I knew I'd have to do this shop.  

I sat here on Friday afternoon, finishing my workday, defeated, thinking that all I wanted was for my Saturday to be a day of introverted hiding, sleeping until noon maybe, and a short walk around the neighborhood if that.

But. I'd entered the contest. 

Begrudgingly, I dragged myself to the market, did the shopping, came home, and executed a decent test run to make sure I recalled how to do it. 

Indeed, as I remembered, this recipe is two solid hours of work, apologies to my family. Dang. But, it came out really good, even though we didn't eat until 8:30pm. I didn't make the topping the way the recipe called for because I wanted to make sure I had all of the crumbled bleu cheese and celery greens for the "real" version for the competition. Satisfied with the recipe and my memory of it, I began to get a renewed enthusiasm for participation. After 2 hefty bowls of goodness, downed with a Lone Oak General Sherman DIPA from the fridge, once again I looked forward to the following morning. 

I got up at 8:30am, started boiling the water for the macaroni noodles. One near hiccup was that I noticed was I didn't have a another can of panko like I thought I did, and I'd used a full one the night before. So I opted to just to use regular bread crumbs rather than run to the market.... As I was working with the chicken, I recalled that panko sticks better to the chicken after you pan fry it. With regular bread crumbs, the coating falls right off when you start to mix everything together in the pan. Recalling that, I executed a plan. I had to be really careful, I gently layered mac & cheese in the tins, added the chicken, and then put more mac & cheese on top, pressing gently and organizing the mixture so the chicken would stay intact as intended without losing the coating. sigh. 

While making the roux for the cheese sauce, it wasn't getting thick enough for my liking. It was as if it was fighting with me. The night before it was wonderful. But here, pressed for time, it just didn't want to cooperate. 

I didn't want to get into that classic battle of "add more flour, oh no you added too much now add more fat, oh no, now..."which happens every time I make gravy, so I have capitulated in the past and learned my lesson. Now I just get gravy in a jar. But this was different.

Eventually, time and heat solved the problem and everything came together, but I was sweating it there for a bit, like I'd have to start over and we didn't have a great deal of time. I tasted the sauce, it wasn't cheesy enough for my liking, the way Friday night's version was. Okay - throw more Frank's Red Hot in there, and make it spicier I guess. And oh, here's some unexpected Mexican Cheddar mix in the fridge. Add another 6 ounces of cheese in and let's call it. Still doesn't taste cheesy enough but we're at the starting gate, and I am panicking. We need to go. WE NEED TO GO!

We got in the car, me nervous, but wearing my favorite Chowdaheadz Beer T-shirt as my "halloween costume." Got a few loving compliments on it. 

Way to go Chowdaheadz! Happy to represent beer, Boston, and my Irishness in one t-shirt.

We arrived at the brewery at 11:45 because I thought we had to be there at for setup and start at noon. 

But the Yoga portion of things started at noon, the mac and cheese competition was at 1. Huh.

Note to self: It helps if you re-read the instructions sent to you earlier in the week before just deciding what time you think you should be there. 

Anywhoo as we say in our house, on time is late. So we were there early. I met fellow competitor Amy, she made the same mistake I made and thought that she needed to be there for 12pm start. We had a great chat, and were feeling very excited about participating.

We were emailed our positions that morning, and I was #12, out of #17. Happily went to my spot, and started to set up. Thought of "TB12" Tom Brady and laughed that maybe 12 would be a lucky number. Or. Numbah.  Maybe.

I brought my lightboard to set up in front of my chafing dish, discovering in the car that the batteries were dead (and I didn't check them before leaving, naturally). But it was daytime, and it looked good nonetheless so there was no stress there. 

I realized I had not brought my serving spoon on accident, but entry #10 had a ton extra, and tape so putting my ingredients list sign out was secured. Thank you #10!

Entry #11 arrived, and he had also made Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese.

Huh.

Now. Some people may have panicked realizing that they were next to someone who made the same thing, like showing up to the prom in the same dress as someone else. 

But we compared our ingredients, and figured it would be nice to stay side by side and not cause a fuss asking to be separated. In fact, this was super cool the more we thought about it. I edited my lightboard to include him, and started referring to our stations, as Doug called us, the Buffalo Chicken District.

His name is Donnie, and he drove all the way from Rhode Island to participate. I thought to myself, damn son. What? You really are into Mac and Cheese cook offs!  

Turns out he's good friends/former roommates with one of the guys who works at True Respite, Alec (or Alek, if he spells it that way) and had been invited to come and participate and spend the weekend. 

How fun is that? Considering the night before I was ready to just withdraw and cancel, here's a guy who just drove from basically my parents' house to be part of this. I felt like a jerk a little bit and was happy he was there. 

The girl on my other side, Grace #13, was also friends with the same guy from the brewery, so it was like I was in the middle of people becoming friends. We decided to sample each other's recipes, Grace's was super creamy and Donnie had ranch dressing in his and you could taste it just right. And I just wanted to pick the chicken out of mine and eat it all. It was so good. 

Doug brought me a Moonlight Manifesto to get things started. I didn't get a picture of it, but it was a nice 7%, Rye Porter.

Before the competition got fully underway, I went over to the Tap Trailer and bought a Rainbow Connection from partner brewery Saints Row, pictured here. 

With my little taste of my own mac & cheese, this was a nice companion beer. 

A hazy IPA with a lot of flavor, even by the picture you can see it has almost a creamy consistency. How perfect. 

The beer description on the webpage says it has a "soft, pillowy mouthfeel" and it sure does.

Let's start the competition. It's 1pm! People are lined up! Let's get our mac and cheese on! Yay!

Things were a little weird at first because they started the line at the top by station #1, where people picked up their tasting sporks, and then they just stopped at the first few stations to get their samples. A couple people down the row from us were fussing hard that no one was going to make it down to us, and they were all going to get full up by entry 7 or so.... 

That was not the case. We did not lack for an audience. 

We were filling our sample cups as fast as we could at some points. I wanted to keep 6 at a time out. People asked Donnie and me if we knew each other, or knew that we were both making buffalo chicken, and we confessed to neither. People tasted both of ours at the same time and did some fun comparison, "oh this one is creamy but the chicken over here..." 

I had brought extra hot sauce (when I forgot to bring my own serving spoon, I guess my priorities sometimes are odd).

People asked me if they were supposed to use it. I told them only if they thought they wanted an extra splash after their first bite, or, if they really like hot sauce. It was not required but offered. 

Some folks took me up on it for both mine and Donnie's. 

On to another beer, another Hazy IPA but this time the Week Away IPA from True Respite, pictured here.

I liked it a little better than the Rainbow Connection, and joked with Doug that I'd like a week away. 

It didn't have the same creamy-ish consistency but did have bit more flavor. Kind of nice to have the two back to back for consideration. 

As you can see from the shot here, I'd already gone through one my trays, and it was only 1:30.  I was wondering if I was over serving for my samples, so Grace and Donnie and I filled our cups and compared. Nope. We were putting the same amount in. Were people just taking a lot more of mine? Is this a good thing or a bad thing! I was kind of freaking out inside that I'd be out of food in no time. 

I'd contemplated bringing a third tin since I had the batch from the night before's sample run, but I then realized it was far better to be on the same quantity and level playing field with the other presenters. That is fair.

Here's Donnie serving up next to me, and only a small amount of the crowd of people coming in for tastes. The next half hour was a blur of answering questions about the mac & cheese ingredients, and welcoming people to the Buffalo Chicken District.  

A few people came back for seconds and winked at me. 

Doug came over to visit with the Mac Daddy (2021) specifically brewed in collaboration with Saints Row for the contest that day. And let me tell you, it would be a killer hot & spicy combo with either Donnie's or my offering. It had a peppery scent and taste, but unlike other pepper beers we'd had in the past in our lives, this did not hurt our faces. 

Definitely a niche beer for those who like something smoky, spicy, and different!  A nice offering!

I ran out of mac and cheese and cleaned up my station. It was only 1:50.  Donnie and Grace still had most of their second trays, so I played hype man for them, like a dope. I hope I was funny. 

Things were winding down for other contestants too, 
I went over to the beer truck and got a Bright Spot IPA. Bright Spot being the name of the brewery, and IPA just simply the name of the beer. 

It didn't have a specific name other than IPA so I found that funny, but I was intrigued. I didn't know what Bright Spot was, but had seen them on the menu board inside, with T-shirts for sale at the merch wall.  (I really like the logo).

It was a very nice, simple IPA. Refreshing. 

I sat in my folding chair and rested up a little bit chatting with contestant #10. I'm glad I brought two folding chairs out, which we keep in the back of the Jeep. She was happy to hang and chat with me as we watched the contestants who still had product get their food into faces.

At about 2:15 everyone was pretty much out of their wares. 

I felt bad for anyone who was going to roll up on the scene at 3 expecting to get a taste! I thought for sure we'd have food to offer up to 3pm. This was impressive. 

I think the long and short of it is people really wanted something to do, and were pandemic weary, masked up, ready to be out, and enjoy the day with perfect weather in an event outside. And it was a beautiful day. Such a beautiful day. I sat and enjoyed my beer and watched Donnie and Grace chatting without me in the middle.

After a break, I helped gather trays and chafing racks, and put out sternos. It is a lot of work setting things up on these kinds of events, there's a lot to cleaning up. I'm the kind of person who if you invite me to a party at your house, I'm there for set up and break down. I do your dishes. I bus tables at events. 

So I did my best to assist.

I joined Doug, Geoff, and the Phineas Dog under the tent to relax and wait for the winner announcement. We listened to Kate Virginia sing and play, and had a couple more beers. 

Here is Scrum & Hooker, English Brown Ale, which I got on draft instead of cask.

A very nice nutty brown ale. Feet up and watching time for the adoptable dogs. 

Sadly, our dog is not a dog-dog, he doesn't get along with other dogs so it was kind of depressing because I'd love to get a second dog. We couldn't mingle him with others, and I eyeballed a couple puppies that would have been fun to bring home but I know that will never work. 

Oh Phineas. I wish you were nice. 

I then had Rock East District, named for the neighborhood where the brewery is. 

Which is now also Buffalo Chicken District.

A double red rye, very flavorful. Beautiful lace and so nice to just kick back with after a run of IPAs. 

What was nice for this entire experience was all of the beers I had were low/normal ABVs. None of them knocked me off my feet and onto my ass. But as an active "work-day" kind of thing, I had two beers more than I probably would have had if I was just sitting on my butt drinking beer. 

Doug and I spent some time chatting with a couple who (I think) are very connected with the brewery, even though we did not get their names, and I can't find their info through the internet.  He said that the Tap Trailer has just about paid for itself in the several weeks they've had it. Which is awesome. 

Having the opportunity to ask, I got the story of Bright Spot beer. As a kind of a separate brand, they came as a result of the purchase of another brewery when "Covid Happened." This article from DC Beer explains it all wonderfully. 

And keeping in mind how things happen with lawsuits and trademarks, I thought about what recently happened with our other favorites at 7 Locks with "Surrender. " Under this new label, True Respite can offer and distribute craft beer options (the aforementioned IPA and a Lager) at a lower price point, so people can get that better beer experience than say a 30 pack of PBR. 

I told him how I work with a software company out of Virginia with the same name. He cocked his head and said "they don't brew beer, so they?" Nope. I had a good laugh and now I want a Bright Spot beer shirt so I can wear it to work on conference calls with our CMS vendor.

I stood with Donnie and Grace as they announced the winners, the three of us were not contenders. Sadly. But I think we won at having the most fun yesterday. 

Someone came late to the tasting party!
And they sure do look like they need some mac & cheese! 

I regret not connecting with Donnie and Grace on social media in person, but all told, I'm thinking of how much fun I had, and I hope they did too. 

We came home with me tired, happy, and a gift card to come back to the brewery again and get some more. You bet that's a winning day. 

Thanks to Bailey and Brendan O'Leary for throwing this great, and very fun, event. Thank you for working to make a community space for not just beer but for yoga and meetups and other social offerings.

 We're true fans of True Respite. 

True Respite, Rockville MD

 This is my first post about True Respite, but it is our second visit here. 

We came in 2018 or 2019, I've lost track, but I do remember it was right around this time of year. The brewery is a little bit hidden in an office park in a part of Rockville I never go to, so it isn't like somewhere I'd just be dropping by. It is literally something one could miss if not dedicated to driving around the maze of buildings and parking. 

I remember on our first visit we almost gave up trying to find it. Our GPS brought us to the office park, but there were no signs to indicate where the brewery was. We turned left when we should have gone straight and boom - there they were. My recommendation would be that the office park would do some signage, not just for the brewery but for all the other businesses in the complex. 

Once inside, the tasting room is big and open, with the bar at the back and the brewing operations to the right. Ample take away coolers, and a few TVs for the sportsballs or something else to watch. 

They do not have food but plenty of delivery orders were brought it. The office park would do good to have a deli or quick service restaurant somewhere in the maze of businesses. The brewery could partner with them (similar to when we were in Colorado when the restaurant in the strip mall was more than happy to come through every 20 minutes to take orders) and folks would make bank. 

I started with something that I don't often go for, the Nessie's Girl, a wee heavy Scotch Ale. 

It was flavorful and not overwhelmingly sweet or even hot with the higher ABV of 8%. Served in the tulip glass, it is a rich, dark brown, had pretty lace, and does have a toffee taste without being too cloying. 

Doug went with the Rock East District Imperial Red Rye ale (not pictured). He enjoyed it a lot and it was similar to the Surrender (Dorothy) from 7 Locks that I wrote about recently. 

Had a little fun with the sun streaming in, and took this picture of the Nessie's Girl just shimmering in the light. I've had good luck with doing this with a few beers recently. 

Moving on, I got the White Tail Hefeweizen, which was described as having  hints of banana and clove. It was neither clovey or banana-y. Had literally no aroma, but a nice taste to it. It looks like banana, that's for sure. I liked how it looked like a banana milkshake, kind of a unique brew.

 

Doug had The Woods oatmeal stout (not pictured) and said he found it underwhelming. Not a lot of flavor, not everything can be the BEST, right? 

Our last beers were the Lagerhosen for me, the Marzen for Oktoberfest, and it was really nice. Your standard pretty great beer, and usually would have been my starter but I had been adventurous.

The beer was smooth and tasty, and a great way to end our visit.

I love the artwork in the tasting room, I'd really love to get that fox painting.  

Doug's last beer was the Puckered: Tangerine Sky which was pretty much the absolute opposite of the Nessie's Girl I started with. Nice and sour, bright and fun with a delicious fruity flavor. We ended up bringing home Nessie and Puckered for our home enjoyment and to share with the boy. 

We'll actually be back next week. I entered a macaroni and cheese bake-off competition because I'm feeling ready to have some fun and do social things, and why not. I'll be making the famous (infamous!) Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese that I learned to make at the cooking school back in the day. 

I had fun talking with the staff (Emily, and sadly I didn't get the name of the young man pulling today) about the competition and what people are making. Emily said she was entering too, and we discussed a shared liking of the powdered cheese in the Kraft realm. I confessed I always make it too soupy even though I try not to. And I recalled how my sister used to work at a Friendly's on Long Island, and they had an epic cheese sauce that they'd pour all over a burger, with bacon, and it was literally my very favorite thing in the universe. 

Not wanting to keep them from waiting on other customers, we got our trays for next Saturday, bought our take away beers, and headed home. 

Very much looking forward to the event next week. Wondering how many people are entering. Allegedly, we should show up with Halloween costumes on, and I'm not sure where my really bad wig is for Linda Belcher, but I may think of something else between now and then.  

I also have never done yoga, but heck, maybe I will! Since it is there, may as well! 

Lone Oak Brewery, Olney MD

Doug and I both have a long holiday weekend, so we opted to head up to the Lone Oak Brewery in Olney. Not too far from our house, but due  to the pandemic (mostly) we hadn't made it over there. They opened up in June of 2020, and we only recently started heading out to in person enjoyment of the breweries. Happy they are there.

There is a storied history to the namesake of the farm, a Lone Oak that stands at the edge of the property, pictured here with the Haystack hazy IPA. Their website talks about it briefly, but I'd honestly like a more resourced reading list of this pre-Civil War tree. 

They have a large property, with a beautiful main building, a separate building for events, and a pavilion with taps. 

There are yurts for rent, plenty of picnic tables, a playground, and tons of space for kids and adults to run around in and play. 

They offer a limited food menu but have food trucks regularly, and outside food is welcome, but not outside booze, naturally. 

And they also support live, local music. Which, they happened to be hosting that day. How lucky are we?

I started with the General Sherman DIPA. It packs a flavorful punch, and I'd even describe it as spicy. At 8.2% ABV it is a good starter beer. We settled into the pavilion to enjoy the band on hand, Silver Books. Timing wise we got there just as they finished setting up. And if there's a jam band around, you can bet we'll be enjoying. 

General Sherman here, pictured with the taproom house in the distance. Hardly anyone was here yet, but the field between filled up nicely as the time went by with picnic blankets, folding camp chairs, dogs, kids, and games. 

Doug started with the Groove It Sour, a pink guava concoction that was deliciously sour and very flavorful itself. 

We're off to a good start here!

I ordered up hot dogs for us from the food truck of the day, Catalyst Hot Dogs. Served up with chili sauce, cheese, onions, these were quality dogs on my favorite buns (Martin's potato rolls!)

I noted that the hot dog truck was displaying a sign saying they were featured on the NPR Podcast "The Indicator." And you can listen to the episode at the link there. 

I mentioned I worked there, and the guys in the truck were thrilled that I noticed. They told me the story of how the truck came to be, and how they are supporters of the local NPR station in DC. 

We had a moment of mutual admiration, they're obviously proud of their pandemic success story, as well as they should be, and the line behind me was 7 people deep consistently. It didn't seem to wane the entire time I could see them from our spot. 

They humored me with a picture that I could share with the podcast team. 

Back to beer. 

I then got the Deep Root, a chocolate porter. 

A lot of times, chocolate beers are really sweet but this wasn't. It had a lovely chocolate flavor, but no syrupy sweetness to bring it down. 

Doug got the OAKtoberfest because, after all, everyone here is celebrating Oktoberfest. Everyone has a Märzen this time of year, obviously, lest it wouldn't be Oktoberfest. It was a tasty brew, very gentle flavor, and I enjoyed my sample from his cup. 

I got the Olney Amber, a nice finishing beer with low ABV. 

We had to move out of the pavilion because they were hosting a private event, so we sat at a picnic table to still enjoy the band until they took a break. It was all perfect timing. We finished our beers as they finished their set, to "take a 5 minute break and be back in 20 minutes." They had a lot of friends and family there to see them, Doug tipped the band and we thanked them, and left to walk around the space for a bit before getting back in the car. 

The playground was hopping, the yurts were full, and more people were still arriving. There is plenty of parking so we headed back to the car with people walking towards us, with their dogs and kids in wagons, ready to go enjoy an afternoon by the Lone Oak. We could hear the band start up again (Before they had started, I jokingly asked if they were going to play a 20 minute rendition of "I Know You Rider" and the lead singer said "oh yeah. You'll probably hear that.") 

Overall this was a really nice trip. All the beers were good, and Doug commented that he thought they were better than another local farm that we've been to many times (that I haven't yet written about). I'm not sure they are better but they sure are on par with! We'll be back for sure. 

And, because. Here's me for a change, not just beer and buildings. Apologies to all the humans behind me for being included. I should have held the beer over to my left to cover them but didn't realize.