Filed under: Barleywine, Beer News, Craft Brewed Beers, Legislation, Vermont, microbreweries
By now, most lovers of craft beer have heard plenty about the maker of Monster energy drink, Hansen Beverage Co., initiating a trademark dispute with Rock Art Brewery, ordering it to stop selling, advertising and promoting a beer called “The Vermonster.” Additionally, the large corporation wanted the tiny brewery to compensate it for attorneys’ fees.
If you haven’t read this (because now it’s old news), you can read about it all over the place or watch the Matt and ’The Monster” video. And you can also find the declarations that Hansen backed off, including a time line and sincere thank you from brewer/owner Matt Nadeau (you may also be interested in his video calling for support to Trademark Reform where he talks relatively kindly about the actions of Hansen.)
My reason for posting is to share the hilarious Halloween costume a 
Burlington, VT family created to commemorate the occasion. I send thanks to Beth and Jim for entertaining me (even if laughing that hard after my surgery wasn’t such a good idea…), and hope they don’t mind me sharing it with the world!
Now that the attack on Rock Art is over, I’m hoping to return to drinking Hansen Natural Green Tea Soda and hopefully LOTS of Vermonster!
Filed under: Beer Festivals, Beer Travel, Bottle Shops, Craft Brewed Beers, North Carolina, Travel, microbreweries
Julie said it all so well when she talked about the night before Brewgrass Eve. As one Ashevegas local put it last night as she stood in line to get her BrewDog tastings, “Thursday night is ‘going out night’ in Asheville”, and there was plenty to do!
Bruisin’ Ales was just the start of a great night – the Scotland brewery was well represented with Jason and Julie talking up the seven different BrewDog beers available (I think the site lists 5, and then there were two of their Paradox beers as well – smoked and unsmoked.) Everything was really good, but I was most impressed with Dogma – a 7.8% ale brewed Scottish heather honey and a blend of guarana, poppy seeds and kola nut. Five malts and both Bramling Cross and Amarillo hops contribute to the complexity of this easy-drinking ale.
From the tasting, we headed over to the Thirsty Monk for the 7 pm tapping Founder’s Canadian Breakfast Stout. Just when I keep thinking, “Enjoy this – you’ll never get it again!,” the seemingly impossible happens, and someone else is serving it! The Monk also featured a cask of New Belgium Hoptober and a keg of Ballast Point Sculpin. It was great to catch up with all of our friends who came into town for the night and enjoy these three terrific beers!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few other stops on our way to Asheville. It was enjoyable, as always, to make a stop off in Afton, VA at Blue Mountain Brewery where the Big DIPA was on tap, as well as the Nitro Ale Imperial Porter. We ended our enjoyable evening at Blue Mountain by sharing a bottle of Mandolin – a 9% Tripel named for the brewer’s wife (Mandi Lynn).We pulled in at the same time as Uncle Jedi and Purple Hat Joan (as planned!), so it was great to catch up with them over dinner.
That evening, we were sleeping in Blacksburg, so we decided to check out The Cellar, which had Blacksburger Pils on tap – served in the proper glass! – and also, Shooting Creek Rebel Ale. It was a quiet night in the college town, and I’m pretty sure we closed the place.
So then it was back to the hotel, where Jim shared a growler of Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale with us! I was tired, and frantically searching for my driver’s licence (which I seem to have lost or forgotten…), but kept pulling myself out of it to enjoy this Imperial Belgian Porter brewed with chocolate malt, dark candi sugar, vanilla bean, and tangerine peel, then aged on French Oak chips. This 8.7% beer boasts chocolate, tobacco, molasses, vanilla and hints of banana and clove. It was a great finish for the night!
Finally, one more stop to boast about on our way out of Blacksburg – Vintage Cellar – where we found an amazing selection of wines and an outstanding beer selection. In the hundreds of beers there, I managed to seek out the one we thought we’d missed out on…a stray six pack of Duck-Rabbit Schwarzbier!
It’s raining in Asheville this morning, so we’re making a lazy one of it, but look forward to visiting Pisgah (just ’cause we love it!), Highland (for the special release of 2009 Tasgall Scottish Ale at 4 PM today!) and Wedge, among other things we’ll do in town on Brewgrass Eve!
Filed under: Beer Travel, Craft Brewed Beers, Growler Fills, Pennsylvania, microbreweries
When I first visited One Guy Brewing Company just a week after the opening, I knew it was good enough to make it. Approximately 19 months later, I’ve seen an amazing transformation!
From one room with plain walls, a simple bar, a unisex bathroom, a small brewery in the back – a place that only sold simple hot dogs and encouraged you to bring your own food – Guy has created a space to accomodate all of his fans!
This spring, the inside had a great expansion which included a second room, a women’s restroom and a funky paint job. And outside, Guy graded and gravelled an area overlooking the river.
At approximately 40′ x 80′, fenced on two sides, lined with tables – some under tents – and adorned with a variety of torches, this is a great outdoor space! Steps in the back 
corner lead to a serving window for beers, and bathrooms (currently porta-potties, but planned expansion for plumbing) are available on the opposite side. And there is room for bands (and now, a zoning permit allowing music until 11 pm!), as well as expanded parking.
If you were following the stories, you may have heard about the hoops it was taking to get this beer garden open, but patience and persistance prevailed, and it became a treat to end the summer!
In addition to the fabulous expansion of the facilities, Guy acquired a Blodgett commercial pizza oven creating a new layer of love for the pub. On Friday, we were able to try out the pizzas along with a couple of beers while enjoying a beautiful late summer evening on the river.
We enjoyed a Margherita pizza and the Steve-O Inferno – covered in fresh vegetables, including some nicely hot peppers - which were hand-made and delivered to the table by Guy. The thin crust and light homemade 
sauce was just perfect. Along with it, we had a couple of beers: Hondo Keller, Atomic Punk IPA and Oktoberfest. Everything was perfect!
We didn’t take any beer home this time, but were thrilled to see Guy is using the Nalgene growlers (or as Dave Hoops, co-founder of Fitger’s Brewhouse in Duluth, MN calls it, the “Adventure Growler” – introduced in response to the glass restrictions in the nearby Boundary Waters, a popular spot for canoeing, kayaking and camping.) Perhaps when the Peach Wheat comes out (and it will…it’s back there just sitting…), we’ll need to add to our growler collection!
I couldn’t help but notice that Berwick looked just a little bit brighter and a little more progressive on this visit. (Is it a coincidence that I thought about writing this a day before the Press-Enterprise wrote in the Roses and Thorns column, “Raise a glass to Guy Hagner, who has turned his dream of being a brewmaster into a growing business in Berwick…Because he took a chance on himself, Berwick is a better place.”?)
If you’ve never been there, why not try getting there for the brewpub’s first Oktoberfest, slated for Oct. 8-11 and 15-18!?!
Filed under: Beer Travel, Cask Ale, Craft Brewed Beers, Michigan, Travel, microbreweries
With 13 beers available, and flavor combinations like parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, grapefruit, beets, lemon, maple, chocolate, ancho chili, vanilla, bourbon, cherries, and oranges, who wouldn’t be happy at Right Brain Brewery? I’m so glad this is where we chose to end the night. It’s a pub that, from a visitor’s perspective, gets overlooked by the very awesome Shorts Brewing in Bellaire. Granted, Shorts has a menu of delicious sandwiches and bottles for take-out, and they are pretty creative themselves (with 20 taps to choose from!) but Right Brain still wins for creativity.
We just missed a pale ale brewed with grilled asparagus and lemon peel, but we go the ancho chili dutch double chocolate porter, the Scarborough Fair spiced ale (brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme), a cream stout brewed with orange marmalade and peel, a wheat brewed with oven-roasted beets, an amber brewed with chocolate malt and cherry juice, a cream ale with maple syrup, barleywine aged seven months on Madagascar vanilla beans in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels…it just goes on!
A staff member told us that the brewer has produced approximately 90 different beers in the year-and-a-half they’ve been open! For instance, the Pale Ale is a new recipe every time – practically every two weeks!
Right Brain is in the warehouse district of Traverse City, MI and located behind Salon Saloon, where “you sip, we snip”. It’s non-smoking, and the menu is limited to popcorn, tortilla chips and hummus. You are encouraged to bring your own food from outside, and sit at the bar, at one of the tables, or in a barber chair. There is no television, but they play music and have darts. There is a mug club, and the mugs are colorfully displayed on the wall. Windows also overlook the Salon Saloon.
Right Brain always has one beer on cask, and will serve Pints for $4.75 and half-pints for $3.25. Also, there are sample trays of six 8-oz pours for $15. Happy Hour on Monday – Friday from 3-6 PM means $3 pints, and there are growlers to go (and they will fill ANY growler – not just their own!)
If you find yourself anywhere near Traverse City, this place is absolutely worth the stop for rare and creative beers!
Filed under: Beer Travel, Craft Brewed Beers, Michigan, Travel, microbreweries
It’s the beginning of a “beer-cation”, and we travelled straight to Michigan for the start. There’s a little brewpub in Milan, Michigan that we have missed out on so many times coming through this area. We made it a point to get here today, and Original Gravity does not disappoint!
One block off what appears to be a “town square” (or maybe it was my sleepy-eyed perspective), at 440 County Street, is a little brick building with a packed parking lot. Arrive between 3 and 11 on Monday, and it will be Happy Hour all day. On Tuesday through Friday, it goes from 3 PM – 6 PM (and they remain open until 11.) Happy hour means a tall (20 oz) for the price of a small (10 oz.) We missed that, but it’s okay because neither of us needed talls…there are so many good beers to choose from! BTW – Original Gravity also keeps Saturday hours from 11:30 AM to 11 PM, and the owner/brewer told us he will often “open” when he’s here other hours.
Brad Sancho is the owner/brewer, and he was fairly quick to come and greet us. He seems to be friendly with all of the customers, and willing to make recommendations up and down the bar. The bar seats about 15 people, and wraps around the taps with the brewing area behind. A larger L-shaped dining room wraps around the bar, and some of the tables stick out as being unique – doors refurbished as tables. A shelf of games gives the impression that you are welcome to come and stay awhile, and outdoor seating to the back of the place looks welcoming on a warm, dry day.
Currently on tap are seven beers, and so far, not a bad one among them! We’re finding the following (I’m stealing some of the descriptive language from the web site):
- Southpaw IPA (O.G = 1.064; ABV 6.6%) has a pronounced hop flavor and aroma. It’s deliciously citrusy from tons of Cascade and Amarillo hops.
- Belgian Training Wheels (O.G. = 1.054; ABV 5.7%) is a Belgian Golden Ale brewed with Belgian candi sugar, wheat, and pilsner malt. The unique Belgian yeast strain gives this beer a citrusy and slight tart finish.
- Mason Brewer (O.G = 1.050; AVB 5.2%) is an English style Special Bitter named after Brad’s son. It is brewed with a variety of English malts, including wheat and rye.
- County Street Amber (O.G. = 1.054; ABV 5.5%) is a roasty Red Ale with caramel notes, balanced with loads of Cascade and Amarillo hops. With OG’s opening during the hops shortage, this was his substitute for an IPA for some time, and it holds up the hops!
- Primordial Porter (O.G = 1.058; ABV 5.3%) was the very first beer brewed here, and it is a robust porter! Almost black in color with a complex malt profile, it balances chocolate and coffee roastiness.
- Orange Peel Wheels(O.G. = 1.054; ABV 5.7%) is the Belgian Training Wheels infused with dried orange peel. It has a delicate citrus flavor and aroma, lending to a delicious starter beer for the evening.
- Vanilla Java Porter(O.G = 1.05O8; ABV 5.3%) has a description of “beer, coffee, vanilla… Mmm” on the board, menu and web site. It is a slightly aromatic and sweet porter, so dark that not a speck of light comes through. The roasty quality of the porter is strong enough to keep this from being a sugar-coated girly beer.
There is a nice menu of sandwiches, and fortunately we were attracted to the same thing. Not only did they let us share, but served the halves in separate baskets with a pickle for each of us (no fighting!) Our mesquite-smoked turkey with guacamole and Vermont cheddar was served on panini bread with a bag of Brickman’s Original Kettle Crunch chips (made in Grand Rapids.) On the side, we shared a Landjaeger* Sausage (yummm!)
Original Gravity beers range from $3 to $3.50 for a 10-oz pour and a $4.50 – $5 for a 20-oz. In addition to the sandwich menu (which includes deli and veggie combos, grilled cheese and PB&J), there are peanuts, pretzels and chips with salsa. Additionally there are Sprecher sodas available (root beer, cream soda, cherry cola (Dain, I think you owe me one of these!) and orange cream.
We had a really nice time at OG – the bartender, Stephanos (sp?), took great care of us and the locals were all chatty. It’s down on our list of places that “if I lived here, I would come here all the time!” I hope if you are reading this and you live there, you go often. It’s worth it!
* pork and beef, garlic, coarse ground, semi-dried German Hunter sausage from Usunger’s summer sausage collection, served in bite-sized slices for $2.50.
It’s going to be a crazy day at Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport, PA! The beer geeks who can make it will be out in full force to buy Frambozen – a wild, barrel aged raspberry ale – for $20 a bottle (limit one case per person.)
Doors open at 11 AM. There are only about 30 cases, so it will go fast!
This is where they make it!
Yummy!
Filed under: Beer News, Brown Ale, Craft Brewed Beers, Non-Smoking, Pennsylvania, Travel, microbreweries
Be among the first to try Elk Creek Café + Aleworks Mid State Trail Ale at the 40th Anniversary party for the Mid State Trail.
On Sunday, July 12th, 2009 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM, the Mid State Trail Association is sponsoring a party in honor of the trail. All are invited to join the MSTA for this mixer and to share experiences on Pennsylvania’s wildest footpath. A portion of the proceeds from each beer sold will be donated to the Mid State Trail Association.
Mid State Trail Ale is a Northern English Brown Ale, described by brewer Tim Yarrington as a beer with a profile designed for balance in a quote for the Summer 2009 MSTA newsletter, the ‘Brushwhacker’:
“The Northern English Brown Ale style is a rich yet approachable English style ale, brewed with English malt and Fuggle hops. The Mid State Trail Ale will be well balanced, with moderate alcohol content, making it a drinkable and satisfying beer.”
Brown Ales pair well with all types of foods, but I will highly recommend the tofu sautéed with spinach and caramelized onions, any trout dish available or Chicken Liver Toast. Also for sale that day will be the trail map and guide.
Make a day, or a weekend, of it – take a hike and go for the beer!
The Mid State Trail System (MST) is Pennsylvania’s longest and wildest footpath, suitable for day-hiking and backpacking. It is now more than 300 miles in length, beginning at the Mason-Dixon Line near Artemas, and traveling through the Seven Mountains and Pennsylvania Wilds Regions to end in Tioga County. It travels through the Bald Eagle State Forest, including Harry John’s picnic area, Poe Paddy State Park or R.B. Winter State Park - all within 30 minutes drive of Millheim.
Filed under: Beer Festivals, Craft Brewed Beers, Massachusetts, microbreweries
On Saturday February 21, 2009 we spent our day, from 1 – 4:30 PM, at the 5th Annual Extreme Beer Fest, held at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama. It is described as “a uniquely awesome and epic celebration of American brewers who push the boundaries of creative brewing – the original fest that helped define what “Extreme Beer” is all about.”
Breweries are hand-picked to attend this event, and are required to have knowledgeable people behind their booths, which typically means the brewers and key staff are there. The room was lined with breweries along the perimeter, and one row down the center, leaving plenty of room for people to stand, sip and enjoy over 100 Extreme Beers from over 30 different breweries.
Naturally, I lost my tasting list in all the excitement, but here is what I can recreate of my tastings from the list provided on Beer Advocate (alphabetically by brewer and in no particular preference order):
Allagash Brewing Co. (ME): Bi-Curieux- Curieuxaged in barrels for 1.5-years with locally grown hops; 11.0% ABV
Bell’s Brewery (MI): Bell’s Bourbon Barrel-Aged Expedition / Double Cream Blend – A brand spanking new blended American Stout.
Cambridge Brewing Co. (MA): CaCow!- Chocolate Milk Stout brewed with milk sugar (lactose) and locally roasted cacao nibs from Taza Chocolate; 6.0% ABV
Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. (NY): Cuvee de Castleton- American Sour in wood with Muscat grapes added; 8.0% ABV; Golden Delicious- American Tripel in apple brandy barrels; 10.0% ABV; Little Linda’s Lixer- American Sour with cherries; 8.5% ABV
Dark Horse Brewing (MI): Whiskey Richard in Mouth with Kumquat- Belgian-style pale fermented and aged 2-years in bourbon barrels with kumquat fruit; 9% ABV
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (DE): Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right BA Select- A collaboration beer brewed by Sam Calagione, Bryan Selders, and the Alström Bros at the original RehobothBeach Dogfish Head brewpub. Brewed with maple syrup, chestnuts, green peppercorns, Korean Corn tea (Oksusu-cha), Fawcett’s Maris Otter base malt, MFP kiln coffee malt, Liberty and Vangaurd hops, and DFH’s Raison D’Etra yeast strain. 8.0% ABV. The name is an ode to The Konami Code (cheat code) on the Nintendo Entertainment System in the 80s; submitted by BA thequeue, the winner of the collaboration naming competition.
Flying Dog Brewery (MD): Whiskey Barrel-Aged Gonzo- Gonzo Imperial Porter aged in whiskey barrels; 9.5% ABV
Foothills Brewing (NC): Pappy Van Winkle Seeing Double IPA- Barrel-aged DIPA; 9.5% ABV; Seeing Double IPA- American Double India Pale Ale; 9.5% ABV; Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout- Imperial Stout; 9.75% ABV
Founders Brewing Co. (MI): Canadian Breakfast Stout- Maple barrel-aged Chocolate Coffee Stout; 8.3% ABV
Haverhill Brewery / The Tap (MA): Leatherlips- Our famous ridiculously hoppysession-IPA brewed with an incredible amount of Centennial and Chinook hops. Hop heads only; 5.0% ABV; Peruvian Cacao Porter- Robust American Porter brewed with raw organic cacao from Peru and Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla beans for a great dark chocolate flavor; 5.8% ABV; Tangaweizen- Spicy Hefeweizen brewed with real ginger and traditional ginger beer yeasts including a lactobaciilis strain.
Magic Hat Brewing Co. (VT): Bergamot Bitter- English Ordinary Bitter with bergamot added during conditioning, most famously used in Earl Gray tea and in the practice of Calabrian witchcraft; 4.5% ABV; Hibiscus Pomegranate Beer- This crisp, hibiscus ale is brewed with agave nectar, pomegranate juice, and the red petals of the hibiscus flower; 5.0% ABV; Wild Ginger Ale- Real California ginger is added during primary fermentation and then once again after fermentation is complete. In English taverns in the nineteenth century, would put out small containers of ground ginger, for people to sprinkle into their beer (the origin of ginger ale); 5.0% ABV.
Short’s Brewing Co. (MI): Cup-A-Joe Coffee Cream Stout- American Double / Imperial Stout and then some; 7.5% ABV; S’more Stout- American Stout and then some; 6.5% ABV; Peanut Butter & Jelly – a blend of Soft Parade(Fruit Rye Beer; 7.8% ABV) and Uber Goober Oatmeal Stout(6.5% ABV)
Sixpoint Craft Ale (NY): Gorilla Warfare – Coffee infused Porter; 8.5% ABV
Smuttynose Brewing Co. (NH): Oak Aged Hanami- Tart cherry ale aged for 9 months in a Jack Daniels Barrel; 5.4% ABV
Southern Tier Brewing Co. (NY): Choklat- Imperial Stout made using dark and bittersweet Belgian chocolate; 10.0% ABV
The Lost Abbey (CA): Phunky Duck- A single barrel from their Duck Duck Gooze program, which will eventually release Duck Duck Gooze(a blended sour ale with 1, 2 and 3 year old beer) in 2009. Phunky Duck was brewed as the back bone for this blend; 7.0% ABV
Three Floyd’s Brewing Co. (IN): Oatgoop- Oatwine; 9.5% ABV; Dwarven Hammer- an American Alt Beer brewed with three types of coffee – Santuario, Heliconias, Colombia – from Intelligentsia; 6.0% ABV
Tröegs Brewing Co. (PA): Barrel-aged Mad Elf- Strong Belgian Dark Ale; 11.0% ABV; Scratch Beer #18
Weyerbacher Brewing Co. (PA): Twelve (2007)- Ryewine; 10.2% ABV
Thank goodness for the 2-oz marker on the glass, keeping me from getting any happier than I already was by the end of this event!
Filed under: Beer Travel, Coffee Stout, Craft Brewed Beers, Milk Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Stout, microbreweries
I’ve neglected to follow up on the rest of our NC trip, and already we’ve already finished up another…Extreme Beer Fest!
I started this post on Friday, and it just goes to show that drinking and blogging don’t mix, as I never finished writing about the sweet stouts that stood out on that day as terrific primers for the festival ahead.
We stopped in Willimantic, CT at the old post office, which is now Willimantic Brewing Company, for lunch. I totally enjoyed my first S.W.A.K. Stout (5.4% ABV) so much that instead of trying something new, I had another! This is described by the brewery as an unfiltered Black Ale mashed with seven malts, hopped with Saaz and “Sealed With A Kiss” of vanilla. It was outstanding!
When we arrived in Boston, we started out by sharing a growler of Captain Lawrence Espresso Stout before taking the T to Redbones for barbeque and their 24 taps, including a large selection of Sixpoint beers (I must admit I ate vegetarian and drank water from a mason jar, so I don’t have many comments on the ‘que or the beers based on the tiny sips I had…)
Our final stop for the night was Cambridge Brewing Company where I had the CaCow! Chocolate Milk Stout (6.4% ABV). Brewed with barley, oats and an addition of lactose, the description says CaCow! was additionally aged with cacao nibs from Taza Chocolate in Somerville, and house-made vanilla extract to balance the roast with a little extra sweetness. We had terrible service at CBC – pretty much ignored by the wait staff – but every beer at the table was delightful.
It was a great first night in Boston, with many, many great beers to follow!
Tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains, there is a lovely mountain lodge where the creators thought of every detail before opening last November to serve house-brewed beers. We finally got a chance to check out Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company, which is just south of Nellysford at the intersection of Route 664 and 151. On the edge of a development in the making, this is the flagship business for the Village at Glen Mary.
It’s modern beam and local stone construction, accented by recycled corrugated metal roofing and recycled wood from a variety of sources, make the building a work of eco-friendly art. The metal adorning interior walls comes from a 1900’s dairy barn in Urbana, MD while the tables and booths are distinctively crafted from wood recycled from a horse barn in Uppersville, VA. The wide floor boards were pulled from a tobacco barn, while the stone is local river rock. Taxidermied wildlife has been provided by Nelson County hunters and sportsman – all local mammals, with the exception of a moose from Maine. It’s a 3-million dollar investment and every dollar shows in the perfect detail.
My first impression of this over-sized building and perfectly detailed wood and stone work was that it would be a typical tourist-oriented steakhouse that serves house beer. But when I walked in the door, the first thing I smelled was mash – not wood smoke or grilled meat as expected – milled grain on the boil! That’s a promising sign for a microbrewery!
We were seated at a table near a gorgeous fireplace and under a handcrafted metal chandelier – the metal shaped into hops vines and grain. Large windows created good lighting and beautiful views of the mountain surround. The staff were courteous and attentive, not just to us, but to every detail. They kept the place tidy and ready for guests to come.
The beers were very good. Nothing blew me away, but I wasn’t disappointed by anything on our table. Devil’s Backbone offers half-pints and several taster flight option (only 2-oz of each, though), so we opted for half-pints. We tried:
- Wintergreen Weiss (4.7% ABV, 13 IBUs) – light, balanced and full of banana and clove aroma.
- Eight Point IPA (5.9% ABV, 60 IBUs) – seemed like more of a Pale Ale; very light in color and on the maltier side; not a lot of hop aroma.
- Alpen Bock (6.9% ABV) – drinkable and smooth with a touch of roastiness and a subtle hint of butterscotch.
- Dead Bear Imperial Stout (8.5% ABV) – full flavored brew, despite a quiet nose; ends with hints of dark chocolate and espresso.
The food was outstanding, and there were so many interesting things on the menu that we didn’t try. D had the fish and chips – the fish was prepared with a hint of chili powder prior to deep frying, and arrived in the shape of little fish “fingers”; the fries were substantial and tasty. I had a cream of spinach and bacon soup paired with a winter beet salad, made with roasted watermelon, spiced pecans and goat cheese. There were several other plates I would have liked to try, but I was working on a light appetite.
There is a wonderful description with a beautiful photo on a local blog, and I’m sure as the March 16 Grand Opening week approaches, more information on this place will come out. Certainly if you find yourself in Nelson County, VA, stopping by Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co. is worthwhile (but don’t forget Blue Mountain Brewery, which is just up the road on Rt. 151 – just as Devil’s Backbone is beautifully extravagant, Blue Mountain is fabulous in it’s simplicity!)
