Honey Nut Brown Ale - Midwest Supplies Kit

OH BREWING DAY, oh brewing day... I find the most odd things to be therapeutic. For example, making Gumbo, the hour it takes to make the perfect Roux while you are constantly stirring and stirring while getting arm cramps. Yes, this to me is like making beer. The one hour boil, no kids, no wife and not a worry in the world except when I have to get off my ass to get another beer. From start to finish, 2.75 hours and a six pack of peace and relaxation without a single distraction, exactly the same as making a good Gumbo. So what do making Gumbo and home-made-beer have in common? Absolutely nothing except these are my two things that I do when my kids and wife know to stay away (unless one of my little princess want to play Princess and the Frog and add hot sauce to the gumbo) as daddy is having his "time" and I can drink as much beer as I want without feeling the pressure of having to answer to the wife when I decide I am done.

I had to jump in on the Christmas specials at Midwest Supplies as I needed some basic essentials that are just a ton cheaper to purchase from Midwest than anywhere else like Star San, a big old 8# bottle of PBW and a World Vineyard California Pinot Noir wine kit. I was only $5 away from getting my free bottle opener so of course I had to add a beer kit. I decided to stay with the whole brewing with local honey and chose the Honey Nut Brown Ale.

Midwest's selection of malt gives this smooth brown ale a hint of nutty flavor, while the honey delivers a sweet finish. The ingredients for this recipe include:
6 lbs. Amber liquid malt extract
2 lbs. Minnesota Clover Honey - REPLACE WITH MY OWN HONEY ON BREW DAY
8 oz. Crystal 10L Malt
4 oz. Chocolate Malt specialty grains
1.5 oz. German Northern Brewer bittering hops
0.5 oz. Willamette aroma hops
1 tsp. Gypsum
1 tsp. Irish Moss, yeast
priming sugar and a grain bag

I decided to purchase the yeast just a day prior to the actual brew day at the local shop, Grapes and Grains so I could ensure it was as fresh as possible and didn't hang out in the back of a UPS truck for four days.

One thing I did was swapped out the MN Honey it came with for 2 pounds of local honey I had in the pantry from the mountains of Western North Carolina. I also added it with just 2 minutes remaining on the boil rather than the recommended 30 minutes.

I am getting ready to bottle this beer this weekend as it has already spent two weeks in the primary and has been in the secondary now for about 3 weeks. When I sampled a few ounces on racking day, it was actually drinkable and I was tempted to poured myself a pint, but I didn't cave as I was already enjoying a home-brew at the time that was actually carbonated.

My starting gravity was a little higher than what it should have been registering in at 1.063 (more than likely due to the late addition of the honey) and it was already down to 1.010 at racking.

I cannot wait to try this beer in about two-three weeks as I still have yet to have a kit turn out spectacular from Midwest. Not sure what it is, but 100% and I mean 15 out of 15 kits from Northern Brewer have turned out fantastic and so far from Midwest, 1 had to go down the drain, two were just about headed for the drain and the last one was just OK with a bad after-taste. I'm sure it is brewer error, but I still find it odd.

Now for my New Years resolution, no more kits in 2012 and only original recipes utilizing at least one or two fresh local products in each batch.

Cheers to Micro Beers...

Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria: Downtown Greenville

Talk about the perfect day. First, a visit to Dark Corner Distillery to sample some local moonshine and purchase a bottle or two, then we head over to the Greenville Beer Exchange to fill up a growler of Westbrook Brewing Dark Helmet beer and pick up a bunch of other items for the wife and myself to take home for when the kids go to bed (a bunch of German beers and beer fermented from the juice of sour apples). Then finally, finish off the perfect afternoon at Barley's Taproom. The wife, she was interested in the Pizza, me, I was interested in the beer.

Although you can't really read the beer menu posted above, let me tell you that it is one of the best thought-out and complete beer menus I have come across in many years. With the exception to some really good Chicago Brewpubs, Barley's beer selection is simply amazing with just one minor flaw that I'm sure changes over time as does the beer line-up. I was finding that beer from out in California and Oregon out numbered the local selection by almost three times.

Wanting to keep with the same theme of the day and stay local, I decided to have a Westbrook Vanilla Tree Dubbel. Vanilla Tree is a Belgian-style dubbel brewed with a variety of dark crystal malts and dark Belgian candy syrup. After fermentation, the beer is aged on whole vanilla beans and toasted oak chips. The result is a wonderfully smooth, malty ale with notes of dark fruit, spice, and vanilla (natural vanilla, not an extract with that fake syrup taste) and oak! Although just a sipping beer, it was one of the best Belgian style specialty beers I have ever tasted. Next up was a Highland Gaelic Ale. As the flagship beer to Highland Brewery, this was not only the first beer they offered, but to this day it accounts for about half of all the beer they produce. A deep amber colored American ale, featuring a rich malty body. Cascade and Willamette hops add a complex hop flavor and aroma. This ale is exceptionally balanced between malty sweetness and delicate hop bitterness.

Now onto the pizza. We ordered a Thai Chicken pizza that I would classify as a good pie. It wasn't anything outstanding or would I classify it as out-of-this-world good, but definitely a good quality scratch-made pizza. The simple addition of fresh chopped cucumber at the end was definitely the highlight to this pie for me. The sauce needed a little more kick to it as I felt like I was eating a peanut butter pizza. That gives me a good idea, PB&J Pizza... (I'm sure its already been done).

The service was fantastic as I know this place gets a lot of gruff for lack-luster performances at times. However, on this visit, we experienced probably some of the best service we have ever received in a downtown restaurant. The staff were very knowledgeable about the menu and the very impressive beer selection and even offered recommendations to the wife based on a few simple questions along with what kind of pie we were going to order. Not only was this appreciated, but all this took place right in the middle of the very busy and at times chaotic lunch rush on a Friday afternoon (I told you this day was perfect, beer for lunch on a Friday afternoon).

Bottom-line, if you enjoy craft beer at a fair price (some of the beers were on the steep side, but overall most of them were very fair for the quality) and want to try something that you probably never have before, Barley's is the perfect place to hang out at. As for the pizza, no more specialty pizzas for me, no matter how much the wife nags, I'm sticking to sausage and pepperoni pizzas with red sauce, you know, the kind we all used to eat as a kid. The next time she wants some crazy pizza with foie gras, cranberry jelly and oriental chutney, I will make it for her at home.

Have you ever been to Barley's Taproom in Greenville or to one of the other three locations? What did you think of the beer selection? Who else in the Upstate has a beer menu that can rival?

Tony's Pizza and Subs: Simpsonville, SC (Georgia RD)

If you like damn good pizza at an affordable price in a clean, fun environment, Tony's Pizza on West Georgia is the place to be at. If you don't like going out for pizza like my family does, hell, they will deliver it right to your door. Not only do they have great pizza, they have the BEST and I mean the BEST Stromboli I have ever had in my life.

And if you are feeling like a "Big Boy", grab your closest friend to try to finish the "Big Boy" challenge; 1 28" "Big Boy" Pizza, 2 toppings and a lot of Pepto. If you are not up for a challenge, they even have a box that fits this "Big Boy" for you to take home (you may need a flat-bed pick up truck to get it home).

I am going to give Tony's the advantage over Milano's Pizza just based on the friendliness of the staff and the Strombolis. Milano's may have a slight edge on the quality of pizza, but the service, atmosphere and stromboli just isn't up to par with Tony's.

Check them out at http://www.tonyspizzaandsubssc.com/. They have 9 locations (I can only speak for the West Georgia location) and are locally owned.

Who else has better pizza in Simpsonville or Greenville than Tony's or Milano's? I'm a Chicago Pizza guy and my wife is a NY Pizza loser, but I must say Chicago Pizza is only good while in Chicago. Mr. Tony, you might have me convinced that NY Pizza is better, but don't let the wife know I said that.

Jadens' Pints and Wings: Simpsonville, SC

So awhile back I attempted to try Jadens' Pints and Wings on a Friday afternoon for some wings (another self proclaimed "BEST" in the Upstate) and a cold Guinness. Upon parking my car, walking to the door, it was locked. No hours posted (or none that I could see, but I didn't look terribly hard) and not a person to be seen through the window I decided to try my luck at a different establishment for my quick fix. Seriously, 3:30 on a Friday afternoon you are closed?

So now several months later we find ourselves out and about on Saturday with nothing to do and three starving children. I decide to give Jadens a second chance as wings and a beer sounded good (but when doesn't that sound good?). We walked in around noon to a completely empty bar with the exception of what I am assuming to be the owner, owners wife/hubby (not sure which one is officially the owner) and the owners teenage child. Cool, family run place with actual family running it. The space itself is tucked into the end of a strip mall was smaller than I could have even imagined. Picture a small Subway restaurant with the tiny tables lined up and down a long hallway to the restrooms, this is Jadens. Now how on earth they have live bands on the weekends, that is another mystery all in itself.

I already knew they had a kids menu so we weren't going to have a repeat of that horrible "GERMAN" restaurant just a few minutes up the road plus they even had a fried shrimp platter for my middle child. Perfect, lets order some food and get these kids fed. While waiting for our food, it got a little uncomfortable. Teenage daughter and dad fighting over cell phones and facebook applications etc while wife did all the work besides actually cook our food. Lots of fun while trying to explain to my children what was happening etc...

So now onto finding the "BEST" wings in the Upstate. Nope, not even close. Not even a close second place. I ordered up 20 wings, Hot and some kind of sweet/spice sauce. When I asked about the spice level of each of the sauces they were described as Hot = Texas Pete, Hotter = Franks. Hmmm, that doesn't sound hot to me, but then again I tend to eat jars of Ghost Pepper Salsa in a single sitting.

The wings were very large and meaty and a lot of people like them that way, me however, the larger the wing is, the more difficult it is to cook it properly. With larger wings you cannot get the right amount of crispness and 99 out of 100 times get soggy when sauce is applied. I chose the Hot sauce since I was trying to stick to this theme at every wing joint. This so called Texas Pete sauce was a little different than the Texas Pete wings I make at home. When I make mine, I usually add 1/4 cup or so of Texas Pete per two - three Tablespoons butter for about 20 wings. This sauce was really watered down or something. I don't know what it was, but it just wasn't right. Maybe they used margarine instead of real butter? Overall they were still eatable, but would consider going with one of the other 14 sauces they offer. The sweet/spicy/tangy wings (or whatever they called them) was nothing more than just bottled teriyaki sauce with no presence of spice whatsoever. Very sticky and way too much sauce just sitting at the bottom of the basket. The wings never stood a chance, they were drowning in sauce.

Overall Jadens' Pints and Wings was a fun environment to enjoy some average at best wings and some cold pints of beer during a football game. Not a place I would ever bring my young children too again, but that is just me. A little spendy (two kids meals, 20 wings and a sandwich plus two beers - $48 before tip) and more than I care to ever spend again on lunch for the family. I get the idea that this place isn't known for great food, but rather great drinks and some live music. Maybe some day the wife and I will get to enjoy that life again, but with three kids, it is all about good food in a kid-friendly atmosphere. The disappointing part wasn't the lack of finding the "BEST" wings but rather the final impression I got when leaving. The restaurant has a partially open kitchen through the back of the bar and you can basically see everything in that kitchen. As we were walking out, past the open kitchen, their it was, a huge metal bowl filled full of some raw chicken wings on a metal push cart right next to the fryer. Now the cook/owner/bartender had not been in the kitchen since our food was delivered some 30 plus minutes prior and not another soul was in the restaurant at the time from when we walked in to the time we left. Now I feel sick.

Have you tried Jadens' Pints and Wings out before? Where and the hell do they set-up a band and still get more than 10 people through the door? Who has better wings than Wild Wings in the Upstate?

La Paz: Boiling Springs

Since I have been on an American/Mexican restaurant tour of Spartanburg lately, I figured I would stop by La Paz for a quick in-and-out lunch. I'll admit, I have visited this restaurant once before, but nothing really stood out to me the first time, so I figured I would give them another visit to see if anything would impress me this time. After my most recent visit to Mexico Lido/Rita's and having the most amazing Chile Relleno I figured I would try to find one equally as good if not better.

Unfortunately, this is what I received. It was a lot different than the one over at Mexico Lido/Rita's and honestly didn't look appetizing at all. No cheese inside the actual pepper and this one was swimming around in an egg bath prior to being cooked/fried. It was like eating an under-cooked omelet with green pepper and ground beef on the inside. The guacamole was your typical creamed fashion that came out of the refrigerator section at your local grocery store and presented all fancy out of a pastry bag. I'm sorry, guacamole should not look like the filling for a deviled egg on a fancy buffet line.

Bottom-line, La Paz has nothing on the local competition in the area other than the fact that they have a great location with a very clean restaurant and friendly waitstaff. The salsa is decent when you mix the two together (actually probably my favorite salsa so far of the 4 or 5 places I have been) and the rice is eatable. Other than that, the food just isn't up to par with the others. It shows up in a matter of 3-4 minutes from the time you order and every plate that comes out of that kitchen look the same. Come-on, just look at that plate of food, the cheese itself is a given that this meal was a disaster from the beginning and never stood a chance and that enchilada/burrito thing you see on my plate, that is supposed to be a Chile pepper.

Grapevine Restaurant: Boiling Springs

A restaurant out in the middle of nowhere, or is it a restaurant that is easily missed as you pass by? Either way, I am glad that I found this family run, Greek/Italian/Deli/American/Southern Soul/Seafood/Steak/Diner restaurant. They have about anything and everything you could possibly imagine on the menu. Grapevine Restaurant is a family-owned and operated establishment that opened in July of 2008 and is run by Dimitri and his family.

"We have committed ourselves to top-notch customer service that is tailored for every individual's preferences. Feel free to stop by and chat with us. We're always up for a good conversation! We hope to see you at the Grapevine soon!"

I had all intentions of ordering the HOT OPEN FACE SANDWICH Choice of Slow-Roasted Roast Beef, Roast Turkey or Roast Pork for $7.95. Served open face on bread with mashed potatoes, covered with rich homemade gravy and coleslaw. Or was I going to ignore the comfort food side of me and go with the Souvlaki (Marinated Beef Tips) for $9.95. Served on a bed of rice with onions, mushrooms, green peppers, crushed tomatoes, & feta cheese. I guess I could always go with the special for $5.99 and get all the soup and salad or sandwich I wanted to eat?

Still undecided, I chose the easy way out. Ask the beautiful server for her opinion and just go with it. So that's what I did and she recommended one of the following three items: Charbroiled 12 oz. Choice Rib Eye Steak Special for $10 or the Fried Chicken 2-piece $6.95 or 4-piece $8.95 entree. Both served with House or Caesar salad or soup, choice of 2 vegetables and dinner rolls. Add a Greek Side Salad for $2.00 extra. But the one item she recommended most of all, Grapevine’s Philly Cheese Steak $6.95. Thinly sliced steak grilled with onions, mushrooms and peppers; Topped with mozzarella on a hoagie roll and that is what I ordered plus a side of fries.

The bread, "Oh My" the bread this sandwich was served on was simply the most amazing thing I have ever tasted. It was perfect, light and airy with a nice crunch on the top. It literally melted in my mouth with each bite. At times, I forgot that it had other stuff inside (aka: scolding hot cheese) and I was burning the crap out of my mouth each and every time I repeatedly took bite after bite. The cheese on this sandwich also stood out and simply made this sandwich even more amazing. I know the menu and all says it is mozzarella (I think of melted mozzarella that is stringy), but it was a cross between Whiz and some kind of white cheese sauce. Perfect, they know that a Philly should only be served with cheese sauce. And now for the filler, Steak and mushrooms. Lesson number one when taking the easy way out of ordering something, look to make sure it doesn't include mushrooms. The steak was just average at best, but when combined with the bread and sauce, the Philly as a sandwich was one of the best I have ever tasted. Now, had I noticed that I was going to be served a pile full of mold (mushrooms) on that most awesome sandwich and asked my beautiful waitress to please hold the mold, it would have definitely been the best Philly I have ever had.

Bottom line, Grapevine restaurant is exactly what a restaurant should be. Family owned and operated with generations of family running the show. Home-cooked food that is actually delicious with a menu offering a little bit of everything so even the pickiest diners will not have a problem finding something delicious. And a community based business that puts the people that make them successful first. Almost forgot, breakfast is served all day and the desert case, definitely worth checking out as well.

Be sure to check them out if you are ever in the Boiling Springs area filling up that tank with some of the cheapest gas in the nation along with the other 10,000 people trying to fight over a pump at the new QT.

www.grapevineofboilingsprings.com

AtlantaFresh Brings Cow-to-Table Greek Yogurt to Greenville

For release: November 29, 2011

AtlantaFresh Artisan Creamery, a two year old Atlanta based small batch producer of exquisite hand made Greek Yogurt, will begin selling its full line of “World Class” Greek Yogurts starting December 3rd, 2011 in the Greenville, South Carolina market. Initially, Whole Foods Market will be the exclusive source of AtlantaFresh Greek yogurt in Greenville. AtlantaFresh very recently was awarded its interstate dairy license by the FDA allowing the Georgia based company to sell their yogurt nationwide. Whole Foods Market South Region was instrumental for the creamery in receiving the FDA license by making available expansion capital to AtlantaFresh Creamery as part of its Local Producer Loan Program. AtlantaFresh is proud to be the first and only local Southeastern creamery supplying Greenville with local Greek Yogurt.

“Everything we make is in small batches by hand, “says AtlantaFresh founder and “Big Cheese” Ron Marks. “For fresh dairy products, great milk and getting your products to market as soon as they’re made is the key to quality,” he says. “AtlantaFresh yogurt is a real treat. You can taste the quality difference.”

Fresh, Local Milk Means Amazing Flavor, Richness
AtlantaFresh prides itself on using only local milk from nearby Georgia dairy farms with humanely treated, fully pastured grass-fed cows. AtlantaFresh receives milk from its partner dairy farmers the same day the milk is milked from the cow and within a few days is sending ultra-fresh artisan Greek yogurt out to Greenville and other Southeastern markets.

Traditional European Method
Commercial dairies produce yogurt in a fully automated process, thousands of gallons at a time. AtlantaFresh makes their yogurt in a low-tech, old world style in 100 gallon batches.

“We turn AtlantaFresh yogurt around in a few days, using an extremely traditional European style, relatively unique among yogurts in the States,” explains Marks. “Most yogurts are ‘cup-set’. Ours is batch pasteurized, naturally cultured, and then has most of the whey strained off for a remarkably smooth and full-flavored yogurt. As a true traditional Greek style yogurt, our tart and tangy full flavor is the result of fresh culturing every batch to a lower acidity. It takes us three gallons of milk to make one gallon of finished yogurt.

Real Greek Yogurt Is Healthier
☛ Very high in bulgaricus and acidophilus—key probiotic cultures. Its freshness gives AtlantaFresh yogurt tremendous health benefits, compared to most other yogurts on the shelf. Every batch is newly cultured and the freshness of the product delivers a very active and prolific set of beneficial probiotic activity to your system.
☛ A high-protein food: 15 grams of protein in every 6 oz. serving.
☛ All flavors are available in fat-free and 2% varieties. Plain yogurt also available in Whole Milk.
☛ The texture of AtlantaFresh yogurt is rich, thick and luxurious, with no added starches or thickeners. One of the many benefits of the straining process that removes most of the whey.

Come this Sunday as my family makes its weekly Whole Foods run, this will be in the shopping cart. My wife lives by way of Greek yogurt and although I personally do not like to just eat this stuff, I do however love to make home-made ice cream with Greek yogurt as a healthier alternative to all the butterfat.

Check them out and lets support our local farmers and businesses.
Website: www.atlantafresh.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/atlantafresh
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AtlFreshYogurt