A Visit to Elmer Sudds

S and I shared a delightful few beers, pizza, and good company late afternoon yesterday at Elmer Sudds before ramblin' on to the R/C 14 to see the mind-bendin' Inception.

Vacation `a-dwindlin'. :O( Gotta make the most of it, eh?

I sweltered out of the no-AC Ford into full 91 stagger.

Early.

Sat down in the cool bar and the first handle I saw was for Southampton Publick House. So naturally, first instincts usually being correct--I picked the the truly quenching Southampton Publick House Double White Belgian-style.

Citrusy, refreshing, easy, fast down. I have found a new summer favorite. You know, I have come to really like beers of this ilk--spring and summer beers for sure. This one reminds of and stands up well to my current fave Victory Whirlwind. N.B. Get this Double White in a bottle--put it in the freezer--mow lawn. 20 minutes later: Enjoy.

Still no S in sight, I perused the draught list and the Breaker Brewing Company Black Diamond IPA leaped out at me. Described as a Cascadian Dark Ale (CDA) or Black IPA. This style was recently covered somewhere--Zymurgy perhaps? Never had it before so I tried a taster: Dark--almost black--nice piney hop aroma and flavah.

Ahhhh. :O)

Pint please!

Decent head that faded pretty quick. A unique malt flavor pushes through in the finish--could it be the rye malt? This is an interesting variation. I sure would like to know in what proportions the three malts were used--and there must have been some base malt too. Heavy? Nah. For being so dark this is easy drinking. Is this is available in a bottle? Don't know but it oughta be. I would get a six or two if it were.

Deeeeeeelicious!

Random thought: Breaker Brewing should get with the Black Diamond bar in Frackville to carry this beer. It could be their signature beer and if I dare say it would be a match made in a Black Diamond mine. N.B. Black Diamond in Frackville is beginning to carry some craft beer--the last time I was in they had some Troegs on. Oh and they have probably the best wings in NEPA--at least to this lad. Their Old Bay® wings are unbelievably good.

About that time S came in and ordered a Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat witbier which kicked mid-pour. Backup for S was Breaker Brewing Company Goldies Blonde Ale.

Wise choice.

Mine and hers.

N.B. J gave us the half-pint of Sunset Wheat. Blueberry aroma and taste were unmistakable. I don't remember this being there the last time from a bottle in Jersey a couple years ago. Hmmmm.

We each ordered a pizza--me Pepe and her the broccoli and shells. Hot and tasty. Sauce tomatoey and not overwhelmed by everything else--crust medium but still crispy--cheese just right.

Deeeeeelicious!

About that time J had replaced the expired Sunset Wheat with Hofbräuhaus Münchner Weisse. I think that was it, but I could be wrong...

Thought of my trip to Germany, summer of `05, so I tipped my glass to my friends in Frankfurt. Prost!

N.B. I know, Frankfurt's not a big brewing town--more an Apfelwein town it being in the apple belt and all, but still. Great beer knows no boundaries, eh?

Elmer Sudds is a very fine place to kick back with some great local beers (Breaker continues to impress this fellow), try some haute gastronomy that is a cut-above standard pub fare, and meet with old and make new friends. Highly recommended.

PS: They have a nice list of bottled beers too. See Mr. MyBeerBuzz for full details as well as the current tap list.

A Visit to Krugel's Georgetown Deli

I met a guy in Krugel's last night and he saw me with two bombers of Breaker Brewing Company 16 Ton IPA, one in each hand.

We had a conversation that went something like this:

“I see you've got some of Breaker Brewing Company's beer, the double IPA. A good choice. Did you ever wonder what they did with all the spent grain and hops from the brewing process?” he asked.

I responded: “Well, I suppose they could let it decompose and use it as fertilizer or give it to some farmer to feed to his animals.”

“You see that cow out there?”, he pointed.

I said “Yeah, her name is Three-Oh-Nina, isn't it?” Silence.

About then it dawned on me: “Whoa. You're not telling me she eats all that stuff?”

“Yeppers. She's got a five barrel brewing system in her belly that's very efficient. And she just loves the taste too.”

“As a matter of fact, her system is so state-of-the-art that it can extract sugar from grain even AFTER it's been used in a normal brewing process.”

“Wow! Who'd a thunk it?”, I pondered.

“Yep. And those big teats? They don't give milk either.”

Old Belsnickel Delivers

S and I made it over to the Ice House Pub this week for dinner and the chance to try Breaker Brewing Company's Belsnickler Ale.

First, let's get one thing as clear as a December eve: This place does not serve run-of-the-mill, deep-fried pub-grub--even IF it has Pub in it's name! They have a real chef and the food's served on really clean plates and silverware.

It happened to be Italian night when we went and there were enough inspired Italian dishes on the menu to make even a South Philly native feel right at home.

Now don't get the wrong idea, I do have a major porcine obsession but I prefer mine in the form of kielbasa. But I have been know to make quick work of a sopressata.

The salads were fresh--large and overflowing a salad bowl. Not skimpily strewn across a small plate like so much straw on freshly seeded grass.

I chose the lasagna which came in a large portion, bathed in fresh home-made tomato sauce. As I've said again and again (and once more for the ladies): I like to taste the tomato unmasked by salt, sugar, peppers, and the whole shebang of other stuff that gets thrown in there from time to time when real taste can't be trusted. Well, in this sauce I found what I always look for and it was deeeelicous!

If you ask anyone, you'll get the same answer: Tazio has been a really good boy this year--maybe the most well-behaved in a long time.

All I can say to that is that is my brainwashing plan is working. Eggsalenttttt!

No. It just requires beer, constant work and attention to detail.

And it doesn't come easy. Po mo wu!

That being put out there, I guess someone has been watching `cause Old Belsnickle brought me something really nice--so nice in fact that he left it in a shaker glass instead of a stocking! This year he brought me amongst other things, a 22 oz. bomber of Belsnickler Ale.

Now this seasonal Quad/Winter Warmer available in draught at certain locations and bottles in others (methinks) so it can be found in a lot of places. Even bad boys and girls can get some, I hear. This beer is mighty tasty but at 8.1 ABV it seems a bit low for a Quad to me but I'm in it for the taste so what's with a name? I'm not Saint Michael by any stretch, but, and here's the thing: the taste, plus the eight dot one, added to prit-near perfection to me. This has a nice and complex malty backbone like some of their other beers and was unmistakably a Breaker Brewing beer. Perfect for a December Winter's Eve. The head was a bit weak but then again, I like to pour softly and carry a big keg. ClockworkOrange (gotta love that, huh?) had two fingers so it may have been the soft pour. (I'm wondering if this was Breaker's first go at a distributed bottle-conditioned beer? That could explain it. Note to self: I'm working on these, well, demons is too strong a word, let's say gremlins myself--some of my bottles come out great-others low carb. [Sheesh how many levels of indirection can you stand at this point?]).

The place was hopping at around 6 pm with kids, parents, dates, the after-work crowd and all sorts, so don't be afraid to bring anyone along. Oh, did I tell you about our waitress? She was so nice and pleasant--she went down the entire beer list from memory, was patient with us and knew the details about each dish on the menu, and seemed to be happy to be here waiting on us. Don't you just love when people are like that?

It's been a while since we've been here and I had forgotten how nice it is and how great the food tastes. They had a number of craft brews available and their inclusion on the taps site Mybeerbuzz, bodes well for this becoming a favorite haunt for the beer drinkers of Mountain Top.

The guys over that Breaker Brewing are quickly becoming this millennium's version of Sierra Nevada. Keep an eye on them--there are great things happening with their beers and expect more to come in `10.

Going home

Ah, Nanticoke.

The PA one that is.

Maybe the only place where the denizens love their kielbasa and dill pickles as much as I do!

And the only town in the US where over half of its citizens claim Polish ancestry.

Where at the former Lazarus department store you could stand in awe of the precursor to the internet--running over a network of pulleys and wires--sending cash and receipts from the register to the office and back.

And at Carrols probably the last place you could fork over a buck and get a hamburger, fries, a soda, and some change back.

Ah, Nanticoke: The city of my birth and home to Madison's Vodka Bar and Steakhouse on 396 E. Washington Street.

Last night the ever-intrepid S and I met up with J, H, and D to enjoy and partake in some holiday revelry and I'm here to tell you we had a blast reminiscing about bike racing and all things with two wheels, simple systems that could be retrofitted to our cars to create and burn hydrogen (stand clear, please), the Federal Reserve, and the Rothschild family.

You know: Just the usual save the world BS.

Oh, and J and H introduced me to the exotic Absinthe which sounds just ritualistic, and intriguing-of-taste enough for me to want to try. Soon.

The details in this establishment make it a standout: The decorative coving around the bar and dining rooms' high ceilings that draw the eye up to what looks to be original tin ceiling tiles; the expansive (read wide) bar top giving ample room to eat and drink (with two hands and elbows) and supported by a bar base with vertical planks spaced so as to give ample shadow lines which are echoed in the dining room; a simple thin vertical bar rail--still, graced by a routed edge of a unique sort I've not seen used in other bar rails.

Over the back bar is a contemporary bookcase-style shelving system holding what looks to be an extensive selection of cocktail liquors.

The wall over the back bar also sports six handles with the Breaker Brewing Company's handle towering above the rest.

Dude: We've gotta talk about the Breaker Brewing Company one of these days.

The Malty Maguire was great and seemed just about like when we had it over at Elmer Sudds when it debuted. There was another unidentified handle on the end, which no longer poured as the keg had kicked earlier in the day. The `keep said it was a stout: Olde King Cole Stout perhaps? I wish it had been on, but hey, now I've got a reason to go back!

S & yours truly went for the the white chowder to start--the clam bits were velvety soft and tender unlike many other examples. No steak tonight for us but the seafood platter special caught our eyes and was just right and consisted of clam, shrimp, orange roughy, scallop, and crab cake components. Did I mention that I like cole slaw? This was an interesting take on the side, with small minces and dices and that was creamy and a bit tangy.

As is wont to be on occasions such as these (or any occasion really when friends share in thought and opinion), the seafood platter stimulated a communal lamentation of the loss of VicMar's. Sigh.

Our party had a lot of fun as did everyone else there that night.

H: Did that Gibson taste good?