Tag: beer travel

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Bourbon & Kentucky Report # 1

Travel Day Sunday went smoothly from LAX to Muhammad Ali Airport. Once settling in near the Ohio River, it was time to find some bourbon. And find a flight of rye we did at Doc Crow’s on Main Street with Michters coming out on top of the four.

With the New Riff, second. The middle pair were too hot on the palate for me. Then to finish off the night, my first ever Mint Julep…

Monday brought rain and the Frazier Museum to get some Bourbon history. There was a really well done interactive portion as well including a put the barrel back together section. Plus the gift store has a great selection of Kentucky gifts.

After a horsey detour to the famous Churchill Downs, we headed down to the bourbon capital, Bardstown. Where we are staying at the oldest hotel in the area plus it has the oldest bourbon bar. More on that later. The first distillery stop and only one open in our Monday time frame was Boundary Oak near Fort Knox.

I would avoid the lavender and cinnamon versions and stick to the classic named My Old Kentucky Home which had a nice kick and a really nice corn taste to it. The cask strength Lincoln was nice too.

More bourbon to come!

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Just a Thought -Part 1

L.A. craft beer at the airport.  Why isn’t there more there?  I was set to thinking about this when I read (somewhere) that an America whiskey maker was setting up shop in a Paris airport.

Couldn’t there be a cart or a pop-up Welcome to L.A. Craft beer spot at LAX? It could be to-go only or a little biergarten area where either weary travelers could disembark from the plane and have a drink or a place where you could get a last minute gift before heading home.

It could rotate between Torrance breweries for a month, then DTLA, then Long Beach to keep things fresh and new.  Merch could be up for sale as well.  Teaming up with a winery or local spirits makers would work too.

Might make me think about flying more.

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PDX 2022 – Report 3

Since I spent three whole days in Portland, I figured that I should do three whole posts, so here are a few more photos and beer talk.

Level Beer on Sandy was the main target after guisados at La Fondita. It was a wide range of beers from a super low ABV Table Saison at 2.8% to a barrel-aged imperial stout at 11.5%.

Of the six tasters the English bitter named in honor of a Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bitter Ginsbeer. The space with changing color lights and pinball machines next to a VooDoo Donuts is nice and the beertender was super friendly.

As I always do, I bought too many to-go beers but I found a real gem in a French Pilsner, Houblon from Rosenstadt that was spectacular.

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PDX 2022 – Report 2

Day two was split into Hood River and Southeast Portland, Older and brand newer.

Starting at Double Mountain on 4th in hilly Hood River with a single hop beer using the Zappa Hop, Blessed Relief which was different in a good way. That was a taster, followed by a short pour of the collaboration with Solera with Citra and Strata and it was super different in a not good way to me.

Next up was lunch in the river at pFriem with the family (a quorum of the fam, at least) and a sparkling IPA which was fine but I probably should have gone a sampler route or a kriek with the berries in the salad.

Back to Portland with the traffic and a stop at the former Commons, Modern Times location at the corner of Belmont that is now…

…where I had short pours of a Cerne Pivo dark lager that was excellent. Malty with depth but not weighed down. The space, if memory serves, is in the same layout with the bar at a diagonal and the seating at slices of lumber in an L shape around the windows. Plus lots of green punctuated by a cool white menu board…

…with the taps arrayed like a flock of organized birds. I also tried the Great Notion DIPA collaboration and boy was that an orange bomb. One of the most orange beers in both aroma and taste that I have had.. Maybe it was the hop hash or the Phantasm powder.

Last of the day was Chelsea pre-season on the TV at Away Days for a Post Match Italian Pilsner which was not as sprightly as I hoped but still good and the Home and Away IPA, I also have a cream ale of theirs to try. I just adore the footy names of the beers like Der Klassiker.

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PDX 2022 – Report 1

I have not touched the ground in Portland since 2020. How would the city feel after a long time away? Would it be different post-covid or pre-post covid for the more cautious among us.

Well, I landed hard with popular Portland breweries.

Ruse Brewing at the Crust Collective across the Columbia in Vancouver on the Waterfront walk.

I had two IPAs with Star Senders a mix of Citra and Strata being the winner.

Before that a late night beer at Migration Brewing where I had a Fuji to Hood Cold IPA which was so-so to me. The pilsner my Mom had was good and they must be doing something right because they are up to four locations now.

After Ruse, was the Portland outpost of Chuckanut the excellently named P-Nut where I had the first of three, yes three, Grodziskie lagers. Lightly smoked and rarely brewed but I found two on draft and one canned version.

The P-Nut was a lovely little space near Division and a few other beer spots in the area including Baerlic Brewing. I had the Threshold “Grod” which was noticeably different from Chuckanut. Way lighter in color and smoke but interesting.

Next was Amelia from Steeplejack. The church location is really great but their Grod was way less smoky and more lemony.

I also got a Canadian lager which was a little weird whereas the Osler a DDH IPA which had a wonderful lemon chiffon flavor to it.

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PDX22

If the aiport gods smile down upon me, I will be back in my hometown of Milwaukie, (OR) in a few days. While Milwaukie doesn’t have a scene minus Breakside, there is plenty of brewing going on in the larger city to the north, AKA Portland.

Thankfully, the Beervana blog posted travel centered posts in late June for me to plan where I needed to stop. Read the orientation post HERE.

Wherever you summer travel this year, I strongly suggest finding the local beer writer and even if they do not have a travel to piece, all you really need to do is read a few posts to catch the current mood or find a new brewery.

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Czech It

If someone had told me back in the before times, that I would be entranced by a travel show of a goofy food writer dad and his teenage daughter, I would have given you a serious amount of side-eye.

But Czech it Out is grand…

…not only that despite the goofy and the forced reality of parts, this really gives an overview of Czech food, beer, art, movies but more importantly a sense of place.

The best travel shows make you want to travel much like the best food shows make you hungry and after four episodes, 1/2 the season, I want to go and eat nothing but pastry and drink beer at all the restaurants and Pivovar’s that this duo have visited.

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Want To Visit in 2022 Brewery # 2 – Gamecraft Brewing

Next up in my beer travel in SoCal wish list is Gamecraft Brewing in Laguna Hills.

And here are some taster tray picks…

Czechpoint – “a Czech-Style Dark Lager collaboration with Resident Brewing of San Diego. Malt-forward, medium bodied, smooth finish. Enjoy notes of chocolate, roast, dates and toffee.”

Piranha Plant – “hop forward pilsner, brewed and dry hopped with German noble hops, Opal and Saphir. Notes of citrus, orange blossom, and red berries with underlying tones of herbs and spices. A plant with a bite.”

Otaku – “Like American-style Lagers, Japanese Rice Lagers are brewed with rice in addition to barley in the mash. Rice provides fermentable sugars for the yeasts that produce alcohol, while keeping the beer light in color and body. Hop bitterness is low but mildly perceptible, providing a balance to the grain sweetness. Crisp and refreshing, with a slightly dry finish.”

Face McShooty – “West Coast IPA, with a very simple malt bill to give a foundation for the hops. Amarillo, Ekaunot and Simcoe. Notes of citrus, peach, pine, orange, grapefruit and pineapple.”