Beer Week 2009 Super Blog Pt 3

Day four
McGillen’s Olde Ale House

With a few Mad Elf war stories under her belt, our always faithful Tröegs drinker Tourist Tree was ready to meet the brewer who has, in a not quite direct way, provided some interesting moments in her life.

We had the Hopback Amber from the firkin, Rugged Trail Ale and Nugget Nectar from the taps.

Picture: John, the brewer and one of the two brothers who own the brewery; Nick from Tröegs; and the Doctor Professor Princess Tröegs Tourist Tree trading beer stories.

Misconduct Tavern


Dogfish Head, one of the foremost makers of extreme beers was doing five beers. Luckily, we could do them as a flight. L to R: Aprihop - a just released new beer on the slightly sour side with noticeable taste of apricot; 60 Minute IPA; Raison d’Etre - always been one of our favorites; Black and Blue - very fruity with those blackberries and blueberries; Red and White - we liked this creamy beer a lot with a part aged in Pinot Noir barrel and a part aged in oak staves.

Misconduct was offering some special menu items with dishes cooked with the featured beers as ingredients, like oysters with Aprihop mignonette, charcuterie plate with Raison d’Etere and Aprihop mustards, etc.






Beer flights offer opportunities to sample many beers without of the liability of consuming too much alcohol. Responsible drinking?!?!?!

Good Dog

We had a little pre-dinner snack of Truffled Cheesesteak Empanadas (tasty!) with our Lagunitas beers. Good Dog was also giving out little tasting of fried mac n’cheese ball. That’s really good!!! We started with the Brown Shugga, then moved on to the Rubin & The Jet (isn’t that a Zappa song?), and the Censored Ale. We liked them all!


I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t any Hairy Eyeball. Just the name alone had made me wanted to have one.

Having a good time.


One thing we had noticed over the past several days was how down to earth and friendly everybody had been wherever we went. People just struck up conversion with each other and enjoyed the moment while having a nice brew.

The dude in the green was from Lagunitas. I was too afraid to ask the girl why she had a piece of lime in her mouth.
 
 
 

We met two new friends who were on their third beer stop for the night. Somehow, Fat Tire Ale was brought up and it turned out later that one of the girls was from, of all places, Ft. Collins, CO; home of the Fat Tire Ale! Although we were all on our third stop for the night, we submitted our defeat to them since they had rearranged their work schedules around the Beer Week to be away from being on duty as obstetrical residents at one of the area hospitals.
 
 
 

Doctors talk

 
Ms. Tootsies Soul Food


There is nothing better than some good fried food after a few rounds of suds. Being on a week night, we figured that it would be easier to get into the upscale byo or the even more upscale restaurant next door. We dined in the restaurant with no ridiculously long wait for a table.

Fried Chicken (Dark Meat), Collard Greens, Okra with Corn Tomatoes.

I really enjoyed biting into the crispy fluffy cotton candy like crust. It was like biting into a layer of a light airy cloud with spices. I liked the seasoning although it could use a bit less salt. The chicken was perfectly cooked with lots of moisture and flavor in the meat.
 
 
 
 
 

Fried Chicken (White Meat), Mac n’ Cheese, Caramelized Candied Yams.

I even tasted the white meat and approved. This was still one of the best fried chicken places in the city! The collard greens were spot on, period. The okra with corn tomatoes was nice but I didn’t find it to be that exciting, although it was good to have some vegetable added to my diet. We liked the mac n’cheese. Unfortunately, it was hard not to compare it against the more fancy versions from other places around town these days. We both found the caramelized candied yams to be way too sweet for our taste. I was actually eating it as a dessert.

It would only be appropriate to have Tootsie Pops after our meal at Ms. Tootsies

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

For no apparent reason, the Doctor Professor Princess decided to confiscate Aiiyah’s Blackberry. (Interjection from the Tourist Tree, “Aiiyah is obsessed with his Blackberry!”) (Counter-interjection from Aiiyah, “Aiiyah utilizes all his tools.”)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We saw this really cool display of art in the window of the University of the Arts while walking back to our car. It’s a rotating-in-motion wheel made of smaller Eiffel Towers set on top a bigger Eiffel Tower as the base.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Day Four beer tally: Trögs Hopback Amber, Rugged Trail Ale, Nugget Nectar; Dogfish Head Arpihop, 60 Minute IPA, Raison d’Etre, Black and Blue, Red and White; Lagunitas Brown Shugga, Rubin & The Jet, Censored Ale.
 
 

No idea what the Toourist Tree is doing!