Booze along the Delaware

Not the Eye of Sauron; that's Monongahela Rye red!

I got out into the crushing heat back in mid-July (the Jetta's thermometer was reading 106F at one point) to visit Mountain Laurel Spirits down in Bristol. That sounds a bit more fancy than it is; what I mean is that I drove back in the Grundy Commons industrial park (a very cool re-use of a 100+year old industrial space by the canal in this riverside town) and hung out with founders (and entire workforce) Herman Mihalich and John Cooper for a hot 90 minutes...the distillery isn't air-conditioned!

They'd invited me down because they were dumping some barrels, and wanted to let me get a taste and see what I thought. I was curious to see what they'd done -- with help from Michigan State University's Artisan Distilling program -- on coaxing good wood character out of small (15 gallon) oak barrels in 6 months. It's been a subject of some controversy in craft distilling, but I've been impressed with what these guys have been doing so far -- their white whiskey is one of the better ones on the market, IMO -- so I was optimistic.

We tasted from six different barrels, four of them that were going into the vat you see Herman dipping from above. Those four were significantly different; one of them extra-spicy, one quite sweet, and one distinctly floral. The two others were tasting particularly delicious, and they're considering a small release -- distillery sales only -- of single barrel stuff. I encouraged them to do so; that's how you make a name.

Did I mention it was bleeding hot? That's when we decided it was time for a cooler drink (although as Davey Crockett said, rye whiskey will keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter), and Coop made up a couple whiskey sours. Wow. They were delicious and tart and WHAM. Just the thing. You need to own this drink, I told them: too many people think of whiskey sours as 'granny drinks,' and they're anything but. We drank some more. Then I left. It was really hot.

NCBC's brewhouse (heat is not visible in this picture)

In very little time, I was at Neshaminy Creek Brewing, the new brewery in Croydon that I'd been hearing about, but hadn't yet had a chance to try. It was hot there, too. The crew all strung in as I was wandering about the brewhouse (which was hot), and after we'd talked about their lagering tanks and how they were planning to keep brewing lagers along with the IPA that every noob craft drinker insists that a brewer make...we decided it was really hot, so we went in the somewhat air-conditioned tasting room to get a couple beers.

First up was the Trauger Pilsner. At 4.4%, it makes a nice session drinker, and is just about good to go: not overly hoppy, a nice malt character, but a slight greenness, an off-flavor. An early batch, so I suspect that will clean up soon. The County Line IPA -- yes, of course they have one! -- was good, hoppy but not overdone, which probably means they'll be bumping up Da Hops on this soon as the geekerie squeals in dismay (so get some now before it's scorchingly bitter). And then there was the Tribute Tripel, which I thought was the best beer I tasted: not heavy, a good orange creamsicle kind of character from the yeast, and didn't taste like 9.3% at all. One to look for.

Whew. It was hot. So I said good-bye, and headed home.

Not about drinks...but still local

We joined a new CSA this year, Anchor Run, just outside of Wrightstown, here in Bucks County. It actually grew out of a conversation I struck up with a guy at Watch City Brewing in Waltham, Mass., of all places. I was having dinner there (I was in the area to do an event), and just started talking to the guy next to me about local beer, and local food, and local produce, and how I belonged to a CSA...and not only is Derek McGeehan a farmer running a CSA, he runs the CSA that's nearest to my home in Bucks County...and he loves craft beer!

Well, who am I to kick Fate in the balls? We joined Anchor Run, and we've been enjoying it, all through the heavy rains, and the four hours of weeding green beans. We got a lot of eggplant and hot peppers, which I've loved, and I finally found a way to cook celeriac that I liked. Lots and lots of greens -- mustard, kale, Italian dandelion, bok choy, and some others I never heard of (tat soy?) -- that cook up nice, and plenty of lettuce and tomatoes, and lots of spuds and onions.

We also got some beef through them from another CSA (Tussock Sedge Farm, in northern Bucks), and last night, a day after our final harvest pick-up at Anchor Run, I decided to do an all-CSA dinner. I marinated a nice piece of London broil from Tussock Sedge (used Anchor Run garlic in the marinade), cooked up a mess of varied greens with sesame oil and chili paste and more garlic, grilled the beef with a foil pack of CSA potatoes, and steamed a pot of CSA broccoli. Add in a big CSA lettuce salad...and we had quite a meal. The beef was delicious, spuds were perfect...the broccoli had a worm in it, but hey, it's all organic, so you toss the worm and keep eating. Great meal!

Washington Crossing Beer Fest!

Washington Crossing National Historic Park -- Washington saved the Revolution in this small Pennsylvania town over 200 years ago; on a freezing, snowing Christmas night, he and his men crossed the Delaware River in Durham boats, slogged down to Trenton, and surprised a force of Hessian mercenaries. He followed up this surprise victory with a quick raid on Princeton, knocking the British troops back to winter quarters in central New Jersey and setting the morale and spirit of the army and the Continental Army ablaze.



We've apparently forgotten how important this was to our history. In the fall of 2009, budget cuts forced the closure of Washington Crossing Historic Park. Interpretive tours of the park’s historic buildings ceased. Bowman’s Tower -- Washington's lookout up the river, with a commanding view of the valley -- was shuttered. And the reenactment of George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River – held without interruption since the 1950s – was cancelled. Local citizens took on the challenge, raised money and volunteered, and not only did the reenactment take place on Christmas Day, but the educational mission of the park has carried on.

In less than three weeks, you can help preserve this historic site, a hallowed part of American history, by signing up for the Washington Crossing Beer Fest!  Check out the breweries that will be represented here. It's May 14th, 12:30 to 4:30, with live music and food (the music's free, food is extra), and beer samples from breweries far and near: $40, and that's going to benefit this historic park, a true landmark of American history. (It's a great place to start a trail ride, too, down the canal path to Bristol, or across the river and down to Trenton, take a look-round for Hessians maybe?) Get your tickets here!

Pineville Tavern on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives!

Another lost week...

But I'm back, with cool news: Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives visited Memphis Taproom, we all know about that, and it was very cool...but they also stopped in a Bucks County beloved, the Pineville Tavern, just up the road from my home, and a place where I've dropped anchor for a good jar of Guinness on occasion (because the beer pickin's are admittedly fairly slim, but the food's excellent). Here's the scoop: the show's tomorrow night!

Pineville Tavern (est. 1989) will be featured on The Food Network’s, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on March 7th at 9PM (re-running on March 14^th).  Executive chef (and 2^nd generation owner), Drew Abruzzese will be showing host Guy Fieri what goes into making some of the most popular items on the menu – like the P.V.T. Snapper Soup (or as Guy refers to it on the episode – “Snapping Turtle Soup”).  Drew will also revel the secret recipe for the Abruzzese family’s 4^th generation meat ravioli and marinara sauce. 

Drew has worked side-by-side with some of the most well-respected chefs in the area – Danny Meyer (New York Restaurateur, Union Square Hospitality), Jeffrey Chodorow (New York Restaurateur, owner of China Grill Management), and Matt Levin (owner of local Philly restaurant, Adsum).  

I'll be away, but I'll catch that re-run. Go, local heroes!