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Alexa

And now for something a little different

Football Season is upon us, and I’m sure there are the die hard fans out there that have been counting down the days.  In addition to those die hard fans, I am sure there are countless spouses, friends and/or partners out there that are also caught up in the excitement, but only because of their significant other. 

It’s those people that I want to address today.

Have you ever found it hard to find that perfect gift for that special someone in your life?  Have you ever sent flowers, but gotten a less than enthusiastic “They were great honey, thanks” response?  Have you ever wondered what to get that special man in your life, to send as just a reminder of how special he is?

Search no more.

Enter – The Beer Bouquet

Beer Bouquet is s a unique gift that is sent via the mail that I would almost guarantee will bring a smile to any recipients face.

Containing a 6 pack of beer (at the time of this writing, there were 26 different choices, including 4 non-alcoholic options), a bag of peanuts and an Ice Bucket with their favorite sports logo on it.  There is even a Coozie and bottle opener thrown in as well.  What sports fan wouldn’t love this?

I received mine just before the 4th of July Weekend, and quite honestly…I was as giddy as a schoolgirl.  I actually remember thinking as I opened the box – “I can’t believe I’m getting beer shipped to me”.  My smile was huge.

Inside I found a very innovative packing solution, that has each item secured in its place.  Aside from some serious hard hitting, you can see that the contents are going to come through unscathed. 

The beer selection was the Boulevard Line, and there was a fairly broad selection, ranging from the light ZoN to the Bully Porter. 

I honestly cannot speak to the peanuts, because my (at the time) 8 year old son James ran off with them while I was doing photos.  By the time I tracked them down – he had already cleared most of the bag and just let him finish them.  He did give them two thumbs up however, so that is a bonus.

The bucket is your standard pail, with a removable decal (in this case celebrating July 4th) that could easily be reused – not only as a beer bucket, but for numerous other “around the house” and “manly” things.

Finally, who can’t use a Beer Coozie and a bottle opener?  You can never seem to have enough of either around, and the bottle opener is on my key ring as we speak.

While I could see some people balking at the $49.99 +S&H price tag, I want you to consider this.  Its not about the price….its really not.  Instead, its about catching someone by surprise and having them feel like kids at Christmas, opening a box and seeing the wonderment as they realize that you really care.  When one considers that Roses run close to (if not more than) the same price, its not that much of a stretch.

So, with the Tigers playing this Saturday – why don’t you visit www.beerbouquet.com now and surprise your favorite fan today?  When you see the smile, you can thank me for it later.

Cheers and Go Tigers!

And now for something a little different

Football Season is upon us, and I’m sure there are the die hard fans out there that have been counting down the days.  In addition to those die hard fans, I am sure there are countless spouses, friends and/or partners out there that are also caught up in the excitement, but only because of their significant other. 

It’s those people that I want to address today.

Have you ever found it hard to find that perfect gift for that special someone in your life?  Have you ever sent flowers, but gotten a less than enthusiastic “They were great honey, thanks” response?  Have you ever wondered what to get that special man in your life, to send as just a reminder of how special he is?

Search no more.

Enter – The Beer Bouquet

Beer Bouquet is s a unique gift that is sent via the mail that I would almost guarantee will bring a smile to any recipients face.

Containing a 6 pack of beer (at the time of this writing, there were 26 different choices, including 4 non-alcoholic options), a bag of peanuts and an Ice Bucket with their favorite sports logo on it.  There is even a Coozie and bottle opener thrown in as well.  What sports fan wouldn’t love this?

I received mine just before the 4th of July Weekend, and quite honestly…I was as giddy as a schoolgirl.  I actually remember thinking as I opened the box – “I can’t believe I’m getting beer shipped to me”.  My smile was huge.

Inside I found a very innovative packing solution, that has each item secured in its place.  Aside from some serious hard hitting, you can see that the contents are going to come through unscathed. 

The beer selection was the Boulevard Line, and there was a fairly broad selection, ranging from the light ZoN to the Bully Porter. 

I honestly cannot speak to the peanuts, because my (at the time) 8 year old son James ran off with them while I was doing photos.  By the time I tracked them down – he had already cleared most of the bag and just let him finish them.  He did give them two thumbs up however, so that is a bonus.

The bucket is your standard pail, with a removable decal (in this case celebrating July 4th) that could easily be reused – not only as a beer bucket, but for numerous other “around the house” and “manly” things.

Finally, who can’t use a Beer Coozie and a bottle opener?  You can never seem to have enough of either around, and the bottle opener is on my key ring as we speak.

While I could see some people balking at the $49.99 +S&H price tag, I want you to consider this.  Its not about the price….its really not.  Instead, its about catching someone by surprise and having them feel like kids at Christmas, opening a box and seeing the wonderment as they realize that you really care.  When one considers that Roses run close to (if not more than) the same price, its not that much of a stretch.

So, with the Tigers playing this Saturday – why don’t you visit www.beerbouquet.com now and surprise your favorite fan today?  When you see the smile, you can thank me for it later.

Cheers and Go Tigers!

Missouri Brew Tour–Native Stone Winery/Bull Rock Brewery

This past Sunday, myself and some of the Smokes and Booze crew descended upon Native Stone Winery and Bull Rock Brewery as part of our Missouri Brew Tour.

You can view more pictures at the Smokes and Booze Flicker account (HERE)

From the website-

The restaurant and microbrewery are operated by Michele & Chris Barrows.  The Winery is owned by Cara and Larry Stauffer and was started in 2000.  They still tend to the vineyards and make all of the wine.  (Cara and Chris are brother and sister!)

In 1804, Lewis and Clark explored the riverside of Native Stone, where they found a large rock formation worth noting in their journals. That rock formation is “Bull Rock”.We named our microbrewery Bull Rock Brewery in honor of Lewis & Clark’s discovery.  Native Stone will be offering tours of Bull Rock to the public, for the Lewis & Clark bicentennial.

Getting there-

<Ed>Located just north of Jefferson City off of Highway 50 West to Highway 179, I thought this would be an interesting site in my own back yard.

The drive from Ashland was really nice on this first day of spring.  The Sun was shining and the wind kept the temps mild.

Debi’s GPS worked well (I had a map as a fallback), but it did have the location as being .5 Mile off of the actual site.  So be warned.

  Also, the sign is rather weathered (you can tell that the Bull Rock Brewery was added much later) and very unassuming.  Blink and you miss it.

Driving up the gravel lane lead us to find an old quaint farmhouse, which is not what we were expecting.  If there wasn’t a car we recognized parked there, we would have continued to the warehouse you can barely make out in the distance that advertises “Native Stone Winery”.

From the parking lot, the trellis does advertise that business, although better signage would help alleviate confusion.

I found it funny that TommyG noticed the same thing I did in the parking lot, empty Natural Light cans, and even included a picture with his submissions.  We were showing up well after opening…so a little attention to detail and cleanup would have been appreciated>

Inside, you walk through a small gift shop and past the “Tasting Area” to get to the dining room.  It did appear that there are several patios outside (we chose inside due to the wind).

From the dining area, there is a nice view overlooking part of the vineyard, but it is not as breathtaking as Les Bourgeois or Summit Lake Wineries.

<TommyG>

Located 9 miles outside of Jefferson City, I had no trouble at all finding the winery based on the directions from the website.  It was a gorgeous day, the first really warm and sunny of the year.  It was a perfect day for a road trip, and Native Stone Winery was only 45 minutes from Columbia and about 15 minutes from downtown Jefferson City.  It w...as the perfect distance for a Sunday afternoon getaway, and the drive was perfectly scenic with a great view of central Missouri’s rolling hills and farmland.

Pulling up to the winery we were a little thrown off as it looked more someone’s house than a place of business.  The parking lot was tiny (and more of a gravel “suggestion” of a lot) and there was a couple of Natural Light cans scattered about.  Now that is a bad sign for a supposed micro-brewery that it serves canned “Natties.”  So we all manned up and walked up the front walkway to the farmhouse and found that inside was a really charming and intimate restaurant/bar/wine tasting gallery and gift shop and that the back side of the farmhouse was expanded seating and several spacious patios.

Ambiance-

<Ed>  The inside reminded me of a Bed & Breakfast or perhaps some of the German Gasthauses I have visited.  The décor is nice, and I particularly enjoyed eating off of china than standard restaurant fare.  The view was ok, and probably would have been better if it were later in the year and more green….perhaps we will go back and go walking next time.  I can see the allure, so I give it a score of 3.5

<TommyG> This is where the place wins, I thought that the restaurant was very pleasant with plenty of natural lighting.  You had views of rolling Missouri farmland and vineyard while you eat, and the wait staff (err, one waitress for the entire place) was polite and attentive despite having to cover all the tables herself.  Apparently this place gets rather crowded in the late spring and summer, but on this delightfully sunny mid-March Sunday afternoon it was rather dead.  I give the ambiance a hearty 4/5.

The Food-

<Ed> I believe the group as a whole found the food adequate. I got the impression that it was hit and miss.  Rex had the breakfast buffet and when asked how it was…he shrugged and said “It’s Breakfast”.  Debi had one of the Pizzas and  I personally had the Portabella Quesada which I found quite delicious.  Solid 3 for me.

<TommyG> The menu was a pretty basic winery/Americana mix.  The appetizer menu had such offerings as a cheese and antipasto basket, nachos, artichoke dip, and other such light fare.  We went for the artichoke dip and it was pleasantly light for a cheese based dip.  The rest of the menu offered a small selection of pizzas, burgers, and a small steak menu.  We went with the pizzas.  Their chicken and artichoke pizza was pretty good, it had a sprinkling of feta cheese and even some surprise almond slivers.  I would give the food a solid 3/5

The Beer -

Our first disappointment of the day was finding out that they only had one beer on tap- The Extra Pale Ale (not listed on their website).  We later learned that the establishment had gone through a transition from the original owners to their sister-in-law.  It appears that there was an attempt to stay open through the winter, and (while this was never stated) they were trying to keep their overhead down while still maintaining cashflow.  Therefore, the brewery was running on light staffing (more on that in a minute).

Therefore, our initial decision was made for us…..we all tried the only beer they had.

<Ed>

• Appearance – A weak head and a low amount of carbonation.  Very little bubble movement within the glass as well.  The color was a little darker than I would have expected, coming in at a SRM 16.  Given the “Extra” Pale Ale moniker, I thought it should have been lighter.  If anything, I would call it an American Pale Ale instead.  I did notice a weak head and a low amount of carbonation.  Very little bubble movement within the glass as well.
• Nose - Hoppy, yet not overly so, as would be expected again with APA. 
• Taste- Overall taste wasn’t as full of hops as the nose.  Rather mild, but refreshing with some robust malts creating an excellent mouth feel and ending with citrus aftertaste.
• Score 2.5

 

 

<TommyG>

OK, for full disclosure I am sick with the flu; so everything I eat or drink tastes a little like a disgusting combination of phlegm and Ricola.  So my palate may be a bit contaminated.  That being said: The Extra Pale Ale beer that the brewery had on tap was a little bland for my taste.  It has a very light hop character and its malt component was pretty much nonexistent.  There was nothing unpleasant about the beer, and if I were in a more charitable mood I would call it “well balanced” or touts its inherent “drinkability.”  As it was though, I am unimpressed.  My score: 2.5/5

The Wine-

Hoping to cut our loses in only having one beer to try, we decided to give the wines a sample.

Native Stone has a unique sampling plan.  They currently offer 6 different wines that are locally produced and three that imported from other wineries.  You may sample three for free and for an additional $3, you can sample the other three as well.  For $6, you can sample all wines. 

<Ed> I think we all agree, the wine tasting was OK, but definitely not worth the money.  IMO, this is a huge missed marketing opportunity.  $3 for a sip (barely the bottom of the glass) didn’t inspire me to purchase any of the wines.  The only wine we purchased was the one Debi had with Lunch.  I would suggest dropping the price and letting customers really experience the range and return to ones they like to confirm their purchases.

<TommyG> So we were willing to overlook the lack of beer on tap since the place did sell itself more as a winery than a micro brewery.  But their wine tasting was not well executed.  They offered 3 samples for free, then an additional 3 samples for $3 (which covers all the wines they produce on site) and then for $5 you can sample everything they carry (they had about 1 or 2 other wines as well).  This pricing plan sounds excellent, but unfortunately the samples were very very sparing.  We were poured only a sip of each variety.  I am more used to wine tastings in which you are given a quarter to a third of a glass to sip on, so that you can really make up your mind about the wine and so that your good senses are deadened and you are put into a more charitable mood with your wallet.  But as it was I just left feeling a little ripped off for my $3.  If I poured all six tastings in to one wineglass, I probably would have only had about half a glass total.

<Note> There were a few scorecards for the wines and have included them at the end of this post.

Finally, we got an opportunity to see the “Brewery”.  The brew master was not present, so one of the staff members let us in and attempted to answer questions. 

        

<Ed> WOW- Much smaller operation than I would have expected.  We did learn from our guide that during the summer, he had been told that they run 4-5 Beers at a time.  This again highlights the disappointment in only having one available at this time.  The brew master appears to make rounds and was due in shortly (thus the empty kegs).  The guide said he hadn’t been there a full season yet, and he had only seen the brew master a few times.

In addition, an interesting tidbit was that the brewery setup was repurposed dairy equipment.  I don’t know if that is good or bad…it appears to work, but I personally feel that having the proper equipment is essential to an optimized and serious operation.  I would also love to know why they had Rice Hulls in stock.  I THINK it is to keep glue-y grains like oats and wheat from becoming an impenetrable clump.  But I have never seen another brewer use it.  If that is the case, this would have been a great discussion to have.

<TommyG> In one of the pictures above, that is all the supplies they had for their next beer run. They definitely are a small time maker. That is all the grain and malt they had in storage.

Overall –

<Ed> I liked the ambiance and feel of the Restaurant.  Food was good.  But, at this time, I cannot see myself returning just for the wine or beer.  Nothing overly wowed me….but I would probably give it a second chance later in the year.

Improved signage would help in taking the establishment seriously and I think management should look into their tasting practices.  This should not be a revenue stream in any other way than empowering tasters to make the right choice. 

The Website is desperately in need of a makeover.  I went through several attempts to contact the Winery/Brewery prior to visiting and at no point did I get a reply.  After arriving, this makes sense as it appears there has been a change in management, even though that is counter to what is on the site.  I doubt anyone is even checking the associated email.

Finally, if they want to be a great brewery…hire a fulltime Brew Master.

<TommyG> If you live in Mid Missouri (anywhere around Jefferson City or Columbia) it is certainly more than worth the trip out to visit Native Stone Winery.  Bring a host of friends and savor the short drive, sit outside and split a bottle of wine and some appetizers and just enjoy the afternoon.  As the food and beer and wine itself was merely okay I don’t think that I will be back soon as there are plenty of other local wineries to try.  But if you are looking for something do on a lazy afternoon it certainly gets my endorsement. 

Score Card (on a 5 Scale).

Click Picture to Embiggen

MBT–Stop Number 1- Broadway Brewery

So, about a month ago, I had an idea to start a series of articles regarding the Craft and Micro Breweries of Missouri. 

I think these small time (I don’t mean that derogatory) breweries are really the only thing that keeps us from drinking Budweiser day in and day out (remember, Guinness started this way) and are an essential part of the Missouri culture and economy.

Feeling out my friends, fellow bloggers and a few breweries got some instant feedback.  Everyone seemed for it, so we just waited for the perfect minute to strike. 

We had another BrewPub in mind to kick things off, but things didn’t work out as we thought, so…on the spur of the moment, we decided to hit a local…Broadway Brewery in Columbia MO.

                  

Established in 2009, Broadway is one of the newer breweries on the tour.  Focusing on locally produced produce on their menu with a brewpub to boot, the owners felt that Columbia MO could support two Craft Breweries…with both complementing each other vs directly competing.

A quick look showed us that Sunday was our best bet, with a Signature Brewery Glass and first drink for on $5 and a additional beers for $2.50 (some of the higher end beers would be an additional $1).

We arrived unannounced Sunday Morning and took over a corner of the pub as 6 of us sat down to taste various beers.

As we sat down, various questions came up

• Is this a serious tasting? <I voted that since this was the first, it would be more informal>
• How do we cleanse palettes? <I didn’t know, but researched it for Rex HERE>
• Do we have score sheets? <No, but we are working on being more professional in the future>
• Should we eat while tasting? <Against everything we would later learn regarding palettes, we all voted YES>
• Where is Morton? <He was to depressed to come>

We started out with no rhyme nor reason, and again…this could impact the views here and in the future, we will take a more systematic approach (hey, this was our first time )

Here are the notes from group -

BEER

• Blonde Cream – <TommyG> I like a hoppy beer as much as the next guy, but I would never describe myself as a hop head.  I can and will drink ESBs, APAs, and IPAs and enjoy them; but I much prefer Belgian beer styles that place less emphasis on an overpowering hoppy character.   Perhaps that would explain why I felt that the Blonde Cream was my favorite ...of the day.  Visually it was pleasing, being kind of a cloudy blonde beer and the first that you noticed when you drank it was that it imparted an interesting, almost creamy mouth feel, that almost coated your mouth in a beer-y goodness.  While all of the beers we sampled that morning were tasty, I felt that the Blonde Cream was one that really stood out to me personally.
• ESB
• Dry Stout – <Ed>You can definitely get the taste of roasted coffee and malt. I liked the dryness, but this wouldn’t sit well with me over a three hour bender.
• Alt Bier
• Double IPA –
• <Ed>From nose to finish, this is for the hopheads. Little disappointed that this was served in a snifter vs a Pint glass, but I can somewhat understand the desire to hold some of the hoppy aromas in with a taper so that your nose is directly in there for full enjoyment. A little darker than I expected, the flavors really come through as the flowery/grassy notes really step out. This and the Winter Strong were my two favorites.
• Imperial Stout – <Ed> Upon initial tasting, it was the general consensus that this tasted just like Guinness (the non-Nitrogen bottled version). No that there is anything wrong with Guinness, it’s my favorite beer, but it was not what was expected nor as advertised. Later, when meeting with the brew master, he checked and found that the taps had been mislabeled with Schlafly Imperial Stout. Easy mistake. Served in a snifter glass, the beer has a great color and aroma. The advanced flavors of caramels and malts work well, but the hint of hops is a little off-putting. While a good beer, I would pour this by the pint instead of the snifter to make it more worth the price.
• One of the menu items that was not available on tap was the Winter Strong Ale.  It was currently in the fermenting process.  Paul was kind enough to draw off some of the wort and let us get a preview-
• Winter Strong Ale- <Ed>While still not properly aged; this would be the beer I would gravitate to here at Broadway Brewery. Sweeter than I expected (although not sticky sweet like a Barley Wine), I got hints of fruit (Blackberry) and nuts with great mouth feel. Would love to try this when fully matured.

 

BREWERY TOUR-          

                          

Both TommyG and I did get a few moments with the Brew master Paul, and he was kind enough to take us on a quick tour of the brewery.

While smaller than I expected, it was efficient and seemed to handle the demand (400 Barrels a year) for them. 

I was particularly surprised to learn how much Paul’s Assistant Brew master handles some of the brewery process itself.  Far to often, the assistant is not much more than a cleaning lackey, so this is a testament of them cutting their teeth at the same time and learning from experience.  This can only bode well for the future.

In talking with Paul, we learned that the brewery is a second job for him (thus the involvement of the assistant), that he got his start as a home brewer, Broadway Brewery is a sponsor of the True/False Film Festival (hosting the Director’s Dinner) and that they have a vision of expansion…with a plan if need be.

<TommyG> Paul the Brew master admitted openly to being a hophead to Ed and Myself when we were touring his brewing equipment.  That would explain why almost all of the beer offerings were a little too hoppy for my taste.  I drank them all, and enjoyed them all, but I felt a little more variety could be a good thing here.  I get that he is trying to embrace the American brewing style of spiking everything with bitter hops, but its just not my thing.  I think an addition of a milder beer, like a British Style brown ale or a wheat beer could have replaced one either the ESB, APA or IPA and it would improved the portfolio.

FOOD -

<Ed>I personally won’t get into the food (if Debi wants to start her own Food Blog, I would happily support her), other than…while there were a few problems, there was no food left on plates when we were done.  I will commend the manager for a free round when he heard of the shortcomings, as it is this time of engagement that can make or break a restaurant/pub.

<TommyG> So, you go to their website, and trying to read the menu is a disaster.  They really could have done a better job with posting it online.  Even worse?  There are no prices posted online.  That is because while their food isn’t crazy expensive, its priced a little too high for what you get.  Don’t get me wrong, everything is very tasty, and made very well.  It just doesn’t seem like a great bang for the buck.  When I want light pub fair, I don’t want it to be too heavy on the wallet.  And I also expect the food to be made right.  That morning we ordered eggs, 1 order over medium; 1 sunny side up; and one over easy.  There was not anything cooked easy about the eggs.  All of the yolks were cooked hard, and that was just simply not how we ordered them.  That being said, we all ate them with a smile because it was simply delicious; but it was not how we ordered it.  Their dinner menu also feels a little small.  I can always find something on it to order, but I could never shake the feeling that I only had half a menu and that there was another menu with better options on it that someone wasn’t sharing with me.  Food overall 3 out of 5.  A passing grade, but…

AMBIANCE and SETTING -

<Ed>On Sundays, they have live music, that was quite honestly nothing short of excellent.  All Proceeds from donations go to a charity that is near and dear to us, so that was a big plus.

<TommyG> Broadway Brewery wins big when it comes to the ambiance.  Located in a basement section of Downtown Columbia, it utilizes its space perfectly.  It is cozy without feeling crowded, the lighting is subdued without ever feeling dim and claustrophobic.  The décor leans heavily towards exposed brick and polished wood and while a little bland, they manage to pull it off.  Our waitress was excellent; friendly, prompt, and helpful. The live music they had that day was fantastic, an irish string ensemble and they provided the perfect backdrop to the afternoon.  My only beef with the place is the men's room.  It is cramped and they shoved too many toilets into too small of a space.  When you are dropping about $20/person for dinner and drinks you don’t want to be crowded in the bathroom.  Another two or three feet of linear space (or removing a urinal) would have made all the difference.

FINAL COMMENTS-

<ED> Overall, as with any place, there were some good and bad, but in the end…it’s all about hanging with friends and experiencing new things. The story regarding the Imperial Stouts being swapped will stick with me for some time, and I really liked the atmosphere.  While small, the brewery meets current needs, and it holds a good spot behind the bar to view.  The bar itself contains the basics of a pub, although I will add that I like the “Guest Tap” idea they currently have going.  This way you can get alternative samplings from other breweries from Tap vs a Bottle.  Other than the Schlafly mistake, I sampled

• <XXX> Pear Cider – The nose of this was sweet and inviting.  Flashing me back to my youth, it smelled of Sweet Tarts (not your typical term) and Pears.  (Very) Dry and refreshing, this in itself would make a great palette cleanser between beers.  To bad we found it late in the session.

The hardest thing is rating this brewery…as CoMO also has Flatbranch, one of the best in the nation.  This would be a struggle for any up and coming establishment, but I think Broadway is holding it’s own.  If you go in with an open mind, I definitely think you would find something on the beer menu to satisfy you.  Give them a few years, and they could be a contender.

<TommyG> Giving it an average score of 3.16 / 5.  I can live with that.  I enjoyed myself, and I plan to go to Broadway Brewery again in the near future.

SCORECARD

 

Broadway Brewery can be found between 8th and 9th Streets at 816 East Broadway in the center of downtown Columbia and they can be followed on Facebook (HERE) or on Twitter (@BBintheDistrict).