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| Salvador Dali and Babou |
Salvador Dali has always fascinated me – his unusual
life and amazing work have intrigued me since I was a young teenager. Some of
his masterworks are displayed at the Salvador Dali Museum (One Dali Blvd
– St. Petersburg – 727.823.3767) in St. Petersburg, Florida. If you've never
been – you MUST set aside a weekend to go! … while you are in the area, you can
also visit the Tampa-area microbreweries throughout that region of Florida!
Standing at my jewelry tower
deciding upon fashion accessories for that evening's Prowl (Jan 8), I happened
upon a watch whose design was inspired by Dali's painting, “The Discovery of
America by Christopher Columbus” - both in wavy form and color. Companion had
given me that years ago and I cherish it – but with the non-metallic wristband,
I seldom wear it out of fear of ruining the rather unique wristband.
I felt a little odd spending so
much time on accessorizing for an evening I felt like staying somewhat close to
home for some reason.
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| River City Brewing -BLT Turkey Wrap |
Earlier in the day, I had attended
my first Editorial Meeting with EU Jacksonville (http://www.eujacksonville.com/) and following its conclusion, I met Captain Brooks of Jax
Water Tours (http://www.jaxwatertours.com/) at River
City Brewing Company (http://www.rivercitybrew.com/) to discuss plans for his expansion and a schedule for
2013 Jax Brew Cruises – stay tuned! … while meeting with Captain Brooks, I had
a very late lunch consisting of BLT Turkey Wrap - delicious! … I also met
Bernard Santiago of River City Brewing and I learned some changes are afoot at
River City – changes with a capital “C” - and that rhymes with “B” - and that
stands for “Beer”!
I knew that although I was quite
full, companion would be wanting to include some food during the Prowl that
evening.
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| Dahlias Pour House - Andrea tapping DPH 1st firkin |
First stop that night was Dahlia's
Pour House (2695 Post Street – 904.738.7132) where owner Andrea was
featuring a Firkin of Abita Brewing Company's English Mild Cask Ale. A
Firkin is a small cask that is used for brewing cask-conditioned ale. The ale
is served unfiltered with little carbonation direct from the Firkin which is
tapped right before serving. One neat thing brewers do is add extra hops and/or
spices to the beer before it is sealed to get those eye-poppin' flavors
distributed throughout the brew.
Entering Dahlia's Pour House, I
was happy to see Andrea behind the bar and Brendan from Champion Brands /
TeamHopHeads sitting near the Firkin at the bar!
Companion and I both ordered the
English Mild from the Firkin, of course … smooth flavor with moderate hop
influence, I thought. Very tasty!
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| Abita's Imperial Oyster Stout |
We noticed that Dahlia's also had Abita
Brewing Company's Imperial Oyster Stout on tap! … WooHoo! … I believed this
would be my first Imperial Oyster Stout, so I was excited to share it with
companion! … I'm SO glad I did! … amazing flavor – the salty layer (as
mentioned in the description below) was definitely there which added a nice
variation to the stout.
Abita Brewing Company English Mild Cask Ale
Of course, being from Louisiana, Abita Brewing Company is
near and dear to me. Considered by some to be middle-of-the-road as far as
their year-round selections, their specialty programs have garnered a lot of
publicity and loyal fans. Abita has now stepped it up again!
This English Style mild designed and brewed just for cask
ale – made from a classic recipe for one of the most popular English beer
styles - a traditional English Mild. Abita's English Mild is a light brown
sessionable beer created with English
Ale yeast dry hopped with East Kent Golding hops. Note: 3.7% ABV
Abita Brewing Company Imperial Oyster Stout
Abita Imperial Oyster Stout is made with pale, caramel,
roasted and chocolate malts. Oats are also added to give the beer a fuller and
sweeter taste. The roasted malts give the beer its dark color as well as its
intense flavor and aroma. The flavors of toffee and chocolate are prevalent but
not overpowering. The beer is hopped with Willamette hops. Since the beer gets
so much flavor from the malts there is not a lot of hop flavor. There is just
enough bitterness to complement the sweetness of the malt. Finally, freshly
shucked Louisiana oysters are added to the boil. The salt from the oysters
gives the beer a more intense aroma and mouthfeel.
Andrea was kind enough to come over and speak with us and I
can tell she is diggin' what's happenin' at Dahlia's! … she has a lot planned for 2013, so stay
tuned!
I had selected a spot next to Brendan and he graciously
endured my questions about his holidays and the latest scoop on Champion Brands
/ TeamHopheads.
Other destinations were on my agenda tonight as well, so we
reluctantly bid farewell to Andrea and Brendan and since it was such a
beautiful evening, decided to clomp down to the Salty Fig. “Clomp” since
companion was still wearing his black boot (aka RoboCop footwear) to protect
his messed-up right ankle.
My thanks to Brendan for taking the time to speak with me
and to Andrea, owner of Dahlia's Pour House for providing a great experience
for this first stop on this evening's Jax Brew Bitch Prowl.
Dahlia's Pour House
Abita Brewing Company
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abita-Brewery/155081241169804?ref=ts&fref=ts
It was a short clomp on down to The Salty Fig (901 King Street – 904.337.0146) – and this would be
our second visit in five days. Companion had mentioned he would like to get
something to eat while we were there – maybe something light – so that maybe I
would be ready to eat later on in the evening.
We were greeted by a very friendly hostess – as we were the
first time we visited – and we indicated we would prefer to sit at the bar –
near to where a young minstrel was setting up his stage to perform.
Dustin was our attentive and professional bartender that
evening. I was surprised to see that the Terrapin Beer Company's Wake-N-Bake we
saw days earlier on tap was no longer available. Dustin explained they would be
carrying Intuition Ale Works King Street Stout in its place in the future.
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| The Salty Fig - Gorgonzola Chips |
We had made it in time for Happy Hour where all drafts are
half-price! … WooHoo! … you know I like a Brew-Bargain! … another neat thing is
that this (in-essence) 2-for-1 allows you to mix up your selections (like at
European Street), so for the price of two drafts we were able to order and
enjoy the following four:
Bold City Brewery 1901 Red Ale – awesome with the
appetizers we ordered
This is not your standard Red Ale. This is a very
‘malty’, ‘roasty’ and complex Red Ale. The roasted flavor comes from the high
presence of roasted barley. With a very minimal but high alpha hop addition,
this Red Ale has become a favorite among patrons.
Bold
City Brewery Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale
This
is a mild brown ale which is easily drinkable. A slight nuttiness and sweetness
are present. Note: 7% ABV
Florida Beer Company Swamp Ape IPA – great with the appetizers
we ordered
“Florida Beer Swamp Ape IPA is an Imperial India Pale
Ale. The fresh and lively hop character is derived from using 5 distinct
varieties of hops: Tettnang, Centennial, Chinook, Cascade and Amarillo
This beer has an intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma
balanced by complex alcohol flavors, moderate fruity esters and a medium malt
character from the balance of 2-row, Europ and Cherry Wood Smoked.”
Green Room Brewing Company Count Shakula Chocolate
Oatmeal Stout – yummers! … tastes like a bowl of the you-know-what
cereal – except with a kick!
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| The Salty Fig - Endamame with smoked sea salt. |
While we were enjoying the live music and brews, we enjoyed
a couple of appetizers. The Gorgonzola
Chips with bits of gorgonzola cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and
Endamame with smoked sea salt.
Back-to-back top rate experiences at The Salty Fig! … I'm comin'
back again for that Oyster and Bacon sandwich!
My sincere thanks to Dustin for spectacular service and to
the entire team at The Salty Fig for providing another exciting option within
this beer-centric area of our great community!
The Salty Fig – a southern
gastropub
Bold City Brewery
Florida Beer Company
Green Room Brewing
It would have been easy to walk across King Street to Kickbacks
Gastropub but I wanted to be a little hungrier before I went in there –
'cause I know I'll be eatin' sumpin' at Kickbacks.
So, we clomped back to the Jeep and told it to land us
safely near Intuition Ale Works (720 King Street – 904.683.7720).
Lindsay and Hannah were behind the bar efficiently and
professionally handling the crowd's demands for tasty brews! … Choosing seats
at the bar, I was in the mood for a Scotch Ale – so, I asked that my bountiful
Mug Club mug be filled with:
The Factor
A big ass, full-bodied Scotch ale. Lightly hopped, sweet and malty with a dry finish. Brewed with all English malts & hops and a Scottish ale yeast.
A big ass, full-bodied Scotch ale. Lightly hopped, sweet and malty with a dry finish. Brewed with all English malts & hops and a Scottish ale yeast.
Companion decided to once again have:
Shotgun Shack Black Rye Ale
This black as night hoppy American ale hints of pine needles, roasty malt, and spicy green peppercorns. Brewed with 30% malted German rye, bittered with Magnum hops and American hops for flavor and aroma. At 5% alcohol it is a sessionable but full-bodied brew.
This black as night hoppy American ale hints of pine needles, roasty malt, and spicy green peppercorns. Brewed with 30% malted German rye, bittered with Magnum hops and American hops for flavor and aroma. At 5% alcohol it is a sessionable but full-bodied brew.
It was Taproom Tunesday at Intuition Ale Works – so named
since live music is provided on Tuesdays. The music combined with the
consistently subdued lighting ambiance made for another wonderful visit.
My sincere thanks to Hannah and Lindsay for always being so
friendly and generous with their time and to the entire team at Intuition Ale
Works for always providing a satisfying stop on Jax Brew Bitch Prowls!
Intuition Ale Works
Okay, it was NOW time for some
food! ... "RELEASE THE JEEP!" ... since it has an
innate homing sense to Kickbacks Gastropub (910 King Street –
904.388.9551), we settled in for a quick trip back to that establishment.
It was not too busy as we arrived
and we were able to secure the high-top on the floor in front of the beer menu
board. We USED to employ the use of that board religiously, but now the
Kickbacks App for my iPhone is our current and reliable source of "What's
on Tap" – that, or the knowledgeable and helpful staff of Kickbacks.
This evening, Eddie was our server
and this guy does know beer. Companion had earlier noticed that Newcastle's
Werewolf Irish Red Ale on tap and was interested in how this compared to
the original Newcastle Brown Ale which he always ordered 10 years ago.
The Caledonian Brewing Company (Newcastle) website provides this
description:
Newcastle Werewolf Irish Red Ale
Legend has it that a beast roams the moors and plains of
Newcastle Upon Tyne. It's part man – part beast – and more than a little wild –
the perfect inspiration for a Limited Edition Ale. Newcastle Werewolf Ale comes
at you with a dark, startling aroma, a roasty flavor, and a final taste of hops
that leaves you howling for more.
Named for the mythical wolf-like creature said to roam
the English countryside, Werewolf offers hopheads a beer that shares some
characteristics of Newcastle Brown, but remains distinctive enough to stand up
on its own. Note: 4.5% ABV & 23 IBUs
APPEARANCE: The highly
carbonated liquid pours a bright sanguine color with a stark white head that
retains its form through the life of the beer. Nice lacing as well.
AROMA: Strong malt and rye bread fragrance with a hint of berries and slight metal.
PALATE: Sweet malt flavor hits the front of the tongue with subtle berry, grass and wine notes joining in at the midpalate. The liquid momentarily clings to the insides of the mouth before surrendering to a crisp, pleasantly bitter finish.
AROMA: Strong malt and rye bread fragrance with a hint of berries and slight metal.
PALATE: Sweet malt flavor hits the front of the tongue with subtle berry, grass and wine notes joining in at the midpalate. The liquid momentarily clings to the insides of the mouth before surrendering to a crisp, pleasantly bitter finish.
JBB Notes – easily drinkable –
definitely one I would keep in the fridge consistently for frequent enjoyment.
Both companion and I felt it was not a special occasion beer – but something
good to grab to watch a game or movie at home.
I went with Eddie's suggestion:
Cigar City Resonator German Style Doppelbock – I
am gaining an appreciation for some Doppelbocks after our trip to Connecticut –
this one was malty and sweet with what tasted to me like a raisin or fig
influence. Note: 9% ABV
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| OH DEAR GOD, PLEASE BRING THIS BACK! Kickbacks Gastropub - The Banh Mi Burger |
Eddie dropped by to check on us and mentioned they had a
special burger that evening which they had named “The Banh Mi Burger” …
when Eddie described it, companion got that “Yeah, that's what I'm talkin'
about” look on his face – and I knew one was coming our way.
Banh Mi is a term used in the US to describe a meat-filled
sandwich available at Vietnamese bakeries and restaurants around the globe.
However, in this case, the flavors of banh mi, which I love, were caressed in
what appeared to me a mixture of shredded pickled carrots, cilantro and chili
peppers. This mix was put atop a gargantuan burger patty which was itself
nestled onto a bed of marinated pickled sliced jalapenos. This combination was
… Off .. the … Trail (Ho Chi Minh, that is) … absolutely decadent – please,
please, please make this a regular on your menu, Kickbacks!
My sincere thanks to Eddie for the great suggestions and
customer service that evening and to owner Steve Flores, the kitchen crew and
the rest of the team at Kickbacks Gastropub for always being consistent
in providing the perfect place to end this and many other Jax Brew Bitch
Prowls.
Kickbacks Gastropub
Caledonian Brewing Company
Newcastle Werewolf Irish Red Ale
Dali was once quoted, “There are some days when I think I'm going
to die from an overdose of satisfaction.”
Although
I was unable to bring this quote to mind verbatim that evening, I WAS able to
get the jist of it formulated enough to realize what Dali meant.
I also
wondered if that overdose of satisfaction happened to me how my death could be
covered in an episode of CSI: Jacksonville – or more appropriately, a
vintage game of Clue -
"Was
it Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom with a Candlestick?"
Nope – it
was the Jax Brew Bitch in the Taproom with an Imperial Stout.
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| Il volto di Mae West by Salvador Dali |
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