The end of summer is always a bummer, no matter if you're a kid going back to school or a grown-up going back to work. Lone exception being a college kid going back to campus. I was fortunate enough to have my summer go out with a bang. I spent 5 amazing days in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My family rented a great house right on the beach in Southern Shores, between the towns of Duck and Kitty Hawk. Turns out the OBX is a great place for a beer enthusiast to vacation!
When we arrived one of the first things that caught my eye was the Brew Thru (http://brewthru.com/). Yep, it's a drive through beer shop. It's as awesome as it sounds, and they actually have a really good craft beer list. They've got bottles, cans and kegs to cover all your beach party needs. Even the supermarkets, Food Lion and Harris Teeter, had pretty solid craft selections. I picked up a 12 case of New Belgium Fat Tire cans to drink pool and beachside.
Another awesome discovery was a place called OBX Trio Wine Beer and Cheese (http://obxtrio.com/). OBX Trio is both a retail beer, wine and cheese shop and a bar/restaurant. Over on the retail side you've got a strong selection of beers from all over the world, including some local North Carolina breweries, as well as wines and cheeses. They had a great Southern Tier Pumking display, so yes, they apparently enjoy fall brews in the south as well. At the bar they had a very good draft list to pair with the great cheese, charcuterie and panini selections. I opted for a Founders Imperial Stout as my base beer to go along with a taster of four 4oz selections. For that I went with Allagash Confluence, a Belgian golden strong that paired beautifully with creamy brie and goat cheeses, Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale, a local brew I enjoyed with the blue cheese, Stone IPA, a terrific IPA from a terrific brewery which paired well with the cheddar, and Tucher Helles Hefeweizen, which also went great with the richer, creamier cheeses. Besides the beer and cheese, Trio also had an awesome wine system where you get a card with a chip in it that's linked to your credit card that you put into machines that pour out either 1oz, 2oz or 5oz pours of various wines. There were 12 bottles in each machine and 4 machines. It was so cool I went with a glass of South African red to go with my prosciutto and brie panini. Overall, very impressed with OBX Trio. I'd love to see a place like this open in NYC.
Coming back home and back to work after Labor Day was definitely a bummer, but things perked up on Friday when I got an email from beermenus.com letting me know Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor (http://www.artsandcraftsbarnyc.com/), a relatively new spot in the Village, had Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout bottles available. I hustled down there after work to make sure I scored some of my favorite beer out there. When I got there and ordered my first bottle of the BCCS I found out Arts and Crafts was one of the lucky NYC spots to host Goose Island's migration week events. I ended up having 2 bottles there and buying a third to take home to age. A very chill spot with 24 regularly rotating draft lines, I will definitely be back to Arts and Crafts soon. According to their beermenus.com page they still have bottles of the BCCS!
Next week I'm going to be attending a serious tap takeover by The Bruery at the Gingerman in NYC. I've heard amazing things about many of The Bruery's beers, the tap list for this event is monumental. Needless to say I am very much looking forward to it!
When we arrived one of the first things that caught my eye was the Brew Thru (http://brewthru.com/). Yep, it's a drive through beer shop. It's as awesome as it sounds, and they actually have a really good craft beer list. They've got bottles, cans and kegs to cover all your beach party needs. Even the supermarkets, Food Lion and Harris Teeter, had pretty solid craft selections. I picked up a 12 case of New Belgium Fat Tire cans to drink pool and beachside.
Another awesome discovery was a place called OBX Trio Wine Beer and Cheese (http://obxtrio.com/). OBX Trio is both a retail beer, wine and cheese shop and a bar/restaurant. Over on the retail side you've got a strong selection of beers from all over the world, including some local North Carolina breweries, as well as wines and cheeses. They had a great Southern Tier Pumking display, so yes, they apparently enjoy fall brews in the south as well. At the bar they had a very good draft list to pair with the great cheese, charcuterie and panini selections. I opted for a Founders Imperial Stout as my base beer to go along with a taster of four 4oz selections. For that I went with Allagash Confluence, a Belgian golden strong that paired beautifully with creamy brie and goat cheeses, Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale, a local brew I enjoyed with the blue cheese, Stone IPA, a terrific IPA from a terrific brewery which paired well with the cheddar, and Tucher Helles Hefeweizen, which also went great with the richer, creamier cheeses. Besides the beer and cheese, Trio also had an awesome wine system where you get a card with a chip in it that's linked to your credit card that you put into machines that pour out either 1oz, 2oz or 5oz pours of various wines. There were 12 bottles in each machine and 4 machines. It was so cool I went with a glass of South African red to go with my prosciutto and brie panini. Overall, very impressed with OBX Trio. I'd love to see a place like this open in NYC.
Coming back home and back to work after Labor Day was definitely a bummer, but things perked up on Friday when I got an email from beermenus.com letting me know Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor (http://www.artsandcraftsbarnyc.com/), a relatively new spot in the Village, had Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout bottles available. I hustled down there after work to make sure I scored some of my favorite beer out there. When I got there and ordered my first bottle of the BCCS I found out Arts and Crafts was one of the lucky NYC spots to host Goose Island's migration week events. I ended up having 2 bottles there and buying a third to take home to age. A very chill spot with 24 regularly rotating draft lines, I will definitely be back to Arts and Crafts soon. According to their beermenus.com page they still have bottles of the BCCS!
Next week I'm going to be attending a serious tap takeover by The Bruery at the Gingerman in NYC. I've heard amazing things about many of The Bruery's beers, the tap list for this event is monumental. Needless to say I am very much looking forward to it!
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