Pacific Drift - Tales of the Coast

Just throwing this up for Friday folks winding down to the weekend. I'll post up a track list and a cover when I have time.

Pacific Drift - Fall 2009 - A mix for three guys wandering through Portland, OR and Seattle, WA for the first time.

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The Northern Liberties Beer Buffet

I've got some stuff on my mind. I have literally had a post in my head since April and was waiting on one piece of ammo to come in the mail. It still hasn't so as soon as I get a sec to do what I need to for that post it'll happen. Until then, come drink beer with me. Tomorrow Sept 30th from 7pm to 9pm......

...and if you didn't have dinner plans, now you do.



Weds - Sept 30th
7pm - 9pm @ The Abbaye
637 North 3rd St.
No. Libs.

Pint Night w/ New Holland Brewing Company
$10 gets you a pint glass to take home and all the beer you can drink.

What? Yep. I know.




We are pouring the following beers:

Ichabod Pumpkin Ale
The Poet Oatmeal Stout
Charkoota Rye (dopplebock with cherry wood smoked malt)

It's gonna be la bomba. One of the first chances to taste Charkoota in the city. If you've never eaten at the Abbaye I'd suggest thinking about it for din din too. I'm a big fan of their foodstuffs.

Any questions let me know. Hope to see some folks out and hoist a beer in a temperate fall fashion.

Illustration used with permission of the artist, Michele Melcher. Check out her illustrations here.

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Right Things.

I had planned to come on here awhile ago and go on and on and on about how cool Construction Junction in Pittsburgh is. But then I got busy and neglected all things Grain Bill for a while. Well, it kind of worked out better that way because now I can speak about the Junction not only from what I'd gleaned from conversation, but because I was there. For a beer festival. And it was awesome.


a glimpse inside of the junction

Construction Junction salvages building materials to keep them from landfills and to offer people out there an opportunity to save on building costs while conserving materials and reducing waste. Everything from display cases, windows, and shutters to lighting, plumbing, and tools is available. Open 7 days a week, the place should be seen to be believed. It's enormous.

And those folks love good beer.



The Steel City Big Pour is a zero waste beer festival that combines great art and craft beer with awareness, information, and a glimpse into a fully functioning recycling mecca. Held on site at Construction Junction patrons (and brewers alike) get to see the enormity of the operation. With local co-ops and local-centric restaurants offering food, local artists creating on the spot, and a hard working crew sorting and carting away every last piece of trash, there was plenty of opportunity for patrons to get the idea that it's crucial to think about who we're buying from, how they're making it, and what to do with it when we're done.


the longshot


the setup, featuring the patented Bocktown/New Holland twister board

I was hanging with some of my favorite folks from the western side of the keystone, Bocktown Beer & Grill. I was set up in the Bocktown Beer Garden and had a blast. I poured beer (with Woody Chandler doing his part to chip for a bit), watched some cool chainsaw scultping, and made a futuristic goat toy out of recycled doo-dads. It was a lot of fun to hang with Bocktown, they are all so into what they're doing and they're doing it so good.

Inside the big show they were raffling off salvaged fridges that were converted to kegorators and decorated by local artists. They were all very cool, this one was my favorite.



So whether we need more reminders or not, here's some important links. Do a little something this week, pull your weight. Do the same thing next week, then every day. Keep it going.

PASA


PA Food Co-ops
Great Article about The Hunger Farm in Edible Allegheny Magazine
Listing of Available CSA programs
Article on Philly's Solar Trash Compactors

Feel free to drop more good links in the comments section. Read more!

Everywhere.

Aye carumba.

I was supposed to blog so many times. Those of you who haven't talked with me recently might not know this, but maybe the lack of posts would imply, i have been travelling a lot and i have been waaaay busy. It's a bit late for a full recap, so i am just going to mention the really good stuff, maybe point you towards some things.

West Asheville, NC: The Admiral

This exhumed dive bar is one of the highlights of my recent travels. I didn't get to spend nearly the time i'd have liked to there, but i will be back. Bought in the past few years and turned into a hangout with good beer and great food, The Admiral is the kind of place you'd be blessed to have around the corner. An exciting and ever-changing food menu with a combination of local and exotic ingredients, there's more to choose from than you'll do in one sitting.

Here's the kicker: Best jukebox i've ever seen in my life. Here's what i typed in the notepad on my phone as i was being driven away:

Os Mutantes
Jorge y Gil (great album, people. Check it out)
Captain Beefheart (Safe as Milk)
T Rex
Ram by Paul McCartney
John Coltrane
Elvin Jones
Silver Jews (American Water)

I think there was Bonnie Koloc too. There were a lot more, had we been there in the beginning of the work day i'd probably have remembered a lot more when it came time to type them in my phone.

Another helpful fact for West Asheville Travelers: there's a music venue across the street with good beer on tap and Harvest Records whose roster is just sick is also across the street.

Harvest Records Artists:
Akron/Family
Budos Band
Brightblack Morning Light
Bonnie Prince Billy
Kurt Vile
The Books
Espers
and more....
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Washington, DC: Little Miss Whiskey's

It's a wood grain door with either a hood ornament or an old tap marker for a door handle. That's it. No sign, no nothin'. And it's awesome. Mark Thorpe's follow up to Jimmy Valentine's is a knock out. You can get lost in the decor alone. With Dragon's Milk a proud member of the great beer selections, this is a place i need to spend a long night in. Thorpe's collection of concert posters pulls together the antique store explosion of mind warp knick-knackery that adorns most of the rest of the place. You can lose your mind here.


Little Miss Whiskey's Back Patio


Little Miss Whiskey's Interior
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Arlington, VA: Galaxy Hut

Not my first trip to Galaxy Hut, but my first session there. We ended up sitting in the silo outback and i managed to meet a gal who's family moved to Pottstown (where i was born and grown), she'd just come back from a trip out there and hung out at Craft Ale House. Small world.

The Galaxy Hut is a bustling boom of conversation. Folks pack into the tables and it gets loud, raucous and ridiculously fun. Great beers on tap and a tiny kitchen make this place the perfect spot to go with a group of folks who can sink in and chat the night away (even if you're halfway to a yell).



Galaxy Hut is also right around the corner from a great, great kebab place that stays open late. I also found a 24 hour kebab hut in Arlington on the same trip.
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Asheville, NC: Bruisin' Ales

Bruisin' Ales is up there with the likes of the great take out spots that are always mentioned in beer talk. When they support a brewery they hit you with a good chunk of the lineup, which to breweries is crucial, but their enthusiasm towards the beers that they like is what makes Bruisin' Ales what it is. One of those rare places (although the numbers are growing) where you can sample from draft or get a growler (correct me on growler fills if i'm wrong - if not now, soon). This isn't the biggest shop out there, but the attention to detail and the selection of what to have on hand is top notch.


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That's it for now. Bedtime, more from the road to come, because i'm still on it. Read more!

It happened.

I tried to embed the clip but it was off center, so click the link and enjoy the video of the Publican/New Holland Beer Dinner. The two things I am most jealous to have not done in 2009 both involve the cast of characters you see here.

http://www.recurvemedia.com/recurvetube/media/81/The_PublicanNew_Holland_Beer_Dinner_Ep._3/ Read more!

in the land of the fresh and the whole

Well. I know people still read my blog because several of you have asked or called to find out how things are going with (in the words of Tobias Funke) 'the great experiment'. They're going darn good man. Like i said last time, it wasn't a huge stretch, but the past month definitely required a lot more planning ahead in the food department. Also simple necessities, like paper towels, needed just a touch more planning because my sources aren't open late night like the chain folks are.

My persepctive on keeping it local to the point of depending on the people in your community didn't change necessarily, but it definitely became clearer. As you follow the link from one producer to the next, from one event or market organizer to the next you see this big connection, a community of like minds whose desire or need to serve their community is made possible by the community supporting them back.

I discovered a great mid-week market at Anselma (in between Exton and Phoenixville) and watched my friend's new baking operation grow in leaps and bounds. I'll point you towards her in just a bit. Fresh herbs from down the street inspired a future beer event (i hope), fresh produce, fruit, meats, and cheese inspired a great market dinner on the porch with my friends, a great cookbook inspired me to start rebuilding my pantry.

To my suprise the cookbook in mention is a big help to my baker friend too, so away we go...



Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson is a good read and a good cookbook at the same time. There is a huge breakdown of ingredient types, their traits, what to look for, what to avoid, etc. It's awesome. From simple to decadent foods, its all possible, but what I like most is the direction towarss some of the take away information that you can incorporate into your everyday cooking. The book is a great source of information, knowledge and help, which is exactly what i needed. Thanks to Chrissy Mart for an awesome bday gift.

Swanson also has a great blog/recipe journal. It's here.

The link comes to me from Janet. She runs the Wildflower Cafe and makes the best darned baked goods i've had in a long time. I am polishing off my last Cafe Mokka Cookie from last week's order as i type. She does everything from biscotti and granola to cookies and muffins to spice rubs and beer bread. It's way awesome. We were having a Heidi Swanson conversation last week and she told me she set up a blog from Wildflower Cafe...so check it out here why don't you? She takes orders via email weekly (get on her list for the weekly offerings) and sets up at the Anselma Farmer's market.

I said this thing would be a three post series and it will be. Next time i'll tie beer into this whole thing and if all works out properly have an event to tell you about.

OH. Before i go...I got my juicer! Juiceman Jr. is treating me really well. If you're a reader of fine local beer blogs than you'll be pleased to know that the object of my bromance got one the same weekend. It's awesome and for a guy like me who loves ginger but didn't have many practical ways of getting it inside of me beyond sushi and the crystalized jawns, i know have ginger root to finish my juicings. Apples, carrots, ginger. So so good. Read more!

The Declaration of Independents

a.k.a. Chainless.

So i think this will probably be a three part series thing. It should culminate with something that's been on my mind for a while, but i need to build on the idea a bit so here we are at the beginning. For the entire month of July i'm encouraging you out there to go chainless. Goodbye Acme, goodbye Giant, goodbye Whole Foods*. Go the whole month supporting only local independent retailers. I think a lot of us do our fair share to support the little guy, but i think a month away from chains will do us all good. It's something i've wanted to do for a while, but being on the road makes it tough to find the little guy when there's often a small window of time or an opportunity at the end of a very long road to grab a bite or some necessities.

(*i think Whole Foods is awesome, i think they hire great beer buyers who are allowed to make independent decisions and cater to their neighborhoods and i'm sure that carries over to their other departments as well. So while i am probably saying goodbye to Acme and Giant forever to Whole Foods Market i am just saying, 'See ya in August'.)

My hope through this all is to get a clearer understanding of a sustainable life dependent only upon my neighbors, local producers, and folks who made up their minds long ago to step away from the faceless production of our daily goods. There's two reasons i am choosing to make a change towards whom i spend my dollars with: for one i believe that we need to grow our communities and have a strong investment in where we choose to live. For two i believe in whole foods, i believe in foods that are produced with me and my health in mind. The shortcuts taken to simply sell processed foods are both wasteful and unhealthy and i want far, far fewer of them in my diet and in my life.

For me i don't see this being a challenge, i see it more like taking a step closer to a more responsible and thought out approach to my little slice of Earth. I don't have to look (or travel too far) to find plenty of folks to stock my kitchen and my pantry: the Spanish and Brazillian bodegas in Phoenixville have everything from herbs to queso fresco to fresh and dried meats, the farmer's market here is one of the best in the area: Charlestown and Jack's Farms have me more than covered for produce, Fork Farms and Backyard Bison have me covered for meat. Pat from Pottstown has me covered for soap and shampoo bars.

Then there's Kimberton Whole Foods. Not that Whole Foods, Kimberton is a neighborhood whole and natural foods grocery store, cafe, and apothocary. It's awesome. I've been going there since I was in like 10th grade or something. When i first started going the Kimberton location was the one and only, now with outposts in Douglassville and Downingtown KWF's reach to our nearby neighbors is stretching from county to county.

When i'd first gone, it was just for the cafe'...homemade soups, sandwiches, wraps. But as i got a little older, learned a little more, i started finding new gems in the grocery aisles and began putting pieces together on what seemed like a completely different way of life that i'd never known before.

Maybe that's a bit dramatic, i don't know, but to connect this to beer (this is a beer blog still, right?) what's different between all of this beer i drink that's made from honest, true, and WHOLE, ingredients and taking the same approach to the food i put inside of myself. I mean are a bottle of Bud and a Big Mac all that different when you look at where they come from, how they're produced, and who is selling them to me?

Again, i'm not making some cold turkey change from golden arches to golden acres, i said bye-bye to chain dining a while back, but it's time to take another step with this whole thing. On my last trip to New Holland i learned that $.70 from every dollar spent with a local independent retailer stays in the community, while that same $.70 leaves when spent with a large chain.

Now i'm making to exceptions or concessions here...i think i can do gas without hitting a Sunoco or Lukoil or Hess or Wawa, but my list of little gas-ups owned by ma and pa is quite small. So i am gonna try hard in that department, but if i am nearing E i may have to surrender my bucks. The second is a juicer. I want a juicer, bad. All of my suggestions on where to get one have gone against my plan. I am not done searching yet, but i want to juice some fruits and veggies ASAP, so if you've got a lead please drop me a line.

So why all of a sudden? Why am i so fired up?

Well, i'm home for a month. I can actually concentrate on this for a bit. It's been on my mind for a while and i've been trying to hard to help out the locals in each of these towns i land in, but like i said, sometimes options are few and far between. Also, it falls in line with some of my recent reading and learning, plus i think it's the right thing to do. Plus i watched The Future of Food in a few installments in my hotel rooms recently. You can watch it for free on Hulu and i think you should.

So that's it. If you want to join me i'd love to hear from you. If we have enough people hopping in we can get an email chain going with suggestions or a list of people's favorite places.

I'll be popping back in with part 2 soon enough. I'll be digging a bit deeper into what Whole Foods and Natural Foods actually are, some great books on the topic, the relation between craft beer and a lot of the true, whole, and slow foods movements in the country and in our area. Until then, enjoy some of these links:

http://www.pasafarming.org/
www.buylocalpa.org
www.goodfoodneighborhood.com
http://mightyfoods.com/

links should all work now...thank you Bob! Read more!