The Strutt [ Be ]

I had the pleasure of going to The Strutt in Kalamazoo MI. Sort of an unusual name, it nonetheless offered very good food, a great beer selection, and what appeared to be good coffee (based on those who partook of it).

I tried the vegetarian fajita, which included eggplant - it was very good. The beers as you note include chupacabras, which was actually better than expected.

Also had a bit of a beer scoop - Craft Bräu will be brewing at The Strutt by 2012. That's why they moved out their coffee roaster.

Moderate in Maumee [ Be ]

Went to the Granite City Food and Brewery brewpub in Maumee OH last night. Beers were good, nothing exceptional except the IPA; food was very good.

In summary:

Granite City Food & Brewery - Northern Light Lager - 5.5

Granite City Food & Brewery - Pilsner - 6.0

Granite City Food & Brewery - Wag's Wheat American Wheat - 6.5

Granite City Food & Brewery - Brother Benedict's Bock - 7.5

Granite City Food & Brewery - Duke of Wellington IPA - 8.5

Granite City Food & Brewery - Broad Axe Stout - 7.0

I did not try the abomination of Northern Light and Bock called Two Pull - apparently there's a whole slew of "mix and match" beers available. Note this is punishable by death in Belgium.

Nirvana in Boardman [ Be ]

Let me first say I plan to update my blog more on a day-to-day basis especially when I am traveling.

It's very hard to be impressed.
Let's start out with that concept.
We've seen men allegedly land on the moon, the twin towers fall, implants surpass the 800 cc mark, and the Red Sox win the Series. So how can a simple bar/restaurant impress. Well, let me tell you, the Vintage Estate Wine and Beer establishment ( a.k.a. V.E. Tasting Lounge) in Boardman OH is amazing.

Less than 1 hour northwest of Pittsburgh, this store has 20 great beers on tap, good food, free wifi, as well as the ability to buy any beer (or wine if so inclined) in stock and you can drink it in the bar!

I had a nice conversation with one of the principals - PR - and sent him an email of the Belgian breweries and beer restaurants I have visited. I was VERY surprised that they had Poperinge Hommel Bier, one of my and IC's favorites.

So a great start to a short trip, as well as more daily blog updates. Note I still have to finish writing up a Portland OR trip, a trip to Chi-town and Kalamazoo area, as well as a west coast vacation that includes the Portland OR BrewFest.

And in summary:

New Holland - Golden Saison - 7.5

Avery Brewing - The Kaiser - 8.0

Two Brothers - Atom Smasher - 8.5

Abbaye Des Rocs - Grand Cru - 8.5

New Holland - Ichabod - 8.0

Ducato - Nuova Mattina - 7.5

Young's - Double Chocolate Stout [nitrogen] - 9.0

Moa Brewing - Moa Noir - 7.0

Breckenridge - Agave Wheat - 8.0

 

Why a Mac [ A ]

Why do I use a Mac? Well, let's look at the 1st 9 days of September using Mcafee's iPhone "threat update App." We see one Mac issue, whereby if - when playing an infected movie and click "yes" to a permission request (that you never usually see when playing a movie) the QuickTime movie App will crash.

Compare that to PART of but ONE DAY for Microsoft and Windows.

NOTE - edited with the new native Google Blogger App for the iPhone - I like it!