Museums, pizza and BEER.

In keeping with our heavy diet of ROAD INFO, we’ll continue with a quick stop in the great state of GEORGIA!  We rolled through Atlanta for a little less than a week, and while our schedule was too crazy to get any video, we did spend some museum time one day, (the Georgia Aquarium, which is truly jaw-dropping) and what’s gotta be the best many-millions ‘o dollars marketing pitch of all time, theWorld of Coca-Cola, or the Coke museum.  Wow.  But the best part of the whole day was our introduction to theMellow Mushroom Pizza chain!  Mellow Mushroom started in Atlanta, specializing, in their words, in “the two food groups known as pizza and beer”. 

 

The pizza was - in a word - mind-blowing (a hyphenated word, but whatever).  They are franchising now, and our spies tell us that they make a special effort to feature LOCAL BREWS in each of their restaurants.  Go Mellow Mushroom!  We’ll be back, and we’ll be ordering whatever’s local.  In this case it was several brews from Atlanta’s ownSweetwater Brewing Company - we loved their Georgia Brown Ale, of course their IPA, and were struck by the fruityness and rewarding finish of the ‘Motorboat’ ESB.  Keep an eye out for these brews, AND the Mellow Mushroom!

 

Cheers!

On a bus ride through Wisconsin.

These days, it’s unlike us to do a spot without an accompanying video, but this was so unexpected and cool we just had to put it up as soon as possible.  As some you know, Jimmy is on tour at the moment with the National Broadway company of 101 Dalmatians - recently we pulled up stakes in Minneapolis (where we had a great time and did an episode aboutMackenzie, The Bar Next Door) and headed for a week’s playing in Appleton Wisconsin at the Fox Performing Arts Center.  We don’t usually take busses from place to place (most of the time we fly) but this was a short enough jaunt that we rolled through across the prairie from one great American city to another.  What a way to see this country.

We stopped for a quick lunch at a gas station/subway store in the middle of the western prairie in Wisconsin.  Now, Jimmy is always on the lookout for Local Brews, and there, in the cooler of the Quickie Mart (or whatever the place was) a completely unexpected boon; a sampler of New Glarus Brewing’s finest.  SCORE!  

So, as any good Happy Hour Guy would, Jimmy climbed back on the bus and shared the delights of this fine Brewery with the rest of the company on the way to Appleton.  Sad to say, Appleton is a little too far north of New Glarus to get down there for a video shoot in the short week that we have before we head to Atlanta, but we now understand why New Glarus is rising very quickly into the brewing stratosphere.  We found their brews to be extremely well-crafted and individual, with a style all their own that harkens back to the rich brewing history of Wisconsin, a state that was once a mecca of beer for the entire US, if not the world.  

So a big thank you to New Glarus for making a very pretty monday trip across the plains even prettier.  And a specially big shout-out to their Stone Soup and  Coffee Stout brews, that made the sun just a big more bright and the grass a tad more lush.  

We’ll see you guys next time.  Cheers!

Video #89: Lancaster Brewing, 2009!

Housed in a late 19th century tobacco warehouse that once held World War II interned prisoners, the Lancaster Brewing Co. keeps a sense of the past alive while serving up 21st century award winning craft beer. Uniquely situated in the heart of Dutch- Amish country, LBC is mindful of its natural fresh roots and is keeping the tradition of the former "Munich of the New World" alive while enjoying double digit yearly growth. Get to know the folks behind these fantastic beers and then stop by to try a Hop Hog on for size! Cheers!