loggin' miles

12:05pm
Walking through, clean? Check. Staff in place? Check. Wine delivered and put away? Check. Beer list up to date? No, Evolution brewing Prier du Gold has been replaced by Green Flash Saison Diego. Ah, the list turns again. Sometimes I think I need someone who does nothing but change the beer list out. We have an awesome, ever rotating list. Nearly 1,500 beers were enjoyed this weekend alone.

2:45pm
Driving to our Fire Works in Clarendon, the idea strikes me as I log miles, how many miles are logged to produce some of the beers we carry. From grain to glass.

Barley grown in Germany becomes malt and is bagged and shipped and flown halfway across the world to become the base Vienna malt in Nelson county Virginia to become Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager, a gold medal winner nearly every year it's been submitted in Great American Beer Festival's competition.

Kent Goldings hops grown in England wind up in Foster's Lager in Australia. As we sit reflecting and sipping on a frosty cold refreshment over the coming summer, or sweating in the usual mid atlantic heat waves, we should remember that no matter how tired our feet, how worn out our clutch is from shifting gears 2 million times on I66, our beer has so often traveled even further to nourish our souls.

I think I have an idea for a book here................

Beer Class?

Yes. Beer Class. Tuskie's Beer Study Group to be exact. A room filled with beer geeks, geeking out about hops, malts, yeasts, water and all the variations of each today. The last two weeks we nerded the world with discussions of draft systems and how they work, fail to work, and are kept working. No true beer study group would be complete without tasting though and so we've enlisted our handy smart phones to download the Beer Judges Competition Panel (BJCP) Guidelines to lead us through our tasting. We've done everything from Bud Light to Nogne O Russian Imperial Stout. We've gone through all of the English, Scottish, German, Amber, and Pale Styles. We've studied Porters, Browns, and Stouts (all 6 types). We study these for a variety of reasons, least of all to enhance our own knowledge of the world of beers. Next time you're in Fire Works, Magnoia's or Tuskies, ask who attended the Tuskie's BSG this week. And quiz them!

Cantini Cipressi Falanghina, Terre degli osci. 2011
Beautiful pale straw color, aromas of fresh ripe citrus, casaba melons, cotton candy, rounding out to a nice medium body, moderately viscous on the palate and the finish lingers that citrus element. Falanghina is one of those wines that fits fire works perfectly yet is a tough sell as it's not as popular as pinot grigio.

Olinto Chianti Classico 2009
slight hint of cigar tobacco, unique to this chianti, along with tons of bright bing cherry and black peppercorn. Great texure, silky tannins, and oh so old world in style.

Baracchi O'lilo! 2011
beautiful deep plum in the glass. Smoked and Grilled beef comes through right from the jump. Cab, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah is the blend but with no oak to chill it out, that syrah is like the pissed off puppy in the box dying to be adopted. Lots and lots of ripe and rich fruit without being cloyingly sweet. Great entry level super tuscan from a small producer.......

So, should I pick any of these up for the list?

Curtis

Strange Place for Inspiration

So it's mid January, a full month into winter. Yet in Fire Works, the fire's always burning, July or January we keep it hot! I was looking for inspiration on the interweb this afternoon and was reading reviews of new restaurants in New York, L.A., San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. There are A LOT of new restaurants opening all over the place! I didn't realize that there are even multi-national firms who focus their investments solely in lower employment markets such as Oakland where they heavily (in the millions) fund start up restaurant groups. There's your TARP tax funds at work! But I digress. I read an amazing recipe for a salad using caramelized leeks, ricotta salata, and chick peas and thought to myself, tweak this a bit and it could be an awesome pizza. Soooooooo, next Monday and Tuesday we are going to test out a new special called "Sprung a Leek" using caramelized leeks, ricotta salata (no house blend) sun dried tomato pesto, lamb sausage and lemon peppercorn oil tossed baby arugala after the pizza comes out of the oven. This should be a pizza that even your new year's resolutions will praise you for.

Heavy Seas Warning

Kids, it got real yesterday. Real what? you may ask. Let's just say, it got real. Fire Works in Leesburg (4 revelers) and Magnolia's at the Mill (4 revelers) raided an RV and went to Heavy Seas Brewing Company in Baltimore. Our friends at our sister restaurant, Fire Works Arlington, well, they didn't make it.......sick I hear. We filled our own firkins of Loose Cannon IPA and dry hopped them uniquely for each restaurant. Magnolia's used a mother load of Zeus hops in theirs, naming it the "Zeus Cannon". Well played by Shana, Eric, and Stuart. Our own firkin for Fire Works Leesburg takes a more seasonally influenced turn using Cascade and Chinook whole flower hops along with toasted oak, cinnamon, cardamom, shaved orange peel, and grains of paradise aptly named "3 on 1". Lastly, and a secret blend it is, Jesse, Jeff, and Carlos put together something special for the fun folks in Arlington. Left with no better ideas, it was named "No Show". One things for certain, this beer won't be a no show for hoppy beer lovers. Make sure to check out our facebook page to see when these one of a kind firkins will roll out in our restaurants!

check the pic here for the crew!
the fearsome foursome fills a firkin

face first

I sit here with illustrious beer guru Jesse Prevatte as he sips today's featured cask from Lost Rhino Brewery. Lost Rhino is a local love, much like us I hear. The fellas have been in the area a long time creating tasty brews but this cask is fun. This particular cask is smooth, session able, and hoppy. We're not talking Hop Slam hoppy but think of it as a softer version of Bell's Two Hearted. Now, I realize for the uninitiated, I'm speaking some strange beer greek language…..and well that's because I'm that guy at the end of the bar who can spew senseless knowledge about everything in the fridge….and I know half of what Jesse does. Bottom line, cask beer ferments in the cask, not a GIANT tank so your experience varies cask to cask. This beer DOESN’T taste like the bottles you buy in the store NOR does it taste like the beer you buy on draft normally. That's what makes it awesomer….yep made up that word. Like gossamer only not fairy like….awesomer. We have this cask for as long as it lasts, then it's gone, forever. Fleeting uniqueness in your glass. Until next time friends!

In Situ Syrah

Just tasted our new In Situ Syrah - SUPER TASTY! 

Braised meats intertwined with deep dark berry and a hint of cinnamon. 

Manuel Rojas is a friend of ours and he brings us this perfect fall delight just in time for the holiday. Just think, while we're here keeping ourselves warm by the fire all winter, Manuel will be home in Chile, basking in the midsummer sun of January…………it just doesn't sound right does it? 

Have another glass and think on it!