north carolina

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The One In My Hand: Olde Hickory B’s Nuts

The label on bottles of B’s Nuts might lead you to believe that there’s something not quite right about Brian Pesci, who won Olde Hickory’s 3rd Annual Pro-Am brewing standoff with this beer. It’s true, for all I know. But there’s nothing wrong with his work, that’s for sure. In homage to his outstanding English Brown Ale brewed with many, many pecans, the brewery decided to make it themselves as a limited release. I scored mine at Carrboro Beverage Company. Slightly translucent and boldly brown, like deep south river water, B’s Nuts hits your nose with a sweet, sugary nuttiness. The creaminess of the mouthfeel carries the flavor of molasses, caramel, brown sugar, and the faintest bitterness. There’s a woody essence to the smell and taste as well. This is highly drinkable, if a bit sticky, and you shouldn’t hesitate to grab any bottles that linger on the shelves around the Triangle area.

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Beer of the Week: Asheville Brewing Ninja Porter

Raw Data:  Asheville Brewing Company Ninja Porter.  Brewed in Asheville, NC, USA.  750 ml bottle purchased at Hops and Vines, Asheville, NC.

Pours the deepest brown, almost black, with maple syrup hued highlights at the edges.  The slightest carbonation keeps a thin light brown head around the glass.  The smell is amazingly roasty and malty, with a vague nutty character.  The mouthfeel is just thick enough for a porter, but not sticky.  The overwhelming first flavor is chocolate, followed by a swift bitterness, coffee, and caramel.  There’s a multifaceted sweetness like a mix of caramel, vanilla and chocolate.  I’m a fan of all of ABC’s beers, and this one seems to get a bad rap by a lot of folks.  Perhaps it is because ABC do so well at their lighter beers.  While it certainly isn’t the Shiva of porters, if you’re into bold porters with pronounced coffee or chocolate flavors Ninja Porter is a nice middle ground between straightforward porters and more experimental offerings.

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Beer of the Week: French Broad Zepptemberfest

Raw Data:  French Broad Brewing Zepptemberfest.  Brewed in Asheville, NC, USA.  750 ml bottle purchased at TJ’s Campus Beverage, Carrboro, NC.

Pours a translucent amber with orange highlights.  The head hangs around and is thin and fizzy, with somewhat active carbonation keeping a ring of head around the edge of the glass.  For such a malty beer, there isn’t a lot of that rich, bready smell you’d expect, and the aroma isn’t very pronounced.  A hint of brown sugar and caramel.  The taste is slightly sweeter than a typical Marzen, with some of the same elements found in the nose.  The malty character really comes through as the beer warms a bit, but there is a consistent hop presence.  While not especially remarkable, this is a good, balanced Marzen that will help bridge the gap between your beer seasons.

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Beer of the Week Road Trip: Asheville, NC

The haul from Asheville

Sitting at one of my favorite restaurants on Earth, Tupelo Honey Cafe in Asheville, NC, the sheer beeriness of the town hit me.  I wasn’t planning on beer for lunch, but Green Man IPA was on tap.  How could I turn it down?  I had, after all, given just about every other beer in town a try over the weekend, and this was my first encounter with Green Man after 4 days in town.  Asheville has certainly embraced its longstanding culture of individuality and freedom, and if you’re not drinking local beer when you’re in town, you’re not doing it right.  So I had a beer with my Shrimp and Goat Cheese Grits.

Asheville isn’t a huge city, but it’s populace have an insatiable appetite for good food and beer.  It’s also an artsy region, which leads me to the reason I was in town.  My wife runs an art yarn and fiber business, Jazzturtle Creations, and we were manning a vending booth at the Friends and Fiberworks Summer Retreat.  Our occupation takes us to lots of different places where there are lots of different beers available, so part of the planning involves mapping out the best beer stores and restaurants in each town we visit.  Asheville is an old haunt of ours, though, and I already knew where I was headed as far as stores: The Appalachian Vintner, Bruisin’ Ales, and Hops and Vines.

If I had to choose only one store to visit during a trip to Asheville, it would have to be The Appalachian Vintner.  The selection of local bottles available in Asheville is pretty meager compared to the number of breweries, but you’ll be able to stock up on whatever is available at the Vintner.  They have all of the Olde Hickory line plus the requisite Asheville Brewing and Pisgah bottles, along with things like Mother Earth and Big Boss, which are available statewide.  On top of that, there’s a jaw-dropping section reserved for extra special offerings like Dogfish head’s Squall IPA.  It’s an exquisite experience in a homey environment where, if you’re lucky, a big, friendly dog might follow you around.

If you’ve got the time, two more world-class stores are just a short drive around the city.  Bruisin’ Ales certainly has the style and selection to back up its considerable hype, but you’ll pay for the priviledge of shopping there.  Prices on local bombers and six-packs are considerably higher than most places.  It’s a necessary stop, though, because you’ll find esoteric, rare things like 2008 Imperial Stout from Rogue and 2009 The Dark Side from Terrapin.  Plus there’s an unrivaled import selection.  Hops and Vines has more of a neighborhood store feel and a relatively small selection, but they carry some unique imports and they always seem to have multiple vintages of J.W. Lees Harvest Ale.

With work going on at the retreat, there was no time for serious bar visits to places like Thirsty Monk and Westville Pub.  Thankfully, Asheville restaurants offer a rich drinking experience all their own.  If a restaurant could wear a beard, Universal Joint certainly would.  This tater tot-slingin’ spot is one of the utmost hipster hangouts for food and beer.  The draft selection is a well-chosen dozen or so taps featuring the expected local variations and a consistently rotating Bell’s and Founder’s taps, among others.  Marco’s Pizzeria is more focused on their incredible Italian comfort food than beer, but they offer a great draft selection as well.  Of particular note is the Wedge Brewing IPA, which is my favorite Asheville beer, hands down.  Granted, that’s like choosing your favorite child – they’re all so special – but it’s my pick.  The best overall food and beer experience goes to Asheville Pizza and Brewing, though.  Not only do they offer a thorough lineup of their own beers, like the popular and soon-to-be-canned Shiva IPA, but the atmosphere and food are jubilant.  The attached movie theatre imparts a cinematic theme on the entire place, and it’s full of energy that your group will feed on.

Outdoor activities, art, and food have always been major tourism draws for Asheville, but the city has now helped put North Carolina on the map with the rest of the country’s best beer states.

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It’s Been a While

This thing has been very quiet since the Hopscotch Music Festival because I’ve been working and taking classes.  But I have still been writing, and here are some links to my most recent words.

Durham, NC World Beer Festival review and photos

Jesse Harris – Through the Night album review

I’m most excited about next weekend’s Sufjan Stevens show at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville, NC.  I’ve never been to the venue or seen Stevens in concert, so that show is on my mind, to say the least.

I’ve also been added to the staff at ReviewYou.com, a site that allows artists to pay for reviews written by a wide range of talent.  They allow writers to post their reviews on certain websites, so look for those to pop up here as well.

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Hopscotch Music Festival is Here – Updates and more

Raleigh’s Hopscotch Music Festival starts tonight! I’ll be bolting as quickly as possible from my Rappers Anonymous meeting to start bringing you our heat-of-the-moment Twitter updates, photos, and words. As an alternative to using Twitter, you can see our latest tweet on the right side of the front page now!

I can’t wait to drag my ass all over that map you see on the left. It’s gonna be awesome! Look for things to really pick up on Friday afternoon as Raleigh welcomes the most eclectic weekend of music it has ever hosted. This is a time to be proud and take the city by storm!

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Hopscotch Music Festival Preview

Our love for the city of Raleigh, NC and its music scene is well documented here and at Glide Magazine. Well, from September 9-11, 2010, we and the city will be exchanging a big ‘ol sloppy musical kiss. We’re pleased to be covering the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival, which will take over a large swath of downtown Raleigh for three days of club-hopping mayhem and outdoor festivities. It’s safe to say that this weekend will feature the most eclectic, concentrated gathering of artists that Raleigh has ever seen, and we’ll be doing our heat-of-the-moment Twitter updates, bringing you daily photo galleries, and providing a full review after the smoke clears.

It’s not hard to imagine Hopscotch eventually incorporating the new Raleigh Boutique Amphitheater into the event, and if that happens, we’ll have a monster of a festival on our hands. But for the time being, headliners will perform on the City Plaza while 9 different clubs host the rest of the artists, and that alone should make for an interesting weekend. Friday and Saturday, the music at the Plaza starts right around happy hour before moving into the clubs around 10 PM.

There’s no music at the Plaza on Thursday, but the festival begins in earnest with a dynamite threesome at The Lincoln Theater. Triangle favorites American Aquarium are sandwiched between local up-and-comers Max Indian and the raucous Memphis rock outfit Lucero. Of course, we’ll only get to see that bill if we sacrifice a ton of other stuff – for instance, Madison, Wisconsin’s highly emotive Collections of Colonies of Bees and indie darlings Beach House playing back-to-back at Tir-Na-Nog, one of Raleigh’s finest establishments. Trailblazing Portland act Akron/Family at The Pour House should make for a nice nightcap, in any event.

Friday evening has the potential to be infinitely special, as a couple of hard-to-find headliners will grace the Plaza stage – Broken Social Scene and Panda Bear. There’s a certain anticipation building around Panda Bear’s set, so much that we’ll be interested to see just how engaged he can keep a crowd of this size. But the action really starts after those two bands have had their way with your innards. At 9 PM, one of Triangle’s finest exports, 9th Wonder, will be taking over the Lincoln Theater for what is sure to be a night of wicked lyricism and head-nodding beats with many special guests, including one Raekwon. It’s going to be tough to stay in one spot though, as music beckons from all around the city. Hardest to pass up? The Small Ponds at Deep South The Bar, Mountains at The Busy Bee, Bowerbirds at The Pour House and Fucked Up at the Berkley Cafe.

Saturday night should fly by after Public Enemy is done with their headlining set, because there’s so much to see in so little time. Tortoise at the Lincoln Theater is a must, especially since Brooklyn’s Bear in Heaven are on directly beforehand. Durham, NC’s own Megafaun promise “a seamless night of sound” with various collaborators at the reborn Kings music club, and there’s delicious juxtaposition at Deep South The Bar as local hip-hop collective Kooley High will follow the eccentric Canadian group First Rate People.

On the surface, the Hopscotch schedule appears manageable. But for an adventurous music lover, it’s a mountain of conflicts to rival the biggest mega-festivals like Bonnaroo or Jazzfest. In researching the bands that I had never heard of until I saw their names on the lineup, I found it much more difficult to plan coverage. We’ll just have to give it our best shot, see what happens, and hope you come along for the journey.

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Raleigh Plays Musical Hopscotch, Plus A Festival Update

You can imagine the excitement that shot through WM headquarters when the lineup for Raleigh’s Hopscotch Music Festival was announced. This event is in the mold of South By Southwest in that bands will perform at multiple venues in the heart of the city, and it looks like an amazing time. The headliners – Broken Social Scene, Public Enemy, and Panda Bear – will perform along with selected others at Raleigh City Plaza, the new downtown promenade that opened late last year. The lucky locals that get to warm up for the big guys are The Love Language and The Rosebuds, both of whom definitely deserve the added attention.

Venues for the festival will include The Pour House Music Hall,The Berkeley Cafe, Deep South the Bar, Five Star, The Hive at Busy Bee, Kings, Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh City Plaza, Slim’s and Tir Na Nog. Here’s the rest of the lineup!

Tortoise, Megafaun, No Age, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Fucked Up, 9th Wonder & Friends, Active Child, All Tiny Creatures, American Aquarium, Americans in France, Atlas Sound, Balmorhea, Bear in Heaven, Best Coast, Birds of Avalon, Black Congo NC, DJ George Brazil, Brutal Knights, Richard Buckner, Burning Star Core, Cannabis Corpse, Caitlin Cary’s Small Ponds with Tres Chicas, Cults, Greg Davis, Double Dagger, Double Negative, The Dynamite Brothers, EAR PWR, ExMonkeys, First Rate People, Followed by Static, Ben Frost, Future Islands, Golden Boys, The Golden Filter, Goner, Gray Young, Ryan Gustafson, Hammer No More the Fingers, Harlem, Harvey Milk, Horseback, John Howie Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff, I Was Totally Destroying It, Javelin, Jeb Bishop Trio, Juan Huevos, Kill the Noise, The Kingsbury Manx, Kooley High, Kylesa, The Light Pines, Lonnie Walker, Lucero, Luego, Max Indian, Erin McKeown, Midtown Dickens, The Moaners, The Monologue Bombs, Motor Skills, Mountains, Jon Mueller, Marissa Nadler, Ocean, Old Bricks, Pattern Is Movement, Pictureplane, Plague, Pontiak, Schooner, Sightings, spcl gst, Spider Bags, Thien, Tigercity, Treasure Fingers, US Christmas, Sharon Van Etten, Veelee, Vincent Black Shadow, War on Drugs, Washed Out, Weedeater, Whatever Brains, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Yip-Yip. More bands will be announced on April 12th. This Facebook posting has some interesting quotes and insight from the organizers.

Remember the Wakarusa Interstellar Meltdown page we highlighted a few weeks ago? They’ve gone and made it pretty and full of info. Looks like Ott, Mark Farina, James Izabella, Lotus, Boombox, Future Rock, and others will be playing a pair of stages at the event.

Oh, Osheaga – we want to go to you. The Montreal festival announced its lineup about a week ago. As previously reported here, Arcade Fire and Pavement will headline, along with Weezer, and the best of the rest includes Metric, The National, Deadmau5, The Black Keys, Stars, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jimmy Cliff, Beach House, Blitzen Trapper, and Chromeo.

April 5th and 6th will be eventful, as our big crushes Lollapalooza and Mile High announce their lineups, so be sure to check back with us!