Buying Your Rights

Meme of the week.

Sedona Taphouse

Sedona Taphouse opened in downtown Fredericksburg a few weeks ago. Never wanting to go right away when a new place opens, we waited and finally stopped in for dinner this week. Colleen and I generally prefer to sit at the bar when we visit a pub, but the bar seating was full. Fortunately we waited only about 10 minutes until I received a text message our table was ready. We were seated and quickly approached by server for our drink orders.

I didn’t count precisely, but estimated we had about 50 draft selections and 250 500 [Ed., new count from other reports] bottled beers to choose from. We stuck with draft this time, but the bottle list had quite a range of styles and breweries giving us even more great optons. Happily we noticed that the bottled beers were being poured into glasses as they were served at the table, to be enjoyed as the brewer intended! Settling on Three Stars Peppercorn Saison and Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale, we perused the extensive food menu in-depth.

Sedona Taphouse offers a variety of dining options; salads, pasta, tacos, flatbread pizza, sandwiches as well full dinner entrées. It’s great to see such a varied menu, especially one that includes lighter “pub” options. We ordered a Mediterranean Hummus appetizer, with marinated peppers and feta and served with warm flatbreads. The appetizer was very flavorful. The marinated peppers topping the hummus added bit of extra flavor to the generously sized appetizer plate. The flatbread was warm and wood-grilled.

For the main course, Colleen chose the wood-grilled Crab & Shrimp-Topped Tilapia drizzled with lemon caper butter, served with garlic whipped potatoes and asparagus. I opted for Fontina Marsala Pork Chop, topped with melted fontina cheese and house-made Marsala sauce with sautéed mushrooms, and garlic whipped potatoes. Our dinner entrées arrived in a timely manner after we finished the starter course. In fact, the service at Sedona was noticeably efficient. One of our laments about some of our favorite local haunts is that the food service is often quite slow, sometimes annoyingly so. Sedona seems to have the kitchen processes down, and we remarked on that several times during the evening.

Our dinners were well prepared and quite tasty. My pork chop was moist and the marsala sauce hit nice bite to it. Colleen enjoyed her tilapia plate as well. After enjoying our dinner, we convinced ourselves that we needed dessert; in order to do a proper review. We opted to split the featured Salted Caramel Cheesecake, a NY cheesecake topped with warm caramel, fresh ground sea salt and toasted walnuts. I am not typically a fan of cheesecake, but I took one for the team. Truth be told, I had no trouble devouring my half of the large slice. It was that good.

We had a wonderful experience at Sedona Taphouse. It was quite busy and a bit noisy. But not in a bad way; a lot of people out enjoying good food and beer in pleasant conversations. The service was efficient and friendly. The food was excellent. The beer list is extensive and demands further exploration in the future, and I look forward to doing that in the near future.

Word of the Day

Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
 
-- seen online

John Browning's Bottle Opener

A 100 year old bottle opener design that still works.

H/T to @FillYerHands.

Parkway Brewing in Salem, VA

Prior to our visit last weekend, I'd had tried only one Parkway Brewing beer, Get Bent Mountain IPA. I've enjoyed that one on draft several times, and even bottles in the fridge. It's a really good IPA, so I had I high hopes for more good beer during out visit. I was not to be disappointed.

We opted to try a flight of six beers, choosing from the ten available. We enjoyed our beers in the large seating area that was open to the outdoors, in front of a wonderfully relaxing fireplace.

First up on our Parkway Brewing flight was Seeing Colors Spiced Autumn Ale, a brown ale brewed with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove and nutmeg. The beer had a pleasant aroma and classic fall spice beer flavor. As we got to the next beer, Colleen remarked, "Didn't we get the coffee beer?" What was in the glass looked all the world like a Pale Ale; aren't coffee beers usually dark? Picking up the glass, she smiled and announced it did indeed smell like coffee. Cocka Doodle Brew Coffee Ale looks like a Pale Ale, but smells and tastes like fresh brewed coffee. Good fresh brewed coffee at that. There were undertones of a citrusy pale ale, but the coffee flavor, and aroma, predominate. I found it to be an extremely interesting and tasty beer.

Since I'd had Get Bent IPA previously, I opted for the Grapefruit Get Bent Mountain IPA to compare. This version of the beer ramps up the citrus aspect. The flavor brings to mind juicy pink grapefruit flesh, with just a hint of sweetness, like the touch of sugar added to a grapefruit half. Between the Coffee Ale and Grapefruit Get Bent, we had a proper "beer breakfast" going.

The flight up to this point had been relatively moderate in both flavor and ABV. We kicked it up a notch for the second half, starting with Four Damn Fights to a Pint Double IPA. Bold tropical fruit and pine hop flavors combine for a pungent, bitter brew. Following on the heals of the Double IPA was Barrel Aged Ravens Roost Baltic Porter. The alcohol aroma and flavor stood out strong over the dark roasted, mocha and bready porter. Colleen described it "Like a rum and coke, but with bourbon," and that truly hit the essence of the beer.

We closed out the tasting flight with Magellan Belgian Dark Abbey Ale. Despite checking in at 11.1% ABV, the alcohol was amazingly well-masked in both the aroma and flavor. Rich notes of plum, raisin, and dark cherry with a touch of brown sugar made for a very tasty ale. I could see sipping a full glass of this one in front of the fire for a relaxing evening.

Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule and did not have time to linger longer, and enjoy more of the excellent beers at Parkway Brewing. However, we will be passing through the area frequently in the future so I will try to plan for a more extended visit on an upcoming visit. I'm looking forward to enjoying more of the fine ales at Parkway Brewing.

Liberal Paradise

Meme of the week.

How about we round up the anti-gun crowd and give them the home they have been demanding?

Flying Dog Gourd Standard Pumpkin IPA

When I pulled the bottle from the review package sent by Flying Dog Brewing, I spied the label "Gourd Standard" and thought, "Oh, a pumpkin beer." Of course, it's always exciting to try new beers, but I'm not a big fan of the pumpkin ales that fill shelves and tap lines this time of the year. Then I read the smaller text at the bottom, "Pumpkin IPA." Well, that's Flying Dog for you — always twisting things up. I was intrigued enough to try it.

Gourd Standard Pumpkin IPA pours a dark amber color and is cloudy in appearance. The aroma brings the expected spices; nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, and a sweet malt base. Those are not IPA descriptors. The taste starts out much as a typical pumpkin ale, but the profile quickly changes and some IPA bitterness comes into play. The IPA-ness is not overwhelming but a pleasing piney bitterness comes to the forefront. There's a hint of mouth-tingling astringency in the mouthfeel as well. The finish is hangs around with earthy and bitter notes, along with a bit of stickiness.

This is a schizophrenic beer. The aroma is full on pumpkin ale; the flavor is predominately IPA. But it's not totally an IPA, as the more you sip, the more the pumpkin ale personality begins to show itself in the flavor. I found my brain wavering, trying to decide what I was drinking. In the end, the IPA won out, and that's a good thing in my book. Gourd Standard is an interesting addition to the fall vegetable beer season, and something that definitely breaks the mold.

The beer reviewed here was a promotional sample from the brewery. My impressions are provided of my own free will.

Rivanna IDPA Match

"What am I doing?' Those were the thoughts in my head as I headed out early Saturday morning for the monthly Rivanna IDPA match, with the dashboard displaying 39°. But I had packed gloves and a fleece jacket, so I was ready for a fun morning of shooting.

There were four stages providing our entertainment that morning. Stage 1 started with the shooter holding a shovel, which was used to knocked over a nearby popper, triggering a drop turner. I was wearing the fleece jacket rather than my "gamer" IDPA vest but was still able to get the shots off on the fast disappearing target. There were six more targets down range to be engaged.

The next stage began standing arms length from a single target which required three shots from retention. Backing up from that target, we found three targets to the right of a wall, followed by three to the left of a parallel wall. I was actually "down zero" with what I consider a respectable time for the run. I distinctly remember a sharp focus on the sights and being conscious of the trigger pull and my grip on the stage. I should do that more often!

The third stage of the match required distance shots and elicited a lot of groans from the shooters, and also a lot of good natured ribbing. The targets were estimated to be placed at 15, 25 and 35 yards. Two targets at each distance required three hits on each. My plan for the stage was, "I have 31 rounds, why leave any behind?" I was there to shoot, so I might as well shoot. I wasn't going to win any steak knives anyway. Despite the good-natured "complaining" it was fun, especially since I rarely get to shoot anything beyond 20 - 25 yards.

Stage 4 was designed to keep our brains working. The stage was divided into three "sections" each holding three targets. All magazines were downloaded to just six rounds each, and all shooting was to be done on the move. The course of fire started with the shooter engaging the first three targets, in tactical sequence, while retreating. Reloading before leaving the cover position marking the next section, we found three targets to be engaged, in any order, while moving across the bay. After another slide lock reload, there were three more targets, again to be engaged in tactical sequence, this time while moving forward. It was a lot of fun, and being the first stage our squad shot, was a good way to wake up the brain cells.

As usual, the Rivanna match provided good shooting with a range of challenges. This was the first year I've shot Rivanna IDPA, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The matches are well-run, folks are friendly, and it's always a good time. The only downside to Rivanna is that the match conflicts with the Cavalier USPSA match, which I have also enjoyed shooting in the past. Even though I concentrated on IDPA this year, I'd still like to get to some USPSA matches in the future. Too many matches on the same day; a good "problem" to have I guess. Maybe I'll need to alternate next year.