On Tuesday Mrs Velkyal and I went to Charleston, down on the coast of South Carolina - ostensibly to go and see Charleston Battery get massacred by the Houston Dynamo in the Lamar Hunt Cup, the American equivalent of the FA Cup.
As we hadn't really celebrated our first wedding anniversary on Saturday, overshadowed by some local bash as it was, we decided to have a special lunch and visited the Southend Brewery and Smokehouse, a lovely place for lunch and a sampler tray (I have a feeling they will be a big part of life here for a while), here are my thoughts.
- Southend Blonde - pale yellow, faint citrus, thirst quencher
- Southend Blonde Light - pale, crisp, weak
- Seasonal Ginger Ale - amber, grapefruit (amarillo?), refreshingly tart
- Bombay Pale Ale - light copper, citrus aplenty, hoppy marmelade
- East Bay Brown - crimson, caramel, smooth
- Southend Oatmeal Stout - dark drown, coffee and smoke, lusciously smooth
Overall I left the Southend Brewery with very positive feelings, afterall I had some excellent beers, the service was perfect - I can't remember the girl's name but she was everything a waitress should be, and she was on the nail in recommending the Bombay Pale Ale. Only the two blonde ales did absolutely nothing for me, perhaps blondes aren't my thing (don't tell the wife!!). The Oatmeal Stout was up there with the Sam Smith's I luxuriated in last year, high praise indeed, and this is certainly a pub I will be visiting again when I get to Charleston again, although next time I hope the real Charleston Battery turn up!
Ginger and amarillo: I'd be well up for that.
ReplyDeleteI seem to have been smelling grapefruit quite often lately, I wonder if the Americans have a thing for Amarillo (thoroughly understandable!), I am considering using Amarillo in my next edition of Limelight, as well as taking your advice and chucking in some root ginger to ramp up the spice in it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you're still in Charleston but definitely try to find some beer by Coast Brewing. They don't serve at the brewery but there is a pizza place close by called EVO. They are in North Charleston. They're the best brewer in SC in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteCitrus and grapefruit is extremely common in American PAs and IPAs.