Business trips, they are a necessary part of the job to build consensus and set direction for any project, but not always the easiest things to do. I love to travel (for the most part) because I think business is best done face-to-face, and I can always use it as an opportunity to explore the area for good food and new beers. So when I was asked to go to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a meeting, I made my plans and looked forward to trying out a few new spots.
The trip didn’t start out to good beer-wise. At the Philadelphia airport there is a specialty beer bar called Jet Rock that has 24 different drafts in Terminal F, and 48 different drafts in Terminal D. We were in F Terminal, and when I stopped to order two or three beers that I hadn’t had before, they were all out. Instead of ordering a $10 Miller Lite, I chose to abstain (a combination of self-discipline and the economy) and wait until dinner. My companions agreed to go to Gordon-Biersch ( http://www.gordonbiersch.com/restaurants/index.php?pg=location&sub=loc&location_id=29) in VA Beach for dinner, and although my Kobe burger was great, they were in between their seasonal beers and I had their Schwarzbier which was good, but I had tried it before.
The next day we had a full day of meetings, and agreed to try out the Bier Garden (http://www.biergarden.com/) in downtown Portsmouth. What a great beer bar! The Beer Advocate rated it the #42 on the best places in the US to have a beer, and I’d have to agree. I started off with a rare treat, Uerige Alt on draft. Michael Jackson classifies it as the epitome of the Altbier style by giving it 4 stars and even though I had it in the bottle before, I had never tried it on draft. There were several different beers from Aktien and Allgauer in the bottle, and was allowed to get these beers to go and try them at home. They also had a Danish Mead that I had never had, Dansk Mjod Viking Blod, and I bought a bottle to take home and share with Jenn. They also had a great Belgian beer list and I tried the De Regenboog T’Smisje Grande Reserva, a Belgian ale aged in whiskey casks that clocked in at 12.5% alcohol. The appetizers that we tried were outstanding, different sausages and fruit along with their Kase Spaetzle which was baked with Havarti cheese. We had dinner at a little restaurant around the corner called Still, but I went straight for the dessert by trying the Crème Brulee with a St Georges Porter.
The trip home was a challenge with the weather, but we made it home safe and sound (and just in time so that I could watch Lost with Jenn). On the way I was able to stop for dinner back at that Jet Rock restaurant in Terminal F, and I washed down a Philly Cheesesteak with Dock Street Rye IPA. I thought it was excellent, and the bar went to the trouble to describe it as, “An aggressively hopped American pale ale brewed with Simcoe and Amarillo hops.” I would have just said that it was hoppy and spicy at the same time. - 5007
"Listening to someone who brews his own beer is like listening to a religious fanatic talk about the day he saw the light." – Ross Murray
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