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I'm Out.

I'm leaving. No more bartending, no more blog. My last shift will be this Friday, July 11th. I'm sad to go, but I have some exciting adventures ahead of me. I have been hired as a tour guide with TrekAmerica, and I am leaving one week from today.

My training consists of three weeks; one in their L.A. office, and two on the road, where I will get to experience what it's like to be a passenger on the trips that I will be leading. Just for the training, I'll get to tour San Francisco, Yosemite, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Moab, Arches National Park, and Las Vegas. Yes, I'm very excited. And feeling a little overwhelmed, as this has all happened so fast.

If you still care to read my stuff, you can catch my articles in Southwest Brewing News. I'll probably start a new travel blog, which I'll post here as soon as I have it. In the meantime, come out to the pub either Wednesday or Friday to wish me farewell!

Second First Draft

Time flies. Sorry to lead with such a cliche, but I can't think of a more creative way to say it. I can't believe this weekend is already July 4th. What happened to the summer? Before we know it, summer will be gone and it will be October. Which might not be such a bad thing, because you know what happens in October?

Tulsa Press Club hosts their annual fundraiser, First Draft. Last year was the first time I attended this event, and I have to slap myself on the hand for missing the previous years. If you like beer, well....I think you know where this is going.

The date is a mere 94 days away, on October 3rd. This year they've moved the day from Thursday night to a Friday night. Perhaps it's to accomodate those that work Friday morning and were tired of facing their boss hungover, with alcohol seeping out of their skin. Good for the nine-to-fivers, bad for me (and other bar employees).

How cool is First Draft? Cool enough to have a myspace. Yeah!

Mori-what-o?

Over the past couple weeks, I've gone to two different restaurants and encountered a 'confusion,' shall I say, over a particular beer. The beer responsible for the misunderstandings here is Morimoto Soba Ale. I figured since this beer is capable of confusing restaurant owners and bartenders, it was worth writing about in order to add some clarification.

I suppose the name could be a bit misleading in regards to its' origin. Morimoto....sounds Japanese, yes? The beer is actually brewed by Rogue Brewery in Oregon; one in a series in which Rogue collaborated with Japanese chef, Masaharu Morimoto to create a new line of beers. Other beers in this series include Morimoto Black Obi Soba and Moriomoto Imperial Pilsner. The elegant 22 ounce bottle features Rogue's signature screenprint design, only rather than the typical portraits Rogue generally depicts, this label presents artistic Japanese lettering.

According to Rogue's website, soba, also known as buckwheat, is a fruit commonly found in Japanese cuisine. Wikipedia lists soba as a type of Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. Not really sure which one I should deem more credible. Anyhow, it's origin is Japanese, at least that part is consistent. I assume it's for these reasons this beer is often found at Asian-themed restaurants.

For the beer itself, this is one I particularly enjoy. Yes, I must admit, part of it is because I'm a sucker for pretty packaging. The taste is very light, clean, crisp, and faintly sweet. It's one of those beers that I could drink on any occasion. I could drink it in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. And in a car. And in a tree. It is so good, so good, you see!

So there I was, trying to order this beer at restaurant "A," let us call it. I believe I asked for the "Rogue Morimoto." I watched as our server walked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle which turned to be a Rogue Mocha Porter. Arriving at the table, he explained that this was the only Rogue beer they carried, and figured I must have been confused when I ordered my beer. When I pointed to Morimoto on their menu, he said, yes, they had it, but it wasn't Rogue. He proceeded to tell me I would like the Mocha Porter, because it was very similar to the Morimoto. Um, yeah. Fortunately for this guy, I'm not one who enjoys calling people out when they're dead wrong. I told him thanks, but, I really did prefer to drink the Morimoto. When he brought out the correct beer, I believe he noticed it was indeed, labeled as Rogue, yet seemed unwilling to admit his mistake.

Onto restaurant "B," another Asian bistro in town. Clearly demonstrated by the ornate exterior of the building and the elaborate interior, much attention to detail has gone into this place. What was overlooked, however, was their drink menu, where they have Morimoto labeled as a French beer. Not sure how they let this one slide by, a seemingly minor mistake in the scheme of things, but come on, how hard is it to see this beer is clearly not from France?

Everyone makes their share of mistakes. The moral of the story, as Confucius say: a man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it, is committing another mistake.

Oklahoma City McNellies Open!

It's officially official: the new store in Oklahoma City is open! Some people have been looking for more information, so here's what I know. The address and phone number: 1100 Classen Drive, 405-601-PINT(7468). Beer selection is just as vast as the Tulsa location, with 360 varieties; the biggest selection in Oklahoma City. They're planning the same specials as the Tulsa store, such as the infamous $3 burger nights on Wednesdays and Pint Nights. They'll also be selling those pesky mugs you've seen or own hanging in the Tulsa store. So if you're one of those who is severely dissapointed you can't order one in Tulsa (we ran out of space for them) you have a chance to get your name on one for OKC. I haven't been to visit the new location yet, but the feedback has been good so far. If you're in the area, stop by and check it.

Beer University, Round II

This upcoming Tuesday, June 17th!!! Last time I checked, there were still a few spots left. Same deal as last time, only we'll be drinking weiss beers in honor of the summer months. Be there or be lame. 382-PINT.

The Little Engine That Could

Just over four years ago, Elliot Nelson opened his first business in downtown Tulsa. At the time of the opening, this area of town was almost desolate. Downtown had a bad rap; a place to avoid after dark, a haven for the homeless and criminals.

McNellies: if you build it, they will come. A massive load of funds and labor were put into renovating the old building at 1st and Elgin, which is now home to "probably Tulsa's best pub." In the short history of McNellies, the downtown that Tulsans know today has come to life with the addition of more businesses, nightlife, and the new BOK arena, due to open this fall. Maybe that homeless guy will still hassle you on the corner, but some things never change.

The success of McNellies has been so monumental that Elliot has duplicated his idea, opening a second location in downtown Oklahoma City. The new pub is in the Plaza Court building at 10th and Walker. The new location has two floors with a bar on each, and a mezzanine overlooking the first floor. The anticipation of this new pub has been building for over two years, having an original opening date targeted for St. Patrick's Day of 2007. Finally the location has opened their doors this week, and Oklahoma City locals can now enjoy what the Tulsans have been enjoying for the past few years.

I guess the only bad news about this story is that McNellies, a former one-of-a-kind Tulsa treasure, is now a chain. While two locations hardly gives it a commercialized feel, I guess we'll know we have to worry when the staff is required to wear a minimum of 15 pieces of flare.

Beer Belly

Flipping through my Runners World magazine, I notice several advertisements implying that if you are one who enjoys an active lifestyle, Michelob Ultra is the beer for you. I started thinking about this clever marketing ploy by Anheuser-Busch, and it's pretty clear that our overtly obese population has bought into this idea of beers with 'light' labels. Often, I have customers (who half the time don't look like they enjoy an active lifestyle, but rather have a heaping plate full of sweet potato fries dripping with grease and a couple extra sides of ranch dressing in front of them) irritated because I don't have any 'light' beers on tap they are familiar with. I suggest other beers that are low in calories, but I sense their suspicion as they gaze at the tap handle and seem to think "Well it doesn't say light." Oh, my bad, you must know everything about nutrition because you saw a Miller Lite commercial.

Usually those who consume beers with the 'light' labels drink several of them in one sitting. I guess they would have to in order to get a buzz, since they're usually 3.2% domestics (one of the joys of living in Oklahoma). It really defeats the purpose of drinking a light beer if you have to consume twice as much to get the alcohol consumption you're looking for. Unless you're on weight watchers or some other strict diet, the likelihood that you're keeping track of calories is slim. So that extra 10 or 20 calories you're saving with your light beer probably isn't doing you much good in the long run.

I was going to post different calorie contents of beers for this blog, but then I decided that it really doesn't matter. I'm not going to drink a beer based on the calorie content, and I don't advocate that practice. If you're going to drink a beer, you may as well drink one you're going to enjoy.

Rumor Has It

There's been a lot of hype about Tulsa's new (and only) brewery, Marshall Brewing. For months and months, you've been hearing, "Coming soon...in the near future....any day now." This should be the last 'coming soon' notice, because the beer is kegged and ready for drinking.

Some of you may have had the chance to try a pint or two of Marshall's beers this past weekend at the American Craft Beer Festival. Eric Marshall had two of his beers available for sampling: Sundown Wheat, and McNellies Pub Ale. For those who haven't heard, Marshall has co-branding a beer with McNellies, which will be available not only at McNellies, but any other place that chooses to carry it, as well as in bottles for liquor stores. I've been told that we will have Marshall's beers on tap at McNellies within the next one to two weeks. I've got my fingers crossed that this information is accurate! Keep your eyes and ears open for the latest.

Beer Fest!

Throughout the year, Tulsa hosts quite a few festivals. There's Mayfest, Oktoberfest, D-fest, Jazz-fest, and Scottish Fest, to name a few. Whenever these events roll around, one of big highlights is being able to attend an outdoor celebration and drink beer. When you think about it, many more people are likely to buy a beer or five at Mayfest than a piece of art. If you're one of those people guilty of attending cultural festivals for the mere pleasure of drinking beer, it's your lucky day (well, weekend, actually). In conjunction with Mayfest and the Blue Dome Arts Festival, McNellies is hosting the first annual American Craft Beer Festival.

The festival begins Saturday afternoon (12pm) and offers 30 different American craft beers. Marshall Brewing will debut their much anticipated beer at the festival this weekend. A $10 charge will gain you access to festival, a commemorative mug, and 3 beer samples. After that, fill up your mug with any of the beers for $4. The festival will last until 8pm Saturday night, then from 12-4 on Sunday. The weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend, so head on downtown and enjoy the festivals galore!

Dinner Party

McNellies is hosting a Choc Brewing beer dinner this upcoming Monday, May 12th. The event will consist of a specialty four course dinner paired with an assortment of Choc beers. The menu is as follows:

First Course - Lump Crab Cakes Served on a Bed of Mixed Greens and Drizzled with a Roasted Red Pepper Coulis.
Beer Pairing - Waving Wheat

Second Course - Potato Leek Soup with Bleu Cheese Crostini.
Beer Pairing - 1919 Choc

Third Course - Pasta Carbonara Forestiere Topped with Smoky Bacon, Wild Forest Mushrooms in a Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce. Garnished with Red Pepper Flakes and Fresh Parsley. Accompanied by Garlic Toast.
Beer Pairing - Basement Batch Pale Ale

Fourth Course - Black Lager Baked Bon Bons Topped with a Chocolate Ganache
Beer Pairing - Miner's Mishap

Michael Lalli, head brewmaster of Choc Brewing, will be attending the dinner in order to offer his extensive beer knowledge, and answer any questions. I had the chance to visit with him a few weeks back when I toured the brewery, and I think anyone would enjoy meeting him and listening to him talk about beer.

The dinner begins at 7pm and the cost is $40 per person (tax and gratuity not included). To make a reservation, call the pub at 382-PINT, or email info@mcnellies.com.

Stone Brewing

I was taking a hiatus from updating this blog for a couple weeks, as I spent time on the beach in California, with my thoughts far disengaged from McNellies, dismissing any thoughts or desires of beer. Well, for the most part anyway. During my last couple days on vacation, I learned that I was in close proximity of the Stone Brewery, located in Escondido. I believe it would have been deemed a sin for me to not visit, so my friend Cera and I made the short trip to the brewery.

As soon as we walked through the front doors, I felt like I had left one paradise and entered a new one. The staff greeted us with friendly nods and welcomes while I gawked at our surroundings. The front room was full of Stone merchandise, bartering t-shirts, novelty pint glasses, cycling jerseys, belt buckles, and other branded products. As we walked through the restaurant and bar, making our way to the outdoor seating area, I noticed how much consideration had gone into every detail of the massive property. As might be expected, the walls were made of stone, with their signature gargoyle mascot etched above, gracing the room with its grandeur. Our outdoor seating area was surrounded by an ornate lush garden, and I caught a glimpse of the horticulturist, a Rastafarian looking man with a long gray beard, tending the plants.

The food menu was just as impressive as everything else I had seen so far. Many items offered were made with local and organic foods, and a handful used beer as an ingredient. I could go on and on about how great the food was, but I imagine most of you who are reading this are far from Escondido, and it would be cruel of me to make you want something you can't have. So moving on to the beer...

The beer menu listed 32 beers on tap, ten of which were made at the brewery. Another 71 beers were available in bottles, and of all the beers offered, I had only heard of a handful. Choosing only one seemed an impossible task, and I felt a genuine understanding for those that come to McNellies for the first time, overwhelmed with so many options. I ordered a sampler, which consisted of the 'core four' Stone beers: Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, Stone IPA, and Stone Arrogant Bastard.

The Stone brewery is known for producing high quality "big character" beers, with high alcohol percentages and a focus on the hop notes. Stone Brewing is probably best known for the Arrogant Bastard Ale, with a commercial description that reads:

"This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory ---maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this. "

As you can tell by this description, the folks at Stone Brewing have a great sense of humor, as well as marketing tactics. According to Wikipedia, Stone Brewing is consistently rated as one of the best brewers in the U.S. and world by Ratebeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com. And after a visit, I can see why. All of the beer we tried was excellent, and the brewery tour was pretty amazing as well.

I could have stayed there for days, weeks, months. Cera pretty much had to drag me out of the door. Stone beer isn't quite as unattainable as their food, as it's available in 26 states, but unfortunately, Oklahoma isn't one of them. So, next time you're out of state, I would highly suggest you try and get your hands on some.

Choc Brewery

Last week I made a trip to Krebs, Oklahoma. You may be asking yourself, "Why might one visit such a seemingly desolate place?" Although Krebs is by no means a tourist destination in itself, there is at least one good reason to go: beer.

Krebs is home to the Choc Brewery, the oldest brewery in the state of Oklahoma. The brewery was founded by Italian immigrant Pietro Piegari, who came to the mining town of Krebs in the early 1900's. After suffering an injury in a mining accident, Pietro was left without work and began brewing beer with a recipe he learned from the local Native American tribe, the Choctaw Indians. His beer became a popular offering for the local miners, and Pietro, who later changed his name to Pete Prichard, opened a restaurant serving Italian food and Choc beer.

Pete's Place is run today by Pete's grandson, Joe Prichard. The restaurant holds seating for 500, with small private dining areas spanning the majority of the restaurant. The food is served family style, with traditional Italian fare. My advice on the lamb fries: eat first then ask later. Don't make the same mistake I did and come early, cause they don't open the kitchen until 4pm unless it's Sunday. Fortunately, I was offered some good beers to hold me over.

Attached to Pete's Place is the Choc Brewery, separated by a connecting glass door. Choc currently offers four quality craft beers available to the public year round: Choc 1919, their original American unfiltered wheat ale; Basement Batch, a traditional pale ale; Waving Wheat, a Belgium style wheat beer brewed with coriander and citrus and Miner Mishap, a German-style black lager. Choc also brews a couple beers exclusively for Pete's Place: Miners Light and a Peach Beer. Plans to add two more beers to their collection are in the works, which will be called Last Laugh and Pietro Piegari.

If you want to take a road trip, the Choc Brewery is about a two hour drive from Tulsa, and it's definitely worth the visit. But you don't have to drive that far for the beer; McNellies offers Waving Wheat and Basement Batch on tap, and the other two Choc beers are available in bottles. Support your local brewery and have a few pints.

April Specials

The new month has arrived and that means...new specials! So everyone (K-Brick) can stop whining about how we haven't had anything for a couple of weeks and once again save a buck or two on a good brew.

Currently we have 16-ounce bottles of Ayinger Oktoberfest on special for $3.50. This is an excellent beer special, one of the better ones we've had in a while. The Ayinger Oktoberfest is a German lager with a hearty malt character. It's an orange-amber color with a fruity sweetness and a slightly bitter aftertaste. In addition to being a tasty brew, the bottle cap (pictured) is pretty exquisite as well. Ask your bartender or server to save it for you if you're into that kind of thing. This is one of those 'while supplies last' deals, so I wouldn't be surprised if they go very quickly.

Our other special is Boulevard Dry Stout for $2.50. We just got this one back on draft, which is better than the bottled version because nitrogen is used (versus the carbonated bottle) which creates a creamier body and a beautiful pour similar to Guinness. This beer has a dry, clean body with a complex flavor. John Roux-Lough, former president of Guinness Importing Co. describes the Boulevard Stout as having an American body, but an Irish soul. This was sampled during Beer University, and the Boulevard rep suggested trying it with an aged cheddar or cheesecake.

So there you have it. We also have some new beers on draft this month, but I don't have a beer menu with me, so you'll have to come in and check out the selection yourself.

Campers with Class

This weekend my boyfriend and I went on a camping trip to the Wichita Mountains. We had settled at the campgrounds and were sitting by our campfire when a camping cohort embarked upon our territory, asking to borrow a corkscrew. Although there were signs clearly posted indicating the consumption of alcohol was prohibited on the campgrounds, we did, indeed, have one to lend. "I'll trade you an ESB," the camper offered. I was quite taken aback by this statement. Perhaps I'm not giving enough credit to the typical Oklahoma camper, but I dare say that most wouldn't have known what this guy was offering. It seemed presumptuous of him to believe we knew what an ESB was. I mean that in an endearing manner.

For those that aren't familiar with an ESB, here's a description taken from beeradvocate.com:
Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB)
ESBs are essentially more aggressive and more balanced Bitters, both in alcohol and hop character, but nothing overpowering. Color range will be similar, though leaning towards the darker end of the scale; dark golds to copper. Low carbonation. Malts tend to be more pronounced, often toasty and fruity, with maybe some notes diacetyl. And despite "bitter" being in its name, ESBs are not really all that bitter. They key to an ESB is balance.

The beer this guy had to offer was a Sierra Nevada ESB, a newly released spring seasonal beer by the California craft brewery. It's the breweries variation of the ESB style, labeled as an Early Spring Beer. Ken Grossman, owner of Sierra Nevada brewery explains, "Our ESB blends the best of English tradition with the boldness of West Coast style. Featuring English ingredients, we added a Sierra Nevada twist by leaving the ale unfiltered, which enhances mouthfeel and hop aroma creating a slightly reddish-copper hue."

I found the beer to be very tasty, not to mention a vast improvement over the lukewarm Rolling Rock we had brought along. It was the first time I had seen this beer, and McNellies doesn't carry it quite yet. If I had to venture a guess, I would assume we will have it sometime in the near future. .