Brews Cruising (Pt. 3): The Killer B(eer)s and a Brew Named Sue

Murals on buildings in Houston's East End, an area of town which
reminded me of Columbus's Franklinton neighborhood

Columbus Ohio's craft brew scene has been centered on a mutually beneficial relationship between brewery and food truck. New craft brewery sans food service opens up, and soon after a rotation of regular food trucks is in place to provide the food. As we found out, Houston's 8th Wonder Brewing put a little twist on the scenario: beer-loving owner of established food truck decides to set up a brewery.

The brainchild of the folks of the long-standing Eatsie Boys Food Truck, 8th Wonder lies in the industrial East End section of Houston (with the skyline of Downtown Houston lurking, folks in Columbus in for a visit may be reminded of the Franklinton neighborhood.) The brewery's name is a reference to the Astrodome, dubbed "The Eighth Wonder of the World" at its opening in 1965. In case you wondered, the Astrodome still stands generally unused, remaining in limbo as county taxpayers battle over what to do with this iconic structure.

Once you get within the extremely non-descript warehouse where this brewery resides (the only real initial clue you've arrived at the right place lies in the brewery's logoed vehicles outside), the full homage to the Astrodome unfolds. Plenty of memorabilia related to the building lies within including the original floor used for the 1971 NCAA Final Four basketball tournament and a large panoramic picture of the original interior. In an additional neat touch, the wall behind the tap area neatly mimics the Astrodome's outline.

The traditional colors of the Houston Astros MLB team are also quite noticeable; fans of that team may harken back to the Killer B's (Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and, later, Lance Berkman) or older vintage stars like Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard and Jose Cruz. They may be even old enough to have seen them play under the team's original name (the Colt 45's.)

An even more expansive outdoor space, replete with benches, pétanque courts and cornhole boards, and a disc golf course lies to the back. This ample elbow room comes in quite handy when the Astros or Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo are hosting a home game - their stadiums lie mere blocks away from the brewery.

The brewery sports a unique token based system that is advantageous for regulars (a pint glass that allows you cheaper pours in the future provided you bring it), but as we were just driving through, we opted for traditional beer flights. All our beers were quite enjoyable, with our standouts being Rocket Fuel Porter with Vietnamese Coffee, the Hopston English-style IPA, and their flagship Alternate Universe Altbier.

Of course, you can't not go to 8th Wonder and not visit the food truck that started it all. The Eatsie Boys truck camps out "eight days a week" behind the brewery and offers a Houston-area twist on various finger foods, sandwiches and wraps. We're big fans of fried pickles, and the version the Eatsie Boys puts out is not only plentiful, but also one of the tastiest versions we've ever consumed.

8th Wonder Brewery

2202 Dallas St (Google Maps)

Houston, TX 77003

(713) 229-0868

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800 miles removed and a couple days later, we dropped by perhaps Tennessee's largest and most well-known craft brewery, plopped firmly within Nashville's popular Gulch neighborhood, as a way to kick back and relax from that day's sightseeing.

Opened up in 2003, Yazoo Brewing (actually named after a river in Mississippi next to which owners Linus and Lila Hall got married) is very familiar to fans of Columbus' Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Their collaboration frozen confection flavor Yazoo Sue with Rosemary Bar Nuts, made with the brewery's well-regarded smoked porter Sue quickly became a best seller when it was first released in scoop shops in 2013.

Yazoo moved into their current taproom space in 2010. I personally try to make some comparison to other brewery spaces I've encounter, but Yazoo's is pretty unique in that regard. The interior's slew of elements, including but not exclusive to the tap area, painted cement block walls, lots of brewery swag, plenty of art work and a variety pack of tables, chairs, and church pews, may not sound cohesive but actually just works well together. It's easy to see why people bring in their favorite eats (Yazoo allows outside food to be brought into their space) to hang around for a couple hours with friends and family.

Higher gravity beers are tricky things to deal with for Tennessee brewers: those above 6.25% ABV must be sold in liquor stores (thankfully, this will change slightly for the better in 2017 when a law raising that level to 10% ABV goes into effect.) Yazoo has tread into these waters, receiving a license to produce bigger beers like the previously mentioned Sue as well as quite a few of their wild ale/funky brews.

On this visit, the high-gravity Indomitus Dolium proved to be a nicely potent and boozy Old Ale, but the standout was the much more modest ABV-leveled Zure Bruine Flanders Oud Bruin which made our tart-leaning hearts sing, sporting a complex fruit and caramel base and a nice dry finish. 

We had intended on hanging out for awhile and sampling more brews (we did get in one more in a decent Sly Rye Porter) but alas found out their taproom closes on the early side (8 PM on this day.) I guess we can count ourselves as thwarted in that endeavor, but that will just give us more incentive on our next visit to Nashville to come back for a second round or three.

Yazoo Brewing Company

910 Division St. (Google Maps)

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 891-4649

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Colorado Road Trip: Just A Little Bit Boulder (Pt. 1)

In the center of downtown Boulder Colorado's East End.

Boulder Colorado, perched roughly one hour (depending on traffic) northwest of the Denver city limits, wears several faces. One face is a sweaty one: the city has over the years become a top residence and training destination for pro triathletes and other elite endurance athletes. In general, the Boulder population is highly geared toward outdoor activities, not surprising in an area where mountains, rivers, hiking trails, and roads friendly to bicycle traffic abound.

Another face is the academic type: many of the pedestrians we saw on the street the day of our visit were students, most of whom are associated with the Boulder-based University of Colorado. In a city of approximately 100,000 people, the roughly 45,000 students who attend this state university have a big effect on the goings-on around town.

Lastly is Boulder's political face: this city is one of the more liberally minded populaces in the state, with the more exclusive parts of the town reminding me a bit of Marin County in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their moniker as "The People's Republic of Boulder", and all the pros and cons that this entails, reminds me a lot of how the city of Berkeley is perceived.

On the day we visited, these and any of Boulder's other faces seemed just in perfect working order, a lot this of attributable to the gorgeous weather. All manner of people were out to walk, bike and run through and outside of town, often accompanied by their pets or their toddlers in tow. Students were also evident everywhere, but their thoughts seemed more focused on the weekend ahead rather then upcoming academic challenges. Even the bicyclists putting in some hard miles seemed to have smiles on their faces, as if that it was a mandate from the city for the day.

The tiny dip we took into this town's charms this day proved to be a perfect way to while away a Friday.

Just a few of the sights you'll see along Boulder's main strip

Pearl Street: Boulder's main downtown district is anchored by Pearl Street, and, perhaps not surprisingly, has a West End and East End. This street bears some resemblance to High Street through Columbus' Short North neighborhood in that it has a host of eateries, art galleries and plenty of shopping opportunities. Like the Short North, the area acts as a destination for locals and visitors alike through numerous events; however, the mountain setting really distinguishes these two respective destination areas, from the surrounding mountains themselves to the various wilderness-related public art works and play areas for the kids.

One's attraction to stay long hours in the area will be tied to how much of a shopping fiend you are (at the time of this post, the Downtown Boulder website listed around 170 places to shop); my spouse are not much as much into this aspect as others, but we did find a couple stores that drew our attention.

Into The Wind, operating for over thirty years, offers a cornucopia of the most colorful wind-riding kites you can imagine. The interior is lined with these wind-riding constructs overhead, offering a multi-hued tapestry as you walk through their space. They also have a neat collection of toys, similar to the offerings you'd find at German Village's The Book Loft and the Short North's Big Fun.

Meanwhile, Zuni offers up some really beautiful Native American art, fetishes and other crafts mainly from the southwestern portion of the United States, within their quaint store at what seem to be fair prices. My spouse, who has a small stock of native arts and crafts, picked up a pretty little basket to add to her collection.

Into The Wind
1408 Pearl St
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 541-0314
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Zuni
1424 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 443-9575
Website

Boulder offers numerous hiking and walking trails both in and outside
of town, including the North Foothills Trail and Boulder Creek Path

North Foothills Trail/Boulder Creek Path: We love going out for hiking during our excursions, but we unfortunately forgot our more rugged hiking shoes and walking sticks. Thus, some of the more challenging trails around the area were out of the question. However, Boulder offers enough trails to allow even the regular couch potato to burn off a few calories and/or grab a view of the mountains.

The North Foothills Trail, located on the northern outskirts of North Boulder, isn't that terribly long in distance (a trail that traverses higher up into the foothills is available for those looking for a longer excursion) but actually offers a bit more of a rocky pathway than its "easy" rating suggests. Other than the crest line of the nearby foothills, the trail gives the hiker a view back down toward Boulder itself against on what was this day a clear blue sky. It also shows clearly where civilization has bumped squarely up against nature; right next to the houses are fields full of prairie dogs. Some of thee critters looked to be quite wary of our presence and sending off alarm chirps; however,  many seemed idly curious as we hiked by, as if they were saying, "Oh, it's another human again. Whatever..."

The Boulder Creek Path, on the other hand, plays the same role as does the Olentangy Trail in Columbus. Just south of the downtown area, this paved path provides an easy way for walkers and bikers to get across Boulder east to west and passes by the elegantly constructed Boulder Library as well as the University of Colorado campus. Numerous places to hold a picnic or setup a pickup football game abound; artwork and information about the creek can be found scattered along its length as well. The creek itself is accessible in numerous places and, on this fairly warm day, quite a few people took the opportunity to dip their feet into its cold flowing waters.