Aviator Smokehouse partners craft brews with food, including barbecue

Anytime I come across a partnering of beer and barbecue, my mind often drifts to the 1990s, when I attended several annual summer "Blues, Brew and Barbecue" festivals sponsored by the former Indiana Blues Society.

The IBS did a nice job, I thought, of finding local blues talent -- and a national act to fill the headliner bill -- to provide music entertainment throughout the day. There was also brew and barbecue to satisfy the pallet.

And so it happened that's where my mind transformed when I learned that Aviator Brewing Co. of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., owned a sister enterprise called Aviator Smokehouse, 525 E. Broad St., which is across Broad Street from the brewery's Taphouse, 600 E. Broad St., yet another sister enterprise (and not the last ... more about that a little below). OK, so maybe the live music aspect was lacking, but still ...  beer and barbecue!

Aviator Smokehouse is a pub specializing in barbecue, but as I fully expected, it is equipped with the full compliment of Aviator beers. I had just finished lunch elsewhere, so I went to Broad Street to sample the Aviator brews.

You might think I should have gone to the taphouse if I wasn't looking for food, and you probably would be right. But I didn't know at the time that the building across the street from the restaurant was the taphouse; I thought it was the brewery, and I knew from researching online that the brewery didn't open until 4 p.m. (Turns out the brewery is actually a mile or so away at 209 Technology Park Lane).

So ... I went to the smokehouse, which had almost two dozen Aviator brews on tap. I asked the server about sampling a flight. The server quoted me an $8 price to try six brews. She said to add $2 more for each additional pair I would like to sample.

I decided to limit my sampling to six, and I tried (above, left to right) Transatlantic IPA, MacBawBag Scotch Ale, 3Bones Kolsch Style Ale, Crackpot Pilsner, Wide Open Red Ale and another IPA, the Hog Wild. A closeup of the pilsner is at left; a closeup of the red ale is at the right.

My favorites in the batch were the first two I sampled -- the pilsner and red ale. I found a curious carbonated texture to the kolsch and scotch, and I found the two IPAs more hoppy than I ordinarily like. But ... I run hot and cold with IPAs; when I visited Carolina Brewery a few weeks ago, that beer-maker's Wiggo IPA hit the spot, and I bought a six-pack. Every Wiggo I consumed after that ... also hit the spot. I was happy again.

I did not leave Aviator with that sensation after tasting the Transatlantic or Hog Wild.

Among the handful of photos I took of the smokehouse interior, I liked the one above the best. Below is a look at almost the full bar area, where I sat. A closeup of the tap handles is shown in the second photo below.  

Above: A look at the full beer menu at the restaurant. 

Red brick is a popular facade of this section of the town's merchants' district. Above is the front of Aviator's bottle shop, yet another enterprise of the Aviator brand. The bottle shop, across Stewart Street from the Smokehouse at 601 E. Broad St., sells not only Aviator products, but other brews from elsewhere in the state and across the country. Below is a long look at the building where the smokehouse is located, with the entrance being at the far end. I'm going to presume the shops in this section of Broad Street were part of the original Varina town between it merged with Fuquay. 

Above: The front of the taphouse, which I originally thought was the actual brewery. 

Above and below: Aviator has appealing art work with its brand -- both on the beers and its facility signage. Another example is the artwork shown in the photo leading off the post. 

Above: Inside Aviator Smokehouse, I'm looking through a tall, vertical window across Stewart Street to the Aviator Bottle Shop.  

Don't expect to find Jordan Lake brewery by the water; look in downtown Cary

If you lived in the Triangle area of Raleigh, N.C., and heard of the Jordan Lake Brewing Company, you might expect to find it somewhere near Jordan Lake Recreation Area -- a huge body of water between Cary and Chapel Hill. I did.

Instead, the one and a half year-old craft brewery is in downtown Cary, and just a short distance from Bond Brothers Beer Co., the craft brewery I wrote about in my previous post. Both breweries are not far from Chatham Hill Winery on Chapel Hill Road.

Jordan Lake has a variety of brews on tap, and in its favor (and unlike Bond Brothers) it offers customers an option to buy a flight (4-ounce samples of any four brews) or globe fills of 10- or 16-ounces or fill crawlers (32 oz.) or growlers (64 oz.) to go. The prices vary, depending on the brew; ale staples are $3 and $5, respectively, for the globes, crawlers are $9-12 and growlers $17-24.

I opted to start with a flight (photo above) of the Parker's Creek Pale Ale, Ebeneezer Amber Ale, Loch Jordan Scotch Ale and Crosswinds IPA. The amber and scotch ales were what I expected -- darker, heavy and rich. The Scotch ale had the bourbonesque notes you'd expect. The pale ale was also no surprise, and I would finish off my visit with a 10-ounce globe fill of this (photo below). The Crosswinds surprised me a little; it was extremely thin for an IPA, the citrus flavors on the high side but not offensive.

I arrived very early -- right after the 2 p.m. opening, and for the first 15 minutes, I had the lone bartender to myself to question about the brewery and its menu. She confided that she hadn't been a beer drinker for long. Until she started working at Jordan Lake shortly after its opening, she said if she had an alcoholic beverage it was usually wine (she favored moscato) or an occasional mixed drink. Of the beers she has sampled, she said she doesn't care for the pale ales or IPAs; her pick from the Jordan Lake menu is the Orange Weizen.

So in a quest to try something different, I asked to sample the Orange Weizen and the Seaforth ESB (when I asked her what the ESB stood for, she said extra special bitterness). I could see why she liked the Weizen; in fact, a couple that eventually came in and sat at the bar with me asked to sample that and ordered a globe. You certainly taste the orange citrus, but it's light ... and the brew is refreshing. (Blue Moon lovers will most likely take a liking to it).

Views of the brewery's front facade (above) and outdoor seating area (below). 

Above and below: Different views of the interior seating. In the background of the photo below, you see the four drums, which I show in closer views in the second and third photos below.

The brewery's menu (above) and vat room (below).

Floating Goat Brewery shines big on a sampling trip to Fuquay-Varina

For Father's Day, Lee Ann nudged me to enjoy the day by checking out a craft brewery I've been wanting to drop in on in the Raleigh metropolitan area. Well, I became curious about it a little over a week ago or so when I sampled one of the Mason Jar Lager Company's beers while stopping in at Elevated Grain at Ten-Ten Road and U.S. 401.

So on Sunday afternoon, we drove to Fuquay-Varina to check it out. On the drive, we debated whether to go to Mason Jar's brewery or to its tavern. They are in different places in the southern Wake County community. Lee Ann was hungry, and we knew I'd be able to try the brews at either place, so ... we elected to go to the tavern.

Imagine my surprise when parking the car after arriving that I noticed a separate craft brewery -- The Floating Goat Brewing Co. -- right across the street from the Mason Jar Tavern. We stopped first at our original destination then checked out the Floating Goat afterward.

I bought a flight of four different brews at each place, and here are my findings. I'll go backwards, starting with the Floating Goat, because I liked the brews I tried there significantly more than those at the Mason Jar. On this day, Floating Goat knocked the ball out of the park; Mason Jar did not.

Floating Goat Brewing Co.

At the Floating Goat, I tried the What the Buck Pale Ale, Rusted Red Ale, Horny Honey Wildflower Witbier (year-round offerings) and the seasonal Stiff Leg Belgium Tripel. That's my flight in the photo leading off the post; I'd already downed the pale ale (second from right). The horny honey is on the far left, then the Rusted Red and, on the far right, the Stiff Leg.

I give the three staples very high marks, and I was tempted to grab a growler of the pale ale -- my favorite of the trio -- to take home. But ... I inexplicably decided against it at the last minute.

The What the Buck Pale Ale was refreshing -- a recipe that reflected -- for my taste, anyway -- a perfect blend of malt (medium) and hops (low), which is how I like my pale ales. When you get that combination, it does not force me to question whether I'm going to enjoy the rest of the drink. In those cases when brewers boost the hop content in some pale ales ... I often question whether the beer should have been marketed as an IPA. Indeed, with Floating Goat's Pale Ale, my palate was in brew heaven.

To me, the Horny Honey wibier tasted like Floating Goat's pale ale with a hint of sweetness -- something that I did not mind at all. I also found it refreshing and enjoyable. Also enjoyable was the Rusted Red, which also had a fine balance of malt and hops ... and a slightly earthy undertone I wasn't expecting.

The Swift Leg Belgian Tripel was fresh, but its citrus (especially the grapefruit I sensed) did not sit well with me. That doesn't mean this is knock on the beer, because people who enjoy that kind of thing I'm sure will rave about it. But I don't usually enjoy brews with citrus emphasis. (For example, I'm not a huge fan of Blue Moon).

Another factor that made me happy with my visit to Floating Goat was the eclectic decor and array of clothing merchandise on display -- evidence by a handful of the pictures you'll find below. The upside down goat logo is one of those "different" things. When I turned to a display of T-shirts and smiled at one emblazoned with "Brew - Quay," the woman working the taps explained that it's a play on the town's name ... and a nod to the town's growing reputation for having several craft breweries within its small confines.

One sign hanging in the seating area advised visitors of the following: "We have no WiFi. Talk to each other. Pretend it's 1995."

Mason Jar Brewery and Tavern

The Mason Jar Tavern was busy on Father's Day. Our server said the kitchen was backlogged as much as 45 minutes, so we decided to munch on an appetizer while I sipped my flight (first picture below).

My flight consisted of the Pull Tab Pilsner (far left, which I had already finished), the House Lager, the new Hype-Hop Ottamus and the Luchador Mexican Lager.

Mason Jar is a lager-focused brewery, which makes it stand out. I usually like lagers, so I thought this would be a slam dunk enjoyment. I tried the pilsner first, and it was my favorite of the batch. The House Lager was not crisp or refreshing, the Hype-Hop was what you'd expect -- on the hoppy side. I went a year or so when I really enjoyed IPAs, but in the past four months or so, I've eschewed hoppy brews. And the Hype-Hop reminded me why.

The Mexican Lager was my second "favorite," but I think I'm using the word "favorite" too loosely. I'm not sure I'd return to it.

Ten-Ten Road area of Raleigh gets new taproom serving mostly local craft beers

Until this week, I'd had little chance to explore the local craft brewery scene since moving to the Raleigh area of North Carolina. Then just the other day, I learned that a taproom, Elevated Grains, featuring packaged and draft craft brews and had opened not far from my home, so I thought it was worth checking out.

I met one of the two co-owners, Mike, on that afternoon and while we were chatting, his mother and stepfather walked in. They had come to town from their home in San Antonio to help Mike celebrate his birthday that weekend ... and to fete Mike and fellow owner Scott on the taproom's opening.

I sampled all six brews on tap on Thursday, and while two or three stood out, I didn't dislike any of them -- including the stout, which is usually a beer I don't particularily care for. The stout was Milky Way, from Trophy Brewing in Raleigh.

In fact, all the beers on tap last week were from North Carolina except the Double Aught pilsner from Bear Republic Brewery of Healdsburg, Calif., a sample of which you'll see in the 5 oz. snifter at right.

My favorites were the Newlin' original pale ale from Haw River Brewery of Saxapahaw, N.C., and the Oktoberfest, another from Trophy in Raleigh. Also on tap were Classic Saison of Blackberry Farm of Walland, N.C. (that's the saison at left), and Grove, a New England IPA from Brewery Bhavana in Raleigh. When I came back a second time Saturday -- it was Mike's birthday. Scott and Mike said those brews -- available in 5, 10 and 16 oz. glasses (see price chart below) -- would remain on tap until the kegs hit bottom, at which time a new brew would be introduced in its place.

Elevated Grains is at 7987 Fayetteville Road, Raleigh. It's in modest quarters at the southern end of the Food Lion strip mall at the northeast corner of U.S. 401 (Fayetteville Road) and Ten-Ten Road. Scott said he and Mike have long-range ambitions to move into a larger space when they are ready to start brewing their own beers. For now, though, they work to introduce locals to other craft brews -- those they favor, in particular.

You can find Elevated Grains on Facebook and Instagram. Store hours right now (they are subject to change) are noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Elevated Grains does not serve food, but customers are welcome to bring food or have it delivered to them at the taproom. The strip mall has a Dominoes, Jersey Mike's Subs, China Moon and Smithfield's BBQ close by (and a Wendy's and Subway across Ten-Ten Road).

Below are photos showing Elevated Grains' packaged warm and cooled craft brews.

Above: Mike chatting to a customer near the array of glasses. Elevated Grains has 5, 10 and 16 oz. (pint) glasses available, and also has a modest number of wines.