Apothic White – 2010 Winemaker’s Blend, California

As a fan of the Apothic Red, I was intrigued when I found a bottle of Apothic White at the store the other day.  This white wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Riesling, and Moscato.  From the flavor, the Chardonnay has been oaked as the classic Chardonnay buttery taste is in evidence despite being blended with two very different wines. As with the Apothic Red, the winemaker’s goal seems to be to create a fruit-forward, rich wine. Even though this is a white wine, the combination of the three different grapes seems to reach the goal. Whether that is what you are looking for in a white wine is another thing. In our case, we popped this open to go with a shrimp risotto and it was just too fruity for the dish. We drank it as aperitif before dinner and it worked quite well with the cheese and olive plate.

So, other than fruit-forward, what can I describe this as? The best way I can describe it is to just tell you that it tastes like a sweet Riesling with some Chardonnay butter thrown in. Its not bad, but it might throw a oenophile for a loop as a blend like that has to violate some sort of winemaker’s rule. But that anathema is exactly what Apothic is looking for, and for that, I congratulate them. If you are throwing a party it might be an intriguing wine to use. It is a white wine that has something for almost everybody, as long as they aren’t looking for a Sauvignon Blanc.

Big Beer’s Answer to Microbrew Beer: Flavored Beer

We all know that the big national beer brands are not going to let the microbrews and craft brewers continue to eat away at their market share. Budweiser has tried to stem the loss in market share by making a continual stream of fake microbrew and craft beer labels to try to dilute the competition into non-existence, but apparently consumers are too savvy to fall for that game. Most of those beers tasted suspiciously like the usual swill that Bud made and the labels lacked any real identification as to the actual owner.

Now, MillerCoors is trying a different approach: flavored beer. The advantage to MillerCoors is that it does not have to actually meet the competition head-on by improving the quality of its beer. It just takes the same cheap old watered-down rice beer and adds some flavorings. Some of the flavors that are up for trial runs include “Redd’s Apple Ale” and “Coco Breve,” a coconut water infused clear malt beer targeted to women and coming in a variety of flavors, including kiwi and mango. I can’t say that I’ll be trying either of these two, but if try it, drop a comment on how you like it.

Some of the press surrounding the MillerCoors concept sounds very quaint.  We are told that there is a group of MillerCoors brewers who conduct experiments during their “downtime.” The story is that these chaps are formally called the “Third Shift Band of Brewers.”  Somehow I just doubt that any large corporation in the United States actually lets their workers play around with their industrial plant during their “downtime” — just as I doubt that the workers actually have any “downtime.”  We are talking about massive stills that make thousands of gallons of beer an hour, not some home brew kit in the back room. It makes for a nice story, but it has too much of marketing shine for me to buy into the storyline.

Multinational Brand Diageo forces the Scottish British Institute of Innskeeping to award it the prize instead of the winner.

I have seen this story running around the internet lately and after confirming that it is true I thought it was worth passing along. The British Institute of Innkeeping has a contest for the Scottish Award for Bar Operator of the Year. After finding out that a small craft brewery based in Scotland would receive the award, Diageo insisted that the award instead be given to it, Brewdog engraved name to boot. Apparently Diageo exerted its tremendous influence as a sponsor of the competition to force the decision. Complaints were loud and clear, especially from the judges who were perplexed that Diageo had won when they hadn’t voted for it.

Diageo has apologized for the “serious misjudgement by Diageo staff.” However, it has apparently kept the trophy.

Diageo makes Guinness, Crown Royal, J&B, Bushmills, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Jose Cuervo, Captain Morgan, Bailey’s, Tanqueray, Harp, Bell, Senator, Kilkenny beer, and Red Stripe. You know what to do until they return the trophy.

Leaf Kitchen – a Good Iowa City Choice for Breakfast, Lunch or Tea

Leaf Kitchen is a delightful little chef-owned restaurant on the south side of Iowa City on South Gilbert Street. It is a riot of both bright colors and wonderful flavor and features a surprisingly large breakfast and lunch menu for such a small place. It is also homey without being too hippy or scary. The setup is classic short-order cook style, with the stove right behind the counter but what comes off that stove is not short-order. In addition to the lunches and breakfast meals, Leaf offers a large number of different teas, coffees, and fruit drinks, and even alcoholic beverages to go along with each plate.

To help supplement the drink menu, Leaf Kitchen has a commercial-grade espresso machine. One feature that Leaf Kitchen offers is a classic afternoon tea. What other Iowa restaurants offer an afternoon tea or even a “high tea” on special events? OK, well a few, but one difference that Leaf Kitchen offers over some of the traditional “tea” joints that I’m familiar with (I have to admit that I usually don’t frequent places focusing on tea) is a real depth to the menu, both in the variety and complexity of the food.

Although the place was fairly busy, the service is quick and the kitchen just hums along. I tried the Ricotta Pancakes with Mixed Berry Sauce and Sour Cream ($7.50). It was a nice change of pace from the ordinary pancakes you usuall find. Our party also tried the Moroccan eggs with pita and hummus ($8.50) and the quiche of the day ($8.5). I tried a sample of the quiche and it was very good. The breakfast menu also includes breakfast crepes, granola, eggs benedict, cinnamon raisin french toast, and a cornocopia of side dishes, taost, rolls, potatoes, bacon and sausage. Others in our party have been to Leaf Kitchen many times for lunch and tell me that it is a great place to sit down for a great meal or even a tea.

Leaf Kitchen
301 Kirkwood Ave
Iowa City, IA 52240

Hours
Breakfast: Mon – Fri 8 am – 11 am
Lunch: Mon – Fri 11 am – 2 pm
Brunch: Sat – Sun 8 am – 2pm
Afternoon Tea: Mon – Sun After 2pm
(reservation recommended)

Sbrocco – a White Tablecloth Restaurant and Wine Bar in the Court Avenue District

Sbrocco is a Court Avenue oasis of first-class service and cuisine in a land devoted to unfettered inebriation. It is also a story of perseverance after the 2008 flood filled the basement. If you hear the staff tell the story, it is amazing that they were able to get it back up and running. I don’t want to downplay some of the other great establishments in the Court Avenue District, such as Royal Mile, Hessen Haus, The Standard, Court Avenue Brewing, and Dos Rios, but Sbrocco is the lone standout when it comes to wine, a fine meal, and a white tablecloth for two.

The ambiance is rehab/modern, with some tables up front where some of the wine is displayed and a long wine bar flanked by some tables and booths. The bar offers a distinctly different and more upscale feel than many of the bars in the Court Avenue District — and that is a good thing in my book. Downstairs is a large room for private parties (though the rest rooms are also down there). Another important feature of Sbrocco is the wine selection. Sbrocco is a wine bar in addition to a restaurant and the wide wine selection is right out where everyone can see it — along with prices. I was surprised to find that the posted prices did not seem out of line with just buying a bottle at the wine store. I’ve heard that there is a corking fee if you want to drink the wine in the restaurant. Still, there is none of that “locked away in the Sommelier’s cellar” ostentation. I recommend trying the wine flights if you want to zero in on a great wine. We tried both the red wine ($10) and the white wine ($8) flights. One of the red wines, a zinfandel, was a real standout.


The food is renowned for being farm to table fresh and both times we recently visited this was clearly in evidence. In the most recent visit we shared three small social plates. The first included grilled blue prawns served with grits and flavored with some garlic ($10). They were expertly prepared. Next, we tried the anti-vegetarian Berkshire pork belly on carrots and slaw. This was a juicy serving of hunks of solid belly meat and fat (think bacon). This dish reminded me of the succulent meat dishes offered by the Boiler Room in Omaha.

For the cheese plate we got four cheeses served with Marcona almonds and Turkish candied apricots. The cheeses included a medium Manchego Spanish cheese, a Pietro Vecchia Italian firm cheese, an Australian black truffle medium cheese and a soft brie-style cheese from Wisconsin.

In a previous visit we also tried a number of small plates. We started off with some salads, both the butter lettuce ($7) and Caesar’s Salad. Both were crispy and fresh. The Caesar’s Salad had all of the correct ingredients. For the main course we tried the Mac and Cheese with truffles ($9) which I found to be intensely flavored — not your usual Mac and Cheese. Next, we tried the scallops, which were also well prepared ($13). We also tried the beef tenderloin skewers ($8). They were all great.

For dessert after the most recent meal we ordered the Tiramisu, which was properly light and creamy and a Makers Mark flourless chocolate torte with walnut chips. We did not order a dessert after the earlier visit — just too full!

Service both times was a joy. The waitress had that rare gift that makes every customer feel like their choice of food was the absolute best. She was also a real pro the way she kept the orders and food moving quickly.

Sbrocco

209 Court Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50309
515-282-3663

Bar: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to Close, M-Th, 11 a.m. to Close F-Sa
Food: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Use of meat glue in restaurant-prepared dishes – a reworking and update of a previous posting.

Meat Glue

I originally wrote this article back in April of 2011 and I received some very accurate and fair criticism from a well-regarded molecular gastronomist for not accurately explaining all of the concepts involved in the use of transglutaminase a/k/a “meatglue” or “frankenmeat” by restaurants.  To bring my readers up to speed, transglutaminase is a naturally occurring enzyme that holds protein together.  It has been known for some time that by adding very minute quantities of transglutaminase to meats that they can be reformed into different shapes or combinations. Some “molecular gastronomy chefs” use this product to make new and amazing creations, such as bacon spirals. Others may use it to combine inferior or smaller cuts of beef to look like more expensive cuts. There are plenty of videos out there showing exactly how to do this. 

So, after revising the article back in May of 2011 to try to correct some problems I still did not believe that I had done the topic justice, so I took the article down for about one year. Meanwhile, interest in meatglue and frankenmeat died down. Because of a renewed interest in pink slime, meat glue, frankenmeat and transglutaminase,  I thought that I ought to try to rework the article to be as fair and accurate as possible.  The nearly identical revised original of this article appears with the original comments HERE.

Again, I want to thank David Arnold from French Culinary Institute blog that was the source of my original musings . See the comment chain below. I’ve now read the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) filings by Ajinomoto available on the USDA‘s website. Although they omit any specific reference to the parts per million level of enzyme in a given amount of product, other than to state that there are a certain number of “units,” I have learned that enzymes are measured by activity or effectiveness and not so much by quantity. Hence the use of the undefined term “unit” in their filings and on their website. Because the company does not define what a unit is, I imagine that bloggers will be going down this path for years to come until Ajinomoto clarifies in writing somewhere how it defines a unit and, perhaps more importantly, points out that this enzyme is safe to eat.

Most important to me, GRAS 00095 at page 114 also notes that enzymes have not been implicated in any human allergic reactions, though the dust can can cause skin and inhilation irritation. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/gras_notices/grn0095.pdf

Ajinomoto should clarify in writing somewhere how it defines a unit and, perhaps more importantly, points out that this enzyme is safe to eat.

The USDA states that food processors selling meat treated with meat glue must not use more than 65 parts per million (65 ppm) of meat glue to the total weight of the treated product. What about restaurants? They are not bound by those rules. Do they use more than 65 parts per million of meat glue or transglutaminase in their products?

As I mentioned before, the restaurant industry is not subject to USDA regulations governing Transglutaminase or meat glue if the product is sold as a meal and not as a meat product for cooking by a consumer. However, the USDA only allows Transglutaminase to be used as a binder at levels of up to 65 ppm in beef. Here is one place where that limitation is set out in the regulation:

(d) Fabricated steak. Fabricated beef steaks, veal steaks, beef and veal steaks, or veal and beef steaks, and similar products, such as those labeled Beef Steak, Chopped, Shaped, Frozen, Minute Steak, Formed, Wafer Sliced, Frozen, Veal Steaks, Beef Added, Chopped/Molded/Cubed/Frozen, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, and Flavoring shall be prepared by comminuting and forming the product from fresh and/or frozen meat, with or without added fat, of the species indicated on the label. Such products shall not contain more than 30 percent fat and shall not contain added water or extenders. Transglutaminase enzyme at levels of up to 65 ppm may be used as a binder. Beef cheek meat (trimmed beef cheeks) may be used in the preparation of fabricated beef steaks only in accordance with the conditions prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section.

9 CFR 319.15(d)

The same 65 parts per million shows up for sausage and that rule is used by many other products as well.

Another stated assumption that I made in an earlier version of this article was that the meat glue products are 100% product and that they are not full of other substances, such as binders or preservatives. If so, then more powder would need to be applied to meet the requirement.  It turns out that they are diluted with other ingredients, namely Maltodextrin and Casein, which substantially reduces the amount of meat glue in the final product.  According to Dave Arnold of the French Culinary Institute in a comment to this article: “Ajinomoto is well aware of the approval limits for their enzyme. Their usage guidelines for Activa RM are .75-1.0% (for most applications), which is well within 65 ppm limits for pure enzyme.”

As noted above, the actual effective level of the enzyme is measured by the manufacturer on a per-bag basis – 65 units per gram for one formulation as an example – so that if a restaurant follows the directions it should end up using no more transglutaminase than is recommended.  In fact, if a chef uses too much transglutaminase, then the product is actually less effective and it falls apart.

The recent spike in concern over meatglue and frankenmeat may stem in part from two  separate developments to hit the news. First, there is the pink slime issue. I assume, but do not know, that transglutaminase is used as a binder to put the “slime” back together so that it approximates a regular meat product. But the issue is not about the use of transglutaminase to bind the meat but the source of the meat. Some consumers have a well-founded belief that hamburger is made of “beef” and that “beef” is something different than what is typically used to make hot dogs and sausage. It does not good for Governors like Terry Branstad to wolf down pink slime meat at public relations events because it is not the fact that all sorts of meat products go into the mix but the fact that it has been legally marketed as regular hamburger that is the problem. It really comes down to a matter of properly labeling the product.  if people want sausage then they will buy it knowing full well (or not caring) that it contains cartelage, sinus tissue, mouth parts, and all other scrapings and cuttings.

The second thing to pop up in the news is the very intersting development of meat protein in a test tube. I have my own doubts that meat will be made this way on an industrial scale, but one can never second-guess technology and economics, so lets assume it is possible. If test-tube meat is indeed produced on an industrial scale, then new issues arise as to what sort of labeling will need to be used. Will the product be secretly added to our sacred hamburgers? Or will it have to be labeled and sold as something entirely different. After all, there is no reason that the meat even has to be from a specific species of animal. It might be possible, through recombinent DNA science to mix and match the best of several animals to make a final product. It will be neither fish nor fowl, and pose problems for Catholics on Friday.

As it stands now, meat glue is, thankfully, only being used to glue real pieces of honest-to-God meat from real animals.  As I’ve tried to make clear, any product sold in store shelves has to be labeled as containing transglutaminase. Not so with restaurant dishes. Here is where things can get a bit murky. It is one thing for a culinary chef to make a special product using science. It is another for a restaurant to glue smaller, cheaper cuts together and sell them as a more expensive cut of beef. That is one area of concern that I think consumers may have. One chef is trying to make a reputation as a great chef and the other is just trying to make a buck. The latter is what I think that we need to carefully watch as this and related issues come to the market.

At this time I consider this posting to be just a statement of opinion, subject to comment and criticism. I do not have any ax to grind but I am interested in making sure that consumers have access to accurate information. If I am wrong about anything in this blog I will, after investigation, post the correction. If I disagree, I will note why I disagree.

Distilled Opinion checks out the bar at Wasabi Chi Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar

Wasabi Chi Asian Cuisine and Sushi Bar recently opened to extremely positive reviews. When I found myself in the area needing a quick bite to eat I dropped by to check it out. I remember visiting the building years ago when it was a very different sort of cavateli restaurant. It has been completely renovated and looks great inside. The style evokes an urban Japanese-style restaurant without the hackneyed themes a lot of Asian restaurants suffer from.

According the the web site, chef and owner, Jimmy Zheng, grew up in China but has worked in restaurants in Bangkok and New York. Executive Chef Kinto Izumiis a native of Tokyo, Japan, spent ten years learning his craft in a respected sushi bar in Tokyo and then went on to work as the head chef in sushi restaurants in England, Spain and Italy. We are lucky to have these two in Des Moines and it appears from the reaction and packed parking lot that they are appreciated.

Gekkeikan Sake

Sake Warmer

Wasabi Chi serves Gekkeikan sake prepared in a sake warming machine and served warm in a ceramic flask and cup ($3.75 for a small and $6.95 for a large). I asked about the warming machine and was told that it accepts what is essentially a wine box and runs the sake through a fast warmer. Gekkeikan Sake Company, Ltd. from Fushimi, Japan, has been brewing sake since 1637. This sake comes from Folsom, California where it is made from local California rice. This sake has 14.6% alcohol and tasted very smooth, almost oily, and the alcohol was nearly imperceptible. A wide variety of other sake drinks are also available, including both Momokawa Diamond Cold Sake and Moonstone Asian Pear Cold Sake at $5.95 per glass or $24.95 per bottle.
Because I didn’t have a whole lot of time, I sat at the bar. The bar is separated from the fairly small dining room and features an 75 bottle selection of different spirits, not bad for a small restaurant bar. The drink menu includes a number of unique specialty drinks for only $5.95 each. This is a real bargain given the classy look of the place. This would be a great place to meet with friends after work or after a movie, especially if some sushi would hit the late-night spot.

Wasabi Chi Sushi Rolls

For sushi, I ordered two rolls. Both were excellent. The rice was moist and the taste had some snap, if that is a way to describe it. The bartender was quick and friendly. I will definitely put Wasabi Chi on the top of my list of places to check out for dinner, especially given the lack of top quality restaurants in this part of Des Moines.

MON – THURS
11:00AM – 10:00PM
FRI & SAT
11:00AM – 11.00PM
SUNDAY
12 NOON – 10:000PM

Feng Shui Happy Hour Special
03:00PM – 05:30PM

Wasabi Chi
5418 Douglas Avenue,
Des Moines, IA 50310

Tel: 515-528-8246
515-528-8208
Fax: 515-528-8251

Lucca for Dinner – Des Moines’ East Village

Lucca Restaurant is one of the top dinnertime destinations in Des Moines for high-quality food, style, and service and it is one of the the top restaurants in the East Village.  We recently visited and had, as usual, wonderful meals. The crowd included a split between old and young, in keeping with the higher prices.  Reservations are accepted and I recommend them. Lucca does offer some extra bar-style seating if you can’t wait. Speaking of the bar, the wine list is small but we had no complaints with the wine that we ordered. I do not believe that Lucca offers any beer or hard liquor.

The ambiance was classy, with a piano player going through some well-known standards.  The decor is rehab-contemporary, with exposed and distressed brick and modern furnishings. Artwork is very spare and service is efficient.  In a lot of ways, I think that Lucca is partly responsible for making the East Village the success that it is today. Sticks brought established credentials with its art and furniture, Noodle Zoo brought large and continuous crowds for its excellent lunches, and Lucca set the bar for high-end lunches and dinners. Together, it and many other innovative stores like Projects, Raygun, Aimee and Kitchen Collage made the East Village a great place to shop and even live, and not just another collection of antique stores and used clothes shops.

First Course

The dinner menu was prix fixe style, with a first and second course offered for a flat $30.  Desserts were $8.  The selections change nightly, so there is no menu online. The first course is not limited to salads. We tried the Brie and Gemelli in a marinara sauce, Asparagus Bagan Cauda with brie bruschetta, and Mixed Greens with artichoke bruschetta. as with all Lucca dishes all were superb. I really enjoyed the Brie and Gemelli.

Second Course

For the second course the waiter recommended the rolled chicken couscous and it was indeed fabulous. Get it if  you see it on the menu. The scallops in a bed of peas were perfectly cooked and succulent.  I tried the Braised Pork shoulder in fettuccine with grilled carrots and potatoes. The pork was fork-tender.  There were several other dishes that we did not try, including beef and halibut. I believe that there was a non-meat selection as well. A hallmark of Lucca is that the portions are adequate with little to no danger of generating “doggie bags.” Not too long ago we had dinner at Centro and I had enough food left over to provide another two meals.  Not so with Lucca. Instead, the focus is on quality and that quality is uniformly superb, especially if owner and chef Steve Logsdon is presiding over the kitchen — and preside he does. It is clear who is in charge when he is there.

Lunch:Tuesday through Saturday 11am until 2pm
Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday from 5pm-10pm

420 E. Locust St., Des Moines

Iowa. 243-1115
Website: www.luccarestaurant.net

 

The Standard Martini Bar – The New Kid on the Block

The Standard Martini Bar recently opened in the Court Avenue District in a large location between the Kamodo Klub and Mickey’s Irish Pub on 3rd Street just north of Court Avenue. It is obvious that the owners are looking for an alternative to the usual cheap beer and vodka bars that line Court Avenue. Everything from the upscale decor to the blues and jazz bands that regularly play suggests that this is a departure. The contemporary and sophisticated decor is mostly new from the best-forgotten establishment that preceded The Standard, with indirect lighting, industrial-style lamps, dark polished wood and stacked stone columns and accents. The stage is large enough for a four or even five-piece band to set up and I’m told that even larger groups have played. While jazz and light Blues are played during the early evening, some louder music arrives as the night wears on. The demographic is mostly young professionals with some older types looking for both good music and drinks.

The drinks. The Standard offers a large variety of martinis and cocktails ranging from fruit-based drinks to classics like the sidecar, old fashioned, Manhattan, Sazerac, and some cream-based drinks. Because we visited not long after opening, the mix recipe changed as the bartenders changed — we got one Nesquik Dirty Sunday that was substantially different than one ordered a few minutes earlier, missing the graham-cracker rim and chocolate-treated glass. But this is to be expected when a place first opens. The Americana had its share of minor drink issues when it first opened, though a lack of wait staff was definitely not one of its issues. The manager for The Standard appeared to be all over the crowd making sure that everything was running smoothly, so I think that they will eventually get things ironed out. I’m told that he ran the bar at 801 Grand, so I’d expect nothing less. The place was slightly understaffed the night we visited, though that is perhaps because the crowd was larger than anticipated. I have no idea how large the crowds will be while everyone cashes in their Living Social coupons over the next few months. The number of coupon buyers was up to around 550 coupons when I last checked.

There is a wide variety of different flavored vodkas on the shelf and one or two of each of the usual required spirits. Some of the favorites asked for by our group were not available, but there were also some unusual offerings as well. The Standard seemed to have a large variety of special ingredients for cocktails and martinis, so I think they should be able to make just about anything that could be ordered even it they don’t have your favorite vodka or gin. The bar also features a large selection of major label beers, but not really many micro brews other than Peacetree blonde and Red Rambler. On the night we visited, the drinks being ordered were split evenly between beer and hard liquor. One table in particular was definitely working its way through the cocktails and martinis and seemed to be having a blast. I have to hand it to anybody opening up a martini bar in the Court Avenue District. Third Street and the bars on that block have had a long and notorious reputation for unrestricted inebriation. Indeed, when going by a few nights later when it was getting fairly late, a group of young men appeared to be having a contest to see who could shout the loudest and the longest — the typical sort of meaningless alcohol-fueled activity that Court Avenue is famous for. So, if The Standard can keep its chin up and join the ranks of Dos Rios, Court Avenue Brewing, Java Joe’s, Sbrocco, and the Royal Mile, then perhaps there is hope for Court Avenue after all.


We also tried some of the tapas plates that are offered, including the crab cakes and bruschetta. It was very tasty and came to the table fairly quickly.

One final comment. After I make another visit I’ll rework or republish this posting to give my readers an up to date commentary on how The Standard is faring. I really want The Standard to succeed. The downtown area needs classy bars that can serve both the old standards and new drinks. Good luck to The Standard.

The Standard Martini Bar
208 3rd Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
515.243.4456

Take a trip to Peacetree Brewing in Knoxville, Iowa for great beer.

Peace Tree Storefront

Iowa is fortunate to have a number of full-line brewers that make uniformly excellent beer.  Though only operating for about three years, Peace Tree Brewing in Knoxville, Iowa has risen to the top tier of Iowa breweries. This is no accident. Peace Tree’s offerings, both in their Knoxville store and at local restaurants and retailers, are uniformly great craft beers. For those who like hops there is the Hop Wrangler. The Red Rambler is a delicous and well-rounded beer.  It is my go-to beer when I get pizza at Gusto. The Rye Porter is another tasty beer that is higher in malt than hops.  The Blond Fatale is a high-alcohol beer with less malt and more hops. A real treat and available the day that I visited is the Imperial Stout. This wonderful malty beer is occasionally found in better retail outlets, including John’s in Iowa City and Gateway Market.
I recommend a visit to the taproom where large glasses of each beer can be ordered for prices ranging from $3.75 for the widely-distributed beers and $7 for some of the special and seasonal brews. Peacetree does not offer food at their taproom. A beer growler can be filled for $13 for most of their beers to $26 for the Hop Sutra. A beer flight can be created at $1 per sample, which I think is a real bargain. It allowed me to try a wide variety of special beers, including a really fun Cocoa Stout, the aforementioned Rye Porter, Imperial Stout and Cornocopia.

A visit to the backroom where the beers are brewed is interesting because the place is jam-packed with used Templeton Rye barrels. Some 9-month old Templeton Rye barrel-aged Imperial Stout has already been on tap, and I understand that more is on the way! You should know that each barrel ships with a “slosh” of left-over Templeton Rye still in the barrel, so I will be quite interested to see how this special brew tastes.  I think that this is a testament to the passion that has obviously driven Peace Tree to be so successful in such a short period of time. Great craft beer.
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Unless you are wedded to tastless low-cal pale ales created by the national brands, Peacetree has something for just about any taste.

Taproom Hours:

Wednesday through Friday 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Saturday 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Sunday 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM