Sheltered Girl Meets World

Drank: Growlers and Growlers and Growlers of Beer

Beer and Bar-B-Que, natural pairing!

Growlers date back to the early 1900s when fresh beer was carried home from the local pub using a galvanized pail.  The term 'growler' was coined because of the rumbling noise of the escaping carbon dioxide through the lid.  Pails were switched with waxed cardboard containers in the 50s when it was illegal for liquor stores to be open on Sunday, so bars would sell growlers of beer to drink at home.  The modern day glass growler was born in 1989 as a way for the Otto Brothers Brewery to offer beer to go for their local customers without setting up a bottling line.  Now growlers are not only sold at breweries but in gas stations, supermarkets, restaurants and specialty stores.

I was introduced to growlers six years ago on my first visit to Beau's All Natural Brewing Co.  I bought a few filled with their seasonal offerings and loved it so much I made the trek back to Vankleek Hill to exchange my empties for more seasonal delights.  Thanks to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario growlers are regulated and only offered at breweries and brewpubs.  On a recent trip to New York City I explored some of the other places growlers are filled and marvelled at the amount of craft beer available.

Line up of growlers at The Filling Station.

 My first stop was in the Chelsea Market.  Hidden around stalls filled with fresh cheese and vegan juice bars was The Filling Station.  Though mostly specializing in oils, vinegars and salts they have an impressive craft beer menu filled with interesting brews local to New York.  Choose the traditional 1.89l growler or go smaller and enjoy your brew in a refillable 473ml mason jar.  I paid the $2 mason jar deposit, filled it with Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale and enjoyed the aromatic brew while watching Storage Wars in the hotel room.

The Growler Station is cool because the filling stations have lights.

My next stop was to 8th Street where employees of The Growler Station were busy filling growlers from their impressive 30 + tap list.  A typical growler stays fresh for a few days depending on the seal, The Growler Station has developed a system that purges oxygen from the bottle and replaces it with carbon dioxide before filling creating a fresher, longer lasting beer.  They even fill 2 litre plastic bottles using this method (no need for deposit or cleaning!).  I filled two 950ml jugs with Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold from Schmaltz Brewing Company.  They are resting in my fridge; I'm conducting an experiment to see how fresh it actually is (update: fresh but beer not so tasty).

I'll skip the ass kickin' paddle..

Any road trip through New York isn't complete without a stop to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.  Mostly known for their amazing ribs and brisket they also have an incredible craft beer menu that includes over 20 beers on tap and many more in bottle.  If you're picking up take away (a popular option when the wait is 2 hours long) grabbing a growler of your favourite craft beer to take with you is a great way not to miss out.  After a plate of wings and a Tres Hombres sampler I filled a jug with 8.2% ABV hoppy sweet Southern Tier 2XIPA to take back to Ottawa.

I will continue to buy and guzzle enjoy local brews by the growler full but when I want to try something different I'll clean out a growler and visit New York for a refill of something unique.

Do you buy growlers?  Would you buy more growlers if The Beer Store or LCBO offered growler fill stations?

Eaten: Devilled Eggs, Brisket and Ribs @ Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

(I didn't know dinosaurs could ride motorcycles)

My New Years Resolution is to travel more but due to budget constraints I won't be able to go country hopping.  Instead, I'm planning several small trips to nearby provinces and states with one or two big trips in between.  To help me save as much money as possible when travelling to the USA I drove to Syracuse, NY to open a chequing account at Chase.  Using XE, a currency trading site, I'll transfer funds from my Canadian chequing account to my American chequing account and avoid nasty service fees when I do American transactions.  In theory, anyway.  After opening the chequing account and eating lots of free Hershey kisses at the bank, we drove to downtown Syracuse to the popular Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

(The Swag Sampler Plate - Devilled eggs, wings, shrimp and fried green tomatoes)

Part biker bar, part southern BBQ restaurant Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is a local Syracuse favourite that has both the locals and tourists lining up around the corner for a table.  The boyfriend and I arrived shortly after the doors opened for lunch and we were seated without problem.  As we ordered and ate we watched the restaurant fill up - first it was the waiting area, then the bar, then the area near the washrooms, then the line started forming outside the restaurant.  As Dinosaur Bar-B-Que doesn't take reservations, you'll probably have to wait for a table - is it worth it?

YES.  GET IN LINE NOW.

(Tres Hombres - Pulled pork, 1/4 rack of ribs, beef brisket and two sides)

Since this was my first time at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que I shared the Swag Sampler appetizer plate and ordered the Tres Hombres as my main.  I was told by the waitress that it was a good introduction to their BBQ.  The appetizer sampler came with wings, fried green tomatoes, shrimp and devilled eggs.  It was good, I particularly enjoyed the devilled eggs and wings smothered in their Sensuous Slathering sauce but it was only a warm up for the main course.  The Tres Hombres, a beautiful trio of pulled pork, 1/4 rack of ribs, tender, tender beef brisket and two of their homemade sides (bar-b-que beans and mac 'n cheese for me) is what got me drooling.  The brisket is tender, moist; the ribs fall apart in your mouth when you bite into them and you can taste a slight smoke flavour thanks to the wood fuelled BBQ pit.  Even the sides, which sometimes aren't so good at BBQ restaurants, were delicious; the bar-b-que beans made with pulled pork and the mac 'n cheese moist and gooey with 5 different cheeses.  My least favourite thing on the plate was, surprisingly, the pulled pork which seemed a little dry compared to the other meat on the plate.

Oh, and did I mention the beer selection?  With great breweries like Southern Tier, Brooklyn Brewery and Sierra Nevada (to name of a few) part of a 22 draught and over 40 bottle list, it's a craft beer lovers dream!  The best part is that you can take any of those beers home in a growler for the cost of a growler ($4.50) and pitcher (cost varies beer to beer).

I'm looking forward to my next visit and highly recommend that if you're close to Syracuse that you get in line for a pint and a rack of ribs.