Lots of Beer, No Food, at Adventure

Adventure Brewing has been on a roll recently, releasing a new beer each week. Colleen and I visited on Saturday to catch up on the recent releases. We figured we'd settle in for the afternoon, take advantage of whatever food truck was on site, and try out the brewery's latest offerings. Alas, there was no food vendor in the parking lot when we arrived around lunch time. Asking inside we were told that there "might be" one later. Well, that's not comforting. We opted for a flight of five new beers we hadn't tried while we decided our course of action for the afternoon.

First up in the flight (left to right in Colleen's photo) was Black Sail Scotch Ale. This is a rich, malty beer, with mild roasted and smoky flavors. I found it very enjoyable, and I was already thinking of ordering a full pint after the flight. Next up was Smoked Belgian Ale, a take on Adventure's Belgian Dubbel. The faint smoke flavor added an interesting twist. Flower Outage Saison, brewed with peppercorns and nasturtium flowers, was next in the flight. This beer was a collaboration done with Crooked Run Brewing. It had a nice, refreshingly floral sweet flavor. Colleen liked this one a lot.

Okay, so far so good, all tasty beers so far, but there's the food question still. Well, they do have chips and salsa listed on the menu. That should tide us over. But alas, they're out of chips. So I inquire about other food options, and learn they have some pre-made "wraps and salads" in the cooler. Salads!?!?

On to the fourth beer in the flight, Kiss by a Gose. This one is another Crooked Run collaboration. The kettle-soured Gose is made with rose hips and pink Himalayan salt. The salty and tart flavor combination was a serious flavor detour from the previous beers, and it took a few sips to adjust. An interesting flavor, but not one I would enjoy in large quantity.

The beer that had my curiosity up was the final of taster of the flight, White Chocolate Stout. Described as a "golden stout made with lactose, cacao nibs, and coffee beans" the beer looked like anything except a stout. Franky, I'd never heard of a golden stout previously. The "stout" had a pleasing coffee aroma to it, and the flavor too had a nice sweetened coffee aspect. Colleen and I were both reminded of the Cocka Doodle Brew Coffee Ale we enjoyed at Parkway Brewing last fall. The difference was that this "coffee" was sweetened, rather than black. I could have easily enjoyed a pint of this Stout next.

But now we had a decision to make. There was still no food truck, and a pre-packaged salad wasn't going to cut it. Reluctantly, we closed our tab earlier than planned. Fortunately a quick lunch at Allman's Bar-B-Q satiated our hunger and we  headed off to another local brewery try out more good beer.

I offer this one word hint for any brewery with a tasting room; FOOD. Even something as basic as chips and pretzels would be appreciated by your fans, and requires little effort to keep on hand.