Showing posts with label The Steel Wheels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Steel Wheels. Show all posts

Friday, September 24, 2021

Exploring Virginia Beer at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion

After a couple years off we attended the 2021 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival which is one of the liveliest festivals. Held in the Birthplace of Country Music the festival showcases music on venues located on both the Virginia and Tennessee sides of State Street. COVID definitely affected this year's lineup but the organizers were still able to schedule fantastic artists over the three days. The festival targets local and national artists with special attention to Texas musicians. We heard great performances by Yarn, The Steel Wheels, Folk Soul Revival, Big Daddy Love, Town Mountain, and Blackberry Smoke. In addition, John Anderson and Hayes Carll represented Texas and we loved that Carll covered Ray Wylie Hubbard's Drunken Poet's Dream.

We acted like drunken poets at two Bristol breweries located within the festival's parameter. State Street Brewing Company is a relatively new brewery with outside seating accessible to hear the Country Music Mural stage or the continuous music at the Delta Blues BBQ.  The brewery opened a few years ago in the former Hayes Furniture building on the Commonwealth side of State Street and utilizes the 20,000-square-foot building to its fullest. Expect a spacious seating area and a long bar that runs parallel to the brewing equipment. There's enough diversity in their portfolio for all types of tastes - and for morning music we went with the Long Tom Peanut Butter Porter. In the afternoon we transitioned to their Dad Hat Kolsh and Splash Berliner Weiss before ending the evenings with the Cosmos Imperial IPA

We've visited Bristol Station Brews & Taproom a few times and it was great to see the brewery within the festival adjacent to the Piedmont stage.  Folk Soul Revival paired with the Piedmont Pilsner as fans are slightly bitter to their breakup and that matched the beer's profile. The Bristol Helle Raiser fit the Hayes Carll set and would have worked with 49 Winchester if we weren't late. It wasn't the Blue Mountain Steel Wheels ESB but the Bearded Goat Bock hit similar notes as the band's Rain in The Valley. And in the evening, give us the Wil's Lucky Dunkelweisen

 The BRRR will be back in our regular rotation. Look forward to visiting these and other area winery and breweries until then with theCompass Craft Beverage Finder. Cheers. 

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

theCompass Spirits: War Horn Whiskey

Staying with the local theme, I picked up a bottle of Virginia Sweetwater Distillery (Appalachian Mountain Spirits) War Horn Whiskey ($34). The distillery is located in deep southwestern Virginia between Wytheville and Abingdon. The brand name is in honor of owner's, Scott “Mash” Schumaker, brother LTC William Sean Schumaker. He was the final Commander of the 32nd Signal Corp Battalion and "his troops while under his command would stop at the main gates in Iraq and shout “Sound the War Horns”".


The whiskey has a smokey honey aroma that continues in the palette; very peat-like, candied praline flavor - finishing very smooth. Very nice. Pair with The Steel Wheels. Cheers.

Monday, November 7, 2011

MyJoogTV Episode 11: The Steel Wheels with Blue Mountain Brewery

Episode 11 features The Steel Wheels discussing bike touring, Ocrafolk festival, and their signature brews - the Steel Wheels ESB from Blue Mountain Brewery and the Steel Wheels Oat Malt Stout from The Livery. The episode ends with a rendition of "Nothing You Can't Lose" at the IOTA Club. Also check out Martin Garrish & Lou Castro in Ocracoke, NC; our first video on MyJoogTV. Red Wing - The Steel Wheels