The Bread Lab is a leader in grain science, baking and milling. Their work is triggering widespread changes in how industry leaders are approaching the craft.
I have been hearing about quite a bit of new brewery activity and brewery expansions happening in Tacoma, Washington and figured I ought to check it out. I drove to Sluggo Brewing near the Tacoma Dome and found no parking. Then continued toward Wingman Brewing a couple blocks away and found no parking outside of the busy transit center. I was pretty upset about my parking misfortune and decided to head toward a less crowded part of town toward Engine House #9 and Black Fleet Brewing. I found a parking spot about 2/3 of the way toward Black Fleet and decided to stop in. Black Fleet Brewing has recently entered its current home with some small modifications and awkward spaces still being worked around. But don't let the newness deter you, they have some classic varietals and an experienced brewery staff. I pushed the limits of their tasting options by asking if I could change my single flight of 4 X 4oz glasses into an 8 X 2oz pours and try 8/10 house taps. No one had asked for one b
As you may know from my prior posts, I am a big supporter of local flour and the local baking community. Just like with breweries, local bakeries will happily share their knowledge and teachings if you are willing to listen, learn, and share. I was looking for a shop to buy a few pieces of pie and found a shop that only sells whole pies. No harm in a little extra pie. After talking with the owner Jennell for the better part of a half an hour about baking philosophy, crust, bread, cookies, etc, we got down to business and talked about her pie shop. She has 2 or 3 pies options per day, but until her arm finishes healing, cream pies are off the menu. She informed me that she was getting a new set of apples late Thursday and I just had to try her apple pie for Friday. Always best to try the bakers best as a first impression. The economics to make a pie are tough. Typically, a bakery charges $20+ for a cake and many charge much more, but pie is not often on the menu. Pie has a stigma of
Occasionally, I miss a place in my backyard, whether due to hours, distribution, product skew, or location. Sidetrack fits 2/4 of those criterium, but I fixed that this last weekend. I was planning on checking out 4 Horseman Brewery, but it was either closed or gone, but I remembered that Sidetrack was near there and should be open. I pulled in to a small farm adjacent to the Green River and immediately remembered my experience at Cockrell Cider in Puyallup, both were farm to glass concepts. In this case, Sidetrack Distilling is a farm to glass concept and make fruit & nut liqueurs and brandies. They use their apples to make a mild apple brandy base and then add the necessary fruits or nuts from their farm in the distillation process. The blackberry, black currant, blueberry, and raspberry liqueurs were sweet and tasted like fruit jam. The lemon verbena, walnut, shiso, and yuzu liqueurs each were unlike anything I had tasted on the market, which explains why they distribute to high
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