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Four Peaks In PHX
Strangers meet in airports—it’s such a cliché, yet it happens every day. Our intersections bring together disparate folks on a shared mission, Point A to Point B, sometimes on a journey extended by extenuating circumstances. The pair next to me chatted merrily—if at high volume— as I took a stool at Four Peaks Brewing in…
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Brewing On The Neck
We’d stopped by for Mother’s Day last year—the perfect outing for a fun-loving, taste-full mom—so it made sense on a Sunday visit to drop by the Montross Brewery on the Northern Neck in Virginia to see what new treats they had to try. The taproom’s been open for a couple of years now, and as…
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Flagship February
I had the first of my brews for Flagship February a wee bit prematurely, on Burns Night (January 25), a Scotland-appropriate Punk IPA brewed somewhere in Aberdeen. As an early introduction to the craft beers of the UK, it was fine a few years ago—and it remains a favorite. That’s why we celebrate the month…
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Cerveteca Lisboa, Principe Real
On the Praça das Flores, the evening descends and the lights come on all around the not-quite-square plaza. In the midst of Principe Real, in Lisbon, patrons turn to their favorite hangouts for a bite and a beer…it’s a fine Saturday in January so people are out and about, enjoying the last drops of sun.…
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Mercearia do Campo de Ourique
We find excuses to explore the many bairros of Lisbon—the city, much like Paris, is more a collection of villages than one monochromatic town. Perched on a hill overlooking the lower quarters on the river, Campo de Ourique survived the earthquake of 1755 like a bear—it’s shaped like one, and for a while I thought…
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My Top 5 US Craft Beers, 2018
Happy New Year! Now that we’ve all celebrated with espumante on the beach, slept it off, and woken up to coffee & 2019… I’d like to run through my top 5 favorite US beers of 2018 before we launch into Tryanuary! First off, in calendar order, Damien, Child of Darkness Surly Brewing: Dry-hopped black ale;…
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My Top 5 Portuguese Craft Beers, 2018
Before launching into Tryanuary 2019, here are five of my favorite Portuguese craft beers from 2018: First up: the very local SIN Mag8 Setais NEIPA from Sintra. 6,3% abv; Meyer lemon peel nose; Tropical fruits on the palate; Creamy & hazy with a lightly bitter end. Second on my top five beers from Portugal in…
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Ground Burger, Saldanha
We attack shopping at El Corte Inglês like it’s a major international expedition, which it is: We’re strangers in a strange land. It’s going into foreign territory to leave our quiet town and subject ourselves to the Mall. It takes planning, fortitude—and surely a reward at the end. For me, that’s twice now we’ve landed…
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Time Stop: Açores
Nothing prepares you for the scale of the Açores islands. A short, two-hour flight from Lisbon (or twice that from Boston), and you’re there—this impossibly green flotilla of masted ships clinging loosely to each other in the midst of the Atlantic. Only Terceira (“third” in Portuguese) is vaguely round. The remainder of the archipelago form…
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Down To The Duque
Lisbon’s jam-packed with tourists, so they say, but I’ve made it to September, and have found that when you stay clear of the places people say “you should see,” and focus on the neighborhoods—“what you want to see,” the crowds fall away. On a calm Saturday afternoon, in the sleepy time between lunch and happy…