WHAT’S BREWING: At Blues BBQ
Kay Dillon, general manager of the recently opened Blues BBQ near the Clay Center, stands near the armada of taps and beer in bottles available at the restaurant’s bar. Photo by Douglas Imbrogno
I have been to the new downtown Charleston location of Blues BBQ a few times since they opened in the old Chef Dan’s spot across from the Clay Center (there is another in South Charleston). It is one of the better beer bars in the Charleston area with at least 15 bottled micro brews and 20 or so bottled imports, plus a few surprises on tap. They also tout a wide selection of quality wines.
Blues BBQ is, first, a restaurant with pretty good food (which also is available at the bar). The bar is non-smoking, which makes for a good place to hang out and actually taste what you are drinking. A few notable items on tap are Appalachian Ale from WV Brewing, and Cold Trail Ale from Mountain State Brewing in Thomas. Cold Trail tastes like an underwhelming version of an American style wheat beer. I would classify it as a “transition beer” to convert macro lager drinkers.
Another tap space is taken by Harpoon IPA, which is an OK beer, but has by no means kept up with the “Hophead” movement in this country. Of course, the restaurant features the obligatory Guinness and Bass taps for making Black & Tan.
My faves on the bottle list include Ayinger Altbarisch Dunkle, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Shiner’s 97, a nice Schwarzbier (Black Lager).
The bar staff will give you a cold glass (at least they give you a glass) with your beer and they are amply stocked with room temperature beer glasses for us beer snobs. They try to keep many of the bottles at “back room” temperatures instead of freezing them tasteless. I wonder how that is going to work out during the summer months? I would suggest they add separate cooler to keep the beer at around 50 degrees.
Overall It’s a decent place to go for a beer.
If You Go: Blues BBQ is at corner of Leon Sullivan Way and Lee Street. Open 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday (kitchen closes 9 p.m.); 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday (kitchen closes 10 p.m.); with a brunch from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Call 720-7873.
– By Rich Ireland
January 10th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Posted under wintery beers by mistake. (Sorry)
I have always thought that Cold Trail Ale was Bud with flavor, but when I’m in the mood for something light it’s quite refreshing. You should try their other three selections. Almost Heaven Amber was available at Smokey Bones a week ago. Better yet take a drive up to meet the brewers (Willie and Brian)in Thomas, WV. I belive the pub is open Thursday - Sunday(?), but I have stopped by for a growler early in the week and not had a problem.
http://www.mountainstatebrewing.com/
January 11th, 2007 at 10:34 am
“Bud with Flavor”, that’s pretty much along the same lines as my conclusion from the review…
I will try to vist the boys in Thomas on my next visit to the area.
January 15th, 2007 at 1:03 am
i agree with todd…the amber ale from the thomas boys is pretty swell. the bistro was pulling the thomas boys oatmeal stout during december, but i think they have moved onto the amber ale in january.
a lot of the local community typically dismiss sierra nevada porter, it is short sited to do so, some of the best porter made domestically.
if you should have the opportunity to experience St. Peters beers, do not under any circumstances, miss out on the porter or the cream stout (prolly the finset stout around…will not be found in this state.)
January 15th, 2007 at 7:39 am
I will have to try and find the amber ale, or better yet, just go and visit.
As for Sierra Nevada porter, It’s just OK… I have a lot of respect for what they have done to project craft beer onto the scene, but I think the SN porter does not live up to American “robust” and is too hoppy to be an English style (I realize it’s not suppossed to be English).
I have had St. Peter’s beers before. I cannot say I have ever had a fresh one. If I recall correctly, the last one I had was infected (Band-Aid phenolics). If you know of a good place that sells their beers and rotates the inventory, I am sure I would find a tasty English Ale.
Again, the problem is finding one that’s fresh. I think I bought my last one at Leo’s in South Point Ohio.
Thanks for the Feedback!
January 16th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Blue’s also has a few very good Scotch selection.
Oh, about the black & tan do a little research,it’s officially Harps & Guinness In Ireland. (Harp’s is brewed by Guinness at Dundalk)
You bloody Yankee! http://www.ivo.se/guinness/bnt.html
January 16th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Just kiddin’ he-he!
January 17th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Now, here you have hit on an issue worthy of stressing– the lack of good beer stores in WV.
Part of the problem is not the retailers’ fault. Between the 6% cap and the monopoly distributor system, the stores are simply unable to obtain many beers at all, and the monopoly system also causes stores problems because distributors evidently often refuse to provide certain beers unless stores will commit to quantities the stores know they cannot move. Progress on those fronts will require legislative and administrative action.
Plenty can be done by the retailers to improve matters though. Bottled beer should not be exposed to sunlight or fluorescent light. Old beer should be removed from stock. For example, I still see low ABV “summer” beers, which were probably made in the Spring and are well past their prime now, still on the shelves. Worse, when September rolls around you have to be very careful that the Oktoberfests some stores display are not actually the remnants of the previous year’s batch.
I won’t name the stores with dubious practices but I will say that the Wine Shop at Capitol Market is the best locally despite its very limited shelf space devoted to beer. I particularly like that it allows you to six packs of singles with a 10% discount.
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:08 am
[…] Members of the band Steve and Steve take either a cellphone or nicotine-infusion break, or maybe both, during a gig this past weekend at Blues BBQ, at the corner of Leon Sullivan Way and Lee Street. […]
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:20 pm
[…] I have already written previously (here and here) about the wide-ranging beer offerings at Blues BBQ Etc., at the corner of Leon Sullivan Way and Lee Street across from the Clay Center. It seems that my positive recommendation of the place has encouraged manager Kay Dillon to keep the beer selection growing and ever changing. […]