Review: Marty's Hops & Vines

The first thing I have to say about Marty's Hops & Vines is I LOVED it!!  This is really one of my new favorite places to go! So, to tell you all about it, my husband actually came across this place while reading the blog Hoperatives.  We decided to go for a drink on a Tuesday night to check it out.

Marty's is located in College Hill which was very easy to get to.  It's on Hamilton Ave. and there is plenty of parking located in back of Marty's.  When you walk in, you notice that this is a retail shop selling beers and wine as well as a little bar.  There were many different selections of craft beers and wine from all over.  We were warmly greeted and explained a bit of the situation at Marty's.  The bartender said we were welcome to purchase a bottle and sit in the shop to drink, or we could order off the menu.  The inside of Marty's was very warm and inviting.  There are about 10 tables or so with a small little bar as well. 

After Ross and I looked around a bit, we decided to sit at the bar for a glass of wine.  The first reason I loved Marty's was Tuesday nights are Ladies night, so all drinks are half off! What a deal.  Especially because all their wine is very reasonably priced: $5-$12 a glass.  I started off with a glass of Zinfandel which was very good and Ross went with a flight of wine for $10.  This was his choice of 4 of ANY of the wines, another great deal! 

This is a picture of the flight, so well worth $10!

We were enjoying the ambiance very much and the bartender was very friendly and talkative.  He discussed some facts about Marty's and offered some of his favorite wines and beers.  When we asked about a very small local winery of wines that they carry, he wasn't 100% sure about the answer, but Marty was nearby so he stopped over and chatted with us for awhile about the place and the local winery.  He also informed us of some of the other specials going on at Marty's, including a wine tasting every Friday, beer tastings on Wednesdays, and live music on the weekends. He also mentioned that Marty's was voted in Cincinnati Magazine as one of the top 10 places for a date :) 

For my second glass of wine, I went with the local winery's wine, Purple Trillium.  This wine was awesome!!  I absolutely loved it.  Marty informed us that it had won a Gold Medal at an international tasting in Cincinnati in 2010, and I can see why, it was fantastic.  The rest of the crowd seemed to be having a great time as well, there were people alone, small groups of mid-twenties, thirties, and forties.

After talking it up with some of the locals at the bar with our glasses of wine, we decided to head out, being a Tuesday night and all.  BUT, I can't wait to go back to this place.  It was such a great find, with warm staff that wasn't intimidating, a wonderful decor, and great wine and beer.  I should also note that they carry a variety of small plates including crostinis, cheese plates, olives, and bruschetta to name a few, that were all reasonably priced.  This will definitely be my go-to for a night out with my husband, a few girlfriends, or another couple.
~Kate

Wine/Beer: 5
Service: 4.5
Overall Experience: 5

Guest Blog: Microbrews in May!!!

Today, we have a very special guest blogger....Kate's husband Ross! This guest blog has been a month in the making - literally. Ross has been drinking, I mean working hard at this post. He's tried 31 different microbrews for 31 days in May. I'll let him tell you all about it....
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Hello All! First I would like to thank Katy and Kris for letting me partake in their Friday Guest Blogger Series here at ‘Girls Who Grub’. Although, as a heads up, this entry isn’t by a Girl or about Grub. I have been doing a full month's worth of research for this blog. For those of you who don’t know, the week of May 16th-22nd is American Craft Beer Week. And instead of celebrating only 7 days of microbrews around the country, I decided to celebrate the whole month and try 31 new microbrews for 31 days in May. So as an alternative to ‘Girls who Grub’, today you’ll be hearing from the ‘Dude who Drinks’ (possible spin-off opportunity?).

There are many different definitions of a microbrewery. The amount of production is usually the main condition of what defines a microbrewery. In January 2011, The Brewers Association defined a microbrewery to include a brewery that produces up to 6 million barrels a year. However, I have always thought of a microbrewery as a small, independently owned brewery. And for some more definitions, to be clear, a microbrew is a beer that comes from a microbrewery.

Before I get on to my 31 newly introduced beers, I setup a few guidelines for my tasting experience. I purchased all bottled beers from The Root Cellar in Kenwood, Ohio. They have a wide selection of beer and wine and are very friendly. I picked all the beers at complete random, except for the fact that I chose a different brewery each time. I tried to review each of these unique suds on 4 qualities (Aroma, Appearance, Taste and Mouthfeel) and then gave an overall impression based on a scale from 1 to 5, to be consistent with ‘Girls who Grub’. I tried to keep the review to as little as possible description but enough to get a feel for the beer.

So on to the Brews!

1) Amber Ale, Mt. Caramel Brewing Company, Cincinnati, OH (3/5)
woody, hoppy, smooth
2) Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Brewing Company, Denver, CO (3/5)
dark roasted, bitter, hoppy aftertaste
3) Finestkind India Pale Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth, NH (2/5)
hoppy, light, golden color
4) Lighter Pale Ale, Hook & Ladder Brewing Company, Rochester, NY (1/5)
very light pale ale, hint of cherry?
5) Summerbright Wheat Ale, Breckinridge Brewery, Denver, CO (2/5)
golden color wheat ale, slightly citrusy
6) Karma Belgian Pale Ale, Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO (3/5)
amber color, slight fruit aroma and taste
7) Good Juju Spice Ale, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO (3/5)
ginger aroma and taste, golden color, malty body
8) Crooked Tree India Pale Ale, Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, MI (2/5)
dark copper color, smooth, lots of sediments, hoppy aroma
9) Double Dog Double Pale Ale, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD (5/5)
plenty of hops, bit of bite, full of flavor, body and aroma

10) Major Tom Pomegranate Wheat Ale, Fort Collins Brewery, Fort Collins, CO (2/5)
blond color, smooth, watery, good aroma but no follow up to taste
11) Cabin Fever Brown Ale, New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, MI (2/5)
dark color, medium body, slight roasted coffed flavor, pretty light taste
12) Dog Days Dortmunder Lager, Two Brothers Brewing Company, Warrenville, IL (4/5)
golden color, nice light taste, no real aroma, slight malt flavor with lingering aftertaste
13) Otter Summer Ale, Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, VT (3/5)
light yellow color, small body, hint of lemon and wheat
14) Amber Ale, Bells Brewery, Comstock, MI (4/5)
dark amber color, medium body, malty aroma, yeast taste?
15) Latitude 48 India Pale Ale, Boston Beer Company, Comstock, MI (4/5)
slight citrus aroma, hoppy piney tatse, medium body, bitter
16) Fourteen Wheat Wine Ale, Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, PA (3/5)
small aroma, big body, wheat taste with some grapes, sweet lemony aftertaste
17) Dubbel Cannon Belgian Pale Ale, Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD (4/5)
copper color, citrusy aroma, tastes have cirtrus, hops and caramel, small to medium body
18) Hop Head Red Ale, Green Flash Brewing Company, Vista, CA (4/5)
dark red color, citrusy and pine smell, hoppy and slighty bitter, small/medium body
19) Liberty Pale Ale, Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, CA (2/5)
Slight smell of hops, small body, malty flavor, irony
20) Summer Pale Ale, Shipyard Brewing Compnay, Portland, ME (4/5)
Yellow color, grainy malty smell, light body, slight citrus taste with a bitterness end
21) Apricot Wheat Ale, Ithaca Beer Company, Ithaca, NY (3/5)
Golden color, fruity aroma, apricot taste, light body
22) Nude Beach Wheat Ale, Stevens Point Brewery, Stevens Point, WI (4/5)
Hazy yellow, slight citrus smell, light body, hint of hops with wheat overpowering taste
23) Old Man Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY (5/5)
dark color, hoppy smell, with a follow up of taste, big body, with a hint of spices

24) Sunshine Pilsner, Troegs Brewing Company, Harrisburg, PA (4/5)
yellow color, light smell, stong pungent taste, medium to big body, great bitterness finish
25) Purple Haze Fruit Beer, Abita Brewing Company, Abita Springs, LA (2/5)
Fruitful smell, sour taste of rasberries, grainy
26) Founders Pale Ale, Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI (4/5)
dark yellow color, hops smell, taste of hops and some citrus
27) St. Victourious Dopplebock, Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA (3/5)
roasted aroma with some citrus?, medium body, big aftertaste

28) Winter Ale, Stoudt's Brewing Company, Adamstown, PA (5/5) 
amber color, hoppy smell and taste, medium body with some bitterness

29) Long Hammer India Pale Ale, Redhook Ale Brewery, Portsmouth, NH (2/5)
citrusy grapefruit and hoppy aroma, slight hops tatse, light body, bitter aftertaste
30) Sneaky Pete Imperial India Pale, Laughing Dog Brewing Company, Ponderay, ID (3/5)
dark amber color, citrusy hoppy aroma, malty taste, big body with slight bitter aftertaste
31) Wanderer Session India Pale Ale, North Peak Brewing Company, Traverse City, MI (2/5)
dark orange color, hoppy aroma with a follow up of slight hoppy taste, and medium body

So there are the beers I tried with my overall impression ranking. There are a lot of great brews here, and if you don't trust me, go out and try them yourself! This was a very fun 'research' project and I recommend to anyone to go try a small or local brew instead of defaulting to the megabreweries products; or go out and try to become a brewmaster yourself!

Cheers!

Guest Blog: Cabana on the River

For this week's guest blog, our good friend Matt ventured to a great outdoor restuarant right next to the Ohio River.  It looks like a great place to try for a night outdoors and the food doesn't look to bad either. This is definitely a place I'm going to try this summer for a night on the river!  Thanks Matt! 

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It was a warm and beautiful Friday evening on the Westside of Cincinnati, yes, the Westside of Cincinnati.  For those who aren’t aware, that is a major no-no for an Eastsider like myself to venture that far into enemy territory.  But for the burger they have, I’ll take my chances.  If you didn’t guess from my last comment, I have been here before and will come back again.  Is that all I need to say?

Cabana on the River is a place that is perfect for an afternoon/evening when the sun is shining and you want a cold beer.  The atmosphere is almost like no other place I have been in Cincinnati.  The entire restaurant is open with only a tent/roof over a portion of the tables.  It sits directly next to the Ohio River in Saylor Park.  For a point of reference, Saylor Park is near the airport, but on the Ohio side. 

My wife and I met my mom, sister, her husband AJ and their son Mason at Cabana.  Since I had been here before I knew there wasn’t going to be any exciting decision making process with my meal.  I knew going into the evening I was going to be eating their white chicken chili to start, followed up with their CAB (Certified Angus Beef) burger with pepper jack cheese.  I know, nothing too exciting and it sounds like typical “bar food” but delicious. 

We did go out on a limb with our appetizer and order pickle chips and mesquite bbq quesadilla rolls.  Yes, I had two appetizers, soup and my main course.  The pickle chips and quesadilla rolls were decent.  They were “bar food”. 

As for my beer of choice, I’m on a “microbrew” kick, so I went with a draft of Leinenkugels Honey Weiss Bier.  Not impressed.  It tasted like 3am keg beer.  The beer you don’t want to drink but have to because there is nothing else to drink. I had a second just to be sure, but sorry, again not impressed.  Now onto the next course, one of the main reasons I go to Cabana, the white chicken chili.  Now I am no food conesouir, so I can’t tell you how and why a certain food tastes good or why the ingredients all “work together”, but I do know it is delicious.  Nothing special about the presentation, just a bowl of damn good chili with some crackers on the side.  The cheese on the side was an added, unexpected bonus.

The main course, my “CAB” burger did not disappoint, as usual.  The burger is literally as big as my face, as you can see, it takes two pieces of cheese side by side to cover the pattie.  I asked for the burger to be cooked medium-rare and I’d say it came out somewhere between medium-rare and medium, not bad.  But for a burger so big, it is very juicy, tender and tasty.  I have only finished the burger once out of three times I’ve tried, this not being the one.  Sorry, I’m not sorry, I enjoyed it on Saturday too.  There is nothing special about this either.  Just a big, very good, juicy burger. 

Sometime before I started attacking my burger, I switched to a new beer, Cabana Red Ale.  Better.  I’m a fan of red ales and this one was decent.  The switch was well worth it.

I can’t comment on everyone else’s food unfortunately because I had enough to talk about regarding my own food.  Next time I go back, I’ll probably get the same thing again anyway!  Why mess with a good thing?!?!

There is nothing about Cabana that is trying to impress anyone.  Just a huge deck on the river that serves cold beer and good food; suprisingly good food.  You’ll see all sorts of people there.  No matter where they come from everyone is there to enjoy the weather, the food and cold beer with people they care about.   I recommend giving it a try, you might see me there wrestling with the CAB burger yet again!