Gathered up the straight up mutt crew for another rainy July weekend in VT. Got in some great tubing runs on the White River in the Gayesville/ Stockbridge area. We arrived at the brewfest at about noon on Saturday the 19^th. It is held at Waterfront Park in Burlington. Prices have gone up in recent years because the event is gradually becoming more commercialized.  I immediately b-lined right to the Trout River Brewing stand to snag a scotch ale…not too robust but crisp and refreshing! Also hit up Otter Creek/Wolavers with their Saki infused Otter San brew. Some other highlights were the Long Trail folks dropping fresh blackberries into their Blackberry Wheat, the Peak Organic guys and their Expresso Stout,nice and hoppy and Orlio Organic which is apparently made by Magic Hat. At the end of the day I found most of the mutt doggs back at Trout River Brewing Co. enjoying their famous Rainbow Red, Chocolate Oatmeal, Scotch Ale, Altered Trout, Hoppin’ Mad Trout and Boneyard Barleywine. Trout River Brewing Co. is located in the town of Lyndonville, Vermont. They make some of the best beers on the planet, but only distribute within the Green Mountain State. They had this one wheat beer that reminded me a lot of the Sunshine Wheat made by  New Belgian Brewery in Fort Dank, CO.

I ran into Chris Greene from Greene’s Gourmet of Vermont (Gourmet Hot Sauce). I couldn’t resist a hint of his Texas Chipotle. It is pure smoky  heat … BANGIN!!! This stuff is phenomenal on cornbread crackers!

Their were lots of great eats to offer, everything from shish cabobs to pulled pork

sandwiches to brick oven pies (at $4 for a mini slice). Dogfish Head, Smuttynose, and Palatable Pepper Products (out of upstate NY) didn’t show this year. We retreated back

to the campsite to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mighty White River. There is nothing like Summers in Vermont.

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     The festivities eventually had to be moved inside. Late night, someone thought it would be cool to throw some ground organic habanero powder into a pan with some hot olive oil. The fumes became unbearable to the point where there was actually a rush of about twenty five people for the door. Anyway, it was a blast…definitely looking forward to next year! Good food, good friends, and barbed wire around the perimeter, what more can you ask for? Much thanks to Healy and Ryan Murphy for hosting the event!

Enjoy the pics!

Yesterday, Del and I swung down to St. James Gate in Maplewood for all you can eat wings provided by the crew at Defcon. We arrived around one in the afternoon. The bar was packed with hot wing conneisseurs. I immediately shouted for a long trail draft and hit the wing stand hard! They had three grades of sauce for the public to sample (Mild, Medium, and Very Hot). Devo and I started with three mediums and one hot each. I found the mediums to be extra tasty, an excellent mix of that tang that I have come to expect in a good wing sauce, accompanied by a slow steady release of sting. Then it came time to try the hot….I didn’t really realize the intense heat of the sauce until I took a swig of beer, and then another and another, then I realized the lingering pain would not subside. Needless to say, we took a subsequent break from the VERY HOT (aptly named) and retreated back to the medium grade. At that point I couldn’t taste any heat in the medium grade wings (taste buds were totally burnt out) so I sucked down another Long Trail (or three???) and went back for some more very hots ( a machismo thing I guess). Anyway, I found them to be more tolerable the second time around, but it still took me almost ten minutes to eat three wings which is definitely a first! Some friends showed up, only one of whom had the guts to try a wing on wing day. She had one very hot and was runnin’ for the hills. The heat was so intense that she got three completely naked wings after that and would not try any more sauce. Apparently they had a little contest in which contestants had to consume ten wings in four minutes without drinking anything before having to sit and flail for another four minutes in order to win a prize (some sauce or a shirt I imagine). Needless to say there were no takers from our group.

Eventually, I introduced myself to the owner and handed him a bottle of Joe’s #1 Jalapa which he very much appreciated. I thanked his wife for warning me about the very hot, before purchasing a 16 ounce bottle of the medium grade sauce. When I asked them if I could get a picture, the owner (whose named I already zoned out on) insisted that he put on the gear which consisted of a full gas mask set up with the “hazardous” effects (see photos below).

I’m looking forward to their next appearance which is in Union, NJ some time next month. Cool people….kick-ass sauce!