Loudon County Delegate John Bell must find it hard to sleep at night. How could anyone, with all those grenade launchers and flamethrowers on the streets?He proudly, and with a straight face, states, “I support measures like universal background c…

I was saddened to hear that Second Amendment activist John Snyder passed away on October 22nd. In addition to his work on defending the right to self defense, Mr. Snyder was also the founder of the Gabriel Possenti Society and the author of The Gu…

Here’s a little pre-church humor to start your day.Father O’ Malley answers the phone. “Hello, is this Father O’Malley?””It is.””This is the Internal Revenue Service, income tax department. Can you help us?””I can.””Do you know a Ted Houlihan?””I …

During our frequent travels on Interstate 64 through Waynesboro I’ve seen roadside signs for Seven Arrows Brewing, however never had the time or opportunity to stop in. A recent trip had us in the area around dinner time, so we pulled off the road to look up the brewery online. We were pleased to see they served food in addition to beer. So often this is not the case, to our disappointment, at many craft breweries.

Naturally, our first order of business was reviewing the beer selections. There were a dozen or so beers listed, but surprisingly Colleen and I both quite quickly honed in on our selections — we were as thirsty as we were hungry.

Colleen selected Sinistral Wheat. This unfiltered American Style Wheat is brewed with orange peel, coriander, lime peel, and tangerine peel. I could detect the promised spiciness as soon as I brought the glass to my nose. The influence of Belgian spices continued in the flavor to make an enjoyable drink.

I was intrigued by the Black Out The Sun Black Pilsner, described as adapted from the brewery’s Aurora Pils brewed with the addition of debittered black malt. The aroma was roasted malt with a hint of coffee. The flavor matched, with smooth roasted malt, mild coffee and an earthy hoppiness. The beer had a pleasing bitterness that was not at all harsh, with a smooth mouthfeel. I very much enjoyed this interesting take on the classic Pilsner.

And now to the food. The availability of food was the deciding factor in making the stop. Food at Seven Arrows is provided by Nobos Kitchen, a separate business located at the brewery. Ordering is done at small counter located in a hallway off the main bar area. The small footprint belies the extensive food offering, which includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches, wraps and burgers. A short time after we placed our orders the food was brought out to our table.

To accompany her wheat beer, Colleen enjoyed the Zesty Chicken Bacon Wrap. In what turned out to be an excellent pairing, my Black Pilsner was matched with a Roast Beef Sandwich. The cold sandwich consisted of a thick stack of house roasted prime rib, melted horseradish cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and crispy fried onion served between a course white bread. The meat, prepared rare, was melt-in-your-mouth tender. Both sandwiches included sides of homemade potato chips.

We thoroughly enjoyed our fortuitous stop at Seven Arrows Brewery. The beers were distinctive and flavorful. Our only regret was that we needed to get back on the road and couldn’t enjoy a few more of them. However, we were glad to discover a new place for food and drink on our regular trips through the area. We’ll definitely be back and look forward to trying a few more of the beers, and food. This find has also convinced me that I should alway be prepared with an empty growler on these trips.

As I reveled in some accurate shooting recently, I remarked to myself, “If I could only do that in a match…” Actually, I can do that, I just often don’t.Shooting at the square range is an unreliable predictor of match performance. That’s no…

Last week we attended a beer dinner at Harry’s Alehouse which featured libations from Oskar Blues Brewing. The evening included four generous courses served with four beers from the North Carolina and Colorado-based brewery.

The introductory course paired Old Chub Scotch Ale with Crispy Pork Belly. Old Chub is a long-time favorite of mine, but I honestly can’t recall if I’ve ever had pork belly as a main dish. This pairing was met with some trepidation by those at our table. A hefty portion of pork belly was topped by extremely crisp strips of rind. The beer went extremely well and served to keep the palate clean of the somewhat greasy meat. As far as that initial trepidation went, I finished every last speck of food from my plate.

Next up was a Mulled Granny Smith Apple Salad served with Dale’s Pale Ale. The salad consisted of baby arugula, frisee, pepitas, cranberries, and goat cheese with an apple cider vinaigrette. This was an interesting dish, with strong sharp flavors. The potent tang of the cheese and dressing especially were moderated by the citrusy hops of the beer, a foil that we deemed was well needed.

After those satisfying preparatory courses, it was now time for the “main course,” Ten Fidy Braised Short Ribs. The tender pieces of beef were prepared with, and served with Ten Fidy Imperial Stout. The entrée included celery root puree, brussel sprouts and pomegranate seeds. The short ribs were melt-in-your-mouth tender. The Oskar Blues Ten Fidy served as a fitting compliment to the meal. Although once an elusive beer on the east coast, it’s one of my favorite Imperial Stouts.

After three filling courses, the dessert dish was now upon us. We were served a large slice of Chocolate Coconut Stout Cake. The sweet treat was topped with vanilla icing and toasted coconut flakes, and paired with Death By Coconut Irish Porter. When the plate was set in front of me I remarked that this just might be too much for even me to consume. In the end however, I was up to the task and left nary a crumb on the plate or nor a drop in my glass. So often I find these dark chocolate pastries to be too dry or too sweet for my taste. Not so this evening, the cake was moist and delightfully flavored. The beer was also a new one for me. Although I do like coconut, I find coconut stouts and porters to be enjoyable in only small amounts. This pairing however, work quite nicely and was a royal finish to a great meal.

We enjoyed the both the beers and the foods featured in the dinner very much. As noted previously, our dining companions did not drink beer. They were however quite knowledgeable about food, and also regarding local restaurants. They shared their experiences and we shared our beer experiences. It was a delightful evening of excellent food and drink, as well as conversation.

This was Harry’s third beer dinner event, and the second one that we have attended. Harry’s does these events well, and we’ll definitely be on the look out for announcements of future dinners.

Since we were out of town this weekend enjoying other interests, I missed not one, but two of the monthly IDPA matches I attend regularly. Not willing to let the lack of trigger time stand, I headed out to the indoor range at lunch today with two handguns at opposite ends of the size spectrum.

The SIG P320 Compact that I’ve been carrying of late has been temporarily replaced by the S&W Shield while the SIG is out for the trigger upgrade process. I decided to start out my practice session with quick refresher on the Shield using the seven round “no room for the pinky finger” magazine. I put 30 rounds down range at 10 yards, before switching to some SHO and WHO shots at 7 yards.

Being quite pleased with those results, I wiped the gun down and put it back on my belt — might as well stop while I’m ahead!

Switching to the SIG P320 Full Size, the next 50 rounds was expended in rapid 2, 3, and 4 shot strings at an IDPA -0 target set at 10 yards. Holding the larger gun right after the small Shield made the SIG seem oddly large.

Finally I sent the target carrier out to the 20 yard line to fire off my last box of ammo. The first few shots hit low, before I adjusted my grip pressure and paid a little more attention to the sight positioning as it was overlaid on the fuzzy brown blob down range. In the end, 40 of the 50 shots were within the -0 circle, with none reaching out to that dreaded -3 zone. Still, I will definitely be practicing distance shots a lot more in the future.

It was not a bad way to pass a bit of time on a Monday. And who knows, it’s only Monday so maybe I’ll be able to squeeze in a return visit to the range later in the week.

The Shield is surprisingly satisfying to shoot.

Sitting down at our table at a recent beer dinner, we exchanged introductions with the other couple at the table…Man: “We’re not drinkers. We’re not smokers.”Me: “Well, we’re not smokers.”A laugh and smiles all around. It turns out couple were regula…

A perfect weekend project…Just to be clear, the perfect weekend “project” would be sitting in the chair all weekend, not building the thing.Here’s to a relaxing weekend!
[ This content originated at Musings Over a Pint ]

There are telltale signs that let me know the summer is over and the dreaded cold weather isn’t that far off. One such clue is when the backpack blower gets strapped to my back and I start blowing leaves, which occurred this weekend. Another is when I …