On this fifteenth anniversary of the deadliest islamic terrorist attack on our country, let us pray that this ever encroaching evil is soon defeated, and that we may someday live in safety and peace.St. Michael the Archangel,defend us in battle.Be our …

Sunday afternoons often find us relaxing with good beer and food at a favorite local restaurant. Even when we’re traveling, we just might be doing the same. During a recent stay in Blacksburg, Colleen and I found ourselves with some free time so we headed over to Bull & Bones Brewhaus and Grill. We had visited Bull & Bones just once before, and I looked forward to getting back. There was a wait for a table, so we took seats at the bar, where we had immediate service.

We were informed that three of the house beers were not available. That was disappointing, but may have been related to equipment issues — the beers were being poured via jockey boxes and not the permanent wall taps. Fortunately, The Lunch Pale Ale was available to fill my glass. Colleen ordered a pint of Maroon Effect Ale.

We opted to start out with an appetizer of Candied Bacon Lollipops, because, well, bacon. The hickory smoked bacon strips are flavored with maple syrup, brown sugar and cayenne, and served on skewers. They are amazingly delicious! After a big breakfast in the morning, and indeed a weekend of heavy meals, though we were hungry, none of the big meat entrees that Bull & Bones specializes in fit the bill. We decided to pull our “main courses” from the appetizer menu. A plate of nachos and a dozen wings suited us well. The restaurant offers dry rubbed flavors of wings in addition to the usual sauces. We opted for a Jamaican Jerk rub on half the platter, and spicy garlic sauce on the rest. Besides providing for neater eating, the dry rubbed wings were very delicious and something I’d definitely try again.

The Lunch Pale Ale is a crisp and hoppy Pale Ale. It has a pleasing floral aroma, and a juicy, citrus hop flavor. Dry hopping adds a bit of “green” freshness. There’s a hint of bitterness in the finish as well. My two pints paired well with all the spicy foods we were eating. Maroon Effect Ale is a brown ale with rich chocolate and caramel notes.

A lot of customers stopped by the bar while waiting for their table, and the waiting crowd never seemed to go away. The restaurant was definitely short staffed at the time. I suspect the holiday and the opening weekend for VA Tech football combined in a “perfect storm” for the restaurant. We enjoyed a couple hours of good food, beer and conversation before heading back to the hotel to relax. On a future trip perhaps I’ll get to try out some of the other beers offered by Bull & Bones, and perhaps I’ll save room for the house-smoked ribs too.

It’s always fun to discover a new “good beer stop.” During a recent weekend in Blacksburg, I was searching online for a place to have dinner and found a listing for Lefty’s Main Street Grill. Reading further I learned that Lefty’s was also home to Right Mind Brewing. It sounded like someplace we should check out.

This was the opening weekend for VA Tech football, and there was an obvious post game crowd at the restaurant. We had a short delay waiting to be seated, but frankly it was less than I expected. I’ve since learned that Lefty’s accepts reservations, so we may go that route in the future. We began our visit, as usual, by looking over the beer menu. There were five house beers listed, as well as a large selection of drafts and bottles from other breweries. There’s definitely something for everyone.

I was disappointed to see that the Right Mind Mosaic IPA was crossed off the menu, as that’s my usual go-to style. However, I was also pleased to see Right Mind brews a Scottish Ale, Tommy Dinkus 80 Schilling Scottish Ale. I ordered a pint of that, and Colleen opted for Right Mind’s Emerald City Saison. We also ordered an appetizer of the house-made Guacamole, served with chips and salsa.

We enjoyed our appetizer while looking over the extensive menu. Lefty’s offers a variety of food options, from sandwiches and burgers, soups and salads, to full dinner entrees. For the early birds, they also have a breakfast menu. (Huevos rancheros and pancakes!)

My Scottish Ale was quite well done. It had a nice balance of slightly sweet caramel and bready, toasted notes. A slightly nutty malt flavor lingered in the finish. Moderately bodied, and just 4.6% ABV, it was easy enough to enjoy a second pint, even after a long day in the sun watching football. Colleen gave her Saison high marks as well, and ranked it favorable to some of her favorites.

We both opted to order from the sandwich section of the menu. Colleen selected the Lefty’s BLT; bacon, lettuce, tomato, monterey jack cheese and pesto mayo on grilled sourdough bread. I went with the Spicy Pimento Grilled Cheese. This version of the classic is made with homemade spicy pimento cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickle chips on grilled sourdough bread. I also selected the “add bacon” option for my sandwich. I found the addition of the fried pickle chip to be an unusual, but welcome twist. The platters were served with mildly spiced fries. Both sandwiches were well-stuffed and flavorful.

Despite the crowd, the service was attentive and friendly. We found the food, and the beer, to be very enjoyable. Lefty’s Main Street Grill and Right Mind Brewing are no secret to Blacksburg locals. How this stop failed to come up on our radar on previous visits escapes me. However, I am sure that going forward this will become a regular dining and drinking venue for us when visiting Blacksburg.

It’s Friday. Here’s to your next beer…It’s all about perspective.
[ This content originated at Musings Over a Pint ]

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I went down to Charlottesville to shoot the August Rivanna IDPA match on Saturday. For August, the weather was surprisingly pleasant not overly oppressive. It was certainly better than we experienced during last weekend’s rifle class.

The first stage our squad shot was reminiscent of a stage from last month’s Cavalier match, though with a couple more targets set over a slightly wider spread. The six near and one far target were engaged in tactical sequence while seated. The gun started with a magazine inserted but with an empty chamber, and all reloads were from the table. The placement of the non-threats meant lots of shifting in the seat to see all the targets.

At the next stage, all three mags were loaded with just six rounds each, and placed on three barrels arranged in a triangle. There were six targets set in a line downrange from the barrels. The targets required one shot each while moving left to right between the barrels. Then reloading at the right barrel, one shot was made on each target while moving forward to front barrel. Another reload and six more shots were made while backing up. I missed my first shot moving left to right, mistiming the shot while stepping. Shooting while moving sideways can be difficult, and something I rarely practice, though I practice moving frontward and backward regularly. (Note to self: Fix that.)

Strong and weak support hand only shooting was required on the third stage we shot, which consisted of two limited round strings. The first string required three shots, freestyle, on a ~20 yard target, a reload with retention, then six SHO shots on a 10 yard target. For the second string, the three shots on the far target and reload were followed by six WHO shots on a seven yard target. I was pleased with my SHO and WHO shots, thankfully that practice is paying off, though I got a little sloppy on the distant target.

The final stage I shot, which was Stage 1 of the match, offered a switch from the usual table start — we were seated facing to the side of the range, the targets to our right. Upon the signal, we turned in the chair and engaged three targets with three rounds each. Them moving downrange, we engaged two more targets from cover.

There was a side BUG match being held a well, and I had originally planned to shoot that at some point during the day. However, the fast moving match meant I never had a enough down time to do it between stages. After the match there was a large group of shooters waiting, so I opted to hit the road for home and lunch.

The quick, simple stages kept things moving quite well, and we never never had to wait on the squad ahead of us to finish shooting. Temps in the upper 80’s, intermittent cloud cover, and even the occasional breeze kept things relatively pleasant. It was an enjoyable match with a fun crowd of shooters. The stages at Rivanna are often deceptive in their simplicity and the matches always offer variety of challenges. Other than a couple of poor shots, I was pleased with how I shot. As usual, I’m already looking forward to some practice in preparation for the next match.