Ale Yeah! in Historic Roswell

So I think I've mentioned before, that I'm not a beer drinker. I just don't like most beers. But my husband enjoys them, especially the vast array of craft beers now available on the Northside. Alpharetta and Cumming actually have the most craft breweries and places to fill your growler in this area. My colleague, Lee at Roots in Alpharetta has done an excellent job of covering them, so I'm going to talk about the one in my neighborhood today.

We enjoy visiting Ale Yeah! in Historic Roswell, which is the second location of the Decatur based chain.. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable and passionate about beer. Even a non-drinker like myself can appreciate the level of service at a place like this. When my husband wants to get a growler filled, this is always our choice. 

So how does this "growler" thing work anyways? At a craft beer store, you can purchase a large bottle jug in either 32 or 64 ounce sizes. You take it in empty and choose from their menu of beers on tap and they fill it. The selection changes frequently, so you have an opportunity to try lots of beers this way. Ale Yeah! also carries single bottles and six packs if that seems like too much. You can build your own six pack from the singles, which is a nice way to try lots of things as well.  They usually have a cider or craft soda on tap as well, which is nice for that lone non-beer drinker (me).

Ale Yeah! is participating with Atlanta Beer Week with tastings in both locations this week. So if you're a craft beer fan,or just curious, this is an excellent time to check them out.

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Beef and Crimini Mushroom Stew

Well, it looks like fall is well and truly here. I'm still wearing sandals outside, but they are with jeans instead of capris. In fact, I'm starting to wonder where I put all my work pants. It's going to be a little chilly standing on the playground tomorrow...

Yesterday was one of those wonderfully drizzly, gray days. It wasn't a bad enough storm that I worried about a dead branch busting up my fence again, but it was enough to make me want to burrow under a blanket on the couch and drink something warm. My husband calls it "Soup weather" and is demanding I make him some nearly every night this week. That might be excessive, considering all my recipes make roughly a gallon or so. There's only so many bowls of soup I can take for lunch every week. 

Last night's soup was Beef with Crimini Mushroom Stew, a really nice riff on the classic beef stew recipe I grew on. It's extra seasonal since this is Atlanta Beer Week, and this stew features some German beer whose name has fifteen syllables, bought at Ale Yeah! in Roswell. (I am not a beer person.)

I may not be a beer drinker, but I do love cooking with it. I think it's especially good for braising beef and I use it for stews and pot roasts all the time. 

Crimini mushrooms are probably my favorite mushroom and I look for excuses to add them to things. They sell at grocery stores as "Baby Bellas", because they are just a smaller version of the portabello mushroom. They are a nice, meaty mushroom that's easy to clean and always in stock at the grocery store. As you can imagine, they pair really well with beef. I add them to stews and frequently put them over steaks. 

This stew would work well in a crockpot. In fact, that's how I usually cook it. But I'm in love with my big, porcelain glazed, cast iron, dutch oven right now.  I made this stew in that and let it cook in my oven at a low temperature for several hours. Either method works just as well. One just looks prettier on the table. 

Beef and Cremini Mushroom Stew

1 pound beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cups chopped and peeled carrots

2 cups chopped potatoes (I like a waxy red potato)

1 cup cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 small can tomato sauce

2 cups (16 ounces) of a medium body beer you like

1 table spoon "Better than Bullion" OR 1 and 1/2 cubes of bullion, beef flavor

1 table spoon cornstarch

In bottom of dutch oven, heat up a couple table spoons of canola oil. In batches, brown stew meat.  Salt it really well. Reserve. Add chopped veggies, add meat back. Salt everything. Add tomato sauce, beer and one cup of water. Cover and place in pre-heated 250 degree oven. Braise for at least three hours, checking periodically to see if more water is needed. When ready to serve, remove from oven and add bullion. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and add to stew. Stir until dissolved. Check for salt and serve. 

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Roswell Ghost Tour: Spirit Crawl

So last Saturday night, Northside Foods Amalgamated Industries experienced the first "Spirit Crawl" hosted by the Roswell Ghost Tour. What's a Spirit Crawl? It's a ghost tour, but with booze. How can this go wrong? (Hint: It doesn't!)

Spooky old building? Or trendy new
Southern eatery? I'm so confused!

Before I get into reviewing the crawl itself, let me preface this by saying I'm not a believer in ghosts. I'm an "interested skeptic". I like hearing the history that goes with old buildings and feeling that creepy-cool shiver you get when you hear a scary story, but ghosts aren't a thing with me. That said, the Roswell Ghost Tour is one of my favorite local attractions and one I highly recommend. I've been on it multiple times and never had a bad experience. I like that they research and document their featured hauntings thoroughly before featuring them and never tell a story they don't have permission for. Even if I don't believe myself, I can respect someone that puts this kind of time and attention into creating a worthwhile experience.

So the Ghost Tour recently received permission from the owners of The Mill Kitchen and Bar to add their building to the tour. If you didn't know, that gorgeous stone building across the street from Barrington Hall used to be a funeral parlor throughout most of the twentieth century. The business has moved to Mansell road, leaving the building empty. Mimosa Salon on the lower level? Used to be where the corpses would get done up. The beautiful glass enclosed dining room? Used to be the portico where the hearse parked. The building has a fascinating history and it's no wonder it's thought to be haunted. The previous owner of Pico Autentico/Relish wasn't interested in any negative publicity from ghost investigators, so the building has only recently been added to the ghost tour.

For the spirit crawl, we were offered three flights along with the tour: beer, wine and specialty cocktails. All were provided by The Mill and served on the premises. You started the tour at the Square, where all Roswell Ghost tours begin, and walked over to the restaurant and upstairs to the private dining room where the beers were served. After that, we walked to Bulloch Hall and heard the stories associated with that house and the nearby Mimosa Hall. For the second leg, we went upstairs in The Mill again and enjoyed our tastings of wine while one of the restaurant employees told us about her personal experiences with the buildings ghosts. Afterwards, we walked over to Founders Cemetery, The Bricks and "The Creepy House", which is exactly as advertised. We ended at The Mill's bar, where we were served our cocktails.

This is the oldest example of townhouse architecture
in the United States. And it's haunted. 

All in all, it was a good tour. It took about twice as long as a regular ghost tour, so if they offer it again, be ready for a late night. Our guide, Beth, was friendly and knowledgeable and kept things moving along at a good pace. The drinks themselves didn't wow me much. Everything was good, but not great. The tastings felt a little rushed to me, I found myself having to quickly gulp a glass of wine I was enjoying so I could leave with the group. Maybe next time they can truncate the tour a bit to give you more time to enjoy the drinks? Either way, it was a really nice way to spend a fall evening. If they offer this tour again, I'd recommend it. If they offer it again, but this time featuring another restaurant on the Square, I'd go on it again.

I took a bunch of photos with my phone, including some with the coveted "orbs" that are supposed to indicate a haunting. You can check them all out here.

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