The Jealous Crumpet

A sweet little blog


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Green Bus Brewing

1Huntsville has a new brewery!!! Let’s all toast Green Bus Brewery with a pint of Hop Bus IPA!!1y2b7819Back in 2009 craft beer in Huntsville was in its infancy. Prior to this beer with an alcohol content of more than 6% was banned from the state. Other prohibition era laws remained of the books and essentially stifled an industry that was thriving and benefiting other states throughout the country. In 2005, a group of passionate beer lovers started the Free the Hops movement to change the laws and bring more sophisticated beer drinking habits to the state.  And once change started there was no stopping it.  Throughout Alabama craft breweries started expanding, but no place took to it like Huntsville.  Maybe it’s all of our out-of-state brew drinking transplants, maybe it’s our high populations of beer-loving engineers, but whatever the reason, Huntsville loves craft beer!2Now that we’ve hit 2016 Green Bus will be the 8th brewery in Madison County.  I had the pleasure of dropping into the Grand Opening.1y2b7808The Grand Opening lasted all day and I picked a time that I thought would be dead, but I would be wrong.  There were tons of people, lots of beer, food, games, live music, raffles, and a guy in lederhosen. ‘Tis the season I suppose.  1y2b7833They even had the infamous green bus! It was covered with stickers from all the other local breweries. I love how the craft beer industry in Alabama is so supportive of each other. I can’t tell you how many times brewers have told me ‘when one of us succeeds we all do’.1y2b7839I’d loved to have tasted the beer, but unfortunately I am currently under a strict gluten-free diet (doctor’s orders) so alas I could only photograph it.  I will say it was quite pretty and the drinkers around me seemed immensely happy.3


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Search for the Elusive Beer: Heady Topper

headytopperIt is said that the goddess Aphrodite aka Venus was born after Cronus castrated his father Uranus and threw his … um … er… ‘member’ into the sea. (ouch!) Sea-foam formed where Uranus’s genitals fell into the water and from this foam Venus sprang forth, fully formed and a goddess to be reckoned with.

I don’t believe the craft beer, Heady Topper, has quite as dramatic of an origin story, but the beer is as revered, loved, and sought-after as the great Venus herself. I recently had the pleasure of encountering this highly ranked, elusive beer while on a trip to see my family in upstate New York.

While in New York, I was posting various photographs of local brews to my Instagram account and a friend jokingly commented that if I wanted to bring her back a souvenir, she would love some craft beer.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Heady Topper if it’s available! Never had it.. only heard the folklore,” she said.

Sure, why not, I thought. Little did I know the journey she was sending me on. The ‘folklore’ comment should have been my tipoff.

Over the next couple of days, I glanced at the grocery store’s beer selection but didn’t see anything, so I decided to research it. It was then that I learned how complicated it was to get this beer.

Heady Topper was ranked by Beer Advocate as the # 1 beer starting in 2013. It is currently ranked # 2 on the list, but could move back to the number 1 spot at anytime. It is hard to get because it is a world-class beer that is only distributed in Vermont. Heady Topper often sells out within the hour and people wait in long lines to get it. There are even a story of 1 can of beer selling for as much as $42. After learning all of this, I was ready to throw in the towel and just send my friend a post card, but my Dad got quite inspired about getting his hands on some. We had a trip planned to Burlington, so he started watching the brewery’s website to see where Heady would be distributed.

He learned that it would arrive at City Market on Tuesday.City MarketOn the big day, we got a late start and didn’t get into Burlington until 12:30 pm. I figured we had missed out, but then we saw this sign.Heady TopperThe most important part of the sign was that the beer wouldn’t be brought out until 2pm, so we hadn’t missed out! My father was very excited and after a visit to customer service to inquire about the appropriate Heady purchasing protocol, he promptly got in line. I kept on asking if he was sure he wanted to wait for an hour for a beer we’d never even heard of a week earlier, but he was adamant that he was in it for the long haul.

My mother and I went across the street to a local bookstore as my father bonded with his line-mates. Some were newbies like himself, but others were Heady fanatics that raved about how much they LOVED this beer.

At one point, a woman came by and observed the growing line of Heady shoppers.

“You know, there is perfectly good beer that you don’t have to wait in line for!” she exclaimed.  She shook her head at their ridiculous fanaticism.

As she walked away the man behind my father said, “That used to be me, wondering why someone would stand in line for beer. Then I had Heady and now here I am, standing in line.”

By 2pm, over 50 were waiting for the beer. There was no limit on how much a customer could purchase, so everyone had to hope the person in front of them didn’t buy everything. My father was 5th in line, so he was able to get his prize quickly: a case of Heady Topper.

My mother and I met with him at a nearby restaurant to celebrate his victory. I noticed that the menu featured another beer from The Alchemist brewery so I ordered it.

“I’m sorry,” said the waitress. “We’re all out, but we do have Heady Topper.”

“Perfect!” I said, and my mother, father and I all ordered some.

Heady TopperWe toasted to my father’s vigilance and to Heady Topper’s excellence. We drank it out of the can, as recommended, and then walked around Burlington with a pleasant buzz.

On the ride home to New York, a double rainbow smiled down upon us. Heady Topper IS magical!!

IMG_1982I sent my friend, who initiated this adventure, a picture of the magical brew.

IMG_1975I carefully wrapped two hoppy gems in bubble wrap and tucked them in my checked luggage for the flight back to Alabama.

IMG_2037Despite my trepidation, they made it home unscathed and still cold!IMG_2038


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Celebrate National Beer Day with Craft Beer Ice Pops

Straight to Ale Ice Pops

 No longer do you have to choose to cool down with a beer or an ice pop, instead you can enjoy your beer in a refreshing, icy block on a stick.  straight2ale2

This recipe was created by the always-talented Lily Plauché for an article we did together for NoAla Magazine.  Some articles can be tiresome to work on, but whenever beer is involved it is always a pleasure and this one was no exception.  straighttoale

We both got to visit Straight to Ale, a great brewery in Huntsville, sample their delicious fares, and got the grand tour of the brewery.  As with every brewery I have ever visited the people were very accommodating and lovely.  Though I’m sure there out there, I have yet to meet a mean brewer.  straighttoale14

Despite using a pretty hoppy IPA, Monkeynaut, this recipe is light and refreshing, with a little kick of beer taste at the end.  Enjoy the recipe below and Happy National Beer Day!IPA Ice Pop

IPA Ice Pops

Lily Plauché

Beer: Monkeynaut

 Serves: 9

 1 cup sugar

½ cup water

1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries

1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 cup Straight to Ale Monkeynaut IPA beer

9 wooden craft sticks

1. In a medium pot, combine sugar, water, strawberries, and pineapple. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Let cool.

2. Place fruit mixture and beer in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Pour into ice pop molds, insert wooden craft stick into each, and freeze 8 hours or until firm.

These are a soft-frozen treat due to the high alcohol content. Dip the molds briefly into hot water to assist in removing from the pops the molds. You can also freeze them in small paper cups if you don’t have ice pop molds.straighttoale2