Earth Bread and Brewery

[chowfun]

This brew pub is in Mount Airy near McMenamins It was opened by the couple who ran Heavyweight Brewing Company. They feature their own beer and a number of guest brews on tap. They have wines by the bottle and glass, that I have not sampled. The flatbreads, (pizza to me) are baked at a high heat in a wood burning oven built for this restaurant. The crust is at once light and crispy and chewy, cooked perfectly with a bit of char on the edges, and very flavorful. It stands up to the toppings, no soggy crust in the middle. My favorite "bread" is the seed pizza with garlic oil, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and cheese. Other favorites are the cheese tomato sauce and fresh arugula and a pesto pie with potatoes. The salads are fresh and well executed, I have found the soup to be hit or miss. The desserts are from The Night Kitchen in Chestnut Hill.

This place is well worth a a special trip.

[etalanian]

My son lives near this restaurant, and so I've eaten there a few times since it opened recently. I have found the price/value ratio to be very positive.

I've had a beer there that is made with hops grown in Mt Airy and is flavored with lemon verbena. Extraordinary. The aroma is amazing and the flavor is exquisite.

They serve a cookie assortment as one of the dessert options. The cookies could use some refining, but they are made with all butter ( I asked the owner) and they taste great.

I highly recommend their "breads" (pizzas) which are delicious and well-priced, and their house salad.

This restaurant is a welcome addition to Mt. Airy and a definite value for the quality offered.

Eileen

[mattohara]

I went to the Tria event last night. There were three beers being served in smaller pours for 2.50 and pints were also available. The Gruit ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruit ) was my favorite. It tasted yeasty but somehow more...big? than just yeast? Hard to describe but definitely my favorite.

There was also a Scandinavian style that I can't remember the name of and a rauchbier. I always love the rauchbier's smell and wild flavor. All three beers were killer.

Tom Baker was popping by tables to chat. A very nice, inexpensive introduction to the man and his beers.

Apparently the 7 and 8 lines run on either side of the restaurant/brewpub so we'll be heading up there soon. If the food's half as good as the beer we'll be happy.

edit: The rauchbier had smoked malt *and* smoked yeast, if I remember correctly.

Edited January 9, 2009 by mattohara (log)

[jm chen]

I went to the Tria event last night.

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Ditto. Both the smoked beer and the Gruit, I thought were out of this world. The third one was a Finnish style, a sahti, that I didn't try. The smoked beer was especially nice since the smoke is subtle -- not one of those crazy German rauchbiers that tastes like liquid bacon. (Beer that tastes like bacon; not as pleasant as you'd think.)