Getting mellow, man
By Colin Burch
For Weekly Surge
I drove through the parking lot of the new Mellow Mushroom, 1571 21st Avenue N., Myrtle Beach in the early afternoon Monday (July 7). It was opening day. A construction worker held up four fingers, a pleasant change from the one finger I often get, and an indication that the restaurant would be opening at 4 p.m.
I noticed a New South Brewing Co. truck outside, which suggested that the gourmet-pizza joint would include Myrtle Beach's very own microbrews, but I had no idea how much New South would be represented at Mellow Mushroom later that day.
I returned around 4:30 p.m. with my wife and kids. Inside, Mellow Mushroom was a far-out pizza joint, trippy with day-glo red, green, purple, and orange, and black booths.
I asked the server if she had a beer list, and she produced a folded up paper from the back pocket of her jeans, explaining that the restaurant will eventually have more than 100 beers, but because they just opened, what she had was listed on the paper.
The available drafts on opening day included New South's White Ale, Nut Brown, Lager, and Pale Ale, along with Hoegaarden, Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada Summerfest, Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale, UFO Raspberry, and UFO Hefeweizen.
The available bottles included several of your usual domestic regulars and lights along with some surprises, including Xingu Black Beer, Fullers ESB, and Maisels Weisse, with prices running from $3-$8.
I ordered a pint of Hoegaarden, the gorgeous Belgian white, for $5. When our pizzas arrived - a medium Funky Q. Chicken and a medium Hawaiian - I switched over to Sierra Nevada Summerfest for $4.50. That seasonal was, to my tastes, a lighter and less-hoppy version of their famous Pale Ale, which is the Rachel McAdams of beers.
The pizzas brought differences of opinion within the family about whether Mellow Mushroom had beaten our local Ultimate California Pizza. I'll say this much - the pizzas were very good, and I loved the crusts because they were soft and salted, almost like eating a warm pretzel. When we were stuffed, I took my almost-three-year-old Sadie over to the bar - the bar, you know, being one of the best places you can take a two-year-old. I should write a parenting column.
Who was standing behind the bar but Brock Kurtzman of New South, moonlighting as a barkeep. And seated at the counter was the world-renown Eric Lamb, chief brewer at Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery.
I got a glimpse of the draft brews that will be coming soon, because there were plenty of stylish, name-brand tap heads already on the wall, including Rogue's Kells, Dead Guy Ale, and Chocolate Stout, and Red Seal Ale and Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. I also saw Abita Alligator, Scrimshaw Pilsner, Magic Hat #9, Purple Haze, and from Asheville, N.C., Highland Brewing Co.'s Gaelic Ale and Oatmeal Porter.
And a few taps had no heads yet. I'll let you know as more become available.
The point being, you're not going to have a hard time finding the right beer to go with your pizza at Mellow Mushroom.
Do the Mango Tango
And speaking of Lamb, he emailed me to say that the Mango Tango beer tapping party, a joint action between Liberty and Tango Bay clothiers, would be moved to Wednesday (July 16), a week later than originally reported. Lamb has created a special mango and peach wheat beer. The party will be held at Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery at Broadway at the Beach.
Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his beer blog at http://maltyhops.blogspot.com