By Ethan Craig

Go to your local supermarket and you will find more than the ordinary domestic beer we are used to seeing. More and more beers are flooding the market from our local breweries and from breweries out of the state. This is because of the increase in Georgia Breweries as well as the demand for more craft beer. In fact, not only are more breweries opening in Georgia, they are incentivized to release more specialty beers. As a response to consumer demand, breweries are releasing beers at an unprecedented pace, sometimes with a new beer coming out on nearly a week to week basis.

Variant Brewery puts a new beer on every Wednesday, along with any other special releases they decide to do. At Tap & Six, we have 40 taps behind the bar; I do keep a Pilsner, a Golden Ale and a Root Beer on all the time, however, everything else we carry rotates through. This means that when I run out of one beer, I have a completely different beer ready to go on right after it. As I am writing this, I am also contemplating three new beers I want to go on next. Because so many breweries are coming out with beer so frequently, we now have Facebook groups, websites, podcasts, and more content all discussing new beer coming out on a weekly basis.

Personally, I have my favorite beers that I always keep stocked in my fridge; One is “All I want for my Birthday is a Big Booty Baltic Porter” by Blue Tarp, all right, you got me, I got this one first because of the name… and now I just can’t get enough. If a brewery makes a great beer that I enjoy, of course I will still buy it, but I’m not going to stand in line or savor every last drop, because I can always get more. On the flip side, when I pay over $20 for a bottle, I want it to last, I want to share it and I am drinking to take in as much flavor as I possibly can. Yes, beer can be expensive, and I have bought multiple bottles for over $50. Because I want to taste as much as possible out of these expensive beers, they are going to be the first ones popped open, followed by one of my go-to beers to finish off the night. All these new beers mean that it is more difficult than ever maintain a good reputation in the beer community, they cannot simply brew one beer that everyone likes, they now have to compete against themselves and consistently create and replicate great beers or else risk their consumers getting bored. My job is to keep up to date with all of these new and special releases in order to make sure we have the best selection available to us. Stop in to see what’s new on tap.❍

Ethan Craig is Craft Beer Curator at Tap & Six Craft Beer House, a craft beer bar and market in historic Roswell at 23 Oak Street. tapandsix.com

By Don Rizzo

Okay people… the holidays and the excuses are over. It’s January. Time to shed the blubber and flex the flab. Lurking inside you, just a pushup away from revealing itself to the world, is a buff, sculpted, Greek statue-like body. Okay, okay, so maybe being able to see your shoe tops without bending over is your ultimate fitness fantasy. Gotta start somewhere.

With those thoughts in mind, I resolutely headed for the gym the first week into the New Year. After all, what could be so difficult about doing a few jumping jacks, pumping a little iron, and miraculously returning my body. to its 18-year-old perfection?

Found the place. Things are going well. I burst through the door with a manly swagger. O! M! G!

An entire continent of torture devices confronted me, disappearing off into the distance as far as the eye could see. Was this a gym or an interrogation nightmare from the KGB? Trapezes, hanging bars, monster bar bells, bizarre machines with enough handles and levers to send a commercial. pilot into a tailspin.

I pivoted quickly, trying to do a 180 out of there.

“Hi, and welcome to the gym!” Apparently, an iron vice had grabbed me by the shoulder. Unable to shake it off and bolt to the door, I turned and was confronted by a twenty-something bundle of wiry muscle. Too embarrassing to run now. Besides, no way could I loosen his grip.

“Hi,” I muttered weakly. I felt like Mr. Magoo in a face-off with Michelangelo’s David.

After a spirited sales pitch I was intimidated into signing up. “Let’s get right at it,” Adonis says, his eyes glinting like a psychopath sizing up his next victim.

But guess what? Turns out he is a pretty gentle guy. Respectful of my aging, mushy body. Patient. Nice. And he had some wonderful little pain inducers I had never thought of. For example, holding all your weight up on one elbow as you rest on your side. How easy is that? Give it a try. In 15 seconds your whole body is vibrating. Good for “the core” he says. Turns out the guy is obsessed with “the core.” I didn’t even know I had a core. Turns out an apple has nothing on me.

So, anyway, I recommend using a trainer to get you over the “I despise every minute of this” hurdle. If you sign up for five or ten sessions, then you have a commitment. You either show up for your session or admit that you’re a pathetic loser who can’t take it. I don’t know about the ladies, but that logic works for most men.

A few sessions went by, and I was actually getting more comfy about the whole thing. If nothing else, I could strut around feeling superior to those undisciplined beer bellies in the outside world who didn’t have my iron will and rapidly firming abs.

The only other adjustment problem that plagued me centers on the clientele at the gym. Categories seem to emerge. Most noticeable are the iron-bodied twenty-somethings; guys in Stanley Kowalski muscle shirts with rippling biceps and an in-your-face strut; the women in skintight body outfits that are totally distracting. At the other end of the spectrum are the chubbies—panting men and women in baggy warm-ups looking totally lost. You usually see them once or twice and they disappear. That’s because they either graduate to another group—or they opt out.

I religiously avoid eye contact with the extreme groups. I’m in the middle group. Middle-aged to advanced age, looking to stay in some kind of reasonable shape, recognizing we’re never going to be a rippling pile of percolating protein. We slink in, do our thing unobtrusively, and slide back into the world of the anonymous milling about the malls. But, believe it or not, two good things have resulted for me. I have actually reached the point where I enjoy my workouts—and they make me feel really good mentally and physically. Great result for a small sacrifice. As I read somewhere there are positive addictions and negative addictions. Positive addictions feel terrible while you’re doing them and have a great result. Negative addictions feel great while you’re doing them and have a terrible result. Take your choice.

Don Rizzo is a Roswell resident who wasted promising career possibilities, opting to spend his time cranking out press releases and inane advertising copy. He is continuing that trajectory in retirement—he now keeps busy playing mediocre golf and hiding in his man-cave to avoid vacuuming and yard work.

Don’s book, Confessions of a Grumpy Old Man—How to make a mess of your life in 80 short years is available at Blurb, and Amazon. It’s a great read. —Ed.

By Joe Duffy

While Roswell’s City Council continues stuck in neutral when it comes to encouraging sufficient parking, Alpharetta has upshifted and passed their neighbor as the epicenter of uOTPian dining by juxtaposing plentiful parking to live/work/play walkable developments. Enter Alpharetta City Center, the latest mixed-use complex, adjacent to City Hall in the heart of downtown.

Unlike nearby Avalon, which had scheduled grand openings for each of their two phases, City Center is debuting piecemeal. Neck-and-neck with neighboring Restaurant Holmes, the co-leader among the newcomers is Citizen Soul. Indeed, the sister restaurant of Roswell’s Vin 25, Phillip Cooper’s newest eating house appears to be cash-cow, already playing to capacity crowds, even on a Monday night.

Many restaurateurs when opening a new shop, fancy menus different than their established siblings. But Coop and his chef Sean Clark consigned many of Vin’s staples such as house-made pimento cheese fritters, short rib stuffed piquillo peppers, and duck confit to their new business. Similarly, while each enterprise has a different cut of steak as well as a scallop dish, albeit with slightly different accompaniments, the menus are much alike.

Citizen Soul is described as a Pacific Northwest style tavern. As a northeast transplant of a certain age, “tavern food” connotes to me big sandwiches and big beer. #FakeNews. “Inspired by pubs and taverns in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington” Citizen is not that old soul we seasoned Yankee expats knew. The menu correctly describes the cuisine as “fine fare” and definitely in an upscale casual atmosphere.

My foodie underground has touted the short-rib stuffed pepper first course as much as any food item.

Short rib is a luscious cut of beef. Okay, well pretty much all parts of a cow are savory. Thus, the piquillo pepper is the perfect enhancement for this shining star appetizer. It is a variety of chili pepper that packs no heat and is slightly sweet. The subtle taste is perfect to add just enough flavoring while allowing the meat to be spotlighted in its own juice.

Intrinsic to my glutton haughtiness is the yearning to distinguish items as “best.” Assuredly, those stuffed peppers are a formidable entrant. Then again, the pimento cheese fritters are equally prodigious in the vegetarian bracket. They are crisp, with just enough crunch on the outside and mouth-watering gooeyness on the inside. What Clark has down to a science is allowing the main ingredients to sparkle, while amalgamating the corresponding parts. The sweetness of the house red pepper chili jam perfectly offsets the salt of the cheese.

Last month, I professed how my family is carrying out research (with many deserving combatants) for a favorite burger in the post-Oak Street Cafe era. Especially when the accompaniment fries are considered, Soul may have the foremost burger and fries entree.

Oh, the fries. The secret is in the oil—duck oil. Intown chef (and now Avalon power broker) Shaun Doty is perhaps the forerunner in making duck fries a thing in Atlanta. But Doty would be dazzled with the pommes frites here. And yet again, Clark’s choice of Port Salut cheese is no accident. It’s tasty yet mild enough to allow the Angus beef to shine. Ditto for the oregano aioli, which is flavorful, but in a tender way.

Lesser chefs often blunder by overpowering a dish with sauces, spices, or other components. Clark indubitably takes great caution in ensuring he empowers, not overpowers a dish.

Master Sommelier Cooper built the appropriately named Vin 25 into the area’s most revered wine powerhouse. His Alpharetta outpost showcases a mostly domestic wine register. Likewise, on the current beer draft list, I tallied 16 beers, 12 from Georgia. Thank goodness (literally), you will find none of those “for the many” slopsucker swills. All draughts appeal to discerning gustatory organs. Take your dilly dilly elsewhere, Bud. Citizen’s Soul’s adult beverages are to dazzle dally.

Our well-versed waitress Amber said the 60 South salmon is their most popular item. The fish originates from Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina in isolated, pure waters, producing the highest sustainable salmon.

With the most excellent suppliers and a chef adept at ensuring each aspect component completes, not competes has Citizen Soul as a serious player in the never-ending dining dynamo that is Alpharetta and Roswell. Oh, I’m looking forward to the impressive dossier of restaurants coming in early 2019 to Alpharetta City Center. Still, I need to find my way inside Citizen Soul’s doorway on a regular basis. ❍

When he’s not eating, which is rare, the author is CEO of Sports Handicapping website Offshore Insiders. His bride’s gift site, Duffy Gifts is the place to go for gifts for all occasions from My Thirty One Gifts. 

Green Scene, by Geri Laufer
DYK? Gardening tones muscles and burns calories. Assuming a body weight of 150, Live Strong (a website for healthy living) suggests you can burn through a good number, just doing the things a gardener needs to do. See the list below and some resolutions for 2019.

Calories per hour

272 General Gardening
141 Light Gardening
306 Weeding
29 Hand Watering, Standing
306 Pruning Trees or hrubs
340 Digging
434 Turning Compost, Soil
301 Shoveling Mulch
238 Cutting Brush
306 Mowing with a power mower

Garden Resolutions for 2019

I resolve to garden more
I resolve to look at my yard as a stranger might, to assess its strong and weak points
I resolve to draw up a master plan with the help of a landscape architect
I resolve never to pass up a new plant I see in a nursery
I resolve to dig the holes before I go to the annual plant sale
I resolve to join a garden club or plant society
I resolve to weed religiously
I resolve to organize my tools
I resolve to rescue plants from markdown racks at big box stores because I have green fingers
I resolve to get timers for both hoses
I resolve to plant 1000 daffodils per year
I resolve to plant every plant I purchase immediately after I get home with all of them
I resolve to label every plant
I resolve to weed occasionally
I resolve to re-read all the gardening books I already have
I resolve to subscribe to a new gardening magazine
I resolve to divide my hosta and iris
I resolve to sharpen my ratchet loppers
I resolve to mark where the bulbs are already planted so next fall I won’t plant over top of them
I resolve to weed if desperately needed
I resolve to clean my spade and garden fork after each workout
I resolve to make friends with the Chipper/ Shredder Tree Guy who has free woodchips for mulch
I resolve to swap plants with friends
I resolve not to buy any more plants unless I know specifically where I will plant them in the garden. Ha. ❍

Geri Laufer lives in Atlanta, where she, graphic designer husband David, and English Coonhound Lily are working on designing and installing a never-finished landscape. You can reach her at Geri Laufer

By Ethan Craig

Just as we are recovering from the smorgasbord of Thanksgiving fare (I have a soft spot for pumpkin pie!), the next round of holiday festivities and indulging is upon us. Scientific research shows that the thing people look most forward to this time of the year is the food. Okay, we really just asked some folks at the bar, but it seems accurate, and we agree with them, so consider it valid data.

Whether it’s your family’s recipe passed down over the generations or creating a new tradition with those close to you, what comes out of the kitchen and lands on the dining room table is a focal point of the season. When there’s good food, good drink is important as well. It’s common to hear about which wines pair best with different dishes, but beer is often a better complement to your food because of the diversity it offers.
Something to consider while pairing beer with your meal are the three C’s: Contrast, Complement, Cleanse. And always be wary of overpowering your palate.

Contrasting flavors can be a bit tricky. We want to find a dominant food flavor that won’t get washed away by the flavors of the beer. For example, oysters have a briny flavor, so find something that has enough flavor to contrast the brine without overpowering it. In this case, try out a rich, dark stout.

Complementing takes the same approach. A salad with a clean fresh flavor will be overwhelmed by a stout. However, a lighter pilsner or lager will bring out more flavors from the salad. This can also apply to fruit. A sweet dish heavy on fruit may also benefit from a sweeter beer by bringing out the sweetness in both.

Sometimes a flavor can be strong enough to linger on your palate and have a negative effect on the beer and food. The carbonation of beer can save the day and cleanse your palate, leaving you ready for the next sip or bite. My favorite example of this is blue cheese and IPAs. Some love the taste blue cheese leaves in your mouth and some don’t. But a cleansing IPA can help bring out the best flavors of both.

Finally, always do what you can to avoid overpowering your palate. A protein like chicken breast won’t pair well with a heavier beer. Having too many competing flavors can have a similar effect. At a paired beer dinner that I attended recently, an IPA infused with curry and spices was paired with a spicy Indian dish. The food and the beer were both so intense that they were fighting each other for my taste buds’ attention. My mouth ended up in intensive care, barely able to taste anything else the rest of the night.

Keep in mind the beers that you want to pair with the feast during the coming holidays. I am already planning pairings for my family’s Christmas celebration. For more information on specific beer pairings, drop by to see me at Tap & Six. Here’s a useful chart, as well.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ❍

Ethan Craig is Craft Beer Curator at Tap & Six Craft Beer House, a craft beer bar and market in historic Roswell at 23 Oak Street.

By Di Chapman

We’ve rolled into the season with our usual bloated bellies from Thanksgiving, right into ubiquitous tins of cookies, fudge, pecan pies, and if you’re Scandinavian like I am, tasteless lutefisk fondues, which you should not go out of your way to try.

We’ve barreled into the season of overloaded airports, collective stress, packed exercise classes, and dreaded family gatherings to stuff ourselves with yet more food. Ah…don’t we love this month of rampant gluttony, chaos and, barring any ugly sweaters, gift giving and receiving?

The giving we do with family can really bring us joy. So does showing generosity, big or small, of any kind to causes throughout our community, nation and world. It’s awesome to bring joy to others by being generous with time, money, or things during the holidays.
The joy you’ll feel from giving surpasses the generousness itself, no matter the size or type of contribution.
Here are some basics to creating joy through giving, if you’re thinking about it this season like I am:

Keep the K-I-S-S in giving. Have you noticed the food donation boxes everywhere? Throw in some canned goods! Simple. If you don’t want to haul them around, keep them by the front door. The post office delivery folks pick up your bagged canned goods right at your mailbox one day a year. As a perennially-hurried girl, I throw the cans I’ve saved into a bag when I hear the mail truck. I run to the mailbox, usually in bare feet in the ice, snow, rain, or otherwise, and hand it to my mail person. Easy enough! I’m lucky they don’t come early, or I’d be in boxer shorts.

Keep the canned goods year ‘round. I like to troll grocery store isles all year and pick up canned foods on sale. It’s a simple routine, and storage just took a cleanout of my cupboards. That’s the agony. You must make difficult decisions about the contents of said cupboards. If they’re like mine, there’s a treasure trove of throw-awayable-junk, like old crackers, and popcorn that drives you crazy when you pop it and all you get are unopened kernels. Ditch near-empty chip bags, and stashed moldy fruit cake. Dump the pile of gadgets and plastic football team cups you’ve never used. Make room for generosity.

Generosity can be demonstrated many ways. Heck, you can give money, time, supplies, gifts, and/or companionship to the cause of your choice. Wounded warriors? Give any of the above! Animal causes? Any of the above. Relieving an Alzheimer’s caretaker for an hour, or a day? Give the time. Helping children? Ditto. I enjoy donating a stuffed animal to children’s hospitals every time I visit the pet store. My Miss Kitty’s spoiled, so I haunt the place often.

Give all year round. Drop change in the lucite boxes at grocery stores. Give a buck or two toward children’s meals during back-to-school. Easy. Grocery stores manage the process and record your donation on your receipt. Ditto the pet stores. (I know you’re taking Fido there regularly.) I have a little game I play to donate cash to causes at both. I go to the store more than probably any human throughout history. I have no idea how two slender adults and a kitty go through so many groceries. We tell ourselves it’s all healthy perishable foods, but I know we sneak in ice cream, dairy-free desserts, soft drinks, chips, trail mix and chocolate, all of which go “poof!” into thin air. Every time I’m there, I give a few dollars to an awesome cause. Let’s say I get groceries three times a week. Maybe four. My giving adds up!

Clean out your over-stuffed closet. I know it’s there! Take out your spandex miniskirts, ladies, and old Hawaiian shirts, gents. Face it. Your closet is a scary place overflowing with donation potential.

Are you frugal? Think tax deductions! Choose to give donations, whether cash or goods. You’ll be rewarded with joy and with deductions. Be awesome and think about it!

When you give, you’re in good company. I love the episode of the “Big Bang Theory” where Howard is taken, kicking and screaming, to volunteer at a soup kitchen. He kvetches loudly while washing dishes. Suddenly, in walks Elon Musk in dish gloves and apron, carrying dirty dishes. Trust me, many awesome CEOs are donating time in the trenches.

Giving is great “medicine.” One of the best ways to find joy, no matter what your circumstances, is to give anywhere, anytime, any way.

Never doubt that your giving touches someone. I had a teddy bear business, and one Christmas Eve an order came in for a sweet pink bear. It was 4:00 and the post office closed at 5:00 sharp. I was ready to close up shop. Surely, nobody expected that I could mail a bear on Christmas Eve. I had friends gathering at my home, waiting for me to join them. All of a sudden, I told the gang to party on, and I wrapped the bear in tissue and ribbon, placed it in an overnight mailing box, and sped to the post office. I tripped through the door at 4:55. While I had my spot in line, I placed the package on the floor, sealed it, and addressed it, while scooting as the line moved. I made it, and it felt so right.

Two days later, an email arrived from my customer, thanking me for sending the bear to their friends overnight. “They buried their little girl today,” they explained, “and the bear meant the world to them.” I gave of myself that night, and the reward was priceless.

The awesomeness of generosity invigorates us and gives us purpose. It can change our lives. I promise.

Happy Holidays, awesome readers! Today, it’s my joy to give you my writing. ❍

Di Chapman is an inspirational author and speaker, and a branding consultant. Di’s latest book is “Rekindle Your Purpose: Break through your disappointments, discouragements, and detours to resurrect your purpose and live it!” Write to Di.