Appalachian Brewing Company

Best news I've had in a long time! Jack D'Mestiere, Poutine Chronicles' infamous poutine reviewer is back. Thanks Jack. It's been too long!

A coupla weeks ago me and Dolly-girl were back in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, down here south of the border where my son sets his brake. Along towards the evening hour when it’s time to put the feed bag on, we decided to head to Appalachian Brewing Company, a moderate sized chain of brewpubs, as chains of brewpubs go—you can partake at 8 locations.

Well, we happened in on a slow Friday night, which I’m guessing doesn’t happen often, but it suited us just fine as it’s gettin’ harder for me to hear in a busy joint. Maybe harder to see too. I picked up the list of beers and said “Outta Focus” and Dolly-girl says right off, “You should have brought your glasses, Jack, I told you!” “No, Dolly-girl, that’s the name of the beer—Outta Focus—I’ll have one. I picked up the menu and started looking at the salads as, you know, maybe I’ve had a few too many beers and poutines lately…

Wowsa! Right there in close proximity to salads where a tempting trio: Coal Cracker Pierogies, Cheddar Ale Soup, and Classic Canadian Poutine! How could I pass it up? As some of you readers know, I feel duty-bound (although Classic Canadian Poutine seemed to be tariff-free…) to eat poutine when available. But, resigned to be good, I ordered  the roasted red beet…I DID NOT! I ordered the CCP, although I wondered how classic it was, seeing as how they prided themselves on Yancy’s Fancy® cheddar cheese curds and something called “Jolly Scot” gravy which they make there in Harrisburg themselves. Maybe the spuds were from PEI, but the gravy makings didn’t look like anything I’d seen in Québec...

The Classic Canadian Poutine arrived. It was a smallish serving, so it lived up to its location in the “Appetizers” section of the menu. The fries were crispy and good and they didn’t have any problem standing up to that kilt-wearing gravy maker. Maybe because of the size of the plate they were still snappin’ at the bottom. The gravy, even though it was named after some Scotsman, was tasty—just the right amount of salt to ring my dinner bell—that would be way more salt that Dr. Rachel S. Graves, MD would say I should be eating, but then she would have raised her eyebrows and shook her head over the whole thing. Now then, what about Yancy and his fancy curds? Blaaaat! They were yellow and melted. No curd shape. No curd squeak. So, an automatic 1 curd deduction for no squeak and I’m going to knock another half-curd off for calling it “Classic Canadian Poutine.” Not bad, but at 10-and-a-half Canadian bucks for a small plate, it’s a little dear.

“Well, Dolly-girl, let’s pack up, get into the mini-van and head down the road.” “Hand over the keys you Outta Focus poutine muncher…”

Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 North Cameron St., Harrisburg, PA 17101

Tel: 717-221-1080

Website: https://abcbrew.com