Big Sandy Brewing Co. is a small brewpub in Bruceton Mills that I was just able to visit fairly recently. 



The local beer blog, Brilliant Stream, reported that they may be pausing brewing their own beer and instead shifting focus to a craft beer pub.



So, I am really thankful I was able to check out some of their own beers before the hiatus.



They had 8 taps, with one as a lemonade and one as a rootbeer when I visited. The remainder were the Big Sandy Brown Ale, the Semi-Serious IPA, the Tegerty Session IPA, the Pear-A-Lell Brew-Naverse, and the Pineapple Milkshake IPA, and a traditional lager. 



The pear beer won me over with its silly name and fun flavors. It was just a little sweet but refreshing. So good. That lemonade? Also so good. They also have a small food menu with some hoagies and fried apps. 



Apparently they sometimes have food trucks too, and live music. Have you checked out this brewpub?

Little dessert shops are my favorite. Lisa and I stumbled upon M&M Bake Shop, which is essentially the garage of a baker in Bruceton Mills.


But it has shelves on shelves of goodies - like these oreo cake balls!


And even pepperoni rolls, which, of course, I had to try! These small, hometown bakeries are some of my favorites!

If there is ice cream in close proximity, I will find it.


That's the case at The Mill Stone Family Restaurant.


It's a lovely sit-down family restaurant. But attached to it, there's an ice cream shop!


Lisa and I made our way back to explore all the sweet treats they offer.


I ended up going with a classic: cookie dough blizzard.


Have you been here?

I've been to Screech Owl Brewing many moons ago.

Since my last visit, they expanded to include a restaurant.

That restaurant is called Spent Grain Cafe.

It's such a neat concept that they're using spent grain from brewing for their pizzas and sandwiches - and pepperoni rolls!

Of course, their main star here is the beer.

So, we ordered a sampler to try a bit of everything.

I couldn't get enough of the Wild & Wonderful Strawberry Ale.

We tried a pizza - and it's neat that the crust is almost a little sweet.

And the pepperoni roll!

We ended up getting them to go, but they were fresh and warm.

This is definitely one of the more unique pepperoni rolls I've had!

Have you been here yet?

Preston County's oldest brewery, Screech Owl Brewing, opened just a few months ago. How? This brewery, the only brewery in Preston County, is producing small batch beers out of a garage in Bruceton Mills.

Currently, there are just a few seats used to sample the various beers, but you can purchase growlers here from the friendly couple who runs this operation.

So, of course, Vicki, Steve and I had to have a sampler to see what we liked best! Bold Blonde Ale is a light, easy drinking beer. The Threshing Floor Wheat is a good wheat beer - I love a Hefeweizen, so that's no surprise. The Wild & Wonderful Strawberry Ale - which recently was on tap at Iron Horse - isn't so much sweet, as it has a very fruity smell at the end. Even the biggest hophead I know, ahem Vicki, was a big fan. The Adalyn's Brown Ale was a bit heavy for me and has a bit of a bitter taste at the end. The Rykers Revenge IPA wasn't too overwhelming as an IPA, which I appreciated.

I love that they considered naming the brewery Chicken Lips, because that was a nickname my dad often used for a friend. Just a silly little connection. But by going with Screech Owl Brewing, they can abbreviate to SOB, which they like.

I left with a small growler full of the strawberry ale - not even a super sweet beer, but a lovely smelling beer. And, you know, smell contributes in large part to the flavor of things.

Have you been? What's your fav?

Lisa, who up until recently managed the Morgantown Farmers Market, let me tag along with her to the 2014 Preston County Fiber Artist Holiday Open House. A few of her vendors from the market put it on - mostly those who are in the Preston County area and have some "fiber" connection. Fiber is, I've learned, kind of this generic term for natural wool, cotton, etc. So, for example, folks who raise sheep, and make hats or Christmas ornaments from their wool or milk.

Anyway, this was perfect because I'm always looking for good stories and was interested in learning more about the individual vendors at the market. And a good handful of them were there. AND the lady whose house we went to, Kelly Anderson, she had Karakachan guard dog puppies, and they were the cutest things I've ever seen.



Kelly has the her farm "Hopping Acres," where she has rare breeds of sheep, dogs and rabbits. "Lady Baa Baa." She collects wool from the sheep and rabbits, spins it into yarn and creates ornaments and other cute hats or mittens. In addition to her farm, she bakes under the "Lady Baa Baa" label. She has these tasty pizza crusts, which I just used to make a pizza recently. So tasty.



Another vendor is Moonlight Milk Soaps, which was previously named Two Cousins Soap, by Kim Sheets. These soaps are so great! I had to buy one - the raspberry & lilac scent was my favorite. But they also had lavender, orange, rose, sea kelp, creamsicle and more.

Kim's husband, AJ, also had a hand in the show with Midnight Maple Syrup and maple cream. I had to get one of each because after trying a sample of the maple cream, I was hooked. When I'm not just nibbling on the maple cream plain, it's great on toast or would be perfect for cinnamon buns or bread pudding.





Fiddlehead Woodworking makes really cool, handmade wooden spoons, cutting boards, butter knives, bookends and more. I was really wanting a cool wooden spoon, so my splurge of the day was on that one right in the middle of the bowl there. But I can't wait to use it for soups and stews.



The Sheepherders Kitchen, by Joan Henry, has so many goodies: baked goods, preserves, jams and jellies, plus fiber/woolen items and more.  During this trip, I got some banana nut bread and Amish butter top bread for sandwiches. The banana nut bread was perfect for breakfast.







Evans Knob Farm had some jams I could just not pass up. Strawberry peach jam? Sign me up. This goes perfectly on toasted Amish Butter Top bread. They sell vegetables, poultry, eggs, lamb and other wool products. Plus they have their own CSA if you're a big fan.


So there's a little bit on some of the vendors who frequent the market - plus this super cool event they have yearly during the first weekend of December. Definitely a good time to pick up some gifts for the holidays, meet the artisans and put some money back into the local economy.

Did anyone go? Anybody get anything great?

Little Sandy's is just a local place that folks in the area rave about. Good, home cooked food that isn't really anything special.

We went for breakfast - pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, biscuits and gravy. All that good stuff. County-fried steak caught my eye. I don't see that all the time. So I went with that + over-easy eggs, home fries and toast.

Before we talk food, let's talk atmosphere. Surly waitresses, slightly sticky tables and lots of flies. Greasy spoon.

The country-fried steak was tasty. Crisp and tons of gravy. How can that not be good? Home fries were flavorful, but I wish they were a bit more crisp. Some were soggy. And my eggs were a little Overcooked, but I still had enough yolk to spread around and sop up with the bread.



If you're looking for basic, home cooked food this is your place. But don't expect five-star service or unique dishes. Do expect a good meal at a good price that tastes just like home

Grade: B