06 Mar 2015
by scolgin
in On the Road, Pork, Recipes
Tags: Barley Forge, Camping, food, Greg Nylen, humor, Leo Carrillo State Park, Malibu, Masterson's rye whisky, paella, Spanish cuisine
On the eve of departing for another Cub Scout camping trip near Joshua Tree, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect a simple fact: I love our Cub Scouts pack.
It took me awhile, but I came around. Being one who is, generally speaking, apprehensive with group activities, recited credos and the like, I was skeptical at first. But the boy wanted to do it, and this was about him, not me.
Tidepooling in Malibu
As with most things Topanga, I soon realized this was not a typical pack — that, despite the rules and formalities, I was among my tribe. More
31 Oct 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, On the Road
Tags: Barley Forge Brewing Co., beer, Costa Mesa, Greg Nylen, home beer brewing, Jeff Kramer, microbreweries, Orange County, Topanga Catering
I’ve written glowingly in the past about my friend, Greg, and his home brewing set up.
The soft opening at Barley Forge
Greg is a lawyer who, I guess, got tired of lawyering and wanted to make beer instead. I’ve been drinking his delicious beers for several years, and listening to his plans to open his own brewery — first in Topanga, and that having proven an impossible-to-navigate labyrinth of permits and regulations, Culver City. When the latter also failed to pan out, he set his sights further south — to Costa Mesa in Orange County — and a brewery was born. More
24 Oct 2014
by scolgin
in On the Road, Pork, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: Barley Forge Brewing Co., Camping, cowboys, Don Julio 70, Dumbledore, Garth's Boulder Garden, Greg Nylen, Joshua Tree, Pioneertown, Santa Maria tri tip, Sean Colgin, smoked pork shoulder
It was past Pioneertown, the last outpost, at the end of a long and dusty dirt road amidst the boulders and Joshua trees and outlaw cabins of the Mojave desert, that we set up camp.
Desert shadow selfie
More specifically, it was the property of our friend and Scoutmaster, Greg, and his wife Mary Ann, and an official Cub Scouts camp out. And I was designated cook for 50 or so people on Saturday night.
More
04 Dec 2012
by scolgin
in Food, Humor
Tags: beer, Celebration Ale, Christmas, Greg Nylen, IPA, orange chicken, Sierra Nevada, Trader Joe's
When the holidays arrive, beginning with Thanksgiving and its obscene American sister-tradition — Black Friday — right up through New Year’s Day, most people look forward to twinkling Christmas lights, festive holiday songs, workplace potlucks and Secret Santas, eggnog and elves.
While I’ll admit I am not immune to these seasonal pleasures, it is another arrival that I look the most forward to — the sudden and magical appearance of stacks of red and white boxes in the refrigerated section of my favorite stores. More
25 Sep 2012
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: Barley Forge Brewing, beer, brewery, Culver City, Ernie Demontreux, Greg Nylen, hops, pale ale, Topanga
Sunday morning, as my wife gathered up the children to go to church, I went to a different sort of place of worship, to a service more in keeping with my vision of the divine… I went to make beer.
Cascade hops on the vine outside
It all began last spring, at the fundraiser silent auction for the school my children attend. As I was walking around bidding on various items, I discovered the beer-making session offered by my friend — litigator, Cubmaster, Irish fiddle player, Topanga brewmaster and all around good and generous guy, Greg Nylen. More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 