May 9th, 2013 by admin
Beer is a beloved drink the world over, more than often hailed as equal to Ambrosia, the “brew of the Gods”. It is unfortunate that more often than not, beer gets associated only with beer bellies and heart trouble when health and fitness comes into the equation. The reality is that the right kind of beer in moderation can actually have many positive benefits, like clear arteries, reduced stress and clot prevention. So the next time you feel the thirst for a beer in Columbus, Georgia, just take a look at some new options.
Pale lagers are the most ubiquitous beers drunk all over the world. But micro- brewed craft and stout beers are fast increasing in popularity. The upside with these micro-brewed spirits is that in addition to superlative and often unique tastes, they also often provide additional benefits through the presence of beneficial phenols and polyphenols. When looking for great quality beer, look out for the following brews and their kind:
Guinness Draught: the eternal St. Patty’s Day favorite, this low-carb and low-cal super dark Irish staple is delicious and packed with highly beneficial phenols.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: this is a compromise of sorts. Its high hops content means higher carbs and alcohol content, but on the bargain, you also get much higher polyphenol content. Just keep a watch on the number of drinks if on a diet.
Sam Adams Light Lager: this is one brew that goes to great lengths to maintain a superior taste while cutting down on carbs and calories. This is a highly recommended diet beer.
Abita Purple Haze: fruit infused beers like these offer a different and flavorful beer experience. Added fruit means more vitamins and nutrients. The low carb content is an added bonus.
That rounds off our short list of some of the more interesting diet beer options out there. The next time you get the urge to down a pint of beer, check out the great selection of such craft, draught and lager beers at B. Merrell’s of Columbus, Georgia.
February 7th, 2013 by admin
Everybody loves going out to eat at their favorite restaurant sometimes. We focus on the cost of the meal but not so much the tip or how we treat the server. Depending on your total price and the person serving you, your tip will vary. Remember, these people live off of the tips we provide.
If you are dining out at a casual, average restaurant, your tip to the server will always be about 15 percent of your ticket price. These people make sure you get your food, and clean up after you are done. If you are loving your service, 20 percent is encouraged. If your service was awful and you felt extremely displeased with your dining experience, 10 percent will be the lowest you tip your waiter or waitress.
A bartender is a little different when it comes to tipping. They offer you single drinks at a time and a minimum of one dollar is encouraged per alcoholic beverage. Sodas are a bit less at 50 cents per drink. You may tip them more than this but any less than the stated would be considered rude.
Tipping your server, bartender or any other type of service giver is an important aspect in your dining experience. It really does leave an impact on the server whether your gratuity is a bit smaller or dramatically larger. Some servers say no tip is better than a scrawny tip while others say a tip is a tip. Do your part and treat your server well with the correct gratuity!
December 7th, 2012 by admin
If you are a fan of B. Merrell’s, then most likely you have already tried the restaurant’s famous chicken wings and rotisserie chicken dishes. These are both two of the most delicious meals menu items in all of Columbus, Ga., but we recommend you all try another dish: the “Hot Finger Sandwich.”
The “Hot Finger Sandwich” is a truly unique dish that few restaurants provide anywhere in the United States. The sandwich is a simple as it sounds; chicken fingers, bread, lettuce, tomatoes and seasame seed bun.
What sets this sandwich apart from other chicken finger sandwiches is the ability for restaurant patrons to order the chicken to be cooked in one of B. Merrell’s special wing sauces.
Personally, I would recommend you try it with the Caribbean Burn sauce if you are looking for a unique flavor. This brown sauce has a sweet flavor with a little kick that is sure to fire you up. Other sauces diners can choose from are: Buffalo (mild and hot) and the normal Caribbean sauce.
This sandwich is a great choice for lunch time and can offer some variety to the usual burgers and fries meals many of us eat on a usual basis. Come by B. Merrell’s today and try it for yourself.
November 1st, 2012 by admin
B Merrell’s restaurant in Columbus, Ga. is known for its great food (wings) and fun atmosphere, but not many know of the World Beer Tour.
The World Beer Tour is promotion the restaurant runs year round that rewards its customers for trying a variety of beer from across the world. B. Merrell’s serves over 150 unique varieties of beer, offering a truly unique drinking experience.
The menu is separated by country and alphabetical order, making the menu truly easy to navigate. Customers can request a checklist to keep track of their progress on the World Beer Tour.
B Merrell’s rewards its faithful customers with prizes whenever the reach certain milestones. When a customer drinks 35 different varieties of beer, he or she are rewarded with a mug or sipper cup. Those who drink 70 different varieties can receive a 6-pack cooler or golf towel, and those who drink 100 a ball cap or gym bag.
To be inducted into the World of Beer “Hall of Foam” customers must drink 130 different beers. At this point they will receive a “Hall of Foam” T-shirt, their name on the “Hall of Foam” plaque and a picture mounted on the wall of the restaurant.
There is no time limit on the contest, which allows participants to drink and finish the tour at their own pace. Many end up discovering they have a new favorite beer they never would have tried if not for the World of Beer Tour.
October 23rd, 2012 by admin
B Merrell’s restaurant offers one of the best family atmospheres in the Columbus, Ga. and surrounding Alabama areas.
Everyone predominately knows B Merrell’s for their World of Beer Tour, where they offer hundreds of beers from across the globe, and of course their succulent chicken wings, but what many might not realize is how child-friendly the restaurant is.
One of the best features the restaurant offers is a game room located in the back of the restaurant near the bathrooms. This small arcade contains a few classic arcade games such as “Galaga” and “Crusin’ USA.” The game room is also in a good location, near the bathrooms, so parents can keep a watchful eye on their children and feel they are safe.
While there is a bar area, most do not come to the restaurant to solely drink and thus still maintains a very light atmosphere. Most eating areas are away from this area and most who do order drinks at the restaurant will order a beer over harder liquor.
B Merrell’s is also a great place to watch a sporting event and almost every wall is covered by a TV. The restaurant usually orders the biggest sporting events and the restaurant will keep a much lighter atmosphere than a restaurant like Buffalo Wild Wings.
The menu comes with a number of healthy choices for children, such as vegetables and fruit. The children’s menu is one the best and most wholesome in town, and comes with a number of kid-pleasing food items.
With a great family atmosphere and great food at a price that can’t be beat, B Merrell’s is one of the best dining options in town.
September 21st, 2012 by admin
B. Merrell’s restaurant in Columbus, Georgia is really most famous for 3 items on their menu: rotisserie chicken, wings, and their wide assortment of beer. One menu item that goes largely unnoticed, however, is the restaurant’s appetizer, the loaded nachos.
The nachos are a veritable volcano of cheese and toppings, and present a feast of flavor for a group’s appetizer, or can even be a very large meal for someone who is particularly hungry.
The nachos are served on a huge plate and served in a typical fashion: a mountain of chips covered with cheese, meat, and beans, jalapenos and sour crème. We also recommend adding some shredded lettuce and small chopped tomatoes to increase the flavor. The dish is also served with some pico de gallo on the side.
These nachos have one more ingredient that sets them off from other competitors. Queso cheese dip; located not on the top of the nachos but below them – sitting on the plate. After a diner finished eating the toppings he now has essentially another dish to finish. Some will even combine the queso and the toppings on top to delicious effect.
To those who are ordering the meal as a dinner entrée, be aware this is a lot of food. Really two people could eat this dish as dinner and have their hunger satisfied. If you do not heed this advice, to-go boxes are certainly available and they actually taste pretty good nuked a few days later.
Loaded nachos are a great alternative to wings as an appetizer. We recommend you try it with an ice cold brewski as well. Our suggestion- Abita Amber.
August 9th, 2012 by admin
There are a lot of great restaurants in Columbus, Ga. that serve wings but none can compare to the unique taste of B. Merrell’s wings or homemade dipping sauces.
While the restaurant has a lot of great menu items, I personally consider it a sin to not order the wings every time I go in. Wings don’t necessarily have to be a meal item as they can be ordered in different amounts. The smallest size, the snack pack, is only 6 wings while a normal order is about 10 wings. After that, a restaurant patron can order wings in increments of 10 up to 100 for big parties.
All wings orders come either with celery and carrots or a side item. I usually like to order a side of the hearty steak fries as I am usually particularly hungry when I’m in wing mode. However, if you are a fan of dipping said vegetables into blue cheese or ranch I would recommend you do that instead.
Next let’s cover B. Merrell’s dipping sauce. As a fan of blue cheese, I must say this is the best I have ever tasted. Chunky and creamy at the same time, it is truly a delight to put in my mouth. It makes for a wonderful salad dressing as well, as I often find myself having to order more. The dressing is homemade and can be bought at the front desk. The ranch dressing is also good and tastes like your run on the mill dressing and hits the spot.
Wings come in two flavors Caribbean and Traditional. Traditional is more like a buffalo sauce but this sauce is baked in and not quite as messy as other “traditional sauces.” The wings have plenty of meat and the sauce has been baked all the way through. You can order these wings in mild or hot.
Caribbean is B. Merrell’s sweeter sauce and perhaps the restaurant’s most popular wing sauce. It is thicker sauce than the Traditional and a little messier as well. The sauce also blends perfectly with the blue cheese and creates an amazing taste that no wing restaurant in the world can match.
While the wings at B. Merrell’s might be slightly more expensive than some of the local competitors, the taste cannot be beat.
July 10th, 2012 by admin
B. Merrill’s in the last 20 years has quickly grown into one of Columbus, Georgia’s most popular restaurants since its first location was opened in 1991 by Barry Merrill.
Merrill was born in Atlanta, graduated from Georgia Tech, and spent 18 years in the restaurant industry before he decided to open his own restaurant. Merrill’s restaurant is known for its plethora of unique recipes that remind many of the “made from scratch” quality they grew up eating.
The restaurant’s signature dish is the rotisserie chicken which uses Merrill’s homemade marinade and is slow roasted for up to half a day or more. This is an award winning taste that you can’t get anywhere else in the area, especially at the low prices B. Merrill’s offers.
Perhaps the most famous item on the menu is the chicken wings. Wings come in two flavors at B. Merrill’s, Original and Caribbean. Original is a mild, or hotter upon request, flavor similar to buffalo wings, but with the sauce baked into the chicken instead of served wet with sauce on top. Caribbean sauce is one of a kind flavor and has a sweeter taste more akin to BBQ sauce. This sauce can also be ordered spicier as is called Caribbean burn.
All dips, such as blue cheese and ranch, as well as salad dressings are all homemade and original recipes by Merrill. (As the author I would like to point out that the blue cheese is the best I’ve ever had.)
Some great appetizers include the chicken potato skins and loaded nachos. B. Merrill’s skins take plain the plain potato skin recipe and spice it up by adding a special sauce, chicken, and jalapenos that has to be tasted to be believed. The loaded nachos can come with chicken or beef, as well as lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream and more. What sets these nachos apart, however, is the layer of queso underneath the nachos that you can use your last chips to dip with.
The entire menu has all sorts of homemade items that will be sure to make your mouth water so be sure to stop in and check them out.
May 31st, 2012 by admin
B. Merrell has an extraordinary selection of delicious beers from around the world. The beers on this menu range from popular international brands to little known, favorite national brands. These beers are meant to be tasted and doing so is strongly encouraged. No beer lover should miss having this many options in one place. However, the importance of enjoying these selections safely cannot be stressed enough. Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcoholic beverages presents many dangers. There is no point in testing out all of these rich flavors without having a chance to come back and do it again.
The biggest risk of driving after drinking is death. That is, the death of another person or the death of the drunk driver. Unfortunately, one drunk driving event is enough to kill several people. Alcohol, which beer contains plenty of, impairs judgment, reduces reaction time, impairs coordination and can even make a person black out behind the wheel. This puts the driver and everyone else on the roads he or she is taking at risk of death or personal injury.
Even taking the worst-case scenario down a notch, there are still some pretty steep potential consequences. Thousands of dollars worth of damage can be inflicted on vehicles. It is not unheard of for tens of thousands of dollars of damage to be caused by drunk drivers, either. A person who is drinking and operating a motor vehicle is responsible for any and all damage caused by an accident. That includes homes, businesses, public property and anything else that happens to be in the way of the vehicle.
Say a person has a great time and tries out plenty of beers from the B. Merrell selection and then gets in the car without hitting a single thing. This sounds better, right? Well, there are still potential consequences. Law enforcement officers are charged with protecting people from drunk drivers. A driver who is pulled over after having a few beers can be arrested, have their license revoked, their car impounded and can even spend time in jail. The fines for such an infraction are astronomical. It just plain is not worth it.
The bottom line is, drink responsibly. Absolutely try these different brands of beer in Columbus, Georgia on for size and have a good time doing it. However, if you have enough to put you over the legal limit, have someone else do the driving. Even ask a friendly staff member to order a cab. That does not inconvenience anyone. In fact, it ensures that a good time ends on a good note.
May 10th, 2012 by admin
Beer is one of the oldest beverages in the history of mankind. It has been a part of civilization since the very beginning. In fact, Egyptian laborers were actually paid in beer for their labor constructing the pyramids. Beer was as good as money for them. In the Middle Ages people survived by drinking beer, because the brewing process killed the bacteria found in their polluted water supply. Beer has been an important part of the development of the human race, and it is still very important to us today.
These days the wide varieties of beer from around the world are outstanding. The explosion of craft brewers in the United States over the last 20 years has helped to fuel the fire, giving people the choice of drinking quality beer instead of the boring, watery lagers that were the only type of beer available in the US for many years.
Now there are so many types of specialty beers available that it can make a beer drinker’s head spin before they ever take a sip. There is no need to be intimidated by the multitude of styles of beer available. Simply refer to this handy guide to beer.
Ale or Lager?
Almost every kind of beer in the world falls into one of two basic categories, ale or lager. The biggest difference between the two categories is the type of yeast involved. Ale yeasts ferment the beer at a higher temperature, and they are generally less aggressive than lager yeasts. Lager yeasts ferment the beer at a lower temperature, and they tend to be more active. The more active lager yeasts are the main reason that ales tend to be sweeter and more flavorful than lagers.
Both lagers and ales are usually aged for a few weeks after the fermentation process, but there is again a difference in temperatures. The ales are aged somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-55 degrees Fahrenheit, while lagers are aged at a cooler 32-45 degrees Fahrenheit.
This temperature difference is maintained all the way to the drinker’s palate. Lagers are generally considered to be better served as cold as possible, while most ales are considered to be best when served in the range of 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit.
The most common ales are, pale ales, India pale ales, porters, stouts and wheat beers. The three most common lagers are pilsners, bocks and Oktoberfests. The pilsner beer is the style of beer that dominates the beer market with brands like Bud, Coors and Miller.
Taste Beer from Around the World
One of the most enjoyable ways to learn more about beer is to take a World Beer Tour at B.Merrell’s. B.Merrell’s is proud to serve one of the widest beer selections found anywhere. They have hundreds of beers available from around the world. Having the ability to sample different types of beer in the same place is a great way to learn the differences between styles.
As enjoyable as it is to drink the beer during the learning process, B.Merrell’s has managed to add even more enjoyment to the process. Their World Beer Tour offers voyagers prizes along the journey. Every beer on the menu is considered to be a stop on the tour. Those who make 35 stops receive a mug or a sipper cup. At seventy stops the beer drinker earns a golf towel or a six-pack cooler. At 100 beer stops travelers earn the choice of a gym bag or a baseball cap. The ultimate prize is entry into the Hall of Foam with 130 stops. Anyone that makes it into the Hall of Foam will get a T-shirt, his or her name engraved on the Hall of Foam plaque and a picture on the wall.
