Eat, drink, unwind, enjoy, and repeat at Blue Heron Brewery
By Ken McEntee
Chicken wings and ice cold beer in the fresh evening air may be as much a part of summer as swimming pools, vegetable gardens and family vacations. Unfortunately, since early in the year, the ability to score an order of wings at many pubs and eateries has been precarious because of a national shortage.
Not to worry.
Blue Heron Brewery is ready for the summer patio season, promises Ben Erjavec, executive chef and co-owner of the popular brewpub. And that includes hot chicken wings.
In fact, Ben says, you can enjoy all the wings you can eat—plus fresh cut French fries—every Thursday night for only $18. And you may find that they go down nicely with Blue Heron’s Thursday evening $5 pints.
Wings, Ben adds, are among the many summer favorites being served up at the brewpub.
“Our summer menu features an abundance of fresh produce and springtime berries,” Ben says. “Our fresh spinach salad with seasonal berries and a blood orange vinaigrette dressing and our new tuna poke bowl with soba noodles are just two of our refreshing new menu items.”
Speaking of refreshing, you might best enjoy your light meals with a home brewed pint on Blue Heron’s expanded outdoor patio overlooking picturesque Austin Badger Park.
“We have one of the best patios around with our views and having the sunset right there every night,” Ben says. “The patio has become so popular that we’ve had to add more tables. We’ve also added live music on Sundays.”
Musicians offering an eclectic variety of mellow—not overpowering—genres provide the audio ambiance to the Blue Heron experience on Friday evenings from 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.; and Sundays from 3 to 6 p.m.
“We have a nice mix,” Ben explains. “We have some island music guys, we have some reggae and some classic rock, and it’s all pretty laid back.”
In fact, one of the regular acts, Laid Back and Lazy, is a two-man country guitar band that honed its trade on the streets of Nashville.
The outdoor patio may be the ideal spot to enjoy a pint of brewmaster and co-owner Mike Piazza’s Hazy Wife, Hazy Life smooth opaque IPA, which features bright, citrusy notes and aroma.
“We’re serving a lighter summertime version of the Hazy IPA,” Mike announces. “It will have a soft melon flavor as a backbone, then we added three varieties of dry hops to give it a citrusy finish. It’s a real easy drinking light, refreshing summer beer.”
Another new brew introduced this month is an American tart ale fermented with pineapple, orange and banana, and is a part of a fundraiser for brain cancer research and awareness, Mike says. A buck from every pint sold will be donated to StacheStrong, a non-profit organization that has raised almost $2 million and has funded 13 clinical trials and research grants.
“The fundraiser is a part of a collaboration of breweries around the country to fight a disease that impacts far too many people,” Mike says.
Fundraising, Mike adds, is a regular activity at Blue Heron.
“During the winter we participated with other Medina breweries to raise money for United Way,” he says. “We did a honey brown ale and donated a dollar a pint during the fundraiser.”
For guests who prefer cocktails over home-brewed draft, Blue Heron offers a variety of exotic light refreshers concocted just for summer imbibing:
• Orange creamsicle martini, featuring whipped and vanilla vodkas with orange juice
• Dusty blue margarita, aka the “Blue Heron”
• Raspberry mule, with ginger beer and raspberry vodka
• Cucumber jalapeño gin fizz—muddled cucumber, jalapeño and cilantro leaves infused with the botanical floral taste of Hendricks gin topped with lime juice and soda
• Hibiscus mint lemonade, with local Medina-distilled Voudoux Vodka and hibiscus syrup
If you think Blue Heron’s summer fare and beverages are to die for, you might also enjoy the special “whodunit” Murder Mystery Dinner event at the Blue Heron Event Center on Thursday, July 28, at 6 p.m. For $60 per person, the event includes a three-course plated dinner featuring a house salad, braised short rib, chicken marsala, roasted redskin potatoes and seasonal vegetable, along with dessert and a cash bar.
Warning: If you’re there, you’re a suspect.
You can make reservations and learn more about Blue Heron by visiting BlueHeronMedina.com or by calling 330-870-BLUE (2583). Blue Heron is located at 3227 Blue Heron Trace, in Medina. You can get the latest updates on parties and entertainment at Facebook: @blueheronmedina.