A few years back, “Stew the Pickle Guy” and I dined on the patio of Charlies Kitchen.  We were talking cucumbers, of course, and the beer was flowing.  I won’t soon forget the day, a Monday- clear, sunny and beautiful.  Stew ate twin lobster rolls (what a deal!).  I had the hot dog (duh!).  My son sat silently soaking in the spectacle before him.  Perhaps he was in awe, held speechless in the presence of the great pickle lord, Stew Golomb, aka Mr. MoonBrine himself, or perhaps he was just really quiet because he was like 4-5 months old…I don’t know, hard to say.  I do know however, that this was the moment Stew and I struck up a friendship.  We formed a bond.  We realized were not weird for loving pickles.  We were ready to share the fruits of our vegetables with the world.  We would brew pickles at a brewery and then we would drink beer!

What’s the big deal with a fermented cucumber?  That’s tough to say.  Some people like pickles and then there are those that love them.  I just know this, if you like pickles, even mildly, you need to try a MoonBrine Pickle. 

People just don’t do what MoonBrine does these days.  These pickles take time to craft, and for most that’s just too much time. Stew makes all natural, 100% fermented pickles.  He uses nothing more than water, salt, spices and garlic, a touch of vinegar and time.  After a couple weeks they are ready.  Stew then hand packs them (he never cans them) and throws them in the fridge, they have a lab certified shelf life of 6 months. 

He used to brew them here at CBC coming over from JP in the wee hours of the morning, all the while teaching me the craft.  He has since moved to Portland, Oregon with his family and set up shop.  The west coast has been good for Stew’s spirit and he is fermenting away like a mad man.  I just got 200 pounds of hot pickles from him and we are frying them up here for our new Spring menu.  You can always find him online at http://www.moonbrine.com.  He is starting to get a bunch of cool press and, of course, in a great food town like Portland he will soon be taking over the world. 

Here at CBC, we still serve a half sour pickle with our burgers.  We make them here at the restaurant- about 50 pounds a week.  Stew taught me how to make the half sour.  I think they’re pretty good.  I admit they lack that certain “MoonBrine magic” and are perhaps a bit upstaged on this menu with their older, more developed relatives in the fryer, but it’s cool.  Stew’s a pretty awesome guy so I don’t mind. 

Good luck Vlasic and Claussen….dorks.