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First off, let me say that if you have not had the pleasure of visiting The Covey in Ft. Worth, you are doing yourself a giant disservice. This is everything a man should want!!!! Top notch quality food paired with some of the BEST(and I mean the best) craft beer I have ever tasted.
The great thing about this place is that it has two separate, but equally impressive dining areas. It has the bar area with booths and flat screens and of course an immaculate bar area where one can order up some delicious panko fried crab cakes or decide between "the Lonestar", which is a burger made from shaved ribeye with carmelized onion, provolone, and roasted garlic mayonaise, or the ridiculously good pizzas (my recommendation being "The Godfather", which is a delicious conglomeration of grilled chicken, spinach, and a bechamel cream sauce all on top of a pest infused crust.) All of this is on what I consider the inexpensive menu...If you really want to impress the ladies, then you should definitely attend in the evening and sit in the posh dining side of the restaurant. My absolute favorite dish that The Covey offers has to be the double bone-in pork chop. This is not your grandma's pork chop folks this is about a 2 inch thick slab of porcine beauty seared to perfection and topped with a brandy apple chutney that just ignites the natural flavors of the chop. Don't miss the roasted garlic sweet potato timbale that is served along with it. It is the perfect combination of soft and crunchy along with the yin and yang of sweet and sour...BEAUTIFUL. Top that off with one of The Covey's Texas Wheat in a long tall pint and you will be sold as well.
I had the absolute pleasure of asking Jamie Fulton, brewmaster and owner of The Covey, some questions about brewing, entertaining, and food in general. We thank you Jamie for your time and consideration! Please take time to visit Jamie at The Covey, 3010 South Hulen Street, Ft. Worth, Texas 76109.
Interview with Jamie Fulton Brewmaster of The Covey
C&F: First off let me say what a pleasure it has been for me to come to the Covey. In my mind it is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to, and I have been to a lot! Can you share with us the story of how The Covey came to be?
Jamie: Thank you! The Covey is the product of years of hard work and the culmination of my passion for great food and drink. I have always had a love for great food. I was the only guy using the grill between the four freshman dorms at Trinity where I did undergraduate study. I got the idea of attending a culinary school from my cousin Kelly and ending up attending a summer course from Le Cordon Bleu in London. After this course a friend of mine, Dustin Dusek, and I backpacked around Europe. It was on this journey that I became inspired to start brewing my own beer. Long story very short, I got a job as an apprentice at Blue Star in San Antonio after I graduated Trinity. I studied courses from UC Davis and finally attended the World Brewing Academy in Chicago and Munich. I began the business plan for The Covey in late 2004 and we opened our doors for business April 4, 2006. The Covey is named after a group of quail, a Texas game bird. I am a seventh generation Texan and avid hunter, and wanted a sophisticated Texas flare in my restaurant.
C&F: How did you come across the location for The Covey? What were the thought processes that lead you to pursue the Hulen area of Ft. Worth?
Jamie: I found the location on Hulen from travelling that area while I was living in Paradise, TX on my parents ranch. I would often come into town to “get supplies” and studied at the nearby Starbucks. The site is bigger than I wanted, but we went for it in the end. It’s a great location and is located in one of the most affluent neighborhoods of Fort Worth. I wanted to stay fairly local to my parents, I enjoy living close to them and spending time with my family with them.
C&F: What would you say you are more passionate about, food or beer? Why?
Jamie: Is that a trick question? I am passionate about both. I would say I spend just as much time thinking about the food we serve as the beers that I brew. Two thirds of our revenue at The Covey is food, so it is obviously the most important as far as the business goes, but beer is my forte and my profession. If I could live off of beer alone, this would not be a difficult question.
C&F: What was the connection between you and Sean Merchant (Head Chef)? How did you guys come into collaboration?
Jamie: The original chef at The Covey did not work out. Upon firing him, I began interviewing for the position. Chef Sean Merchant and I were put into contact by a sales rep from one of our food merchants. Sean showed a love for cooking with wild game, which represents a portion of our menu. Most importantly he conveyed that the most important job of a chef is employee management, which is what was lacking in respect to the chef who was fired.
Jamie: I have always been creative. From elaborate booby traps in my childhood fort to paintings and drawings done throughout my life, I have an itch to invent and create. The beers at The Covey represent my take on some classic styles and some obscure beers that do not fit traditional style guidelines. I embrace the idea of having “styles of beer” for the sake of judging and for customer knowledge, but it is limiting in freedom by nature. The most avant garde brewers these days, in craft brewing, are breaking these rules and brewing beers they want to drink, not beers meant to win competition. Look at Dogfish Head, the guys seldom win awards at major competitions, but cannot meet the demand for their beer! They have found a niche in extreme and obscure beers that is growing in demand. I love the incredible diversity and endless possibilities when it comes to creating beers. I like to drink beer too.
Jamie: The brewery at The Covey is absolutely state of the art. It was purchased new from Newland Systems of British Columbia in 2005. It is a seven barrel system, which means it is capable of producing about 7 barrels of beer per brew. There are five unitanks (fermenting/aging vessels) and seven serving tanks. Time frame of a beer is widely variable. I have aged some of my ales for more than six months, whereas a beer like the Texas Wheat can be brewed and served in about 15 to 20 days. Our most popular, the Vienna Lager, takes six weeks to ferment and age.
Jamie: Our Vienna Lager is brewed in the tradition of the style with certain special malts and noble hops. There are barley malts from three different countries. Employing a lengthy lagering time and special Bavarian yeast strain add to the traditional aspects of this beer. You can have a great recipe and make a horrible beer. Nothing beats meticulous cleaning, process control from brewhouse to finished beer, removing the possibility of oxygen contacting the beer, and more and more cleaning. A thorough understanding of the entire process is necessary. You will find me reading mostly technical brewing books versus leisure reads: I want to know every trick and technique there is in order to perfect my beer. This fussy perfectionism I have, thanks to my mother, I believe is mostly responsible for the quality of the beer at The Covey.
Jamie: I can like my beer all day long, but ultimately it is my customers that decide whether a beer will stay on draft. SALES!! The Vienna Lager was one of the most popular beers before it ever won any awards. Naturally I kept it on draft. If I took away some of the most popular beers, some of my regulars would lynch me. Some people are enamored with the idea that it won an award and immediately order it. Maybe that particular beer isn’t to your taste. I employ the same fundamental brewing practices with every one of my beers. This one may taste better to you because professional judges have deemed it worthy, but for me, it’s all about what I taste! Even I agree that some are better than others, speaking technically and in terms of flavor, but ultimately it’s all a matter of personal taste. I have brewed some beers that I will never brew again. They sell, maybe they sell fairly well, but I feel there is improvement to be made. So I either change the recipe or retire it altogether. I am my biggest critic when it comes to my beer. I always loved the Vienna Lager, and the recipe is identical to this day as the one I sat and wrote in my living room having a beer with my wife in 2006. I can’t say the same for many of the popular beers, I gradually change many of the recipes to get them where I think they should be.
Jamie: I can’t give you one specifically, but of all time, my favorites include the Weizenbock, Hefeweizen, Horned Frog Pale Ale and ol’ trusty, the Texas Wheat.
C&F: I for one am a huge fan of the higher ABV beers as well as high IBU’s (I am a bit of a hop head)…What would be a beer to fit that kind of palate?
Jamie: High ABV- Regalement, a blonde Belgian style strong ale, “100” a Belgian style dark strong ale; High IBU – our IPA, we rotate hop variety in every batch, so each is named after the particular hop used
Jamie: The third Sunday every month (except during Cowboys season) at three o’clock I hold beer class. The cost is $20 and you hear all about the ingredients of beer, a little history, some bad jokes and answers to questions you may have. We take a tour of the brewery where I explain how the process works from milling the malt to serving the finished beer. We conduct a professional style tasting, where each “student” gets a six ounce sample of all seven beers. On top of all of that I feed everyone a light lunch.
Jamie: My current favorite is the Halibut Tacos. I eat them at least three times a week and somehow still love them like the first day I tried them. Our steaks are fabulous, all prime, and another of my favorites. The Brandy Apple Double Bone-In Pork Chop is out of this world, and a must try. Our sous chef Larry consistently makes the best soups (Soup of the Day) I have ever had; and many of our customers call daily to see what he has on the menu that day.
C&F: What is it like to work at the Covey? What is the atmosphere like?
Jamie: The Covey is family owned and I treat all of the employees as I would members of my family, with respect and understanding. I am well aware that without the people that I employ to work at The Covey, we would lack the personal characteristic that makes us unique. I want everyone to be happy in order to foster a fun working environment. The employees that are capable of the additional responsibilities that come with not being managed to death – as within a large corporate restaurant chain – shine here. Employees that take advantage of our relativey relaxed working environment, do not work here long. Make no mistake, we are constantly trying to perfect our operation, but we do so without an iron fist.
C&F: If you could orchestrate your perfect evening of entertaining what would it look like? What would be on the menu? Who would be there?
Jamie: All of my friends and family at my parents’ ranch in Paradise, TX; BBQ, bacon wrapped dove, potato salad, all of my family’s traditional recipes, the list is long. Lots of Covey beer!
C&F: At Cork and Fire we believe that food and drink is much more than just sustenance. It has the ability to open conversation and build close relationships. Do you believe this? What would be your philosophy of a meal and its dynamic on a group of people that you are entertaining?
Jamie: When I have guests to my house, I look to impress with unique, tasty offerings, from the cheese and crackers served upon arrival to dessert and everything in between. It must be personal, whether a family recipe, a favorite recipe or an individual creation, to be memorable in my opinion. This is all nothing though without great friends and family to share it with.
Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to stopping by The Covey again and enjoying a pint and some delicious food!
Visit The Covey online at www.thecovey.com.
