Brothers Mitch and Zach Silva show the right way to make a burger

We sat down with firefighter brothers Mitch and Zach Silva to try their signature hamburgers and drink a few brews they decided to bring along for a chill fall night around the fire pit.

Have you noticed that firefighters know how to eat? They have to.  Saving lives, rescuing stuff and using those jaws of life start really work up an appetite. Luckily firefighters Mitch and Zach Silva brought their Irish heritage, hearty appetites and heroic taste in beer to my humble fire pit to share the wealth.

This week with the cool chill of fall settling in we lit the fire and got to work.  In Mitch’s hands were the biggest burger patties I had ever seen and Zach was toting a makeshift cooler with a giant selection micro and seasonal brews.

Silva Burgers.  That’s what we called them.  It was really the only name that fit.  Massive impressive monuments of meats kissed by the grill and dripping with flavor, all slapped onto huge buttery buns and topped with aged cheese.  It’s not fair.  Burgers shouldn’t taste like anything except a Silva burger.

The secret behind these?  Shake ‘n bake.  Yeah, its in there.  Mixed with cheddar jack cheeses and bits of raw bacon then mixed and pattied up by hand.  The buns they used were huge soft fresh baked rolls that were slathered with butter and grilled just enough to add a slight toast.

To go the hearty burgers the Mitch and Zach brought over a few wheat beers.

Razor Wit

Highland Brewing’s Razor Wit is an end of summer beer that was put out by the North Carolina brewery to showcase a spicier Belgian style White ale.  The beer itself is unfiltered and has hints of ginger and cumin which leads to its bite.  All of Highland’s seasonal beers are uniquely named after North Carolina geological features and something unique to the brewery and its seasonal releases are that it holds a tasting and hike up to the beer’s namesake, in this case Razor mountain in Barnardsville, NC.

Sweetwater Blue

The Silva brothers go to outdoor brew, Sweetwater Blue, if you aren’t already familiar is a light and easy drinking ale with the smell and flavor of blueberries.  The hops aren’t overpowering and unlike other “fruit” style beers this one is heavier but just as thirst quenching.  Burgers and Blues.  Maybe next time we should have live music.  Invite more friends.  Maybe some brewers and who knows have ourselves a nice little festival.  Winter is coming so maybe when the thaw comes.

Full bellies and empty pints rounded out the night with the Silva brothers.  We were happy, the dogs were happy, and fire crackled like it was happy.  Silva burgers would be a fall staple for Brewhoppin.

Until next time, hop responsibly!