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David Armstrong knows a thing or two about beer. Scoop, as most of his friends know him, most likely drank his fair share of cheap brew when he performed with the local hard rock band The Five L’s. When he settled down into steady work and fatherhood three years ago, he started brewing his own.

“I tried a few crazy things with my brew,” Armstrong admits, laughing at his early, enthusiastic failures. “But I realized the old, traditional recipes are the best. You gotta start with the basics.”

It was his passion for beer that inspired him to open The Brewer’s Kettle (2505 N. Main St., High Point; 885-0099 ; www.thebrewerskettle.com).

“My obsession became my passion and I like sharing with people,” he says.

Armstrong has become a walking encyclopedia of beer knowledge. Having tried more than 600 beers in his quest for the world’s best beers, he has learned a lot about the history of beer.

“What people don’t realize is how much it (beer) has helped us advance,” he explains. He talks about how the tradition of brewing beer has existed for centuries in Europe and sustained colonists when they arrived on American shores without adequate food or potable water.

“It has helped us survive through a lot of tough times.”

Armstrong points out the long tradition of monastery monks brewing beer and the reliance of heavily sugared beers to sustain them through fasts. These Trappist brews, along with lambics and porters, are among the beers that he feels have been forgotten by many. He hopes to enlighten patrons about these old-style brews and stock plenty of them.

“A lot of people don’t realize that you can age beers,” he says, going on to explain that some premium beers, such as lambics and guezes from Belgium, are better after being left in the cellar for a few years.

But Armstrong doesn’t disparage American mass-produced beer. The yeasts in cheap domestic beer, after all, are descendents of strains brought from Europe hundreds of years ago.

“Music can make yourself timeless,” Armstrong says paying homage to his other passion. “Beer is the same way.”

Armstrong will help you select just the right brew to go with an evening’s gourmet dinner from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Restaurant reopens with specialties and more

Jeff and Letia Bates have been busy since closing shop at FantaCity International Mall earlier this year. The space there could not accommodate both a restaurant and an adequate kitchen for Letia Bates catering. Then they found what they were looking for at the old Canterbury space at 1701 Westchester Drive in High Point and last week opened Tia at Canterbury’s International Restaurant (884-7022; www.tiaatcanterburys.com).

The new restaurant continues to offer Liberian and Caribbean specialties such as Liberian Hot Pepper Soup, Tia’s Jollof Rice, Tilapia Marinated in Cavalla Sauce and the addicting Tia’s Collards.

The menu also includes Italian pasta dishes, burgers, smoked fish wraps and a children’s menu.

The restaurant is spacious, seating several hundred, and offers several rooms with individual themes, such as the sophisticated Eden Room, the intimate Garden Room and the whimsical Castle Room, each ideal for private parties.

Hours for Tia’s at Canterbury are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Grill concept comes to an end, steak houses remain

After recently selling the Chop House Grille in Burlington, Streets and Avenues, the parent company of Chop House and Chop House Grille, is changing the concept of the Chop House Grille at Mendenhall in High Point. The restaurant will become simply, Chop House.

“It just didn’t make sense to keep two concepts with the same name, except for the 'grille’ in the same market in this economy,” says Keith Hall of Streets and Avenues.

The new branding brings to an end the mid-priced Chop House Grille line of restaurants. A north Greensboro location was sold this spring and a Cary location closed in late summer.

Hall says doing away with the grille concept will allow his four remaining restaurants to operate under the original upscale steak house concept of the Chop House. The Chop House in High Point joins the Chop House family with locations in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh and Wilmington.

Restaurant to offer Mediterranean menu

Zoe’s Kitchen (3352 W. Friendly Ave., Suite 115) is planned for the Shops at Friendly in Greensboro with an opening in December.

Zoe’s (www.zoeskitchen.com) is chain of Southeast fast-casual restaurants offering Mediterranean-inspired entrees, wraps, sandwiches and salads with fresh, healthy ingredients.

Celebrate chocolate

Ten Thousand Villages (1564-A Highwoods Blvd., Greeensboro ; 275-1204 ) a retail shop of fair trade international gifts, is celebrating global chocolate with Choctoberfest from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The event includes samples of fair trade chocolate and a baking contest using fair trade chocolate.

Sample state’s wines

North Carolina has become a significant wine-producing region. Sample what the state has to offer through the Taste Carolina Wine Festival from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market off Sandy Ridge Road at I-40 in Colfax.

Tickets are $15 advance, $25 at the gate and include live music and a commemorative wine glass with which to sample the offerings of 22 wineries. For information, visit www.tasteofcarolina.webs.com.

Meet 'Chefs of the Triangle’ author Saturday

Meet Ann Prospero, author of “Chefs of the Triangle,” at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble (584-0869), 3125 Waltham Blvd . at Alamance Crossing in Burlington.

Seasonal prix fixe menu

Fleming’s Steakhouse and Wine Bar (3342 W. Friendly Ave. ; 294-7790 ) in Greensboro is offering a Fall Prix Fixe menu that includes three courses for $39.95.

For a roundup of additional fine dining deals, visit www.news-record.com/roundup.

Contact Carl Wilson at 373-7145 or carl.wilson@news-record.com