BREW-isville, Kentucky

My wife and I and another couple took a holiday weekend trip to Louisville, Kentucky, where we caught a concert, checked out a bit of The Bourbon Trail and had an opportunity to try a few more new beers.

The first two were provided by our traveling companion, Nate, who like me is a beer snob. He had brought a cooler for the ride up so we could sample a couple of beers he had procured on a recent trip to Chicago. Both were from Dark Horse Brewing in south central Michigan. None of their products are currently available in Tennessee. The first was the Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock, a seasonal lager infused with great coffee taste - a perfect choice since it was still in the A.M. when we cracked this baby open (hey, at least we waited until we crossed over into the Eastern time zone). The second was their Fore Smoked Stout which was pretty good as well. Thanks to Nate for bringing these along and sharing them with me.

We stopped for a quick visit to the tiny Corsair Distillery in Bowling Green - these guys are producing some great spirits and just opened a location in Nashville (with great beer on tap as well) - but that's a whole other blog topic. We stopped for lunch in Bowling Green at the Double Dog Chow House which we just happened upon. It's a sports bar with a dog theme obviously and their food was tasty and their beer selection was fairly impressive. I opted for a bottle of Snake Dog IPA from the Flying Dog Brewing folks over in Maryland. A fairly common IPA that I just haven't had a chance to try yet. It's good stuff. Plenty hoppy with a smooth finish.
As we arrived in Louisville and started to "paint the town red" (whatever that means), it occurred to me that the land of bourbon makes some pretty good beer too. Before our concert we stopped at the downtown brewpub location of Louisville's own Bluegrass Brewing Company. I had a draught pint of their experimental Belgian IPA which was excellent. Belgian-style brewing has never been my favorite, but when you combine the hoppiness of an IPA then I am listening!


After the concert (an excellent show by The Swell Season), we did a bit of bar hopping in the downtown area known as 4th Street Live, and I had a bottle of Kentucky Brewing's ( out of nearby Lexington) Bourbon Barrel Ale at the Maker's Mark Lounge. Excellent bourbon flavor to compliment the amber ale. Nate is a straight bourbon fan as are many people, but I just can't say the same. I think it makes a great compliment to many things like amber ale, port wine, simmering meatballs, etc., but I just can't appreciate the taste straight on. Give me smooth, warm Tennessee-style sippin' whiskey any day of the week....or heck, just give me a beer if ya got it.

We went across the street next to the Ri Ra Irish Pub. Here I started with what I thought was my own concoction - half Guinness and half Red Bull Energy Drink - since it was getting late and I was a dragging a bit and needed a pick-me-up. The bartender said he had never heard of it, but poured it anyway and the Guinness sat as pretty as you please atop the Red Bull with a nice separation line. I told him I thought I had saw it on a menu somewhere, but after more thought it was actually Guinness with a shot of espresso (which sounds pretty good actually because while I can drink Red Bull it's not for the taste, but only the kick). I was gonna take credit for this new drink, but after a little Internet research it seems I am not the first to think of it. It even has a name, "The Flying Guinness." I like mine better: "The Irish Alarm Clock."

I got back to normal after that and ordered a Bells IPA that they had on tap. It's from Bells Brewing in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Not near as hoppy as I prefer, but a decent brew overall with nice color and a good finish. Bells Brewing products are not available in Tennessee yet, but seem to have invaded Kentucky fairly well because Nate had an one of their Oberon Ales at lunch in Bowling Green, but unfortunately he was not very happy with it.

Overall it was a pretty successful beer-hunting trip into the Land of Bourbon with good finds and only a few disappointments - the biggest one being that the BBC Brewpub doesn't serve beer until 1 PM on Sundays (goofy KY law) but yet are open for lunch at 11 AM - hmmpfh! well, at least their food was good. I was able to grab another Kentucky Brewing Bourbon Barrel Ale - this time on draught - at The Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown in the heart of The Bourbon Trail that Sunday afternoon before we headed home.

Rolling 7 the Easy Way in Vegas

I took a quick long-weekend trip to Las Vegas recently to play some poker and in between tournaments (including a 3rd place finish for a tidy $500 profit at the lovely new Aria Poker Room - photo below) I was able to try seven new brews...surprisingly, all to my liking.

The first two I had were a Lagunitas IPA and a Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Deschutes Brewing. I didn't have to go far to get these either since they were on tap at the Munch Bar in Caesars Palace just a few steps from another of my favorite poker rooms on The Strip. This little eatery is new since I was in Vegas last year. They serve upscale fast food and have about ten beers on tap. The Lagunitas IPA was splendidly hoppy albeit expensive...eight bucks and some change, but at least it was a full pint of beer. Lagunitas is a northern California brewery whose only other product I have tried (Hop Stoopid) was also excellent, but that was while I was in Austin, Texas, because they still don't have a Tennessee distributor. Boo!!! The Mirror Pond Pale Ale was a better deal at $6 a pint and is a very solid beer. Deschutes is in Oregon and this particular beer has won a slew of awards. Also not available in Tennessee. Hiss!!!! I went mobile with this beer in a plastic cup as I took a stroll down The Strip and took in the amazing sites such as the beautiful Bellagio Fountains in action (video below - wait for the beer blog tie-in at the end).

Before leaving Sin City I was able to slip down Las Vegas Blvd. to one of my favorite restaurants/bars in the area, Yard House. They are chain eatery/bar and have over 100 beers on tap (a few of which are pictured below) and during this visit I picked the following three while munching on lunch. First was Moose Drool Brown Ale from Big Sky Brewing. Second was Speakeasy Brewing's White Lightning White Ale, and finally Firestone Double Barrel Ale. The name Moose Drool is funny enough, but it also happens to be a damn fine brown ale with good body and a nice finish. Big Sky Brewing is located as the name might apply in Montana and, of course, this wonderful beer is not available in Tennessee. Speakeasy Brewing out of San Francisco creates on of my favorite IPAs - the Double Daddy - which I first had at this very same Yard House - so I thought I would try their white ale they call White Lightning. White ales (witbier) are light wheat beers with a cloudy look and originated in Belgium. They are best served with an orange slice to supplement and enhance the flavor. I was served it without one which was surprising because after I did ask and received a nice fresh orange slice, the taste soared through the roof. It was easy to drain this smooth refreshing brew in quick order. Firestone Walker Brewing is located in California and their Double Barrel Ale (DBA) is their flagship beer. It's an English-style pale ale (and I usually do not like the English style of pale ales or IPAs) but without the bitterness and flat aftertaste. It may help as the name implies that this beer is processed in oak barrels.
My last stop before heading to the airport to a catch an early evening flight was much farther down Las Vegas Blvd. at the fairly new M Resort and Casino, a stand-alone complex far away from its numerous competitors on The Strip. It was busier inside than I expected as I set off looking for what I came to find: The 32-degree Draft Bar. They boast 96 ice-cold beers on tap and surprisingly with a few different choices than the neighboring Yard House. I give them credit for that since it almost seems obvious they have scouted their competition and want to offer something a little different including local brewers (of which Yard House has none because they are a chain). The first draught I tried was the Anchor Liberty Ale, a very nice dry-hopped product from the grand-daddy of West Coast microbrewing, San Francisco's Anchor Brewing. By the way, none of their beer is made with the use of steam despite it's most popular product, Anchor Steam. Liberty Ale has been produced since the mid-70's (and I am just getting around to it!) and it's a great brew. All of the Anchor beers seem to be distributed nationwide (although I have only seen Anchor Steam around here), so I am going to have to search out, find and try some more of their offerings. I finished with a pint of a seasonal brew from another well-known West Coast microbrewery,the Sierra Nevada Celebration. It's a dry-hopped winter ale with a deep red hue and a nice crisp taste from beginning to end. Although I applaud this beer bar for having local brews, I did not try any for two reasons: 1. the first local they had was Sin City Brewing and I have had it before and it's drivel - total tourist-trap beer. 2. the second was a brown ale from Tenaya Creek Brewing in North Las Vegas and while I wanted to try it, I am already planning to visit that particular brewery on my next trip to Vegas in July. We will see you then, my brown lovely!

ADDENDUM:

I started Cinco de Mayo this year the way it usually goes with a couple of bottles of Dos Equis Amber at a Mexican restaurant, but it ended very differently and very pleasingly as my wife and I and our friends Nate (another beer snob) and Ginny dropped by the Mt. Juliet Beer Company store to see what we could find. We opted for a mixed six-pack variety and the owner told us we could even have a couple out front at some tables he had if we discreetly drank it out of plastic cups...and we did just that! Here's the six I bought and the first two are the ones I had in front of the store:

O"Fallon 5 Day IPA - O"Fallon, Missouri - excellent and hoppy for a bottled IPA

Vanilla Java Stout - Atwater Block Brewery - Detroit - excellent coffee flavor and not too heavy

McSorley's Irish Pale Ale - Latrobe, PA - a bit too bitter for my taste

Point Cascade Pale Ale - Stevens Point Brewery - Wisconsin - good and fairly hoppy

O'Fallon Wheach - Missouri - great peach flavored wheat beer

Blackened Voodoo Lager - Dixie Brewing, New Orleans, LA - a decent dark lager. Glad to see these guys still brewing after Hurricane Katrina hit them hard a few years back.