My four favorite things: live music, waterfalls, tournament poker and good beer!

Is that....???

July 31, 2014 - I had a  Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale with dinner at The Red Pony Restaurant in Franklin, TN...no biggie...had it before, love it...oh, and then I went and met Kevin Bacon!

August 2 - We returned to the Inn at Fontanel for an overnight stay after a concert there and this time I made a  beer run to the Mt. Juliet Beer Company for some new-to-me brews to try while hanging out there.   In no particular order I had the Witty Twister witbier from RJ Rockers (SC), Liquid Bliss chocolate and peanut butter porter from Terrapin, Hop House Belgian pale ale from Ommegang (NY), a full bottle of Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale (had a taste of this while at Bonnaroo recemtly) from Terrapin, the Elder Betty fruit-flavored wheat beer from Magic Hat and finally the Rubaeus raspberry-flavored beer from Founders Brewing (MI).

Since I was attending a show at 3rd & Lindsley tonight, I figured it was the perfect time to check out Nashville's newest brewpub, Czann's.  The place was quiet for a weeknight and at one time it was just me and three ladies alone in the brewery (insert best porno ever joke here).  The beer was excellent.  I intended to only have one, the Old School IPA, but a heavy storm popped up and the rain was pouring down outside and the staff gave me free queso and chips, so I had to imbibe another pint and went for their Pale Ale.  I finished the visit with  the lighter Belgium Blonde.  I am definitely adding this place to my must-visit list when downtown.  Welcome to Music City, folks!

I am not going to say the weeknight crowd to see Scott Miller was small, but his best line was, "Thanks, everyone,  for being here....Uh, Did ya'll all come in one car?"  The show was excellent, as usual, despite the numbers.  I had a couple pints of Guinness during the show...just for the record.

August 9 - We journeyed over to the neighboring Dekalb County to the Evins Mill Resort tonight for a couple nights' stay and a beer tasting and pairing dinner with Calfkiller Brewing out of Sparta, TN.

We tried all four of the Calfkiller selections on-hand including the Wizard Sauce pale ale, the Smokey Treat fruit beer, Ye Old Calfkiller Quazi (an American pale wheat ale) and the Belle Meade Private Reserve Bourbon Barrel Smokey Treat.  All were tasty and the brewers, the  Sergio Brothers, were on-hand explaining their creative concoctions and pouring healthy samples of each throughout the night.  Dinner was excellent and abundant and ended with an amazing beer sundae (photo above) consisting of vanilla ice cream and the Smokey Treat fruit beer.

We took a swim below Carmac Falls the next day at Evins Mill Resort (video below).  It was a great weekend overall.

August 14 - Before seeing and old heavy-metal fave from my younger days, Queensryche, play live in downtown Nashville tonight, I did a quick three-stop pub crawl to some familiar downtown haunts.  The first stop was The Pour House where I had a delicious pint of the Hop Head Red Double IPA from Green Flash Brewing out in California.

Since I was wearing my favorite Stone Brewing work shirt it seemed only fitting at my next stop, Hops & Crafts, to have the Stone Go To IPA which was amazingly hoppy.

The always-impressive beer list at Hops & Crafts easily makes it my favorite beer bar in Nashville.

Despite being the lightest beer of the night, the beautiful lacing of the Picnic English-style pale ale at Blackstone Brewing reveals the true quality of the beer made here at my third and last stop of the night.

The band was sounding great tonight despite their age.  Original lead singer, Geoff Tate, that you hear in the short clip below has had a nasty falling out with the rest of the band and an ugly battle for the name "Queensryche" has ensued.   But that hasn't stopped this talented guy from assembling an amazing backing band that includes former touring members of Quiet Riot and AC/DC to put on one hell of a show.  This could be one of the last times Geoff sings this song live since after this tour, from what I understand, the courts have said he can only perform Operation: Mindcrime songs and not ones such as this one," Jet City Woman" from the Empire album. Strange, but true.

This should really have the word BEER underneath it, don't you think?

This isn't a great picture due to the graininess, but it shows the amazing "Super Moon" that was out tonight before the show in downtown Nashville.  That huge lighted ball on the left is a street light  about 20' away.  That huge lighted ball on the right is the moon about 240,000 miles away....  

August 16-17 - I took a quick trip to Memphis and Tunica this weekend to play a poker tournament, check out some history and maybe even find a little beer.  I placed 18th in the tournament out of 151 entrants and doubled my entry fee at least.

August 17 - The only craft beer I could find available on a Sunday in Memphis was at Boscos Squared where I had the Sticke Alt and the BBR, an American pale wheat beer, with brunch.  I love the Nashville location of Boscos and this one is just as cool and located in a neat little, eclectic area of downtown Memphis.

After brunch I cruised by the famous Sun Studios to see if the ghost of Elvis was hanging around.

I have been wanting to visit the National Civil Rights Museum at the infamous Lorraine Motel for a long time now.  I am glad I finally got to get here.  It's an amazing place and definitely worth a visit.

Since the beer is not flowing readily on Sundays in Memphis,  I cruised on back eastward and made a stop in Murfreesboro before heading home to check out O"Possum's Irish Pub.  I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised at the cool little establishment that even does a small amount of craft brewing.  They are a one-batch operation and I had what was available:  the Chocolate Caramel Porter.  It was fantastic!  Well-done, little guys!  I wasn't hungry and didn't eat, but the place was busy with food patrons and the dishes looked good.  I will definitely be back here with the wifey in tow for some dinner sometime soon.  What a great find!