At Home, in The Big Apple and on the Beach to Close Out 2015

My friend, Mollie, got this for me.  Ain't she sweet and don't she know me so well?

September 25 - At my favorite Nashville beer bar, The Hop Stop  today I had the Hop Hash from Sweetwater (ATL) and a Why Can't IBU Belgian-style IPA and the Stateside Saison from Stillwater Artisanal Ales (Baltimore).  At dinner at the Holland House later that evening I had a Sorachi Ace, a farmhouse ale from Brooklyn Brewing.

September 29 - I attended a Preds Preseason game and beforehand at Pub 5 I had a Hipster Repellant IPA from Falls City Beer in Louisville.

October 2 - Ashlee and I had dinner at The Hop Stop  before we went to see The Walk in IMAX,  I had an Enjoy By 10.31.15 by Stone Brewing.

October 3 -  I did a little Nashville pub crawling today with a stop at Little Harpeth Brewing where I had their Bison Bock. Over at the new (and very nice) Homegrown Taproom  I had the Tennessee Jed pale wheat ale from our local Honky Tonk Brewing, a Vienna Lager from Devil's Backbone Brewing (VA) and a Natchez pale ale from TN Brew Works in Nashville.

October 7 -  We stopped at The Slider House for dinner before seeing a Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds show.  I had  Blacktop Blonde pint can from Tailgate Beer here in Nashville and a sip of Ashlee's Wild Ginger Original (mass produced somewhere in the US).

October 8 -  I had a Spiced Orange from Crabbie's (Scotland) at home before attending the Taste of Wilson County tonight.

October 10 - We attended a very crowded Octoberfest in the Nashville neighborhood of Germantown, I had a Fall Lager from Nashville's own Yazoo Brewing and the Oktoberfest from Blue Pants Brewing  (AL).

October 11 - I had a 5 Points IPA at Black Abbey Brewing here in Nashville after yet another Titans loss.  Lots of sorrow-drowning in this town this season....

October 16 - I checked out the great new Chattanooga Brewing facility while in town and tried there Oktoberfest, Two Taverns Pale Ale and their OAKtoberfest.  At lunch at Main Street Meats, I had a White Blackbird saison from Wild Heaven Craft Beers (GA).

October 17 - We attended a house-warming party back in Lebanon tonight for our friend, Bethany, and  I had a Hasenpfeffer Oktoberfest from Red Hare Brewing (GA), the great new Nitro IPA from Guinness, the Oktoberfest: Gemutlichkeit from Wiseacre Brewing in Memphis and the Gold Leaf Lager from Devil's Backbone Brewing (VA)

October 23 - Back down in Chattanooga today, I visited yet another new brewery, Hutton and Smith, and had their Scotch Ale and their Igneous IPA with my friend, Mike.

October 24 - On our way to Atlanta for the weekend I had a Tricycle Radler from Parallel 49 Brewing (Vancouver).  When we got there we met our friend, Rex, at the Barcelona Wine Bar and I had a Kolsch Ale from the local Eventide Brewing and then a Devils Tramping Ground Tripel from Aviator Brewing (NC) at the Bantam Pub before dinner.

We had dinner at Venkman's where I had the Life.Death.Life.Truth. IPA from Atlanta's own Orpheus Brewing, then a rather sour Athena weissebier from Creature Comforts Brewing in nearby Athens, GA, and ended with a much better Ground Pounder pale ale from Service Brewing in Savannah, GA.  Their logo is one of the best I have seen in a while.

We hosted a Day of the Dead Party on Halloween at our house and Ashlee had these cool koozies made for the occasion.  Yep, that's a watery Tecate cervaza....when in Rome...or Tijuana...I also had an Occulto, a decent mass-produced lager from Broken Barrel Brewing  (a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch).  To conclude my mass-produced walk on the Not-Dark Side I had a Rebel Rider IPA from Sam Adams.  I righted myself with two classic microbrews that fit the theme of the party: a Dos Perros from Yazoo here in  Nashville and a Dead Guy Ale from Rogue Brewing (OR).  

My wife is awesome.  She found these beer lollipops for me.  Yes, they taste like beer!

November 3 - I stopped by another good Nashville beer bar tonight called Hurry Back before going to the movies and had a Farmer's Beat farmhouse ale from the local TN Brew Works and a Hop Hunter IPA from Sierra Nevada (CA).  Happy Birthday to my mom today, by the way...RIP...I love you.  I love this old picture of her as a young woman.  Wasn't she a beauty?

November 11 - I attended a crazy 7-5 win for the Preds over Ottawa tonight.  Beforehand, I had  two beers at the brand new Smith and Lentz Brewery in East Nashville.  I had their Double IPA and the Mosaic IPA.  Both were excellent.  Welcome to town, guys!  Keep up the good work!

November 14 - Another bar crawl today in Nashville with a stop at the grand-daddy of them all in terms of local microbreweries, Blackstone Brewing, for a Nut Brown Ale and an A.P.A.  Then I had a Badonkadonk stout from Honky Tonk Brewing, a grand-baby in terms of Nashville microbreweries at The Beer Pale, another great local beer bar.

November 20 -  I saw Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 in IMAX tonight and  had two beers at The Hop Stop before the show.  They were the Born Yesterday Pale Ale (photo above) from Lagunitas (CA) and the Guy Fawkes English brown ale from Nashville's own, Black Abbey Brewing.

We took a quick long-weekend trip to NYC  recently and I was able to squeeze in a few new brews while there:

November 20 - My friend, Mike, picked up a six-pack of Double White witbier from Southampton Publick House (NY) at a convenience store around the corner from our rented apartment.    Good choice, Mike!  Later that evening we attended the Duke/Wisconsin  college basketball game at Madison Square Garden (Duke wins!) and had a Bronx American Pale Ale from the local Bronx Brewery.  After the game we stopped by a bar called The Australian and I ran with the theme and had a Cooper's Best Extra Stout from Down Under.

November 21 -  Ashlee and I finally got to eat at the very popular Shake Shack near Times Square and I had their house beer, a Shackmesiter Ale, with lunch.  The tasty pale ale is produced solely for them by Brooklyn Brewing.

At dinner that evening at Brother Jimmy's BBQ,  I had a Mermaid Pilsner from Coney Island Brewing over in Brooklyn.  Their logo sure beats the heck out of the one for Starbucks!

November 22 - I had a Brooklyn Lager from Brooklyn Brewing at Madison Square Garden today as we watched Duke defeat Georgetown to win the 2015 2K Classic.

November 23 -  Before leaving NYC, we stopped by the Star Wars costume exhibition which was very cool.  They had authentic wardrobe from all seven movies.

We spent Thanksgiving again this year down in Destin, Florida, which has become a bit of a tradition for us.  Another tradition I have down that way is seeking out good beer while we are there.

Awesome weather on the Destin beaches this Thanksgiving.  I cracked a few cold ones while there including a Pennsylvania Tuxedo pale ale from Dogfish Head Brewing (DE) and a Kentucky Rye Barrel IPA from Alltech Lexington (KY) Brewing.

I drove a few miles up The Gulf to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida,  to seek out a fairly new microbrewery called Idyll Hounds Brewing.  I had their Divide and Conch'r imperial IPA and their Barrel-Aged Vanilla Red # 2.  Both were very good.  A very cool little place!  Yet another good reason to head south during Thanksgiving!

To the beach, my lady!!  With Ashlee driving the golf cart, I imbibed  on the way with a Phin and Matt's Extraordinary (PMX) Ale, a pale ale from Souther Tier Brewing (NY).    I followed that up with a 19th Anniversary Imperial IPA on the beach from Coronado (CA) Brewing.   As I have said before, Destin has a GREAT beer store.

On our last night in Destin we had dinner at a great little beach-side place called Pompano Joe's and with my meal I had a Rip Tide Amber red ale from the nearby Pensacola Bay Brewery.

12/9 -  Back in Nashville I had a 312 Wheat Ale  from Goose Island in Chicago (recently bought out by "The Man") at 3rd and Lindsley during the SOLD OUT Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls show

12/10 - Before seeing  the Ron Howard directed film In the Heart of the Sea in IMAX I dropped by The Hop Stop with my friend Casey and we both had AND LOVED the Tiramisu-Hoo milk stout from TOP 5 FAVORITE Terrapin Brewing down in Athens, GA.  Casey is still talking about that beer.  I followed it up with a Noveau red ale from local newcomer Mantra Artisan Ales over in Franklin (they took over Turtle Anarchy's old digs since they are moving to Nashville in a bigger place).

12/11  I went solo tonight to a Trombone Shorty show at Marathon Music Works and before and after  the show I stopped at a couple places for a libation or two.  I went by Smith and Lentz Brewing over in East Nashville and had their Oatmeal Stout and their Vienna Lager.  At the Beer Pale I had the Wicket Gate stout from Nashville's Black Abbey Brewing.  This is definitely my favorite brew of theirs so far!  Yummo!

Trombone Shorty then...

Trombone Shorty now!!

12/19 - We threw a Christmas Party tonight and I got a nice selection of winter beers for the soiree from the old reliable Mt. Juliet Beer Company Store including an Icelandic Toasted Porter from Einstok Brewing in Iceland, the Coffee Milk Stout from my TOP 5 FAVORITE Stone Brewing (CA), a Toasted Coconut Porter from Orange Blossom Brewing (Orlando), a Dark Matter black IPA from Blackstone Brewing here in Nashville, and a Festive Ale from Sweetwater Brewing (Atlanta).

12/22 - I caught Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX (for a second time) tonight and beforehand I had a couple beers at The Hop Stop with dinner including Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room imperial stout from Evil Twin Brewing (Brooklyn) and a Bed of Nails English brown ale from Hi-Wire Brewing (Asheville).

12/31 - Happy New Year from Nashville!!  We stayed at home this year and enjoyed the downtown celebration with 150,000 of our friends.  We had a grand time and I, of course, toasted 2016's entry with a few cold ones including a Smoke House Stout from Ole Shed Brewing in nearby Tullahoma, TN, with dinner at Puckett's Grocery.  Over at Pub 5 a large group of us got a private room to hide from the cold temps for a few hours as we waited for THE NOTE to drop at midnight.  Here I had a Stax black lager from the local Little Harpeth Brewing and a Brooklyn East IPA from Brooklyn Brewing (NY).

The more you know...