I-P-A RIVER: Home and Hollywood Bound to Start 2016

1/1 - We started New Year's Day off with brunch at Party Fowl in downtown Nashville and I had a Snowman Stout from Jackalope Brewing...which happens to be right next door!

1/5 - Before a Preds game tonight we had dinner at Suzy Wong's House of Yum (1/2 price sushi night!) and I had a delicious Milk Stout Nitro from Left Hand Brewing (CO).

1/13 - We went to see the lovely and talented Grace Potter perform down in Chattanooga at Track 29 and before the show at dinner at FEED Co. Table and Tavern I had an Ezekiel's Wheel pale ale from Burnt Hickory Brewing in Kennesaw, GA.

1/14 - The next day while still in Chattanooga we had lunch at Terminal Brewhouse and I had half-pints of their Winter Warmer, their Magnum P.A. West Coast IPA and their Southsidenstein Stout. This awesome place is for sale I learned recently...man, I wish I had some investment money laying around!!

1/17 - I took in a second showing of The Revenant (it wins best picture and Leo finally gets his Oscar...wait and see) I had 3 half-pints at The Hop Stop afterwards including a Nelson rye IPA from Alpine Beer Co. (CA), a Revolutionary pale ale from the local Mantra Artisan Ales and a Belgian Table Beer from new Nashville brewer, Smith and Lentz.

I then moved on to a new-to-me place here in Nashville called Jack's Browns Beer and Burger Joint where I had a tremendous burger called The Greg Brady (mac-n-cheese and BBQ potato chips on it) as well as a Haystack IPA from Ole Shed Brewing down in Tullahoma, TN.

I finished the evening with two new beers at City Winery while watching Brian Fallon and the Crowes (video below) with great opener, Corey Branan. I had the Porter from Founders Brewing (MI) and the Rompo Red Rye IPA from Nashville's own Jackalope Brewing.

While the wife was off on a girls' trip cruise to the Caribbean, I snagged an ultra-cheap flight from Atlanta to L.A. to knock off some bucket-list items and, of course, search out some new beer!

1/20 - Before the Lakers game vs. Sacramento at The Staple Center where I got to see Kobe Bryant play live (CHECK MARK!) in what is probably his last season I had a couple "shorties" (half-pints) at the Yard House next door including a Sharkinator white IPA from Lost Coast Brewing (CA) and a Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic Brewing (CA). During the game I had an Avatar Jasmine IPA from Elysian Brewing (WA). This pint set me back twelve bucks!! Time to go drink somewhere else!!

1,900-miles for more beer...that's dedication, folks.

After the game I cabbed over to Angel City Brewing which was fairly close to my downtown hotel. These folks blew me away with their beer and I happy to say they have moved into MY TOP FIVE BREWERIES LIST...and that's a tough nut to crack! Here's the three beers that did the trick:

The White Nite - an amazing tasting stout that looks like a pilsner. How they do that???

The Dark Rye Lager - Brandy Barrel Aged - best lager I have ever tasted....hands down...because it's really made like an IPA. Nice shout-out to the recently-passed great actor, Alan Rickman, as well. R.I.P. Hans Gruber.

9.9 Problems Russian imperial stout - outstanding beer and an outstanding name. Not only is the beer great here at Angel City Brewing, but it's a cool place with a great vibe. Truly a craft-beer mecca. Put it on your list to visit before you croak.

I chose my swanky downtown hotel, The Standard, because they boasted about having not only a rooftop pool in downtown L.A., but also a rooftop beer garden. Unfortunately, after being astounded at Angel City Brewing, the Bitburger Premium Pils (Germany) was rather crappy despite the very cool surroundings and locale.

1/21 - I spent the day in Hollywood today and had perfect weather and a whole lot to do.

Hiking in the Hollywood Hills to see the famous sign on foot. (CHECK MARK!)

Touring around Hollywood with the top down on a beautiful day. (CHECK MARK!)

I had lunch with a view of the Hollywood Sign at a great place in Hollywood called The Oinkster. They have a good beer list as well and I had a Broken Skull IPA from El Segundo (CA) Brewing and a Poppyfields pale ale from Craftsman Brewing (Pasedena).

Attending a live taping of The Jimmy Kimmel Show (CHECK MARK!) with guest stars Zac Efron, Malin Akerman (the babe from "Billions") and music in the back parking lot from the terrific band, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals (see the short video below):

Back downtown I was starving for dinner and just stumbled upon not only a great place to eat, but a great beer bar just across the street from my hotel called Public School 213. With dinner I had a Ground Control (props to you, David Bowie, RIP) stout from Ninkasi Brewing (OR), an Aviator C-4 IPA from Knee Deep Brewing (CA) and a "free" Vanilla Valkyrie altbier from Enegren Brewing (CA). I say free because my great barkeep let me slip back across the street to get my wallet that I had left in the room and when I came back she had moved by seat at the bar one space and offered me the free drink for having to do it. How nice! I tipped her the cost the beer in addition to the normal tip. By the way, everyone in L.A. even in the horrible traffic were pretty darn nice to me. OK, about the photo above...it's a sneak-shot I took from the bar at PS 213 because I will be honest I was shocked to see two brothers drinking Delirium Tremens. Good choice, guys! I am impressed!! Good beer for everyone!!

1/22 Today I moved away from downtown and out to the beaches for my last day and night in Southern California. I got a good deal on a nice room in a Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach and I had a whale-watching tour (always a CHECK MARK!) scheduled down the coast in Newport Beach to start the day.

We had good luck on our tour seeing two humpbacks and a gray whale, plus several dolphins, sea lions and a ton of birds. The weather couldn't have been more perfect.

On the way back to Redondo Beach I stopped in Long Beach at Beechwood Brewing and BBQ for lunch where I had their Foam Top cream ale, their Hops of Fury IPA and their Udder Love milk stout. All were delish as was my lunch salad topped with BBQ chicken...and you thought all I ate were burgers...

I spent the evening playing poker at the famous Bicycle Casino (CHECK MARK!) where I was able to chop a 125-person daily tournament with several other guys (we played until 2:30 in the morning) for 4th place money and earning me a little over $500 in profit (always a CHECK MARK!). What a great casino! No stupid slot machine sounds, no smoking and a surprisingly good beer-bar where I had at Wolf Among Weeds double IPA from L.A.'s own Golden Road Brewing. during a break in the action.

I even scored good beer on the way home while waiting on my flight at LAX I found the Rock and Brews bar just in time for the Duke/NC State game. Duke wins!! While watching the game I had a Point the Way IPA from Golden Road Brewing (LA) and a Inclined IPA from Santa Monica (CA) Brew Works.

Pretty darn good trip if I do say so myself!