Feb - BREW - wary

2/4/17 - We were in Chattanooga for the weekend and I found a fairly-new craft brewery to check out.  OddStory Brewing has a great set-up on MLK Boulevard very close to another fairly new brewery I have visited before called Hutton and Smith.  With 12 of their own beers on tap, there is a lot of selection.  I had three 10-ounce pours that included their heavily-hopped IPA, their tasty Coconut Milk Stout and their decent Belgain Dubbel.

Afterwards I ambled up the street to the Honest Pint to have some lunch and another pint, of course.  This was another new-to-me place to visit in Chattanooga and it's a beauty of an Irish pub.  Their food is good and they have a nice beer selection.  I chose a bottle of Dry Hopped Pale Ale from Blue Pants Brewing (AL).  To end the day I had a Hazelnut Brown Ale from Yazoo Brewing over in Nashville at The Big Chill and Grill with a tasty dinner there.

2/5/17 - Well the Super Bowl started great, but it sure didn't end like I wanted, but it was quite historic with the biggest comeback and the first over-time ever in the history of the game.  We were invited over to our friends, Tony and Lisa's, house for some tasty grub during the game, and I brought along a couple of of new bottled brews as well.   I had the decent Hopry IPA from Nashville's own, Yazoo Brewing, and also a HANGTIME pale ale from Blackstone Brewing which is also Nashville-based.

2/18 - 2/20:  Saturday, 2/18:  We flew up to Columbus, Ohio, for a long holiday weekend to catch a road game with the Nashville Predators and meet up with some friends who had moved north a couple years back.  Turns out C-Town is a helluva beer town also!

Since our friends, Chris and Tarryn, that we were meeting here were driving in from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Chris (a fellow craft beer lover) was able to bring a few regional brews with them for us to enjoy at the sweet two-bedroom apartment we rented in the Wonder Bread Lofts, a converted bakery/factory in downtown Columbus.  I had the Bonfire Brown ale from Saugatuck Brewing (MI) and the Imperial Hatter double IPA from New Holland Brewing (MI) as we sat around catching up. Thanks, Chris, for the great brews!

We headed out a short time later and grabbed an early dinner at the Arch City Tavern in Short North, a cool area of Columbus with tons of bars and restaurants along North High Street and within walking distance of the apartment.  With my tasty dinner I had a Mystic Mama IPA from Jackie O's Brewery in nearby Athens, Ohio, and a PSA (Proper Session Ale) from MadTree Brewing in Cincinnati.  Back at the apartment I had a bottle of Distorter, a porter from Greenbush Brewing (MI).  Thanks again, Chris!

Our Uber driver tonight told us are apartment was in walking distance of the "Who Farted Brewery."  After the laughter died down, we discovered he was right on both accounts:  the Hoof Hearted Brewery was just around the corner  from our apartment and the name is definitely intended to bring laughter.  And, their beer is top notch!  I had a flight consisting of the Unglaubich! double IPA, the outstanding I Must Look Like A Dork double IPA, a sip of Ashlee's Dodging Invisible Rays saison, some of Chris' Fitness Freak imperial stout and finally the Hoof Hearted Ews Equinox double IPA.
What a great way to end our first day in Columbus!

Sunday, 2/19 - We had the day to burn in Columbus since the Preds game wasn't until 6 PM.  So we toured around town and enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather and sunny skies as much as we could.

A fun stop today was outside the impressive home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, The Horseshoe.

We got back to the apartment a few hours before game time and I had a Michigan Awesome Hatter IPA from New Holland (MI).  Once again, thank you so much, Chris, for the great brews!

With Preds gear on we pub-crawled down Short North toward the Nationwide Arena where the Columbus Bluejackets call home.  Our first stop was at the Short North Tavern where I had Bleeding Buckeye red ale from Elevator Brewing here in Columbus.  Like the team, I thought it was OK...at best.  SEC for life, baby!  Our next stop was for dinner at Barley's Brewing Company where the beer was pretty good and the food was outstanding.  I had the Blurry Bike IPA and the Tour De Hops double IPA.

Nationwide Arena and the entire Arena District of Columbus is a great place.  They had a great local craft beer stand near our sweet seats 10 rows off the glass behind the Preds shoot-twice goal (thanks again, Chris, for nabbing such awesome seats!)  I had the Stiff-Arm IPA and the Goon (seemed appropriate for hockey) strong ale from Land-Grant Brewing here in Columbus.  Both were excellent and tasted even better with the 4-3 victory for the Preds!!

After the game, we (mostly me) stumbled back to the apartment and Chris and I ambled back over to Hoof Hearted Brewing for a couple of 4-pack cans that we could bring back and enjoyed leisurely at the apartment.  I had a pint can of Plutonium Nyborg saison and another pint can of the Thudstaff imperial stout.    Whoa, Nelly, I was pretty blasted!    Sorry, everyone, for the snoring...

Monday, 2/20 -   Chris and Tarryn headed out early today to get back home, and Ashlee and I had another almost-full Presidents Day in Columbus before our flight back home at 5 PM, so we did some more exploring of this great city.

Columbus has a great history involving beer including an aptly named Brewery District where several large, mostly-German-based breweries operated before and after Prohibition.  One such establishment was the Gambrinus Brewery founded by August Wagner in 1906.  All that is left of the brewery today is it's large 12' tall iconic statue of King Gambrinus , a legendary Flemish king who is often given credit as the inventor of beer.

Well, we couldn't just leave The Brewery District without having some beer, now could we?  We stopped for an appetizer and two flights of beer at the Rockmill Tavern.  Their own Belgian-style beers from Rockmill Brewing in nearby, Lancaster, Ohio, are very impressive.  In no certain order, I had some of the following:  the Witbier, the Farmhouse IPA, the Petite Saison, the Saison, the Dubbel, the Cask Aged Noir saison, the Cask Aged Rugged Af stout  (my fave of the bunch) and the Cask Aged Tripel.  

Columbus is great in a lot of respects including being a great beer town.  It has definitely been put on my must-return-as-soon-as-possible list!

Decked out from neck...

Wednesday, 2/22- My friend, Wayne, invited me to the Tennessee Titans Tailgate and Tuxedos event tonight and the new Nashville City Center.  It was a pretty cool party for the team's season-tickets holders of which Wayne is one and has been from their start here in Nashville.  They had a stage program with players from the present and the past as well as some decent free food.  The beer available at the cash-bars was your typical swill-of-the-masses, so I passed on it.  Afterwards, however, I did stop on the way home for a quick night-cap at the Homegrown Tap Room where I had a couple half -pints including the Midnight Magic schwarzbier from Ghost River Brewing over in Memphis and the incredible Guru Gish sweet (Goo-Goo Cluster sweet, that is!) milk stout from Mantra Brewing over in nearby Franklin, TN.

to toe...check out my new BEER SHOES that Ashlee got me for Christmas.  This was their actual first trip outside since it was a fairly dry day.  

Sunday, 2/26 - We attended an Oscars Party at our friends, Danny and Brenda's, place tonight and our friend, Chris, was in town from up north and brought a couple of Indianapolis brews he found on the way down that we had before and during the show.  I had the Pogue's Run Porter and the Half Cycle IPA from Flat 12 Bierwork.  Both were very solid.  Thanks to Chris for bringing them down with him.  Salute!

Unless there's beer in those humps!!