Summer Lovin'...havin' a beer...or two...or three...oh, just stop counting!

6/15 - Ashlee and I checked out the new location for Fat Bottom Brewing on the west side of Nashville tonight before a Third Eye Blind concert downtown.  The food was great and the beer was decent.  I had the 2 Hop Shakur West Coast IPA and a sip of Ashlee's Two Piece ginger pale wheat ale,

 I finished at Fat Bottom with the oddly bright-colored Wallflower Spring Saison that was sour but full of power.

6/23 - Why can't this be my work truck?  We stopped by Lebanon Wine and Spirits tonight and Grayton Beer Company (Santa Rosa Beach, FL) was there giving out free samples.  I tried the decent 30A Beach Blonde Ale , the Salt of the Gulf sour gose which was an interesting sour/saline mix, and the ho-hum Fish Whistle IPA...way too malty for an IPA in my opinion.

6/23 - I finally got to check out the awesome new HQ Beercade in downtown Nashville tonight where you can play classic arcade games for free while sipping a good selection of craft beer.  I have actually never played the beer-inspired Tapper  video game before tonight, but it was kind of fun and challenging.  I had a King Buffalo stout from Tallgrass Brewing (KS) while there.

6/26 - Great soundtrack.  Decent movie, but I was expecting a bit more.

We celebrated the 4th in Chattanooga and I had a ChickBock maibock from Chattanooga Brewing after a fun day on the Chickamauga Lake...see below

Just for the record, no beer was consumed before this occurred...

7/6 -  Stopped by Homegrown Taproom on my way to the movies tonight and had the honor of  grabbing a glass of the George Dickel Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter from Nashville's own Tennessee Brew Works.  This was only my second original check-in on UnTapped and it was a dandy with its beautiful chocolate linger

I finished up with a Wise Blood IPA from Wild Heaven Beer (GA) before meeting my friend, Wayne, to see the new
Spider-man: Homecoming in IMAX at Opry Mills.  Glad to see Marvel Studios finally get this franchise done right!

7/8 -  I had an Acme-Rooster Brew pale wheat ale from Fat Bottom Brewing  made especially for Acme Feed and Seed with a sushi lunch on our way to see the USMNT take on Panama in the opening round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament at Nissan Stadium here in Nashville.  We kissed our sister with a tie today, but went on to win the 2017 Gold Cup!!

7/13 - Excellent acting by Andy Serkis again.  Story line was a little sloppy, but an entertaining film and trilogy overall.

7/14 - Cheers, Nashville!!  I had a terrific Fugli IPA - Oskar Blues Brewery (NC division) as we boarded the brand-new Pontoon Saloon boat tour on the Cumberland River tonight with several of our friends.  It's a BYOB activity and I did just that with a nice variety four-pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits.  Next up was  a solid Nebraska Brewing IPA (Oct 2016 - ).  What a perfect night for a cruise!

The best of the night was the Puff imperial IPA from one of my favorite craft breweries,  Sixpoint out of Brooklyn, NY. 

 OK, I did NOT know there was a lighthouse in Tennessee.  What a little beauty!  I finished the evening with a refreshing Lime Pilsner from Uinta Brewing (UT) 

7/16 - We had a small pool party for our Kiwi visitor, Mel, today, but I seemed to have got all the good presents.  My friend, Nate, brought some small-batch recently-tapped brews from New Heights Brewing here in Nashville.  First up was the excellent White Oak Wood-Chip Aged Navel Gazer imperial stout.  Then the above-pictured Dark American Oak imperial stout which was also amazing.  I also had a can of  Home Rule pale lager from Atlas Brewing (Washington, DC) that Nate brought as well as a Lost Souls IPA from Evil Twin Brewing (Brooklyn, NY). and finally an UNSTOUTTD stout also from Evil Twin Brewing.  Did I mention I really love my friend, Nate?  

7/18 - I had an Embrace the Funk Foeder # 2 American wild ale from local Yazoo Brewing with dinner at Party Fowl in Nashville tonight.  It was very sour and that made me very dour.

7/20 - Amazing film and a must-see in IMAX! I will put it in my Top 5  Favorite War Films but it's still behind Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down....and probably Platoon.

7/21 - My long-time friend, Chris, came up from Chattanooga today and we did a short Nashville brewery crawl before a Steve Earle and the Dukes' first-ever-headlining show at The Ryman.  Our first stop was New Heights Brewing where I had a Beerded Recluse strong ale.  We moved on to Czann's Brewing where there was no new beer for me, but some valuable free downtown parking. Plus, Chris had never been here.  My friend Nate joined us while at Czann's and then we all Uber-ed over to Jackalope Brewing next where I had the interesting Peach Tea Pale Ale.  Next, we walked next door to dinner at Party Fowl.   With dinner I had a beautifully cloudy and hoppy 1927 IPA from Tennessee Brew Works also here in Nashville. Nate didn't go to the show with us, but my old childhood friend, Jeff, and his date, joined us for the excellent show.  The openers were Lucero who were also pretty good.  Lead singer, Ben Nichols' gravelly voice is definitely more intoxicating than the weak Music City Light lager I had at the show from the Music City Beer Company (in Nashville?...sounds mass-produced and sketchy).   Back home after the show, we took a late night dip in the pool with a couple of Two-Hearted Ales from Bell's Brewing (MI) that Chris brought up.  What a good, good day of beer, music and camaraderie! 

7/27 - It was poker night in Lebanon tonight and I got another great variety four-pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits to get me through the long periods of being card-dead.  I started with the good Special Regular IPA from Wiseacre Brewing (Memphis), then the Cedar Creek Brew Company IPA from Indiana that had an unpleasant aftertaste.  Batting third was the excellent Belgian-style Bourbon Barrel Quad from Boulevard Brewing (KC).  The finale was the almost-perfect Duck-Rabbator Dopplebock from Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (NC).   

I described this movie as "The Fifth Element on steroids."  Really enjoyable sci-fi flick.  Before the movie at Opry Mills, I had dinner at Homegrown Taproom and three half-pints including the fairly weak Hipster Dance Party double IPA from East Nashville Beer Works,  the nice Bousiller Belgian pale ale from Mantra Artisan Ales over in Franklin, TN, and finally the best of the stop:  the tasty Tropjack IPA from Blackstone Brewing here in Nashville.