Autumnal Brews News

Saturday, 8/26 - We were invited to a pay-per-view fight party tonight of the much-ballyhooed boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor .  Even though I was the designated driver, I brought a  variety four-pack of beer from Lebanon Wine and Spirits since it was a long night with a lot of under-card fights before the main event.    I started with an excellent can of Spruce Tip IPA from Goodwood Brewing in Louisville, KY.  Next up was a decent tallboy pint can of Dino Breath IPA from Tailgate Beer here in Nashville.  I ended the night with a pretty good American Kolsch from Boulevard Brewing (Kansas City) as Mayweather wore down McGregor in a 10th-round TKO. I held on to my fourth new brew and  will enjoy it by the pool later this week probably.  (Editor's update note:  The fourth one was the Berliner Blood Orange sour by Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville that I just couldn't get into.  Sours are still not my favorite by a long way.)

Ashlee and I were two of the few at the party who thought Mayweather would avoid the upset.  Ashlee even guessed the round and almost the exact time by less than a minute.  Who knew she was such a boxing savant! 

Sunday, 8/27 - My friend Wayne invited me to the third preseason game for the Titans today and it was a pretty bad outing for boys in baby blue.  Good thing it's the preseason, but they got some work to do to get ready for the regular season.  We left around the third quarter since it was hot and the product on the field was not.  We headed over to East Nashville for some good food (and a beer for me) at the new Noble's Kitchen and Beer Hall.  Afterwards, I stopped in Mt. Juliet and  caught the really good flick, Wind River, from one of my new favorite directors/writers, Taylor Sheridan.

I had a decent Berry Blonde 2017 ale from Mayday Brewing over in Murfreesboro with my tasty catfish sliders lunch.

9/2 - 9/5 We took a long weekend trip up to Boston and I found some great beer within that four-day span:

Bean Town or BEER Town...let's find out!

9/2-  I had a very good Working Class Hero saison from Cambridge Brewing with my lunch at Il Pesce at Eatly.  It went very well with my tasty swordfish dish.

Along the Freedom Trail we stopped in the country's oldest tavern, The Bell in Hand, where I had a solid Wolf Pup Session IPA from Golden Road Brewing (CA).

Over in Cambridge after checking out the Harvard University campus, I had a good Keeper IPA from Castle Island Brewing (MA) on the guest tap of John Harvard's Brewery and Ale House.  I also had a sip of Ashlee's surprisingly good Blueberry Shandy from Ipswich Ale Brewery (MA) also on the guest taps.  My UNTAPPD app did not speak highly of the house beers here, so I passed on them, but it is a nice "Haaahhvaad bahhh" nonetheless.

Harvard campus entrance

9/3 -  We took a great food tour through the beautiful North End of Boston today and our last stop included a local beer tasting as well as a regional cider.  We had a few swigs of the tasty Pukwudgie Pale Ale from Down the Road Beer Company in nearby Everett, MA, and an impressively dry and crisp cider called The Dirty Mayor from Citizen Cider in Burlington, VT.

Cool artwork on these Down the Road Beer Company cans

After the tour, we doubled back to our first stop on the food tour at the Boston Public Market and wandered down Hopster's Alley for a look at their great craft beer selection as well as an opportunity for a tasting of four of Boston's own Hopster Brewery's wares:  I had the 292 brown ale that was great, the hop-heavy Comet Moteuka IPA (my fave of the bunch); the Comet Citra IPA that was way more citrus than hops; and finally the Newtonian IPA which was also highly citrus but had a good hop finish.

We finished quite the beer-heavy day with an excellent dinner and beer flights at The Ginger Man. I have wanted to stop by the NYC location of this regional chain of beer bars and never got the chance, so this was an exciting find for me.  I had an outstanding flight of four 5 oz. new-to-me beers (left to right in the photo below) that included the super-smooth Wee Heavy Scotch ale (cask-conditioned) from Fyne Ales (Scotland), the hop-bombed Sip of Sunshine double IPA from Lawson's Finest Liquids (VT), the accurately-named a tiny beautiful something pale ale from the Maine Beer Company, and the decent Fat Boy double IPA from Big Elm Brewing in nearby Sheffield, MA.

I also had a taste of each of Ashlee's  good and Belgian-heavy four selections which included:  the Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout from Uinta Brewing (Salt Lake City), the Hazard Belgian pale ale from Bent Water Brewing (MA), the Brother David's Double Abbey-style Ale from Anderson Valley Brewing (CA), and the Matisse saison from Night Shift Brewing (MA).

My favorite Boston subway stop.  I got me an Ale-wife...as long as it's a good brown ale!

9/4 - We met a co-worker of Ashlee's and her boyfriend today for lunch back in the North End at the Florentine Cafe and I had a decent Hobo Life session IPA from Lord Hobo Brewing (MA) and an OK Leisure Time lager from Jack's Abby (MA).

A DUCK's-eye view from the Charles River in Boston

Before our city tour on the famous DUCK amphibious vehicles, we had a drink at a nice outdoor bar by the New England Aquarium called The Reef.  I had a pretty good Sweet Spot golden ale  and an OK UFO White Ale from Boston's own Harpoon Brewery (their IPA was one of my first loves in the heavy hops category many, many moons ago).

After the tour out on the patio at a restaurant near the aquarium called Tia's,  I grabbed a tasty can of Entitled IPA from Entitled Brewing (MA) that had a ton of hops in it.

On our way to see the Boston Red Sox take on the Toronto Blue Jays at beautiful and historic Fenway Park tonight, we stopped next door at the very cool Cheeky Monkey Brewing for a tasty snack and a couple beers.  I had their West Coast IPA which was terrific.  I was pretty much beered-out believe it or not after that and did not have a cold one inside Fenway Park...and I kind of regret that.  Thanks, Boston, for a great time and some great beer along the way!  

9/9, 9/10, 9/17 - I was in Chattanooga the last couple weekends for family stuff.  I had a flavorful Rope Gun Rye from the nearby Hutton and Smith Brewing at Crust Pizza in Red Bank.  The next day I had a Battle Ground saison from Mantra Artisan Ales (Franklin, TN) that was pretty good.  The next weekend I stopped at Heaven and Ale and had a couple 10 oz. beauties including the excellent Hammer 58 IPA (photo above) from Terrapin Brewing (Athens, GA) and an interesting Belgian-style IPA called the Cerebral Predator from Calf Killer Brewing over in Sparta, TN.

9/20 - It was Poker Night in Lebanon again tonight and I was making plans to stop by Lebanon Wine and Spirits to get my usual variety four-pack when I got a text from my friend, Quintin, that he was bringing a "good amount" of beer for us to consume during the game.  Quintin has great taste, so I know he would bring some good stuff and I was right!  He brought some bomber bottles that I partially partook of including a smooth Noggin Knocker milk stout from Burnt Hickory Brewing (Kennesaw, GA), a tasty Black Belle Barrel Aged Imperial Stout from Blackstone Brewing in Nashville and finally a strong but excellent Superbad imperial stout from Gigantic Brewing (Portland, OR) that I had to drink with no chips in front of me when I ran my flush draw into pocket aces with no help on the turn or river...who knew he had them...you only get AA less than half a percent of the time...