A Birthday Month of Beer and Beasts

4/1 - I started the month out right with a can of Lovebird hefeweizen by Nashville's own, Jackalope Brewing, at the brand new open-air rooftop bar called Rare Bird on top of the  recently remodeled Noelle Hotel in downtown Nashville.  Cool view, cold brew and lovely birds.

4/4 -  I headed to downtown Nashville tonight to attend the New Titans Uniform Reveal  celebration called Evolved.  It was quite a party with a huge crowd, Florida Georgia line playing live, and lots of present and past Titans on the stage modeling the new uniforms which look pretty good. I especially like the new dark blue helmets.  I met up with my pal, Wayne, before the fray at the HQ Beercade where I played a few games of free Galaga and had a couple new-to-me pours including the decent Lo-Pitch Juicy IPA from Hi-wire Brewing in Asheville, NC, and the terrific 2018 Graeter's Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Milk Stout from Braxton Brewing in Covington, KY.  Covington is just across the river from Cincinnati where Graeter's Ice Cream is legendary.

4/5-  I headed to Hendersonville tonight for my first visit to Half Batch Brewing.  Great little place and their beer is top notch.  I had 10 oz. pours of the solid Get Crackin' pale ale and the excellent Peppersprout Smoked Porter.  I also had my first visit nearby to the very nice Streets of Indian Lake Regal Movie Theaters (reclners!) where I saw the scary, but solidly made, monster movie, A Quiet Place. 

While I was in the movie,  the Preds were in Washington, D.C., wrapping up a 4-3 win over the Caps and securing the Central Division Regular Season Title, the Western Conference Regular Season Title and The Presidents' Trophy.  Congrats, fellas!!  Now let's go get that Cup!!!

4/6 - I went and saw Chappaquiddick tonight at Opry Mills.  It was an interesting flick and an equally interesting historical topic.  Beforehand, I stopped in Dave and Busters next door and had a quick dinner at the bar along with a Lagunitas Brewing (CA) IPA which I have had before but somehow never checked in on my UNTAPPD app.

4/7 - Cheers!  I celebrated National Beer Day at a  birthday party in Chattanooga for my 79-year-old mother-in-law, Evelyn, who doesn't frown too much on my craft beer obsession.  I stopped by Riverside Beverages in Chattanooga before the party and got a variety 3-pack to imbibe during the celebration.  I started with a tasty Goodvice double IPA from Wild Heaven Brewing (Georgia).  Next up was the Mr. Wiggles Double Dank imperial IPA from Rahr and Sons Brewing  (Texas).  This brewery is new to me and I was impressed with my first taste of their wares.

Last, but certainly not least was the excellent Exalted IPA from Stone Brewing (CA).  These guys continue to be my favorite brewery of them all.  Always consistent.  Always top-notch.  This one is part of the Hop Worship Series and no one worships hops more than I do!!

4/8 - Hey, it only took 25-plus years to get here, but I FINALLY got to visit Falling Water Falls on top of Signal Mountain in Chattanooga today!  The state of Tennessee has owned this natural area for years, but there has never been a designated place to park or an official trail to it until recently, so I never got to add it to my list of over 300 waterfalls visited until today.  It was well worth the wait.  What a beauty!  It's a 110' sheer drop with commanding views of the valley below from the brink.    I celebrated after my visit  nearby at Heaven and Ale Brewing in North Chattanooga with a couple half-pints including their cloudy and hoppy Jucci Mane IPA and their solid whiskey Barrel Aged Love Supreme milk stout.  At dinner later that night at the Frothy Monkey in the new Choo Choo complex, I had an excellent Fire Keeper Imperial Amber Ale from Chattanooga's own Oddstory Brewing.

4/9 - I had the day off in Chattanooga today as our elderly cat, Mabel, was scheduled for anther chemo treatment for oral cancer.  After we dropped her off, Ashlee and her mom, Evelyn, and I stopped by the Breu Haus in North Chattanooga for a tasty lunch and a couple of half pints for me including the super-sweet Lizard of Koz stout from Founders Brewing (MI), and the brackish-looking, but good tasting, Brother Tommy's Black Wit from Calfkiller Brewing up in Sparta, TN (photo above).

I got back home tonight in time to head in to Nashville to catch a movie, the odd and a bit disappointing, Isle of Dogs, at the Green Hills Theater (with recliners).  I am not a big fan of animated or stop-motion films anyway, but the trailer for this one intrigued me, but I came to find out pretty quickly that all the funny lines were in that trailer.  Ho-hum.  Before, at least, I had a couple of great half-pints at the 12 South Taproom from another new-to-me brewer, Knee Deep, out of California.  I had their excellent Lupulin River IPA (photo above) and their Imperial Tanilla double porter.

4/11 -  OK, so I don't bring beer to Lebanon Poker Night this month because I was running late, but then my pal, Quintin, gifted me with a couple new ones that he was given recently.  I cracked open the pint can of Bright IPA from Tree House Brewing (MA) which was super hoppy and delicious.  And then I proceeded to take down the 9-man tourney for a tidy $600 profit!  Nothing like free brews and free money!!   Thanks, Q, for the beer and the bread!  

4/12 - I had the second gift beer from Quintin tonight at home while watching the Predators take on Colorado in Game 1 of the opening round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  It  turned into a rally-beer because we were down 1-0 when I opened it and we won 5-2 by the time it was empty! It was pint can of an imperial stout called PM Dawn from Trillium Brewing (MA) that was terrific.

4/14 - Thanks to my recent poker win, it was easier for me to decide today to bite the bullet and pay out the nose for a good seat to Game 2 of Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for my beloved Nashville Predators vs. the Colorado Avalanche.  It was worth every penny as we rolled to a 5-4 win that wasn't as close as the score indicated.  I had a sweet seat about ten rows off the ice behind the defend twice goal and got to see two beautiful goals in the second period right in front of me including Viktor Arvidsson's (33 baby!) masterful unassisted coast-to-coaster that gave us our first lead of the game. 

Before the game (and before meeting Big Ben, our newest addition to the Instruments of Crime Aquarium inside Bridgestone Arena, I parked at the Nashville Farmers Market (for free) and had a couple  pre-game beers at The Picnic Tap including a decent Lift kolsch  and a really good Luna Lux IPA both from MadTree Brewing (Cincinnati).

The pre-game show included a very cool projection onto a curtain lowered just above the ice.  Brad Paisley killed it with his national anthem (also right in front of me) rendition.

Between the first and second period in Bridgestone Arena, I celebrated our first goal from Kevin Fiala with a can of Napolean Complex pale ale from Wicked Weed Brewing (Asheville,  NC).

Since my pal, Wayne (i.e. Catfish Man) and I weren't sitting together, we would meet between periods outside Section 110 in Bridgestone Arean where this cool new mural has been painted.  I celebrated our first lead given to us by Arvie (#33) at the second intermission with a solid Pinball pale ale from Two Brothers Brewing (IL).  

4/15 -  Holy Nirvana, Batman!  I headed back up to Hendersonville today to catch the political thriller flick, Beirut, which was pretty good, only to stumble upon Growler USA and their SIXTY beers on tap (photo above) in the same mall complex as the movie theaters.  How did I miss this place before and why have I never heard of it!!??  I had intended to go back by the local Half Batch Brewing after the movie, but had to check out this place instead.  Their beer list was very impressive and even included some Half Batch beers and many other local and regional offerings.  Their prices were good with $2 and $3 five-ounce pours to let you try several without getting totally snockered.  The food was good too.  I had an ahi tuna appetizer that was excellent.  I had three of their new-to-me 5 oz. drafts including a tasty Release the Kraken milk stout from DESTIHL Brewing (IL), a decent Hakuna Matata IPA from D9 Brewing (NC) and a nice Lost Hive pale wheat ale from Ghost River Brewing (Memphis).  I will CERTAINLY be back here ASAP!  

4/20 - I took the day off for my birthday, but didn't really get to do to much more than clean our house for upcoming guests and then drive to Chattanooga and back for our nephew, Matt's, wedding...yep, he's a bit of a pot-head and just had to get married on 4-20...

I did slip over to Lebanon Wine and Spirits and got some beer for tomorrow's activities and a variety  birthday four-pack for me to imbibe in today.  I started with the solid Cliff Jumper IPA from Country Boy Brewing (KY) and the tasty Offbeat imperial IPA from Bearded Iris Brewing here in Nashville.

Next up was the decent Rounding Third (2018) red IPA from MadTree Brewing (Cincinnati) with which I also toasted the opening of our pool for the 2018 season.  Cheers!!   My final selection was the excellent Maximus double IPA from Lagunitas Brewing (CA). 

4/21 -   Today was my "official" birthday celebration start and our first visit was for lunch at The Green Dragon Pub and Brewery down in Murfreesboro.  With my meal I started with the really good The Waldos' Special Ale (2018) triple IPA from Lagunitas Brewing (CA), then the tarter than expected Perservation ETF (2018) French-style Biere de Garde from Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville.  I finished with the super-citrusy Tenn SC imperial IPA (photo above) from TailGate Brewery also here in Nashville.

Our group moved on to the nearby Mayday Brewery next and had a few beers out on their back deck in the gorgeous sunshine.  While there I had their really good Silk Mill oatmeal stout and a solid Step Right Up Saison.

After a great visit to the Flashback Arcade in Murfreesboro to play Rampage and some other vintage arcade games, we headed back to Lebanon to  catch a showing of the new Rampage movie based on the same arcade game and starring The Rock and three BIG monsters.  It was a hoot, and afterwards we closed the evening out back at our place on the patio and around the fire pit where I had an outstanding Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Porter and an equally-good Brandy Barrel Aged Honey Ale from Goodwood Brewing also up in Kentucky.  Thanks to my friends Craig, Alison, Wayne, Danny, Brenda, Nate, Ginny, Bethany and my true love, Ashlee for sharing this wonderful day with me.

I want to thank my best friend, Wayne, for snapping this picture of my other best friend, Craig, and I battling on the Rampage machine at Flashback  just like we did 30-plus years ago in college in Cookeville which is where the idea for this whole goofy weekend of fun came from.  

See at the bottom of the poster, it was originally scheduled to debut on my birthday, but Hollywood moved it up a week without consulting me, but it all worked out for the best in the end.  

4/22 -  The birthday celebration continued today with brunch at City Tap in downtown Nashville with the addition of my friends, Doug, Wendy and Charly.  With my great Hangover Breakfast Pizza that I was sharing with Ashlee, I had a couple different IPAs from Nashville's own Bearded Iris Brewing including the Tunnel Vision and the Ever Clever DDH imperial.  Both were excellent.  Most of our crew went to see the new Amy Shumer comedy film, I Feel Pretty Next, which was pretty good and then it was on to the SOLD OUT show at Zanies Comedy Club with Billy Gardell (of "Mike and Molly" fame) who was hilarious as were his two openers.   We closed out the night a few doors down at Cilantro Mexican Grill (where I had an always-tasty Negra Medalo draft)  and watched the Predators wrap up their first round series against Colorado with a resound 5-0 butt-whuppin,!  What a great way to wrap up an excellent birthday weekend!

4/23 - Not a win, but a good second place finish tonight online.  Shoulda had first  (insert bad beat story here).  165 other players with rebuys and add-ons.  $6 investment.  

4/25 - I went and saw the excellent tear-jerker film, Lean on Pete, at The Belcourt Theaters tonight.  Beforehand, I stopped by Tennessee Brew Works in downtown Nashville and had a couple of their new-to-me spring concoctions including the very good Wildwood Flower blonde ale and the crisp, but disappointingly bland, State Park Blonde Ale.

4/26 - I went with my pal, Wayne, to opening night of Avengers: Infinity War in IMAX at Opry Mills.  What a great, bold and thrilling movie!  Probably my favorite one in the Marvel Universo so far.

4/27 - 4/29  We took sort of a whirlwind trip down to New Orleans for a long weekend in the Crescent City including our first-time attendance to Jazz Fest.

4/27 - We were going to drive our new car down to NOLA, but Ashlee had the brilliant idea that since we were going through Birmingham anyway, why not just take the Amtrak train down like we did at New Years back in 2014/15 and take the pressure off of driving, traffic, etc.  It worked out great with a lively ride down with several other nice folks having a good time and imbibing in adult beverages which you can bring on board en mass.  I got some nice beer birthday presents from my friends last weekend that I took along for the ride.  Pictured above is the bomber of  the very limited Eagle Rare Barrel Aged Navel Gazer stout  from New Height Brewing in Nashville that my friend, Nate, got me.  It was delicious and I even shared it with Ashlee and a couple of our seat-mates.

A had a couple more new-to-me birthday beers  from my friends, Danny and Brenda, on the way down as the scenery flew by like these stunning chalk bluffs along the muddy Tombigbee River in SW Alabama.   First up was a bottle of the tasty Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA from Hi-Wire Brewing in Asheville. and then the solid Fancy Boy IPA from Blackstone Brewing back in Nashville.

4/28 - Our main purpose of the trip was to finally get a chance to check out the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival that always brings in a great number and variety of musical artists.  This year was no exception as we saw some really good new-to-us bands to start the day and closed out the evening with Bonnie Raitt and then Sir Rod Stewart who put on a helluva show in replacement of the ailing Aretha Franklin.  The layout and organization of the festival is great and we will definitely be back.  My only complaint was the lack of craft beer available.   I did find a RecreationAle IPA from Terrapin Brewing in Athens, GA, which I have had before and is solid, but I sure would have liked to have seen some local Crescent City brewers represented here.

One of the new-to-me artists that I really enjoyed was Andrew Duhon whose smooth voice sounded great among the paddocks of the horse stables at the New Orleans Race Track and Fairgrounds where the festival takes place.  I did find the Czech macro-brew Pilsner Urquell on tap nearby during the show and it was actually pretty good.

Oh, and the food's pretty good here in NOLA:  I had two cups of this shrimp and okra gumbo at the festival.

And the scenery's not bad either.  What a unique and beautiful place!

4/30 - I closed out the month with a viewing of the film You Were Never Really Here at The Belcourt Theaters.  It was intense and powerful, and will be hard to forget.  Beforehand, I stopped by the Hurry Back beer bar nearby and stumbled upon a "really happy hour" where Stone Brewing out of California was buying everyone's beer!  Even beer that wasn't theirs!  I started with a  Tangerine Space Machine IPA from New Holland Brewing (MI) that was solid.  I closed with Stone's own Tangerine Express IPA which was also very good.  Thanks to the folks at Stone's Brewing for the free beers and continuing to be my favorite craft brewer of  them all!  

MARCHing for BEER (and movies and a little travel)

2/28 - Headed back up to Gallatin today to catch a showing of the Annihilation movie starring the always-lovely, Natalie Portman.  It was a weird, but interesting, flick.  Beforehand, I stopped by Prince Street Pizza and Pub and had a pint draught of the tart Witchadidja witbier from the nearby BriarScratch Brewing.

Did I mention my awesome wife, Ashlee, knows me very well and gets me great presents?   This soap has a pleasant smell, but I don't pick up the hops aroma too much.  

3/5 - I saw Red Sparrow tonight with my work pal, Casey, at the Roxy Theaters here in Lebanon.  It was a little slow, but wrapped up well and will probably be a solid trilogy series for the fun and beautiful, Jennifer Lawrence.

3/6 - I slipped over to the Belcourt Theatre tonight to catch the 2018 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films.  I was kind of in shock that Dear Basketball won over the other contenders which all seemed better in my opinion, but, or course, none of them had Kobe Bryant's named attached to them.  I enjoyed a draft pour of  Snowman Mocha Stout from Jackalope Brewing here in Nashville during the screening.

3/7 - I went back to the Belcourt Theatre tonight to watch the 2018 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Films.  All five were very well done and, unlike the animated ones from last night, I had no problem with the winner, The Silent Child.   Before the show, I stopped by the new second location in Nashville of Tailgate Brewing over on Music Row.  It's a nice place and the beer selections were numerous.  I had a pint of their creamy and smooth Almond Bliss to start off.  I finished with a half-pint of the citrusy Crazy Eye P.A. 

3/9 - DAY OFF - PAY OFF!!  I had today off from work and took advantage of it, by heading into Nashville for some fun and suds...

I started the day with an early matinee at Green Hills Theaters (all recliners).  Usually when I go see a movie, I add the movie poster to my post about it.  However, while scrolling through the pictures on Facebook for the new comedy, Gringos, I ran across this photo of the incredibly hot, Charlize Theron, who is in the movie and was promoting it at the Daytona 500.  Mmmm, mmmm, there's just something about hot chicks in baseball hats!  The movie was decent, by the way.

My next stop was the fairly new 51 North Taphouse over in the West Nashville neighborhood, The Nations.  I am not over this way a whole lot, but it was only a few miles drive from Green Hills, so I thought I would check it out.  Great beer list! They had a lot of unique pours I have not seen in this area before.  I started with the solid Ground Score IPA (photo above) from Sweetwater Brewing (Atlanta).   I finished with an interesting sour beer/wild ale, the Dogpatch Currant from Almanac Brewing (CA).   I am not a big sour beer fan, but this one was drinkable since it had a nice finish and good aftertaste despite the tart beginning.   High prices!  8 bucks a pint  was a bit of a surprise, but you gotta pay to play sometimes.  On the other hand, I don't see me making a special trip back out here based on these prices.

My next stop was over in Germantown right next to the new Nashville Sounds baseball park.  I have been wanting to visit Von Elrod's Beer Garden and Sausage House for a while now and it was worth the wait!  It's a very cool place with a great beer list.  I only had time for one giant pint of the Denim Downhiller winter ale from Good People Brewing (AL).  I also had a delicious sausage plate.  By the way, the bill here for food and a huge beer was the same as two 12 oz. beers at the 51 North Tap Room.  I will DEFINITELY be back back here as soon as possible.

I moved on to The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium next and had a tasty Dance of Days pale ale from Atlas Brewing (DC).  From there I walked over to Party Fowl to meet my friends, Danny, Brenda and Hem for dinner before we all attended  LP's  SOLD OUT show at The Cannery nearby.  Hem was my date since Ashlee couldn't make it due to family obligations and traded his ticket for my dinner and a beer, a Tiny Bomb pilsner from Wiseacre Brewing (Memphis).  Thanks, Hem!

 This was the second to last stop of LP's recent North American tour and she put on a whale of a show as usual.  It was so good, in fact, I figured I might as well go see her again in Atlanta tomorrow night with Ashlee!

3/10 - As I mentioned, I drove down to Chattanooga today in my sweet VW Passat rental car and picked up Ashlee, her mom, Evelyn, whose Ashlee's been staying with during the week recently as she rehabs back at home from a minor stroke, and our niece, Ella.  Ashlee and I had tickets to see LP again in Atlanta along with our friend, Rex.

Before the show, we took a short walk from our hotel to check out the museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts and they had a great Jim Henson exhibit including this original Fozzy Bear from The Muppets.  Fozzy was always my favorite Muppet with his corny jokes as the editor of the Big Yucks Department.

We met Rex for dinner before the show at DaVinci's Pizza Midtown near our hotel and I had a decent Fu Manbrew witbier from Atlanta's own Monday Night Brewing with my Thai pizza.

It was the amazing LP again at Center Stage for her last show of this North American tour.  The show was as good as the Nashville one if not better since we had great seats in this dated but solid venue.  During the show I had a couple very good Basement IPAs  from Scofflaw Brewing here in Atlanta.

We closed out the night with a drink back at our Artmore Hotel bar where I had a Laughing Skull Amber Ale from Red Brick Brewing here in Atlanta.  I have had this beer before.  I even have a cool pint glass with their trippy logo on it.  But I have never checked it in on UNTAPPD.

3/11 - Before heading home, we visited the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta and had a fun time touring this very cool facility.  One of our favorite activities was tasting Coca-Cola products from around the world.  This Stoney Ginger Beer from Tanzania was one of my favorites and I even tried to check it in on UNTAPPD but it didn't register since it's technically considered a soft drink.  

3/13 - Got my first online poker tournament win of the month tonight and while it was only against 25 other people, it was quite a grind since it my first limit hold 'em win ever that turned $11 into $117.  

3/14 - It was Lebanon Poker Night again tonight and I got a 3-count variety pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits.  Unfortunately, I only lasted long enough in the tournament to have two of them:  the excellent Lo-Res IPA from Sixpoint Brewing (Brooklyn, NY) which is one of my current favorite producers of quality craft beer in cans; and the almost equally good Hazy Little Thing IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing (CA).  I saved the third one, the solid Muchacho Mexican-style lager from Good People Brewing (AL) for the next evening (3/15) for a perfect pairing with my taco-truck burrito dinner at home.

3/16 - We headed up to Chicago tonight for a whirlwind long St. Patrick's Day Weekend and I was able to grab a few more new-to-me beers in the Windy City.

One of our first stops  in Chicago was the Kaiser Tiger Bar which boasts actual curling lanes  where you can try the odd little Olympic sport yourself.  We came for the curling, but the outstanding food and great beer list were a nice addition as well.   While there I had the excellent Vera cream ale from Around the Bend Brewing here in Chicago; the Tiger Tears, a good pilsner made special for this bar by 4 Hands Brewing (St. Louis);  and the tasty Peace'd Out Pale Ale also made special for this bar by 2nd Shift Brewing (St. Louis).  By the way, despite my one and only bulls-eye pictured above, curling is VERY HARD TO DO...even while drinking!  

At dinner later that night at the excellent Friends Sushi, I had a decent  bottle of Green Line Pale Ale from Chicago craft beer veteran (and sellout?), Goose Island Beer Company.

We found a sport more our style after dinner at the Spin Chicago ping-pong bar.  While chasing the little orange balls around,  I sipped on an excellent Daisy Cutter Pale Ale from my favorite Chicago craft brewery, Half Acre.  In fact, I have had a Daisy Cutter or two before, but never checked it in on UNTAPPD.

I picked up a couple more craft brews at  a Trader Joe's market around the corner from our swanky Conrad Hotel and enjoyed one of them, the solid Free Bird pale ale from Begyle Brewing  here in Chicago. while watching the historic March Madness 16-seed over a #1-seed upset of  tiny UMBC over mighty Virginia, with our friends, Chris and Tarryn, who had drove in tonight to spend the rest of the weekend with us.

3/17 - St. Patty's Day in Chicago!  We been wanting to experience this for a long time and it did not disappoint.  What a fun, fun day in a fun, fun city!  

The morning had to start with some cheap tasteless green beer, of course, at The Kerryman Irish Bar where we also had access to unlimited Guinness pints and I did my part by downing three or four.

The famous dyeing of the Chicago River to a bright green is not to be missed.  It was a great experience with reasonable crowds, not a lot of over-the-top drinking (at least where we were) and beautiful weather which we were lucky enough to receive today.  I found a tasty Anti-Hero IPA (which I have had before) from Chicago's own, Revolution Brewing, to enjoy riverside.  

Back at the room at the Conrad, I had a couple more new-to-me brews including a solid Oat Stout from Bare Hands Brewing (IN) which Chris brought me from his state.  Thanks, bud!  My second beer from Trader Joe's, the Belt and Suspenders IPA from BuckleDown Brewing in Lyon, IL, which I found to be a little soapy tasting; and a much better Pale Ale (APA) from BrickStone Brewing in nearby Bourbonnais, IL, at the beautiful Conrad hotel bar, Baptiste and Bottle.

At dinner  tonight at Side Door before going to see the amazing musical, Hamilton, I had a pretty good golden ale from Pollyanna Brewing in Lemont, IL, called The Full Lemonty.

3/18 -  On our last day in Chicago, I was a little beered-out, but did have a so-so Billy Goat IPA made for the Billy Goat Taverns in Chicago (we were at the one at Navy Pier) by the Pabst Brewing Company.

3/19 - I won another good-sized tournament online tonight with 188 other participants and rebuys.  I did one rebuy and one add-on for a $9 investment with a $200+ return

3/20 - I checked out the historic true-story film 7 Days in Entebbe tonight and it was pretty good although the daring raid by the Israelis to rescue the hostages was a little watered down in my opinion.  Before the movie, I stopped by Homegrown Tap Room for two-fer Tuesday and had a couple half-pints including the Uncle Dunkel from Red Silo Brewing up in Cookeville, TN, and the Half Batch Dry Stout from Half Batch Brewing over in Hendersonville, TN.  Both were decent.

3/22 - Headed down to Murfreesboro after work today to catch the new Tomb Raider reboot at the dated, but clean and quiet, Premiere 6 Theaters.  Before the movie (which was surprisingly decent) I had dinner (delish pastrami!) and a couple beers at The Green Dragon Pub and Brewery.  I started with the solid Black Blood of the Earth imperial stout from Goodwood Brewing (Louisville, KY) and then a so-so Reilly's Red ale from Devil's Backbone Brewing (VA).

3/23 - I was able to get back to the Poker Barn in Mt. Juliet tonight for a fun shootout tournament.  I decided to give the nearby Beer World another try to pick up a 3-pack of new-to-me beers and was pleasantly surprised with the selection they had.  I went in there right after they opened  a while back and was not impressed.  They seem to have gotten their shit together now.  I got pint cans of the excellent Nebuchadnezzar double IPA (photo above of its cool can) from Omnipollo Brewery (Sweden); the tasty GFB blonde ale from Green Flash Brewing (CA); and finally, the solid Pile of Face IPA from Against the Grain Brewery  (Louisville, KY).  

3/24 - I had to make an unscheduled trip to Cookeville this morning and decided to visit an old friend (Waterloo Falls) and a new friend (Red Silo Brewery) while I was there.  I haven't been to Waterloo Falls in nearly 30 years and she is just a pretty as ever.  It would be great to see the State of Tennessee acquire this beautiful area like they have the nearby Cummins Falls and Window Cliffs areas.  I had a couple of half-pints at Red Silo before heading back home.  I had the solid 7th Century IPA and the decent OPA Oatmeal Pale Ale.  Thanks to Red Silo for being open at 11 AM for us early-risers and early-sippers! 

3/28 - I had the day off today and after  enjoying sleeping in, I headed over to Opry Mills to catch the sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising, in IMAX.  The movie was OK, but not as good as the first one which is common with sequels.  Before the show I had a tasty lunch and a couple beers a few doors down at the relatively new Bavarian Bierhaus.  I started with the beer pictured above, the Edelstoff (Munich) lager followed by a draft pint of the Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrub (Munich) hefeweizen.  Both were decent, but despite my heritage, I remain not the biggest fan of most German beer.

After the movie I stopped by Homegrown Taproom on my way back home and had a couple better (sorry, it's the truth) American beers:  the excellent PsycHOPathy IPA from Mad Tree Brewing (Cincinnati), and the interesting Irish Honey Ale from Benford Brewing (SC).    I have actually been to Mad Tree Brewing in Cincy last year and really loved their products, so I am very excited to see them distributing in Nashville now.  Benford Brewing is a new-to-me brewery out of Lancaster,South Carolina, in the northern part of the state near the NC border and just south of Charlotte.

3/30 - I went right back to the Bavarian Bierhaus at Opry Mills again tonight as Ashlee and I had dinner with some friends of ours, the Reimerts.  I started with a tasty  pint of Nashville Original Lager Beer from Nashville Brewing Company (photo above), the only local beer they have.   It's actually a revival of a historic large brewery founded here in Nashville  back in 1859.   I finished dinner with another draught pint of  the decent Hofbrau Dunkel lager from Staatliches Brewery in Munich, Germany.