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!