London calling, Spain hauling and Paris not so appalling (in terms of craft beer)

We had to change up our annual guys-only Grown Ass Man Extravaganza (G.A.M.E.) road trip this year since the Titans were playing the L.A. Chargers in London, England, and there's no going to Europe without the wives, of course.   Ashlee and I made a full trip to Europe out of it with stops in London, the south of Spain, a day in Morocco, Paris and back to London.  I am happy to report that I found pretty good beer in every locale! 

10/19 -  Our trip got off to a thud with a five-hour delay for our direct flight from Nashville to London, so we went and killed some time with a late dinner at Nadeen's Hermitage Haven which has great food and a pretty good beer list.  With my tasty meal I had a can of The Great One double IPA from Four Sons Brewing (CA).  The name is in honor of Wayne Gretzky, but also describes this excellent beer.  I finished up with a solid Bed of Nails brown ale from Hi-Wire Brewing over in Asheville, NC.  

10/20 -  Welcome to LONDON!!!  The idea of staying above a pub was an early thought of mine when planning this trip and The Chamberlain Hotel and Pub fit the bill perfectly!  A great hotel and a pub open much later than most in London since it is part of a hotel.  It's a Fuller, Smith and Turner Brewery establishment and all though they are a fairly large beer producer located here in London, they are still considered a microbrewery and had some great small-batch brews on tap that I really enjoyed.  My first beer in London was a draft pint of their tasty Prodigal Saison.  

Did I mention our room had a fridge stocked with complimentary drinks including BEER!?  Man, I love this place!  As I unpacked I enjoyed a pretty good Frontier lager from F, S and T.    Back downstairs, we had dinner in the Chamberlain Pub I had their Session IPA  which was very good.  I also had a sip of Ashlee's Ginger Beer from Umbrella Brewing (England) which was a guest tap.

10/21 - I believe it was the modern-day poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors, who said, "I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer!"  I  wonder if he was in London when he wrote that?  I did just that this morning to toast Game Day in London.  This was our view from our room at The Chamberlain Hotel as I cracked open a complimentary ESB (Extra Special Bitter) from F,S and T that was in our fridge.   Cheers to a good day!  

The NFL Experience at Wembley Stadium is very well done.  There is something for everyone there even hours before the game was to begin.  The one thing it was sorely lacking was good craft beer.  It was either Budweiser (hard pass) or a cider to choose from inside the NFL Experience area.  I had a Magners Original Irish Cider that wasn't bad, but I am just not the biggest cider fan around.  We had to go back outside the stadium to actually find any interesting pre-game beer.

We found that interesting pre-(and post)-game beer and an innovative way of selling it quick and fast at a market called Butlers Fine Foods and Provisions near the stadium where the line ("the queue" if you're British) to the register was lined with baskets full of cold beer!  Genius! I started with a pint can of  the decent San Miguel lager made by mass-producer Carlsberg here in the UK, but at least it wasn't Budweiser!!  

Next up with a view of Wembley Stadium in the background was a pint can of Carling pale lager which is another mass-produced product of the UK arm of Molson-Coors.  It was decent cuz it was GAME DAY!! 

The beer lines were crazy inside the Wembley Stadium, so we just hung out in our great seats and watched the thrilling game where our Titans, as sizable underdogs, roared back to within 1 point of tying the game at the end and took a gamble on a 2-point conversion for the win with no time left that fell just short.  Still a helluva game and a helluva memory!  

After the game we drowned our sorrows and filled out bellies with food and drink while the crowds thinned out to get back on the subway back at Butlers Market.  I had a pint can of the pretty good Holsten Pilsener from Holsten-Brauerie, a macro-brewer in Hamburg, Germany.

"He's got this dream about buying some land. He's gonna give up the booze, and the one night stands.  And then he'll settle down in a quiet little town and forget about everything."  - from "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty  (RIP, good sir).  

Back at The Chamberlain Pub tonight, I toasted an Atlanta United victory back in the U.S. and enjoyed my last night in London for a while and at this great hotel/pub.  I started with a pint draft of Oliver's Island golden ale (photo above) from Fuller, Smith and Turner that was tasty.  I decided to run the rest of the F,S and T beer menu with half-pints that included the solid Red Fox red ale and the good Gale's Seafarers Ale which is an English bitter,. 

10/22 - We were flying from London's Gatwick Airport today to Malaga, Spain on the southern coast, but had a plane delay.  Luckily, we found some good food and beer at a Jamie Oliver Bar.  I had a very good Best Bitter from Theakston  Brewing (England).  

10/23 - Welcome to the sunny shores of Spain!  It was off season here, so we kind of had the beach to ourselves and I was able to order a Latino Limon Tinto de Verano  a Spanish craft fruit beer that was pretty good at a beach-side restaurant/bar called Pacos in the little town of Fuengirola outside Malaga.  At a supermarket on the way back to the hotel I found a couple of other Spanish canned beers to try. The Mahou Clasica pale lager (a macro-brewer out of Madrid) was OK. and the Cruzcampo Pilsen (from the Seville arm of Heineken) was a little better.  

10/24 - We took a day trip across The Strait of Gibraltar today to Tangiers, Morocco.  Our first time, technically, to ever set food in Africa!  I wasn't expecting to find any beer since the Muslims frown on alcohol of all types for the most part, but on the ferry coming back I had a delicious Casablanca pale lager a macro-brewery in Morocco.  

My favorite (looking) Spanish beer I found was a Victoria Malaga since it celebrated the city we flew into.  Unfortunately, the beer was not very good.  I bought a couple more Spanish beers at an Aldi Supermarket we found the night before we were leaving so I packed them to haul to Paris, our next location, where I was expecting a lot of craft beer opportunities. 

Probably gonna be a while before I claim another one of these badges.  

10/25 - Welcome to Paris!  The view from our hotel room was great.  This Spanish beer, the Cardenas Pale Ale, from a actual microbrewery in Seville just wasn't very good, unfortunately.  

Beer and  Bolognaise! We must be in Paris!  We stopped at a cool little cafe today called Le Saint Jean and I had my first couple of official beers in the City of Lights.   I had a less than stellar Pelforth Blonde pale lager which is made by the French arm of Heineken.

 I also had a good Affigem Blonde ale from the Belgian macro-brewer of the same name which made for a good artsy Instagram photo.  

Here's the charming little place where I had the two preceding beers as we walked back by it on a food tour later in the evening.  Just thought it was a good pic.  

10/26 - We found a little place for lunch today near our hotel called Chez Flottes and they had a decent craft beer selection.  I had a Metalman Pale Ale from Metalman Brewing (Ireland).  I bought another bottle of beer at Flottes and took it back to the room to have later.  It was Un Singe en Hiver (A Monkey in Winter) Vienna lager from Paname Brewing here in Paris and it was excellent.  My faith in Spanish craft beer was restored as I cracked open my last one bought at Aldi back in the Parisian hotel room.  The Tostada pale ale from Cervezas Mond Brewing (Seville) was very good.  

10/27 - The Frog Hop House brewpub was very close to our hotel and had been on my radar to visit while we were here, and I almost didn't get a chance to until today as we were getting ready to take the noon  train back to London.  Luckily, they opened at 9 AM and I was the first one in the door and able to try a breakfast half-pint of their very good Hopster pale ale.

Back in London this evening, we had dinner at the Ivy Market Grill restaurant before going to see the"Kinky Boots" musical on the famous West End.  They had a solid beer list and I had my favorite beer of the trip so far:  the hoppy and delicious Curious IPA from Curious Brewing (England).  

10/28 - Ashlee and I went our separate sight-seeing ways today and my friend, Danny and I, opted to tour Winston Churchill's WW II  fascinating underground bunker/operations rooms.  This was a great compliment to seeing the excellent film, Darkest Hour, earlier this year.  One of my favorite parts of the complex was this "weather report" sign posted in the hallway.  "Fine and Warm"  basically meant German bombs weren't falling at the moment.  

The many colors of London.  

I FINALLY made it to London Brewdog pub (and there are several of them) today.  Kind of shameful as a proud one-share stockholder of the U.S. Brewdog company. Pictured above is the cool Seven Dials location and it's where I had my best beers of the entire trip (sorry Curious IPA from yesterday).  I started with their beautiful, hoppy and delicious Hazy Jane New England IPA.    Next up was an almost equally strong and tasty Broken Dream Breakfast Stout, which was on a guest tap from Sire Craft Brewing (England).  

Moving on up for Queen and country! 

I spent the late afternoon sight-seeing on my own and headed east of downtown London along the Thames River to see the famous Cutty Sark, the only surviving British clipper ship built in 1869 just before steam engines took over the oceans.

Another cool and historic structure next door to the Cutty Sark is the Greenwich Foot Tunnel running under the entire length of the Thames River.  Built in 1909 with only some WW II bombing repairs needed, this marvel of engineering is still used today and predates The Tube in innovative ways to see the  London "Underground."

I walked the Greenwich Tunnel westward toward downtown and then back and emerged just in time to see the sunset over downtown London.  The domed building in the foreground is the beautifully elaborate entrance to the foot tunnel.  

I walked in the very cool traditional pub, The Gipsy Moth, for a brew after my tunnel walk, but then goofed and ordered a Toasted Lager from Blue Point Brewing (NY) which  wasn't British and I had checked it in before on UNTAPPD.  Nice original choice, ya bloody American...at least I got this hilarious badge for checking it in a second time.  I have just started to notice the breweries themselves are getting badges on UNTAPPD.  The more the merrier I guess, especially if they are going to be this funny! 

I had to make a weird subway line switch on my way back from the Cutty Sark/Foot Tunnel area and just two stops from my hotel (and Ashlee) I got distracted by this sign next to the subway station...OK,as my friend, Craig, pointed out, not the most clever name for a bar...but you had me at "Hello."  I slipped in to have just one...and wound up staying an hour and having Ashlee and our friends come to me for dinner...hey, it was just two stops on the subway and they didn't have a suggestion of where to meet!  They were also playing live country music and the band was actually pretty good.  Craft Beer Company is evidently a chain here in London and I had stumbled into the Limehouse location.  They have an excellent selection of beer and I started with the outstanding and hilariously named Fuk Wit witbier from Deviant and Dandy Brewery (London).  I finished with a cask-conditioned Cheat Mode pale ale from Holler Brewing (England) that was equally top-notch.  I would have stayed for more, but we weren't crazy about the limited food menu and decided to move on.

We moved on for dinner, but the move was good for beer too.  We had been joking around the whole time in London that we wanted to check out the burger chain, Byron's, because it shares the cool and funny name of one our newest kittens.  Well, we got the chance just a couple subway stops back toward the east in the cool  new retail area of Canary Wharf.  Not only was Byron's beer menu great (although I did get my first patented "we are out of that" beer selection of the trip here), but the food was outstanding too!  My second choice was the very solid Easy Peeler session IPA from Fourpure Brewing here in London.  Not only was the beer good, but the can was kinda cool too with its symbols of London adorning it.  

I  proudly earned this badge after a great day of sightseeing and craft brews here in London.  You have my blessing London as a real CRAFT BEER TOWN!   Thanks to my friend, Danny,  my sampling of great UK craft beer was not over  just yet today.   He brought back a couple of tasty beers from his trip north to Scotland and the Isle of Skye a few days before meeting us back here in London and didn't want to lug them home.  I was happy to help him split the two big bomber bottles of Skye Red ale and Skye Black dark ale from Isle of Skye Brewing Company back at our hotel before heading home tomorrow.  Both were outstanding!!  Thanks, Danny, for your kindness and your generosity...and your laziness for not wanting to haul them home!

10/29 - The flight home didn't lend any opportunity for any unique craft beer consumption, but it was a great trip with wonderful things to see, taste and guzzle.  Thanks, Europe.  I hope to see you (and your beers) again real soon! 

OCTOBER-festing

You can't argue with science and history...

10/3 - Even though it's October, I was still in the pool this afternoon (cleaning it mostly), but I did toast the new season while I was in there with a solid Pumpkin Ale from Blackstone Brewing here in Nashville.  This was the last of the poker-night variety pack I had bought at Lebanon Wine and Spirits week before last.

Hey, I know that logo...and I love that brewery! RSVP me there! 

I stopped by Growler USA up in Hendersonville with my pal, Wayne, tonight for dinner, a few brews and opening night for the Preds (on the road in NYC and on TV, win 3-2).  It was Stone Brewing Pint Night there and I had a couple new-to-me ones as they continue to be my favorite craft brewer of them all.  I even wore my Stone work-shirt which got my photo taken by their rep.  It has the same cool logo as I posed with in the goofy picture above.  I started with a pint of their excellent Enjoy By 10.31.18 IPA and closed with their also outstanding ParaXtranormal IPA.

After dinner we took a short walk up the street to catch an opening night showing of Venom in IMAX.  My expectations weren't high, but they were pleasantly exceeded as I thought it was a pretty good comic book movie.  Of course, I could watch Tom Hardy, one of my favorite actors, paint a fence and be entertained.  It set up for a cool sequel which I hope happens. (Editor's note:  It went on to break the box office opening weekend record for October...yeah, it's getting a sequel)  

10/5 - We had dinner over in the Wedgewood area tonight with some friends and we met up beforehand across the street at the new (2nd) Jackalope Brewing facility known as The Ranch (which I visited for the first time just a short while ago).  We sat outside and I enjoyed a tall pint of their Sarka Czech-style pilsner that was smooth and dry.  I also had a taste of Ashlee's choice, Drunk Aunt,  a sour gose that was tart but not overly sour in my opinion. 

10/6 - I have been the co-owner of this beauty for a few months now and finally cracked it open this weekend over at the home of my other investor and friend, Charly.  We bought this bomber on a trip we took to Bryson City, NC, at Nanatahala Brewing and didn't get a chance to drink it there, so I held on to it 'til we had a chance to get together and imbibe.  What better occasion than to toast to an evening of Midget (sorry, "Micro") Wrestling at the Nashville Fairgrounds!!   Yep, that really happened!  I have to say this Bourbon Barrel Aged Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout was the highlight of the evening that will be hard to forget.  

10/7 - After a looooong gap of frustratingly small cashes or "el zippo," I finally got back on the winning side of online tournament poker with this small $5 entry tonight where I outlasted 54 other players for a tidy $90 profit.   (Editor's note: I got 5th the next night in the same tournament.) 

10/9 - I was able to grab a ticket for the opening home-game for the Preds new season tonight and even upgraded to a sweet seat about 7 rows off the ice in the defend-twice zone.  I also had a great view of the three new banners being raised from our historic previous season.   I started the evening with a couple pints (and oh so important free parking downtown) at Czann's Brewing Company.  Their Belgian Wit was excellent and the I had the honor of adding their delicious Pumpkin Ale (2018) to UNTAPPD.  The beers and the banners were definitely the highlight of the night as the Preds went on to get pasted by the Calgary Flames 3-zip.    I stopped by Homegrown Tap Room on the way home to drown my sorrows with a couple of half-pints including the not-so-great sour IPA from Rogue Ales (OR) called the Combat Wombat.  At least the sour taste matched my attitude after that woeful game.  I finished with a better Darkest Before Dawn dunkel lager from NOLA Brewing (New Orleans).  Good name for a beer and an attitude since I know it was only one early-season game and the Preds will bounce back.

Really?  No badge for 2,000 beers checked-in, UNTAPPD??  Oh well, let's shoot for 2,500 maybe!?  Just for the record, my 2000th beer was a solid pint can of Zwickel kellerbier lager from Urban Chestnut Brewing (St. Louis) that I got during the Preds game in Bridgestone Arena at the Better Beer Bar which always has a great selection.

10/10 - I had another mid-week day off today and made the most of it with a jaunt into Nashville.  My first stop was on the west side of town in The Nations area at the new second Southern Grist Brewing Company location.   These guys are my favorite in the Nashville area and while I am glad they left the original East Nashville location open since it's closer to home, this new locale is super-nice!  I got my sweet-tooth on today with their new incredible vanilla stout called The Snuggle is Real.  I followed that with the even richer and sweeter Over Stuff stout that is chock-full of Double Oreos.  A scoop of vanilla ice cream would have been awesome in this one. 

Nashville is so very lucky to have The Belcourt Theater which is the only place in town showing the well-done and important independent film, Monsters and Men.  Before enjoying an afternoon showing, I had a great lunch at Vui's Vietnamese Kitchen and then stopped by 12 South Taproom and completed the craft brew "sweet-trifecta" with a refreshingly nice Peppermint Bark Porter from Two Brothers Brewing (IL).  I stopped by the new East Nashville fun-spot called No Quarter on the way home.  The deal here is that if you buy a craft beer, you get tokens to play their dozen or so pinball machines.  It was "happy hour" so I got 4 tokens instead of two for my order of a Teal Skies fruit sour from, who else...Southern Grist Brewing.  It was more tart than sour and I actually liked it a lot...no big surprise since it was made by SGB.  

10/11 - I was my own solo date for opening night of  the new film, First Man in IMAX at Opry Mills.  It was a much more intimate look at Neil Armstrong, the man, than the historic mission to the moon itself.  I really enjoyed it.  Beforehand, I stopped by the Bavarian Bierhaus for a tasty (but overpriced) tall draft of Weihenstephaner Festbier (Germany) to celebrate it being Oktoberfest time.

10/13 - I took an impromptu trip to Cookeville today to get our Honda Accord checked out which turned out to be a quick fix and decided to do an impromptu brewery crawl while I was there because someone's turned into quite the little beer town!

I started at Red Silo Brewing in the historic downtown section of Cookeville.  Their Cucumber Saison was outstanding..if you like cucumbers, which I do.  

Just a little over a thousand feet from the large (and loud) Red Silo Brewing is the tiny and much more quiet Hix Farm Brewery.    I started with an ultra-smooth and creamy Papas Peculiar Percolation (nitro) coffee stout (photo above).   Since the company was good here (and I needed a little time for the third brewery to open to complete my trifecta) I had a second round that consisted of a pint of their Roll in the Hay Honey Blonde Ale.  They have two versions of this one made with local honey and another sweeter one made with out-of-state honey, but I  chose to stay local and enjoyed it a lot.

I hit for the "Cookeville Cycle" with a final stop at Jig Head Brewing to try their very-limited release, Ralph's Twisted Ale.  Made with generous portions of cinnamon twists from local legend, Ralph's Donut Shop, this sweet and savory mix was my favorite of the day and their super-nice outdoor area was a perfect place to sit and enjoy it under blue October skies  Thanks, "Cooke-vegas", for a fun afternoon of libations.  Keep up the good work! 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018:  A historic day for me and craft beer...possibly
I never mention work in this blog except when I am off from it and imbibing in craft beer, but I got a work-related call today from a realtor looking at commercial buildings here in town for a craft brewery!  It's still kinda hush-hush, so I don't have details yet, but fingers crossed that Lebanon is HOPEFULLY and FINALLY getting it's own microbrewery!

The historic day continued on in to tonight with my first check-in on UNTAPPD of a new-to-me beer on the square in Lebanon at the new restaurant, Town Square Social.  I had a pretty good draft pint of the Nashville Festbier, a seasonal marzen by Nashville Brewing Company (brewed at Blackstone Brewing's facilities).   Even better were the incredible smoked wings I had for dinner!   Cheers to decent craft beer on tap on my town's historic square for the first time ever!!

10/18 - I took a nice two-mile hike during my work lunch today at the Counchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area over near Mt. Juliet.  It's a level one-mile loop that I did twice in the nice fall weather.

Today ended kind of great too as I turned an $11 investment into an $800+ profit with a 3rd place finish in the huge nightly Global Poker online tournament with 630 other players including rebuys.  

My favorite beer shirt that I've seen lately...