I-P-A RIVER: More movies, more poker success, a new regional brewery, a Thanksgiving week trip to Florida

The dreams of the dreamer...

Cheers, UNTAPPD. I can't say that I use any other app as much...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

11/1 - I had a solo viewing of the Queen/Freddy Mercury bio-pic, Bohemian Rhapsody, in IMAX at the Streets of Indian Lake Theaters in Hendersonville tonight. I thought it was a solid, albeit safe, film about the extraordinary rock band and its timeless lead singer. Before the movie, I stopped by Growler USA a few doors down and had dinner and a good Maibock from Hollow Pointe Brewing, a nano-brewery here in Nashville. I followed that up with an outstanding Dankwood (2018) imperial red ale from Founders Brewing (MI).

11/2 - I landed a nice second-place finish tonight on Global Poker vs. 113 other players with one rebuy and one add-on for a $130 profit. Good way to start the month of November!

11/3 - NEW BREWERY ALERT! On my way to Chattanooga today via Hwy. 111 I was able to stop at the brand new Happy Trails Brewing in Sparta, TN. Just a few miles off the main road, this place is awesome! I love the hiking theme and this wall mural above was stunning. I only had time for one beer so I had their flagship Pickett Pale ale. I also toasted this one to my mom since today's is her birthday. Happy Birthday, momma, I love you and miss you.

When I got to Chattanooga, Ashlee informed me that her and her mom were out getting haircuts and manicures, so that gave me time to stop by Heaven and Ale Brewing for a couple more brews. I started with the good Devil's Armpit IPA and moved on to the outstanding Cloudland IPA (photo above) whose color blended nicely with the fall colors outside.

The manicures were taking longer than expected and I was able to complete a brewery trifecta today by slipping over to OddStory Brewing next. I only had time for one, so I made it a good one. Their Sunken Cemetary Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout was so smooth and so tasty.

I also had the blessing of Ashlee to stop by OddStory Brewing because I saw on their Facebook page that they also had brownies made from the Sunken Cemetery Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout. And, yes, they tasted as outstanding as they looked.

11/4 - I headed back home today as Ashlee stayed with her mom a few days and was the first one in the door when Happy Trails Brewing opened today. This gave me a chance to meet the owner/barkeep who recognized me from yesterday despite the place being busy and me only having one beer. His young wife is actually the brewer with a masters degree from Auburn in brewing. I started with their flagship Ranger Brown ale that was great. I only planned to have one, but the owner gave me a sample of their brand new session IPA called Screw the Canoe. It was so good, I just had to have a half-pint (photo above). I love their cool bar to that was custom made. I also learned the mural posted above was hand-drawn by a local artist. Impressive!

Did I mention the Screw the Canoe session IPA was fresh? I mean REALLY FRESH! So fresh it had hop leaves floating in it! I actually got the first pint served and I was honored to be that recipient.

11/8 - I took another solo trip to the IMAX theater at Streets of Indian Lake in Hendersonville tonight to catch opening night of the Nazi/zombie action/horror flick, Overlord. I was a little underwhelmed with it and perhaps my expectations were too high. Traffic was a bitch and I only had time to gulp one beer down at Growler USA before the movie. Buddy, it was a good gulp! I had the terrific Blueberry Maple Stout from Saugatuck Brewing (MI).

11/9 - I took my bomber bottle of Barrel Aged Sunken Cemetery that I got at OddStory Brewing last weekend over to our friends', Wendy and Charly's, house tonight to share. Charly is a big bourbon/whiskey fan so I knew he would be interested in this Mexican chocolate stout aged in Chattanooga Whiskey barrels. All four of us loved it and it vanished quickly before we headed out to dinner.

It was just a Kirin Light mass-produced lager with dinner at the Sushi Train restaurant over in West Nashville, but I did like that I got another cool Japanese beer badge with it. It's probably gonna be a while before I earn another one.

11/10 - I usually don't post online poker tournament results below 3rd place, but this final table 5th place finish was still nearly $100 in profit and worth noting. With $10 invested vs. 131 other players and unlimited rebuys I was able go pretty deep in this popular weekend tournament.

11/11 - I did a classic "Condra Move" and sneaked a beer in to a movie tonight. It wasn't that big a deal since the Green Hills Theaters actually serve beer, but we had been at the nearby Whole Foods just before killing some time and I got a can of Juicy Goodness golden ale from Left Hand Brewing (CO) to take in to see the 30th Anniversary of the classic action flick, Die Hard. It was as tasty as this legendary movie continues to be three decades later.

11/12 - I went and saw the reboot of the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie franchise, The Girl in the Spider's Web, with my pal, Casey, at the all-recliner Roxy theaters here in town tonight. It was much better than I thought it would be. I do miss the sultry Rooney Mara in the lead role, but Claire Foy did an excellent job in this redirection.

11/15- I got a solid second place finish tonight on Global Poker for a $130+ profit. There were 104 other players including unlimited rebuys.

11/16 - I had the day off today as we prepped for a week-long trip to Florida. One of my errands was to run to Donelson to deliver an early Christmas present for Ashlee, so as "payment" I got to stop at the Homegrown Taproom for a couple half-pints. I started with the Bock from Blue Pants Brewing (AL) that was great, and I earned this funny and cool badge on UNTAPPD. I finished with a super-hoppy and super-terrific Salad Days IPA from Southern Prohibition Brewing (MS).

11/17 - 11/25: We went to Florida for Thanksgiving and as usual while down there I was able to abscond with some pretty good beer. throughout the week.

11/17 - On our uneventful drive down to Florida, we made a quick stop just outside Montgomery, Alabama, in the small interstate town of Alabaster at Interstellar Ginger Beer and Exploration Company. As the name implies, these guys only produce ginger-based beers which my wife loves, thus allowing for the stop. I picked us up a half-gallon "growler" of their Space Mule to go. I kinda loved that they use milk jugs instead of glass growlers. I love the pretty glass growlers, but have SOOOO many of them. We cracked it as soon as we arrived at our rental house at Miramar Beach near Destin, Florida. It was very tasty and went quickly over the next couple of days. It was a perfect beach beer.

One of my first things to do when arriving in the Destin area is to visit the always-amazing selection of craft beer at Beach Liquors. I got a couple of variety six-packs and this hilarious beer bottle cozy for Ashlee for Christmas. We brought our two new kittens, Doris and Byron, with us on vacation for the first time, so this sleeve seemed very appropriate. When we got back to the house, I had a can of Barrel Aged Righteous Ale rye beer from one of my favorite craft canned-beer producers, Sixpoint Brewery (NY). It was superb and a great way to end a long day of driving.

11/18 - To the beach!! The weather was great for mid-November and we headed straight to the beach this morning. I brought a few libations to enjoy including a very good can of Fenceline saison from Blackberry Farm Brewery over in Walland, TN, that we actually bought at a Whole Foods in Nashville before the trip and brought down with us. Next up was a can of The Didjits Blood Orange IPA from Burnt Hickory Brewery (GA) which was solid. I closed out our relaxing beach day with a tasty Big House IPA from Hop Life Brewing over in Port St. Lucie, Florida. This is a new-to-me brewery and I was impressed with their product.

Back at the rental house tonight I had a can of Paled It! pale ale from Saugatuck Brewing (MI) that was solid, I loved the back of the can (photo above) which was perfect since I was on vacation myself. I closed the day with an outstanding can of Sunshine City IPA from Green Bench Brewing over in St. Petersburg, Florida. This was another new-to-me brewer.

11/19 - I started the day (maybe too early) with a can of Pedal Hard Ginger Beer from Root Sellars Brewing (Kansas City) that we got at the Whole Foods back in Nashville and brought with us. This gunk was so sickly sweet that it upset my stomach and almost made me sick. I didn't even finish it. Yuck. I recovered back at the beach nicely with a can of Golden Fleece BPA pale ale from Quest Brewing (SC)...another new-to-me brewer I think....which I enjoyed in my favorite new drinking cup that Ashlee got me over the summer. I am usually not a big snob about what I drink my beer in...the can or bottle it came in is fine with me...but this cup is one of those amazing metal Yeti-like things that really keeps the brew cold for a long time. The clouds started to break free as we finished up at the beach and I finished up with a Belgian tripel from Burnt Hickory Brewing (GA) called The Fighting Bishop that was smooth and savory.

I talked everyone into a dolphin cruise this afternoon and we were able to bring beer (in cans) with us on the boat. I earned this cool badge with my can of White Flag saison from Burnt Hickory Brewing (GA). It was a very good beer.

We spotted a ton of dolphins on the informative cruise, but I didn't get any great pics unfortunately. This is a screen grab from a video that I shot.

The weather was absolutely perfect for the dolphin cruise and we enjoyed a fantastic sunset from the boat while I enjoyed a very unique and tasty Peppercorn Saison from 3 Stars Brewing (Washington, DC).

At dinner tonight at the always-tasty Capt. Dave's on the Gulf I had a bottle of White Dunes witbier from the local Grayton Brewing Company over in Santa Rosa Beach. It was decent. After dinner, I slipped off by myself for a late-night showing of the crime flick, Widows, which was pretty good and not what I was expecting.

11/20 - It was back to the beach today and I was running out of cans to take so I snuck a couple of bottles with me in the cooler and drank them safely with the help of my new drinking cup. I started with a solid Cargo Schwarz dark lager from DuClaw Brewing (Baltimore). The cap on the bottle (photo above) had their great motto stamped on it. Next up was one of the best beers of the trip: DuClaw's very appropriately-named Sweet Baby Jesus porter. It was like a Snickers bar in a bottle. Back at house tonight I had a can of Warlock pumpkin beer from Southern Tier Brewing (NY). It was tasty and timely since Thanksgiving was quickly approaching.

I ended this exceptional day of beer with my second-favorite beer of the trip (and the prettiest label of all of them), the Neapolitan Stout from Untitled Art Brewing (WI) another new-to-me craft-brewer. Exactly how these folks made a beer taste like Neapolitan ice cream is beyond me. I am very impressed.

11/21 - The weather was clear again today, but a bit chillier, so instead of the beach again, the ladies decided to do some shopping and my brother-in-law, Andy, who I have slowly converted over to craft beer, and I decided to go check out the free Air Force Armament Museum next to Eglin Air Force Base in nearby Ft. Walton Beach. I was blown away at what a great place this is! And it's free! That had tons of aircraft from throughout history on the grounds outside. One of my favorites (pictured in the background above) was the B-25 which was one of the ones used to train the pilots for the daring DooLittle Raid of Tokyo at the start of WWII.

Inside the AF Armament Museum was amazing as well with tons more exhibits and displays.
On the way back to Destin we stopped in Props Craft Brewery in Ft. Walton Beach and tilted a few. I started with their Four Kings Brown Ale which was solid. I finished with a half-pint of their very good Props Pumpkin Bomb. This was my second visit to this little brewery while in this area which I learned has expanded to two other locations since I first visited them back in 2014. Their airplane-propeller theme seemed appropriate since we just finished touring an Air Force museum.
Back at the rental house tonight I enjoyed a tasty can of Above the Clouds saison from 3 Stars Brewing (Washington, DC).

11/22 - Happy Turkey Day! I earned this badge and enjoyed a gluttonous relaxing day with a can of Destin Ale from the new Destin Brewery nearby (which I never got a chance to visit unfortunately on this trip). This blonde ale was solid. Next up I had Destin Brewing's Bridge Rubble Double IPA that was terrific and strong. I finished the holiday with a juicy and delicious Soft J IPA from Red Hare Brewing (GA).

11/23 - Iffy weather kept us from the beach today, so we headed east to check out the cool little beach towns of Seaside, Watercolor and Santa Rosa Beach. The latter is home to the Grayton Beer Brewpub where we all had a tremendous lunch. I had a pint of their Skunk Juice IPA that was terrific. I finished with a delicious nitro-infused Billy Ray Cyrish Irish dry stout that was a smooth as silk. I had a taste of Ashlee's Dick Triple Belgian ale that was solid too. Ashlee had a taste of Andy's Blueberry Blonde Ale while at lunch and liked it so much that I got her (and me) a crowler of it for later on.

As before, the ladies went shopping after lunch, so Andy and I went beer hunting and wound up at Idyll Hounds Brewing which is also in Santa Rosa Beach. I came to this TINY little brewery back in 2015 and look at it now! Bustling with customers and busting at the seams with its brewing! Congrats! I had the amazing Broken Record IPA (photo above). I also got a bomber bottle of what Andy was having, the Captain Clermont w/ Maple imperial porter, to enjoy later in the evening. This was my third favorite beer of the trip.

11/24 - Our last day at the beach turned out to be a beauty despite a dreary forecast. We soaked it up for all it was worth and I had to make another run to Beach Liquors for a variety four pack for the day. I started with the excellent Blackened Voodoo Lager from Dixie Brewing (New Orleans) which earned me this cool and appropriate (since I was lounging by the sea) badge on UNTAPPD. Next was the tangy and fresh Mandarina IPA from Highland Brewing (Asheville, NC). I ended with an Up Top! IPA from JDub's Brewing over in Sarasota, Florida (another new-to-me brewery). I saved my fourth beer and brought it back home with me to be enjoyed later. Another great trip down to The Gulf. See ya next year, I reckon!

11/28 - I used my new ATOM app (a Fandango competitor) to get a half-price ticket to see the film, Green Book, tonight over at the Providence Theaters in Mt. Juliet. It would have been worth full price because it's an outstanding true story and movie. No way it doesn't get a Best Picture nomination at this year's Oscars. I also sneaked in another canned craft beer that was a leftover from the Thanksgiving trip. It was an excellent IPA called Altair from Wild Heaven Brewing (GA).

This month marks the official end of my MoviePass account. 66 movies in 12 months for $120. That's about a buck, eight-two a movie, not a bad run. Nothing like a bad business plan to take advantage of!