more beer, less problems...

Well, it's going to be another couple months at least of Covid-19 still creeping around.  But at least I finally got to wear a "hockey mask" to work! 

7/1 - I finished my new audio-book "Devolution" by Max Brooks today.  It was fantastic!  Holy crap, what an ending!!  Now it's a just a matter of days before I get to talk to the author, Max Brooks, himself online as he signs a hard copy of this book for me!

Just a nice random shot of my old friend (and our current OG in terms of cats), Zippy Doo Dah relaxing our new picnic table in the back yard.

Never been much of a visor guy, but this one from Florida Key Brewing Company is awesome.  It's terry-cloth-lined interior is perfect for my always-sweating forehead.  Ashlee has one too.  As does her sister, Paige, now.  And we've given three away as gifts.  In fact, mine was the last one they had as a display.  Time to order some more, FKBC! 

My June Beer Drop order arrived today also.  I got a nice variety including a Vienna lager, a big Belgian, a vanilla cream ale, a NEIPA and a porter.  I also enjoyed some actual live sports that I care about as I unboxed them.  That's Chelsea vs. West Ham with no fans in the stands on the TV in the background.  I follow Chelsea in Premier League play because they have young American phenom, Christian Pulisic, on their squad.  Can't decide if I want to dive right in to these tonight or save them for the party we are having these weekend...I am probably not that patient...

I made the final table of a quick little Turbo 4-Max Tournament on Global Poker this afternoon vs. 30 other players.  I finished third and turned my $11 investment into $45 in profit.  

7/2 - It was a Thursday afternoon posing as a Friday afternoon since we were off tomorrow from work for Independence Day, so I decided to celebrate and crack open my first June Beer Drop brew.  I had a pint can of the outstanding NEIPA called The Oswald (Full O' Hops) from Woods Boss Brewing (Denver).  Since the label was a wrap around the entire can, I cleverly came up with the photo above by shooting the label on my IPhone in the panoramic mode and slowly rotating the can in my hand.  Pretty cool, huh?  I followed that up with my second June Beer Drop participant, the light and refreshing Vienna lager called Pretzel Assassin from the Denver Beer Company.  

7/3 - With the day off I headed east today to run a couple errands for our July 4 Pool Party tomorrow.  I met one of the owners of Mark's Specialty Seafood Truck in Sparta and picked up a 5 lb. bucket of conch fritter mix to have at the party.  Mark's fritters are some of the best we've ever had and that includes several trips to Key West.  While in the area I also stopped at Hix Farm Brewery in Cookeville and filled up two half-growlers and a full growler for tomorrow's festivities.  More on those later.  While getting my fills, I also enjoyed a pint of their First Frost winter ale that was hoppy and delicious. For a winter ale, it sure went down good on a hot July day. 

When I got home Ashlee's cousins from Cincinnati had arrived to stay a couple nights with us and they were already whooping it up in the pool.  Thanks to Leslie and Lee-Ann for bringing me a six-pack Cloud Harvest 02 NEIPA from their hometown's own Rhinegeist Brewing Company.  It was really tasty!  I followed that up in the pool with my third brew from the June Beer Drop order:  a can of the solid Powder Run Vanilla Cream Ale from Living the Dream Brewing  in Littleton, CO.  

7/4 - We hosted an Independence Day/Catch-Up From Covid Pool Party today. and my 3 growlers from Hix Farm Brewing were a major part of my celebration.  They were all excellent and not a drop was left by the end of the day as I also shared them with some of my friends.  First up was the full growler of New Boyfriend Strawberry cream ale.  Next, was a half-growler of their red IPA called Hix Harvest.  Finally, we finished off a half-growler of their Hix Farms Bean Cream ale.  

Thanks to my friend, Nate, who attended our party,and as always has good-beer-in-tow that he is willing to share.  First up was a bomber bottle of the double IPA from Various Artists Brewing here in Nashville called Indoor Fireworks (appropriate name for today!) that was fantastic.  I used my same panoramic rotating photo trick on their cool bottle wrap. He also shared a pint can of another terrific double IPA called Cardigans of the Galaxy (funny!) from Monday Night Brewing out of Atlanta.

On another positive note, my friend, Chris, brought me a gift six-pack of craft beer to the party from his neck-of-the-woods (Northern Indiana).  More on those as I partake of them in the very near future.

Well, there are still no movie theaters open.  Regal was scheduled to open later this month, but who knows if that will happen with the new Covid-19 spikes around the country.  So, my list of rented/streamed new movies continues this month:

7500 - Streaming free on Amazon to Prime Members (which Ashlee is), this taut drama about an airliner hijacking was pretty good.

My Spy - Also streaming free on Amazon.  A silly big-guy/little-kid action-comedy.  It had a few funny parts, but I lost interest halfway thru and didn't finish it.

Greyhound - I signed up for Apple TV+ Streaming just to get access to this one.  I have been looking forward to it for a while now.  It was tight and well done.  I would have loved to have seen it on the big screen....maybe someday.  
As a bonus, Ashlee and I both really enjoyed Season 1 of the their original series, "The Morning Show," as well. And, I am also enjoying their well-done post-apocalyptic show, "See" and the true-crime drama series, "To Tell the Truth."

Radioactive - A fairly interesting new film about Marie Curie and her fascinating life and Noble Prize-winning work streaming free on Amazon Prime.

Three Christs - An interesting 2017 film based on a true story with a spectacular cast of some of my favorite actors that I rented off Amazon Prime.

The Old Guard - this Netflix original film based on yet another comic book and starring the always luscious, Charlize Theron, was actually pretty good.  It's definitely set up for a sequel.  The immortal warrior twist of the story reminds me of Highlander somewhat, and I am anxiously awaiting that reboot of that classic from the John Wick trilogy director.

The Outpost - A solidly-made war film based on a true story from U.S. troops fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2009.  I rented it off Amazon Prime.

Most Wanted (aka Target Number One) - A new Canadian-produced crime film based on real events.  I rented it off Amazon and it definitely kept my interest, but then any movie with Jim Gaffigan playing a crazed drug dealer is going to do that!  Wow!  Great job, Jim!  Photo courtesy of Daniel Roby (the director)'s Instagram account.

The Banker - this smart, well-done film based on actual events is another Apple+ TV original that I really enjoyed.

Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind - I helped out our local, independent Belcourt Theaters by renting this documentary online for $10.  A portion of the proceeds goes back to them and I am sure they need every penny while being forced to be closed during the pandemic.  I've always liked Lightfoot's music, so I figured this would be interesting.and it was from start to finish.  What a living legend! 

7/5 - It was a stormy Sunday today, but I had Premier League soccer on the telly (Miggy scored!), online poker, my favorite TV show, "Yellowstone" back on for Season 3, and a good craft beer to tide me over.  I chose my fourth new June Beer Drop brew:  a can of the tasty Postcard Robust Porter from Diebolt Brewing (Denver).  

7/6 - Ashlee and I had a great paddle to the base of Lower Burgess Falls in our kayaks today.  What a great day off!  I brought along the last of my June Beer Drop brews to enjoy with this grand view.  This pint can of Belgian quad called Serenite Grand Cru from Bruz Beers (Denver) was fruity, rich and delicious.  I also swam from here to the base of the falls to the left of the picture above. Cheers to Mondays not in the office!!  

7/8 - Now this is what I call a "working lunch" from my work truck!!  Too bad my boys from Newcastle got their "arses" kicked by Manchester City.  

7/9 - I opened my first gift beer from my friend, Chris, who lives in Indiana now, and floated in the pool with it.  It was an exceptional IPA called Cat Hops from Metazoa Brewing Company in Indianapolis.  I figured it was the perfect brew to toast our newest addition here at home, Dudley, who we adopted recently from a local cat rescue.  He's a sweet boy, and very proper and  handsome in his tuxedo!  I was also impressed to read that 5% of Metazoa Brewing's profits go back to help animals.  Cheers to Dudley  and Metazoa Brewing!! 

7/10 - I followed up with another Metazoa brew tonight from the Chris gift pack to celebrate it just being Friday.  I had their Ruh Roh Ale while floating in the pool again after work.  It was a nice amber ale that went smooth and easy. I also cracked open a nice Belgian blonde ale called Gold Standard from Taxman Brewing (Bargersville, IN) with some pizza from a new place here in town.

7/11 - I got to talk online live with author, Max Brooks, today.  He wrote my favorite audio-book of all time, "World War Z" and his new book, "Devolution", is great as well (not to mention scary AF!) and he signed a copy of it while we chatted and it will be mailed to me now.  

Here's a screen-grab of me and Max chatting it up.  He could not have been nicer or more gracious. I got a good laugh out of him when I told him that when the rest of the world hear's Mark Hamill's voice they think "Luke Skywalker" but that I always think of "Todd Wanio" from his "World War Z" audio-book.  Man, what a great thing in such weird times!  Eff you, Covid!! 

And a month later....it arrived in the mail!

I continued this great day with some online poker from the pool where I enjoyed my final two gift libations from my Indiana connection, my good friend, Chris.  I had the very nice Raspberry Ginger Exemption (photo above), a Belgain tripel from Taxman Brewing (IN) and the excellent Good Karma IPA from Mad Anthony Brewing (Fort Wayne, IN).  We also met up with our friends, Wendy and Charly, for dinner at the Cherokee Steakhouse (man, it's been a while!) and Charly and I shared a bomber bottle of Bourbon County Brand Stout (2019) 14.7%  from Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago) that he brought.  Thanks, buddy!  Man, was it boozy!  Definitely a sippin' beer. 

7/12 - I finally got off a frustrating losing slide in online poker tonight with a two-man chop/win of a local home tournament on Poker Stars.  I had a slight chip lead when it got down to two of us and I accepted a chop offer giving me a little more than the other guy.  We outlasted 14 other players and I turned a profit of $200. 

Drunk in Key West earlier last month....oh the shame! I must now kill whomever took this pic...

7/15 - I had about $50 in my 10% of Poker Winnings to Charity Fund, so I bought a couple items for the Nashville Humane Society off their wish-list on Amazon.com.  Man, that was easy.  Thanks. to the Nashville Scene Insider email for the idea!  

7/16 - My signature pocket-treys hand hit again today on Global Poker as I played from the pool after work.  This hand, along with a few other good ones, propelled me to a 13th place finish and tripled my $11 buy in after an annoyingly long stretch of bad beats on here over the past few weeks.  

7/18 - I checked out the new Panther Creek Brews in Murfreesboro today.  I was surprised to find out that were in the building that previously held The Green Dragon Pub (RIP) which I dearly loved and hated to see shut down late last year.  These guys were busy and running low on their own beer which was a good sign I guess.  I picked up a couple of 4-packs of pint cans to take back and enjoy in the pool on this stupidly hot day.  Their DIPA called Dedication was very good.  I also enjoyed their blackberry sour called Unity (photo above with my panoramic can-twirl trick).  It was more tart than sour which is my preference when faced with drinking a sour beer.  They are still my least favorite style of beer, but this made my 55th different one checked in on UNTAPPD so I am forging on with them.

I spent the rest of the day in the pool playing online poker and enjoying my new beers and a couple more from my Beer Drop order from last month.  My only real finish of note on Global Poker was making the final table in a silly $1 bounty tournament.  I finished eighth and the pay off was minimal but it was vs. 577 other players, so that's the real accomplishment.
Back in the house tonight, I did win a small 4-man $20 sit-n-go for $60 in profit to finish the day on a positive note and a positive bankroll. 

7/19 - I tuned into the new season of "The Alienist" TV series on TNT  tonight.  It was two hours of weird and wonderful.  What a great show! 

7/21 - My July Beer Drop order arrived today and has a nice variety including a milk stout, a lager, a French ale, a red ale and, of course, an IPA.  I immediately popped one of the IPAs in the freezer and 45 minutes later was enjoying a cold, hoppy and citrusy Rock Climber IPA from Living the Dream Brewing (CO).  

7/23 - There's an exciting pre-sale starting today at New Heights Brewing in Nashville of some awesome bottle releases they are calling their Christmas in July.  My pal, Charly, and I are hoping to grab as many of these "presents" as we can today and then pick them up on Saturday!  Here's the killer line-up:

Well, $200+ later and we got everything we wanted!!

This evening I cracked open my second Beer Drop libation while enjoying "Hamilton" on Disney+ on our TV in the den.  It was a solidly good and light lager called Start'n Early from Woods Boss Brewing (Denver), and it was a much better view for the show than we had in Chicago a couple years ago and with the original cast as well.  "Raise a glass [or a can of AMERICAN lager] to freedom!"  

7/24 - I had my usual fortnightly day off today and decided to head east and hopefully dodge some stormy weather to chase waterfalls and craft beer.   My first stop was the fairly new nanobrewery, Creekside Brewing, in Crossville.  They list Crossville as their address, but they are good piece out of town down Hwy. 127 going toward Pikeville, so you could say this is actually a second craft brewery in the Sequatchie Valley after Top of the Rock Brewery down in Kimball. I have to say honestly their beer didn't blow me away. I started with their flagship Daddy's Creek IPA and it was not great:  very little hop flavor and a bit of a soapy aftertaste.  Their Plateau Porter was better, but still not top-notch with no smoky appeal.  This place is also a BBQ joint so you would think they would know the value of that smoked taste.  I am hoping for some improvement if/when I stop by again someday.
(Editor's note:  Welp, that didn't last long...a month later and they are closed for good...)

I took this shot right outside Creekside Brewing and although pretty, that one small hole of blue sky was all that I saw and it scrapped my idea of hiking down to the bottom of nearby Ozone Falls and maybe getting swim in the pool as well.  Oh well, next time.  Time to head back west and look for less stormy skies...

Now THAT was a good call!  Heading back west toward Sparta, I decided to give Lost Creek Falls a look and possibly squeeze in a hike to it between storms.  The weather cooperated nicely and the hike is short and simple.  So short and simple in fact, that I went back to the car and grabbed a third libation from this month's Beer Drop order that I brought with me to enjoy at the base of the delicate falls.  This Diebolt French Amber lager was terrific and a perfect light brew for a warm summer afternoon.  Diebolt is the brewing company out of Denver.

Here's an in-focus shot of Hidden Creek Falls from a different angle because it's not all about the beer.  Coolest thing about this particular falls is that first: that's actually a pool of water albeit shallow in the foreground and not just rocks, it's that freaking clear.  Second, the stream continues to the hard right back under the ledge into a cave.  There's a huge cave on the other end of these little gully too.  What an amazing area!  So glad the state of Tennessee has secured this place as a designated natural area.

My next stop was another new-to-me and newly-started nanobrewery in McMinnville called Depot Bottom Brewery. This tiny place just off the historic town square was quiet this afternoon.  When I came in I was the only one there and then one other guy came in before I left.  Covid-19 has hurt this place just like a lot of small businesses, so I was happy to help however I could.  I started "helping" with a draft pint of their Stuck At Home(photo above) blonde sour.  I really didn't recognize it as a sour other than a little funk in the aftertaste.  Overall, a very good beer.  I finished with their only other beer available (their lastest IPA batch unfortunately fell to the fate of a non-working cooler this morning,,, I had a taste...it was bad), the 1807 Summer Ale which was a light wheat beer as well that went down smooth and easy.  I bought a couple of their logo glasses (this one above and their original logo) for my pal, Charly, who is into trains.  They got their brewery name from the original train depot here in McMinnville that was located in a low area (or a "bottom") of the town.
My only other stop was a quick one at Happy Trails Brewing in Sparta (since I was going right by there on the way home),  This place was hopping (what's Covid-19?) and I grabbed a pint of their excellent Four River NEIPA.  Another great day off "out east."  

7/25 - I headed up to Madison this afternoon to stalk my favorite food truck, Mark's Specialty Seafood, and have some of their amazing conch fritters.  The fact that they were parked at Yazoo Brewing Company was just a bonus...a beautiful, beautiful bonus!!   I grabbed a couple pints, kept my social distance and enjoyed.  I started with their excellent NEIPA called Pilot Series: Bro It's A Secret.  I finished with another one of their newbies, Pilot Series: American Schwarzbier which was terrific as well.  I have got to get up here more often since it's just 10 miles off the I-40 Hermitage exit.  

Earlier today I got a haircut in Mt. Juliet since my regular gal is on Covid quarantine. A friend of a friend, Lacey, was able to fit me in at her salon and I have to admit it was nice to have a young lady who is that pretty give this old fool a shampoo!  Lacey's salon is also next to Providence Wine and Spirts/Beer World, so I took a couple of half-growlers to get filled for some upcoming pool time this afternoon and tomorrow.  I started with the very light and refreshing  Dog Days Pink Lemonade Shandy from Crosstown Brewing over in Memphis.  It was a perfect pool libation on a hot afternoon.  

7/26 - It was another day at home and in the pool and I started the afternoon cracking open my second half-growler from Providence Wine and Spirits/Beer World.  It was an easy-drinking and excellent IPA called A Pale Green Horse that was a collaboration between Jester King Brewing in Austin, Texas, and the aforementioned Yazoo Brewing in nearby Madison.  

Wowza!  Hello, Alyssa Thorpe, head brewer at Jagged Mountain Brewing in Denver, Colorado!  I think I found my new favorite brewer of them all! Time to add another name to my Hall Pass list I guess!!   I just so happen to have one of her products in this month's Beer Drop order too.    Thanks to atlasobscura.com for the cool article and picture which they used courtesy of JMBC.  I cracked open a pint can of their light and tasty white stout called This Beer Really Ties the Room Together (wait, so she's pretty, she brews excellent craft beer, and she uses a reference from The Big Lebowski as one of her beer names?  OK, yeah it's definitely true love!).

Speaking of beautiful, I was honored to earn this UNTAPPD badge with my next beer in the pool today.  I had pre-ordered a four-pack of pint cans of Yazoo Brewing's contribution to a nation-wide collaboration effort of craft brewers to support Black Lives Matter called the Black is Beautiful.  This imperial stout is an outstanding beer in body, taste and finish.  I gifted a can to my pal, Charly, also who really enjoyed it as well.

Well, there's not much to cheer about lately when it comes to the Nashville Soccer Club since they got kicked out of the MLS Is Back Tournament due to several players testing positive for Covid-19, but at least their new stadium has now broken ground and is slated to open for the 2022 season.  While at Providence Wine and Spirits/Beer World getting my two half-growlers filled, I spied a display of six-packs pint cans of this Breakaway Session IPA from Fat Bottom Brewing here in Nashville.  I have already had the lager they also made in honor of our new team at the one-and-only game they played way back in late February before all this Covid-19 madness started.  This IPA is solid and went down smooth.  Let's hope that's the same for the future of Nashville SC.  Let's go Blue and Gold!! 

7/30 - I celebrated seeing an actual live Nashville Predators exhibition game (which they won 2-0 over those punk Dallas Stars) on TV today after work by cracking open my last Beer Drop libation for the month: a crowler of smooth and tasty red ale aged in white oak called Einstein Cross from Launch Pad Brewing (CO).  Real Preds hockey starts on Sunday!! 

I finished the evening (and the crowler) by also watching a real NBA game with my Duke monster, Zion Williamson, (and four other Duke players) on the New Orleans Pelicans squad.  They dropped the game in a close 2-point loss to the Jazz, but it was fun to see a game that counts for something.  And it was as close to Duke Basketball as me and the GOAT are gonna get right now.  I stole this funny and cool cartoon pic above from the Duke Men's Basketball Facebook page.