I 2 PA

Yeah, I am in to fitness...fittin'dis whole six-pack in my belly!!

8/12 - We flew to Philly today and then drove west toward Hershey, PA.  Our first stop was the beautiful Longwood Gardens. There were no hops in the Wall of Green that I saw, but I did have a decent can of  an English mild ale here with my lunch called Brawler from Yards Brewing over in nearby Philly. 

We were staying in the town of Lebanon (sounds familiar), PA, just east of Hershey and as soon as we had checked in to our hotel I zipped over to Snitz Creek Brewing for a couple of cold ones.  Their flagship Opening Day IPA was very good.  I finished with their outstanding Lemon Meringue Pie Ale (spoiler alert: best of the trip).  I also got a can of their nice Blueberry Cream Ale to go to enjoy back in the room (and maybe share with Ashlee). 

Well, sadly, UNTAPPD didn't even give me a badge for my 3,500th unique beer checked in, so I rewarded myself with this nice hat celebrating that exact beer.   The Nimble Giant double IPA from Troeg's Independent Brewing in Hershey, PA, was awesome, and I was happy to find this new lid to honor it! I completed the visit with their very good Lucky Holler Hazy IPA and their flagship Perpetual IPA that was solid.  What a cool place!  And the food was very good as well!

8/13 - We were back at Troeg's Brewing again today waiting out some weather before heading over to the outdoor concert nearby. While there we had some more great food and I took down their really nice Field Study IPA, the light and tasty Sunshine Pils and a taste of Ashlee's Troegenator Doublebock that was excellent.  

The beer lines were crazy at the concert, but Ashlee braved them before Green Day came on to close out the night, and she brought me a great NEIPA  pint can called Cliffside Push by Ever Grain Brewing in nearby Camp Hill, PA.  Thanks, sweetie!  And thanks to Hershey Park for embracing local craft beer at their venue.  

8/14 - We drove back to back to Philly today and met some friends at the Old Town Beer Garden which had a great beer list, but was nothing much to look at, so instead I will honor each of the brews I had there with some fun pics before then.  First up at The Rocky Steps looking toward downtown Philly, I salute the interesting and tasty Cashmere Hibiscus Lime IPA from Winding Path Brewing in Dallastown, PA.  Hey, Adrian, dat's a good beer!!! 

My second beer at the Old City Beer Garden was a knockout (get it).  It was the light and refreshing Solar Power Belgian blonde from Big Oyster Brewing down in Delaware.  This cropped pic of the Rocky statue at the base of the famous steps is from a distance because there was a long-ass line to get to stand next to it for a picture.  

My 3rd and final beer at The Old Town Beer Garden salutes (and helped me digest) my Pat's vs. Geno's Philly Cheese Steaks challenge.  Both were great (as was the beer), but I give Pat's a slight edge.  The pint can beer was the NEIPA called Groovy Juice from Fat Head's Brewing (OH). 

Hey, when in Rome (or at the Philly airport).  They were OK, as was the bottle of Philadelphia Pale Ale I had with them from Yards Brewing here in town.  

8/16 - We saw Jackson Browne and James Taylor tonight at the Bridgestone Arena.  Both were great and it was nice to hear JB actually sing some of his hits like "Running on Empty" (unlike at The Ryman years ago...still pissed about that one).   I even found a craft beer at The Tennessee Craft Bar that I had not had.  It was a pint can of the very good Regular pale ale from WISEACRE Brewing in Memphis.  

8/18 - Due to pending bad weather and  a prior commitment by Ashlee, I wound up going  to the NSC game vs. Orlando City tonight by myself.  I waited out some of the rain at the new Up Down arcade bar in East Nashville that boasts 60 beers on tap.  Unfortunately, I struggled to fine a couple I hadn't had.  I started with the NEIPA from Pontoon Brewing called We Are Going to Need a Bigger Pontoon.  It was pretty good. 

I got to Nissan Stadium before half time with a small break in the rain after I finished a really tasty Sizzupr Nitro Shake porter from Boulder Beer Company (CO).   A half-time I got to see the NSC mascot, Tempo, posing with some fancy hardware from the CONCACAF Cups.  The rain continued in the second half, but I found a dry place to stand and watch as the game drew to a tough 1-1 draw.

8/19 - I slipped off to Franklin this afternoon for a much-needed oil change for the Subaru.  While over that way I stopped by and checked out the brand new Curio Brewing in the space that used to be occupied by Mantra Artisan Ales and Turtle Anarchy before that.  They had WIFI, so I able to do some work while enjoying their very good Woke AF coffee stout, their very interesting and tasty Quizzical pineapple habanero ale (photo above) and a half-pour of their decent NEIPA called Orange-U-Curious. Welcome to the area, folks.  Good job on the beers!  Keep up the good work! Afterwards I went to the AMC Thoroughbred Theaters nearby and saw the new flick, Free Guy in IMAX.  It was pretty funny and innovative and worth seeing on the big, big screen. 

8/20 - Just a shout out to the Three Forks Market in little ol' Watertown for rockin' a pretty good craft beer section for a small town.  I picked up a six-pack of the very good Hazy Wonder NEIPA from Lagunitas Brewing (CA) there today. I usually don't buy six-packs and Lagunitas isn't the smallest of craft breweries, but I want to support the little supermarket whenever I can.   

8/22 - With a forecast of some multiple upcoming pool days, I went and got a variety 8-pack at the Mt. Juliet Beer Company today.  They had posted on Facebook about a bunch of new Octoberfest beers they got in, but I wound up with mostly new-to-me  IPAs (shocker).  I started with a pint can of the very good double IPA called 88 Miles Per Hour from Edmund's Oast Brewing (SC).  Next up was the equally tasty Hazy Hero NEIPA from Revolution Brewing up in Chicago.  I love their can artwork on this one. I broke my two-beers-a-day rule and cracked open another pint can to finish of the afternoon.  It was the solid double IPA from Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta) called Dinosaur Connoisseur.  And then it rained...figures...good job on the forecasting...

8/23 - Whew!  What a long Monday!  I really needed some pool time after work today and some BEER!!  I had a couple more from my variety 8-pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company.  First up was a can of the very good IPA from Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta) called Death Raptor.  Next up was the nice session IPA from Harding House Brewing over in West Nashville called Tennessee Haze.  It's not a big, bold IPA but she's all homegrown!! 

8/24 - I took some early  pool time during work this afternoon  (and came back to 11 emails, aack!).  I continued working on my variety 8-pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company starting with a nice pint can of the really good Oat Cream IPA from Untitled Art Brewing (WI).  Man, these guys continue to have the coolest can wraps out there.  So pretty!  I finished with an NEIPA from Hutton and Smith Brewing down in Chattanooga called Magic Mama.  It was crisp and tasty.   Out of the pool and back to the grind...sort of....

8/25 - I finished off my variety 8-pack from Mt. Juliet Beer Company in the pool again with a pint can of the decent Grip and Rip  Juicy Pale Ale from East Nashville Beer Works that I thought could have used a few more hops in it.  Luckily, this month's Beer Drop order also arrived today.   It's a nice variety including a fruit-based IPA, a pilsner, a saison, a Belgian-style golden ale, and a pumpkin ale because 'tis almost the season! 

8/26 - I went to the opening night showing for the new film, Flag Day, at the AMC Thoroughbred Theaters in Cool Springs tonight since it's the only one in the Nashville area showing it right now.  I thought it was pretty good.  Sean Penn could get an Oscar nod for his direction which was spot on.  His daughter, Dylan, has definitely got some of her dad's acting chops.  The closing song "My Father's Daughter" by Olivia Vedder (Eddie's little girl) is awesome and should get an Oscar nomination and might even win.

Since I was on the south end of Nashville for the movie, I made a few stops beforehand and worked a little from a brewery again this afternoon.  My first stop was at the once-dead Mill Creek Brewing in Nolensville.  Glad to see them still alive!  I started with their double IPA called Happiness.  I agree with that name!  It was very good.  Next up was their Peachy Darlin (photo above) wheat beer that I thought was excellent. I had a great burger and fries from their kitchen as well.  Good visit!  I will be back here again hopefully soon to kill an afternoon working via their free internet.  My next stop was a return to the new Franklin nano-brewery, Curio Brewing.  They had their popular Kilt the Cat Scottish ale back on tap and that I thought was pretty good.  In my opinion, their kolsch called Light Bulb was a little better however.  My last stop to kill a little time before the movie was a new-to-me Irish pub with an impressive beer tap list that I thought I would check out.  It's called Quinn's Neighborhood Pub and it was busy and hot (just like an actual Irish pub!).  Evidently their A/C is out.  I found a place at the bar and ordered a Stone Hazy IPA.  California's Stone Brewing continues to be my favorite brewery of them all, but I can't say this was their best brew.  It was decent, but a little thin.  Still I was glad this place had it on tap.  I ordered an appetizer of fried cucumbers (not pickles).  They were decent...but, man, I miss Durty Nelly's in Chattanooga. 

8/27 - I had to summon some liquid courage this afternoon with a pool beer or two before heading to this craziness in East Nashville.  Drag queens at a gay bar...what we do for our wives!!  I broke into my August Beer Drop order with an excellent West Coast IPA called It's A Run-by Fruiting (big ups to Robin Williams, RIP, you comedy genius and the ultimate drag queen, Mrs. Doubtfire) from Call to Arms Brewing in Denver.  It was really smooth and refreshing.  Next up was the Cloud 9 Saison from Aspen Brewing that I thought was rather good also.  After the show, I was granted a good-husband stop at  Crazy Gnome Brewing in East Nashville where I had their solid Summer Sunset Amber Ale.  They've made some nice additions here since I was here last time on their opening day.  

8/29 -I had a few more pool beers today as summer is starting to wind down.  I had a few repeats and a couple new ones from this month's Beer Drop order including a ho-um German-style pilsner called Bohemian Girl from Tivoli Brewing (Denver).  Evidently this is a revival of an old famous brew from the past before Prohibition.  My best guess is from my tasting experiences, the beer in the past...wasn't that great.  I ended with a much-better Haunted Hayride Pumpkin Ale from Masthead Brewing (Cleveland, OH).  It was very good and has got me in the mood for fall! 

9/1 - Well, dang, I was sure that West Meade Falls over on the west side of Nashville would be flowing good after all the rain the last couple days from Hurricane Ida, but it was just a little more than a trickle, but was more than the last time I was here at least.  I guess I have to wait for flood conditions to see real flow here.  Well, what wasn't dry were the taps just down the road at Tailgate Brewing where I had a tasty bratwurst, onion and mustard pizza with my two NEIPAs.  The first was was their Triple Trees: Tre See Me Rollin' Triple Hazy IPA and it was great!  The next one was their regular Trees: Dab on 'Em and it was a little thin.  Probably shoulda had these in reverse order.  

I went back to Nashville tonight to see a band I like called The Cadillac Three at The Ryman on the cheap thanks to a fire sale on Stubhub.  Before the show I discovered the band had collaborated with Flytes Brewhouse up in Pleasant View, TN, for a very good honey-infused pale ale called Country Buzz, a take-off on the band's style of music known as Country Fuzz.  I may have to scoot on up to Flytes soon and see what else they got brewing there.  

I couldn't stay for the whole late-starting show, but I heard a few of my early faves by TC3 in their opening set.  The looked and sounded great.  Being together now for 10 years, the shows followed their start until now.  They had a fun opener too that I caught a couple songs from called Hey Steve.  Before the show, I parked at the M.L. Rose location at Capitol View for free and then Ubered to and from the show.  I stopped in before the show as well and had a decent session IPA from Braxton Brewing (FL) called Hop Fit. 

9/2 - Well, it was good to be back in Neyland Stadium tonight after a very long, self-imposed hiatus from UT football.   But, they have a new head coach now that I have some belief in, so when my friend, Toney, invited me to go for their season opener against Bowling Green (OH), I jumped at the chance.  Toney isn't a beer guy so I didn't have any chance for some craft beer while in Knoxville and you know they were just selling sheeple crap at the game itself.  The Vols pulled away at the end with a solid 38-6 win on a beautiful evening with no crowded seating in the half-full upper deck.

9/3 - I had the day off today, so when we got back from Knoxville early, I had a good pool afternoon.  I went and got a variety six-pack at Lebanon Wine and Spirits for the long weekend coming.  I started with the lovely Sultry Seagull which is local Jackalope Brewing's Lovebird fruit beer with even more fruit added like strawberries, raspberries and lemons.  I followed that with my one remaining Beer Drop brew, the Hellraiser Belgian strong golden ale from Bruz Beers (CO).  It was very good. 
Later in the evening we met some friends down in Murfreesboro at Mayday Brewery (my suggestion) for dinner and a beer.  I had their very nice She's Good in Bread Peanut Butter Blonde.

9/4 - We had a fun day in Nashville today playing tour guide for some out-of-town friends, and here were my treats for the day:
With lunch at the Homegrown Taproom in Donelson I had a solid Oktoberfest beer from Good People Brewing down in Birmingham.
I had a surprisingly lightly tart sour beer at the Corsair Distilling and Taproom called the Double Vanilla Pineapple Creamsicle Hill from Southern Grist Brewing here in Nashville.  That was probably my most favorite "sour" ever.
I had the light, but decent, Prince's Local Lager, at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack over on Nolensville Road.  Says it's a "house brew" but I am thinking maybe Yee Haw Brewing's local spot might be making it for them.
We didn't get any hot chicken at Prince's (hour-plus wait...no thanks), so we checked out Bolton's Spicy Chicken and Fish over in East Nashville where I had the "mild" chicken on a stick that left my eyes watering and my nose running!!  No beer here, but I coulda used one!!

9/5 -I "paid" Toney back for the UT ticket on Thursday with a seat tonight at the USA vs. Canada for World Cup Qualifying at Nissan Stadium.  The place was packed (maybe too much with this Covid Delta Variant creeping around) with over 43K folks in attendance.  It was a frustrating 1-1 tie and at least another point toward qualifying for Qatar next year, but we are going to need some wins to solidify a spot in the group.  It was great seeing my favorite USMNT player, Christian Pulisic, on the field in person, but a winning goal from him would have been even better!! 
Toney was gracious enough to allow us to eat dinner before the game at City Tap downtown where I could also have a couple brews.  I started with the excellent Flannel Friday amber ale from Harpoon Brewing (Boston).  I finished with light-calorie and pretty decent Oskar's Lager from Oskar Blues Brewing (CO and NC).

9/6 - Happy Octoberfest...I mean, Labor Day!  But you couldn't tell it from my choice of pool beers today.  They definitely leaned toward the fall weather coming soon.  I started with a bottle of the fantastic Pecan Ale from the good folks down at Abita Brewing (LA). I stayed in the south with my next bottle of the equally awesome Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale (2021) from Lexington Brewing.  I got in  a New York state of mind next with a couple of goodies from Southern Tier Brewing  including their very good Pumking (2021) and their monstrously good Warlock 2021 imperial stout.    Let's just say I was "buzzin' like a chainsaw" (miss ya, Brian, RIP) after those four in a row. 

I did pull myself together enough to go see the newest Marvel flick, Shang Chi, tonight at The Roxy Theaters (recliners!!) with Toney (again) and my old work bud, Casey, and his nephew, Colin.  We all enjoyed it, but were hoping for some better CGI dragons than we got, but still another solid double off the wall for Marvel Studios hit machine.