L'il Rock; HSNP; @KC; GO2TAMPA, and other DESTINations

awful bro-country tune, but a pretty funny song title! 

11/3 - I flew to Little Rock, Arkansas tonight with my friend, Danny, as a hybrid start to this year's G.A.M.E. weekend.  I wanted to detour to Hot Springs National Park on my way to Kansas City for the game this year and Danny decided to tag along.   While waiting on my flight, I found a couple of new brews at the Tailgate Brewing bar in the airport.  First up was the nice and light Instant Rice Lager.  I finished up with their solid Chattanooga Wit which I assume was made in celebration of their new location opening there in the old Terminal Brewhouse. 

I had a pretty long layover at the St. Louis Airport so I finished up some work and then found a few brews as well while I waited on Danny for our late flight into Little Rock.   First up was the excellent American Brown Ale from The Civil Life Brewing Company heWere in Saint Lou.  I finished up with a tasty and toasty Oktoberfest marzen from Schlafly Brewing also here in the STL.  

We headed south in our rental car and got to the Hot Springs National Park within an hour.  It's an odd little town surrounded by the national park.  Kind of lost in time.  The row of historic bathhouses is impressive and quite the story of restoration.   We grabbed a late breakfast at the Argentinian Coffee and Wine Bar on the main drag that was pretty good.  We took a nice free ranger-led walk that included the amazing Hot Springs Cascade.  It's amazing that 140-degree water is just running out of the ground here with no protection from kids and the "dumb public."  But, again, it's a weird place. 

11/4 - The main place I wanted to visit here in Hot Springs is the only craft brewery situated within a national park.  One of the historic restored bathhouses is now Superior Bathhouse Brewing.  We grabbed a four-taster flight each along with lunch.  Despite the great story and atmosphere, I have to admit I wasn't blown away by the beer or the food unfortunately.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very memorable either.  Here's the run-down of my flight:  Spicy Ride - a nice jalapeno-infused pale ale and probably the best of the bunch; Space Force hazy NEIPA; Wookie Shake milkshake IPA; Desoto's Folly Golden Stout.  

 

I really enjoyed my geothermal soak in New Mexico a while back, so I figured a stint in one of the historic bathhouses like Buckstaff Baths here in Hot Springs would be about the same.  I even talked Danny into it.  Well...it wasn't!  It was far from private as you had to walk around butt-naked to each "station" during the process with your "handler" for the session.  Our handler was Stanley and he was a character not to be forgotten!  First up was a 15-minute tub soak that was private once you got in.  Next was a 10-minute "sitz bath" where you basically sit in a sink and soak your ass and lower back.  There's a good look!  Next was a 10-minute steam cabinet sit that seemed like something out of a torture movie!  "Hey, you're sitting [naked] where Bill Clinton and Al Capone sat!"  OK, ewww.  The final stop was a steam table where you were wrapped like a mummy in a sheet by good ol' Stanley.  Hey, it was a lot for $40, but maybe a little too much!  I would recommend it as a one-time experience, because it will be hard to forget!! 

We finished off our day in Hot Springs with a visit to the Gangster Museum which I didn't have high expectations for, but it turned out to be pretty darn good.  Hot Springs has a very interesting history with gangsters, gambling, prohibition and even spring training baseball.   The museum several had great exhibits, an excellent in-character guide, and some very rare items you probably wouldn't see anywhere else including this beautiful vintage slot machine from the days when Hot Springs was the illegal Vegas before there even was a Vegas.  

Back in Little Rock tonight before turning in early for a very early flight in the morning, we stopped by Lost Forty Brewing Company for a different kind of flight and some tasty dinner (excellent gumbo!).   These guys know how to do beer!  It's hard to say which of one from my flight was my favorite, but here they are: the sweet and subtle Love Honey Bock was terrific; the Oktobernator Imperial Oktoberfest was fantastic; the Rockhound IPA was solid; and the Snake Party Double IPA was epic.  Well done, LFBC! 

11/5 - Well, the plan was simply to get up early and take a short flight to Kansas City to meet up with Chris and Houston (Bill) to round out this year's foursome.  So much for simple!  Due to "weather" (seemed suspect) our early and only flight back thru St. Louis was completely cancelled and Danny and I were thrown on two different flights with much longer connections to get to KC much later than planned.  Mine was especially bad back thru Atlanta and was already delayed twice and got me into KC very late in the day.  SCREW THAT!  I cancelled the flight and rented a car and made the 5 1/2 hour drive with ease and getting to KC before Danny did with his rerouted flight through Dallas.   Thanks a lot, Southwest Airlines.  You guys used to not suck. 
I checked into our Best Western Premier Sports Hotel in KC which only had appeal because it was across the road from Arrowhead Stadium which is a surprisingly long way from downtown.  Otherwise, it wasn't much to get excited about.  I met the guys at the Brass Rail Sports Bar to watch the UT/UGA matchup which did not go well for the Vols (yuck).  But at least they had a decent craft beer selection.  I started with the light and tasty Zelda's Vanilla Cream from The Big Rip Brewing Company here in KC.  I finished with the solid Dunkel from the KC Bier Company.

We headed to downtown Kansas City for dinner, and it was evident we were in enemy territory.  Their beautiful Union Station was bathed in Chiefs colors and logo on both ends.  We had dinner inside at the swanky Pierpont's Restaurant where I had an excellent (and reasonably priced) KC strip steak along with a draft of the very nice NEIPA called Space Dragon from City Barrel Brewing also here in KC.   We even had our first-ever bottle of fancy wine on a G.A.M.E. trip:  a 2014 Reserve Contino Rioja red that was dry and delicious.  

We left the swanky and got back to where we felt more at home at nearby Johnny's Tavern, a cool downtown sports bar that was supposed to be a Titans fans hangout, but we didn't see very many in the busy joint.  We were lucky enough to get a table and order some beers while we watched the Astros win the World Series (boo!!).  I didn't have anything new to me here, just a few solid choices from Boulevard Brewing, the big mother of craft breweries here in KC.  The photo above is evidently a "Johnny's Lager", but I never could find that on UNTAPPD.  

OK, look, I gave our hotel some crap above and while it definitely isn't the newest structure on the planet, it actually did have some good qualities:  a very nice staff, a decent complimentary breakfast, free parking and a great little sports bar that is called the Boulevard Grill, and per the name, has several of BBC libations on tap at reasonable prices.  I mean, come on, Tank 7 is an awesome farmhouse ale!  

11/6 - Game Day!  Well, make that Game Night!  We had all day to kill with the Titans at Kansas City on Sunday Night Football.  So, we headed back downtown to check out the National World War I Museum and Memorial.  Our first stop was atop the WW1 Memorial Tower with an excellent view of downtown KC including Union Station in the foreground where we were last night for dinner.   I tweaked the photo above a little to give us a very Titan-blue sky. 

The WW I Museum is extremely well-done and informative.  I could have stayed there another hour or two looking at all the displays and reading the history, but the rest of our group found it "depressing" (duh, no shit, but it's still important), so we left before I really wanted to, but, hey, majority rules. 

After taking another look at the awesome WW1 Memorial (and KC Monopoly Game Mural), we found a BBQ lunch spot called the Char Bar.  It was very good, but my burnt ends were better at Joe's (closed on Sundays sadly).  They did have a great craft beer menu and with my lunch I had the quaffable Pilzz pilsner from 3 Trail Brewing over in Independence, MO, and the crisp and sweet Monk and Honey pale ale from Torn Label Brewing here in KC. 

The KC Foursome. Thanks to (L to R) Houston (Bill), Danny and Chris D. for making the trip this year.  A lot has changed in the group with some additions and some sad removals, but we have to go on and continue to enjoy ourselves with these annual trips while we can.  Salute!! 
We had a fun time before going into Arrowhead Stadium checking out the pre-game festivities and even found some free Jim Beam Whiskey shots and cocktails!  

I was really disappointed in the craft beer selection inside Arrowhead Stadium.  I couldn't find any local craft beer, so I had to settle for this decent NEIPA from corporate sell-outs, Goose Island Brewing in Chicago, called Hazy Beer Hug.   Our seats were high but with a great sightline and a row of four seats all to our own with no one behind us!  

The G.A.M.E. was here.  And what a game it was.  The Titans were 13 1/2 point road dogs and were forced to start their rookie backup QB, Malik Willis, due to our starter, Tannehill, still nursing a bad ankle injury.  And WE LED ALMOST THE ENTIRE GAME!!  Our defense was awesome!  Derrick Henry was a beast!  And then to only to see our eight-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter thanks to the legs of KC QB phenom, Patrick Mahomes, and some real home-cooking ref calls that saw us end up losing in OT by a field goal.  Good game, Chiefs.  Up yours, Vegas!!
It was a fun time and overall, the Chiefs fans were pretty nice to us, and it is a great atmosphere there,
We drowned our sorrows back at the Boulevard Grill with more Tank 7 drafts! 

11/7 - I couldn't find a one-way car rental out of Little Rock, so I had to change my flight home from KC to one from Little Rock which meant another fairly easy, but dull, 5 1/2 hour drive back today to catch a plane.  Thanks to some fun podcasts and the great audio book, "Hold The Line" for getting me through it with ease.   

I did have time before my flight to stop back by Lost Forty Brewing in Little Rock again for some more tasty beer and their outstanding gumbo!  That dark concoction in the photo above was the excellent Puffy Jacket Baltic Porter.  
My two short flights home were smooth and without incident.  Happy to be home and put another notch in the G.A.M.E. belt! 

11/9 - It was warmer here (79) today than it was in Tampa (72) where we will be this weekend, so a lunchtime walk was in order.  I stopped by Cedar City Brewing and had their new 1977 IPA which I thought was solid.  It was also so new that I was also able to add to UNTAPPD myself! 

11/10 - I attended opening night of Wakanda Forever in IMAX at Opry Mills with my pal, Toney, tonight.  The sequel to Black Panther was pretty good, but I sure miss Chadwick Boseman (RIP).  Beforehand, we had a quick bite to eat for dinner at mall's food court where I had a pretty tasty Philly cheesesteak sandwich at Charley's.  

10/11 - We went to see one of our favorite performers, Augustana, at the Franklin Theater tonight.  It was nice to see some quality craft beer on tap there including a local one (which I have had before and loved) called Kilt the Cat, a Scottish ale from nearby Curio Brewing.  

11/12 - We flew to Tampa today to for the wedding of my beer pal, Curtis and his NOW wife, Kate!   While only knowing these guys a little while, we have become good friends and were honored when they asked us to attend.  At a gas station across the street from our hotel in the Treasure Island area, I grabbed a pint can of the nice Florida Orange IPA from 3 Daughters Brewing in nearby St. Pete.  Here's to you, Curtis! Good luck and God bless!!  

Curtis and Kate had an open bar (thank you very much) at their reception and even a little craft beer on tap, I had a couple pints of the classic Jai Lai IPA from Cigar City Brewing over in Tampa.  Cheers to the happy couple! 

11/13 - Even though we were flying back from Tampa today for a pretty quick turnaround trip, we didn't have to at the airport until late which gave us most of the day to hang out in the pretty St. Pete area.   We found a great tiki bar at the snazzy new St. Pete Pier called what else, Pier Teaki, where I had a draft pint of The Other West Coast IPA from Escape Brewing over in Trinity, Florida.  This beautiful pelican we saw on the pier might have been eyeing my tasty beer! 

We also had time to zip over to nearby Gulfport to visit another pal, Houston (aka Bill), from the G.A.M.E. weekend trip last weekend who owns The North End Taphouse there.  He's got a great craft beer selection and while we hung out chatting, eating some early dinner and listening to a pretty good Grateful Dead cover band, I had half-pints of the following:

the nice Zero Viz NEIPA from Hop Life Brewing in Port St. Lucie, FL. 
the excellent Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale from Bold City Brewing over in Jacksonville
the spiced and delicious yam beer called The Great'er Pumpkin from Heavy Seas Brewing (Baltimore)

11/15 - It must be old and new pal week because my childhood friend, Mick, was staying in town for work tonight so I was proud to take him to the new Cedar City Brewing for a great dinner and a craft beer or two made right here!  So nice to say that!  I had their new Sweet Tater Ale that I thought was yet another winner from these guys who have jumped right in with some really great beers! 

11/16 - My November Beer Box arrived today, and this is the first time I've had beers left over from last month when this month's box arrived.  Slowed down a little, I guess.  This batch looks good with only one repeat and it's a good one from Stone Brewing so that's OK.  Otherwise, it looks like a good variety with an IPA and a double IPA, a couple stouts, a pint pilsner, a lager, and a Berliner weisse sour that I wish wasn't in a pint can.  But, hey, who knows, it might be OK. 

11/17 - I tuned in to watch the Titans at Green Bay in prime time on Thursday Night Football tonight.  The boys in two-tone blue took care of business with a solid 27-17 win at Lambeau Field!  I toasted the success with a Beer Box brew, the excellent Ohio City Oatmeal Stout from Great Lakes Brewing (Cleveland).  Titan Up!! 

11/19 - We headed down to Destin, Florida, today for our almost annual Thanksgiving week at the beach.  It's become a pretty consistent tradition for us, as has stopping at Interstellar Ginger Beer and Exploration Company in tiny Alabaster, Alabama, just south of Birmingham.  It was so great to see that this specialty nano-brewery survived through Covid.  Ashlee and I each had a pint of their seasonal hard ginger beer called The Pumpkin that was really good.  I grabbed a couple of variety four-packs as well for the week ahead.  One of which I cracked open as soon as we got back on the road.  Their flagship hard ginger beer called First Contact was excellent, and even though it was in a bottle, it was just freshly poured from the tap.

11/20 - We spent our first full day in Destin without much beach time since it was cloudy and a bit cool.  So we moseyed around town doing some shopping and some good eating.  We had lunch at Lulu's Destin where I had their "house beer" - the decent Crazy Sista Honey Ale made for them by Back Forty Brewing up in Gadsden, AL.  
Back at our sweet rental house, I had a couple more out of my Interstellar Ginger Beer variety pack including the bright blue and great tasting Smurphalicious fruity hard ginger beer.  I followed that with the subtle, but still refreshing, Peach Me I Am Dreaming - I actually got a four-pack of this one to share with the family and they all enjoyed them.  
At dinner at Pompano Joe's on the beach, I had another "house beer" that also helps the local sea turtle conservation group with some proceeds - the Pompano Joe's Beach Turtle Brew Orange Ale.  Not sure who makes it for them, but the beer wasn't that great to be honest, but the cause was, and the food was amazing (photo above). 

11/21 - We got some sun today and made it out to the beach, but I didn't have any canned craft beer to take with me, so I finished off the Interstellar Beer variety pack before and after.  The Don't Drink the Cool-Aid bright red hard ginger beer was pretty good out on the back patio.  After the beach jaunt, I downed the not as sweet as it sounds, Randy Candy, hard ginger beer. Another winner! 
We went to dinner at a new place near our rental house called Jackacuda's where the food was awesome, but their "house beer" was just OK.  It was the Fat Samurai light lager.  Unsure who makes it for them.  Not that it matters since I probably won't be having another one. 

11/22 - It was an even better beach day today because not only was it warmer, but I had made it to good ol' Beach Liquors here in Destin who have an excellent craft beer selection where I made up two variety six-packs of cans to take with us.  Today's dead soldiers were as follows:  the outstanding Nut House Coffee Porter from Hop Life Brewing over in Port St. Lucie, FL.  A few sips of Ashlee's yummy Deliria (2022) Belgian strong golden ale from Delirium Brewing (Belgium) - this one's brewed by ladies and supports breast cancer research - this check-in also got me the cool badge above since I have now had an American and a Belgian beer during the World Cup that's going on right now.   The USMNT took a draw yesterday with Wales in their first match of the tournament.  Next up was the decadent and rich Sweet Baby Hazel porter from DuClaw Brewing (Baltimore). I doubled down on the nut flavor with this one by enjoying some fresh shelled pecans with it that I picked up at Durbin Farms Market in Clanton, AL, on the way down here.  I finished the afternoon with the decent wit bier called Tokyo from St. Bernardus Brewing (Belgium). 

11/23 - More sun! More beach!  More beer!!  I started this afternoon off with the solid wit bier called Man O' Wit from my favorite brewery in this area, Idyll Hounds Brewing, over in Santa Rosa Beach.  I am glad I had this one since I didn't make it out to IHBC this trip.  The excellent Voodoo Ranger Hop Raider IPA from New Belgium Brewing (CO) was next.  The Tropical Vibes Mango Guava wheat beer from Swamp Head Brewing over in Gainesville, FL, was a bit tarter than I was expecting, but a decent beach beer, nonetheless.  I finished the day with the solid Low Key wheat beer from DuClaw Brewing which I discovered I had already checked in before on UNTAPPD, but not in a can.  

We also enjoyed the best sunset of the week today!  

My brother-in-law, Andy, and I went to see the new Korean War film, Devotion, tonight over at Destin Commons Theaters.  We both really enjoyed it, especially since it was based on true events.  

11/24 - Happy Thanksgiving from the beach!  Since we are going to be out of the country over the rest of the holidays, I also got to get an early start on my German craft beer Christmas advent calendar that I picked up at Costco a month or so ago.  Advent Calendar beer # 1 was the very nice Vienna Lager from Egerer Brewing in Bayern, Germany. 
Also, from my Beach Liquors variety packs, I had the solid 28th Anniversary Imperial IPA from Stone Brewing (CA). 

11/25 - I started the afternoon today with Advent Calendar beer # 2, the decent Helle Aufregung lager from Landgang Brewery in Hamburg, Germany.
Despite the photo above, there was very little sun today, so the beach was out.  While the gals went shopping and Andy did whatever Andy does, I headed over to the brewpub for Beach Camp Brewing Company here in Destin.  This place is new-to-me so I wanted to check it out, plus they were touting showing the USMNT World Cup game and everyone in my house couldn't care less about it.

Now this is living!  Flight of quality craft beer, UMNT World Cup game on, and then Duke basketball on after that!  Cheers!  My flight at Beach Camp Brewing went as follows from L to R:
the weirdly green, but great, Ecto Cooler, double IPA 
the very nice Bold Brew Coffee Porter
the solid Uncle Dunkel (that went well with my app order of potato wedges and hot house-made pimento cheese
and finally, the decent Long Strange Tripel   
I finished up here with a pint of their very nice Marzen the Martian.  
Pretty good beer for a new place.  The USMNT held off a dominant English team to a 0-0 tie and Duke beat Xavier in a semi-final tournament game out in Portland, Oregon.   Pretty good day! 
Back at the rental house, I capped the evening off with another can from my Beach Liquors variety pack, the tasty Makena Cloud NEIPA from Maui (HI) Brewing. 

11/26 - I started our last full day in Destin with my Advent Calendar # 3 beer - a nice festbier called Husarentrunk from Schlosbrauerei Rheder (Germany). 
Andy and I opted to bow out of some more shopping with the girls since it remained too cloudy for the beach.  Instead, we checked out the kinda cool, kinda quirky Destin History and Fishing Museum which had a lot of interesting displays throughout the converted old 70's ranch-style house.  Outside on display is one of the oldest surviving wooden boats in the area, The Primrose (circa 1925).  Thanks again AtlasObscura.com for another great suggestion to visit.  
Back at the rental house tonight I finished off the last can in my Destin Liquors variety pack, the delicious Bell Cow porter from JDub's Brewing over in Sarasota, FL.  

11/27 - The ride home today was sunny (of course, we were leaving the beach) with a lot of great vistas out the car window including the Tennessee River under a blanket of puffy clouds.  I cracked open Advent Calendar beer # 4 but was disappointed in the cheapness of the taste of the Hallertauer Hopfen Cuvee pilsner from Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf (Germany).  

Orange, Red and Gold...the colors of fall...beers

Well, somebody's ready for fall beers! 

10/1 - I walked up to The Square today to take part in a little of the Octoberfest going on at The Cedar Tap.  It was a warmer walk than I was expecting, so I started with a nice refreshing Kolsch from Living Waters Brewing here in Nashville called Sieg.  I swung back to the Octoberfest mode next with a very nice Pumpkin Cream Ale from Mill Creek Brewing over in Nolensville.  I slipped over to check out a new beer at Cedar City Brewing next that they did in collaboration with The Black Abbey Brewing Company over in Nashville.  It was an Amber ale that was top-notch! 

I got back home this evening and checked out the new film, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, on Apple+ TV. I had listened to the audiobook on this cool true story and the movie was a good interpretation of it as well.  That's a lot of miles and a lot of danger for a PBR!  

10/2 - I attended the last regular-season home game for NSC vs. Houston tonight with my beer buddy, Nate.  Good thing we clinched a playoff berth beforehand thanks to some help from others because we kind of stunk up the joint tonight losing to this cellar-dwelling team 2-1.  Our chances for a home playoff game look bleak.  I parked at Fait La Force Brewing as usual and walked to and from the stadium from there.  Before my walk, I tried their lovely festbier called Forest of Fools, and finished up with a half-pint of their solid cold IPA called Glacial Waltz.  

Extra cash tips have been my most recent way of giving 10% of my poker winnings given back to charity.  Recently I did these:

- $5 extra cash tip to Courtney, my barkeep at The Cedar Tap

- $40 extra cash tip to the dealers with my 6th place finish at The Poker Barn

- $10 extra cash tip to the beer guys at Geodis Park tonight 

10/6 - We flew up to BWI tonight where I got this cool shot of low-hanging clouds around the moonlit Chesapeake Bay. From there, we rented a car and drove north into Pennsylvania to the city of York for a music festival and a visit with some friends that live there.  At the airport in Nashville, I grabbed a pint of the We Love Turtles IPA from Tailgate Brewing here in Nashville. It was a good beer and a great cause as a dollar from each pint sold goes to the Turtle Survival Alliance.  

When we got to York, PA, our friends gave us access to their lovely house while they would not be back from a road-trip until tomorrow.  They also gave us access to their very nice beer cooler which had a nice stash in it.  I started with a pint of the delicious Tent Zipper NEIPA from New Trail Brewing up in Williamsport, PA.  Next up was another NTBC dandy pint can, the Double Broken Heels DIPA.  Man, I love their beer and I love their logo!   Thanks, Joe and L.A.! 

10/7 - Well, cross another Atlas Obscura location off the list!  We got up this morning and after a great brunch in York, we stopped by the very cool Haines Shoe House in nearby Yorklin, PA.  Built in 1948 by a shoe-shelling millionaire, it's open for tours, but unfortunately was closed today for repairs.  

Back at the Spaggies house, I completed a New Trail Brewing foursome with a pint can of their outstanding New England pale ale called Gear Head. And then a pint can of the sensational DNEIPA called Hammock.   Damn, these folks know how to do pale ales!!  That's our nice little Ford Escape rental car in the background.  

Well, it was a rather weak turnout at the White Rose Music Fest, but at least they had a great regional craft beer selection despite Coors being one of the main sponsors. I started with a can of the solid Hop Offering session IPA from Appalachian Brewing in Harrisburg, PA.  Next up was a soapy disappointment of a draft called Cast It Out (indeed do) from Sign of the Horse Brewing in Hanover, PA.  Next up was a much better session IPA draft from the same brewery called Push Pop.  I finished Day 1 of the festival with a very nice draft of Fog Monster - NEIPA from Rusty Rail Brewing in Mifflinburg, PA.  

After leaving the festival, we walked a little way into downtown York and stopped at Gift Horse Brewing, but one of their guest taps drew my attention:  the Baked Pumpkin Ale from Lancaster (PA) Brewing.  Served with a cup rimmed with cinnamon dust...yes, please!  So very good!  From there we moved on seeking some late-night food which we found at the Holy Hound Taproom.  Now their food was nothing to write home (in a blog) about, but their beer selection was top-notch.  I had the excellent Joose Juicy NEIPA from Ever Grain Brewing over in Camp Hill, PA.  What a great beer state Pennsylvania looks to be!  I really love this beer bar's awesome kicked-keg scoreboard (photo above).  I got to get this started down here somewhere maybe.  Will The Cedar Tap even be around long enough to kick 11K worth of kegs...hmmm? 
When we got back to the Spags' house, Joe gave me a couple gifts from their recent trip up to the Adirondacks.  First was a pint can of the Mohop # 5- Mosaic NEIPA from Frog Alley Brewing (NY).  Next was the Avenue of the Pines NEIPA from Northway Brewing (NY).   Both were excellent and a great way to cap of a long, beer-drinking day and then deep into the night! 

10/8 - We got up for brunch today before heading back to the festival for Day 2 and headed to the beautiful South County Brewing location here in York.  I was feeling yesterday's beer parade a little today, so I settled for just a half-pint of their very nice Dark Thread Porter with my meal.  

Man, I was so excited to see the Memphis band, Lucero, today at Day 2 of the White Rose Music Festival, but the sound engineering sucked.  What a bummer.  The guys did their best and I even got a hello shout back from lead singer, Ben Nichols, as he was leaving after the set. 

My only beer at the festival today was the pretty pint can of Teller Pils from Vault Brewing in Yardley, PA.   The light refreshing taste was pretty too as I eased the throttle back from yesterday's "beer-nanza."
Back at the Spags house I did try the Beaver Bite IPA, an NEIPA from Paradox Brewery (NY) that Joe warned me wasn't very good.  He was right.  Yick! 

10/9 - We were headed back from York later today, so I decided this was my last chance this trip to catch the sunrise at The Gettysburg National Military Park and Battlefield.  The 50-minute drive in the dark was so worth it!  What a beautiful, haunting place.  I had this area all to myself as well. 

My first frosty morn of the season as well.  Brrrrr!! 

The Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg in the golden hour light of sunrise. 

We headed down to Virigina after leaving York and met up with some friends at Vanish Brewing in Leesburg.  I sashayed in and ordered a flight pooh-poohing my wife's declaration that we have "been here before."  Please, I would remember that!  It's craft beer!   Yeah, I didn't, but UNTAPPD don't lie...we were here in 2017.  Had a flight and everything and I am still drawing a blank...wow!   Well, I got lucky and only ordered one repeat in my flight which went as follows:  the solid Wraith witbier; the repeat (but worth it since it's great) Ghost Fleet IPA; the tasty Waves red ale; the very nice Pumpkin Chai Latte yam beer; the best of the bunch, the outstanding DIPA called Fat Boys; and the nice and airy Oktoberfest Light.  I had time for another pint as we shot the breeze in the warm sunshine out on a picnic table at this pretty farm brewery (which I still can't remember), so I opted for their very good Backwoods Bonsai rice lager.   Sorry, Vanish Brewing, I will try and remember you this time.  

10/10 - Bachelor Week begins!  Ashlee headed to Disney today with her sis and our niece for a week of mouse-oriented fun.  I didn't have as much planned this go around as usual, but I was able to sneak in some fun here and there.  I started with a walk up to the new Tenn Lakes Brewing this afternoon where I had a couple of guest taps since they are a little slow on new rollouts of their own.  I started with a recent repeat, the decent Back Seat IPA from Half Batch Brewing up in Hendersonville.  Next up was an interesting, fruited sour also by Half Batch called Fairy Tale Times that was tart and citrusy.

While there and walking back and forth, I also satellited into a $33 super deep tournament on Global vs. 172 others and finished on the final table in 8th for a profit of $150!  Good start to the week! 

10/11 - I decided to give poker a rest and get out and about a little on this beautiful fall day and headed over to the Franklin area this afternoon.   As a follow-up to my recent visit to Gettysburg, I stopped by the strange and hallowed McGavock Confederate Cemetary.   The strange part is that this is actually a private cemetery with over 1,400 soldiers buried here.  The biggest in the country by far.  And it's not part of the national Battle of Franklin Historic Park from where the dead soldiers fell.   Another amazing fact is that the bodies (many marked as unknown) were moved here from the shallow battlefield graves where they were first interred.  So many lives lost for a terrible cause. 

I stopped in the new Huckleberry Brewing afterwards to catch up on work and have a couple of brews.  They are located in the former location of Cool Springs Brewing (RIP - I still remember your Mountain Dew tasting ale and the awesome Pecker Wrecker IPA) and while their beer is not what their predecessors was, I do give them credit for picking up on my old joke here based on a drop-in daycare being next door with a cool neon sign that reads "Drop-In Dad Care."  See, now that's funny.   But their beer...ho-boy...I got a "sneak peek" of a couple of them at the Preds Beer Fest earlier this year and was not impressed.  Today, I started with their Pretty Li'l Porter which wasn't bad, in fact, it's the best thing I have had from them, so I was hopeful, but then I ordered their Hazy Loco Lager...uggh! what a train-wreck!    What the hell is that? Tastes more like a sour.  One of the "brewers" told me that was their longest fermented beer on tap...yeah, no shit...blahh.  This one just dropped to the bottom of the local list fast.  

Speaking of duds, I went to the Green Hills Regal Theaters (recliners!) tonight to catch See How They Run which I didn't know much about, but the comedic whodunit was getting good reviews and has one of my favorite actors in it, Sam Rockwell.  It was OK at best.  A little funny at times, but overall kind of a snooze.  Oh well...swing and a miss IMO.  

10/13 - It was opening at night at home for the Preds tonight, so I grabbed a "walking around ticket" that was offered with no fees for just $15 to give it a try.  Beforehand, I met up with my beer pal, Nate, this afternoon at Cledis Burgers and Beer Garden in the space formerly occupied by Various Artists Brewing (RIP).  I had an Oklahoma Burger which was terrific, and a couple of nice brews form their 24-tap collection.  First up was the DIPA from Living Waters Brewing here in Nashville called Enders.  LWBC always brings it good!   I finished with the decent Midsummer's Night Brown Ale from BS Brew Works up in Springfield, TN.  

I headed on downtown around 5 PM hoping to score a free parking space on the street as workers were leaving for the day.  I did snatch on just a few blocks from Bridgestone Arena.  I had a couple hours to kill before the game, so I walked down to the arena and luckily stumbled into the start of the Preds Gold Walk.  I think Preds center, Matt Duchene, seems to like playing in Nashville.  Looking good, brother! 

Prince Filip of Scoresberg was looking the most dapper of them all with his snazzy coat, pants and matching shoes.  Pretty fly for a white guy!  

El Capitan!  Roman Josi -- my my, that's a pretty man! 

I moved on to HQ Beercade next where you just gotta play some Tapper while you're there.  It's probably a law.  I grabbed a tasty Pumpkin Patch Ale from Rogue Ales (OR), and also had the game of my life on Galaga too.  That fire button is LOOSE!  

I finished up my pre-game libations with a couple pints at City Tap.  First up was the excellent marzen called Munsterfest from the masters at 3 Floyds Brewing (IN).  I finished with nice and light Kolsch from Czann's Brewing here in Nashville.  

The walk around ticket works well at the game since you can stand in any corridor on the first or second level and watch the game since you can't go to a seat with the puck in play.  So, each time play was stopped, I just moved to another entrance.  Easy peasy.  The game itself did not go as well as the Preds fell behind pretty fast by two goals.  I headed out after the first period since I had cats to take care of and evidently didn't miss much since the Preds fell in the end 4-1.  But the Concourse Pass is a great option for future games that I go to stag, or want to just pop in to a game with Ashlee or a friend while we are downtown sometimes. 

10/14 - I walked up to The Cedar Tap this afternoon and had the place entirely to myself.  I had a BOGO deal thanks to my Mug Club Member punch-card, so I started with the excellent NEIPA from Jackalope Brewing in Nashville called Flaggerdoot Hazy IPA.  By the way, a herd of jackalopes are called a flaggerdoot...the more you know.   I finished with a repeat, the classic Sue smoked porter from Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville, but this was the first time I had had it on nitro.  So smooth and delicious. 

10/15 - Since cutting cable, my options of "channel surfing" have been limited, but I figured out a way to watch UT vs. Bama today, and NSC in the MLS Playoffs on the road in L.A., oh, and play some online poker!  

OK, you make me cry with your story on College Gameday, you get my money!  I had $15 available from my recent 10% of poker winnings to give to charity, and Meechee's story today really got to me...even if he is a Michigan fan.  Happy to give.  God bless you, good sir. 

Speaking of crying...BAMA BEATEN!!! Crazy game from start to finish.  Wish I could have been there, but it was fun to watch on TV with some great post-game coverage.   Let's don't wait another 15 years to do that again, Big Orange! 

And my Beer Box order for October arrived today despite me not being here when it did since I was expecting it to be delayed until Monday based on the FedEx tracking schedule online.  Oh well, good news either way!  There are a couple of repeats in this batch, but overall, it looks like a good selection. 

10/16 - It was Dollar Pours Day for Mug Club members at The Cedar Tap, so I stopped by to knock a couple sours off the list since that's about all they are worth to me.  First up was this above-pictured Luden's Cough Drop libation called Funk Farm Kettle Sour - Cherry and Almond from Good People Brewing (AL).  Now look, I loved Luden's Cough Drops as a kid.  Heck, they were the "candy" of the sixth grade basically when you were at school and had no other options, but a full pint of it?  Too much! Next up was the better, but still not my thing Saison De Bois sour farmhouse ale from Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville.  I cleansed the pallet with a much better closer, the Lemon Groove IPA from Blackberry Farm Brewing up in Maryville, TN, which was actually slightly tart as well, but not overwhelming. 

10/20 - I went to opening night of the new DC Comics movie, Black Adam, in IMAX at the Opry Mills Theaters with my pal, Toney, tonight.  We had dinner beforehand at Cledis Burgers and Beer Garden where I had the messy, but delicious Thai burger and a couple of libations including the dark and roasted Pick 6 Porter from New Heights Brewing here in Nashville, and the light, hoppy and tasty Zalec Pils from Barrique Brewing also here Nashville.     The film was pretty darn good despite some so-so reviews.  Come on, The Rock was born to make superhero movies! 

10/22 - I attended the SOLD OUT First Annual Crawl the Square craft beer event tonight with my beer pal, Nate, as my date since Ashlee had a conflicting engagement.  I am so proud of our little goofy town for making this happen and then selling it out!  We started at Tenn Lakes Brewing along with my friend, Curtis and Kate, where I had their new Cloudy w/a Chance of Blonde that was OK.   To be completely honest, these guys aren't doing much for me starting out. 

 Our next stop, Cedar City Brewing, in my opinion, is blowing Tenn Lakes out of the water (pun intended).  My Crawl freebie here was their CDR CTY Smoked Porter that I thought was terrific.  Since our foursome had found a table, we decided to stay for another pint on our own dime.  I opted for their new CDR CTY Festbier which was solid.  

Next stop was across The Square at the Town Square Social restaurant.  These folks were technically the first ones to bring craft beer on tap to Lebanon Square.   So, I am glad they were included in The Crawl tonight.  Salute!    They have a nice number of taps in their small bar area (actually more than I remember from the last time I was here).  Nothing too out of the ordinary, so I grabbed a freebie pint of the Zombie Dust APA from 3 Floyds Brewing (IN) which I knew was great from having it before.  The place was packed with customers, so we were even allowed to enjoy our beers outside on The Square so we could toast that gross statue of Confederate General Robert Hatton...up yours, asshole! (I also just signed an online petition and gave a couple bucks of poker winnings to help take that shit down hopefully). 

We closed The Crawl and at The Cedar Tap who thought this thing up and is also celebrating their 1-year anniversary this weekend.  In addition, UNTAPPD turned 12 this year also. Salute!   My freebie was the excellent All Hallows Eve spiced beer from Calf Killer Brewing over in Sparta, TN.   I went ahead and closed out with the pricey, boozy and rather good whiskey barrel-aged imperial stout from Orpheus Brewing (Atlanta) called Stillness Feels the Air and Shudders.  

Nate was kind enough to bring me a four-pack of the hoppy and delightful new IPA from Barrique Brewing called Intermodulation.  We closed out the night out on the patio in the mild temps enjoying a can each.  Cheers to a great night of craft beer in little "ol' Leb-nun!"

10/24 - We enjoyed a spectacularly beautiful sunset tonight over the Lebanon Square on our way to dinner with Ashlee's sister, Paige, at Town Square Social.   With my always-awesome dry-rub wings dinner, I had a pint of the tropical and light NEIPA from Wanderlinger Brewing down in Chattanooga called Joose Caboose. 

10/25 - To celebrate Halloween, which is right around the corner, I went to a showing of the 80's teen horror classic, The Lost Boys at the restored Capitol Theater on The Lebanon Square tonight with my beer pal, Curtis.   Horror movies are really not my thing, but I've always liked this one with its humor, great 80's soundtrack, and top-notch cast.  Beforehand, we met up at Cedar City Brewing (man, that feels nice to type!) for a few libations.  I had their nice new collaboration with Black Abbey Brewing called the Cedar City Red Ale.  I also had another one of their decadent Brown Ales. 

10/26 - I drove to Tunica, MS, today to play in the weekly Wednesday Night Big Monster Tournament at the Horseshoe Casino this evening.  Man! What a great little weekly tournament!  Even though I just missed the money finishing 11th (they paid nine) out of 66 players, it had a great structure in a nice, updated poker room.  I will be back!! 

After checking in to my very nice AirBnB room (paid for by poker winnings!)  in Olive Branch, MS.  I had a little time to kill before the tournament, so I drove south to Holly Springs, MS, to check out this very unique 19th century crypt in the Hill Crest Cemetary with a peep-hole built in so the grieving mother could look in on her dead child...the crypt has had to be updated over the years and the child has long-since been buried beneath the crypt, but talk about weird, creepy and interesting.  

I was surprised the headstone hole covering wasn't fastened to the crypt.  Thanks again to AtlasObscura.com for another interesting lookey-loo.  

10/27 - Good morning!  It's cotton harvesting time in Mississippi and mixed with the fall colors, it puts on quite a show along the backroads there. 

My first intentional stop was east just back across the Tennessee border at the Ghost River Mineral Slough Natural Area and Boardwalk in Moscow, TN - I had this amazing place all to myself this morning with only one other car in the parking lot, but I never saw anyone during my stroll on the cool boardwalk.  I was also surprised at the amount of water here since we've been experiencing a bit of a drought lately in our region.   Not a swamp, mind you, but a slough with slowing moving river water, so no boggy smell of stagnation.  

My nice Chevy Equinox rental car from Enterprise looked pretty good among the Ghost River water and the trees this morning.  It was comfy and gas efficient.  Perfect for a trip out west. 

Breakfast time!  I got back into Memphis after rush hour and stopped by the historic (1967) Gibson's Donuts for some sweet goodness.  I had one of their krullers and a caramel icing doughnut along with some chocolate milk...no iced coffee...this place is old school for real!   I got a little work done here as well as the morning rush was over, and I had a table to myself to work and enjoy the goodies. 

I could have done more donuts, but I was holding out for an early lunch across town at Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken.  You can't come to Memphis and not go here!  I had one huge tender slathered in some Sweet Spicy Love and a buttery biscuit.  More than enough!  

My next Memphis stop was the new-to-me Crosstown Brewing Company.  I've had a few of their beers in the past since they distribute in Nashville, but I've never been here, and I've got to say I really liked it.  I haven't been to them all here in Memphis, but this is by far my favorite craft brewery location.  Lots of free parking and in a safe area of town seems like.  They had free wi-fi, so I did a bit more catch-up work from yesterday even though I was technically off today...what a trooper!  While "slaving away" I enjoyed a pint of their Mastodon DIPA.  What a monster of hops and goodness!  I keep it to two brews since I had to drive (to more beer) and finished with their lovely and light OP9 Honey Lager.  I will definitely be back here!!  

I began to head eastward toward home with a planned stop at Crown Winery and Brewery in Humboldt with best pal, Craig, who works nearby.   A co-worker of his dropped by as well to check this place out that none of us had been to before.  I just recently learned that this well-known winery also brews craft beer here, so we just had to check it out.  It's a small batch brewing set-up, but they had four beers on tap, and I had a flight sampler of each of them.  I have to be honest and say I really didn't enjoy any of the four - sad to say.  The flavor was just lacking in every one of them unfortunately.  In order of consumption, I had their Bitter Blonde, their Hazy Pale Ale, their Butterscotch Stout which smelled great, but then the butterscotch just disappeared in the taste; and finally, their best of the ho-hum bunch, the Shitjeah IPA.  I will try and stop again here and give them another try some time, but I won't make much of a detour for them unfortunately.  Too bad, it's a beautiful place too. 

10/29 - My friend, Toney, invited me to the SOLD-OUT game between the # 3 in the nation UT Vols vs. # 19 UK at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville today.  The Big Orange is having a helluva season, so I jumped at the chance to go see them in person.   On the way, we stopped to see some orange at Bee Rock Overlook since it was going to be in "Black Mode" in Knoxville with sharp new black and orange uniforms for the Vols and for the first time ever: black helmets...that looked awesome!! 

Also on the way, I cracked open a couple of pint cans from my latest Beer Box order.  First up was the timely and tasty Ill Repute pumpkin beer from 4 Hands Brewing (St. Louis).   Next was the Juice Pants NEIPA from Maplewood Brewing (Chicago).  It was light and refreshing and helped wash down the huge turkey club sandwich I got from the Buc-ee's in Crossville!  Delish! 
Before the game we stopped at Double Dogs restaurant in Knoxville where I had their signature Double Dogs Diddly Lager that was smooth and easy drinking with my half dozen wings.  Looks like Braxton Brewing up in Kentucky makes this brew for them.  

Man! What a thumping! The Vols rolled all over the Kitty Cats 44-6.  There was a great pre-game light show, a roaring jet flyover and a fun halftime show with a Halloween theme.  It was a great time!  Thanks, Toney! 

10/30 - I could only grab one single seat to the SOLD-OUT Marcus Mumford show at The Ryman tonight.  It was so worth it though...sorry, Ashlee.  Marcus performed his entire new solo album, had the amazing Brandi Carlisle as an "opener" and even had The Sons sneak back in town for a set!  What a great night!  
Beforehand, I stopped by The Cedar Tap for happy hour and had a nice blackberry infused Cul2vate Kolsch from Tennessee Brew Works here in Nashville.  I finished with a boozy but smooth B.A. Belgian-Style Quad (2021) aged in George Dickel single barrel 15-year-old whiskey barrels also from TBW.  Lordy! Lordy!
Just before the show, I ducked into Broadway Brewhouse downtown and had the solid marzen from Barrique Brewing here in town. 

11/1 - We went to see Butch Walker tonight at The Brooklyn Bowl.  He was on point as always.  Before the show, we had a tasty dinner at TennFold Brewing in Donelson where I had their new Only the Good Chai Young cream ale that I thought was fantastic!