Summer is BEER...I mean here...no, I mean BEER!!

Holy, pre-pool sadness, Batman!!  Memorial Day Weekends have sure gotten better!! 

5/26 - I won a small $1 tourney today on Global Poker vs. 33 other players.  Not a huge $ windfall, but 10x my buy-in in profit is the principle of it.  

5/28 - Ashlee and I took advantage of the cooler than usual weather for the start of Memorial Day Weekend and kayaked up an arm of Center Hill Lake up Taylor Creek to the amazing Fancher Falls.  This was one of my first waterfalls to "discover" way back in college and I've never seen it from the base before. I brought in a couple of my recent Beer Drop brews to toast our success.  See below.  

Even the thin Mist Falls was looking good after all the rain.  The aptly named Mad Creek kolsch from Storm Peak Brewing (CO) went down smooth and easy after the long paddle in. 

One look back with my paddle-out libation, a light and refreshing can of Apres Ski, a pale lager with lime and sea salt from Snowbank Brewing (CO).  

5/29 - Well, the tanning part is a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.  It was (kind of) warm enough to get in the pool (on a float) today, so I dug deeper into my double order from Beer Drop and a souvenir beer from our recent trip up north.  I started the day with the lovely Belgian tripel called Honey I'm Home from Odyssey Beerwerks (CO).  This one was a collaboration with the folks at Beer Drop.  Next up was the solid Amber's Lager from Irwin Brewing (CO).   Next in line was the lightly tart and tasty Life Itself: Key Lime Pie Gose from Great Raft Brewing (LA).  A big pint can of Cape Cod Porter from the recently visited Cape Cod Beer Company (MA) was up next, and it was smooth and tasty.  I closed the day with very interesting and light Rio Lento Mexican style lager from 4 Noses Brewing (CO).

5/30 - Happy (still a bit cool) Memorial Day in the pool!  The pool-floating libation train started up again today with a can of very nice Volksbier Vienna lager from Wibby Brewing (CO) leading the way.  My beer pal, Nate, joined us as well, and brought a few "shareables."  First up was the excellent Depth Perception double IPA from Terrapin Brewing (GA).   I went back to my last "souvenir beer" next, a tasty pint can of Float Your Boatmeal Stout from Cape Cod Beer (MA).  Nate's next donation was the Double Elvis, another double IPA albeit much juicier than the previous one, but still enjoyable.  The highlight of the day was the above-pictured stovepipe can of Hard Mountain Dew Original (a flavored malt beverage) that was pretty darn good.  Lord, help us all if they come out with Hard Sun Drop!   Nate's final contribution was a nice Irish dry stout called Roasted! from TrimTab Brewing ((AL).  Our always-arriving-late friend, Emily, even came through with another new-to-me beer she was sharing at the end of the day here in the pool.  The 420 Imperial IPA was my third double IPA of the day (yes, I was sloshed!). I THINK it was pretty good...lol.   Quite a day for my liver and my UNTAPPD app.  Both were quite busy! 

6/1 - I enjoyed my last brew of my recent double order from Beer Drop (man, those went fast!) floating in the pool this afternoon after a fretful morning of looking for our lost cat, Dudley.  It was my fault he got out, and he really wasn't that lost.  Just next door and being a stubborn little shit.  Thank God he's home!! Cheers!  Here's to you, ya adorable little shit! 

6/2- I finally made a final table of some measure tonight in an $11 nightly deep stack vs. 110 other players.   I wound up winning the whole thing with 13 two-dollar bounty knockouts and a total profit of over $245!  I toasted my success with a bottle of the Belgian-style Trippel from New Belgium Brewing (CO) from a variety craft beer six-pack that I picked up today from Lebanon Wine and Spirits.  It tasted as sweet as the victory!! 

6/3 - Under the snoozy eye of the world's worst lifeguard, I enjoyed a couple of bottled libations while working and floating in the pool this afternoon.  First up was the very tasty Milk Stout from Left Hand Brewing (CO).  Followed that up by another yummy LHBC stout, the ultra-smooth Peanut Butter Milk Stout (Nitro).  Wake up, Zippy!  You're on the clock!! 

6/4 - It was another day of floating and poker in the pool where I had the solidly divine Pecan Ale 2021 from Abita Brewing (LA), the very good Summer Lager from Schlafly Brewing (St. Louis), and a nice dark ale called 1554 from New Belgium Brewing (CO). 
The weather was so nice after the pool, that I accepted an invite from pal, Curtis, to walk up and meet him for a belt or two at The Cedar Tap which had a few newbies on the board for me to try.  First up was the solid DNEIPA from Bearded Iris Brewing in Nashville called Double Click.  I finished up with the smooth and delicious Polotmave' Specialni (that's easy for you to say), an amber lager from Barrique Brewing also in Nashville.  

6/5 - A shortened pool day and an empty beer cooler had me dig deep for this special-occasion beauty:  the Bourbon County Brand Stout (2019) from Goose Island Brewing in Chicago.  My pal, Charly, had picked this up for me a while back and I planned to share with him on our next visit to Cherokee Steak House, but I came to find out last night that it is under new ownership and the "improvements" don't lend to sneaking bombers of craft beer in anymore and acting like it's wine.  Here's to the now-gone tradition.  Cheers!   Man, this baby was smooth and tasty for a boozy bourbon aged stout. 

6/7 - I got a small turbo tournament win on the PokerStars Home League tonight vs. 6 other players.  I did have to rebuy, but actually forgot to add on, so it was $53 profit and my first out-right win on here in a good while (there's usually a chop in the deeper tournaments I prefer to play).   

6/8 - The dark matter you see before you is beer...it's from the planet Earth and it's why we rule the galaxy!  I played a little poker in the pool this afternoon after work and decided to open my second bottle of Bourbon County Brand Stout (2021) from my pal, Charly.  Not as smooth as the 2019, but boozy as hell.  I had a buzz half way through it!  Drunk poker playing is never a good thing!  But I did get second in a dollar full bounty tournament vs. 44 other players with 4 knockouts and quadrupled my buy-in. 

6/9 - I went to opening night of Jurassic World Dominion in IMAX at the Opry Mill Theaters in Nashville with my pal, Toney.  It was a fun flick with another good job of blending the old and new from the franchise which seems to be the trend in Hollywood currently.    Beforehand, I finished up work at Monday Night (Brewing) Preservation Company where I had a couple of libations including their very good double IPA called Wolf Snacks.  I finished with their oddly hoppy (I kinda think the wrong keg was hooked up) "light wheat beer" called Big Softy, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

6/10 - I picked up a couple of half growlers to enjoy in the pool this weekend at Homegrown Taproom last night.   Today, I had the Basement Light session IPA which was very good and smooth.

 6/11 - I went to see the NSC soccer game vs. San Jose with Ashlee tonight. We parked at Fait la Force Brewing for free and walked to the stadium.   I had a pre-game libation there: their light and smooth Skinny Skidoo witbier.   Beforehand, I took a float in the pool with the other half-growler I picked up at Homegrown.  It was the Sneaky Goat Helles lager that was light and refreshing.  The game, however, was a frustrating 0-0 draw.

6/12 - I had a Bachelor Sunday night with Ashlee at the CMA Fest.  I was excited to receive my first BeerBox delivery today.  I decided to try it vs. Beer Drop this month.  I do like that it's no redundancy.  And I get swag as well and free beer nuts!   They pick the beers which is fine with me as long as it's not a box full of sours. It was nice variety with a couple IPAs. a couple pale ales, a hefeweizen, a brown ale, a lager, and a wheat beer.  No sours!!!   More on these later. 
For the pool float today, I cracked open a bomber bottle of Barrel Aged Navel Gazer (Ridgemont 1792) imperial stout from New Heights Brewing here in Nashville.  Man, it was smooth and easy!!
 

6/13-6/14 - The scorching heat this week called for some definite pool time, and some pool float libations as well from my recent BeerBox.com order.  I started with a can of Good JuJu, a tasty and refreshing ginger pale ale from Left Hand Brewing (CO).  Next up was a can of Hazy Summer Love. a nice IPA from Victory Brewing (PA). 
Tuesday in the pool brought me a can of the excellent Brew Free! or Die Hazy IPA from 21st Amendment Brewing (CA), and then a can of the quite tart Raspy Cat raspberry wheat beer by Rhinegeist Brewing (Cincinnati).  Those guys will also be doing a tap takeover at The Cedar Tap on Friday night that I plan to attend. 

6/15 - I went to see the new film, Lightyear, in IMAX for an Early Access Screening called "The Andy Experience" at the Opry Mills Theaters tonight.  It was pretty good although the quick wit writing of other Toy Story films seemed to be missing a little.  Beforehand, I finished up work at TennFold Brewing where I had an early dinner (their grain bowls are amazing!) and a few libations including a couple of their new IPAs - their Where the Waters Meet was refreshing and hoppy; the Shelby Footbridge was a little more citrusy, but still quite enjoyable. 

6/16 - I took advantage of this unseasonably hot weather today with a little " solar brick oven pizza by the pool" experiment   It took about three hours, but it was pretty darn good.  To wash it down I had a couple more cans from my recent Beer Box order.  First up was the so-so Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewing (San Francisco) and then the decent Forbidden Magic strawberry wheat beer from War Pigs Brewing (USA? hate when they do that).  

6/17 - I stopped by the Rhinegeist Brewing tap takeover at The Cedar Tap tonight.  I've had several of the Cincinnati-based RBC libations in the past, so the only new-to-me brew I had was their surprisingly smooth and lightly tart Glow fruited sour beer.  I finished with the rather disappointing El Dorado Saison from Marrowbone Brewing over in Ashland City, TN.  The place was packed (good for them) and the A/C didn't seem to be working well, so I skedaddled back home. 

6/18 -We had a fun day of pool libations today with some family in from out of town.  I really enjoyed the peacefulness before they all arrived while floating in the pool and listening to my cool new floating waterproof Bluetooth speaker that I got from Amazon recently.   With the tunes I enjoyed my last two Beer Box pint cans:  the smooth and delicious Stay Puft Brown Ale from Wild Onion Brewing (IL) and the solid helles lager called Sonne from Old Irving Brewing (Chicago).   I closed out the day with most of a six-pack of the light and fantastic Garage Beer Lime lager from Braxton Brewing (KY).  I picked these up at the Three Forks Market in Watertown the other day to show my appreciation of their nice selection of craft beer for such a small town. 

6/19 - My friend, Toney and I, attended the NSC vs. Sporting KC soccer game at Geodis Park in Nashville today.  I parked for free again at Fait la Force Brewing where I had their crisp and clean Everlasting Weekend pilsner before our walk to the stadium.  This was Toney's first time at the stadium and my first time sitting up in the second tier.  Our front-row seats were pretty sweet once the sun was off of us.  I had the always-tasty Homestyle NEIPA (photo above) from Nashville's own Bearded Iris Brewing during warmups.  The game was a very frustrating 2-1 loss with lots of chances for The Boys in Gold to get the win or at least a tie.  The refs weren't any help with.  First home loss in 25 games. Bummer.  

6/20 - 6/24 - Here are the pool libations I consumed for the week from a variety 8-pack I picked up at Lebanon Wine and Spirits:  the tasty Czech Lager from Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville; the quite decent (and historic) Nashville 1897 Pilsner from Nashville/Blackstone Brewing; the solid Howdy Cloudy NEIPA from Tailgate Brewing here in Nashville; a yummy pint can of Delightful Stranger Czech pilsner from Bearded Iris Brewing also here in Nashville (I see a theme developing!); a slightly tart but  enjoyable pint can of blonde ale from Pontoon Brewing (GA - broke the local theme I had going) called New Wave; a "mega-pint" (thanks Johnny Depp trial) 19.2 oz. can of Neon Beer Hug IPA from Goose Island Brewing (Chicago); and finally, a delicious bottle of the Mardi Gras Bock 2022 from Abita Brewing (LA). 

On the poker front, I made the final table of a $22 bounty tournament on Global Poker vs. 188 other players.  I finished 4th (after a horrible bad beat) and netted a little over $180 in profit.  

6/25 - I decided to try volunteering at the Nashville Predators Craft Beer Festival today at the Bridgestone Arena.  I was assigned to pour beer at the Honky Tonk Brewing station with another nice volunteer named John.   We stayed busy the whole four hours and 1only had time to sample our neighbor's brews, Huckleberry Brewing, over in Cool Springs who are taking over the space of the now-defunct Cool Springs Brewery (RIP).  Their Maroon Six Amber Ale and their Jamie's Juicy IPA with both OK, but nothing to drive all that way for in the future.  During a bathroom break, I did grab a taste of Ashland City's Marrowbone Brewing Belgian wheat beer called Havabrew that I really liked. 

I had already logged in the two Honky Tonk Brewing beers that we were serving: their solid flagship West Coast IPA, and their surprisingly good Cherry Berliner Weisse sour (which is more tart than it is sour actually.)  Both got good reviews by a lot of our visitors.  

6/26 - Well, it was $1 Pours at The Cedar Tap for Mug Clug members today, except for this bad-boy.  Good God, $20!!??  Congrats I guess, The Forum in LA just got beat out for the most expensive beer I've ever had at $18.  The Cocomungo was amazing and aged in Willett barrels for over a year, but come on!!   Good luck pushing this one in this cheap-ass town.  Back on the dollar side, I also had a very nice doppelbock from Edmund Oast Brewing (SC) called Wolves at the Door.  I finished with a decent albeit a little too sweet fruit beer called Pogo from Rhinegeist Brewing (Cincy).  

6/27 - I celebrated The International Year of Glass (who knew?) today with the last survivor of my variety 8-pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits last week, a glass bottle of the Nitro Vanilla Porter from Breckinridge (CO) Brewing.  

6/30 - I went to see the new film Elvis, tonight for a second time at the Roxy Theaters (recliners!) here in Lebanon.  I had accidentally bought me and Ashlee tickets tonight instead of opening night last week, so I thought it was good enough to go see again.  Ashlee thought it was a little slow and opted out.  I think I might have enjoyed it more on this second viewing actually.  I am openly rooting for Austin Butler's portrayal of The King of Rock and Roll for a Best Actor Oscar. 

7/1 - I did some "remote working" this afternoon and headed east to Crossville to check out the brand new Buc-ee's that opened there this week.  This is the first of these Texas-based (and Texas-sized) gas stations on steroids here in Tennessee. I got a great new (CHEAP) hat, a brisket sandwich and a huge Diet Mountain Dew.  A perfect stop! 
Beforehand, I stopped at Hix Farm Brewing and actually did some work will enjoying a couple of their guest taps since they didn't have any new-to-me brews available.  I had the fairly solid Apothecary DIPA from Honky Tonk Brewing (a sad salute to them with news of their taproom in Nashville closing this weekend and will only be distributing through Lipman Beverages).   This is what Turtle Anarchy Brewing in Nashville has also done, but their beer quality hasn't seemed to decline because of it - I closed out with their tremendous session IPA called Hatchling.  

Since I was in the area, after my Buc-ee's stop, I headed north a half hour or so to Sawbriar Brewing Company next to the historic Highland Manor Vineyard in Jamestown.   I kept this pretty picture of the vineyard as my memory of this stop because Sawbriar BREWING COMPANY doesn't brew their own beer...WTF is up with that name then?  It's just a tap room, albeit a pretty nice one at that, but not worth an hour roundtrip drive out of my way.  Nice naming job, idiots.  I did have the very nice Baker Creek Brown # 9 from Printshop Brewing in Knoxville while there before heading back home.  

At least seeing this giant laying hen in someone's front yard on the way back from Sawbriar helped ease the pain a little.   What a hoot!! 

7

7/2 - I planned on starting my holiday weekend and my variety six-pack of pint cans from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company that I picked up last week while in the pool today, but some iffy rather ran us inside before I could crack one open.  I settled in for some online poker instead and cracked open the excellent rye amber ale called Kentucky Ryed Chiquen.  The punny name and goofy can art pictured above only added to the pleasure. 
Next up was a very light and nice Kolsch from Pontoon Brewing (GA) called Kol Runnings (you guys still owe me some swag!!)   I also cashed in both deep stack tournaments I played in today for about $50 in profit! 

7/3 - I started drinking before noon today because the humidity was above 60%, so that's a state law...I think...if it's not, it should be! I had the very nice IPA from Pontoon Brewing (GA) called One Ski.  Next up was a solid NEIPA called Skyote from Short Throw Brewing (CT) who are a new-to-me brewery also.  I finished the late evening of neighbors' fireworks going off left and right with a very nice DIPA called Aquatronic (kind of a perfect pool beer name) also from Pontoon Brewing (GA).

7/4 - Despite my bevy of issues with this country right now, I toasted our Independence Day today with the last of the variety six pack, a pint can of the excellent NEIPA from Knoxville-based Xul Brewing called Paper Crowns.  Happy Birthday, USA...now get your shit together! 

7/5 - So how do you basically force a dog into our lives and get me to go along with it?  Have that dog like craft beer!  Yep, our new golden retriever pup, Sunny, loves to slurp a test of beer here and there.  Of course, I think she would do the same with Miller Lite, but maybe that's just me.  So, I set her up an UNTAPPD account to keep up with the beers she's licked.  Well played, wifey, well played. 

7/6 - Well, I thought I had a Beer Box coming here at the first of the month, but nothing so far and not a peep from them, so I drove over to the Mt. Juliet Beer Company again today.  Man, their selection is just fantastic!  Well worth the drive.  I quickly found another variety six-pack of craft beer pint cans for the pool this week and over the weekend. 

I also made a final table today/tonight in a super deep stack tournament on Global with 221 other players in it.  I wound up getting 4th with a $175+ in profit! 

7/7 - I went to see the new Marvel movie Thor: Love and Thunder in IMAX at the Opry Mill Theaters with my pal, Toney, tonight.  The film was a lot of fun albeit a bit goofy at times.   Christian Bale made a pretty good bad guy.  And Natalie Portman as Lady Thor?!  Holy moly those are some great toned MILF arms!! Beforehand, we had dinner and libations at TennFold Brewing where I had their excellent Southern AF saison with my tasty meal along a pint off their guest taps, the decent (a bit tart for my taste) NEIPA from Southern Grist called Fresh Hops for Dummies. 

7/8 - I had a very nice NEIPA called Asking Kindly feat. Riwaka from Marlowe Artisanal Ales (CT) after work.  That's a new-to-me brewery too.  It was the first one from my variety six-pack of pint cans from Mt. Juliet Beer Company that I picked up the other day.    I started it in the pool, but the storms chased us in.  Boo! 

7/9 - Ashlee and I hung out at The Cedar Tap this afternoon with our new dog, Sunny.   Ashlee also got to meet my friend, Curtis, and his wife, Kate.  We had a nice time sitting outside with Sunny until an unexpected downpour chased us away.  While there I had a nice foursome of new to me beers including the delightfully hoppy, not sour, Citraluxe from Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville.  Next up was the light in body and calories Low Key wheat beer from Duclaw Brewing (Baltimore).  Next was the rather disappointing DIPA called Wingman Down from The Black Abbey Brewing here in Nashville that I thought was way too malty.   I finished up with interestingly colored (photo above) fruited gose from Living Waters Brewing here in Nashville called Dawson. 

7/10 - A nice day in the pool today.  I started off with a very nice NEIPA from Captain Lawrence Brewing (NY) called Mood: Renewal.   In the photo above Ned, the mooching butterfly, was trying to get a swig, but I nixed that.  Bring your own beer, Ned!    Next up was an excellent DIPA called River Bend from Outer Range Brewing (CO) which is also a new-to-me brewery.   The next was a  HELLE-ascious helles-bock from Off Color Brewing called, hilariously, Beer for Hell.  This Chicago-based was another new-to-me brewery.  I finished the day with another great CLBC NEIPA called Powder Dreams (Mosaic, Galaxy and Idaho 7).   Sounds like a brewery to put on the Pilgrimage 

7/11 - I cracked open my last pint can of the recent variety six-pack tonight at half-time of the USWNT game against Mexico in an important Concacaf Group Championship.  It was a very nice golden ale called Holiday in Brighton from Barrique Brewing here in Nashville. Cheers to the best soccer MILF out there, the beautiful (and talented) striker, Alex Morgan!  
The US eked out a 1-0 win to move on to the semi-finals.  

7/13 - I finished up my afternoon of work remotely today with a visit to Bold Patriot Brewing out in West Nashville.  I forget what a cool old, restored factory building they are in.  I had two very good brews including their ESB called John Glover and their wee heavy Scotch ale called John Paul Jones. 
Afterwards, I had an early dinner in the same restored complex at the authentic Thai Ni Yom.  Their simple fried rice with beef was very good. 

My next stop was the new West Nashville digs for Czann's Brewing.  I missed these guys (and their free parking) being downtown, but this new building is a beauty.  And the head brewer told me he can now brew in air-conditioning!  This one-man-operation nano-brewery didn't have anything new that I hadn't had before so I settled on their always-great Scottish Ale. 

Hey, look, it's the Man of the Match! Hany Mukhtar's lone goal gave NSC a win tonight over the Seattle Sounds at home.  Thanks to my beer pal, Nate, for the extra ticket.  I enjoyed another solid Pitch Invasion Lager from Fat Bottom Brewing while at the game.  I did try a new free parking location this time over off 8th Avenue at ML Rose.  While I didn't have a beer there, I did stop across the street on my walk to the stadium at Craft Brewed and had an excellent Automatic pale ale from Creature Comforts Brewing (GA).  The walk was a little longer (and I got lost coming back in the dark), but not bad and a stop at Craft Brewed is always worth the it. 

7/15 - This month's Beer Box arrived today, and it looks like another good one.    There was a sour gose in there, but that's OK.  There was also some IPAs, a pale lager, an altbier, a porter and a kolsch!  Great selection once again and 8 for 8 on new-to-me-beers! More on these later. 

On, no, no, no, Bigflava, you don't wanna none of this!  My signature hand and a flopped set.  He turned my 9K into over 23K.  Sorry, playa.  

Speaking of poker, I made an interesting charity donation with some of my recent 10% of recent poker winnings today.  I was getting gas at a local place here in town and tapped the car next to me with my door getting out.  I apologized and moved about my business and then the young lady in the passenger seat said "Sir?"  I thought, great, here it goes with a "you damaged our beater of a car."  But instead, she asked for food...not money...food?  I replied that I would buy them food, but not give them money.  The young man in the driver's seat was Hispanic and didn't say anything in reply.  But she agreed, so I said what do you want.   She replied "anything, maybe pizza?" So, I bought them a fresh large cheese pizza for $7.  

After working the afternoon off in the pool (along with some poker), I broke into another variety six-pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company I picked up the other day.  Cheers to Friday!!  I started with an excellent pint can of the Tennessee Sipper golden ale from East Nashville Beer Works.  Turns out I've had it before, but Sunny, our new pup liked her slurp and new check in!  Next up was the solid IPA from DuClaw Brewing with a definite-Friday-afternoon-kind-of-name, Relaxed Fit Session IPA. 

7/16 - "Saturday, in the pool...I think it was the 16th of July."  I think that's how that old Chicago song goes...I dug deep into the variety six pack and my BeerBox.com order today while enjoying the pool.   I started with the very nice kolsch called (appropriately enough, after watering our flowers before getting in the pool) Yard Work from Middle Brow Beer Company (Chicago).  I believe this is a new-to-me brewery also.  Next up was a fairly decent sour gose called Two of Tarts from Upland Brewing (IN).  The very good APA called Commotion was next from Great Raft Brewing (LA).   I moved on to a very nice summer porter called Night Farmer from Old Nation Brewing (MI), another new-to-me brewery. I closed the day out with the very nice Tropicoastal IPA from Great Lakes Brewing (OH).

7/17 - I started this Saturday off with some dollar pours for Mug Club members at The Cedar Tap (hard to pass that up).  I started with a repeat, but a good repeat, the Triberg German pilsner from Living Waters Brewing here in Nashville.  Since I had to drive into Nashville next, I limited myself to just a couple and finished with the very good dark lager from Barrique Brewing in Nashville called Tmave 12 (degrees).

Speaking of Barrique Brewing, that's where I was headed next to meet my friends, Craig and Danny, for a brewery crawl before tonight's NSC game.  At Barrique I had their funky, but tolerable Two Year TennSPON lambic which was aged in oak casks for over two years.  This is definitely the most creative craft brewery in Nashville.  Our plan was to head to Nashville Brew Works next for dinner and a brew, but they were closed for a private event.  So instead,  we headed on to our last stop, Fait la Force Brewing from where we would walk to the game.  While here we ordered some great pizzas from next door at Il Forno.  This was my first time having some of their pies and they were excellent.  Beer-wise, I had FLFBC's sour called Storme Oasis which wasn't bad since it was only lightly tart.  I finished with their terrific NEIPA called Scattered Applause.

The game was a frustrating 2-1 loss to a very impressive-looking LAFC club.  I appreciate my beer pal, Nate, hooking me up with his extra seat again tonight despite the outcome. 

7/18 - And now for some winning soccer!  Congrats to the USWNT for winning the Concacaf W Tournament, securing a World Cup 2023 berth, and a 2024 Olympics berth and getting some sweet revenge on Team Canada with a solid 1-0 win tonight.  I toasted the success with a very nice Mexican lager (a very North American-themed night!) called Amistosa from Sketchbook Brewing (IL) who I believe are a first-time brewery for me.

7/19 - Talk about some heart-hurting news!  Ugghh!  I hate to see my favorite craft brewery of them all, Stone Brewing, get swallowed up by a big conglomerate, but man, what a windfall for those guys.  Goose Island Brewing didn't seem to suffer much in quality after being swallowed up, so I hope the same holds true for Stone.  I saluted the old boys from SoCal with a delightful can of Stone Delicious IPA (2022) that happened to be in my BeerBox order this month.  Cheers and congrats (I guess).  

7/20 - Great beer label!  My pool beer this afternoon was the tasty German altbier called Elvis Alt from 2nd Shift Brewing (St. Louis).  It was named after the brewery's cat L'il Elvis.  Cheers, buddy! This also looks like a new-to-me brewery.  Thanks, BeerBox! 

7/21 - Tonight's pool brew was the super juicy Voodoo Ranger Juice Force Hazy Imperial IPA from New Belgium Brewing (CO).  I mean, ORANGE you glad you had this one?? 

7/22 - I needed a little "working remote" change of scenery time today, so I headed to Nashville for lunch at Tennessee Brew Works to try their famous(?) 5-Beer Burger. And for a $16 burger (with fries at least, and, yes, I added bacon) it was huge and delicious.   So, can I check in five beers with this meal?  Maybe not, but instead, I checked in their newest DIPA called Clingmans Dome that I thought was decent.  I much more enjoyed their summerish Demo Reel IPA.

My next stop just happens to be the oldest bar in Nashville.  Over on West End near Vandy is the Springwater Supper Club and Lounge with tons of free parking (very rare in Music City). I just had to check a beer in here so I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't have to choke down a PBR or similar swill as they had a nice selection of regional craft beers on tap.  I settled on the classic (for this classic bar) Tiny Bomb pilsner from WISEACRE Brewing out in Memphis. 

Speaking of history and Spring Water, my next stop was over by the airport at site of a long-gone Nashville brewery that went by several names. Next to this historical marker is a cool little parking lot where you can sit and watch planes take off and land at the airport.  Two new and interesting discoveries in one stop!

My final stop to finish off my workday and sip a couple more cold ones was the newest ML Rose location in Mt. Juliet.  Here I had a very nice NEIPA from New Heights Brewing here in Nashville called Little Miss Tipsy.  I finished up with an excellent light lager called Church Parking Lot from Harding House Brewing also here in Nashville.  HHBC is rapidly becoming one of my Nashville faves. They seem to consistently produce outstanding craft beer. 

At two different traffic lights around town today, I gave the homeless guy working the traffic for handouts a $5 bill to close out my current 10% of poker winnings to charity.  Let's hope it pays back with some good luck tomorrow night...

7/23 - I stopped at Big Trouble Brewing in Gallatin today on my way to another poker night in Macon County at The Coleys' House.  I had their earthy, but pleasant Stardust Hazy IPA, followed by their also earth-tasting red ale called I Wish Red (something in their brewing equipment maybe?).   I was supposed to meet up with old work pal, Jon, in Lafayette again, but he couldn't make it last minute, so I forged on alone to Red Boiling Springs for the tournament.  They had a huge turnout with 5 tables going.  I only knew the hosts and that was just meeting them once before.  But I was there to play poker, not make friends, and I wound up making the final table again here with over 50 players and lots of rebuys.  I also brought a half-growler of BTBC's very good (not earthy) Look Mom, I Did it! MK II IPA to enjoy while I played.  I ended up placing 6th as the blinds got ridiculous and cleared 300 in profit, a hundred of which I gave back to the hosts and dealers as tips.  It was a long, late night drive home, but it was worth it for some more live poker experience, and I made enough for my buy-in at The Poker Barn's reopening tournament in a couple weeks. 
I also gave 10% of what I cleared - $20 in school supplies - to my friend, Wil, as he starts teaching 6th grade this fall for the first time. 

7/24 - I finished off this month's BeerBox order and most recent MJ Beer Company variety pack in the pool today starting with the very nice dry-hopped Great Raft Pilsner from Southern Drawl Brewing (but brewed by Great Raft Brewing (LA)? weird).  Next up was a can of the amazing (if you like dill pickles as much as I do) Dill Pickle Sour Beer from DESTIHL Brewing (IL).  This is my highest ranked sour/gose beer on UNTAPPD ever at 4.75 out of 5.  My final libation was a pint can of the nice and summery Not So Fast DIPA from The Brewing Project (WI). 

7/26 - I am not as ga-ga over Jordan Peele movies as others are but his newest film, Nope had some things going for it to lure me in:
1. It looks like it might be about UFOs which is cool. 
2.  It's starring Daniel Kaluuya, one of my favorite new actors out there. 
3.  It was shot with IMAX film cameras.
4.  My friend, Toney, wanted to see it as well (he was out of town this weekend, or I would have been there opening night)
5.  And it was free thanks to some passes we acquired recently 
So, we headed over to Opry Mills Theaters tonight to see it in, of course, IMAX. 
 Beforehand we had dinner at Homegrown Taproom where I partook in a few half-pints with my tasty Cobb salad meal.  I started with the excellent hefeweizen from 3 Floyds Brewing (IN) called Legendary Shader.  Next up was the decent blonde ale from Edmund's Oast Brewing (SC) called Something Cold.  I finished up with the solid Czech-style pilsner from 2nd Shift Brewing (St. Louis) called Technical Ecstasy. 
The film was not my favorite to be honest.  I liked parts of it, but overall, I was underwhelmed. 

7/28 - I won two back-to-back dollar tournaments today. Never done that before! They can be a real crapshoot with their turbo formats and lots of idiotic players, so it was more about the accomplishment than the money.  In the first one which was a bounty format, I defeated 59 others, got ten KO's, and cleared $18 in profit.  In the second one, I defeated a smaller amount of players (26) and there were no bounties, so it was just a $10 profit.   But that's what these are for.  To fill the bankroll for bigger tournaments and hopefully bigger scores. 

7/29 - We headed to Highlands, North Carolina, today for our annual trip to the mountains with some friends.  On the way, we stopped at a great new-to-me craft brewery in Knoxville called Schulz Brau Brewing.  Obviously by the name, these guys are into German beers big time, and they had quite a selection in the beer hall/castle.  We ordered authentic German lunches and with my meal I had their excellent Munich Helles and some of Ashlee's Altbier which was also very good.  I picked up a four-pack and a full growler for later consumption over the weekend at our cabin we rented. 

Now this is my kind of cabin!  Man, what a sweet rental.  Little Falls Lodge in Highlands, North Carolina is awesome.  Loved everything about it.  

My adventurous friend, Michelle, and I went creek wadin' this afternoon while our spouses went to the grocery store to stock up for the weekend.  I think I made the right choice.   Here's a view of Little Falls Lodge from pretty Buck Creek. 

Man, just a lush, green paradise at the end of the road.  We gotta come back here! 

After the trek in the creek below, we headed back to the awesome deck for my first cabin beer of the stay.  I cracked open the full growler of Hefeweizen from Schulz Brau and it was light, refreshing and so satisfying.  Cheers to a great view!  You gotta squint, but Little Falls is to the top right and is indeed quite little, but still scenic. 

Michelle had me mushroom hunting also after the creek wading was done.  This one was my favorite of the many varieties we found.  It's in the Russulaceae family. 

7/30 - My creek-wadin' buddy, Michelle, was the only one willing to get up early with me today to go check out Bust Yer Butt Falls.  We went early to avoid forecasted stormy weather later today.  We had planned to swim here possibly as a group if the weather had been better (and warmer).  It's still a cool place and my first time actually stopping here even though it sits right on my beloved Highway 64.  Despite the deep summer, the Cullasaja River flow was very good thanks to showers and storms lately.   

I took this cool reflection shot at the top of Bust Yer Butt Falls.  That one's going on the wall!  

Most of our group headed out toward the town of Highlands with a stop at Bridal Veil Falls.  After not seeing this neat little beauty for years, this is our second time stopping here inside a year after our New Year's trip this way toward South Carolina.  This was the only nearby falls that wasn't crowded as could be like Bust Yer Butt and Dry Falls where we could find no parking.  
In downtown Highlands later, we stopped by the Madison's Roof Top Terrace at the Old Edwards Inn where we had some appetizers and some libations.  I had a very nice Cullahaza IPA from Satulah Mountain Brewing here in town. 

Back to the cabin.  Back to the beer.  I opened one of the pint cans of a four-pack I got from Schulz Brau of their light and delicious Pilsner and enjoyed it with the "green" noise of the woods and the bubbling creek in the foreground.  

Later in the evening, my friend, Charly, shared his bomber bottle of Barrel Aged Navel Gazer (WL Weller Antique) imperial bourbon stout from New Heights Brewing back in Nashville which I turned into an awesome beer float with the addition of some vanilla ice cream.  So awesome! 

7/31 - It was early morning again and guess who and I headed back to Dry Falls where the parking lot was now empty.  In fact, we had the whole amazing place to ourselves until on our way out when we met a few people coming in.  This Cullasaja River monster is easily one of my favorites in the Land of Waterfalls despite it ease of access and popularity. 

Speaking of river monsters, Cullasaja Falls itself is the biggest of them all on this amazing slice of water through the Nantahala National Forest.  Michelle found this great view through the summer foliage for a pretty nice view.  We both vowed to maybe try and get to the bottom of this baby on our next visit to the area.  I definitely think we will be back and probably in the same awesome cabin. 

On our way out of the cabin, Ashlee decided she wanted to try and experience walking behind Dry Falls before we left the area since we couldn't yesterday and she slept in this morning.  The place was hopping around 10 AM, but we did find one parking spot.  This is my first time ever going back to the same waterfall on the same day.  It might as well be this beauty.   

We had another great meal at another new-to-me brewery at Frog Level Brewing on Richland Creek in pretty downtown Waynesville, NC, on our way home.  I had some excellent shrimp tacos and their decent Experimental Series: Strawberry Blonde Ale. 

8/1 - I won a small $1 No Limit Crazy Pineapple Tournament today vs 39 other players.  Again, no big financial gain, just $12 in profit, but a good confidence builder.  It's nice to have NLCP in a dollar format now on Global.  It's a wild game and the swings can be tough when you pay more to play it.  

8/2 - Well, it's actually on 8/5, but a badge is a badge.  I picked up a nice variety 5-pack from the Mountain Fresh Grocery Store in Highlands, NC, over the weekend.  I cracked two of those today in the pool.  First up was a so-so Afternoon Delight Blonde ale from Innovation Brewing in Sylva, NC.  Next up was the much better Soulvation Tropical IPA also from IBC.  

8/3 - Another day in the pool, another beer celebration badge.  I got this one for cracking open the Happy Camper "In Tents" (clever)- an awesome and intense IPA from Innovation Brewing (NC) again from the Highlands variety pack.  I also had the decent Dill Pickle Gose from Upcountry Brewing over in Asheville, NC.  Not as good as the dill pickle beer I had the other day, but nice with more  of a cucumber finish. 
Of course, every day should be National IPA Day in my humble opinion.

8/5 - Well, the Poker Barn is back!  I went for opening night of the rebuilt and upgraded Mt. Juliet poker den and it is a very nice upgrade.  However, the structure of the tournament tonight was not to my liking.  I tapped out after a couple hours of play that had me shoving my stack way too early due to the blinds going up so fast.  Oh well, we shall see how it goes in the future.  I picked up a couple of beers and a cider (because it had a playing card on it) at Lebanon Wine and Spirits to take with me.  First up was the light and Yee Haw Easy-drinking lager from the folks over in Johnson City.  Next was a really nice IPA from 3 Floyds Brewing (IN) called Broo Doo.  To top the night off, somebody drank my damned cider.  WTF?  How damn rude! 
Beforehand, I stopped by The Cedar Tap for their Nashville-based Bearded Iris Brewing Tap Takeover.  The only one of their beers I hadn't had was the fairly decent fruit sour called Flamingo Road.  I also had their very good DIPA called Mood Ring which I hadn't had before on draft.  

8/6 - I grabbed the only 2-hour window of sunny weather today to get some pool time where I floated and enjoyed my last can from my Highlands variety-pack, a very, very good NEIPA from Native American Beverage Company over in Cherokee, NC, called Smoke Signals.  I need to go by and visit this place the next time I am in Cherokee playing poker (which might be next weekend - fingers crossed).    We headed into Nashville for the O/A/R show this afternoon hoping for good weather.   I had a couple repeats while in town:  a couple Yee-Haw Brewing Kolsches at the Embassy Suites Hotel happy hour and then a big pint can of All Day IPA from Founders Brewing at the show which got half-cancelled when stormy weather took over before O/A/R's closing set.  Boo!!!  

8/7 - We headed back to Nashville tonight to grab dinner with Ashlee's sister, Paige, at a new-to-us restaurant in The Gulch called Adele's.  They had a decent craft beer list, and I had the solid blonde ale called I Believe in Nashville from I Believe Brewing also here in Nashville...albeit without an actual location that I know of.  

8/8 - I finally got out to see the action/comedy film Bullet Train with my friend, Toney tonight at the Opry Mills IMAX Theater.  It was a bloody, somewhat silly fast ride, pretty enjoyable.  That's probably one of the best IMAX posters I've seen in a while.