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!