Moving on into 2023

I am so easy to buy for! 

I joined the inaugural Cedar City Brewing Mug Club and also reupped my Mug Club membership at The Cedar Tap for year two.    Here's to discounts on craft beer within walking distance of my house!! 2023 is gonna be a good year!! 

Well, it only took 22 years, but I finally won the Burgess Falls Fantasy Football League which I have been commissioner of all these years.  I have only been to the finals twice and should have won the first one but didn't in harrowing bad luck.  Well, the luck was with me this year as I limped into the playoffs as the 8th and final seed and proceeded to pull three upsets in a row to the championship!  Cheers to all those players on the other teams falling flat of their projected points!  

1/4 - The weather was nice enough this afternoon to take a walk up to The Cedar Tap for happy hour where I found my friend, Curtis, now working behind the bar part-time.  He sat me up first with a very nice NEPA from Hutton and Smith Brewing down in Chattanooga called Fool's Pyrite.  While alone at the bar while Curtis and Courtney were in the back working on something, an interesting thing happened: these two strolling musicians walked in and proceeded to serenade me with an Irish ballad.  Seems they are trying to raise enough money to move to Arizona to continue their musical careers away from the one-on-every-corner cutthroat Nashville scene.  They sounded pretty good, and their story was random enough to probably be true, so I Venmoed them twenty bucks and bought them each a beer.  The guy on guitar is named Michael Roche.  Let's see if he ever gets anywhere!  Good luck, fellas.  I followed the serenade up with a decent slightly-smoked brown ale from Marrowbone Brewing over in Ashland City called De Montbrun.   

I moved on over to Cedar City Brewing for Wednesday Wings and a Beer Night next.   As I had hoped, the wings are the same as the ones at Town Square Social which the brewery is associated with and which I love.  The dry rub is the bomb!!  This will become a regular Wednesday night stop for me whenever possible!  My beer selection was their new smooth and easy-drinking Italian-style pilsner called Feels Like '98, a shout-out to last year's stellar football season by The Big Orange of Tennessee and their national championship way back in 1998.   That label's gonna look good on a can when they start production next year hopefully. 

1/6 - I headed out to The Poker Barn tonight for a tournament and took three beers with me.  First up was the very light and easy-drinking low-calorie Locale (Batch 2) blonde ale from Yazoo Brewing up in Madison.  I bought a six-pack of these which I don't usually do but wanted to continue to support the craft beer sales at the Three Forks Market in tiny Watertown where I picked it up after my haircut today.  The next one was from my last Beer Box order, the solid pale ale called Logic Bomb from Surly Brewing (MN).  As for the poker, I finished 7th out of 27, but they only paid the top five, womp-womp...but was satisfied with my play since I didn't get very many good starting hands dealt to me throughout the night but made a few good bluffs and even cracked AK with my AJ to stay alive a bit longer. 

My last one of the night was the very good (Sunset Ridge aka Sunny IPA) from Temperance Beer Company (IL) which I drank in honor of that other puddin-head Sunny pictured below...

The real SUNNY (I Pee Alot) 

1/7 - Hey, look what came super-fast without me paying for expediated shipping!
All hail, The Herring Impaired!! 

I slipped by The Cedar Tap tonight to see my pals, Curtis and Kate, and to join what I am calling the Horny Boys Mug Club that Curtis and I have unofficially started there.  Mine's the bigger, black one!!   While there I had about a half pint (the keg kicked during my pour) of the very nice German-style pilsner called Burg from Living Waters Brewing here in Nashville.  And I finished with a full pour of the classic from Calfkiller Brewing, their J. Henry Original Mild ale.  

1/8 - The Horny Boys were back at it again today at The Cedar Tap (except Curtis was behind the bar today working).  We ordered wings from Cedar City Brewing (just a little light cheating) while I had the interesting fruited gose from Southern Grist Brewing called Hawaiian Thanksgiving that was reasonably tart and had a nice sea salt finish to it.   I finished with the rather disappointing imperial stout called Multiple Origin - The Cedar Tap from Marrowbone Brewing over in Ashland City.  Way too thin and therefore way too boozy

1/9 - I attended the Cedar City Brewing Mug Club Intro Party tonight with my friends, Curtis and Kate.  I was given mug slot # 90 along with a new T-shirt.  Unlike The Cedar Tap, these guys seem to have their Mug Club shit together.  I enjoyed a pint of their very nice Hazy NEIPA with my first Mug Club mug pour.  Cheers to another great new craft beer adventure in Wilson Conty.

1/11 - I've had a little bit of success with online poker this past week including a couple small tournament wins which I did not save the details of for some reason.  So, I gave about 10% of my winnings ($15) to Healing Hands International.   This was a donation in lieu of flowers for my long-time coworker, Dave Smith, who passed away recently from cancer.  Dave was always super nice to me during my years at MTEMC, and he even shared an interest in watching professional poker on TV which we would talk about sometimes.  He was a class guy.  RIP, good sir.  

1/12 - I continue to be running pretty good on Global Poker this past week (while fighting off a nasty chest cold).  I scored my third small tournament victory in the last week or so tonight vs. 43 other players in a $5 bounty crazy pineapple game that netted me $68 in profit. (This win's for you, Dave. RIP) I've already cashed out a $100 in winnings and I am pushing for another hundo soon hopefully.  No really big scores yet, but I am picking up a fair share of satellite entries into larger buy-in tournies also.  Two of which I did cash in to help build the recent $100 cash out. 

1/14 - Well, the "micro-success" continues.  I won another small bounty tournament today on Global vs. just 18 other players, but with 1st place and 7 knockouts, I turned my $3 investment into just over $24 for an 800% profit.  Now, if I could just get this to work on the bigger buy-ins! 

I cashed in this one afterwards, but not for much.  Still, at least I got there with this hand since this kind of BS usually happens to me, not for me.   Yep, I cracked AA and QQ(Q) with a runner, runner flush. Just for the record I raised big before the others called and then I was pot-committed. 

I also made the final table in a $100 hyper-turbo freeroll vs. 788 crazies, finishing 2nd for $11.75!  Yes, I did the quarter add-on.  I am on fire!! lol 

1/15 - We took our dog, Sunny, today to one of the few breweries in the area that allow dogs inside (since they don't have a kitchen inside) since the weather is a bit chilly for hanging outside.  Along with our friends, Bethany and Emily, we hit up Cedar Glade Brews in Murfreesboro for a few pints and some darn good wings and BBQ from the Single Tree BBQ food truck outside.  I started with their excellent 615 Common, their take on a California common beer.  Next up was their Christmas red ale which I checked in as Rosecran's Red, but I think that is wrong now.  Oh well, it was a tasty, spiced brew that was on sale anyway.   I finished with their schwarzbier called Reformed which was also on the sales rack list, but it was worth full price, very rich and malty.   

1/18 - I stopped by Cedar City Brewing this evening to see my CCBC Mug Club # 90 cubby-hole and partake in Wing Wednesday where I had the dry-rubs (of course) and a pint of their brand-new Bubba Bock which was smooth and tasty.  

1/21 - We went on a fun little road-trip eastward to Crossville today to visit our closest Buc-ee's (yes, it's worth the drive!).  I got a new hat that Sunny looks pretty good in too!  We stopped in Cookeville on the way back and had a beer at Hix Farm Brewing as well.  I had their excellent black IPA called TN Wood Wizard.  I also finished Ashlee's choice:   their OK but a bit bland table beer called The Cupboard. 

1/22 - I am trying to get into the new "The Last of Us" TV series on HBO Max. While video game adaptations seem to rarely work, this one has promise with one of my favorite actors right now (Pedro Pascal) and a good story line (fungi are not fun guys!).  We shall see, but so far, I am not blown away, but it's only been two episodes.  Earlier today, I stopped by The Cedar Tap where my pal, Curtis, was tending bar.  I started with the very good IPL (India Pale Lager) from Bearded Iris Brewing here in Nashville called Where You From.  I finished with the spiced and delightful Cruxmas (2022) winter warmer from Hutton and Smith Brewing down in Chattanooga. 

1/26 - I had a Bachelor Day with Ashlee in Chicago for work today.  So, I decided to go catch a matinee showing of the new action film, Plane, at the Providence Theaters in Mt. Juliet.  The movie was, of course, a bit over the top in believability, but still a fun ride.   Afterwards. I stopped by M.L. Rose Burgers and Beer for an early dinner and to finish my workday.   With my tasty meal of ANM.L. Fries, I enjoyed a pint of the reasonably tart fruited sour by Rhinegeist Brewing in Cincy called Night Glow.  I finished up with a BOGO half-pint of the excellent Double Hi-Pitch IPA from Hi-Wire Brewing over in Asheville, NC.  

1/28 - I took a very early Southwest flight to Atlanta this morning so I could see my woefully unranked Duke Blue Devils take on Georgia Tech. 
Yeah, Coach K, we miss you a lot! 
But "Go Duke" always and forever. 

It's the ATL from the AIR!  Just a 37-minute flight down here from Nashville.  The weather was pretty mild and clear all weekend.   You can even see McCamish Pavilion where the game will be played on the left side of the interstate just north of Bobby Dodd Stadium. 

It was going to be an Uber-weekend with no rental car, so my first stop was the historic (1946) Chik-Fil-A Dwarf House near the airport for breakfast.  This original location for the popular franchise has been updated and added on to for more people because it's a pretty popular place to visit.  

I headed north to Wild Heaven Brewing (West End) next which was not serving beer yet despite being "open" since 7 AM (just coffee).  It's still a pretty cool place and I took a look around since I was here.  Their wall of cans was my favorite thing.    

Thank you, Fire Maker Brewing, for being open at 9 AM AND SERVING BEER (and coffee too).  The place was quiet since it was kind of early, but Tracy, the great barkeep, took care of me very nicely.  I started with their excellent Irish-style dry stout called Up to Code!.  Next, was their very interesting tea-infused IPA called Chattahooch-Tea.  You could really taste the black tea up front on this one. A keg of their winter NEIPA called Yukon Cornelius kicked and Tracy gave me a half-pint on the house.  Thank you!  It was very tasty.  I closed out with their impressive rye IPA called DD214.  This place made up for the disappointment at Wild Heaven and has easily become one of my favorite ATL craft breweries.  

It was off next to the highly touted (from Tracy at FMBC) Bold Monk Brewing where my friend, Rex, who lives here joined me for a couple brews and some brunch.   I started with their top-notch Resurrector Dopplebock and finished with their own solid rye IPA called Father of the Four Winds.

Thanks to Rex for a couple of free rides.  First to my nice AirBnb room near the GT campus to drop my backpack, and then a ride to the game in "The Thrillerdome."   Duke squashed any chance of a "thriller" of a game with an epic 86-43 beat down of the rather bad Yellow Jackets.  The real "thrill" was my unexpected courtside seat!!  Wow!!! I really had no idea it was this great a seat when I bought it off StubHub.  I could almost reach out and touch Duke point guard, Jeremy Roach (more on that dream coming true later!) 

The other great thrill in the "Thrillerdome" were my awesome seatmates, Earl and Armond.  We became fast friends at the sharing of our love of Duke, our great seats, and craft beer!!   They offered to buy me a beer and to my surprise they actually had great local craft beer at the game (listen up, UT!!).  I started with a can of the very nice Helluvienna Lager (thanks, Earl and Armond) from New Realm Brewing here in Atlanta.  I also had a draft pour pint of NRBC's Hazy Like a Fox NEIPA which was solid as well.    
The guys agreed to go with me to meet Rex after the game at another brewery and offered me a lift.  Such nice dudes!  On our way out, we saw Duke fans milling about a bus that just had to be for the Blue Devils.  So, we hung out a bit and thanks to Armond's lucky "Duke boots!!" we scored big time, meeting several players and coaches!! 

Duke point guard and captain, Jeremy Roach, was nice enough to give me a picture with him. Thanks for the photo, Earl! 

I told first-year Coach Scheyer that I liked what he was doing (although honestly, I am still needing a little convincing), but he was very nice to hang out for pictures and autographs after the game along with his players and staff.

Look, it was either Armond's boots or the top of 7' Duke freshman phenom's Kyle Filipowski's head?  One had to go! Please stay another year, Kyle!!! 

It was on to Torched Hop Brewing for dinner with Rex, Armond and Earl.  Thanks to Earl and his sweet ride again for the free lift there.  We enjoyed a tasty dinner in this cool old building that used to be a Spaghetti Factory.  I loved this string artwork of the state of Georgia they had on the wall.  While there I had their NEIPA called Hops-de-Leon NE which was very good. 

We said goodbye to Earl and Armond, and Rex and I continued on over to Sceptre Brewing Arts where it was pretty quiet for a Saturday night.  I enjoyed their rich and tasty Barrel Aged Barbelith imperial stout aged 14 months in single-malt whiskey barrels from a local distillery here in Atlanta called ASW.

Thanks again for the free lifts to Sceptre and then to here, Rex: the historic (1939) Plaza Theatre where they were showing Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) in 35mm.  While not one of my favorite films, I still wanted to check this place out since I love old movie theaters, and I could check it off my AtlasObscura.com list. The place was busier than I was expecting, but I got a GA ticket to the show (and a can of A Night on Ponce IPA from Three Taverns Brewing over in Decatur, GA) and when I went in the theater...IT WAS PACKED.  Wow, these folks in Atlanta love their old movies!  It wasn't until after the show (which I nodded off in a few times to be honest and even though about leaving before it was over - I forgot what a weird damn movie it is), that the curator of the theatre got up on stage and brought up visual effects coordinator, Roman Coppola, the son of the famous director, Francis Ford Coppola.  OK, that's cool.  It was an interesting Q and A session, so I thought OK, this is why there's a good turnout tonight...and then Roman introduced his dad sitting in the audience not 20' from me!!  Wow!!! I had no idea any of this was going to happen!  

Francis (freakin') Ford Coppola!! I stalked him for a good while after the film.  He was very chatty and seemed happy to be there at such a late hour (yeah, he's 83!).   Looks like it was lucky that he and his crew are filming a new movie here in the Atlanta area right now.  I must be living right!! 
It even made the news:
Francis Ford Coppola | The Plaza Theatre | Atlanta | 11alive.com

1/29 - I had most of the day in town before my flight home from Atlanta.  So, I slept in a little, grabbed some early lunch (really good sushi) at a Whole Foods near New Realm Brewery as I waited for it to open.  When it did, I enjoyed their rich and tasty Gram Gram's Oatmeal Cookie Porter.  This is a really beautiful facility right on the walking path through this area of town.  

I ought to earn something with well over $100 in Lyft rides here in Atlanta this weekend.  Many of them shared rides for extra savings.  My next ride was a bust, however, as I found out the hard way that Arches Brewing isn't open on Sundays in the winter.  Thanks for posting that just on your door and not online, dickheads.  Bummer, but actually I was OK to be done with beer for the weekend - did I mention I really tied one on yesterday??  No hangover but moving a little slow for sure! 

My last stop before the airport was the nearby Delta Flight Museum (thanks AtlasObscura.com) which was pretty interesting and a good way to kill an hour or so before my flight.  My favorite part was being able to walk out on the wing of one of their giant decommissioned 747s. 

The flight home was smooth and quick.  Another great little trip with my beloved Dukies. Thanks to Rex, Armond, Earl, Francis Ford Coppola and the ATL for a fun time once again.