Hey 2024...There's the Door...and ADVENTure awaits!!

 

Two Hearted Ale and River in Michigan.  That's a beer sign!  That's a travel sign!  It's definitely a sign!  Putting it on the MUST DO/SEE List! 

12/1 - While it's not "technically" an advent calendar - it is a box of 24 different German beers from Costco (that look to be different than their actual advent beer calendar from last year that had a lot of repeat beers in it).  I started today with one pint can a day up til Christmas eve.  Today's # 1 start was the solid Rhaner (Brewing) 1283 Helles lager (Germany).  See ya tomorrow!! Cheers!! 

I got sixth in a gold coin (play-money) Grand Prix Turbo Home Stretch Tournament on Global Poker today that should earn me some swag at least for making the final table.  There were only 30 people in the tournament, but the only way to get in was to be on the leaderboard of the Turbo Series held earlier in the year. 

We also said goodbye to Destin and the beach today as we drove back home starting early this morning. 

12/2 - (# 2 Advent Beer) The excellent Traditions Gebrau dark lager 

from Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle (Germany) 

12/3 - (# 3 Advent Beer) The nice and roasted 

Alt Irlbacher Spezial Dunkel 

from Schlossbrauerei Irlbach (Germany) 

12/4 - My "bonsai oak" project was really showing off its fall colors today despite it being the first of December and cold AF outside currently. 

My # 4 Advent Beer today was the decent lager called Eibauer Helles Landbier from the Privatbrauerei Eibau (Germany).

I hit two big mystery bounties tonight in a nightly $1 NLHE tournament on Global Poker.  While I did finish in the money, it wasn't too deep of a run, but I made the knockouts count with two of the three I had giving me an ROI of over 6,700%!! 

And Duke beat # 2 Auburn - what a great night!! 

12/5 - I had another AirBnb stay thru work tonight out in rural Sale Creek.  I took a couple Advent Beers with me.  I enjoyed some real beer by the fake fire in my room.  First up was the decent # 5 Irbacher Premium Weihnachts-Festbier (2023) from Irbach Brewing (Germany).  I finished with the much better # 6 Rhaner Export Dunkel from Rhaner Brewing (Germany).    

Earlier today I had a great chai tea latte and a tasty panini on the CU dime at Campfire Coffee in Jamestown.  Craft coffee (brews) may be my next go-to during the cold workdays on the road this winter! 

12/6 - I flipped back to craft beer on the way back from the college fair in Sale Creek this morning (coffee smoffee!!).  With my tasty Thai pulled chicken grain bowl with cashews and broccoli for lunch (thanks CU) at Monkey Town Brewing in nearby Dayton, I had their excellent dark IPA called Man O' War.  
I came thiiiiisssss close to buying the commemorative glass featured in the pic above, but I need another beer glass like another hole in the head...even if it's got a cool rendering of nearby (and spectacular) Laurel Falls on it.  

I played on the new WPT Gold poker site tonight trying to score a seat to a $5 million dollar freeroll in Vegas soon as a kick-off promotion for this new sweeps-style site similar to Global Poker.  I am glad to have it as another viable option for real money online poker here in the U.S., but the software's a little basic and not very eye-pleasing, but hopefully that will all improve as it grows.  I did pretty well, finishing 429 out of 2,818 other freeroll players in a turbo format with only 8K in starting chips.  But only a mere 30 get a seat.  Let's try again tomorrow!! 

12/7 - My # 7 Advent Beer today was the nice Brauer Theobald Helles lager from Eichbaum Privatbrauerei (Mannheim, Germany). 

12/8 - I took a solo drive up to Louisville today to catch my beloved Duke Blue Devils take on the U of L Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center in both teams' opening ACC Conference game of this young college basketball season.  The massive arena wasn't my ideal spot to catch the boys play live, but when I scored a decently priced front row seat in the upper level, I figured this would be my best choice for my (usually) one seasonal game to catch them in action.  

I stayed overnight at the same AirBnb I stayed at here in Louisville earlier this year which is within walking distance of two breweries.  I took my # 8 Advent Beer with me also.  It was the decent 1422 - Festbier from Rittmayer Hallerndorf Brewery (Germany).  Before the game, the weather was so mild that I walked to Gravely Brewing and had a couple pre-game libations.  First up was their very nice Holiday Road Christmas Lager.  I finished with their decent Rauchbier called Smoke Signals.  Then I Ubered to the game and back.  At the game I continued the Gravely Brewing run with a can of CardinALE - a repeat of their blonde I had on draft earlier this summer - but I got to support local craft beer in big venues like this...and affordable Taco Bell! Nice!! .  

The now 4th ranked Blue Devils were 9 1/2-point favorites but trailed the first half and some of the second.   But with no inside game, the Cards' threes stopped falling eventually and Duke took control to pull away at the end 76-65.  It was cool to see the great Cooper Flagg play live, and his 20 points were the difference in the game.  I guess you could say the UL fans were "seeing red" (photo above) after blowing a 10-point lead at home and then losing by double digits.  
I did really like the KFC Yum Center and would definitely see a game here again.  I was shocked to see the place not nearly full up top since this is a basketball town and their team isn't awful.  

It was still so nice outside after the game, that I wandered across the street from my AirBnb to a cool Irish bar called Molly Malone's where I had some tasty fries with an Irish curry dipping sauce and a pint of the pretty good Kentucky Irish Red Ale from Lexington Brewing.  

12/9 - With visions of sky-high flying Blue Devils still in my head, I drove back this morning and on into work.  I had a nice (but dirty on the outside from all the cold weather) Honda Accord rental car from work thanks to an early work meeting today, so I got to use it over the weekend.   Thanks, CU! 
I also enjoyed an older novel by one of my favorite Southern writers, Ron Rash, that was recently converted to audiobook, Saints at the River, while driving up and back.  

My # 9 Advent Beer of the day was the pretty good Eibauer Schwarzbier from the Eibau Private Brewery (Germany). 

12/10 - My friend, Sachin, an Indian grad student at CU, had a birthday today and no one to celebrate it with, so I took him out for tacos and a movie of his choice.  He's into anime' and I am not, but, hey, it's his birthday.  We started out at the Maiz de la Vida Taco Truck in East Nashville (which I have been wanting to try out anyway).  My chicken taco and elote still on the cob were tasty, and we were able to eat inside at the Chopper Tiki Bar.  We had a couple of NA cocktails (photo above) that were tasty with our meals.   

Then it was off to Opry Mills Regal Theaters to see Solo Leveling: Reawakening which was IMO boring as hell, but he seemed to enjoy it.   At least it was half-price Tuesday at Regal which helped. 

Afterwards, I got another late-night bite at Velvet Taco back in East Nashville after dropping Sachin off downtown to look at a different kind of "velvet taco" that young, single men are interested in looking at.  My tacos were delicious.  How have I not been here before with good prices and free parking!    

My Advent Beer of the day which I had very late back at home was the quite good imperial red ale called Perfekte Zeit from Eichbaum Private Brewery (Mannheim, Germany). 

12/11 - My Advent Beer of the day was the excellent Rauchbier from Georg Rittmayer Brewing (Germany) - So far, this has been THE BEST OF THE BOX! 

12/14 - I decided to hold my next two Advent Beers of the Day for our Christmas party tonight.   The activity at the party was making succulent Christmas trees which I passed on since I pretty much killed the last one that I tried to create.  I will stick to killing craft beers instead!  My Advent Beer of the Day (# 14) was the solid Eibauer Zwick'l Naturtrub kellerbier from Eibauer Brewing (Germany).  

The 2024 Beer Tree was unveiled today for the party as well, and while I am not a big fan of the giant angel on top, I could probably still need the help!  It turned out pretty good with new additions from this year's travels from Mile Wide and Gravely Brewing (Louisville); South Bend (IN) Beer Werks; Black Tooth Brewing (Wyoming); Big Timber Brewing (WV); Slainte Irish Pub (NYC), Proletariat Beer Bar (NYC); Hillman Beer (Asheville, NC) and Fanatic Brewing (Knoxville).

My second Advent Beer of the Day (# 12) was the pretty good Eibauer Dunkler Bock from Eibauer Brewing (Germany).  

The party spilled outside despite some rainy weather.  We had a nice fire going in the Solo Stove and the drinks and conversation were flowing.  Thanks to my friend, Danny, for bringing me a four-pack of the excellent DIPA called Baby Elves from Fat Orange Cat Brewing (CT).  I enjoyed one and shared the others.  My new work friend, Todd, brought me a four-pack of the excellent DIPA, Attention Please, from Bearded Iris Brewing here in Nashville.  I've had this one before but enjoyed a second go-around and shared the rest.  The third Advent Beer of the Day (# 13) I had was the very nice Helles lager called Die Kunigin Des Feuers from Eichbaum Brewing (Germany).  

12/15 - I scored a three-way chop on PokerStars tonight for an ROI of just over 100% since there were only 7 players total.  My Advent Beer of the Day (# 15) was the very good Strong Lager Goldener Hopfen from Eichbaum Brewing (Germany).  7.3 ABV is definitely pretty strong for a German beer. 

12/16 - Remote Day! - My Advent Beer of the Day (# 16) was the smooth and tasty lager called Irlbacher Premium Vollbier Hell from Irlbach Brewing (Germany) which I enjoyed before heading out with my pal, Toney, to see Kraven the Hunter.  My expectations were pretty low for this off-shoot Marvel flick, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually pretty good with some very memorable villains.  Not sure a follow-up will ever come with Sony's run of Spiderman nemeses' movies now all but done looks like.   

12/17 - My published article for the December 2024 issue of Ante Up Magazine was a bit out of order (I intended this one to be for January 2025) but nonetheless looked good coming out today.  My Advent Beer of the Day (# 17) which I enjoyed after a nice CU work Christmas party at Sammy B's here in town was the decent Irlbacher Premium Pils from Irlbach Brewing (Germany). 

12/18 - It was the last day to see the Interstellar 10th Anniversary re-release in IMAX, so I headed up to the Regal Theaters at the Streets of Indian Lake in Hendersonville tonight to experience it once again on the big, big screen.   Still a stunning film.  How was it not at least nominated for best picture back in 2014??  I also snuck in and enjoyed my Advent Beer of the Day (# 18), the smooth red lager called Der Kletterer from Eichbaum Brewing (Germany) during the movie. 
Beforehand, I also stopped by Half Batch Brewing in Hendersonville and enjoyed a pint of their creamy and smooth Baltic porter on cask called Dog in a Hat.  I finished with their solid Cold Front Stout.  

12/19 - I got second in a $5 NLCP bounty tournament on Global Poker tonight vs. 27 other players for an ROI of right at 1,300%!  It was a good enough score to cash out $100 of pure profit.  Half of which I used to buy a year's membership with The Belcourt Theater for a chance to see Nicole Kidman in person (fingers crossed).

My Advent Beer of the day (#19) was the oddly- and funny-named (if you still have a sixth grade sense of humor like I do) Anas Geheimnisse traditional bock from  Neuzelle Brewing (Germany).  Luckily, it did not taste like ass despite the name, lol! 

My Advent Beer of the day (# 20) was the solid Kellerbier from Georg Rittmayer Brewing (Germany).  

12/21 - My beer pal, Nate, and I traveled up to Evill Nash Brewing in Clarksville today to (finally!) pick up our case of privately brewed Nate and Rob's Dick-face Christmas Ale (starring Dudley). We made a couple other stops while we were in town.  First stop was at Old Abe's Brew House which was new to me and in the previous location of the now-defunct Tennessee Valley Brewing. The place was completely dead on a Saturday afternoon, but their session bitter I had called Screaming Eagle was pretty good.  We now hear this place is closing which isn't surprising, but it isn't because of the beer, but maybe the location, the surly owner/barkeep and the ambiance.  Our next stop was at The Fallen Brewery where I had a decent, albeit thin, milk stout called Death Waits in the Dark.   At ENBC before heading back, I had a half-pint of their excellent American Farmhouse Apple Pie Ale saison.  Thanks again to brewer/owner, James, for hooking us up and for continuing to crank out the best craft beer in Clarksville, hands down. 

My work friend, Todd, invited us over to his new townhouse here in Lebanon tonight to hang out and watch some college playoff football (too bad the Vols didn't show up in Columbus tonight as they got spanked by OSU, uggh!), so I took my Advent Beers of the Day (# 21) with me which was the pretty good Traditions Gebrau imperial porter from Neuzelle Brewing (Germany). 

12/22 - My Advent Beer of the day was the Anas (still funny) Geheimnisse schwarzbier from Neuzelle Brewing which I drank with a toast to the sad fact that we had no G.A.M.E. trip this year - this was the weekend we were supposed to go to Indy - based on the fact that the (anus-sucking) Titans are basically unwatchable.  Maybe next year, but I don't feel good about it.  We may have to switch sports to travel and watch...

12/23 - REMOTE DAY!! My Advent Beer of the day was the pretty good Georg Rittmayer (Brewing) (hefe) Weizen  (Germany).  I enjoyed it while working on a fun gift Ashlee gave me at the start of the month, a Star Wars LEGO Advent Calendar.  While it reads 6+, some of these little builds have been quite challenging.  Thanks, hon! 

12/24 - Happy Christmas Eve!!  My last Advent Beer of this Christmas season was STOLEN!!!  Somebody drank it and it wasn't me.  Not sure where I left it to get consumed, but she's gone.  Oh well, I hope they enjoyed it.   The pic above is actually in Lebanon at the base of a large outdoor Christmas tree at the historic and pretty Mitchell House that I just kind of like and thought represented today rather well.  

12/25 - Merry Christmas!  My only Christmas gift beer this year was from my brother-in-law, Andy, but it was a good one.  It was a four-pack of the rich and delicious KBS Spicy Chocolate (2024) stout from Founders Brewing (MI).  I also brought a pint can of the excellent Dracula Weed IPA from Oliphant Brewing (WI) that I have been saving for today since picking it up at Beach Liquors in Destin a month or so ago.   

 
12/27 - I had a busy after-Christmas day off from work today with a last-minute overnight pet-sitting gig up in Gallatin, an afternoon matinee of the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, with Ashlee and my new work pal, Todd, and his wife, Kelly, at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!), and then a Mug Club dinner and party at Cedar City Brewing Company. The film was excellent.  The party was great, and I had CCBC's new Chocolate Hazelnut Brown Ale which was solidly good. 

12/28 - I got an unexpected visit to Southern Grist Brewing's Nations location in West Nashville tonight as it was right next to our dinner destination, Nicky's Coal Fire Pizza - which was excellent - and we were early enough to grab a drink (that never happens!).  At SCBC I had a taste of Ashlee's very good Coffee Greenwood Porter (left in pic above) and a pint of the nicely balanced Cranberry Key Lime Pie Sour Ale.  

 12/29 - Another day, another unexpected brewery visit!  After a rather interesting cat show at The Nashville Fairgrounds where lots of ribbons were being handed out, Ashlee suggested (yes, Ashlee, not me) that we stop in nearby Fait La Force Brewing to get out of the rain with our dog, Sunny.  Sounds good to me, honey!!  I enjoyed two brand new IPAs while there.  First up was their excellent Prince of Tides.  I ended with their new NEIPA called Thunderquake which was good, but not great.  

This cool piece of art was outside the cat show building at The Nashville Fairgrounds and since it was raining rather hard when I snapped the pic, I didn't get to see the name of it or the artist, but I did think it was rather cool.  (After some internet research I found that it is titled "Loqui" - "to speak" in Latin - from artist Blessing Hancock and was just finished this year.  Evidently it is also lit rather nicely at night, so I will have to give it another look after dark sometime.   
What was also cool was the brand-new Urban Dog Bar in West Nashville where we let Sunny run and play with a ton of other dogs while I sipped on (and added to UNTAPPED) their own Urban Dog Lager which was light and weak, but, hey, what ya gonna do.  It's made by Garage Beer, a contract brewer out of Columbus, OH, as best I can tell. 

12/30 - Back in the "good old days" when there was only one brewery in Nashville...yeah, eff that noise!!

 I got first place in a NLHE satellite tournament vs. 32 other players on Global Poker tonight.  Since the top seven finishers got the same entry into a tournament whose buy-in was worth 500%+ ROI (of which I summarily flamed out in), it's not that great an accomplishment, but I will take what I can get since it's been a thin second half of the month on the ol' virtual felt.  

12/31 - Happy New Beer (and Year -we hope)!  Year of the Snake indeed!  I started another dog-watching stint back down in Watertown today (pit bulls!!).  I took a couple beers with me including a new-to-me pint can of the Dead On Amber Ale from St. Michaels Brewing (FL) to close out 2024 and ring in the new year.  This was my last hold-out from a variety pack from Beach Liquors in Destin back at Thanksgiving.  It was very good.

At dinner earlier tonight at the Chahaun Ale and Masala House in Nashville I had the solid Po-Boy Amber ale from Urban South Brewing (New Orleans) with my outstanding meal.