The MovieWavs Page - Simpsons: okbrain.wav

The MovieWavs Page - Simpsons: okbrain.wav

A Flyte of Fancy and More Frugal MacDoogaling

Flyte Restaurant in Nashville is one of my wife and I's favorite places to eat and now with the discovery of beer flights there along with wine and champagne - it just moved up as place to imbibe as well. We met our friends, Woody and Linda, there for dinner recently (this was Ashlee's second visit in the same week and she's the one who discovered the beer flight on the earlier visit - thanks, babe!) and I chose the flight that most appealed to me - "The Hop N Skip" - what else? This flight as it name indicates focuses on the almighty hop with a trio of 4-ounce selections with increasing "hoppiness." I skipped the recommended pilsner to start and replaced it with the Classic Ale from Hitachino Nest - a "real" Japanese brewery. Until I had this nice ale I had about zero success in liking Asian beers which are usually of the cat-pee pilsner/light-colored lager variety. This one was quite nice and I definitely want to get to know this microbrewery more. Second up in the flight was Red Seal Ale from California's North Coast Brewing. It was a decent offering, but nothing to get too excited about. Last, but definitely not least, was Mojo IPA from my new friends at Boulder (CO) Brewing (I recently reviewed their Hazed & Confused and loved it). It was a great IPA . So much so that I ordered another pint of it since that was the conclusion of my flight.

Another great thing about Flyte Restaurant is that it is across the street from Frugal MacDoogal's Discount Liquor and Beer. A great thing about the beer side of McDoogal's is that they will let you pick out a six-pack of randomly selected microbrews from all over. I introduced Woody to this little corner of beer heaven and being the dark beer lover that he is, he went heavy on the stouts. I kind of followed his lead since the IPAs were few and far between. Here's the line-up and a quick review:

Stone Pale Ale - California - excellent brew - Stone is easily one my favorite craft breweries and a pretty much a legend in the field

Milk Stout from Left Handed Brewing - Colorado - not too shabby, a little bitter to start but it smoothed off nicely

Bluegrass Brewing's Dark Star Stout - Kentucky - BBC is definitely one of my favorite regional breweries and this offering was solid.

Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout - Maryland - nothing great, nothing bad

Never Summer Ale - Colorado - my boys from Boulder Brewing strike again!! - that's three for three in excellent brews - I got to go see these guys!!

8 Ball Stout -Lost Coast Brewing - California - cool beer and brewery name, average beer

The Star of the Lion Mountains

Craig Harris here, Rob's friend of God-only-knows how many years and many, many great memories. He is graciously allowing me to guest blog this entry.

I recently made another mission trip to Sierra Leone. In the Portuguese language, Sierra Leone means 'Lion Mountains.' This was my third trip to the country and the best trip of the three. Sierra Leone is the poorest country in the world according to the United Nations poverty ranking with occasional moves up to next-to-last, so suffice it to save there is great need there. When we go to Sierra Leone, as one would expect, it is NOT safe to drink the water. We purchase bottled water and are careful to listen (and watch) for the seal to crack on the bottles we buy. Also safe to drink are the available soft drinks which include Fanta, Vimto (a Ne hi grape substitute), Bitter Lemon (a mello yello like drink with a small amount of quinine to help ward off Malaria, and the increasingly available Coke products, Sprite, Coke, Diet Coke, and "Coke Light." Those are always safe to drink. But the Star of the bottled drink selection is in fact Star Beer. Oh, there are other beers available (mostly malts which i wouldn't use to quench a fire in my mouth) and the famous Guinness Stout (Sierra Leoneans are poor, not stupid) and Heineken, but Star is the most popular by far.

Star Beer is the only beer brewed in Sierra Leone. It is a light colored Lager which I usually avoid but beggars can't be choosers and the price is right, as little as Le 2,500 (which is 2500 leones, which converts to about 83 cents). On the back label, Star boasts "millions of sparkling bubbles" and it doesn't disappoint. It is more carbonated than the average beer. That fact alone makes it worth consumption after a long day in the heat and humidity of West Africa. Bubbles are not the only reward though. It is a surprisingly full flavor for such a pale beer. It tastes of hops all the way down but not on the return belch. Clean and crisp beer flavor and a pretty good alcohol content as well. I can imagine that this beer would be especially delightful to drink during the months of July and August when rainfall can easily surpass 20 inches per month. Lying in a hammock, thatched roof over your head, listening to the rhythm of the falling rain, sipping a Star. If I weren't so hungry, this would be very, very nice. Odd dichotomy.

Star beer doesn't create memories, but it can seal them. A fine beer for a fine, if impoverished, country.

Spending time in the CariBEERean

One of my goals during a recent Caribbean cruise was to try as many different beers as possible - wait a minute...isn't that my goal in life? Never mind...status quo....on to the beer.

San Juan, Puerto Rico:

Medalla Beer - I think "Medalla" is Spanish for "Miller" - pure pilsner piss. They love it down there...probably because it's cheap and plentiful. Y'all can keep it.

Old Harbor Brewery - located in Old Town San Juan - great place and the only microbrewery in Puerto Rico per my research. I had the Old Harbor Brew Pale Ale which was a solid contender. My wife, Ashlee, went light with the Coqui Lager. She only drank half of it and I polished it off, of course, so I am checking it off the list as well. It actually was a very pleasing for a light-colored lager.

St. Kitts:

Carib Beer - Think of it as a poor man's Red Stripe. Just like St. Kitts is a poor man's Jamaica. Excellent tropical lager brewed and bottled right on the island of St. Kitts (went by the brewery on a island tour - it was not much to look at). I think ice-cold light-colored lagers are only acceptable in warm tropical settings. I love Red Striple when I am in Key West (and avoid them when I am at home) and I had enough Caribs in St. Kitts and the next day in St. Maarten to say I love them when I am in the Caribbean.

Caribbean Sea:

Flying Dog In-Heat Hefeweizen - I ordered this craft beer on board the cruise ship since it was the only microbrew available via room service. Not bad for a wheat ale. Flying Dog is a legendary microbrewery out of Maryland that has been popular for many years.

Big Bear Hunting in South Florida

After a bit of hunting on busy University Blvd. in the south Florida town of Coral Springs, I had dinner and a couple of microbrews at Big Bear Brewing. This restaurant/microbrewery is a beautiful establishment and had people waiting outside to dine there on a Saturday night. Fortunately for me and my young nephew, Matt, who was accompanying me, the bar had a few seats available with no wait. Without hestitation I, of course, went for the Hibernation Pale Ale first and foremost- and in a word - well, make it three words: just about perfect. Despite not being dubbed an IPA this "aggressive" American pale ale had a great hoppy aroma and taste with a smooth finish. Since they don't label it an IPA, I have no qualms in calling it the best American Pale Ale I have ever had....and I have had a bunch. I regretted my second choice almost as I ordered it. Their Kodiak Belgian Dubble has won many awards including gold at the 2002 Great American Beer Festival in Denver (kind of the World Series of Beer) and I am sure has it's fans, I just don't happen to be one of them, but in retrospect I don't personally care for the Belgian style of brewing that much anyway. I have given it lots of chances and it just doesn't work with my palette I guess. I don't mind a mild nut brown ale now and then, but this beer had a biting aftertaste to me that the nutty aroma and taste just couldn't hide and I just did not enjoy it that much - finished it, mind you - just didn't enjoy it. My 17-year-old nephew had two pints of the Bruin that was on tap - easy there, folks, it's just a root beer that is also brewed on-site - and obviously thought it was delicious. It had it's own tap handle and everything. Very cool. I am surprised these guys aren't spread out all over South Florida as a chain. They have been doing this since 1996 and yet Coral Springs remains their only location. Can't say I don't love finding local gems like this, it just surprises me.

SIDENOTE: Earlier in the day after getting knocked out of a poker tournament in 14th place (rats! so close! They only paid the top 7) at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Dining/Shopping Complex, I ambled up to the outside bar of the Renegade Barbecue Company and tried their Renegade Red Ale. Pretty standard fare and nothing really memorable about it except the cost - $6 for maybe 10 ounces served up in a plastic cup - good grief, Charlie Brown! What a joke! Avoid this place like the plague if you are ever in the area. Maybe they ought to stick to making BBQ.

3 of a Kind in a Full House

Three more quick entries that I tried over the past couple of weeks obtained from local grocery stores.

Black Dog Ale - I bought this six-pack at the local Publix to cushion the blow of a house full of in-laws coming up for the holidays. God I love 'em, but God they are loud. Decent beer with a bit of an aftertaste that would probably prevent me from buying anymore of it. It's produced by Montana's Spanish Peak's Brewing which according to their website has been on a bit of a hiatus until recently. Cool website and I do like their affiliation with The Humane Society.

1554 Enlightened Black Ale - I bought this six-pack at the Kroger in Mt. Juliet on my way to play in a Friday night tournament at the Poker Barn. Great taste and excellent finish (which is more than I can say for my results at poker that night). This is a New Belgium product which is more famous for it's Fat Tire craft beer which I am seeing more advertising about recently around this area. Haven't tried the Fat Tire yet, but I am definitely encouraged to do so based on the 1554 Ale. New Belgium is a thriving Colorado microbrewery.

Trader Jose Dark Lager - My wife, Ashlee, was kind enough to snag this six-pack for me on her visit to the newly-opened Trader Joe's Market in Nashville. She said they had an expansive beer selection, so I am looking forward to checking that out myself in the near future. This dark lager that is actually produced in Mexico was actually very good and reminded me a lot of Negro Modelo. I sure would love to be sitting on a Mexican beach somewhere with some of it on ice right now!

Alaska 2004 Remembered

I was looking through a photo album of a trip to Alaska that I took in 2004 with my good friends, Chris and Craig, when I came across two beer bottle labels that I saved from the trip. Granted, I don't remember a whole lot about the beer (other than it was pretty good or I would not have kept the labels), but it was such a wonderful trip that I felt this blog entry was a great way to honor it.

The first label was from a bottle of Alaskan Oatmeal Stout from the Alaska Brewing Company in Juneau. The second was a Kodiak-Brown Nut Brown Ale which indicates that it was brewed and bottled in Salt Lake City by Uinta Brewing Co. for Midnight Sun Brewing of Anchorage, Alaska then shipped to Alaska where I bought it. Strange. I should also pay tribute to a great pizzeria and brewpub in Anchorage that we visited that I fondly remember (and have a T-shirt from) called The Moose's Tooth which draws it's name from a famous rock outcroppingo on Mt. McKinley. Excellent food and beer including the one draught I remember having - The Pipeline Stout (also on the T-shirt).

A salute to Alaska and it's beer (even if it's brewed in Utah)!!