LeBREWSKI!!!

Took my first cruise recently with a focus on craft beer.  Yeah, it was pretty great.  

Before we left for the cruise:  

2/13 - I had a Nashville new brewery crawl with my baby today with stops at Bearded Iris Brewing in Germantown where I had a Suspicion English-style ale and a sip of Ashlee's Lady Friend farmhouse ale.  Then at Smith and Lentz over in East Nashville I had the Munke, their dunkelweizen (dark wheat).

2/18:  I had a couple Homegrown Tap Room half-pints today including the  Lava Lake Wit from Crazy Mountain Brewing (CO),  and a Porter from honorable-mention favorite, Green Man Brewing in Asheville, NC

I finished with an Evolving Hare:CITRA IPA session ale from Red Hare Brewing who's rep was in building (thanks for the sticker!).   These guys hold a special place in my heart because they have a Watership Brown Ale named after my favorite book, Watership Down.  I have yet to try it, but hope to soon with a visit to the Atlanta area or around here since they are distributing in Nashville now.

I was on my way to a show in Nashville with my friend, Danny, to see a relatively new band with some real old-time rock-n-roll sound, Rival Sons out of Long Beach California.  They did not disappoint as the brief video below will attest:

2/20 - I went by Chattanooga Brewing with my baby again today for another new-to-her brewery stop.  I had a sip of her Winter Warmer and I had the spicy and delicious Habanero IPA (photo below) and then a half-pint of the Chestnut Street Brown (Nitro).    There beautiful new facility and their great beer  makes these guys probably my favorite brewery in this town right now.

2/21 - We were still in Chattanooga today and I had a 6 Hop IPA  from Rogue Brewing (OR) at Taco Mac with lunch.

Check out the cool ingredient for a burger dressing that we got recently from the always-delicious Blue Apron home delivery service.  The smell and taste of these were great!

the more you know...

When the chance to go on a cruise with some of our favorite bands on it, plus a theme of the classic film, The Big Lebowski, AND CRAFT BEER, at a great discount...how could not go!!  Welcome to The LeBREWski Cruise!!

2/27 - Before boarding the boat, we hung out in South Florida for a few days :

I had a Hop Gun IPA by Funky Buddha Brewing in nearby Oakland Park, Florida at a great beer bar near the airport called Tap 42,. I also had a White Wizard witbier from Barrel of Monks Brewing in Boca Raton, FL.  The food is outstanding here too, by the way.  The photo above is of a very cool and easy to understand beer chart they had in the restaurant.

Even though I had already tried it a few months ago, one of the limited edition bottles you could get at Tap 42 was the Tiramisu-hoo milk stout from Terrapin Brewing in Athens, Georgia.  We took it with us and enjoyed it at our hotel on North Miami Beach at sunset.  A great way to start a trip!

2/29 - I had a not so enjoyable Floridian Hefeweizen from Funky Buddha at dinner at Al Carbon Burger Bar and then a much better MegaMix (Freestyle Series) pale ale from M.I.A. Beer Company in Miami later that night at the very cool Lou's Beer Garden (photo below).

Time to get on the boat!!

My first craft beer on the cruise ship was an Invasion Pale Ale from Cigar City Brewing in Tampa. Next was a Sawtooth Ale from Left Hand Brewing (CO).  

I had a very expensive can (damn cruise-ship mark-ups!!) of Hoopla pale ale from Boulder (CO) Beer Company while listening to Kyle Hollingsworth and his band on the pool deck as we sailed out of the Port of Miami.  Kyle is usually with the band,  The String Cheese Incident, but was on this cruise solo and evidently is an avid home-brewer and even  had a hand in helping come up with this particular beer as the perfect "festival beer."  It was pretty good and I drank every drop since it was priced like liquid gold.

I had a Florida Cracker hefeweizen witbier from Cigar City Brewing (Tampa) during an O/A/R show.  These guys are one of my favorite live bands.  

I had a New Dogtown Pale Ale from Lagunitas Brewing (CA) during the Young Dubliners pool-deck set.  It was far from a Guinness, but the Irish approve of drinking pretty much anything!

They had tastings every night of the cruise and the pours were generous!  Here's a running list of the new-to-me beers I tried:

- Caribbean Queen Pineapple IPA - Boulder (CO) Beer Co.  This was one of my first and one of my favorites of the entire cruise
- Left Hand (CO) Ambidextrious Belgian quad
- Twisted Trunk (Texas) IPGA
- Shiner (TX) Birthday Beer, a hoppy pilsner

my favorite T-shirt of the cruise that I saw

- Pops Porter - Wynwood Brewing (Miami)
- Founders Dark Penance (MI) black IPA
- Fresh Cut Hoppy Pilsner - Peak Brewing, Maine
- Mischief Belgian Golden Ale from The Bruery, (CA)
- Nuance Saison from Barrel of Monks Brewing (FL)

My favorite craft beer sample drinker of the cruise.  Granny was there to try some beer, by gosh!!

- Old Guardian Barley Wine - Stone Brewing (CA) - one of my top 5 favorite breweries, but, damn!  I just can't get into barley wine (i.e. "barely beer" in my opinion)
- Shiner (TX) Ruby Redbird spiced beer
- Single Chair Gold Ale - Magic Hat Brewing (VT)
- Ready, Set, Gose - Uinta Brewing (UT)
- Dogfish Head Lobster Chocolate Porter (DE) - made with exactly the ingredients it says, but not as bad as it might sound!
- Avery White Rascal Belgian ale - (CO)
- Dogfish Head Immort Ale barrel-aged barley wine (DE) - yep, still awful

- Dogfish Head Beer to Drink Music To Beglian tripel - great name and quite appropriate for this type of cruise
- The Dude's D'Spare Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout  from Boulder Brewing (CO) - this baby was 10% ABV and quite appropriate as well with The Big Lebowski theme of the cruise also.
- Lagunitas Pils - Czech-style (CA)
- Stone Brewing's Stochasticity Project: HiFi + LoFi Mixtape Blended and Barrel Aged - (CA) - Top Five Fave Brewery Alert!!

At a port stop in Nassau I had a Lukka Kairi Draft Ale - an American red ale brewed particularly  by and for the restaurant of the same name.  It was darn good for Caribbean beer.

Hey, how did that get in here???  Well, when in Rome...or on the beach at Big Stirrup Cay, I guess

After the cruise we drove down to Key West for a few days and the good beer continued there as well:

3/5 - At a great beer bar just off busy Duval Street called The Porch I had a  Scotch Whisky Porter from Innis and Gunn (Scotland) and a taste of Ashlee's Colette Farmhouse Ale from Great Divide Brewing (CO)

Over at the new (and surprisingly good) Waterfront Brewery I had a five-beer sampler of their house-made product including the TruMan imperial double IPA, the Boat Day IPA, the Reddle Me This Irish red ale, the Key Lime WitNess (a witbier infused with key limes!  tasty!) and their White IPA (Belgian-style). I also had a taste of Ashlee's Crazy Lady Honey Blonde Ale.

While walking on Duval Street I had a Citradelic IPA from New Belgium Brewing (CO).

At our favorite restaurant, Blue Heaven, I had a  Key West Sunset Ale from the Florida Beer Company in Cape Canaveral with our late-evening dinner.

3/6 - Back at the Waterfront Brewery for lunch I ordered from their guest taps and had a Free Dive IPA from Coppertail Brewing (FL) and a Gringolandia Fabulosa Porter from 5 Rabbit Cerveceria in Chicago.

At a cool little locals bar just off Duval Street called 2 Cents I had an interesting Watermelon IPA from Sea Dog Brewing in Maine.

3/7 - We stopped at Tap 42 for lunch again before flying home out of Ft. Lauderdale and I had Vanilla Maduro English brown ale from Cigar City Brewing (Tampa).  My lunch was the vegetarian lettuce wraps with mushrooms serving as the "meat" and a side of fried rice.  Holy crap, was it good!  As was Ashlee's seasoned corn in background!

That a lot of miles traveled and a lot of beer consumed.  Good, good trip!!

From All-Stars to Alan Parsons and All the Beers in Between

It was a proud day to see the NHL All-Star Game come to Nashville.  I feel fortunate to have been a part of it.  And, yes, there was beer to celebrate!

Gonna need a lot more beer or a Preds banner to actually put my lips on the Stanley Cup!  Way to many lips and hands been on that thing and it spent the off-season with the damn Blackhawks!!

Yazoo Brewing concocted a special brew just for the celebratory weekend called the Winter Park American Wheat.  It was darn tasty!!

1/30/16 - Ashlee and I enjoyed our Winter Park Wheats from Yazoo Brewing at Tavern 96 along with Predators Coach Peter Laviolette before the NHL Skills Competition

Much later that night I had  an amazing Japa Milk Chai Stout from Mantra Artisan Ales over in Franklin, TN, at a great new East Nashville restaurant called The Butcher and the Bee.

1/31/16 -  Much later the next day I had another celebratory local brew called the All Star Ale from Jackalope, who happens to be next door to Party Fowl where we were having brunch.

I had a Winter White Ale pub can from Bell's Brewery (MI) at the Bridgestone Arena before the 2016 NHL All-Star Game

2/4/16 - I had two half pints at Homegrown Taproom on the way to a Preds game tonght.  I had the Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, a strong bitter ale from Crazy Mountain Brewing (Colorado).  I finished with the Bluff City Pale from Nashville's own Tennessee Brew Works.

  I also had a Porter at Czann's Brewing downtown and walked from there to the Preds game.  Thanks again to owner and brewer, Ken Rebman, for allowing me and my friends to park there sometimes for free on game nights.  Well, we consider it free parking, because buying a pint or two of Ken's awesome brews beforehand is worth every penny!  

2/7 - I got my UNTAPPD Super Bowl Badge today and Peyton Manning got his second Super Bowl ring!! Congrats!! (and for the record I had a Coffee Milk Stout from one of my TOP FIVE faves, Stone Brewing (CA).

2/9 - It's FAT TUESDAY and I went to a Preds game tonight with my long-time pal (and fan of good beer) Craig, and beforehand we stopped for some pre-game half-pint libations and dinner at my favorite (and closest to home) beer bar. the Homegrown Tap Room.  I had the Artic Shill Scottish ale from Mantra Artisan Ales in Franklin, TN, and a Smitten Golden Rye Ale from Bell's Brewery (MI).   And for dinner it was jambalaya and a cup of gumbo, of course!

At the game I had a canned Neon Brown ale from Wiseacre Brewing over in Memphis. 

2/10 -2/12/16:  The other reason Craig was in town is so that we go start a road trip down south to catch one of our favorite artists, Alan Parsons, in concert in Jacksonville.  And it wouldn't be a road trip for me without seeking out some good beer!

2/10/16 - Our first stop below Atlanta was at the 15th Street Pizza and Pub in McDonough, Georgia.  They have a tremendous beer list and the pizza was top-notch.  I had a pint of the dark and delicious Deep, Deep, Deep, Deep (4D) Undercover IPA from Jailhouse Brewing in nearby Hampton, GA.  This will now be a regular stop for me on any road-trip south if possible.  

It was a bit too cold to sit outside, but I greatly admired the keg-fountain they have at 15th Street Pizza and Pub.

Once we hit Jacksonville and checked in to our hotel, it was a short walk through Treaty Oak Park on our way to Aardwolf Brewing for a few brews before the show began.

Here's Craig in a rare action shot at a brewpub.  I bet this game gets harder with the more samples you have....
While at Aardwolf Brewing I had a sampler seen here with the following:  Hop Oddity IPA, the Twice Invoked saison, the Insert (Hop Pun) Here IPA (my fav of the bunch) and the Styrofoam Pony stout.  Craig kindly gave me a sip of his kinda great Gingerbread Stout: Pilot Batch also.  Great place, great beer!!

The man, the legend! What a great night of classic rock (that doesn't sound classic)....so make that "timeless rock"!

Jacksonville at night is pretty sweet when the February temps allow you to walk back to your hotel across the river after a great show.

2/11/16 - On our way north to St. Simon's Island for a night we saw this bad-ass stealth warship.  Very cool!

Another stop heading north was Little Talbot Island.  We were blessed with great weather again today.

talk about running aground!!  Another cool stop on the way to St. Simon's.  And then the Navy Police questioned us...hmm.

We spent the night at The Village Inn AND PUB in St. Simon's...wonder what drew us here?

St. Simon's Lighthouse.  She's a beaut, Clark!

Panoramic view up on the St. Simon's Lighthouse.

and...back to the beer.  After our lighthouse climb, it seemed time for a brew and we found a decent selection at Palm Coast, a trendy little coffee bar with a half-dozen beer taps as well.  I had the Hoppy Medium double IPA from Foothills Brewing (NC) and a Southern Roots brown ale from Red Brick Brewing (Atlanta).

We had dinner at a touristy-looking seafood joint called Iguana's but it turns out they have a pretty darn good beer list and some top-notch seafood!  I had a Southern Skipper White IPA  from Pontoon Brewing (Atlanta) with my dinner of blackened grouper and their award-winning lightly-battered fried gulf shrimp...of which I ordered a half-dozen more because they were just so good.

The PUB at The Village Inn and Pub wasn't all that great if you are a craft beer lover.  They had a few taps to choose from, but nothing very adventurous.  I had an always-reliable Guinness Draught and a Samuel Adams Cold Snap witbier to close out the night.

We headed back on Friday to be with the wives for Valentine's weekend with our only fun stop being in Atlanta for lunch (and a few half-pints) at the amazing Wrecking Bar Brewpub.  The food was great, the old house which it is located in is quite amazing and their beer is outstanding.  This place easily rockets to #1 as my favorite beer in the Atlanta craft brewing arena.  With lunch I had Prichard's Rum Barrel Aged Pumpkin Dubbel, the Cacao Tipping Chocolate Milk Stout and Willie's Revenge Red Rye IPA.  All were outstanding.  I am coming back to Atlanta in April and I plan to visit here again!!

The brewpub's in the basement of this amazing old mansion in downtown Atlanta.

OK, we had one more quick, fun stop in Atlanta at this work of kinetic art that is a huge 22K-pound boulder called Rockspinner that, yes, you can actually spin:  

The more you know...

Home and Hollywood Bound to Start 2016

1/1 - We started New Year's Day off with brunch at Party Fowl in downtown Nashville and I had a Snowman Stout from Jackalope Brewing...which happens to be right next door!

1/5 - Before a Preds game tonight we had dinner at Suzy Wong's House of Yum (1/2 price sushi night!) and I had a delicious Milk Stout Nitro from Left Hand Brewing (CO).

1/13 - We went to see the lovely and talented Grace Potter perform down in Chattanooga at Track 29 and before the show at dinner at FEED Co. Table and Tavern I had an Ezekiel's Wheel pale ale from Burnt Hickory Brewing in Kennesaw, GA.  

1/14 - The next day while still in Chattanooga we had lunch at Terminal Brewhouse and I had half-pints of their Winter Warmer, their Magnum P.A. West Coast IPA and their Southsidenstein Stout.    This awesome place is for sale I learned recently...man, I wish I had some investment money laying around!!

1/17 - I took in a second showing of The Revenant (it wins best picture and Leo finally gets his Oscar...wait and see)  I had 3 half-pints at The Hop Stop afterwards including a Nelson rye IPA from Alpine Beer Co. (CA), a Revolutionary pale ale from the local Mantra Artisan Ales and a Belgian Table Beer from new Nashville brewer, Smith and Lentz.

I then moved on to a new-to-me place here in Nashville called Jack's Browns Beer and Burger Joint where I had a tremendous burger called The Greg Brady  (mac-n-cheese and BBQ potato chips on it) as well as a Haystack IPA from Ole Shed Brewing down in Tullahoma, TN.

I finished the evening with two new beers at City Winery while watching Brian Fallon and the Crowes (video below) with great opener, Corey Branan.  I had the Porter from Founders Brewing (MI) and the Rompo Red Rye IPA from Nashville's own Jackalope Brewing.

While the wife was off on a girls' trip cruise to the Caribbean, I snagged an ultra-cheap flight from Atlanta to L.A.  to knock off some bucket-list items and, of course, search out some new beer!

1/20 - Before the Lakers game vs. Sacramento at The Staple Center where I got to see Kobe Bryant play live (CHECK MARK!) in what is probably his last season I had a couple "shorties" (half-pints) at the Yard House next door including a Sharkinator white IPA from Lost Coast Brewing (CA) and a Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic Brewing (CA).  During the game I had an Avatar Jasmine IPA from Elysian Brewing (WA).  This pint set me back twelve bucks!!  Time to go drink somewhere else!! 

1,900-miles for more beer...that's dedication, folks.

After the game I cabbed over to Angel City Brewing which was fairly close to my downtown hotel. These folks blew me away with their beer and I happy to say they have moved into MY TOP FIVE BREWERIES LIST...and that's a tough nut to crack!   Here's the three beers that did the trick:

The White Nite - an amazing tasting stout that looks like a pilsner.  How they do that???

The Dark Rye Lager - Brandy Barrel Aged - best lager I have ever tasted....hands down...because it's really made like an IPA.  Nice shout-out to the recently-passed great actor, Alan Rickman, as well.  R.I.P.  Hans Gruber.

9.9 Problems Russian imperial stout - outstanding beer and an outstanding name.  Not only is the beer great here at Angel City Brewing, but it's a cool place with a great vibe.  Truly a craft-beer mecca.  Put it on your list to visit before you croak.

I chose my swanky downtown hotel, The Standard, because they boasted about having not only a rooftop pool in downtown L.A., but also a rooftop beer garden.  Unfortunately, after being astounded at Angel City Brewing, the Bitburger Premium Pils (Germany) was rather crappy despite the very cool surroundings and locale.

1/21 - I spent the day in Hollywood today and had perfect weather and a whole lot to do.

Hiking in the Hollywood Hills to see the famous sign on foot. (CHECK MARK!)

Touring around Hollywood with the top down on a beautiful day.  (CHECK MARK!)

I had lunch with a view of the Hollywood Sign at a great place in Hollywood called The Oinkster.  They have a good beer list as well and I had a Broken Skull IPA from El Segundo (CA) Brewing and a Poppyfields pale ale from Craftsman Brewing (Pasedena).

Attending a live taping of The Jimmy Kimmel Show (CHECK MARK!) with guest stars Zac Efron, Malin Akerman (the babe from "Billions") and music in the back parking lot from the terrific band,  Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals (see the short video below):

Back downtown I was starving for dinner and just stumbled upon not only a great place to eat, but a great beer bar just across the street from my hotel called Public School 213.   With dinner I had a Ground Control (props to you, David Bowie, RIP) stout from Ninkasi Brewing (OR), an Aviator C-4 IPA from Knee Deep Brewing (CA) and a "free" Vanilla Valkyrie altbier from Enegren Brewing (CA).  I say free because my great barkeep let me slip back across the street to get my wallet that I had left in the room and when I came back she had moved by seat at the bar one space and offered me the free drink for having to do it.  How nice!  I tipped her the cost the beer in addition to the normal tip.  By the way, everyone in L.A. even in the horrible traffic were pretty darn nice to me.  OK, about the photo above...it's a sneak-shot I took from the bar at PS 213 because I will be honest I was shocked to see two brothers drinking Delirium Tremens.  Good choice, guys!  I am impressed!!  Good beer for everyone!!

1/22  Today I moved away from downtown and out to the beaches for my last day and night in Southern California.  I got a good deal on a nice room in a Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach and I had a whale-watching tour (always a CHECK MARK!) scheduled down the coast in Newport Beach to start the day.

We had good luck on our tour seeing two humpbacks and a gray whale, plus several dolphins, sea lions and a ton of birds. The weather couldn't have been more perfect.

On the way back to Redondo Beach I stopped in Long Beach at Beechwood Brewing and BBQ for lunch where I had their Foam Top cream ale, their Hops of Fury IPA and their Udder Love milk stout.  All were delish as was my lunch salad topped with BBQ chicken...and you thought all I ate were burgers...

I spent the evening playing poker at the famous Bicycle Casino (CHECK MARK!) where I was able to chop a 125-person daily tournament with several other guys (we played until 2:30 in the morning) for 4th place money and earning me a little over $500 in profit (always a CHECK MARK!).    What a great casino!  No stupid slot machine sounds, no smoking and a surprisingly good beer-bar where I had at Wolf Among Weeds double IPA from L.A.'s own Golden Road Brewing. during a break in the action.

I even scored good beer on the way home while waiting on my flight at LAX I found the Rock and Brews bar just in time for the Duke/NC State game.  Duke wins!!  While watching the game I had a Point the Way IPA from Golden Road Brewing (LA) and a Inclined IPA from Santa Monica (CA) Brew Works.

Pretty darn good trip if I do say so myself!

The more you know...