HOPping on into winter

12/2 - I had a bottle of Yazoo Hefeweizen today as a reward for some tiring yard work (I hate leaves).  Somebody brought a six-pack of these a while back to a pool party we had, and I thought I had already had one, but maybe just forgot to check it in to UNTAPPD.  Anyway, it was just as tasty in the fall as it would have been in the summer.

12/3 - Ashlee and I attended the WellRED Comedy Tour "From Dixie with Love" at Zanie's Comedy Club tonight which was a ton of fun.  Beforehand, we stopped at Craft Brewed nearby and had a couple pints.  I had the terrific Tipsy Fulkin Scotch ale from Half Batch Brewing up in Hendersonville, TN.  Ashlee chose the heavily-hopped Shoegaze saison from Stillwater Artisanal (Baltimore) which I traded with her since she's not a heavy-hops fan.  That's the second extremely-hoppy saison we've run into in the last month.  I am all for hoppy beer, but you sure don't expect that when you order Belgian-style farmhouse ale...there outta be a law!

Thanks to my girl for the cool new Christmas beer socks.  Reinbeers for everyone!

12/4 - I got Another small online tournament win today.  It was a $2 Turbo with 35 other people for a $26.64 first prize.

12/7 - Tonight was a much bigger online poker tournament score of $180.86 for a $3 Turbo Rebuy with 129 other people in it.

12.8 - Ashlee released me from Christmas party-prep duty tonight and let me go see the Preds play a historic first-ever game against the new expansion Vegas Golden Knights, captained by our own beloved James Neal, who they snatched up in their draft.  Also in goal for the Knights was Karl Subban, the little brother of our own P.K. Subban.   Before the game I first stopped at New Heights Brewing and had a couple pints including "THE" Double imperial IPA and the Damguday II IPA.  Both of which were outstanding.    I moved on to my beloved Czann's Brewing  and met my pal, Wayne, for another pint and the all-important free parking for the game.  As usual, I am very thankful to these folks for the valuable parking spot in exchange for a little patronage.  I had their Toasted Pecan Porter that was delicious.

The game was a frustrating night of ups and downs as the Preds fell into a 0-2 hole, battled back to a 3-2 lead only to lose that with less than 40 seconds left in regulation.  We then lost the game and a valuable point in the standings in an overtime shoot-out  that only had one goal (never seen that before).   At the game I had a pint can of the pretty good Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout from Narragansett Brewing (RI).  

12/8 - I had the 2017 Beer Tree up today and ready for our Christmas Party tomorrow night.  Some newcomers to the tree include AlphaAcid Brewing (CA), 18th Street Brewing (IN), New Heights Brewing (Nashville), Aardwolf Brewing (FL), John Harvard's Pub and Brewhouse (MA) and Catawba Brewing (NC).

12/9 - Our 2017 Christmas party was a blast with over 20 people in attendance rocking the "Trailer Park Partay" theme to the limits of good taste!  I found an interesting variety pack at Wal-mart (believe it or not) of craft beers from Trouble Brewing  (CA).  I had one of each during the party and I have to say they weren't too bad.  They included the Cat's Away IPA, the After Party pale ale, the 'Round Midnight Belgian white and the Red Flag amber ale.  

12/11 -  It was Lebanon Poker Night again and it was a quick one for me as I got rivered on more than one occasion to be the first to get knocked out.  I did have two of my three variety-pack beers from Lebanon Wine and Spirits before exiting.  Both were fantastic at least!  First up was the fruitfully sweet Blueberry Cobbler from Atwater Brewing (Detroit, MI) and then the savory follow-up brown ale called Last Leaf from Starr Hill Brewing (VA).

The night wasn't a complete loss at least.  I got home from the live poker game in time to jump into this online tourney and wound up winning the whole thing.  $5 buy-in vs. 61 players for a $108.50.  

12/14 - The "fan event" was very lame, the movie wasn't my favorite of the newer ones, but the Kold Schauer kolsch from Sixpoint Brewery (one of my favs) in Brooklyn that I had on the way to the movie was excellent!  

Amen, Mr. Dylan.

BEERvember

11/11 -  Ashlee and I were in Chattanooga this weekend and checked out the brand new Heaven and Ale Brewing in North Chatt (thanks to my gal for finding out about this place for me).  It's a large, beautiful facility and the beers I had were outstanding.  I started with a 9 oz. pour of their Pineapple Kush IPA which was a juicy delight.  I had a sip of their Meditation saison that Ashlee ordered and it was solid.  Next up was the Love Supreme Stout which is the first beer in a long time I have given 5 stars to on UNTAPPD.  It is amazing...sweet, smooth and busting with taste.  Ashlee loved it too, so I traded my half that was left for her over-the-top hoppy Meditation on Mosaic saison since she's not a big fan of the hops.   The cheese plate we ordered was great too.  We will definitely start to include this place in our regular rotation to visit when we are in Chatt-town. 

And that path is widest at the spectacular Wild Heaven Brewing in North Chattanooga.  These guys have had an excellent beer bar here for several years, so it's no wonder they would be great when they got in the beer brewing business themselves.

11/19 - I had a bachelor weekend and took a break from online poker (won another small 30 person tourney) and house chores to catch a late afternoon movie over in Nashville.  I decided to go to The Belcourt Theater to put a little more art in my film watching and had a few minutes to kill before the show started,, so I grabbed a beer at the new Austin, Texas-based-chain Hopdoddy Burger Bar around the corner on 21st Avenue.  These is where the Bosco's (RIP, you Nashville craft beer pioneer) used to be and I can't say it's much of an improvement.  They did have a decent selection of local craft beers and the food looked pretty good (I didn't eat), but the overall smell was a little greasy I thought.  I chose the solid Homestyle IPA from Nashville's own Bearded Iris Brewing.  I did like the frosted goblet it was served in.  

I saw the haunting period film, Mudbound, with a stellar cast and directed by Nashville's own Dee Rees at The Belcourt Theater (thanks, MoviePass!).  I sipped on a Scrimshaw Pilsner during the show (thanks, Belcourt!).   After the show I slipped across the street to Belcourt Taps and had a rather good pint of Cran Apple Sour from Honky Tonk Brewing here in Nashville.  It was close to a cider in my opinion and more tart than sour which made it tolerable in my book.

11/20 - I had this Monday off to complete my long bachelor weekend and capped it off by getting tickets to see my beloved Preds take on a hot Winnipeg Jets team.  My friends, Bill and Doug, joined me and we hung out between periods (and beforehand at Czann's Brewing, of course) with my pal, Wayne.  It was a 5-3 butt-kicking by the Preds.  During the game I grabbed a decent pint can of Americana Pale Ale from Steel Barrel Brewing which is supposed to be coming to the Murfreesboro area soon.  

We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend down in Destin, Florida, with family again this year and I was able to have  a few new brews while soaking up some late November sun:

11/23 - I flew into Panama City from Nashville and Ashlee picked me up for the 40-minute ride back to the house she had rented for the week in Destin.  On the way we stopped at a gas station and I grabbed a six-pack of Pale Ale from Grayton Beer Company in nearby Santa Rosa Beach for Turkey Day and the UNTAPPD badge acquirement.

11/24 - We had tremendous weather for late November and I grabbed a 4-pack of variety canned beers for the beach from the awesome selection at Beach Liquors here in Destin.  I started with the tasty Happy Hermit International Pale Ale from Green Bench Brewing over in St. Peterburg, FL.   I followed that with an outstanding Stone Ripper pale ale from my still-favorite brewery, Stone Brewing (CA).  

11/25 - The weather clouded up a bit today and I took a can of  solid London Homesick Ale from the new-to-me Oasis Texas Brewing Company (Austin) down to the beach, but finished my last of the variety four-pack back at the house (and in the shower.)  That's the tasty Luchesa Lager also from Oasis Texas Brewing pictured above.  As Charlie Sheen would say, "Having a beer in the shower...winning!!"  

While the ladies were watching some Hallmark Channel chick-flick at the house tonight, I slipped up the road to the AMC Theaters and caught the impressive Denzel-driven flick, Roman J. Israel, Esq.  Thanks, MoviePass!  

11/28 - Another online poker tournament win!  131 players in a $3 buy-in MTT with one rebuy for a $151.44 first place prize.

11/30 -  We had a tasty dinner and  a wonderful acoustic show with Marc Roberge of O/A/R tonight at City Winery in downtown Nashville.  I continue to be impressed with the beer list at this wine-centric locale.  I had a good pint can of Radeberger Pilsner  (Germany) and a really good can of Fearless Youth dark lager from Grimm Brothers Brewing (CO). 

I also had yet another small online tournament win today.  38 players in a $2 buy-in MTT with one rebuy for a $54.77 first place prize.

Winter is nearly here..."well, whoopty effin' do" (RIP Bill Paxton)

10/27 -  I had a Friday off  today and headed down to Murfreesboro for an afternoon of leisure after sleeping in (tough life).  I started off with an excellent lunch at The Green Dragon Pub and Brewery where I had a pint of their very own Withywindle Brown Ale that was fantastic.  Congrats to these guys for getting the go-ahead to make their own beer now.  I look forward to trying more of their products in the future.   I moved on to Flashback Arcade for some nostalgic video game fun before checking out the sad, but very well-done, film,  Only the Brave, before heading back home.

Spanish potato soup with chirizo.  Half a pastrami sandwich.  And a tasty brown ale.  Cheers!

(Editor's note:  Sadly, the Green Dragon Pub and Brewery closed in 2019.  Only the good die young.)

10/28 - I grabbed a Variety four-pack from The Casual Pint in Chattanooga (the Hixson location) today to take with me to a birthday/Halloween party for our friend, Michelle.  I made four good choices for the night that included:

A Southern Juice IPA from Jekyll Brewing in Alpharetta, GA
A Brown Bear Ale from Catawba Brewing over in Morganton, NC
A Daycation session IPA from Highland Brewing in Asheville, NC

and a Quinannan Falls IPL (India pale lager) from Bell's Brewing in Comstock, MI.  Not a real falls, I checked, but I liked the idea of an actual waterfall series of beers.
(Editor's note:  My waterfall/craft beer idea came to fruition in 2019 with the creation of Living Waters Brewery in East Nashville!) 

10/30 - It was Lebanon Poker Night again, so I grabbed a variety 4-pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits for the game.   I only had two before my kings got cracked...nuff said on that...at least the beers were good...I had the Pinball pale ale and the Domain DuPage ale both from Two Brothers Brewing (IL).

10/31 - I went ahead and cracked open one of my extras from poker night last night so I could get the UNTAPPD Halloween badge.  It was another tasty concoction from Two Brothers Brewing (IL) called the Wobble IPA.

11/3 - My online poker lately has fared much better than my live results.  In fact, I won two different online tournaments this week and that seemed like a good enough reason to celebrate with my fourth variety-pack beer from the other night, the tasty Snow and Tell Scotch ale from Boulevard Brewing (Kansas City).


I got first in a $5.00 tourney with 86 people in it including one rebuy for $193.78, and then first again in a $2.00 tourney with 124 people in it including one rebuy for $119.75.

11/7 and 11/8 - I had two days off from work...well, sort of...to start the week.  My mother-in-law, Evelyn, was in the hospital in Chattanooga and since Ashlee and her sister were out of town with work, I volunteered to look in on her on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  I took a little time while I was there and while I was traveling back to grab some brews as well.

11/7 - While on a break from Chattanooga hospital duty I stopped by the Hixson location of The Casual Pint for a couple of beers.  I started with the solid Oren IPA from Reformation Brewing down in Woodstock, GA, and then the excellent  Tough Kitty (photo above) milk stout from Boulevard Brewing (Kansas City).  

11/8 - I got a little earlier start back home from Chattanooga today and since the weather was pretty good and I had most of the day to kill, I took "the long way home" with four pretty cool stops along the way...

First up was lunch and a couple pints at Monkey Town Brewing Company in Dayton, TN.   What a great brewery name celebrating this town's interesting history with the Scopes Monkey Trail.   This place has been on my radar to check out for a year or so, and it did not disappoint.  I had a great lunch of salmon tacos and two of their concoctions including their flagship Evolution IPA: Batch #18 which was outstanding, and their very similar in juicy goodness pale ale, the Kirby's Down B Is the Ultimate Finishing Move.

Next stop was up the road a ways in Crab Orchard, TN, at the 100+ foot Ozone Falls.  Recent heavy rains had it booming, and only a few people were there when I stopped by.  This was a real blast from the past since I haven't been here since my early years with Ashlee when we were so poor, hiking to free waterfalls was about our only entertainment.  It's now a state natural area and hopefully getting the preservation it deserves.

Stop # 3 has been on my To-See List for a long time.  Known as The Minister's Tree-house or the Horace Burgess Tree-house, this colossal structure in Crossville, TN, is only visible from a distance now and is off limits due to being condemned as a safety hazard.  It took Burgess 13 years to build it.  It's over 100 feet high, and encompasses seven trees and is estimated to be over 10,000 square feet.  It is unofficially the largest and tallest tree-house in the world.  
(Editor's note:  Sadly, this amazing structure burned to the ground almost two years later,  No official cause, but arson is quite probable.)

I continued on west on I-40 to Cookeville for Stop # 4, the Hix Farm Brewery.  This nano-brewery is just getting started, but I like where they are headed.  I had their excellent Basic Bitch pumpkin imperial stout.  I will make an effort to get back here ASAP.   This town now has three microbreweries and Lebanon and zilch...life ain't fair.   But, hey, what a great Tuesday this turned out to be!  

11/9 - I was a bachelor tonight so I headed down to Murfreesboro after work to catch a flick (loving my new Movie Pass card by the way!).   Beforehand, I stopped by Mayday Brewery and had a pint of their tasty Soul Dark Lager.

Marshall is a well-done historical drama about the early days of Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall as a young discriminated-against lawyer in an early significant case win by the NAACP.

The leaves are falling and the beer is calling...

10/10 - It was opening night for the Nashville Predators 2017-2018 season and they were going to raise our Western Conference Champs banner from last year's Stanley Cup run, so I didn't want to miss it. With the banner up the puck went down for a crazy 6-5 win that started with us losing a 3-0 lead, and then having a comeback from a 5-3 deficit by the end of regulation.  Wow!   I had a beer beforehand at Czann's Brewing for exchange for some free parking with my pal, Wayne.  I had their newly-brewed and tasty Pumpkin Ale.

10/11 - I finally got to go see Blade Runner 2049 in IMAX with my pal, Wayne, tonight.  It was excellent.  Beforehand, I stopped at the Homegrown Taproom for a trio of half-pints that included a very good Smells Like a Safety Meeting IPA from Dark Horse Brewing (MI),  the Red Trail Ale IPA from Nashville's own Blackstone Brewing that I thought was way too devoid of hops, and the spice-laden Pumking (2017) ale from Southern Tier Brewing (NY).  

10/16 - My pal, Wayne, invited me to go with him to see our beloved Tennessee Titans take on our division rival, the Indianapolis Colts, on Monday Night Football tonight.  Combine that with a day off from work to seek out some good beer in Nashville beforehand, makes for a pretty excellent time overall!  

Titans win!  Titans win!  A nice second-half comeback led to a final score of 36-22 for the good guys and giving us a piece of first place in the AFC South...for now.  And we broke an 11-game losing streak to these pukes also!  I even found a new craft beer at Nissan Stadium as Yee-Haw Brewing out of Johnson City, TN, has made a large presence there.  I had their very good Yee-Haw IPA to start the game.  

Earlier that day, after sitting around for hours waiting on bad news, of course, at the Honda dealership in Franklin (hang in there, Jose...that's our 14-year-old CRV), I needed a beer, stat!  I headed straight to Craft Brewed on Franklin Pike for a couple of pints...and my little car got me there just fine, thank you!  I started out with a Schnickelfritz hefeweizen from Urban Chestnut Brewing in St. Louis.  I have to say it was one of the best heffs I have ever had because they are just not my favorite style of beer.   Next up was a hoppy and delicious pint of Wavvy (Batch 2) IPA from Stillwater Artisanal  Brewing in Baltimore.

I Ubered downtown to the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium next.  I haven't been to this seasoned beer bar in a while and I have surely missed it.  I started with a solid Keith's Korner IPA from Perennial Artisan Ales  also out of St. Louis.  This beer name seemed appropriate since I had one of my favorite players, Keith Bulluck. on my mind as a former "Mr. Monday Night Football" in the hey-days of the Titans of the past.  I followed that up with an always-delicious Stone Enjoy by 10.31.17 IPA which had an interesting combo of fall spices and hops.  This California craft-beer giant remains my favorite brewery of them all.

Hey, you gonna throw all that good beer away?  The Flying Saucer is such a cool place (those are pennies behind the taps) and they are real professionals when it comes to making great craft beer available here in Nashville. 

I met Wayne for dinner before the game at the HQ Beercade across the river from the stadium.  After a few rousing games of Galaga, I had their Glazed and Confused bacon burger where the buns consist of glazed donuts.  Jim Gaffigan would be so proud!  With dinner I had a great beer called The Grizz double IPA from Tallgrass Brewing (KS). 

10/18 -  I had a training class for work down in Murfreesboro today, so I drove my own car so I could hang out afterwards in town and catch a showing of American Made with Tom Cruise.  It was a great flick.

Mayday Brewery is a fun place to hang.

Afterwards, I went by The Green Dragon Pub with a beer and some dinner in mind.  The place was so crowded, however, that I couldn't even find a place to sit.  I hate that I didn't get to stay, but I am very happy to see the little place so popular on a Wednesday night!

Since Mayday Brewery is nearby, I ambled over that way for at least a beer.  It too was very busy, but I did manage to get a pint of their yummy Jubilee IPA before heading home.  I was sad to hear earlier in the day that the prolific lead singer for the amazing Canadian rock band, The Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, had passed away after battling cancer, so I lifted this one for him.

RIP, Gord.  

10/20 -  It was Poker Night in Mt. Juliet tonight for me, and I grabbed three new-to-me beers from Lebanon Wine and Spirits' always-excellent craft beer cooler.  First up was the tasty and smooth #Basic Pumpkin Ale from Tailgate Brewing here in Nashville.  Next up was the super-hoppy (which makes me super happy!) Juice Box IPA from 450 North Brewing (IN).  I finished the night with a not-so-great Apex IPA from Bear Republic Brewing (CA).

Finally, a decent finish at The Poker Barn with a 2nd place showing.  It was quite the feat considering I came to the final table as the short stack with well under 10 big blinds...and a little luck with a 9 on the river for a straight to stay alive. 

10/22 - We were over in the 12 South area of Nashville and I got a chance to pop in to The Filling Station and have a pint while Ashlee and a couple other female friends did some shopping around the corner.  Evidently, the shopping wasn't that great because before I could finish my tasty Hitchin' Post Pale Ale from BriarScratch Brewing in nearby Gallatin, TN, they were all back to have a beer as well.  So I got a taste of Ashlee's Garr's Tripel as well from Garr's Beer Company in nearby Franklin, TN.  

Later on we met up with an old, old friend from college, James (Doug) Garza for dinner at Saint Alejo, a great upscale Mexican restaurant in The Gulch.  They had a decent  craft beer list, but I figured a cerveza was called for in this occasion and had the good Victoria Vienna-style lager from Modelo.  Good to see you again, Garza!  Thanks for the pic, Ashlee.

I usually don't like to repeat beer check-ins in this blog, but this view is worth it.  I had another Rompo red ale from Nashville's own Jackalope Brewing  (first one was back in January 2016 at the City Winery here in Nashville) way up on top of the new Westin Hotel in the L27  Rooftop Bar and it was tasty and the scenery was amazing on a beautiful night in Music City.

10/23 - We had dinner at The Pharmacy in East Nashville tonight and I had a terrific Trellis Buster double IPA from Crooked Stave Brewing (CO) with my burger and tots. I also had a sip of Ashlee's Bard of Laketown Saison from The Black Abbey Brewing here in Nashville.

Pilgrimage Pours, Bermuda Shorts and Virginia Creepers

9/23 - 9/24 -  We attended our second ever Pilgrimage Festival this weekend over in Franklin and I was pleasantly surprised at the craft beer choices available...almost as abundant as the great performers they had throughout.

Listening to The Texas Gentleman and  drinking a Michigan craft beer.  Bell's Brewery was a big sponsor of the festival and dominated most of the craft beer choices there.  I didn't mind.  Those Yankees make some great beer!  First off for me was the tasty and hoppy Oatsmobile Ale.  Next was their decent Amber Ale.  I strayed from the Bell's Reservation next with a solid Oktoberfest Gemutlichkeit (2017) from Wiseacre Brewing out in Memphis.

New beer, new band...the tart Oarsman Ale from Bell's Brewing (MI) and Walk the Moon from Cincinnati.

9/24 - Sounding like a young Robert Cray, Devon Gilfillian, had a great set to start Day 2 off with at the new Shady Grove Stage.  While I didn't have any beer at the festival today, I did start the day off with a Hop Lift IPA from Third Street Brewing  (MN) that I got at our local Aldi's grocery store and brought with me.  It was really, really good, but, hey, what do you expect from Aldi?  

9/29 thru 10/8 - We took a cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda, and then to close out the week when we got back, we spent a few extra days in Northern Virginia checking out some wineries and, of course, some breweries.   

I even had a beer I could check in on the flight up to BWI as I saw that Southwest was carrying the Oktoberfest ale from Leinenkugel Brewing (WI).  It wasn't great, but it beats the hell out of their usual choices of domestic, mass-produced swill, and it was free since I had some Southwest drink coupons.  Cheers!

When we got to Baltimore, we went and got a late dinner and a couple beers at the local DuClaw Brewing over at the Arundel Mills Mall .  The beer was decent.  I had the Hop Hammer IPA that was nice and hoppy, and a bit disappointing DLF Coconut Caramel Chocolate Ale.  Their food was outstanding however.

One of of faults I have against cruising is that the beers available on-board are usually pretty unexciting.   The Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas was no exception, but it was actually better than some I have been on and did at least have some choices other than Bud or Bud Light.   Since we did get the unlimited drink package,  because it was such a good deal, I got what I could to check in to my UNTAPPD app.  I had a Paulaner Hefe-Weizen Natural Wheat out of Germany that was decent, plus an Amstel Light lager and a Newcastle Brown Ale (because I never checked them in before).  Other decent stuff I had on the boat that was already checked in were some Sierra Nevada Pale Ales, Guinness Stouts and Red Stripe Lagers.

I loved Bermuda, but was surprised to find they don't have a national beer like many other island nations.  Not that I am big fan of weak lager beers like Red Stripe (Jamaica), Kalik (Bahamas), Belikin (Belize) or Balashi (Aruba), I still always look for what a new-to-me country has to offer.  Thanks to Ashlee, I did find a small craft brewery inside an English pub near our dock called The Frog and the Onion where I had a decent Trunk Island Pale Ale from Dockyard Brewing.  I also had a sip of Ashlee's nice Black Anchor Porter.   

VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS...OF BEER! 

10/5:  Our very first stop after getting back to port and driving to Northern Virginia was Vanish Farms Brewing in picturesque Leesburg, VA, where I had their amazing 6-pack flight.  From left to right was the superb Farmhouse Table Ale; the excellent and tangy Mango Smoothie IPA; the solid Session IPA; the good Fresh Hop Pale Ale; their top-notch flagship IPA, Ghost Fleet; and the amazing Imperial Ghost Fleet IV double IPA.  Very impressive from start to finish.

Little did I know I was on the LoCo Virginia Ale Trail which means this area is chock full of great little breweries...I may need to come back soon!

Before dinner tonight in the movie-set cute town of Purcellville, Virginia, we stopped in Jack's Run Brewing for a four-bang flight that was from right to left:  the goodbye-to-summer Berry White Raspberry Wit, the smooth Happy Ending Cream Ale, the robust yet light Mornin' Joe oatmeal stout and the outstanding Afterburner Mango-Habernero IPA.  I also had a sip of Ashlee's solid Haunted Harvest pumpkin ale.

10/6: You are looking at the only survivor of a mission I tried to carry out to sneak three good beers onto the cruise ship.  Since you are allowed a bottle of wine each to carry on and since Ashlee and our friend, Bethany, were getting the unlimited drink package and didn't need to bring wine, they agreed to bring bomber bottles of beer on for me and hope they would pass for wine bottles.  It didn't work...for the most part...they let this one in because it said wine on the label...lol...whatcha gonna do?  I decided to save this one and not drink it on the boat since I too bought the unlimited drink package and instead toted it all the way Fairfield, Virginia, in a Styrofoam cooler to drink in front of a tee-pee (long story).  I give you the Vivid Sauvage Belgian Style IPA Aged in Red Wine Barrels from Green Flash Brewing (CA).  After all that trouble, it wasn't all that great, but I drank it  anyway for the story.

10/7:  Is there anything better than good beer with a view?  If you don't think so, this place is heaven.  Dirt Farm Brewing up on Blue Ridge Mountain in  Bluemont, VA, is easily one of my Top Ten favorite breweries now not only for their great product, but their outstanding locale.  This pic is of the terrific Boots Off IPA.  I also had their decent Milk Stout and a taste of Ashlee's solid Peter Peter Pumpkin ale.  I also finished the shandy my friend, John, ordered mostly because he doesn't like beer.  It was their Straw golden ale and their own grape soda.  Not to shabby for a shandy. 

Later on at dinner back in Leesburg, I had a Punkin Ale (2017) from Dogfish Head Brewing (DE) with my dinner at Lightfoot Restaurant.

I would love to have a cold one with Jack Nicholson!