Summer's Here and so is BEER!

6/2 - I went with my pal, Toney, to see the new historical WWII drama called Pressure tonight at the Malco Theaters in Smyrna.  Beforehand, we had dinner at the Buffalo Wild Wings nearby that was surprisingly good.   The film was fantastic!  Excellent acting, production design and what an amazing true story!  More like this, Hollywood, please!  

6/6 - I started a week-long pet-sitting job up in Gallatin today.  I have stayed here before and it's an easy gig.    I was shocked, however, to find out that my favorite nearby restaurant, Vui's Vietnamese, has permanently closed as of the end of May.  Wow! That really hurts!   Well, at least there's some other good choices including Awedaddy's Bar and Grill out on Old Hickory Lake.  I met Ashlee and some friends there for lunch today and enjoyed a draft pint of the tasty Briarscratch Creekbank Blonde which I've had before but not attributed to Half Batch Brewing over in Hendersonville who look to have taken over the brewing from Briarscratch Brewing here in Gallatin.  It went well with my excellent sweet chili salmon.  

6/7 - I swung over to nearby Castilian Springs today to take a tour of the Wynnewood State Historic Site. Built in 1830 (probably mostly by slave labor sadly enough) as an inn and spa, it's the largest existing log structure in Tennessee.   I had a private tour since no one but me showed up for the 11 AM slot on a Sunday.  It was very interesting and kind of amazing that we didn't lose the entire thing to a tornado back in 2008 that damaged it greatly including taking the entire roof off the structure.  

6/8 - I had a remote workday today and afterwards I was planning on going to and check out the sold-out Japan National Team practice at Geodis Park as they prepare for The World Cup starting at the end of the week, but the weather was iffy and it was long drive so I gave away my four free tickets as demand to attend got crazier than I was even expecting.  (Heard from a friend who went that I didn't miss much actually.) So instead, I just stayed in and ordered dinner delivered from Campione's Taste of Chicago (a beef and sausage protein bowl and a cup of their homemade chili).  I was excited to learn that a second location in Mt. Juliet has just opened up!   

6/9 - I weathered some stormy conditions tonight and dropped by Half Batch Brewing in Hendersonville since it's pretty close to my dog-sitting house in Gallatin.  I had their very good JoshIPA, and then by the time I had their solid side-poured Personal Czech Pils, the sun was out again. 
Back at the house, I chopped a PokerStars home game vs. 6 other players with rebuys (none for me) to a little more than double my buy-in and add on.  Not much of a success, but I will take it after a rather long period of bad beats and coolers.  

6/10 - I wandered a little farther from the dog-sitting house in Gallatin tonight and visited Yazoo Brewing over in Madison.  I started with their Southern Gratzer which earned me the UNTAPPD badge pictured above.  "Historical beers" are old recipes from a bygone era that modern craft brewers are reviving.   A gratzer (grodzikie) is a long-ago Polish style of brewing that's being reborn here in the U.S.  This is actually my second one of these recently and I do like that faint smoky finish.   I finished with their solid Pilot Series: Weizenbock.  

6/11 - I had another remote workday and then I went to opening night of the new Steven Spielberg UFO flick, Disclosure Day, in IMAX tonight at the Streets of Indian Lake Theaters in Hendersonville along with my friends, Casey and Colin.   We ate beforehand next door at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza which is always good.  With my pizza for dinner, I had a pint of the very good Stone Delicious Hazy IPA from Stone Brewing (CA).  The movie was pretty good.  Could have been better, but still classic Spielberg! 

6/12 - I earned this badge with last night's beer, but it seemed like a good time to post it tonight to honor the USMNT's first World Cup game against Paraguay.  I was still dog sitting so I watched it in Gallatin on my last night there.  The boys dominated Paraguay from start to finish with a 4-1 final score! 

6/13 - I had another overnight dog/house sit in Watertown today.   I also started up Beer Box monthly deliveries again and this month's brews arrived today.  There's a couple of Irish reds, a kolsch, a double and a hazy IPA, a Belgian strong and a lager.  I always love the variety from these guys.  After some fridge time, I cracked open the outstanding NEPA called Par Tee from Pollyanna Brewing (IL).  

6/16 - Ashlee and I went to see our favorite band, Augustana, play for the umpteenth time tonight at Cannery Hall in Nashville and beforehand we had dinner at the Homegrown Taproom in Donelson where I had a couple of pints with my tasty smashburger dinner.  First up was the solid Floyds Deluxe lager from 3 Floyds Brewing (IN) and then thanks to 2-Fer-Tuesday I had the nice red ale from Printshop Brewing in Knoxville called Untitled for free. 

6/17- I had some online poker success tonight by taking down the gold coin (play money) Global Poker Turbo Series Event # 04-M Progressive Bounty Tournament.  I outlasted 66 other players with nine knockouts and with the win I got a special avatar to use on the site plus some Global Poker swag including a hat, a flag and a T-shirt coming to me sometime in the future.

(Editor's note:  The Global Poker Turbo hat, socks and flag came pretty quickly this time!)

It was actually an extra good night on the virtual felt because I also got my first serious tournament cash on ClubGG/Bluffers Poker where I turned $22 into $250+ with a 3rd place finish in a weekly MTT with 94 other players.  That's an ROI of just over 1,100%!  I cashed out $200 which was easy and quick through Venmo.  

6/18 - I had a remote workday today and as part of the current World Cup fever, I stopped by East Nashville Beer Works - Wilson County to catch some soccer action outside on their huge patio screen and have a couple new-to-me brews of theirs.  First up was the excellent NEIPA called Ignore This and then their nice New Zealand style IPA called Chilly Bin.  What a great place to catch a game!  

Later on in the evening, Ashlee and I headed to Nashville to catch comedy legend, Dave Attell, at Zanies and afterwards while waiting to pick up some friends at the airport, we stopped by The Homegrown Taproom again where I had a half pint of the solid Wheat Ale from New Heights Brewing here in Nashville, and then a half pint of the light and summery fruited sour from Xul Beer Company (Knoxville and now here in Nashville) called Tiny Umbrellas. 

6/19 - I had today (Juneteenth) off from work, and it was also the day for the USMNT World Cup game vs. Australia in the World Cup.    This was the perfect way to watch on a hot June day!  I lined up a few dead soldiers during the game and to celebrate the 2-0 win for The Red, White and Blue including a couple repeats and some new-to-me ones including: the very good Maggie's Irish Ale from Saugatuck Brewing (MI); the tasty kolsch called Lu from Solemn Oath Brewing (IL).  Those two were from my recent Beer Box order, and then my friend, Emily, brought me a couple more from a friend of hers recent visit to Montana and Jeremiah Johnson Brewing in Great Falls.  Their Scotch ale called Mountain Man was pretty good and then their Blonde Ale was even better.  

 Also, I had an easy dog-sitting day gig over in a nice house in 5 Oaks today. 

6/20 - I had some more pool time today and another brew from my recent Beer Box order.  With my check-in of the excellent Resin 2026 DIPA from Sixpoint Brewing (NY), I was proud to earn this badge on UNTAPPD and support a great cause.  

6/21 - I headed over to Shotgun Willies BBQ in Nashville today with some friends for beef rib Sunday there.  But at $38, plus $7 more for two sides, it may be just a little overrated, in my humble opinion.  Hell, I had a couple of $7 steaks from Publix yesterday on the grill that tasted better! 
I had some more pool time afterwards and enjoyed a nice pint can of Dicey Riley Irish Red ale from Begyle Brewing (Chicago).  

6/22 - I went to see the new flick, Death of Robin Hood, at the Providence Theaters in Mt. Juliet tonight with my pal, Casey.  It was pretty dark and a bit slow at time, but worth a watch with a great cast and great production design.  
Over the weekend and a couple days this week, I've had an easy cat-sitting gig in the nice Geers Place Subdivision here in Lebanon. 

6/24 - I had more success tonight on ClubGG/Bluffers Poker in the same weekly NLHE tournament I cashed in last week. This time I improved to second place but with less players - 64 - than last week, so my payout and ROI (just over 1,100%) were relatively the same.  I will cash out another $200 tomorrow leaving me enough in the bankroll for a few more tournaments on here.  

6/25 - I had a remote workday and spent some of it dog-sitting again at the nice house in 5 Oaks.  I had lunch at Cedar City Brewing where I had my free monthly flight including their new excellent Vienna Lager.   Later today in the pool, I finished off my latest Beer Box with a can of the very good NEIPA from Rhinegeist Brewing (Cincinnati) called Juicy Truth.  

6/27 - We attended a World Cup game in Atlanta tonight at the Mercedes Benz Dome.  The teams were Uzbekistan vs. DR Congo and while we don't have a rooting interest in either team, it was about the only game that was on a Saturday and close enough and affordable enough (and in a dome because it's damn hot!) for us to attend so as to be just a small part of this massive global event.   Tickets to this game have doubled what I paid for them originally as World Cup excitement is at a fever pitch here in the U.S.  

While neither team is a powerhouse out of the Group K, Congo has a decent chance to move on since they've had a stronger tournament so far with an upsetting 1-1 tie to start things off for them vs. European powerhouse, Portugal.  That was Congo's first goal ever in the World Cup (they haven't been in the World Cup for 52 years), and this is Uzbekistan's first ever appearance in the tournament.  Their first goal and point ever in the World Cup came in an opening 2-1 loss to Colombia.  So, we are definitely seeing some World Cup history here. 

We attended the FIFA Fan Fest beforehand.  It was hot and crowded, but a nice set-up in Centennial Park between our hotel and the stadium.  At our nice Hilton hotel, the American, I had a new-to-me can of craft beer while checking in.  It was the excellent Hazed and Blazed IPA from Fire Maker Brewing right here in the ATL.  

 The game was a classic with Congo coming from a 1-0 halftime deficit to roar ahead for a 3-1 win in the second half!  This was Congo's first ever win in The World Cup!  The win also propels them into the Round of 32 Knockout Stage of the tournament.  It was an awesome atmosphere with good representation of both countries.  Our seats were dead center with good sight lines.   After the game, back at our hotel bar, I had a can of the very nice Local Gold Blonde Ale from Wild Leap Brewing over in LaGrange, GA.  

Congo DR v Uzbekistan 3-1 | Result, Stats & Highlights | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026™ | FIFA

(Editor's note:  Congo put up a strong game against mighty England in their next game falling in the end by a respectable score of 2-1.)

We had a nice discounted rental car from Enterprise (thanks, CU!) to travel down and back in.  I got a slight upgrade to a Hyundai Tucson SUV which was comfy and fairly gas efficient.  On our way home, we stopped at the stunning Riverdance Restaurant overlooking Nickajack Lake in Guild, TN, for lunch.  We are pretty sure some or most of the Spanish National Soccer Team were there at the same time.  With my meal I had their restaurant-brewed solid Amber red ale.  

We got home in plenty of time for me to win our local NLHE tournament on PokerStars tonight.  It was just five other players and one rebuy, but the 340% of ROI was worth noting.  It's also my first outright win on there in a while since we usually chop when we get down to two or three, but I had a significant chip lead when it got down to heads-up, and I just went ahead and plowed through.  

6/29 - I had a remote workday (and the last day with the weekend rental car), so I decided to head to Nashville to check out the new Foundry Fieldhouse and Taproom at the Opryland Hotel.   It's a nice place, but the tap list is nothing to get excited about.  It's definitely not worth the hotel bar prices.  I did have their house Foundry Field House Lager which was decent.  I finished with a pint can of the (wrongly identified on the menu) solid New Heights Red Lasso (2026) red ale.  

Hey, it's better than no waterfall at all.  How could I walk through the "Cascade" Lobby at The Opryland Hotel and past a restaurant called "The Falls" without getting a pic of their fake, but nicely crafted, waterfall?

6/30 - My pal, Toney, and I went to see the new flick, Supergirl, at the Malco Theaters in Smyrna tonight with discount Tuesdays.  I thought the movie was entertaining and rising star, Milly Alcock, was pretty great as the lead.  Not sure where all the hate and bad reviews for this movie are coming from?

7/1 - I watched the USMNT's World Cup game vs. Bosnia/Herzegovina from the pool again tonight.  During the game I enjoyed a pint can of from a variety six-pack from Mt. Juliet Beer Company that I picked up earlier in the week.  It was the excellent IPA called Lion's Tooth from Fonta Flora Brewing (NC).  I also had pretty weak session IPA from Good People Brewing (Birmingham) called Bait and Tackle.  The boys in red, white and blue came out on top 2-0 despite a tough red card handed out to them in the second half.  It's on to face Belgium on Monday in the Round of 16!! 

I also started a NLHE tournament on my phone while in the pool tonight at ClubGG/Bluffers Poker and cashed again (third consecutive week in a row in this particular tournament) with a fourth place finish out of 70 for a nice 700%+ ROI.  I've decided not to cash out this time and will keep my winnings as a bankroll since I had to add funds earlier today.  

7/3 - I was dog-sitting in Watertown with my favorite pit bulls this weekend!  Here's Sampson and me dodging storms and watching Cape Verde almost pull a huge upset on defending World Cup champs, Argentina, with a 3-2 loss in double OT.  I love dog-sitting here since the pups are so sweet and their owners' set-up is so comfortable and quiet.  

7/4 - Back at home, I dipped into the pool and my variety six-pack of pint cans from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company again during our Independence Day pool party today.  I started with the excellent rye IPA called Unseen Things from The Lost Abby Brewing Company (CA).  Next up was the very good DIPA from Abomination Brewing (CT) called Wandering Into the Fog Moonlit Dark Berry.  I finished (had to drive home to the Watertown doggies) with a tasty gift brew from Ashlee's cousins from Cincinnati (photo above).  Maxwell and Coney Go to a Ballgame is a great collaborative DIPA between Hop Butcher Brewing (Chicago) and a brewpub near where the cousins live in Cincy called Wandering Monsters Brewing Company.  

7/6 - I try to keep this blog upbeat and positive, but sometimes the day is just a bust overall.  I planned to spend some of my remote workday in Murfreesboro today with lunch at Jack Brown's Beer and Burger Bar where I would have their "Nashville Burger Week" special.  Well, Murfreesboro is NOT Nashville, so this location was not doing the special.  My bad, I guess.  Oh well, their daily burger special, the "Mollydooker" with blue cheese crumbles was solid.  My two 10-oz. brews were good also.  They were the session IPA called Forever Ever from Other Half Brewing (Brooklyn, NY), and the Bluewing Berry Wheat from Flyway Brewing (AR).     I was also going to drop by Flashback Arcade and play some old-school video games for an hour or so, but they are closed on Mondays despite what the internet says.  Bad info.  Womp, womp. 

The biggest disappointment of the day, however, was the USMNT getting smacked around by Belgium in the World Cup by a 4-1 score.  How deflating!  I should have watched it from the pool again, I guess for better luck. Even the online poker results were bad tonight.  Geez, let's just move on the next day!! 

7/7 - The delayed new issue of the "Ante Up" online poker magazine came out last night.  My monthly column looked good as usual (at least I think so). 

I am also had a couple of evening dog-sitting gigs back at the nice house in Five Oaks this week.  No overnights, just drop-ins.  Easy money!  

I got my first four-page spread this month, but I think this was more of a case of lack of content than expansion of my poker prose on music.  

I also don't usually feature three songs in one column, but the ones I chose really didn't have enough content for a full article each, so it made for a nice combo.  

I also reached out of my comfort zone in terms of style of music this issue which I feel is important for me and any readers of this monthly column.  

Maybe I should have said "3 and a half page spread."

(Editor's note: On their companion podcast following the release of this month's issue, I got a very nice shout-out by name and a glowing review of my column by the magazine's producers, Joe and Elle Scales.) 

7/8 - I got my second outright NLHE tournament win in a row with our local PokerStars group tonight vs. 8 other players for a nice ROI of right under 400% after buy-in, add on, and an agreement to pay the 4th place bubble a little.  I didn't cash in the ClubGG Wednesday weekly tournament for the first time in three weeks, but got close when my A7 suited ran into a bigger AJ hand with about 20 players left.  Sadly, they were only paying 15 places. 

7/10 - We had dinner IN THE POOL tonight with some great grub delivered from Chilis.  I also broke out a couple of pool beers including a nice Dunkel from The Black Abbey Brewing Company here in Nashville that someone brought to our recent 4th of July party.  Thanks to whoever that was!  I also had one from a recent variety four-pack from The Mt. Juliet Beer Company called Well, I'll Be, an excellent hazy pale ale from Fonta Flora Brewing (NC).  

7/13 thru 7/15 - I was able to attend the pricey ($800) ACT Summit Conference in Nashville the first three days of this week for work.  It was held at the very nice JW Marriott Hotel downtown.  It was dull at times, but the food was pretty good and free, and the Diet Mt. Dews were unlimited!  On Monday night, we had an open bar and more free food at the Garth Brooks' bar, Friends in Low Places, where the first two floors were ours for two hours!  Guess I know why it was $800 pp now to attend!  My co-worker, Guiselle, went also and she's nice enough, but, man, she pretty much never shuts up, including complaining about free food!!  Whatever, lady, you better appreciate what you get from our rinky-dink jobs.  Before that, we also had a drink upstairs in top of the hotel with a great view of the stormy weather charging around the Nashville area.   

On Tuesday, I had a pool beer at home afterwards to celebrate not having to ride there and back with motormouth tomorrow.  She's driving her own car.  Hey, it's the little things!  I had a pint can of the solid hazy IPA called Beach Monster from Abomination Brewing (CT).  This was one from a variety four-pack I got at Mt. Juliet Beer Company a couple weeks ago.  
On Wednesday after the half-day conclusion of the ACT Conference, I stopped by Cledis Burgers and Beer Garden in Nashville for lunch (thanks CU!) and I also had a brew (on my own dime).  It was the very good pale ale from Soul and Spirits Brewing in Memphis called Crosscut.  

7/15 - My pal, Casey, and I went to see the new film Young Washington at our local Roxy Theaters (yes, I am giving them another chance - but the place is still a dump - although it did seem a bit cleaner tonight).  The movie was Casey's request, and I wasn't too keen on seeing this one since it's from the religious-based Angel Studios and has some t-RUMP ties to it, but it is rated PG-13 and getting decent reviews, and it does have the great Andy Serkis in it.  I thought the movie was actually pretty good.  Serkis was great as General Braddock and the young actor playing Washington wasn't bad.  There was a little political rhetoric at the end of the film, but nothing too pushy.  
Beforehand, we had dinner next door at the always good Demos' Restaurant. 

7/16 - I went to the VERY SOLD-OUT EVERYWHERE opening night of the new Christopher Nolan film, The Odyssey, in IMAX at the Streets of Indian Lake Theaters in Hendersonville with some friends tonight. 
I had to leave for the movie after work from Mt. Juliet where I got a last-minute pet-sitting gig over the long weekend starting tonight.  No great digs, but their money is green at least.  The dogs, Arya and Bear, are huge, but sweet.  
The film was simply epic!   Just give Nolan the Oscar for Best Picture right now to save time.  I can't wait to go see it again in IMAX 70mm! 

7/17 - It was a remote day at work for me today, so I just hung out most of the time with the doggies in Mt. Juliet before heading to Nashville for an NSC game tonight vs. Atlanta with my pal, Nate.  I parked at Fait la Force Brewing for free, as usual, and had a new-to-me pint of their New England style pale ale called Minor Spectacle.  The Boys in Gold were back after a long World Cup break and seemed a bit sluggish until late in the second half when they got the one goal that they needed to secure the win, the three points and the continuing lead in the table as the # 1 team in MLS!! 

7/18 - This month's Beer Box shipment came today, and it is another dandy with a wide range of styles and only one I've had before.  To celebrate its arrival, I had a cold beer in the pool while opening the box.  It was the last one from a recent variety four pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company - an excellent IPA from Lost Coast Brewing (CA) called Every Everything.

7/19 - I went to see The Odyssey again tonight with Ashlee and some friends.  This time it was at the Regal Hollywood Theaters in RPX (recliners!) in Nashville. I can't wait to go yet again and see it in 70mm IMAX.  
Beforehand, I had a couple of pool beers from yesterday's Beer Box shipment.  First up was the decent session IPA from Sweetwater Brewing down in Atlanta called the High Light Easy IPA.  After that I had a can of the smooth, malty and light English-style ale called Public Beer from Middle Brow Brewing (Chicago). 

7/21/22 - I had a hectic dog-sitting day/overnight today along with taking care our own beasties with Ashlee out of town for work.  I have eliminated Gallatin from my Rover range, but these are previous clients who had a death in the family, so I felt like I needed to help out.  

7/22 - I had another remote workday today and with Ashlee out still out of town for work, I went solo tonight to see Lindsey Stirling at The Ascend Amphitheater thanks to a $30 flat ticket promotion.  (pic on phone at 6/2) 

7/23 - Toad the Wet Sprocket and Men at Work at The Pinnacle with my work buddy, Todd.  (show poster pic on phone at 6/2) Beforehand, we dropped by Living Waters Brewing for a pre-show libation.  I had their 

7/25 - It was double duty today with doggie drop-ins at two locations which really kept me busy.  

7/26 - I was back at the $2 million lake house today for some easy cat-sitting this week. 

7/30 - I went to opening night of the new Marvel Studios flick, Spiderman: Brand New Day, tonight at the Roxy Theaters here in town.  I thought it was (movie poster pic on phone at 6/2) 

8/3 - Remote day at work.  Titans practice. I went to see The Odyssey again (3rd time!) but in IMAX 70MM at the Opry Mills Theaters in Nashville this afternoon.