I like craft beer....yeah, no shit....cuz 2,500 is a big number!

WEATHER I have a craft beer or not is irrelevant...

We took a fun trip to New York, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard over Labor Day Weekend and I was able to find some good beer along the way...I know, what a shocker...

8/31 - One of our first stops in Queens, NY, was a hotel, but not one we were staying in.  My trip research found that the swanky new Boro Hotel has a roof-top bar with a great views of the Manhattan skyline and a decent craft beer list.  Too bad when we got there on a sunny Saturday afternoon that we found out it doesn't open til 5 PM.  Huh??  What a waste.  The fact about a good craft beer list was true and at least the downstairs restaurant bar was open and we had a few libations out on the patio.  I had a great Otherside IPA from Greenport Harbor Brewing (Greenport, NY) and a solid Imposter Pilsner from Barrier Brewing over on Long Island, NY, in the hamlet of Oceanside.  I got this cool badge on UNTAPPED.  It's nice to see more and more hotels like this one with cool bars and restaurants in them serving up good local craft beer.

I somehow got our group of four to agree to stop by a nearby craft brewer in the Long Island City neighborhood called Big Alice Brewing  The place was small, packed and the beer was outstanding!  We shared a 5-beer taster flight (it was a sixer, but one was a repeat) that went like this in rank of my faves:
1.  Jalapeno Rye -  great pepper kick after a smooth entry
2.  Lemongrass Kolsch - man, this would be great with some Thai food!
3.  Sweet Potato Farmhouse Ale - this was our double-order and it was very good
4. Oatmeal Stout - solid as the day is long
5.   BQX: Brooklyn-Queens Connector double IPA - hard to believe an IPA came in last in the ranking, but it was fantastic too.  

How the hell am I at only level 2 of tasting badges on UNTAPPD?  Oh yeah, because I just realized recently you could check beers in as tasters and I am wayyyyy behind in selecting that option.

Not a great beer, but a very cool experience.  We had dinner at Arepa Lady, a Colombian-based eatery in the ethnically diverse neighborhood of Jackson Heights so I had to have something "local" with my dinner..  This is an Aguila lager, a so-so mass-produced cerveza from Cerveceria Bavaria (Bogota, Columbia).  Serving it up in a Ball Mason jar was a nice touch.

9/1 - Ah, the U.S. Open!  The majesty, the athletic prowess, the excitement...the downright AWFUL BEER SELECTIONS!! Come on, man!  You can't have some local New York craft beer at least somewhere in this giant complex?  Nope.  This is a  lame old formaldehyde-laced (hey, that's what I read) Heineken lager from Holland.  Whoopdee-doo.  At least the tennis was outstanding.

You kddin' me?  Heineken 0.0?  Why would I want the dreck taste of Heineken without at least the mild punch of alcohol?  Good thing this was a free sample  I do like the look of my new North Coast Brewing  (CA) patch I had put on a Tommy Bahama shirt.  Only took me two years to get around to it!  

Nothing to do with beer.  I just thought this was a cool shot of rows of subway cars next to the new Citi Field Stadium, home of the New York Mets. 

We had a classic sketchy bodega around the corner from our AirBnB apartment, and I was sure they would have some new-to-me beers to purchase.  Nope.  I had to settle for a few cans of Narragansett Lagers from Rhode Island which went down pretty good after a long day in the borough watching fuzzy yellow balls go back and forth.  Hey, it sure beat Heineken.  

9/3 - Well, what craft beer I didn't find at the bodega was made up for nicely today over at the nearby Laguardia Airport as we waited for our flight to Nantucket. 
There once was a man going to Nantucket...
They had a surprisingly good beer list and a new easy table-top ordering system at the bar in Terminal A.  I started with a nice Nut Brown Lager from KelSo Beer Company (Brooklyn, NY) and finished with a tasty White witbier from Allagash Brewing (ME) which earned me a cool badge and milestone on UNTAPPD.

What a cool, quirky little town and island Nantucket, Massachusetts, is.  By the way, if you are looking for 399 Wharf Street, it's to the left.  It's definitely got a Key West/Outer Banks feel to it despite being covered in old New England money.  We had dinner soon after we landed and Ubered to our hotel at a place called the Company of Thieves Pub that had a good (albeit pricey) craft beer list.  I had a very good Pompeii IPA from Toppling Goliath Brewing (IA) and a Gripah Grapefruit IPA that was equally good from Cisco Brewing which is right here on the island.  

I trusted my pal, Chris, to pick us up some beer at a local liquor store that we could enjoy back at the hotel on their back patio and, man, did he deliver!  He found some tasty and new-to-me pint cans of regional craft beer.  
Welcome to CANtucket!!
 Tonight I had The 87 double IPA from Night Shift Brewing over in Everett, MA, that was sensational, and a really good Epiphany double IPA from Foundation Brewing (ME), and finally, a nice Berner IPA from Otter Creek Brewing (VT).  Here's an old pre-blog story about Otter Creek Brewing:  I was on a solo photography trip up into New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, several years ago and remember calling Ashlee (from a payphone, it was that long ago) from the Manchester, NH, airport saying with a slurred voice that "oooo-only two more Otter Creek pints and I ge-ge-get a free glass."   This was very early in my craft beer career, and, yes, I got the glass.

9/4 - We took a day trip over to Martha's Vineyard Island and cruised around the beautiful place in a rental car.  Our group allowed me to make a stop in small and quaint Edgartown at Bad Martha Brewing where I had their incredibly good Half Shell Oyster Stout.  Bad Martha doesn't seem all that bad to me?
Before leaving the island we had a quick meal and a brew at Fishbones Cafe.  I had a very good IPA called The Lazy Frog from the Offshore Beer Company right here in Oak Bluffs.  On the HY-Line Fast Ferry back to Nantucket I had a so-so Cape Cod IPA from Cape Cod Beer in nearby Hyannis, MA, over on the mainland.  

9/5 - I finally made it out to the only brewery on Nantucket Island, Cisco Brewers, on our last day on the island (we thought, a later flight cancellation would change that fact).  It was a great and lively place and they even had a free shuttle to and from town to their farm-set brewery about 3 miles out.  While visiting, I had a sip of Ashlee's nice witbier called The Grey Lady, a really good pint of their Fogged In IPA, and finished with a unique and tasty Crantucket brut IPA made with local cranberries which are abundant here on the island and currently in season.

So, yeah, we spent another unplanned night on the island when the last United flight tonight was cancelled kind of last minute.  Uggghh!!  I did drown my sorrows a bit back over at the Brotherhood of Thieves Pub with a tasty Slate ale from Idle Hands Craft Ales in Malden, MA.  

9/7 - It was time for the Moon River Music Festival down in Chattanooga again this weekend, but man was it hot outside.  Ashlee and I dropped into The Brewhaus before enduring the outside inferno and had a cold one at a lesser price than what we would find at the festival.  I had the tasty Black Lager from Chattanooga's own Odd Story Brewing.and a taste of Ashlee's decent Moon Chute Wheat from another local microbrewery, Wanderlinger.  

The founder of the Moon River Music Festival is musician and Nashville native, Drew Holcomb.  I stole this picture from the Facebook page of another brand new Chattanooga craft brewery coming soon called Five Wits Brewing.  Evidently, Drew, "helped out" with their brewing one day recently and has invited them to sling some of the wares at the festival this weekend.  I can't wait to try them and "Prost! Drew!"  

Man, Chattanooga is becoming quite the little craft beer town!  Five Wits will be coming soon to the Southside.  I love their logo.  

I enjoyed a pint can of Kolsch by Yee Haw Brewing  (Johnson City, TN) while watching Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds tear up the Iris Stage down in Coolidge Park with some rock and soul as our first show of the 2019 Moon River Music Festival.  

The beers were pricey.  Hey, it's a music festival.  But at least they were plentiful, unique and home-state made.  I tried both offerings by the fledgling Five Wits Brewing coming soon to here in Chattanooga. Their American Wheat was great in the sweltering heat.  And in hindsight, the best beer I had at the festival  came next and it was their Golden Ale (with Peaches and Tropical Fruit).  So good! 

I dove into the heat later in the afternoon to get closer to the main Poplar Stage while Ashlee stayed in the shade farther back to catch most of the set by Nashville's own, Moon Taxi.  I really enjoyed their show and have become an instant fan.  And lead singer and guitarist, Trevor Terndrup and his hair were braving  the hot temps fabulously.  

9/8 - Day 2 of The Moon River Music Fest was briefer for us since the heat was still ever-present, the line-up wasn't as stellar and we had to get back home at a decent hour.  But the Tennessee craft beer was still flowing and I had a nice duo of brews including a solid kolsch from Blackberry Farm Brewery (Maryville, TN) called Goat Hill, and the Oktoberfest marzen from Yee-Haw Brewing over in Johnson City, TN.  

My best bargain of the day, and, hey, probably the best beer of the day, came while we were walking out of the festival and stopped by Harry's Shell Gas Station who claim to have a "big craft beer selection"...and they do!  I got a king-size Kit-Kat bar and a pint can of Bell's Official Hazy IPA (2019) for less than half of what one 12 oz. beer cost at the festival 100 yards away.  "Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes" as Mr. Buffet always says! 

Damn right, it's been a while since I posted one of these!  I have been playing steadily online at Global Poker and not losing money, but also not making any more with some small cashes than what is needed to pad the ol' bankroll, but tonight was a bit of breakthrough even if only a small one.  I got second place in my beloved Crazy Pineapple MTT with 40 other players and turned my $5.50 investment into just over $40 in profit.  Maybe this will be the start of a good roll. 

9/10 - Now we are cooking!  Another second place finish, but this time in a much larger field of 118 other players with rebuys.  I turned a $7 investment into over $140 in profit!  Time to win one of the suckers again as my next step upward!  
9/13 - New blog addition - I send 10% of my significant poker wins to charity so the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society got $15 today! Go get them assholes!!

9/14 - Thanks to some crazy hot September weather, we had a full in-the-pool weekend and that, of course, included libations.  Today I had a terrific can of Traffic IPA from Crosstown Brewing (Memphis) that  I got in a variety pack over at Lebanon Wine and Spirits.  I also had a great bottle of Oakspire Bourbon Barrel Ale (2019) from New Belgium Brewing (CO) that my friend, Charly, gave me a while back.  Thanks, bud! 

9/15 - Day two of the September Pool Weekend started with a can of Hoppin' Bubbly, a Brut IPA collaboration between Terrapin Beer Company (GA) and mass-produced Miller Brewing (WI).  If you are going to a do bubbly IPA, you might as well work with the "Champagne of Beers."  It was pretty terrific and perfect for a blazing hot day.  

I love the lack of animosity between most craft brewers.  Collaborations, guest taps, borrowing equipment, recommending each other to visitors.  The way it should be.  Cheers! 

We invited some friends over to the pool today also and one of them was my pal, Charly, who brought this bomber to share of Bourbon County Brand Stout (2018) 14.7%. from Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago) This imperial stout was my first 5-star rating on UNTAPPD in a very long time.  Incredible taste! Not too shabby for what is now considered a macro-brewery.

Yeah, it's hot as blazes and only early September, but fall is out there and on it's way.  Thank goodness for cooler temps and good beer!  

I had to share in turn with Charly, so we cracked open this delicious Trip in the Woods: Rum Barrel-Aged Quad from Sierra Nevade Brewing (CA) that almost as good as the previous bomber.  I got this one on our trip to Bryson City, NC, early last month.
I finished the day with a can of Siren blonde ale from Crosstown Brewing (Memphis) from my variety pack.  It was decent, but couldn't compare to the monsters that came before it.

9/16 - A big milestone today on UNTAPPD and I have the beer belly to prove it!!  It's been a fun ride, let's roll toward 5K!!

I couldn't think of a better beer to check-in for my 2,500th than the classic Stone IPA.  One of my favorite beers of all time that somehow I never checked in on UNTAPPD and my favorite craft brewer of them all.  And what a better night to check it in than at Lebanon Poker Night where I got second place, chopped $800 and kept my partner, Chip, and I in first place points-wise!
In addition throughout the night I also had an excellent Pumpkin Ale from Schlafly Brewing (St. Louis) and a nice Orange Wheat from Tailgate Brewing here in Nashville.

9/20 - I had a day off today and started off with lunch at one of my favorite spots, Blossom Thai Restaurant and Cellar Door Craft Cavern, up in Hendersonville.  I had their awesome chicken-fried rice and a tasty So Euro international IPA from nearby Half Batch Brewing.

I was in Hendersonville to catch an IMAX screening of the new space film, Ad Astra, at the Street of Indian Lake Theaters.  It was pretty good, but not near as memorable as Christopher Nolan's Interstellar from a few years ago which it seemed to be trying to emulate.  

I took a gamble on my next film in my double-feature day-off, and checked out Brittany Runs a Marathon down in Mt. Juliet at the Providence Theaters.  Yep, I enjoyed it even more than the first film and even teared up at the end.  Great, great film.  These are my least favorite local theaters since they don't have recliners, but it made the most sense to see it here since I was going to play poker at the Poker Barn nearby this evening.

I hadn't visited the Poker Barn in a while and it might be the one of the last times since my friend and host, Zack, is saying this will be the last "season" of poker here and this particular tournament is the next to last one..  He says there will still be occasional special tournaments, but not a regular schedule as before.  Too bad.  Even though I can't attend a lot, and have never fared really well here (a recent 2nd place being my best finish ever), it's still one of my favorite places to play, and I have learned a lot of the game here since it's a very tough room with a lot of good, aggressive players.
I stopped by Providence Wine and Spirits and got a variety three-pack for the night.  First up was an excellent pint can of Vermont Maple DIPA from Decadent Ales (NY).  Next in line was another great pint can, the Azacca IPA, from Founders Brewing (MI).  I concluded the night with a ho-hum 12th place finish (out of 27) and another pint can.  This one was the Low and Slow Pilsner from Westbrook Brewing (SC) which was much better than my poker playing.

9/22 - While my luck at The Poker Barn stayed the same as usual, my game saw the biggest win of the year for me online today with an afternoon win of a fairly large $10 tournament.  I bested 89 other folks with one re-buy and an add-on available.  I did neither. so my $11 investment turned into a $435 profit!!

The strong day of online tournament poker ended with another second place finish tonight in my usual nightly Crazy Pineapple entry of $5 besting 58 other player for another $54 of profit.

 New blog addition - I send 10% of my significant poker wins to charity so the Save the Redwoods League got $50 today! Save those beautiful giants!!

9/23 - I headed into Nashville tonight on my own since Ashlee double-booked herself to catch Friends 25th:  The One With the Anniversary on the big screen at Hollywood 27 Theaters (recliners!).  They showed four classic episodes including the pilot and one of my favorites where Chandler is caught in a blackout inside an ATM vestibule with the luscious Jill Goodacre, but I was disappointed there weren't interviews and other bonus features that I was expecting, and thought I read would be included.
I stopped by Various Artists Brewing on the way and hit the jackpot (sort of) when I ordered a pint of their IPA called Pedal Tavern 'Mishap' and kicked the keg.  They happened to be running a promotion that if you kicked one of their kegs with your order then you got a free pint and a T-shirt!!  They replaced it with a new double IPA called An Even Better Time which was solid.  It was so new, in fact, that I got to enter it into UNTAPPD as a new brew.  I finished with a four-ounce pour of their German pilsner hilariously named A Kiss From Dick.  It was light and refreshing as I assume a kiss from Dick would be?

9/24 - I was back over at the Hollywood 27 Theaters tonight to catch The Shawshank Redemption 25th Anniversary.  I still think it should have won Best Picture back in 1994.  I was a little disappointed in this showing that the film wasn't restored, and that there was no intro before the film started.  Oh, well.  I stopped by  Black Abbey Brewing on my way and a couple of really good pints.  First up was their porter, the Forty Four With Chickory (Cask Conditioned) that was super smooth and easy drinking.  I finished with their Belgian strong dark ale, Hope and Faith.

And I can spell cerveza, lager, pilsner and I know the history of why it's called an India pale ale...

Another beer blog entry, go figure

Facebook can be evil in so many ways....

7/26 - "Friday night, it was late, I was walking you home and I was thinking about craft beer..." Isn't that how the Little River Band song, "Reminiscing" goes?  Maybe not, but it was Friday night and we were enjoying the pool so I tapped into my variety six-pack I had gotten earlier in the day at Lebanon Wine and Spirits.  I started with a Salt Life Lager from Salt Life Beverage LLC  (USA?) which I would call BS on actually being a craft brewer, but Abita Brewing (LA) helped out according to the can info, so I will give it a pass.  It was still way to close to Budweiser for my taste, but I do like their logo.   I finished on a much better note with a After-Sesh Ale from Cigar City Brewing (Tampa).  

7/27 - I finished out my variety six-pack on Saturday which was a perfect pool day.  I started with a great Ocansey pale ale from Crosstown Brewing in Memphis.  This was my first brew from these folks over in Memphis and I  really enjoyed it.  I am looking forward to finding more of their creations. Next up was a bottle of the so-so Samuel Adams Rebel Juiced IPA (Boston).  Then a very good Kentucky Tequila Barrel Wheat from Lexington Brewing (KY).  I finished the day with a nice and light Cerveza lager from Yee-Haw Brewing over in Johnson City, TN.  

7/28 - Today was a kind of a weird one as we headed down to Chattanooga to attend a memorial service for Ashlee's great Uncle Bob.  He passed recently at the age of 96 and led a full and interesting life.  He was an engineer and an inventor including the famous Play-Doh Fun Factory.  He worked on the Manhattan Project during WW II as well.  He and his immediate family are a bit eccentric, so the service was a little all over the place, but they meant well.  Afterwards, we had an early dinner with Paige, Andy and Ella at the always-tasty Edley's BBQ in North Chattanooga where I had a Golden Blackbird Belgian Blonde from local OddStory Brewing.  It was terrific as were my brisket tacos!  Here's to you, UB!! Cheers! 

I finished the day back home with a late-night win online in a NL Hold'em tournament.  It was a n unlimited re-buy with 112 other players and I turned  an entry-fee and an add-on totaling $6 into about $190 worth of profit.  These winnings will be my stake for an upcoming tournament series on Global Poker that I hope to play several events in over the next couple weeks for hopefully even bigger returns.  We shall see...

7/30 - Not a big cash with this third place finish today vs. 94 others and unlimited rebuys, but it was still $50+ in profit since I only added on.  The most unusual fact about this one is that I started it during work (shhh, don't tell anyone).  Sure, there was only 30 minutes left in the work day, but it was still naughty...

8/1 - I couldn't let IPA Day pass without a libation, so Ashlee and I stopped by the Homegrown Tap Room over in Hermitage for dinner on the way to a movie.  I started with a decent Westbrook Brewing (SC) IPA.  I had a couple sips of Ashlee's interesting Ancient Berry Kombucha from Flying Embers Brewing (CA).  

I finished with an excellent Streaker rye IPA from Rhinegeist Brewing (Cincinnati) and I was pretty proud of my check-in on UNTAPPD of it.  #FranktheTank

8/2 - We headed back to the mountains today for our annual early-August long weekend.  We returned to  Bryson City again this year to do some tubing on Deep Creek which we didn't get to do last year due to flood-stages water levels.  On the way, I found a pint can of the terrific Dayglow IPA from Elysian Brewing (WA) in a gas station. Open container, open consmainer. Thanks for driving, Ashlee! 

A return to Bryson City meant a return to Mountain Layers Brewing where I had the tasty, but grapefruit-juice looking Dragon Tamer NEIPA.  It seemed an appropriate choice since we did just complete another drive on The Tail of the Dragon (Highway 129) coming here.  

My pal, Charly, and I got a couple of  Mountain Layers Brewing crowlers to go and enjoy back at the rental house tonight also.  We cracked the Baltic Delight Russian Imperial Stout that was amazingly good.  It did not last the night.  

Always good to be back in the mountains...with good craft beer....

Another great find and addition to Bryson City is BC Outdoors and more importantly, their impressive Tap Room (Craft Beer Department) next door to their store.  I had a half-pint of the solid BPA (Belgium pale ale) from the Hillman Beer Company (Asheville, NC).   I also had a couple sips of Charly's choice, the Chuffed To Bits English mild ale from Archetype Brewing which is also in Asheville.  

8/3 - After a fun day of tubing on nearby Deep Creek, a few of us were willing to head back out to Nantahala Brewing Company in Bryson City for a quaff.  I had the Dirty Girl Blonde with Strawberries that was OK, but I just didn't taste much of the strawberry infusion.   I also had a sip of Charly's Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout that was very good (and better than my choice).  I also had a sip of Wayne's Carolina Apple cider that wasn't bad either.

After my beer, it was good to head back out to Juney Whank Falls for another hike and visit.  This is on my favorite waterfalls in the area and I thought this reverse panoramic shot was pretty cool.   Afterwards we stopped back by the  BC Outdoors Tap Room for a few more libations.  I had an excellent Soul-vation IPA from Innovation Brewing over in nearby Sylva, NC.  I had a sip of Charly's Luchador Mexican Lager from the The Mason Jar Lager Company (NC) that was pretty tasty. I also tasted (and then finished) Wayne's expensive choice of the Lime Agave ginger beer from Ginger's Revenge (Asheville, NC) which he didn't like, but I thought tasted like a kambucha which I have been exploring recently.

8/4 - As we were packing up today and leaving the rental house, I found someone had left some bottles of Mango Wheat from Blue Moon Brewing (CO) from a previous visit.  After a half-bottle, I now know why there were left there...mehh.  Our next to last stop before leaving North Carolina was a few miles east in the small town of Sylva to the unique, charming and weird Museum of the American House Cat.  This one-man creation/collection is amazing and one of my favorite displays was the Super Lucky Cat from Japan holding his Asahi Beer.  

Right before we got back into Tennessee, we stopped at the beautiful Tapoco Lodge for lunch and a libation out on the Cheoah River-side patio.  I had a great pint of Reward Pale Ale from Boojum Brewing in nearby Waynesville, NC with my awesome lunch of fried trout bites.

I had a bachelor week as Ashlee was out of town for work and I was going to travel to play some live tournament poker, but decided since I was running pretty good online, I would just save money and time and just stay home and play as many events as possible in the The Goat Series on Global Poker that is running this week.  Here's how it went:

8/4 - Small cash in a series event
8/5 - Final table, 4th place, in small side tournament while I enjoyed a pint can of Twisting River Wit from Deep River Brewing (NC) from my first from the variety 5-pack from the  Bryson City Outdoors Tap Room while in the pool.
8/6 - It was just not my night, but I did have a light and tasty can of Innertube Lager from Burial Beer Company (Asheville) from my variety 5-pack while playing in the pool.
8/7 - Another small cash in a daily event and close to the money in a series event, but that's about it.  I did have a great pint can of Lazy Bird Brown Ale from Birdsong Brewing (Charlotte, NC) from my BC variety pack.  

8/8 - I took a sneaky bachelor sick day off (cough cough) today and headed over to East Nashville to check out the brand new Living Waters Brewery.  These guys brew coffee AND beer, and do the latter very well I must say!  I started with their lovely Seven Sisters w/ Pineapple NEIPA.  I followed that with the outstanding Rubicon w/ Guatemala Pulcal coffee stout.  These guys are going to be special to me I can see since their beer is terrific, they name their beers after waterfalls and it's just a cool place to hang out.  The photo above is some wall art in the brewery with their logo twisted circle logo infused into it.  

Living Waters Brewing was officially the 150th different brewery I have visited (at least while on UNTAPPD).  Only a few thousand more to go and I am up for the challenge!  

My afternoon plans started out OK with a stop at the 12 South Taproom where I was fooled into drinking an expensive sour called the Natura Morta with Blood Orange from Green Flash Brewing (CA) that UNTAPPD has listed as a saison and 12 South calls a wild ale, but trust me, it's a sour.  Yecch!  I countered with a tasty Yallarhammer pale ale from Blackberry Farms Brewing (Maryville, TN) that blew the keg when I ordered it and got (almost) a half-pint at no charge.  Thanks 12STR!   I had planned on seeing a movie next at the Belcourt Theaters but just could not find parking and had to just pull the plug and head home.  It's become a real problem and I will need to make adjustments when coming here in the future I guess.

8/10 - I finished off my Bryson City variety pack in the pool today.  I started with a pint can of Southern Girl golden ale from Sycamore Brewing (Charlotte, NC) that was tasty and smooth.  I finished with a salute to my pal, Craig, with a decent can of Old Tuffy lager from New Belgium Brewing (NC and CO).  It's a salute to the NC State Wolfpack of which Craig is a big fan.  Yes, I brought him a can as well.  As a Duke fan, we have sparred many times over the years during ACC basketball season and I pull for the pack except when they are playing the Blue Devils.  Go DUKE!!  

8/11 - We attended a beer-and-donut pairing today at Mayday Brewing down in Murfreesboro.  The donuts were provided by the local bakery, Donut Country.  The pairings  were pretty good even though the event was a little disorganized.  I had only had one of the four beers before, so in order  of what was new to me as seen in the above photo, I had the Unithorn Blackberry Sour which was more tart than actually sour; the Lemon-Basil Sour which wasn't too bad either; and the excellent Donut Country Coffee Stout.  Before the pairing I had a pint of their pretty good  I Am Brut IPA and a couple sips of Ashlee's light, but tasty, Going Commango shandy.

We had two more stops afterwards to make it quite the Sunday Funday.  First up was a quick visit to the nearby Hop Springs Beer Park where I had a solid Raider IPA from Steel Barrel Brewing, one of three nano-breweries operating here.  We headed back to Wilson County for dinner at the always-great Cherokee Steak House where my friend, Charly, and I broke the rule about "No Beer" from outside and sneaked in our crowler of Wee Be Heavy Scotch Ale that we brought back from Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City.  We drank it from wine glasses, of course, to aid in our ruse that it was red wine to the casual observer/waitress. 

I finished the night off out in the hammock in the back yard looking for shooting stars in the ongoing Persiad Meteor Shower but had luck seeing any, but I did get this pretty cool shot (not bad for an Iphone pic) of the moonlight behind the trees and Jupiter's bright pin-prick in the sky to the south.  

8/13 - I saw the new film, The Kitchen, tonight at the Roxy Theaters (recliners!) here in town with my pal, Casey, on $5 Bargain Tuesday.  It was pretty good albeit a bit choppy in editing, but then when I learned it was based on a comic book (oddly enough) it kind of made sense as the scenes seemed to jump from one to another like panels in a comic.

8/14 - I actually had a legit day-off today so I could go see the Titans practice with the New England Patriots over at Baptist Sports Park.   Ashlee went with me and we only stayed about an hour due to the oppressive heat, but it was enough time to get a close-up look at The GOAT, Tom Brady, in action.  I spent the afternoon in the pool with a half-growler of Bubble Tub, a watermelon-based farmhouse ale from Whiner Beer Company (Chicago) that I got from Providence Wine and Spirits.  I also had a can of Lager of Love from Saugatuck Brewing (MI).  Ashlee picked this six-pack out because she liked the can colors and its friendly LGBT message, but it also just a good beer for hot summer days in the pool.

8/16 - Tonight was a start of a bachelor weekend for me as Ashlee was traveling to San Francisco to see a sick friend.  After dropping her off at the airport, I headed downtown for a date with Melissa Etheridge at The Ryman Auditorium.   I have loved her music for a very long time, but never seen her play live.  I also can't say I wasn't a little disappointed when she came out as gay after staring at this 1992 "Never Enough" album cover many, many nights.  But, hey, as long as she's happy!  On the way to the show I stopped by Various Artists Brewing and had a Real Good Time (in more ways than one!) double IPA.  It was excellent.

I decided to park for free at ML Rose and have a couple libations and dinner in the cool newly-updated Capitol View area of downtown Nashville.  I like their new touristy logo sign they have installed on the sidewalk across the street from ML Rose.  With my dinner of awesome dry-rubbed Cajun wings, I had a less-than-hoppy enough Lil' Crispy pale ale from Clown Shoes Brewing (Boston), and  then a much better Shiner Wicked Juicy Pineapple and Coconut IPA (2019) from Spoetzl Brewing (TX).  

I Ubered over to the Beer Sellar next where I could have a libation and then walk over to The Ryman for the show.  This place is never on my radar much and I remembered now why when I walked in and they were smoking.  Yuck!  I only had time for one (which was fine with the smoking) and chose the very good Zippin Pippin IPA from Ghost River Brewing over in Memphis.  I did grab this unique badge on UNTAPPD for my efforts as well.

The show was excellent.  Melissa is 58 years old, but she played like a 20-year-old with a 2+ hour show just full of energy.  You really forget how many hits she's had over the years, and what an accomplished guitarist she is also.  This short clip is of her opening the show with the rockin' tune "Ain't It Heavy."  I had to walk away from the crowds after the show to grab an Uber, so against my better judgement, I slipped back in to The Beer Sellar and had a tasty Peach Dreamsicle double IPA from Terrapin Brewing (Athens, GA).

8/17 - I went to early showing of the new film, Blinded by the Light. today at the Opry Mills Theaters.  I thought the movie was going to be cheesy once it started, and then I wound up balling like a baby by the end.  It was a great little movie and true story, and the Bruce Springsteen songs influence was awesome.  

I chose Opry Mills atsmy theater choice because it was the closest to Madison where the new Yazoo  Brewing facility is located.  It's a great taproom, and even though Yazoo has never been my favorite Nashville brewer, I do respect their products and hope they do well so far from their popular first location in The Gulch area of downtown Nashville.  I had the tap-room-exclusive #marglife American Wild Ale (photo above) first and it was a little tart/sour, but enjoyable.  I finished with their decent Belgian Single pale ale.  

Tonight I went to see the Patriots at Titans Preseason Game with my pal, Wayne.  Thanks, as always, for the tickets, buddy.   Before the game I parked at Living Waters Brewery near Wayne's house in East Nashville and had a really good Victoria New England IPA while I waited for myWuber (Wayne-Uber).  The game was fun since the temps weren't as bad as I was expecting, and our first- and second-teamers played well.  The third-string let the game get away, but who cares, right?  It's not like it counts.

  8/18 - I went to see Apocalypse Now Final Cut in IMAX at the AMC Thoroughbred 20 Theaters way over in Cool Springs today because it was the only place showing it in Nashville.  My friends, Danny and Kyle met me there also.  Before the show, I stopped in the new-to-me Brewhouse South near the theaters for a couple of beers.  I was impressed with their beer list and decided to check them out.  I had a light and refreshing Cheetah lager first from Rhinegeist Brewing (Cincinnati).  I finished with a heavier but really good Mexican Cake imperial stout from Westbrook Brewing (SC).  Best thing was it was happy-hour and I got both pricey pints for half off!   The movie was long and weird, but interesting enough since I had never seen it on the big screen.  It was an impressive transition to the IMAX screen for such an old film.  And just remember, "Charlie don't surf!!"  

8/22 - We went to Live on the Green tonight in downtown Nashville to catch some great music.  We had VIP tickets which allowed us "free" adult beverages and food next to and right in front of the stage.  We had to dodge some rain to hear Mat Kearney's sound-check early on while I enjoyed a surprisingly tasty Hibiscus Hard Lemonade from Devil's Backbone Brewing (VA).  Later on during a rocking set by one of my faves, Will Hoge, I had a "free" pint can of the solid Pep Talk pilsner from Bearded Iris Brewing here in Nashville.

8/29 - We were back at Live on Green tonight and while I didn't have any new-to-me beer (I had a pint can of Nashville's own Bearded Iris Brewing Homestyle IPA which was terrific), I did discover the new-to-me beauty and talent of Maggie Rose and her sizzling back-up band, Them Vibes.

Heart over head every time...