Hello 2015!...hello low-carb diet for a few months (insert frowny-face)

Dec. 31 - January 3:  We took a quick trip down to New Orleans to ring in the New Year and I also had a few New Beers as well:

We had brunch at the Ole Saint Kitchen and Tap which is owned by former Saints and Ole Miss running back, Deuce McCallister.  I had the Endeavour Double IPA from Saint Arnold Brewing (Houston, TX) and also had their Fancy Lawnmower kolsch.

Walking the streets of NOLA I bought this delish canned beauty of Rebirth Pale Ale by NOLA Brewing in a convenience store.  One of the best perks about The Big Easy is you can walk with an open beer just about anywhere.

January 13, 2015:  Back at home I went and saw the current  # 1 team in the NHL!!, our beloved Preds, vs. the Vancouver Canucks.  It was an impressive 5-1 beat down that I witnessed from my sweet 200 level front row seat in the defend twice zone.  Before the game I had a nice pint of Santa's Private Reserve Ale that my friend, Wayne, gave to me for Christmas.  It was pretty good and is made by Rogue Brewing in Oregon.

# 1 in the NHL!!

January 17 - I attended another Preds game vs. the Washington Capitals with my friends, Mike and Wayne, and we saw the first return of our former and premier coach, Barry Trotz.  We started the game in the nosebleeds in Cell Block 303 for the first period.  But the next two periods we spent in the Renaissance Suite mid-ice!  It was a thrilling 3-2 win with an awesome unassisted goal by James Neal with about a minute left in the game. Thanks, Wayne, for the sweet suite hook-up plus some food and local Yazoo beer beforehand!

Sound the horn!!  Preds score!! Sweet view from the Renaissance Suite!

Mike and I stopped after the game at Bar 308 in East Nashville for a "Mexican Coke" with our friends, Danny and Brenda.  While this blog is dedicated to good beer, this is probably one of my favorite mixed drinks and deserves some recognition.

It's a "Mexican Coke" or the "Papaw" as Bar 308 calls it.  Bourbon, peanuts and Coke in the bottle.

you have a baby?...at a brewery?...I will save mentioning the brewery where I took this pic since it's not their fault that idiots have money too and like to spend it on good beer...despite what's on their to-do list that day...

January 18 - Mike and I stopped at TN Brewworks (it was our 3rd place to try and get a beer downtown, it was quite the busy brewery day in Nashville) where I had a Country Roots stout. Then it was over to the new Honky Tonk Brewing where I had their Brown Ale.  We then met up for dinner at The Field House in East Nashville (with Danny and Brenda again) where I had a High Water dark German lager from the local Little Harpeth Brewing, and an Ananda IPA from Wiseacre Brewing over in Memphis.  It was then on to a Linkin Park concert at the Bridgestone Arena for me and Mike. (Editor's Note:  We were fortunate to catch the show tonight since lead singer Chester Bennington, broke his ankle sometime between our show and the next show the next night in Indianapolis where he performed on crutches before having to cancel the rest of the tour). Here's a little snippet of our fantastic show below:

January 20 - I won entry for two to CMT's "Listen Up" show filming of a live performance by one of my favorite local bands, The Cadillac Three.  Thanks to my friend, Chris, for attending with me since the wife was out of town.  

Show link:  http://www.cmt.com/artists/the-cadillac-three/

Before the show, we had dinner at the always-tasty Slider House which has a tremendous selection of canned craft beer.  I had the Deviant Dale's IPA pint can from Oskar Blue Brewing in Colorado, as well as a pint can of the Threadless IPA from Finch's Brewing in Chicago.

 Livin' large (and tall)  at The Slider House in Nashville!

We had a great balcony view of The Cadillac Three show at a cool (albeit soon to close?) venue called Anthem.  Nonetheless, The boys were on fire and provided a great little show.  Photo by Chris DeGroff.

January 21-24: I took a quick trip out to Las Vegas to play some tournament poker while my honey was on a "ladies-only" cruise in the Caribbean. I opted to stay in the old part of downtown for the first time and got a great rate at the Four Queens Hotel which was perfectly fine.  The best thing about the hotel and casino, however, was the fact that Chicago Brewing is located inside,  After checking in, I headed immediately there for some lunch and a few brews.  I started with the Hardaway IPA and then the Black Widow stout.  Both were impressive.

Winning at video poker and winning at finding great beer at the same time at Chicago Brewing

I took a road-trip the next day out to Death Valley National Park and had lunch at the Corkscrew Saloon which is actually inside the park.  I had one of their "famous" Bad Water Ales which was OK, but not good enough to have another, so I opted for a Samuel Adams Cold Snap wit bier next.   (Editors note/Funny coincidence:  just a few days later, on January 28, I read where the 65-year-old bassist from Black Sabbath got in a fight the Corkscrew and was arrested!! Man, I miss everything!! LOL

Check another national park off the list.  Stark, but beautiful country.

Lowest elevation point in the United States

Walking on the salt flats in Death Valley NP

Photographed out the car window.  I bet some ranger feeds him.  He's pretty fat and not too shy of cars.

The next day back in Vegas before my second ride on the new High Roller Ferris Wheel, I finally got to have a couple beers at the new Yard House on The Strip (it was a Monday night the last time I was here and MNF was on and their wasn't one seat open at the huge bar).  I had shorties (half-pints) of the 60 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head Brewing in Delaware, the Detour Double IPA from Uinta Brewing in Salt Lake City and Hop Juice from Left Coast Brewing over in California.  All were outstanding along with my delish lettuce-wraps that I always get at The Yard House.

Another ride on the High Roller.  This time at sunset with only 3 other people including a hot Aussie bartender and some crazy chick from New York who got cut off from the booze that was included in the ride.  You gotta love Vegas.

My last stop in Las Vegas was at the fairly new Neon Museum and Boneyard where parts of Sin City's colorful history are being collected and slowly restored to their former glory.

What a cool tour this is...especially after dark.

I could sure use this one in my back yard!

Well, it's time to DIET....is it a coincidence the first three letters in this word are DIE!!!??  Ugghh!!  Low carb-ing means no beer for me unfortunately...see ya in a few months...unless I slip up...

it's another post about more beer...duh?

More good times, more beer...you know the drill.

 I had a  Hop Project at the Nashville Airport before flying to Florida for Thanksgiving...speaking of flying...

I need to start a Kickstarter campaign for my new airline concept...

I returned to one of the best beer stores ever located in Destin, FL, and got this great variety six-pack:

JJ Grey's (the musician) Nare Sugar Brown - Rock Brothers Brewing (Jacksonville)
Sensi Harvest (see it's cool can in the photo below) - Sixpoint Brewing, Brooklyn, NY
Hop Cuvee - Bison Brewing, Berkeley, CA
Wyld Organic Extra Pale Ale - Uinta Brewing, Salt Lake City
Last Stop IPA - Brew Bus Brewing, Tampa Bay, FL
Old Brown Dog Ale by Smuttynose Brewing, Hampton, NH

Beer at da beach!

I finally found a decent beer bar on The Gulf called The Craft Bar where I had a Hop Rod Rye by Bear Republic Brewing (CA) and a Coffee IPA from Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, Michigan. This place had great food too.

We drove back and stopped in Birmingham for an Augustana concert at the WorkPlay Theater which had an excellent selection of local craft beer on their menu.  I ran the whole list by having:

A Coffee Oatmeal Stout from Good People Brewing, plus their IPA
A Rye Brown from local Trimtab Brewing, and finally
A Spring Street Saison Ale from Avondale Brewing

Back in Nashville I caught an IMAX showing of Exodus: God and Kings that was pretty good.  Afterwards I stopped by The Beer Pale, a rather new North Nashville bar and had a Boxcarr Pumpkin Porter from Starr Hill Brewing (VA) and a Cold Mountain Winter Ale from Highland Brewing (Asheville) that had a great caramel finish to it.  This is a nice little place!

Before a Nashville Predators game, I had a local Czann's Brewing Oatmeal Stout at a new sports bar in East Nashville known as The Field House along with their awesome bacon burrito. I followed up dinner with a POTUS 44 porter from the local Black Abbey Brewing.

I had a West Coast IPA at the brand-new Honky Tonk Brewing here in Nashville.   This beer was so new it wasn't even on the UNTAPPD app yet!  Good luck, fledgling brewery.  So far, so good.  Afterwards I caught an IMAX showing of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

I had a great seat behind the Nashville Predators bench for another game vs. Chicago and had a Long Hammer IPA from Redhook Brewing (WA)

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!

From my buddy, Wayne.  Now this is what I call an "elf on a shelf!."  Bad Elf Winters Ale by Ridgeway Brewing in the UK.

A great new beer glass from my wife, Ashlee.  She also has one of a different, more dainty, style that says, "Her Beer."

I also got a six-pack of the delicious 2xIPA from Southern Tier Brewing (NY) from my pal, Chris.

We threw a Christmas party and here's what I got from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company in a variety six-pack plus another couple brought by guests:

UFO Gingerland spiced beer from Harpoon Brewing in Boston - bottle
Spinnerbait Belgian red from Sweetwater Brewing (Atlanta) - bottle
Smuttynose Brewing's Robust Porter - bottle brought by my friend, Chris
Brrr Seasonal (Winter) Ale - Widmer Bros. Brewing - bottle brought by my friend, Nate
Toasted Oak IPA - bottle from Innis and Gun (Scotland)
Snow Roller Brown Ale by Magic Hat (VT)
Brooklyn's Brewery's Oktoberfest
Yazoo Winter Ale - Nashville

The new and improved BEER TREE.  Adding the coasters from breweries all over the world (can you say China?) really improved the overall look of it this year.

I had a Spruce Beersteen black IPA from local Jackalope Brewing with a great dinner at Lockeland Table in East Nashville followed by another Brooklyn Brewing Oktoberfest at nearby Bar No. 308.

I had a Snowdrift Vanilla Porter from Leinenkugel at Craft Brewed (a great new beer bar on Franklin Pike in Nashville) followed by an amazing Stone Brewing's (CA) Smoked Porter w/Chocolate and Orange Peel

Also while on Franklin Pike I had a Grateful Pale Ale from Starr Hill Brewing (VA) at The Sutler, a great little historic saloon re-opened recently and as seen on the "Nashville" TV show.

I ended the "Year of Beer 2014" at my favorite local brewery, Cool Springs Brewery, to celebrate my young friend, Wil's, 21st birthday with just a small 5 oz. pours of the Hoppy Balboa Double IPA and a sip of my friend (and Wil's father) Danny's, Chili Willi  excellent smoked beer.

Hoppy Halloween, Chattanooga Newbies, Nashville Newbies plus Re-Vegas, Re-Indy and Re-Memphis

Why yes...yes I am....

Oct. 31 - We threw a low-key Halloween party at our house and I got a nice variety six-pack from MJBC for it that included: a Tempter IPA from Telluride (CO) Brewing, a Flipside Red IPA from Sierra Nevada, a Hi-5 IPA and a Hopsecutioner (brought by my friend, Chris) from Terrapin, a Carhartt Woodsman from New Holland, a Naked Pig Pale Ale from Back Forty Brewing and a kinda  sweetly gross Cranberry Ginger Shandy from Leinenkugel.

Nov. 6 - Ashlee and I drove down to Chattanooga tonight for an O/A/R concert.   Before the show we checked out a new-to-us bar called The Flying Squirrel for dinner.  The food was great and they had a solid beer list.  I had the Hairy Eyeball Ale from Lagunitas Brewing and a 1/2 pint of the Hop the Pond Double IPA from New Belgium

Nov. 7 - The next day we had lunch at the new-to-Chattanooga Tupelo Honey Cafe which was delicious.  I had a Black IPA from Chattanooga Brewing with my meal.

Las Vegas

Nov. 9 - 11:  I took my first (and only this year) quick trip to Las Vegas to take advantage of the weird Tuesday holiday for Veteran's Day.  I played in a couple poker tourneys without much success, but had a spectacular trip nonetheless with great weather, a ride on the new High Roller Ferris Wheel (booze included) and a convertible Mustang ($10 upgrade!) drive out to the amazing Zion National Park over in nearby Utah.  Oh, and I had beer...

Just off the plane, at a bit of run-down little place off The Strip called Aces and Ales I had a  Hoppy Times IPA from Bad Beat Brewing (this didn't jinx my poker playing, that would have been if I had had something from "Card Dead Brewing"...uggh)

I had a couple pre-tourney libations at the Public House in The Venetian which has an impressive beer list.  I started with a Get Up Offa That Brown ale from Golden Road Brewing in LA and about a half a pint of Hopulent IPA from Epic Brewing in Utah that the barkeep gave me on the house since the keg messed up after I ordered it.  Thanks, bud!  I finished with a can of Hop Ottin IPA from Anderson Valley Brewing (CA).

Ahh, real live online poker again.  The tourneys were few and far between, but at least I cashed in one while in Vegas in the comfort of my great room at The Tropicana.

Zion National Park is breathtaking.  I highly encourage a visit in a sweet convertible.

The ride on the new High Roller Ferris Wheel was spectacular and included free booze.  The beer offered was domestic drivel, so I stuck with good ol' Jack and Cokes.

I stopped by Banger Brewing in Old Town and had a Hop Bang Boom IPA which was decent.

At an off-The-Strip Irish bar called McMullen's I had a watery Steinlager (New Zealand) which actually went down great after an excellent Chinese lunch at Ping Pang Pong.

Some great news!   I discovered that they have opened another Yard House on The Strip at the base of the High Roller Ferris Wheel.  The bad news was there was Monday Night Football on and the place was nuts when I went in there.  I settled for my old favorite location way down Las Vegas Blvd. the next day before flying out and had a couple of Oregon-made half-pints including a Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA (which I had unknowingly had back in April of this year at the 12th South Taproom in Nashville) and a Fresh Squeezed IPA from Deschutes Brewing.

In and around Nashville

I had an Iciban Shibori at our favorite sushi restaurant, O'sake
I had a Southern Wit from TN Brew Works at Barlines, a great new bar at the Omni Hotel
I had a Walkabout Pale Ale from Flat 12 Bierworks (Indy) at home watching pitiful the Titans on MNF, followed by a can of Fence Post Session Ale
I also had a Hop Zombie by Epic Brewing (New Zealand) - a surprise pint bottle present from my wife.  It went down perfect while watching an episode of "The Walking Dead."

Indiana/Kentucky

Tuesday, Nov. 18:  We took a quick trip up to Indianapolis to see our beloved Duke Blue Devils play in the Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse vs. Michigan State.  Duke got the W, and then Kentucky and Kansas squared-off in the second game of the night.  Some good beer was procured going, coming and at the game.

On the way up my friend, Mike, and I stopped at Big Woods Brewing in Nashville (Indiana) for lunch and I had their Hare Trigger IPA, followed by a Hazelnut Coffee Stout and a Martin's Pumpkin Ale.  All were tasty as was the food.  I tried to get single Mike to tell our cute red-headed waitress that she must have been the inspiration for their wood-nymph logo below.  He did not oblige...

Our seats were better than this fish-eye shot appears, but it's still kind of cool picture.

I was happy to find that this corporate NBA arena actually embraced local craft brew with several stands selling local Sun King Brewing products.  I had the Sunlight Cream Ale and a Mr. Sparkles (blonde ale) both on draught.

On our way home the next day we stopped for lunch in Louisville at Bluegrass Brewing where I had their Session IPA and their Nut Brown Ale.

Memphis

Saturday, Nov. 22: I returned to Memphis and Tunica for the good weekly Saturday tournament at The Horseshoe where I cashed on my last visit.  This time I was not so fortunate, but it did allow me time to go visit a couple new Memphis craft breweries that was able to get to on my last visit.

I went by the very cool (and very busy) Wiseacre Brewing which has a nice set-up in an industrial park.  I had the Lord Skylark Tea Pale Ale which was great and the Adjective Animal (a rather underwhelming double IPA).

I moved on to the much quieter, but still very cool Wiseacre Brewing where I had their Scottish Ale, their Belgian IPA, their Porter (photo above - look at the beautiful lacing) and their ESB...yes, I was here a good while watching the UT/Missouri game.

Sunday, Nov. 23:  I solved the problem of no breweries being open on Sundays in Memphis when I found the Young Avenue Deli for lunch and their excellent beer list (and great Philly cheese-steak!) I had the Fireside Ninja red ale by nearby Memphis Made Brewing and a can of Jack the Sipper ESB by Southern Prohibition Brewing (Hattiesburg, MS)

It can't always be about beer.  Here's my tasty morning mimosa I had in The Peabody Hotel lobby as I waited for the famous ducks to enter.  I have always wanted to see this in person. -- see video below

I thought Redskins were peanuts? G.A.M.E. Trip 2014

Five friends and I took our now-annual Grown. Ass. Man. Extravaganza. (G.A.M.E.) trip this year to see the woe-is-us Tennessee Titans play the Washington Redskins in D.C.  It was another great trip (and another loss for the Titans) with at least some great beer as well.

Bluejacket Brewing was just a 15-minute walk from the house we rented and their beer was outstanding as was the fancy way they listed them.  No dusty chalkboards for these guys!  I had half-pints of the Lost is Space IPA, The Darling Buds: Citra IPA and the Gauntlet black IPA, the Paramour IPA, the Mexican Radio milk stout (my favorite of the bunch) and The Wake imperial stout

On our second trip to Bluejacket I had the amazing kielbasa for dinner along with more beer, of course, including the Spectre IPA and the Bretta World Peach IPA. 

Although I have been to DC several times, I still got to experience new things on this trip including my first visit up to the top of the Washington Monument.  What a thrill and what an absolutely beautiful day for a visit.

More "new to me" visits included the powerful new Martin Luther King Memorial, the FDR Memorial (below) and the fairly new World War II Memorial where we had the honor of visiting it at the same time as a large crowd of veterans from the war.  Thank you, good sirs!

We walked A LOT (over 10 miles) in DC and here my aching dogs are getting a break as I crack open a Sister of the Moon IPA from Mother Earth Brewing (NC).  We had a great little convenience store a few blocks away with a very nice craft beer selection (MUCH more on that later).

We also got some inexpensive tickets to a MLS match-up between DC United and the Chicago Fire at the old RFK Stadium near our rental house.  It was a thrilling game with DC scoring an amazing winning goal right in front of us.  The crowd was decent-sized and very raucous.  It was a great time.

At the soccer game (and back at the house) we tried a few good, local canned brews by DC Brau including The Corruption IPA and  The Public APA.

As mentioned before, the Titans chalked up another road loss as Washington's third-string QB came in the game the second-half and we made him look like the second-coming of John Elway.  Our seats were high up, but dead center, and we had a good time despite the outcome of the game.  The DC fans were pleasant enough (since their team kinda sucks right now too) and FedEx Field is a very nice venue.  The weather also continued to be perfect.

Did I mention we had a pretty good selection of craft beer near our house?  Well, 58 beers and 6 ciders later, they were all dead and on display in our rented living room.  Here's a quick list of what I had:  Loose Cannon's Heavy Seas IPA (Baltimore), Lakefront Brewing's IPA (Milwaukee), Double D Imperial IPA from Dominion Brewing (Delaware), and Crooked Tree IPA from Dark Horse Brewing (Michigan).

More dead soldiers from the 58 Beers Campaign...

We had much better success with beer at the house than we did out and about other than the outstanding  aforementioned Blue Jacket Brewing.  Just for listing sake, I will mention a few others I had.  I had a Heroes Never Die IPA from Beer Army Combat Brewery (NC) at a place called The Ugly Mug.  It was buttery in taste and maybe one of the worst IPA's I have ever had.  I had a good Two Hearted Ale (IPA) from Bell's Brewing (MI) at a place called The Hawk and Dove...which might have been a gay bar...not that there's anything wrong with that...For our last night and dinner in DC, we sought out the Heavy Seas Alehouse in downtown DC and while we had enjoyed their beer up to then, the service and food here SUCKED out loud.  Very disappointing.  While there I did have a guest beer on tap, the Hoppacalypse Imperial Red Ale from Apocalypse Ale Works (VA)..very underwhelming and  a Peg Leg Imperial Stout from Heavy Seas themselves which was the lone bright spot of the evening.

And then...

The following weekend, Ashlee and I took a quick trip up to the The Smokies for a few days.  We happened upon a place that finally has some good beer on tap in this area that has been woefully lacking in the past.  It's definitely worth a mention here.

Despite getting a bit of grief from the barkeep when I walked in with my Predators pullover on (he's a Red Wings fan), the English-style pub in the woods near Gatlinburg  called The Fox and Parrot Tavern is pretty cool.  I had a draught of the Rocky Hop IPA from Saw Works Brewing in nearby Knoxville (that's a new one to me) which was nice and hoppy.  I followed that up with a Vanilla Cream Ale from Blackhorse Brewery in Clarksville, TN.  Their authentic pub food was good as well.  We shall be back to this great place on our next visit this way!