DerekRx

Nope, we don't even live in the same house yet, and the commercial was completely done airing before she even had the website loaded to start filling out the information. Makes no sense at all.

Last week I had to go out to Denver to do some work type stuff, so while in my free time I was able to check out just some of the beer scene there. I would have loved to head up to Fort Collins and Boulder and such, but just didn't have the time or the energy, seeing how our hotel and work area was about 30 minutes south of Denver, and getting to the city was enough work in itself. and to end my trip to Denver, some Mojo IPA. Good stuff, but just a little too unbalanced and harshly dry and bitter in the finish. First up, Planet Porter. A very drinkable porter with nice chocolate, roasted malt, and light coffee/grassy hop finish With a full list of their stuff on tap! Being right next to the security check point, we chose Boulder But unlike Philly, Denver isn't lacking beer bars and has the likes of a Rock Bottom, New Belgium Hub, and a Boulder Tap House Finally, after being in Colorado for 3 days I can finally see the mountains! Of course, that's because I'm done with my work visit and have to head back to the airport The steak was freaking huge though, and very tasty! Sadly, working for 11 hours and having to wake up early the next morning for more work before catching a plane left me pretty tired, so I called it a night after that and decided to save the other places for next time. Saving lots of room for later, I only tried the Pale Ale. It was ok, but a bit too grainy for my liking Rock Bottom owned Denver Chophouse and Brewery is just a block from Wynkoop and not too far from Coors Field, the other Breckenridge Brewpub, and Falling Rock Taphouse. Sounds like a good place to start to me! The next night we were going to go to Breckenridge Brewing and BBQ for dinner, but decided to go elsewhere instead but that's ok, 2 Below is what I wanted anyway! back at the hotel we discover the Fat Tire is gone. and to eat with all that, the artichoke and parmesan dip and the Patty's Chili Beer, one of the few I had here previously, still retains its title as my favorite chili beer. Just enough spice but still very beer-like On tap since the Democratic National Convention held in Denver last year, Obamanator Maibock was really enjoyable with a nice hoppy presence Monkey's Fist IPA was my favorite from there, a good citrus and pine kick with a nice caramel and biscuit backbone the Wixa Weiss smelled awesomely banana-y, but its taste was a little more mellow Too much for me to drink, but I can manage some samples of the more interesting stuff A good amount of variety on tap next up, dinner at one of the first brewpubs I ever went to, Wynkoop here's a better view from the bar you can see into the brewery Yeti makes for a good Imperial Stout but not such a good Sci-Fi Channel movie I believe I'll have a sample of everything, thank you! But plenty of taps of their sweet nectars Pretty cozy little place with not a whole lot of room, but also no food besides chips. The following day after work, time to head into Denver. First stop, Great Divide's tap room Fat Tire is still a pretty darn good beer in my book. Maybe not as awesome as it once was to me, but still very flavorful and easy to drink. Nancy sticks with Cosmopolitans These taps here mean we're now in Colorado. Time for some New Belgium goodies at the hotel bar with plenty of time to kill, may as well follow it up with some Hop Wallop First up, the first Hop Devil of the year for me First stop, the Philly airport, which has since taken a big beer hit with 1 Jet Rock and my favorite Philly bar, Independence Brewpub, being closed and converted into wine bars! Luckily the 1 Jet Rock is still opened, and conveniently right next to my gate

Nice to see some activity again around these parts. I've decided to cut back on taking photos and posting, though will still do so when I visit a place I haven't yet been to or to show some sort of event we ventured to. Here's just some new stuff I tried lately before clearing out the camera. This should look different in a couple of months, can't wait to go back! Just a few of the samples we tried, this would be their staple selection. They also had 2 brewpub exclusives on, a Pumpernickel porter and a Sahti that we destroyed before we ever thought about taking pictures. I had no idea I was a hop variety! I'll end this with a little lunch stop last week Sweet and malty though it could use more hop presence. Firestone's Double Barrel Ale, an amber ale A solid RIS, though I thought it wasn't nearly as good as it was first rated, though nice to see it being distributed more now. Great flavors though and smooth. Finally got a hold of Black Albert I liked it better when it was free Just a little something I picked up last year, moderately enjoying it at Busch Gardens Good roasty notes and sweetness with a nice piney finish. Another gift from Justin, Full Sail's Wassail, another winter warmer I thought of it more as a Winter Warmer, lots of spices and caramel/molasses in there to mix with the coffee and chocolate, but still great for this time of year Weyerbacher Delta, one of their latest small batch series brews, a supposed Imperial Stout Pretty light and fruity. Not like the other West Coast IPAs, but pretty enjoyable Full Sail IPA, thanks Justin!

The saga continues, and gets a little more depressing. www.vagazette.com/news/local/va-news01152,0,1970371.story

Definitely not the most extreme coaster, but an overall excellent addition for Quassy. It's about time they got some rides that seem a little more permanent.

The Hospitality House and BrewMaster's Club were staples on my visits to Busch parks. While in the past I would never even bother purchasing a bottle of a AB product, after sampling many different things over the years at the parks I found a few that were actually very tasty and worth picking up a bottle or 6 pack of if I came across them, mostly the seasonals but sometimes their new products or the Michelob line, and then telling other friends and coworkers about the beer and how it was decent. With this change though I'll won't bother purchasing any of their products, saving that money for beers that I know I like, or at least are 90% probable of having flavor, and I doubt I'm the only one. Stupid InBev, must have never heard the phrase "you gotta give to get". Fortunately I know plenty of other places surrounding the parks to get good beer worth paying for.

Merry Christmas TPR Beer Thread! More cherries and honey with good Belgian candy and alcohol warmth. At 11%, it's a nice nightcap. Happy Holidays! Finally, we end the holiday with Troegs' Mad Elf Nice notes of Christmas spices, honey, cherries and berries with solid gingerbread cookie maltiness Time for Great Lakes Christmas Ale, another Winter Warmer another fine ale from Deschutes, nutmeg and sweet malts with a good hop bitterness Another gift from Justin, Deschutes' Jubelale 2008 Wow, lots of hoppiness in here, something a hop lover will enjoy, but it really lost its Helles style Time for another new release from Southern Tier, Krampus, an Imperial Helles Lager A little weird for a Scotch Ale, but after a while you get used to the Christmas-y twist Moving to the Christmas theme, first up Bell's Christmas Ale, a new release from them A really sour and tart summertime brew with some peach nectar flavors With a Discovery Channel show on about how beer is made, may as well break one of its featured brewers with Dogfish Head's Festina Peche This was a great pale ale with lots of fresh hoppy flavors. Very easy to drink and quite sessionable. Thanks Justin! Finishing off last week's Harvest theme, some Hop Trip from Deschutes.

The baby's mother was too dumb to know she was pregnant with him, of course the child will have problems in the future!

^^Welcome back, ole Chap! Nice to see you obtained some more great US brews. Nice to see some discussions going on here too, besides just photos every so often. Bubba, I know the feeling about needing a camera at all times, we recently hit up Iron Hill and weren't expecting anything really worthwhile, but ended up getting to try all sorts of cool stuff, and no documentation. As another year winds down, that means it's time for yet another Project IPA at Sly Fox in Phoenixville. Sadly, this is the last year for it, next year is all about different hops for Pale Ales. last year's was more toned down and almost either Pale Ale or British IPA-like to me, but this year's is fantastic. Plenty of citrus, spicy hops, honey sweetness, and pine that I love with even some saltine cracker notes mixed in. I may have to break out another fresh hop ale tomorrow to keep this theme going while they're still fresh! After hearing good things about this year's batch, I picked up a Founder's Harvest Ale as well It can snow outside all it wants, I'm happy staying inside with this excellent fresh wet-hopped IPA Since conjuring the Wizard brought on Winter to PA, better try to reverse the effects by breaking out the Sierra Nevada Chico Estate Harvest Wet Hop Ale that I got out in SoCal A good winter sessional, but nothing that really stood out for me; caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, grapes, and a touch of citrus and grass. At least it didn't taste like butter like all the other beers I had from them. For a break from IPAs for a bit, time to try Wizard's Winter from Middle Ages up in Syracuse, a winter warmer Smells great but is more of a segway from Pale Ale to IPA, especially after what I've had lately Fast forward a few days and we still want more IPAs. Time to enjoy some Hoptical Illusion from Blue Point and with so much scariness it's time for the Nightmare on Bourbon Street, Rock Bottom's Czar's Nightmare RIS barrel aged and served on cask. Lots of vanilla, and more alcohol heat, but still excellent with roastiness, chocolate, and dark fruit. Before we finish for the night, let's head back to Rock Bottom at King of Prussia, definitely one of the scariest places to be on a Friday night right before Christmas Yakima's description Like Yakima Twilight, a "double IPA" which we thought more bordered on being a barleywine, or even sorta a Black IPA The board shows a lot of stuff is the same, but there are some new interests But we're not done yet. Just down the road we find Victory and some new goodies for us to indulge in all 11 different varieties of hops used singly and all together in the Odyssey 08 along with their staple IPA and Odyssey 07 and 08 on cask For those who like to read, we salute you Amarillo! Good for a pitcher split between all of us Mission complete! And the winner is... Time to try all 15 different IPAs Luckily Deuane and Ffej got us a table, it was pretty slammin' at 1:30pm Finally we are at Sly Fox for the last Project IPA Day Pilsners aren't really my thing, but this had some good sweetness with a nice balance of lemon and grassy hops to accompany the pils malt. Easy to drink and sessionable, but could use a bit more carbonation. Spezial Pilsner from Einhorn Brewing out in California Much better than it was when barrel aged and called Black Pearl. A good porter with some coconut and vanilla notes, almost like an Almond Joy May as well follow that up with Maui's CoCoNut Porter A pretty solid IPA packing in the West Coast style, from a can none the less! But before that, we gotta catch up with other stuff that was consumed, like Maui's Big Swell IPA EDIT: Ooops, forgot to include this picture of us enjoying Victory's Vista Farms Harvest Ale while at the brewpub.

Continuing on, time for more Southern California beery goodness, starting with the San Diego Strong Ale Festival. Not too much on tap that was exciting for me (especially not after all the awesomeness we had over the past couple of days) but I managed to find and enjoy some East End Fat Gary's Nut Brown. Nice to see some Pittsburgh stuff in the Philly suburbs. The next day we sadly found ourselves back home in PA, drowning our sadness at The Drafting Room Jimmy even brought some goodies from Arizona, like Four Peaks' 8th Street Ale, a really nice dry pale ale; while he enjoyed a Terrapin India Brown Ale that I brought for him to try Another awesome Port brew with good syrupy chocolate notes mixed in with all the other RIS flavors But it's cool, we met up with him the next day and he provided me with some Port goodness in the form of Santa's Little Helper and some Swami's IPA to finish the evening. Too bad Jimmybo doesn't work there anymore more alcohol soaking goodness, this time a Portzel I started with some Yiga's Revenge IPA while Nicole went for the Offshore Coffee Porter With a nice tap selection of pub brewed ales A little less roomy than Carlsbad, but still fantastic Still feeling good and being so close, Nicole wanted to check out the third and final Pizza Port down in Solana Beach. Who am I to say no!? Before driving, better grab a pizza to help soak up all that alcohol. Bring on the artery clogging awesomeness of BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza! Finally, I end with some Snowbound, a Winter Warmer from Left Hand out in Colorado. As we wind down I grab one of the only offerings from The Bruery, Humulus Gold which had a little too much foam. Nicole represented the East Coast with some Storm King, which she's still not a fan of because of its hoppy edge A look at the arrangement for getting beer. Basically it was all in one area and you stood in a particular line and said which number you wanted, no "I want some Hop Juice!" stuff, just tell em the number. Then some Alpine Bad Boy and Rock Bottom San Diego's Bourbon Barrel Blitzen Barleywine from 2007 Nicole says "Gimme some Tovarish!" Solana Beach Pizza Ports Imperial Stout with Espresso Coronado's Neptune's Nectar for me and some Brett Saison from Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City for Nicole We've still got tickets left, more beer please! I think it's time for some Salvation from Russian River It's starting to get really crowded and harder to see with the sun now down Nicole leaves the beer world for a little bit and goes for some Sunshine, an Apricot mead from Redstone Meadery Finally I get to try some Black Butte XX from Deschutes, another winner from them Then some Black Pearl from Maui, a rum barrel aged version of the Coconut Porter that was a little too rummy, and some Veritas 002 from Lost Abbey, still fantastic Next on the agenda was Dark Lord, but they were already out of that from the VIP party. So, some Victory at Sea from Ballast Point for me and some Consecration from Russian River for Nicole. as you can see, the place filled up pretty quickly, making it tough to get around Our first stops after looking over the list in the bottle shop would be for Exponential Hoppiness from Alpine and some more Big Black Pumpkin from Flossmoor Station Here's what all was included for $25 After killing some time and waiting for the VIP session to finish, we were finally allowed into the Strong Ale Festival in Pizza Port's parking lot at 4pm.

Last week Nicole and I ventured out west to do some California Dreamin on such a winter's day...errr week. Of course we couldn't help but stop off at a Pizza Port while out in SoCal. and I'll leave this update with a picture of a very amazed and confused Nicole, not sure what beer to start with at the San Diego Strong Ale Fest being held between Pizza Port and the bottle shop, pics coming eventually. Just a six pack shop, but they had some pretty impressive stuff. Lots of nice bombers of local SoCal goodies as well as some of the rare beers and even some Dogfish Head stuff from back East. Next, time to check out Pizza Ports bottle shop located next door to the restaurant Happy to be on the beach in December and not be freezing I call this "my future retirement home" To kill some time while in Carlsbad, we took a short walk to the beach Since Hop Suey is 9% and I have an empty stomach, we had better grab some beer buddies to help sustain us for future consuming and the rest of the place. I think it's my favorite because it's more open than the other locations A look at the bar area But there's one major beer I jump right for, Hop Suey, their double IPA. While I think I like the Hop 15 a little better, this one still rocked the house. Packed with pine resin and tropical citrus notes, great tongue puckering bitterness, though not much malt presence at all. A look at their tap list, with lots of options I want to try After getting over jet lag and spending some time at Disneyland, it was off to another Pizza Port a few days later, this time the Carlsbad location, my personal favorite a brief look at the upstairs bar, though I was too tired to drink anything else. To accompany the beer, the Pizza Carlsbad with some pesto, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomato, grilled chicken, and feta cheese. Yummy! Lots of stuff that seemed to be pretty heavy, and I was a bit tired, so I stuck with the Warrior, a black IPA. Definite West Coast style here loaded with pine and citrus with some nice roastiness in the backbone. Nicole went with their Novemberfest, an award winning Oktoberfest. This one is cool in that they have an upstairs and a downstairs. This would be the downstairs bar's tap list, not including guest taps After waking up at 2am EST, flying to California, and doing a day at Knott's, the only way to really feel like we're in Cali is to hit up a Pizza Port, so we went to the closest one to the LA area, San Clemente tastes as the name suggests. More of a summertime beer, but still drinkable in these cold days More West Coast goodness before we leave, Eugene City's Honey Orange Wheat Ale A little lighter and lower in ABV than some of the other RISs out there, but it had great flavor and was very drinkable. Definitely worth it when you want a RIS but don't want to break open a rare bottle Before leaving PA though, time to enjoy some bottles of stuff, thus making room for more bottles to bring back. First up, Elysian's Dragonstooth Stout, a Russian Imperial

More Buffalo beer adventures For me, time to enjoy the Organic Stealth Triple. Once again, a winner with nice sweetness, candy and yeasty touches, and a little hint of the 10% alcohol contained inside. We still managed to find some goodies to enjoy. Nicole went with the Organic Shade Mt Stout, good chocolate and roasted malt flavors, very creamy and good on a cold rainy day At least the hand pumps weren't empty too, containing vertical tastings of their barleywine WOW, looks like we missed lots of chaos at Selins Grove since we were there earlier in the month. Where did all the beers go!? on our way home on Sunday, we found some time to stop at Selins Grove, since we drove right by and needed to get away from all the chaos on the roads one final look at the main bar area, though the place did have a separate dining room on the first floor, a bar, games area, tables, and party room on the second floor, and more party room on the third floor. I went with the burger with mushrooms, cheese, and a Street Brawler Stout BBQ sauce, very tasty for dinner, Nicole got a Greek salad but the Trainwreck was a close second, very sweet and malty Of them, Street Brawler Stout was my favorite, nice and roasty, good for the winter chill I wanted to try it all, so I went with the sampler for a taste of mostly everything Nicole went with the Blue Eyed Blonde blueberry lager and liked it. Only a touch of blueberry, but it was very crisp, clean, and easy to drink. Her friend Ashly (not pictured) went with the Don Cherry Wheat, also very good and refreshing A look at the tap list This place was pretty slammin' on a Saturday night, but there was a Sabres game on TV, and it was a holiday weekend (plus there was some disco event about to happen down the street and there was also a class reunion being held there) For dinner, it was off to Pearl Street Grill and Brewery, FINALLY! and if you need stuff cold for near immediate consumption, they've got most of it chilling too in the walk in beer freezer How many people wish they could walk into the grocery store and leave with a bottle of Lindeman's, St. Bernardus ABT 12, or Delirium Tremens? We were very impressed with a grocery store's selection of beer, and how they categorized it all nicer than a lot of places so we had to check it out, and boy did it make us hate Pennsylvania and their stupid beer laws After spending some time at the Falls, we hit up Wegmans. Of course they had to rub it in our faces about New York's awesome beer laws

With a nice extended holiday break, we managed to get back up to Buffalo to see Nicole's parents and also partake in more of the beer scene going on up there, along with other local stuff. So before we head out on our next adventure real soon, here's some of what we did during our Thanksgiving vacation, Buffalo style! Another look at the Canadian side of the falls From Terrapin Point we could get right up on the US side of the Horseshoe Falls, but the extreme mist made it hard to see or take pictures Here's a map of the whole Niagara Falls area We had no passports with us this time, so we stayed in the US and hung out on Goat Island. Not that we wanted to wait in line to cross the border anyway And here be those Niagara Falls, at least the American side If you see the giant turtle building, we must be in Niagara Falls, New York right across the street from Charlies we find another Buffalo staple, Tim Horton's. So much better than Starbucks, and doesn't cost you an organ and your first born mmmmmm, good! and here's the end result, roast beef on a bun with sea salt and fennel seeds and some natural juices. Throw on some Horseradish and we're in heaven A Beef on Weck being made before us the place is really small, but the food is great. There's Charlie with the hardhat on some of the menu don't mind if we do Saturday we started out with some more Buffalo greatness, Beef on Weck. And what a better place to get it at than one of the best places there is, Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen Then it was off to Consumer's Beverage to take a nice chunk out of my wallet as we departed Pizza Plant, it started to feel more like Buffalo and to wash down the rest of the pie, some Cask Inferno Pod Ale, just as bitter a finish, but a little smoother This stuff was fantastic, amongst the best pizzas I've ever had for lunch, some awesome pizza with tomatoes, artichokes, and zucchini. A look at Inferno's tap I started out with the Inferno Pod Ale, an IPA brewed by Custom BrewCrafters just for Pizza Plant. Good and bitter! as well as the tap list A look at their tap selection but the bar area here is a lot more open and bigger This one seemed a lot smaller than the other one On Black Friday it was time to visit the other Pizza Plant in the greater Buffalo area, just a couple of miles from the one we visited back in May. Doesn't seem very Buffalo-y to me yet, where's all the snow? "Hop on my back, Atreyu, and I shall take you for some beer consumption," says Falcor Thanksgiving Day was spent on Grand Island, consuming much varieties of wine with the future in-laws

Before heading off for Thanksgiving vacation, I better get these pictures up to make next week's stuff much quicker. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and enjoys much turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and beer. it's definitely no Russian River "-ation" but it has great sour nose and a little kick of sour to mix with the peppery spices, Belgian yeast, straw, grain, and grassy hop finish. Not bad stuff at all Finally we end with a Brett beer from De Proef, Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale- A Belgian Strong Pale Ale and the winner is Scratch 15, the double espresso oatmeal stout. Lucky me, this is the best of the choices with some really nice espresso flavors! next up, we drink Troegs mystery Scratch, an unspecified bottle, but given its dark color it is narrowed down to 3 possible choices chilling in the basement Pretty good stuff still, a nice medley of all sorts of hops giving nice fruity, floral, grassy, citrusy, earthy, and spicy notes all with a nice caramel malty backbone. Can't wait for the release party in a few weeks Before this year's Odyssey is released in a few weeks, I had better drink a bottle from last year Tastes of maple syrup, hazelnuts, milk chocolate, and vanilla...but it's all artificial tasting mixed with grain, like sticking a Toblerone in Miller Lite and microwaving it Time to try something new from Leinie's, the Fireside Nut Brown Awesomeness from a can. Great citrus notes, caramel, brown sugar, and biscuit, and a nice pine and grass finish. Hopefully I'll be able to drink this stuff fresh at the brewpub in the next couple of months next up, time for an old canned friend, Oskar Blues Gordon, an Imperial IPA nice and fruity with apricot, lemon, grapefruit, pear, and apple flavors mixed with honey, candy, and Belgiany goodness We start out vertical, with a bottle of Vertical Epic 08-08-08 that I forgot I had

Finally finished my polls, hopefully next year there won't so many name changes of parks and rides! Top 10 Wood: El Toro - SFGAd Phoenix - Knoebels Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce Balder - Liseberg Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer Ozark Wildcat - Celebration City Raven - Holiday World Viper - SFGAm The Voyage - Holiday World Colossos - Heide Park Top 10 Steel: Maverick - Cedar Point Nemesis - Alton Towers Kumba - BGA Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park Goliath - SFOG Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood Montu - BGA Superman - SFNE Behemoth - Canada's Wonderland Goliath - Walibi World

^Looks like a sweet time, Justin. Unfortunate that I can't see your middle group of pics, but I'm sure it's all awesome Oregon stuff that I hope to someday enjoy. Glad you managed to enjoy some Abyss on tap, snag some bottles, and receive my shipment unscathed (unlike last year when you managed to get a flat tire on the way to Bend). Maybe sometime soon I'll have a Russian Imperial Stout themed week, or at least finally try a bottle of the Dark Lord I purchased back in April, but until then here's some of my recent activities. but in the end, the stuff was pretty tasty. A little subdued in the hops, but that's probably because it's about 5 months over freshness, but I could still pick up lots of rye and caramel, some citrus notes, along with some earthy and spicy hop bursts. Not bad at all! apparently there was! "Hello?! Is there more still in there?!?!" well, we will if this head ever subsides...15 minutes later Finally, we end with a rye ale concoction from Two Brothers, Cane & Ebel While it's no West Coast, this stuff is pretty hoppy and will hold out nicely until Nugget Nectar is released in a few months May as well follow with some more hoppy goodness, like Loose Cannon from Clipper City down in harm City AKA Baltimore Oh yeah, this double IPA is so awesome and sessionable it isn't even funny. Next on the agenda, a bottle of AleSmith's Yulesmith from July 4th After last week's IPA and this week's Porter loaded with coffee, chocolate, roasted malt, molasses, oranges, and brown sugar, I may have to look into stopping off here on a trip to Buffalo if I have the chance. So far this place has some good stuff! next up, something I haven't had yet. The Sugar House Maple Porter from Wagner Valley This double espresso oatmeal stout is smooth, creamy, and jam packed with coffee and espresso goodness. Later that night I dove into a bottle of Troeg's Scratch 15 which Heath was nice enough to pick up before it sold out almost immediately. Thanks again, dude, it's no wonder why you're the Best Man! Over the weekend, we ended up in Arundel Mills at a DuClaw for some Alchemy Oatmeal Stout and Devil's Milk Barleywine, but this is the only picture I took of the situation This thing is pretty sessionable and packs in a decent amount of bittering grassy hops. Good stuff Continuing (or ending) on last week's IPA themed week is Hurricane Kitty from Keegan Ales up in Kingston, NY

Looks like IOA is going for the "how to ruin the Lost Continent in 4 easy steps" approach. 1. Kill Enchanted Oak 2. Destroy Dueling Dragons entry 3. Make Poseidon even lamer and more confusing 4. ??? What's next, turning Mythos into a Starbucks, replacing the fountain with a Euro-Bungee, or redoing the Sinbad show so it's all about selling Proactiv?

Goodies from my IPA themed week: an awesome tried and true IPA loaded with West Coast flare but a solid malty backbone as well. Finally we conclude tonight with some Racer 5 from Bear Republic pretty solid stuff, a nice citrus and spicy hops with a good toast and caramel backing. Easy to enjoy Wagner Valley's IPA is next, the first beer I've had from this NY brewery It was supposed to be a British style IPA, meaning more earthy, but this had a decent amount of citrus and grassy notes with a nice caramel malt backbone. Good stuff! Bring on Boulder's Cold Hop! It was just all right, in fact a little bit weird. Lots of fruit and flowery notes, along with tea and some citrus. Not really something I'd like to have again anytime soon Elysian's Avatar Jasmine IPA was consumed earlier in the week

Congratulations Cypress Gardens, you've been Geauga'd! Now, who wants to take bets as to how long this park will survive as a gardens and waterpark?

This weekend's adventure in the world of beer. Still holding up nicely since its purchase back in April. Great citrus hop presence and a nice biscuity backbone and finally we end with glimpse into this week's theme, Crooked Tree IPA from Dark Horse Miller Lite + Fruity Pebbles = a nice early evening treat As the sun sets at 5:00, what a better time to have some Sunset Wheat and let me tell you, the pizzas were so good they didn't even last long enough for me to get a picture of them, so here's another one of the oven Here's where all the pizza magic happens While waiting for a table I had the Here's Brucker Alt and then with my dinner the Terra Fume, a smoked wheat, and very interesting They just had an event for Victory Brewing a few days earlier so a good deal of Victory stuff was on tap for the Philly natives who can't venture 40 minutes outside the city to enjoy. They also had 3 of their own brews on tap How's it going, Joe The magic happens downstairs in the basement, but you can see it from the 1st floor. There is also an upstairs bar and more seating The place was very very popular on a Saturday night, and isn't really as much a brewpub as it is a brewbistro Then it was off to Philly to visit the newly opened Earth Bread + Brewery, owned and operated by former New Jersey's Heavyweight Brewing The rest of the year doesn't look that appealing to me, so hopefully the Weizenbock lasts into January Getting a little tired of Pumpkin Ales for the season, but this'll probably be the last time it's on, so let's grab theirs. Not bad, not amazing, but nice and spicy and tolerable. On tap we find some pretty good stuff, including 2 seasonals Saturday would have us adventuring back to the King of Prussia Mall, which is very dangerous on a Saturday afternoon this time of year. After looking for a parking space for 20 minutes, thank god there's a Rock Bottom here Tasted pretty good for a Red Ale, but I was expecting it to be an Oktoberfest, with a name like Octoberfest and all I know it's November now, but here's Harpoon's Octoberfest Beer. Oddly, it's not an Oktoberfest beer at all, it's a red ale Tasted pretty good, but holy crap did its 11% sneak up on me Started out with a beer I totally forgot I had a bottle of thanks to Heath, Troeg's Scratch 10, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale

^Sweet stuff, Soren! Love seeing random beers from around the world. This past weekend was closing day at Dorney and as such the last farewell for Laser. Since it was the best coaster at Dorney, there was a good turnout to say goodbye and while there, we decided to try out one of the newer places in the area that we've been avoiding for the past couple of years. and we'll end with one last shot of Laser overall not a bad brew. Nice citrus up front then some good sweet caramel malts and grain with a nice earthy and floral hop bitter finish. Very drinkable, bravo Lakefront! let's see how Lakefront takes on the whole Oktoberfest style quite a nice hop profile to accompany the malts time to enjoy a tried and true good Oktoberfest from Great Lakes trying Tom's pumpkin ale before I got one, I decided on the Oktoberfest instead. It wasn't much better, also kinda sour and lots of nuttiness and roasted malt. More like a bad nut brown to me these old beer thread veterans all enjoy some Pumpkin Ale. Some enjoyed it, but Tom and myself thought it was a little too sour in the finish ABW is in what used to be an old department store for lunch it was off to Allentown Brew Works, about 3 miles down the road from Dorney in center city Allentown The coaster itself shall remain Voodoo is right there with you, at least its name farewell Laser, looks like you'll be honored every year here in the rides graveyard, but you're not alone we even managed a rare backseat ride and to say goodbye to an old friend off to Dorney to close out their season Not very beer-like in flavor, but packing in plenty of pumpkin pie spices First, a perfect beer for Halloween, Shipyard's Pumpkinhead Ale

A nice night time ride on Ghost Runner AKA Storm Runner tonight to close out the "season".

TIme for another update, on a very special night for us eastern PA peoples. Wow, this brother is showing lots of love in the form of malt, with a touch of citrus. Congratulations Phillies on winning the World Series after a 28 year drought!! VICTORY is ours! and go they did, all the way to become World Champions! Time to celebrate by reaching deep into my beer vault for a bottle of something Philly local. A bottle of Victory Ten Years Alt from 2006 will have to suffice for celebratory purposes It was a pretty solid Oktoberfest, very smooth, balanced, sweet, and sessionable. Go Phils! Long Island's Blue Point Brewings Oktoberfest was recommended a few weeks back while up in Poughkeepsie. Let's see if they were right OK sweetness, some nice bready malts, a touch of citrus, but lots of hop bitterness in there along with a metallic feel and lots of carbonation. I was surprised this wasn't better coming from Bells Time to switch it up a bit and restart drinking Oktoberfest beers before October sneaks away. Bell's Octoberfest will repave the path Yup, this is one AB beer I don't mind spending money on, it's pretty good. Not something I'd drink all the time, but I don't mind having a few of these each Fall season Another pumpkin up next, this time a bottle of Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale from Anheuser Busch This was another OK pumpkin ale. Not the greatest out there, but very sessionable and worth a pick up every year, with a good balance of pumpkin, malt, and spices more pumpkin ales, this time Saranac Pumpkin Ale from Matt Brewing up in New York

Before it gets too late, in honor of my friend and main reason I drink quality beers who is celebrating a birthday today, here's some fun we had last Saturday at a very rainy West Coast Firkin and Pig Roast event at Spinnerstown. Happy birthday, Tom! but it was too fruity for her and didn't taste like beer, so she went with a Hop Rod Rye instead! What a great time at Spinnerstown, hope they do this firkin thing again next year, hopefully with better weather Smelling my Framboise, Tom wanted some of his own, as he'd never had it on tap before. Figured he'd get some for Michele too, as she's never had it ever and let me say, it was worth the wait. Nice and creamy smooth with a great citrus wave mixed with honey and caramel and nice piney blast to end. I need more of this, and if it comes again next year, I'm bringing my growler! finally, about 5 hours later the brew I wanted most came online. Hello Hop 15! fortunately, the bartender let me trade it in for some Lindeman's Framboise After a friend told me this was the only place in PA that got it, I decided to try the Gritty McDuff's Halloween ale...which wasn't a pumpkin ale at all, it was more of an oktoberfest meets an esb meets some allspice. I wasn't impressed trying everything on cask thus far and wanting to hold out for what I really wanted, I decided to venture inside to see what was on tap When Michele showed up Tom and her both enjoyed some more Stone Smoked Porter good stuff, $7 for a sandwich, like 9 types of sauce, potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, beans, peppers, onions, slaw, and rolls. A great deal time for some of that pig roast goodness This stuff looked and tasted a little bit like iced tea...iced tea mixed with hops Woohoo, looks like the Coronado is finally on, as Le Freak has fallen After loving Lagunitas' Sirius last time he was at Spinnerstown, Tom got really brave and went with their Maximus double IPA, and he really enjoyed it. West Coast IPAs are definitely different from the East Coast versions, a whole different flavor the patio is starting to get a little busy, but the rain kept lots of people away. Luckily they had the cover and sides tied down to keep the rain and wind out Racer 5 on Cask was pretty good, but at first was kinda soapy. Oh well, I'd do dishes more often if the dish soap tasted this good Tom got a little brave and went for the Dry Hopped Shakespeare Stout from Rogue. You could definitely pick up the hops, but it was still really chocolatey and roasted Ballast Point's Big Eye IPA, ahhh, pure West Coast dreaming here Not all that big into hoppy beers anymore, Tom started off with some of Stone's Smoked Porter with American Oak first up for me, some Le Freak from Green Flash. Definitely hoppy, but you could still note the Belgian yeasts and spices 8 West Coast Casks and 2 locals, but only 6 are on at the moment. Of course it was the 2 I was most desiring that were held for now. here's what we're here for, firkins (cask conditioned kegs) of some sweet West Coast brews that don't often make it out East Back to the Spinnerstown hotel. (this picture is older, it was pouring down rain outside during this particular visit)

Decided to break from my pumpkin theme to show some of my recent brewery visits. We'll be coming back to Troegs more often now that we can drink full pints on site and pick up sixers, especially next month when the espresso stout comes out It's pretty cool that you can now check out more into the brewery while you drink and shop, whereas before you could only see behind the taps and this year's batch is good stuff, lots of nice spices and cherry flavor but that's not all, Mad Elf is back for the cold weather approaching as well We dig the new look, and we also dig the Scratch 14, a saison but now you can also buy full draft pints to consume on site (and by default, some really bad burgers) the tasting area was still there we were completely shocked to see they had just recently remodeled the whole place...and now could sell 6 packs! speaking of Heath, he and I decided to stop off at Troegs for some samples a few days ago all dressed up and ready for Heath While here I decided to fill up a growler of Harvest Ale, but you've already seen that get consumed on the last page all were excellent, the Bags Packed really good, roasty and creamy on cask then a sampler of some of their other brewpub exclusives; Saphir Pils, Cask 132 Cents IPA, Cask Bags Packed Porter, regular 132 Cents IPA, and the Dampf California Common. I just had to start with some Harvest Ale while it was still fresh and on tap some pretty sweet things on tap, lots of brewpub exclusives A few weeks ago I had to go to Victory to grab some merch and to goes, decided to check out the taps list too while I was there.