DerekRx

It's one of my favorite times of year, and I've got plenty of new stuff to go through so this will be a big themed update all based around pumpkin ales. I've still got some to go, but I figured I better start now. It may not have a lot of body, but it's got some pretty good flavors and a nice balance of them and we'll end this update with the original pumpkin ale, from Buffalo Bills Brewing out in Norcal Yuck, surprisingly not good, even though Smuttynose brews some great stuff. This had good nose and started off all right, but there wasn't enough of a backbone and the finish was really bitter, like citrus rind, ginger, and earth. Coming down the home stretch with Smuttynose's Pumpkin Ale a little different than last year's, but still oh so creamy and awesome it wouldn't be proper to miss out on the greatest pumpkin ale of all time This year they really redeemed themselves, making one of the best pumpkin ales out there. Lots of cinnamon cookie like notes mixed with pumpkin meat, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Time to give Southern Tier's Pumking another try, though last year's was nothing but pumpkin meat Blech! This stuff was terrible, cinnamon, brown sugar, lots of nutmeg and a finish of sour lemon and ginger. Gross! Otter Creek/Wolaver's was next with their Organic Pumpkin Ale A little higher in alcohol to session, but this is still a really great pumpkin ale with lots of brown sugar, molasses, and malt with just enough spices and pumpkin flavor This time I will not be denied their seasonal brew, so bring on the Punkin Ale I later found myself down in Rehoboth Beach, so we may as well check out Dogfish Head again meh, not much going on here, pretty light flavors all over Four + Brewing out of Utah somehow found its way here, so we'll try their Punk'n This was another satisfying pumpkin ale, lots of floury dough, molasses, pumpkin, cinnamon, and a touch of floral hops Elysian's Night Owl pumpkin ale was next, newly released in PA and surrounding areas Holy crap, Lakefront actually made something good!! and though it's a little thin, it's pretty sessionable with a nice spiciness and some good pumpkin and malt flavors First up, Lakefront's attempt at a pumpkin ale

Well this demotion blows, especially considering it gets more views than a lot of the stickies, but oh well, people need to post more of their drinkings! Last weekend was the 2nd Annual Fears and Beers weekend. Last year the base was here at home, but it fell short due to inclement weather and house problems, and this year's trip to New York and Connecticut looked to be troubled for a bit, but all turned out well in the end. Onto the beers end of the deal. Saturday's plan was to pick up beer at Half Time in Poughkeepsie, NY and then head to the Gilded Otter Brewery nearby for dinner and drinks, but due to traffic problems on the way up and maximum crowds at the restaurant, we only got to pick up some goodies at Half Time before heading to Headless Horseman for some fears. But Sunday's venture went well (except for our visit to SFNE, but we'll save that for another time). I also chose the East End Big Hop Harvest, lots of earthiness in this one. Heath went with the East End Big Hop Harvest while Kim the Roy Pitz Watermelon Lager, which tasted like someone dropped a Jolly Rancher in a grainy lager Lots of good stuff on tap, as usual. This time preparing for the Harvest celebration for a late lunch, a stop at Capone's they've even got a Beer Advocate Top 100 display plenty of sweet singles to keep the beer thread fueled On our way home on Monday we stopped off at the Oak Tree BuyRite in Jersey, one of the top beer stores out there a quick look at the bar area before we head off to Lake Compounce Adam went with the Dyvyl Hopyard Double IPA on Cask while I got my Bethlehem Brew Works mug filled with some V.E.G. IPA. Sunday at Willimantic is bring your own stein day, and they fill it for the same price as a pint, and the VEG was simply awesome, one of the best IPAs out there with lots of citrus and pine, but with nice honey and biscuit flavor as well. Apparently the VEG is named after a patron who liked this IPA so much he provides the hops for it For round two Heath went with the Husky IPA and Kim the Overseas Mail Octoberfest. Kim was happy to not be driving for once plenty of appetizers to go around The girls went with Summerfest, water (designated driver), and Super Silly Saison us dudes all decked out in our gray shirts enjoyed some V.E.G. IPA, Fall Harvest Ale, and Belgian Black Ale, all very good plenty of great stuff on tap, including 4 IPAs! It's no longer the post office, it's now a Brewpub (and an awesome one at that!) First stop, the old Willimantic Post Office in Connecticut

Boulder Dash, last night at 10:30pm, running simply amazing this year, and probably the best I've ever ridden it, the night rides were insane.

Nice to see some more action in here this week. Here's my contribution of this week's goodies. It's starting to lose its taste a little, but the nose is still amazing. If all Bitters tasted like this, I'd be a happy camper Finally, we'll finish off with my last can of Bitter Brewer from Surly, before it isn't fresh any longer holy freaking bourbon notes, Batman! Thankfully you could still taste the dark fruits, oak, chocolate, soy sauce, and coffee flavors afterward, but this thing is definitely a sipper with lots of alcohol heat still residing inside This ain't no homebrew or mystery beer, it's Voodoo Brewing's Black Magick, a bourbon barreled RIS that they just can't wait any longer for label approval to release this thing was definitely packing in the hops, lots of citrus, pine, and grassy notes, but not a whole lot of caramel malt balance I like from an Imperial IPA, or at least it was way overshadowed by the hop presence next up, something Matt Capone suggested I try, Harpoon's Leviathan Series Imperial IPA in true West Coast style, it packed in lots of hops, making for one fantastic red ale with great citrus and pine notes, but still balanced Next, a birthday present from Heath, Hop Head Red Ale from Green Flash out of San Diego Lots of witbier qualities, but still enough yeasty funk to be considered a tripel First up, a gift from Matt, Oh Brother! from Two Brothers, a Belgian Tripel

:sigh: this is the 2nd HHN I'll miss in a row, and this one has me way more jonesing to go back than last year's reports did. Looks like I'll definitely be setting aside some vacation days and LOADS of cash to do this event next year. I still can't get over how crazy expensive the express passes are selling for, I can get a kidney for cheaper, I swear! Great report, Erik, makes me want to return to Wet N Wild too, they've rethemed a bunch of stuff since I've been there, and it was only a few years ago.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, and happy belated to you, Kevin! (I thought you vanished or something from your lack of posts). This one is a winner, not as awesome as Sierra Nevada's Harvest Ale, but still quite good with lots of fresh hop character and a nice biscuit backbone Finally, we end with Weyerbacher's Harvest Ale, an apparent local exclusive made with fresh hops This is another great coffee stout, very smooth and velvety. I'm sad I'm out of this stuff for now, but happy that it returns shortly. Following in the enjoyment of Breakfast Stout, it was time for more stouts, like last year's Wake N Bake from Terrapin, which has held up nicely I can't wear a Founder's shirt, see Breakfast Stout on tap, and pass it up. Excellent stuff, very deserving of its ranking amongst the best out there. Afterwards I hit up Capone's to pick up some bottles for October consumption and decided to stop into the now smoke-free bar to see what was on tap. Big mistake! To finish, I went with Erie Brewing's Misery Bay IPA. Just an ok IPA, not very hoppy, but a little too hoppy to be considered a pale ale and with excellent food like Beef on Weck, I'll most likely be joining him on occasion! next on Tom's agenda was Lagunitas' Sirius, which he loved even though he isn't big into hops or cream ales. Something tells me Tom will be checking out this place again very soon next up for me, Clipper City's MarzHon, an Oktoberfest. It wasn't that spectacular, kinda watery, which surprised me for Clipper City Conveniently, Spinnerstown is only 10 minutes from Tom's work, so he decided to join me in checking out the place. Tempted by the Southern Tier Pumking, he was pleased to discover that this year it tasted more like pumpkin cookies than pumpkin meat Being October and all, I decided to start out with Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale, among the best pumpkin ales out there, and always consistently good Their restaurant and bar area has a pretty impressive selection, with a manager who gets lots of good beers in. Besides this nice tap arrangement there's a huge book with lots of bottles, some of them really rare (like Perkuno's Hammer) On Tuesday I found myself checking out a place I hadn't yet visited, Spinnerstown Hotel in Spinnerstown, PA, just outside of Quakertown

Our new turtle, Zoe

This past weekend was the Fall Fest at Victory, their Oktoberfest event. While the weather wasn't very cooperative, it still held back enough that we managed to get down there to check it out. Furious makes me happy. Gotta love that variety of hops punch and great malt balance. Curse you for being so far away, Minnesota- that's the one thing that makes me furious Finally, tonight we'll crack open my last can of Surly's Furious before it starts losing its hop punch it's holding up pretty well and was pretty sweet yet crisp last night it was time to clear out some old stuff from the fridge, like this Whitetail golden ale from Rock Art fairly decent stuff, not as smooth and buttery as many Oktoberfests, but it had some nice bread notes and a nice earthy/grassy finish we came too late last year for the Rocktoberfest, but managed to make it this year next up, back to King of Prussia's Rock Bottom as we prepare to head elsewhere, things are starting to get a little more lively outside. Hopefully next year the weather cooperates better and we can stay longer and boy is it ever fresh! I just love this time of year It must be so fresh they didn't even put it on the board yet, because here it is! inside was a bit more crowded, especially at the bar, but there was still room to breath and lots more on tap. But no listing for the Harvest Ale, what gives?! The main reason we came though was for the fresh hop Harvest Ale, which sadly wasn't available outside, so let's check inside. Notice how there isn't a line 75 minutes long waiting to get in, Three Floyds? a German band was kicking some classic German festival music while we were there Even the fire department came out to show support and show the kids around the trucks Being Oktoberfest, we started off with Victory's Wiesen, an Oktoberfest. Not to be confused with their Festbier, also an Oktoberfest. The selection of beers on tap outside, and signage so you can actually see what you're in line for. (oh yeah, they had queues set up too. Take that Three Floyds!) We found it odd that it was only these beers being offered, but they are the more sessionable ones We got there just after the 2pm opening and there wasn't much of a crowd yet. The rain just letting up about 30 minutes earlier probably helped with the lightness Here you can see the entrance tent, where you do all your purchasing of beer tickets, food tickets, merch pickups, etc, with Victory's brewpub in the far back. Sure looks more organized than anything Three Floyds would ever do It's a big event, talking place at the entire old industrial site/Pepperidge Farm grounds where Victory now stands. Taking up all of Victory's parking lot means you have to park elsewhere, even down at the high school and be shuttled in. Luckily these signs help you know where you can park

Enjoying some great stuff this week while the weather is cooling off nicely. the age has done this beer nicely. Great chocolate and coffee flavors balancing each other out with other notes of dark fruits, molasses, smoke, roasted malt, vanilla, espresso beans, cocoa powder, anise, and alcohol. Really good stuff, extremely smooth and creamy with a nice bitter bite Finally, we conclude this week with a gift given from Heath back in February, Sexual Chocolate, a Russian Imperial Stout from Foothills nice roasty character with some molasses and caramel notes as well now seems like a nice time to break out a Reserve Special Black Bier from Dark Horse While it's no Westy 12, for an American take on a Belgian quadrupel it's pretty darn good, even better when aged This bottle has been aging for a while, Tom cellared it for over a year, and then I must have cellared it for another year. Time to let this Weyerbacher Quad out of the bottle one thing's for certain, Troegs Scratch 13, an Oktoberfest is good stuff, lots of bread and caramel, but with a nice citrus and light pine finish This looks oddly familiar, I must've spent too much time around Heath this past weekend, as I poured the same beer in the same glass just minutes before he posted the same scenario

But what about their Halloween event?! It's a shame this happened, but it's really no surprise. From the get-go and all the management changes, insane operational hours, and staffing, it was very clear that they really had no idea what they were doing. I liked the park on my visit, but honestly wouldn't pay $50 to return in its present state, not without more rides. I think they tried to take advantage of Hard Rock's name and ability to charge way too much for average stuff and in this instance it failed. I hope they can get some management that knows what they're doing in an attempt to bring this place back to life, but I don't know if that'll even help. Looks like I may never get the Maximum RPM and Slippery When Wet credits after all.

Thanks for taking the time to hang out with us, Chuck! BGE's Howl-O-Scream may not be as good as its Tampa brother's, but considering it isn't an upcharge, it's pretty well done. I was impressed with the theming, most of the stories, and especially the way they handled the crowds. The whole Never After area was very well organized, only having you queue up once and doing two houses and a scare zone in order was really nice. It would have been nice if the park was opened a little later, especially for a Saturday when it doesn't even get dark until after 7, but oh well. While we managed to hit everything and get night rides on all the coasters, I think visiting on a Friday night or a Sunday would be really beneficial to anyone going later in the season. Can't wait to do it again next year!

We got our griff on at BGE today. Lots of rides with little waiting, including a walk-on backrow on Griffon around 2pm. still not my favorite ride at the park, but no wait makes it better

^^I don't know if there was a concert on Sunday or not, but throughout the week I know Breaking Benjamin and Seether, Daughtry, Larry the Cable Guy, and ZZ Top performed, among others. Hopefully next year we'll be able to eat more crazy stuff, but it was too hot that day for us to desire anything deep fried or even just warm.

This weekend it was off to Virginia to start the Halloween season off right (and early). Heath was so ready to do some Halloween haunts, he practically begged to come with, and who am I to say no. It just so happens to also be the time of Oktoberfest, so on the way to Busch Gardens we just so happened to stop off at one of our favorite places to partake in the celebration. you just can't beat the combo of pulled pork and slaw sandwich, hush puppies, and a sweet tea and finally, leaving the park in mid afternoon, we stopped off at one simply awesome BBQ place down the road, Pierce's Pitt it wouldn't be a trip to BGE without this obligatory shot thrown in. The park was so empty we never had longer than a 2 train wait for any ride and because I inquired about it as it wasn't listed on the menu, our really awesome host hooked us all up with a taste of their new American Ale, which was pretty flowery and nicely dry hopped. I'd actually consider purchasing this one too and we all chose the seasonal Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, which is one of my favorite AB beers that I'd actually purchase a 6 pack of Heath goes all Michelob with the Porter and Amber Bock Two of Nicole's four beers were the Michelob Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit Ale, which tasted kinda like a mimosa, and the Bacardi Silver Mojito Pomegrante which tasted like a dentist's fluoride treatment in the Brewmaster's Club we find our menu of options I miss the real Oktoberfest, as nice and impressive as this looks it pales in comparison to the real tents in Munich on Sunday we returned to the park and were able to book a slot at the Brewmaster's Club. Time for more free booze at the Festhaus Bud Light Lime intrigued me, and since the Brewmaster's Club was already booked for the day, I actually purchased an Anheuser Busch beer. It pretty much tasted like carbonated lime water. I'd give the nod to Miller Chill and then some haunts to partake in we've got some credit whoring to do Here's the tent where more of the event will take place after 5, but we gotta be moving on well before that, sadly Heath went for more Pschorr while I gave the Hofbrau Munchen Dunkel Lager a try, excellent as expected! unfortunately, it seems a good portion of the rest of the Oktoberfests didn't survive much past Friday night, as they were out of almost everything we ordered. Nicole kept it German themed though with a Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier time for a round of German Oktoberfests: Hofbrau, Hacker Pschorr, and Paulaner. These were so smooth, they didn't survive long but at least the Oktoberfest vibe is all set up, and the brews are pouring it just so happens to be Oktoberfest and they're hosting a big event this weekend, though not until after 5pm both days, boo look at all those wonderful taps, and huge 1 liter complimentary steins to put the beers in. Innsbrook's Capital Ale House, one awesome beer bar/restaurant with a plethora of beers

Decided it was time for another International Beer Week theme, so here goes. While not my all-time favorite beer, this is definitely my favorite Quadrupel and among the best beers out there. Tastes of apples, pears, spices, citrus, figs, plums, caramel, pepper, spices, yeast, bread, all making their appearance known and then gently fading away. The taste is great, but the feel of it is amazing! Well worth obtaining, and a return to Belgium may be in order soon. That's right, it's time for the bad boy commonly known as "Westy's 12", Trappist Westvleteren 12, a quadrupel ale from a bunch of awesome monks in Belgium Finally, we'll finish off on Friday with a bottle I know some here have enjoyed, but I think this is its first appearance in the beer thread, ranked #1 beer in the world, but quite humble as you can see by no label, ever! Very good stuff with lots of fresh dark fruits up front and nice notes of caramel, vanilla, and toffee to accompany cinnamon, brown sugar, and a very cake-like feel. Thanks, Joe! Holland's Struis, a Strong Ale from Brouwerij 't IJ, was next. 9% not something I'd drink frequently, but pretty good. Lots of fruity notes, though a little salty at first, and boozy on the back end Thomas Hardy's Ale was next, an English old ale, 11.7% Tastes of chocolate, raisins, coffee, smoke, and leather, just like a RIS should, but packing way too much red wine booziness to really enjoy. This took me a while to finish Next up, Mikkeller's Black Hole, a really crude Russian Imperial Stout from Denmark, weighing in at 12.5% great maltiness and molasses sweetness in this one with good coffee, brown sugar, and some nice hop presence too, a fantastic dopplebock We'll start off with a bottle of Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock from Germany that I found in the basement

In all my years living in Pennsylvania, I've never been to a fair, only local carnivals (which pretty much suck). In fact, the only fairs I've been to have been Puyallup and Oktoberfest, which are pretty much as awesome as they come. But seeing how we had nothing to do this past weekend and they were offering discounted wristbands for the fair's last day, we decided to check out the York Fair, supposedly the first in the US. and we'll end this with another super intense flat ride and the aftermath of heat, spinning, and too much deep fried stuff on sticks. There were a lot of prize winning birds, and many for sale, just not sure if it's for pets or dinner. That must blow, you are chosen to be the best there is, and your reward is a ribbon that you get to look at for a few days before you are beheaded, stuffed with bread, and shoved in an oven. along with these cleverly painted ones by some school kids We ended by checking out some prize winners, like these pumpkins and if that's not even, right across the way is yet another I Got It stand. These must be popular if they need 3 separate stands in a 200 foot radius More I Got It! Nicole tried to buy insurance, but they weren't offering it on Sundays, stupid Blue Laws The baby ducks didn't really do anything, but this one kept eating for a really long time. getting to what a Pennsylvania Fair is all about, bring out the farm animals! The pig races can be compared to ACErs running to be the first one on a coaster...except the pigs are cute No Credits for Old Men here checking some indoor exhibits, we found our favorite, the free new Doritos flavors stand Sweeping the nation, and taking the York Fair by storm, I Got It! Autumn, the best season simply because everything is pumpkinized here's a combination, called "Bees for Beer" or "Root Bees". Smply swat the bees away to pour a root beer. It's fun for the whole family, except for your extremely allergic to bees brother, but maybe you'll inherit his room when he's gone Outside of the midway we run into all forms of deep fried goodness and challenging games With the hot temperatures, we didn't really feel like riding much, so we opted for the 10 ticket deal instead, which oddly cost us $11, not 10. Even in the carnie world, they have to separate the real extreme freaks. We should have paid the $2 to go in and see for ourselves worth $3? You bet! The fair was set up weirdly, with another section on the opposite side from the midway, called kiddieland where we find credit #2 The other funhouse belongs at Hard Rock Park with all of its rock and pop icons of the 80s, 90s, and today Taer it down! Woohoo, Credit! and as with most of the newer Zamperla crazy mice, spinning is minimal. I wonder if it's because of the restraints throwing off the weight imbalance This funhouse made me miss Germany (and beer in general) Extreme spew machine, got it Evil Ferris Wheel and crappy dark ride, got it! Staple fair rides like Scrambler and Zipper, got it! Wristbands were being offered for all rides for $17 per person. But we wanted to see if it would be worth it first, so we took a walk around. We chose the gate closest to the midway and Reithoffer's Amusements The York Fairgrounds, home to the York Fair and other such things. Parking was easy and there were plenty of entry points

Time for an update from last week and this past weekend. Unfortunately I left my camera at home for our impromptu trip to Union Jack's yesterday (now smoke-free) where I enjoyed some Russian River goodness of Damnation, Blind Pig, and even some Avery Maharaja. For me, the Abby's Fault, a Belgian Triple with a ton of hops added to it. Nice and fruity with some candy and yeast and a big old finish of citrus peel, pine, and grass. Nicole was overjoyed to see they released the Oktoberfest a few days early. Nice and sweet with nice malt presence and a subtle amount of German hops makes this one quite sessionable Finally we end the weekend with a visit to Iron Hill in Lancaster on our way back from the York Fair to find some new stuff on tap Definitely not as good as it is on cask, but it's still pretty impressive. Losing a little bit of hop kick though, more malt coming out While I'm searching through my bottle stash, let's have one of the last of this year's Nugget Nectars Still good stuff with lots of West Coast hop presence as well as some nice roasted malt character I've still got some bottles of Stone XI laying around, may as well see how it's holding up Pretty impressive stuff, raisins mixed with chocolate, caramel, toffee, and bread with a nice citrus finish Dark Horse's Scotty Karate is next, a Scottish Ale Pretty strong stuff, with lots of chocolate , roasted malt, alcohol, yeast, and sweet candy; much like a mix of their Merry Monks and Old Heathen Weyerbacher's XIII, their 13th anniversary ale was next. This was like a Belgian-inspired Imperial Stout Pretty darn dry and bitter stuff for a plain old pale ale! something new for me to try, Mayflower Brewing's Pale Ale. over a week ago I found myself at Stoudt's and enjoyed their new Dutch Dunkelweizen while I was there

I heard a good deal of their new album on XM radio recently, and could always tell it was Metallica without even looking at the display....sadly this was because it sounded like the same crap as their last couple of albums and was only getting airtime because of who they used to be. I say bring back Dave Mustaine, at least he can write them some good stuff, since they're all too deaf to hear it for themselves.

^Hmmm, Quiet Riot: Metalhead would be quite fitting at the park. We came up with a few other good additions to the park, such as a whole waterpark area called "New Wave", Ozzy's Crazy Train, and Europe's The Final Countdown Space Shot. The only things I would really consider innovative at IOA were Spiderman, Poseidon's water tunnel, Hulk's Launch, and Dueling Dragons weighing system. Pretty much everything else there had been proven to work previously, and with the exception of Spiderman, every other ride could have still survived just fine if its most innovative part failed to work properly. The only reasons the original trolley ride didn't work were because of questions of evac with all the buildings involved and the company going out of business. Maximum RPM, on the other hand, I was leery about from its announcement, as I was with Slippery When Wet, but for other reasons, and the lack of those two coasters included in my coaster count pretty much justifies my skepticism. The whole Ferris Wheel lift system looked cool, but wasn't proven by Premier, nor seemed very effective if you can only have 2 cars on at a time because of weight issues. Mack's elevator system works much better, and was already proved time and time again. Larry, I have no idea what you're talking about with Ripsaw Falls. Maybe you can't remember since SFGAd hadn't run theirs with 2 chutes since like 1993, but Arrow Hydroflumes were all over the 2 side by side drops. I think Hershey's is the only one left...until the boardwalk expands over to there in another 10 years.

^^Right. Go to places like Wildwood or Ocean City and you'll find during the morning and afternoon the piers are dead and it leaves you thinking the place should be filing for bankruptcy soon. After 5pm the places start getting a little busier, and by 8 it's packed. Even the Pavilion was like that. With an after 5 admission price of like $25, HRP would see a lot more attendance in the evening, and just overall more people in the park period. Parks like Dorney, Carowinds, and Kings Dominion offer evening admission, and others like Dollywood and Hershey offer a deal where if you buy your ticket for the following day, they let you in that evening for free. Hard Rock Park just needs to get it out of their heads that they're a destination park right now, they need to lower their prices to around $35-40, offer the deals that these other competing parks are, and not be charging such ridiculous prices for their merchandise ($8 for a pin, $20 for a t-shirt, and the same large gift shop at every ride exit.) If you can't get people into the park, they can't spend any money in there.

Agree completely. HRP seemed very similar to IOA, even with similar rides (Led Zeppelin vs Hulk, Nights in White Satin vs Cat in the Hat, kiddie roller skater, suspended coaster, kids play area, stunt show, lake and lake show, nice theming, giant merch shop, etc). I think HRP may even have more flat rides and shows, but the biggest thing that kept HRP from seeming complete is the lack of water rides. When IOA opened it had 3 water rides and water play areas in Toon Lagoon and Camp Jurassic, Hard Rock Park only has Reggae Falls and the now closed Slippery When Wet cannons. With the lack of shade in the park and the humidity, keeping cool is a big need. Hopefully they can stay opened long enough to throw in some water rides, or even a little waterpark in the next couple of years. I know IOA struggled to get its attendance figures the first couple of years, luckily they could rely on their sister park, City Walk, hotels, and offering discounts to draw in the people. Hopefully HRP can survive (and get those closed coasters reopened so I can get my other credits!)

Wow, looks like a neat place with lots of history packed into it. Pretty cool that a small group could actually make a plan for a museum a reality. All this time I thought you could only get as far as asking for money over and over again.

^We'll try to tie in a visit to Asheville along with a trip to Dollywood, whenever that may be. It's been a while since I've been to Rock Bottom, and with their 2007 GABF winning Barleywine on tap and $10 on my mug card, now is as good a time as any to get back there! Finally, to end, a fresh batch of Founder's Breakfast Stout. Now that hits the spot! Not sure why I got it, probably because Capone told me it was actually good, but once again Lakefront and their IPA failed to impress me. Jersey Devil, you can have this one! Left Hand's Twin Sisters was also pretty good, though not as powerful as the Rogue. It looks like BA's Jersey Devil wants some Rogue's Ale to the Chief was amazing, lots of piney goodness With so much great stuff on tap, I can't pass up a flight to finish out Luckily the Church Brew Works Coconut Stout was still on tap. Lots of chocolate and coconut flavors, but it's showing its age, and as it warmed up, lots of butter notes came out Nope, it wasn't the Pliny the Elder, I had already known that was kicked earlier in the day, the same day it went on tap! While I'm here, I may as well head down to Capones as there's a beer on I really want to try While I'm here and still have some free money to spend, may as well grab the King's Wit. A little too much ginger for my liking, it competed with all the other flavors of banana, candied orange peel, and clove. First off, right to the Broad Street Bullywine, named for our Philadelphia Flyers. For a barleywine, this thing was balanced beyond belief. A look at the board. Looks like we'll be heading back there again in the next couple of weeks since we missed out on the Rocktoberfest last year Back to the mall for some free booze!

After our time in Myrtle Beach, we headed up to Carowinds for a day, but since the park closed at 6pm, we had time to check out another cool place not too far away before beginning our adventure home the next day. and to end, a shot of Pilot Mountain, which looks pretty cool and gives Foothills' Pilot Mountain Pale Ale its name. I'll have to try that beer some time soon, as the place was cool and the beers were great. and before we head out for our 8 hour drive home, time for me to enjoy some Seeing Double IPA, an awesome Double IPA with lots of caramel, biscuit, and pine. Great stuff! while I enjoyed some crab and corn chowder and a Caesar Salad with artichoke and sun-dried tomatoes and to accompany that, she had a veggie wrap and cheese grits Nicole couldn't decide between the Hurricane Hefeweizen and the Oktoberfest, so she enjoyed tasters of both But I intend to come back here again to try more stuff, so for right now I'll be happy to enjoy a pint of Hoppyum IPA, a great IPA with lots of citrus and pine flavors and a nice biscuit and honey backbone Lots of great stuff on tap, and they have a sampler deal We chose to sit at the bar, since it was easy to find seats. You can see the brewing operation in the background Being a Tuesday at 11:30am, the place wasn't really crowded, but I'm sure it gets packed Luckily I found it in Foothills Brewing On Tuesday we drove home, making a brief stop in Winston-Salem. No, I wasn't looking for job security, I was in search for awesome beer We then discovered you could take any of their beers and they'd super chill them in like 5 minutes in the back. We'll have to remember that the next time we head to Carowinds, as the place had a pretty sweet selection some good malty flavors with a nice bit of hop presence The place was pretty empty, so we got to know the locals and bartender pretty well and decided to stay for another round. Time for something more local like the Highland Gaelic Ale Just as smooth, creamy, chocolaty, and roasted as I remember It's been some time since I've enjoyed a good RIS, time for Old Rasputin to alleviate that Lots of nice tart cherry flavors in there No beers on tap, but they've got some good stuff in the cooler behind the bar, all chilled and ready to go. Nicole went with the Kasteel Rogue Being Labor Day, the area wasn't too crowded, so I easily found a parking space on the street Just 2 exits south of Carowinds we find Grapevine, a wine and beer bar that opened not too long ago in a shopping village

The last two years saw me spending Labor Day out in California somewhere with Heath and Kim. This year however, Nicole and I decided to stay on the East Coast and tackle an area that she hadn't been to and that had a few new things for me to enjoy coaster related, and plenty of beer options as well, the Carolinas. and to snack on, we split tapas. While the prices were average, my 1 beer and appetizer cost as much as 2 beers and 2 appetizers at Liberty during happy hour. So go to Liberty between 4-7 every day, people!! Next up, elsewhere in South Carolina. the beers were good too, at least my Hefeweizen was. Lots of banana, clove, and yeastiness. Refreshing stuff The bar area was cool because there were even stools outside facing in The place wasn't nearly as busy as Liberty because of it's location, but it had a nice vibe, good service, decent food, and local support but then it was off to Myrtle Beach's newest brewpub, Gordon Biersch, located down by the airport in a new shopping area after a stop for some candy we went back to the hotel for some more cooling off in the water Since it's almost impossible to beat the $2.50 pint prices, I couldn't resist having a second, this time the Nut Brown. Not too heavy, good caramel, nuts, and roasted malt flavor Nicole was too hot to enjoy a beer, but she was all over the popcorn crawdads, also 1/2 price Went quite well with my Buffalo Shrimp appetizer, 1/2 price during happy hour! the bar area was packed so we had to eat out in the biergarten for happy hour prices but it was worth it, despite being in the heat all day. Time for a nice malty Rocket's Red with a nice bitter hop finish But that didn't mean we couldn't go back the next day after doing Hard Rock Park, this time getting there for happy hour! Nicole went with the crab and corn soup and a house salad with the most awesome dressing ever invented, ginger beer. Prices were cheap and the food and drink was awesome, even if it wasn't happy hour. Sadly, we were too full to enjoy another round. For dinner I had the peppercorn burger and a sweet potato. I polished the plate off While I enjoyed the IPA. Not too bitter, but definitely an IPA and easy to session to accompany her bread, some White Ale. Quite refreshing. we missed happy hour by like 10 minutes, so we just decided to head into the dining room. Nicole was pleased with the free bread served right away the current tap list Hooray for Liberty at Broadway at the Beach. After approximately 15 minutes we were in need of refreshment. So, after checking into our hotel and enjoying the ocean for a little bit, it was time to get some beer! onto our first stop, super hot and humid Myrtle Beach for some coaster rides while not as good as their last offering in the Monster Mash Imperial Stout, this was a pretty good Americanized Dubbel First up, last week I also tried Boak's newest brew, a Belgian Dubbel