DerekRx

Another weekend spent having lots of fun, and lots of beer. First off, Friday night. Just middle of the road for the style, not much flavorings from the pumpkin or from the spices. Another beer for the season, New Holland Brewing's Ichabod, a pumpkin ale from Michigan Starting to get a little funky from the hops, but still pretty good stuff To start off the night, my final bottle of Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale

Tonight I decided to start off with something new to me from Left Hand before finishing the night with Breakfast. Just plain awesome, loaded with coffee flavors, creamy and easy to drink. If only it was appropriate to start the morning off with one of these, I'd have breakfast more often! Finally, time for Breakfast in a bottle, Founder's Breakfast Stout, one of the top beers in the world Tastes a little of hot dog water, but fairly decent with some nice clove and banana flavors Left Hand's Haystack Wheat from Colorado

See, I knew finally getting to Great America would finally get the park a new coaster. You can feel free to thank me with monetary gifts. Looks like a return trip to NorCal will be necessary in a couple of years, not necessarily a bad thing either. Glad to see Great America getting a new full-sized coaster, that park definitely needs it, though I really don't like the new name of the park, sounds too much like it's trying to knock off DCA.

Yesterday it was time to try another pumpkin ale, from a brewery that I haven't had a bad experience with yet, Smuttynose. another satisfying pumpkin ale. Good spice notes and good pumpkin flavors, neither of which were too overpowering. Also some nice hop notes and a little alcohol burn. One of the better pumpkin ales No super awesome name, just Pumpkin Ale from Smuttynose up in New England

^Well judging from your awesome tastebuds and the fact that we had the Pumking this year and didn't really care for it, (too much pumpkin meat, not enough spice) we're gonna have to believe you have no clue what you're talking about with regards to these Lakefront beers being good. Finished off that growler of Harvest Ale tonight, sadly it went much faster than I thought. Oh well, I know where it'll be on tap for a good month yet. At least it was satisfying and I finished it off before it went flat. Now, to go get more! Day 2 of the Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale ended rather quickly as this was all that remained from day 1

Time to start enjoying that growler I brought home from The Drafting Room before it goes flat. Still wonderfully hoppy and carbonated to perfection, definitely one of the best beers out there. Such a shame I'll have to drink all this by myself over the next couple of days. mmmm, many glasses worth of Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale

^Thank you for inducing a headache worse than any Vekoma. Kids, stay in school. Most importantly, pay attention in English class!

^I like your optimism, and agree with you in the case of Hershey. I know in the past parks like Dorney shut off the back of the train on rides like Hercules on slow days, and as slowly as that thing went with a full train through the 2nd half the course, I'd actually believe it was due to the possibility of valleying. On our visit to Hershey on Sunday, crowds were fairly lite, and upon our riding of the GCIs, we found all the middle rows chained off. However, on Wildcat, once the crowd got large enough, they opened those middle rows. It really makes sense in this day and age of insurance and needing seatbelts to rope off certain seats during slower times to benefit not only the crew who has to buckle all the seatbelts, but also the riders who have to wait while the ops do this.

Took a few pictures today while at the park of the area where the coaster will be going. Work is coming along nicely at clearing the area out. one final goodbye to the wet-dry slides clearing out and flattening markings by the games goodbye slides

Storm Runner (or Ghost Runner as it was called for the Halloween event) at Hershey.

Today it was back to Selin's Grove as they just released 2 of their most awesome of awesomeness and we had to make sure we got them before the kegs got kicked again. (which happened right after I grabbed my first beer. Luckily they had extras this early in the batch) and finally for me, the newly released Hop Nouveau, a wet hop harvest ale made with the hops that grow on site. Another fantastic beer, well worth the wait Nicole went with the homebrewed root beer, always great ah yes, truly magnificent. A lot more spice this year, but still the best pumpkin ale out there, plenty of pumpkin taste and just brilliant that it's served on nitro, makes it so creamy. including on tap, which is one of the reasons we're here today. Lots of other good stuff too all decked out for Halloween with pumpkins everywhere Another wonderful but warm Autumn day at Selin's Grove, where they seem to have gotten a new sign

^Nope, never tried the Black Brutal, don't know if they bottle it or not, but I've seen it on tap at several places around here over the year. Tonight it was back to The Drafting Room for dinner. Since their Victory release got delayed, they decided to appease the beer geeks by breaking out some of the most highly awesome stuff. and to end the night, Nicole went for some Lindeman's Framboise. 30 seconds after this picture was taken, the beer was gone Next up for me, more familiar greatness in the form of Arcadia's Jaw Jacker pumpkin ale, one of the finest Nicole decided to go with the Sly Fox Black Raspberry Reserve, which she really enjoyed. Lots of raspberry flavors with a good wheat backbone. The Weyerbacher R&R raspberry rye barleywine was also tried, but was too alcohol tasting for Nicole's taste to enjoy a full glass. Ah yes, Pliny the Elder, Russian River's awesome double IPA makes a special appearance tonight in Pennsylvania Almost a totally different list tonight, all great stuff, but there's only one reason I really wanted to come back TDR, haven't been here in like almost 24 hours

Last night it was time to go on a local adventure to get more good stuff of the Autumn season. Off we go for a Friday night beerventure! Surprisingly, one of the better pumpkin ales. Nice pumpkin notes and not too overly spiced, but there was just enough there. Not too lite like Pumpkinhead, nor too heavy like Weyerbachers. Top 5 pumpkin here. Yup, Pumpkin ale on tap, just opened 2 days prior. And yes, they won gold at the GABF for their barleywine Final stop of the evening, Rock Bottom in King of Prussia A stop off at Sly Fox as the Turnpike was a mess showed no signs of their Oktoberfest, so I left Some brews for the road for later enjoyment While Saturday's plans may have changed, we'll get back here for this, whenever it is mmmhmmm, Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale on tap, and as fresh as it gets, just being tapped on Monday. Truly the best wet-hopped beer out there The important part of the board shows one of my favorites Next up, The Drafting Room just down the road Score! A lovely wet-hopped Pilsner, this stuff was loaded with floral notes. Excellent. Though the popularity of it with the growler fills while I was there shows this stuff probably won't last long The board of goodness, and yes it appears the Harvest Pils has returned, though no Harvest Ale Holy crap! For being not even 5 minutes after 5pm this place is packed already! First stop, Victory, where rumors of the Harvest have returned

I think you're just posting all at once so people don't figure out how much you drink in one sitting, Bubba.

Time to head back to a local place that I seem to forget about as there is so much awesomeness around me, Union Barrel Works. To finish, a Round Boy Stout, loaded with oat and burnt coffee tastes As expected, he's brewed up an Oktoberfest for the season. Definitely the right flavors for the style and easy to drink. Even Nicole had one Back to Union Barrel to see what Tom has brewing in his authentic German styles this time of year

Time to start trying something I got for my birthday, a variety case from Left Hand Brewing, who brews a pretty good Oktoberfest. Will their other beers hold up too? Citrusy goodness! Not that the Juju was horrible, it just was odd. Better switch to something not weird, Dogfish's Shelter Pale Um, yeah. No idea whats going on with this brew Left Hand's Juju Ginger, an ale with ginger. Ginger ale?? No, apparently it's beer with alcohol and stuff

Last night I decided to try something new I picked up at Capone's for my birthday, all the way from North Carolina. and this time the rating holds out. Great coffee and chocolate flavorings with a good body Highland Brewing's Black Mocha Stout, a fairly well rated beer

Tonight I decided to enjoy something newly released, and done so in a very limited series, a wet hop harvest ale from Harpoon up in Boston. good stuff. Not nearly as fantastic as the Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale, but still very satisfying. Still packs a lot of woody hop character as it warms up, very nice Fresh earthy hop tastes with some nice maltiness too. The yeast used gives it a very different flavor Glacier Harvest, a single batched wet hop beer from the folks at Harpoon

Sunday after a most excellent day at Kings Dominion with no crowds to speak of, we decided we needed to grab some dinner. Luckily I knew of a place not too far out of our way in Bowie, MD. Ahhh, Venom Pale Ale served at happy hour prices during football games. It doesn't get much better than this! Back to DuClaw in the Bowie Town Center

Today's last coaster ridden was Grizzly at Kings Dominion after a very empty day at the park and riding all the other coasters and some flats in less than 4 hours, but yesterday's last coaster ridden was Griffon, front seat, after riding all the coasters originally in less than an hour at park opening before the crowds started coming!

and about an hour later, I came through with a restaurant that had some great beer options! and to end my short stay there, I decided to grab a Dogfish Head Punkin Ale on tap. Best beer of the day, but still not one of my favorite pumpkin beers. I figure from the look on Nicole's face, this was definitely an Imperial IPA, as I hadn't seen that face since Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA. I went with the locally brewed Imperial IPA by Legend Brewing of Richmond. Much better than anything at Busch Gardens, though I really was having trouble tasting from my cold. Lots of hops and some alcohol taste though and was very excited that she could keep her drink cold on the ice shelf Nicole was dying for Lindeman's, but they had none on tap and we didn't feel like paying $12.50 for a bottle. She found Abita Purple Haze Raspberry Wheat on tap for much cheaper. New beer book full of lots of options on tap and bottled With no smoking at the bar and a 20 minute wait for a table, we chose the bar. Plus we wanted to be closer to the taps anyway The #14 place to have a beer in America, Capital Ale House at Innsbrook

This weekend we finally got Nicole down to Virginia to get her Christmas present from 2006 processed and to get some coaster credits down there. While we were at it, we decided to enjoy some beers, this is Busch Gardens after all! Friday I had a Guinness at her friends house, it was like drinking black water. Nicole was not happy with the crowds, so we decided to go elsewhere for dinner. She asked if we could go somewhere with good beers, I shed a tear or two As the day went on, the crowds got bigger and fuller of dumb people who don't know how to walk. Hooray, Jack's Pumpkin Spiced Ale was being served there, though only in bottles. Actually a very good pumpkin beer, go AB! A long walk later and we were at Grogan's Pub, where I knew I could get something I've yet to try and always wanted and to get more energy, the girls enjoyed a Bud Extra energy beer before calling it quits. my final selection was Bud Select, now the #2 selling beer in America according to our tender. Supposedly it has more flavor than Budweiser. Oh America, you're such a bunch of fools! Next in line for Nicole was the Tequiza. It was pretty weak, she didn't even want to finish it Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus for me next. Tasted like blah with a hint of lime. Miller Chill is better Next up I went with the Landshark, a Florida style lager lacking favor and Nicole tried the Tilt Orange, tasting like oranges or something With no Jack's Pumpkin Spiced Ale on tap, I decided to start out with a Bare Knuckle Stout. At least it had some flavor 4 free samples for everyone. The girls both went with Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry, while Dave went with Tilt Green But free beer at the Brewmaster's Club will have to suffice for now After seeing some traditional German song and dances I was ready to go back to Oktoberfest Getting to Busch early meant we managed to ride all the coasters before the crowds arrived, and I was able to get us a slot for free beer in the Festhaus

I always liked the location and shoehorned aspects of The Great Nor'Easter, so if Morey's actually did get these new restraints for it, I would actually consider riding it again. Looks like Morey's is really trying to get noticed among the coaster community.

Still feeling sick (so much in fact that I took the day off of work!). Hoping alcohol would help, I decided to try another newly released local brew from Troegs. Even with hindered tastebuds, this stuff was one of the best brews I've ever had from them. While it didn't make me feel better, it did make me sleep well! Wow, simply phenominal! Tasted like their Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber mixed with their Dead Reckoning Porter. Hopped out IPA with some coffee and chocolate notes. This needs to become one of their staple beers! Newly released and already wiped out of the brewery comes Troeg's latest anniversary Scratch beer, #4, the barleywine

Starting to get a sore throat again, but maybe beer will help keep the bug at bay. Back to a pumpkin ale tonight, one that I've had before and thought was worthy of picking up again this year (whereas most of the other ones I've had previously I decided to skip this year, as they weren't really worth the price). and this year is no different. Nicely balanced with spices and pumpkin flavoring, it's flavors changed nicely as it warmed up. One of the best pumpkin beers out there, not too much pumpkin overpowering flavor, not too much spices and not enough pumpkin, this one hits the pumpkin ale nail right smack dab in the center of the head Wild Goose's Pumpkin Patch Ale, one of the few pumpkin beers that stood out in my mind as actually being really good last year.