DerekRx

Great job as usual with all the new comics. I especially like the paving of SFMM and me and Stationman drinking! Classic stuff

I'm crying right now. Not over the loss of a vertical loop, but over the inevitable fate that I must ride SoB again without the loop just once to see how it is. Of course I know it'll still be boring, even more so than his papa.

Its December 13, 12 days before Christmas. So, what a perfect time to start documenting my 12 beers of Christmas. First up, Lagunitas Brown Shugga', a Barley Wine. Very strong alcohol taste mixed with a good sweetness (from the brown cane sugar added to it) and also some fruitiness, like plum. Also a minute hint of jasper, sage, and other things people don't actually ever taste. On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, beer! (actually, I gave it to myself) Brown Shugga, how come you taste so good

^If you can't, you know where there's ALWAYS a HopDevil! Decided I may as well finish the night, no need to worry about "if a growler is good for 48 hours or not!" Done! and I still solved the mystery on House! This is a young, hearty liver in action. Don't try this at home those under 21

Tonight was pretty good to me. First off, it was time for me to attack that growler of Odyssey IPA from Sly Fox that's been in my fridge since Friday night. Secondly, it was taco night. Could things get any better on this 12 Days of Christmas Eve?! OMG, they can! Round 3, with Tacos! Could things get any better? Round 2, still good stuff Its hoptastic, though I can't really taste all 11 different types of hops. Need a better palate! Gotta break open the growler while its still good

Wow, a HopDevil IN a Greak Lakes pint glass. Wally must be seriously yearning for a trip back East! and my leg is proud to call you a friend, Matt Jacobs!

This lawsuit isn't going to go anywhere. They've got nothing on the Wiimote with their "patents". Just another way to either: a. get more publicity for their own product b. help the Wii make more money (like it needs that!) c. just be a bunch of buttnuggets in America d. all of the above

I understood the story of Valhalla perfectly fine while riding it, even when my eyes were covered with my poncho for fear of getting too wet. :Shrug: The wetness is pretty crazy, but thats just one of the things that makes the ride so freaking awesome, IMO!

I wonder if they're going to scrap the old loop. You think if I sent them a box, they'd ship it to me?

I don't know how it will be at the other parks, but at SFGAd, they're just retheming 1/2 of Looney Tunes Seaport. Adding a few more rides that go around in a circle isn't going to bring in the families like Disney does. Think Six Flags, what does Disney have that makes them so popular? That's right, rides the whole family can enjoy together, not 30 different rides that are exactly the same for your 2 year old to ride while dad and the teens go off riding the big people rides. I doubt this retheme will survive much past 5 years.

The theming looks really good, almost like Busch Gardens Africa (Tampa), and though its Vekoma-land of South Africa, it looks like a place I'd like to visit some day but doubt I ever will. Wasn't this park supposed to be closing, or was that another South African park, or do I have no idea what I'm talking about!?

Wow, opening in 2007. That's a lot sooner than I expected. I have a feeling with Astroworld gone this will really help the place pick up the revenue.

Still not ready for the 12 days of Christmas, after last weekend I'm still very much on an IPA kick. First, with my dinner out of Prime Rib, I decided to get one of the only good brews offered, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Bret would have been in heaven at Austins with a nice Prime Rib sandwich and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Pretty tasty! That west coast goodness that I miss so much Back home, time for a Lagunitas IPA The best thing offered in a world of Heineken, Corona, Bud, Bud Lite, and Amstel Light

"Onset"- Buckcherry

Hey, I'll come to Buffalo too (someday when its not snowing). After all, there's still a few breweries up there I need to get to. And I am kinda running low on Anchor Bar sauce. Maybe Heath can pick me up on his way, he's got AWD, I don't.

For me, yesterday gave me a good reason to head down to visit Bret and family, I had a nice growler of the Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale that I know he wanted to try. Add to that the bottle of Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale, and we could do a really nice comparision of the two. My kind of holiday beer! Time for a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2006 The sadness comes when the growler is emptied. Probably my last Sierra Nevada Harvest for the year :'( Conner can't wait, just 19 years to go! Then it was back to the Sierra Nevada to empty the growler Bret enjoyed it too, but not as much as the Harvest Ale While not quite as good as the Sierra Nevada, it was still pretty good stuff. Worth another bottle for me when I have the chance Next up, the Fresh Hop, one of the only bottled harvest ales out there Bret enjoyed it too, not too overly bitter for him Just like I remember it being the day before The growler of Sierra Nevada Harvest obtained from The Drafting Room the previous day

and you thought we'd stop there! (shame on you!) Heath was aware of a little Victory beer tasting happening back at the Beer Yard in Wayne, so since we were 30 miles away, we figured, "lets do it!". Of course we bought some stuff for ourselves as well as Christmas presents. And then we magically ended up back at the Drafting Room in Exton. Hooray! But for the road and future updates, each a growler of Sierra Nevada Harvest! and a Lindemann's Pomme for myself And the night concluded with our desserts. A very amazing Carolous Noel by Gouden for Heath (eat that Tom!) And its a wild mushroom and cheese chicken for me. It was delectable! While Heath is like "yeah, I got a burger, your point?" Kim displays her awesome Thai Chicken Salad you want some, Elissa? I KNOW you do! mmm, appetizer....fondue And I went with the Old Jubilation from Avery. A great Christmas beer For dinner, Heath enjoyed a Victory Harvest Ale, not as tasty as the Sierra Nevada, but still very good Since we're well known, we were given a free giant bottle of Stone 10th. Eat that Wally! And Kim broke down and had a Lindemann's Pomme (apple) Heath went with the Green Flash Ruby Red, a very tasty amber Then, back at the Drafting Room, another Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale for me. Amazing stuff Woohoo, the Beer Yard. Lots of cheese and free Victory tastings, and awesome shopping that'll be documented later

Sly Fox in Phoenixville is known to do some pretty crazy stuff. First, they brought back canning beers, but into the microbrew market. Then, earlier this year, for their 11th Anniversary, they decided to break out 11 different types of IPAs thoughout the year, each time using a single type of hop. Then for the grand finale, they'd throw them all together into one type of India Pale Ale. But this year would mark the first time EVER a brewery would have 11 different homemade IPAs on tap at the same time, plus a few more bonuses! Jumping at the opportunity, fellow BACTer Heath and I would both skip our company Christmas parties for such a momentous occasion, with Kim as our always awesome driver! Here's what happened... Those said purchases, from shirts to growlers to bombers. We're good until the next Project IPA As we were leaving, the bar was getting pretty popular, but we were satisfied with our beers and our purchases This is not your normal "double IPA" We're dwindling down towards the end The Rt 113 IPA was totally nothing compared to the others, even Kim liked this one! In the end (it doesn't even matter) Heath really liked the Challenger IPA Heath don't know which to try first, IPA overload! My best warrior impersonation while trying the Warrior IPA, my 600th different beer Before we get too drunk, we better put some food in our guts Kim ain't too fond of the Odyssey Adam, eat your heart out! These IPAs belong to us! Wally, you thought Triple Rock had a lot of IPAs, this is just crazy The whole sampler, ready to drink! Whereas Mr SoCal breaks into the Odyssey 2005 cask conditioned edition. We both preferred this one First on the agenda, the cask conditioned Odyssey 2006 for me We chose to go with the sampler, which Heath so gladly displays, featuring all of the IPAs offered A little bit of info on the whole Project IPA for those who can read Hooray, we got the right day, after several months of anticipation 2:30 pm, we should be at work, but we're at Sly Fox instead!

Am I going to attempt it, another IPA for the Pre-Project Party!? Of course I am, whats the worst that can happen, I pass out and miss work tomorrow but wake up in time for Project IPA?! Until my next update, its sure to be Hoptactular! Twice the IPA, twice the fantasicness Here's the finisher, Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe Double IPA

Awesome, Yeti Ball himself approves. That's good enough to start off the evening with the remainder of the Old Abominable before moving on to Project IPA Eve, or the Pre Project Party. So hoptastic, yet with a unique taste. Next on the IPAgenda, my old #1, HopDevil Definitely a great IPA coming from Michigan. Well worth a pickup Then we officially kick off the Pre-Project Party with some Bell's Two Hearted. Because 2 hearts mean more love than 1! After 2 glasses of this, you'll be speaking Yeti too! We'll begin the night with the remains of last nights Old Abominable barleywine

Well it was a little bit tougher than the wood poll, but I finished it. I'm interested to see how the new steel coasters fair against some of the old favorites. Its definitely not going to be like the wood poll results!

Tonight is a Barleywine Wednesday. Its always a nice thing when a local microbrewery that pretty much makes the same stuff all the time finally decides to try something different. After hearing that nearby Stoudt's was brewing an oak barrel aged barleywine, I was intrigued. So before the vast hoards attack the place on Friday on the way to a nearby IPA festival, I decided to swing by and grab a few bottles. What could be better than a new beer AND something oak barrel aged? How about a beer that even Yetiball would approve of, the Old Abominable Barleywine! an excellent barleywine beer, very sweet like a Belgian, but with maltiness and a hint of whiskey Very dark in color with a nice sweet smell Of all the TPR mascots, I believe Yetiball is the first to have his own beer The Old Abominable, Yeti inspired barleywine oak barrel aged, served in a champagne bottle

Yup, still cold, still almost Christmas, still time to celebrate something... Also quite tasty and hardy. Warms me up during this cold season Time to warm up by poppin a Snow Cap in that punk Chocolate meets alcohol in a wonderful marriage of hops First up, one of the best stouts out there, and I'm not much of a stout drinker

Well, after Friday's unseasonal temperatures, I was in high hopes for a nice mild winter. (and its not even winter yet) Of course, with Saturday's return to the norm, its looking grimmer and grimmer like it'll be another cold winter up North. May as well embrace it for now with some winter ales. Pretty malty stuff, with a little hint of spices and cocoa Followed that up with a Winter Warmer from Lancaster Hoppy yet hardy. Like my Christmas scrubs? First up, last year's Sierra Nevada Celebration

I was being sarcastic AND stating that all the Six Flags parks in this area (SFA, SFGAd, SFDL, SFNE) are closed. I highly doubt vandals would go from Texas to Hershey just to get a quick fix As for Magic Mountain, they can't afford to lose their vandals, otherwise the park would be forced to close