DerekRx

^Agreed! It is a thrill ride for Lagoon and also throws Zierer into the running now with other family ride turned extreme coaster companies like Gerstlauer and Maurer Sohne. Lots of smaller parks can really benefit from this project if it succeeds, which I hope it does! It looks like a really fun, thrilling coaster, and longer than Hypersonic!

To celebrate Thanksdrinking eve, I decided to have 3 pretty good brews, one of them I've never had before. The other two I've had for a while and decided to finish them off before they went skunky. Of course, I'm not big into pils as they're too weak for me, but its the best of them! Finally (at least for this update) Victory's Prima Pils, probably the best pilsner I've had. Still as hoppy as ever, but since this has been in my basement for over 8 months, its starting to get funky. Next up, the always hoppy Alpha King by Three Floyds out there by Chi-town Pretty decent stuff. Tasted like a Belgian pale, semi-sweet and a little hoppy First up, the new for me Avery Karma, a Belgian Pale Ale

I could see Xflight going to PKI or MiA, as they are both close enough that it wouldn't cost too much to transport, and they could both benefit nicely from it. I just wish it was going to MiA more than PKI, as that place desperately needs another big coaster to occupy people's time (and waiting in line for that thing and its slow loading will definitely occupy time!) I doubt it will go somewhere like Dorney, they take too long to get approval from the stupid people who built their homes near the park. As far as I know, Paul, the problems have been worked out with the county, and MiA finally got a Coasters Diner and a rapids ride this past season.

Jew: "Hey look, there's a girl!!!" Jow: "Girl? Thats no girl. Pfff, I'm got twice the number of boobs that she does!" Robb: "If only I wasn't married AND brought my pregnant wife with me, I'd so make out like a bandit compared to these shmucks!"

Its time for more Pyramid goodness. First up, the Amber Weizen. A pretty good winter ale, very malty with some nice hop hints. Not too much other spices though, not like others I've had in the last few days Next up, Snow Cap! oooh, Ambery I miss Pyramid

Wow, lots of stuff, but nothing really standout. I guess the best part about going is that when you got a buzz you can just wander over and ride Hulk, Dragons, or Mummy. Otherwise I'll stick with my beer festivals!

I'm sure all the people with families will care if the height requirement is 48 inches vs 42 inches, especially since the park is removing a childrens ride for this. Being that this is a "Family coaster", you'd think the majority of the family would be able to ride it together. Still makes NO sense that now you have to be 48 inches tall to ride Jaguar, but like you said, once you hit 48 you can jump on X too 45 minutes away. Gotta love Cedar Fair logic, right Dallas?

I think they cancelled it and are burning all copy of the book and in its place writing a new book and a new interview called "OJ Simpson: If I was any dumber"

I like the layout but I'm not sure how much spinning you'll get from those turns, especially if it is free-spinning unlike Euro-Mir. Still looks like it could be a fun ride for the family though (assuming the height requirement isn't 48 inches like pretty much everything else in that park!)

I said I was going to take a day or two off from drinking so my liver can recover, but I think its fine and can handle 1 beer. After all, I didn't get totally wasted this weekend! The extra time means extra alcohol taste, and lots of citrus at the end. Still a worthy beer This Thunderhead is getting pretty old, better drink it quickly!

Lots happened this past weekend, enough to make its own thread! Check it out when you have a minute or two: Photo TR: BACT Attacks the Beer Fest

More photos And so, another Beer Fest goes in the record books, this time with more BACT representation than ever before. Until next year... Heath survives his first beer fest. Pound it! Leann didn't care too much for the Arrogance though So we end our night with some Arrogant Bastard, since thats what we are! Over at BBW, the place looks like a Ghost Town. Apparently everyone caught on to its Country Club mentality And it was quite tasty! As the day comes to a close, lots of breweries break out their seasonal stuff. Sly Fox had their Christmas Ale Even Crazy Jake found his way to the Beer Fest for the first time Also needing food, I went totally German potato salad. Better than the Fest Haus! Instead of other beer teams and their handshakes, we decided upon a headbutt In need of food, Heath and Kim go for the perogies, soaked in butter and I run back to Ommegang for the last of the Red Bock. Holy Cherry Jolly Ranger, Batman! Once the Hop Wallop is gone, Storm King makes his debut at the fest Rammstein is known for their heavy German influences, and their funny sayings and rinses out his glass Once again, Tom heads to Bethlehem Brew Works Everyone lines up at 3pm at Victory's stand for the tapping of Golden Monkey, their Belgian Tripel The hit of the fest, Red Bock from Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY Talon: The Grip of Beer, a Barleywine from Mendicino Brewing mmmm, spiced meat. Definitely good for the stomach Awww, now I'm sad Back in the main room Heath and I sample the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2006. More hoppy compared to previous years In this room Leann was the happiest with Mikes AND Twisted Tea representing Quite tasty compared to the Bohemian Pils The inevitable shot of me sticking something in my mouth. This time a Dock Street Amber Ale Happily buzzed off of some Legacy beers Food is good, but not when its still looking at you! ...apparently! Tom and I didn't care for the Hocus Pocus. Or was it this... Magic Hat brought some stuff, but their beers just feel weaker and weaker all the time Hooray, Legacy finally made it. And they brought the most variety with 4 different styles!

Part 3: Sunday Sunday was our actual day at the Beer Festival, everything up until that was just priming the stomach, liver, and kidneys for what would happen. The Beer Fest is a great way to try lots of stuff without getting too drunk (unless you want to). For $23 a person, the ticket isn't too high, and there's plenty of different things to try. Every year seems like there is less and less breweries there though, less variety, less food vendors, and less high alcohol stuff. But this year did see some new faces, like my local Legacy as well as Erie Brewing, Sly Fox, and Ommegang, who took the top prize from us with their Red Bock, a Bock made with Cherry syrup that tastes just like a cherry Jolly Rancher. Yum! Harpoon also surprised us with their Winter Warmer, heavy in the cinnamon. It was definitely an awesome time and we've already got the calendar marked for next year. On the way to the other rooms, we had to stop and see the turtles. None were from Southport though With a Jalapeno pretzel and some Hop Devil I was quite content Victory had my 2 hoppy babies on tap Though only to wash his glass out! But he gave into temptation and went over there for some beer himself D'oh! He caught us! Ut oh, what happened, Adam!? When Tom wasn't looking we snuck over to BBW for some CH-47, their IPA Troegs was there again, but didn't bring Mad Elf Some live entertainment played acoustic stuff It was a nice surprise to see Penn come out. Though we really didn't feel anything too special from them Though eventually other Beer Teams come and ruin your exclusive drinking time If you get there early enough, there really aren't bad crowds The Four Horsemen of the Beerpocalypse laugh at Adam and his empty glass Its time to kick up my liquid arrogance with the Bastard! One of my favorites is also one of the farthest to travel, Stone! Dogfish didn't bring the World Wide Stout this year, but did bring their Pangaea, made from something from each continent Heath gets his first beer at the fest from Dogfish Head, 60 Minute IPA Just before the event starts there's little going on besides final setup The hard core veterans are ready for another year of pounding back the beers

After Union Jack's we thought it would be a good idea to stop off at Shangy's (The Beer Authority) so we could all pick up a case of something we hadn't had yet and then trade with everyone. Following that up for the evening was back to Tom's Bar for...more drinking! and the night ended with more karaoke. Only the finest Bon Jovi, GNR, and Journey songs! which was super sweet for an IPA. Almost more like a hoppy Belgian 120 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head... Beer guitars... What happened next was some karaoke... We decided to hold off on the other "world class beers" and actually had an authentic Belgian ale hand brought over from Belgium For dinner, we had a sushi chef come and make us some rolls. The fridge is still loaded with bottles Which strangely tasted EXACTLY like the Stock Ale! Next up was the Hole in the Rock marzen style The Berkshire Springs Stock Ale wasn't too bad (though it wasn't too good either!) Tom also broke out a case he got last Christmas of a bunch of "world class beers" (turns out they were all made by Joseph Huber Brewing though) Tom's Bar, where everyone has a seat A really good spicy wheat beer! Since the Troegenator was kicked the night before, Tom also picked up a keg of Flying Dog's In Heat Wheat Everyone gets their purchases ready so we can go home and enjoy them I find something I cannot live without, another case of Oaked Bastard Not to be outdone, Jeff Johnson has his own beer too! Not only does Hair of the Dog made an Adam beer for Adam, they also make a Ruth beer for Dr. Ruth! I make a strange discovery Adam and Heath are quite pleased, like kids in a candy store I totally expect to see this sign again when I die On the way back to Tom's, it was a short detour to Shangy's.

Part 2: Saturday Saturday of Beer Fest weekend in the past we visited Weyerbacher and Which Brew. But this time we decided to take Tom and Adam to a place they haven't been yet but we loved, Union Jacks in Boyertown. The draft list hadn't changed much since we were there 2 weeks ago, but thankfully they have a bottle list that's amazing. Union Jack's was a big hit with everyone. The beer assortment was awesome and the food was good to boot! Only Leann seemed to not care for Mephy Beer GOOD! Ellen liked it so much, she refused to let Adam have it back But in reality Tom liked the Mephistophiles too Adam and Heath split the Avery Mephistophiles while Tom made goofy faces at them I went with the Flying Dog Dogtoberfest We were all feeling brave enough for one more round, so Ellen started with the Legacy Midnight Wit Tom, Mr. St. Bernardus, went with the St. Bernies Tripel, while Heath broke the seal Ellen then got all Franziskaner on us, getting the Dunkel-weiss herself Adam finally got brave and went West Coast with the Mad River Jamaica Sunset IPA This Belgian Grand Cru was really nice and sweet My next brew was my favorite element, Atomium Heath loves his stouts Round 2 for Heath was the Bells Rye Stout, with a very sad Pope on it Mrs Revesz started out her day with a Sly Fox Black Raspberry Reserve Heath and I went with the Union Jacks exclusive Hoptimus Prime, which transformed our tastebuds again Like Leann, while Tom enjoyed a Franziskaner Dunkel-weiss Some of the ladies went with some good fruity lambicness Pretty impressive to see Weyerbacher Eleven on tap somewhere Union Jacks looks a little bit different during the day

This past weekend was the annual Great Brews of America beer festival up at the Split Rock resort. Last year Adam, Tom, Ellen, Leann, and myself all attended and managed to score a room at the newly opened Great Wolf Lodge nearby. Well with friends Heath and Kim now ready for their first beer festival, we were ready to go again. Unfortunately, Great Wolf no longer had rooms available for just 1 night big enough for all 7 of us, so we switched things around a bit. Instead of some sort of amusement rides, we decided to just drink instead, and that ended up becoming pretty amusing! Part 1: Friday night's festivities On Friday, Heath and Kim picked me up and our task was to get to our accomodations for the weekend, Casa de Dorneydude. A task simple enough, but we always like a challenge. So instead of heading right there, we went out to dinner first, at the other Drafting Room in Spring House, just outside of Philly. The menu was pretty much the same, but the beer list was somewhat disappointing. Drafting Room is pretty good about keeping their website up to date with what beers they have on tap. Sadly, a lot of the stuff we were eyeballing even on the drive there ended up being gone from the menu. We still made due with what we could get, and it was pretty good. Still, we all prefer the other Drafting Room in Exton better. But since I was trying to kick the Oaked habit, I went with a Festbier to finish off the night Kim's MAJOR Hopface! Heath seemed to be the only one who really enjoyed it. Tom and Kim aren't into hops much Next, everyone got a bottle of Oaked Bastard, courteousy of me Even Angel came to help kick the Troegenator. She's a good ferret Hey Nicole, Lou, Tom's Bar is prepared for a visit from you gals Even Kim helped, since she was done driving for the night And so, thats what we attempted On tap was Victory's Festbier and Troegenator. Our task was to kick the Troegs About an hour later we arrived at Tom's Bar, where he was awaiting us with beer On the way out, we were gonna get klepto and steal this, but I had no room in my jacket Heath then gave the Rogue Shakespeare Stout a try. He seemed to like it Next up I went with the Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest. Yummy! Heath started out with the Drafting Room's 12th Anniversary Ale on cask, brewed by Troegs Very Christmasy with some cherry flavor too. Kinda like drinking a wreath I decided to get the Anchor Christmas since it was just tapped the day before The draft list is pretty impressive, but a lot of the things they mentioned on the website were nowhere to be found This building was weird, like it used to be a banquet hall or something with the covered valet area and all

Robb: "You did this to me!" Elissa's dad: "Wow, I thought this guy was FATHERING my granddaughter, not delivering!"

The Orlando one was probably Orlando Brewing Partners, and one of the Tampa ones was most likely Tampa Bay Brewing. Don't know what other one could be there from Tampa, as I don't know of another brewery in Tampa since Ybor City Brewing was sold a few years ago, though possibly New World Brewing, if they're still opened. Cool that they had some local microbreweries representing, as they're pretty scarce in Florida to begin with.

There are bars on the boat that serve more than pina coladas, margaritas, and daquiris?! Had someone brought this to my attention sooner, perhaps I would have gone on a cruise earlier in my life!

With Pabst and Bud Lite there proudly displayed, I can only wonder what the other breweries there were. Were there any local microbrews there, or was it all commercial stuff that you can buy at any nearby Publix?

I'd love to get a Wii eventually, but I'm not about to camp out for one. At least Nintendo isn't as ridiculous as Sony though, in cost and supply.

The layout looks a lot better this way than it originally did in the overhead views. It may actually turn out to be a better ride than I thought. While it'll be no Hades or Voyage, it should be a good solid woodie for the park and definitely draw in the people.

Erika Megan Victoria Briann Tamara Most excellent news you two. One more coaster chick shall arise soon enough!

Today I consider myself one of the luckiest beerpunks out there. One of the rare breed of awesome beers is made only so often, and distribution is scattered, meaning that getting a good brew from San Diego out here in Pennsylvania is sometimes tough, especially in a Yuengling originating town! But when by chance I called my local beer mart hoping to find the rare Oaked Arrogant Bastard by Stone, I wasn't too shocked to hear they didn't have any (as I know there were problems with it in its new bottle vs PAs stupid liquor laws). But what shocked me even more was when the place called me back a few hours later and told me they had gotten 2 cases in and would hold one for me! And so, without hesitation, I left work early, faced the torrential downpours and tornado warnings that unleashed hell upon earth just so I could taste this ultra rare beer. Stone's regular Arrogant Bastard is a strong ale. Once every so often they come out with 2 variations, the Double Bastard and the Oaked Bastard. The latter is made with oak wood chips, and it is terrific! With a smell of hops and oak, you want to immediately dive into the beer, but be cautious, for its 7.2% ABV may change your mind after a few. The taste is something amazing, not much different than the Arrogant Bastard, but this one packs an odd flow. First up, vanilla. Just as your tastebuds are taken away by the bean, you get hit from out of nowhere with a nice strong hop essence that won't go away easily. Out of all the new beers I've had this year, this one is definitely among the top 10. Oh yeah, that's amazing! Vanilla hints followed by a tidal wave of hops. Yum! The smell is of oak chips and hops. Not your average Arrogant Bastard After letting the beer chill for a bit, its only appropriate to drink the OAB out of a Stone glass As plain as the case is, the 6 pack holder isn't. And who would have thought you'd ever see the Arrogant Bastard on a 6 pack! "You're still not worthy" says the handle For once I'm happy that PA won't sell 6 packs easily! But I still love him like a son (even though I have no children) Unlike most Stone products, the Oaked Bastard comes pretty plain

I think another reason why modern woodies (most of them) get so much rougher is because of all the extra forces; speed, airtime, laterals that have a lot of stress on the track and structure. Maintenance can help majorly, but sometimes its just impossible to make something glass smooth for very long. Oh yeah, and CCI used cheap wood!