Rugged One

Looks good Derek. I'm definitely going to try and hit 5 Seasons when I'm down there in June. I love that name for an IPA. Sledgehammer. Self-photo time! Me with the March release. The Celtic Knot Irish Red. This was was a little dissapointing, as it had a very thin taste to it. Pretty easy drinking. Started out with April's special release, the Peregrine Pilsner. This was a really good pils with a lot of hop character. Normally they have this available in bottles but they were all sold out. Too bad, as I really wanted to take some home. Visited with some friend up in the Harrisburg area this afternoon, so we stopped off at the ABC for a nightcap before heading home.

So I stopped off at my place last night during lunch, and found an attack of the summer beers. Tons of new seasonal stuff that I wouldn't be able to fit into the beer fridge all at once, so I had to just try two. Including THE CURVE BALL! YEAH! I'll let you guys know what I think later tonight. Some Sierra Nevada Summerfest and tasty looking Curve Ball. We'll get acquainted later tonight.

I also say go for it. Atlanta is close to a 6 hour drive from Myrtle Beach but Charlotte is only about 3 1/2 hours if you were looking at pairing it up with Carowinds or something. I wouldn't pass up the chance to visit a decent seaside amusement park before it goes away forever. Heck, there aren't too many left anymore.

Nice report Joe. I agree with you on the Hurricane. I rode that thing so many times when I lived down there, that while I admit it's a total abuser, I still got some decent rides and can't quite make myself hate it. I'm looking forward to getting back for a visit this summer. I was supposed to go in 2 weeks but now just Florida is on the agenda. I still need that Wacky Worm credit at the Grand Prix. Everytime I was there, it never looked like it was open. It was only until later that I found out it utilizes one of those "rotating ride ops".

I have to admit that this one kind of slipped under my radar until I found out who was involved in it. The director, Cristophe Gans, directed Brotherhood of the Wolf and the writer, Roger Avary, wrote and directed The Rules of Attraction and Killing Zoe. I enjoyed all of those, so if they screw this one up, I don't know what happened. If I can get some time Sunday, I'll probably try and check this one out.

No problem helping you save some money Adam. There's a reason I gave you and Derek my other two Circus Boys. It stinks! Avoid their IPA as well. It's not worth it either. Speaking of IPAs, I tried a new one from Otter Creek. Their 15th Anniversary IPA specialty release. It was OK, I guess considering this is the hoppiest thing I've ever had from them. Hops were a little week up front but then grew stronger the longer I worked on the bottle. The Otter Creek 15th Anniversary IPA. Not too bad. I'd like to see them try and work on a regular release IPA sometime though.

Now greenish grey is more like it! I don't know what's funnier. The fact that you actually had an alternate shirt shot at the ready or that caption below it. Both cracked me up. Hmmm, we'll have to see if the Rugged shirt makes a special appearance up in Canada next month.

Great report Derek. I wish we could have met up with you, you heathen. I kept joking with my family today that they don't know how close we came to blowing them off and heading to Hersheypark. We even drove past the park on the way to my Grandparents. I swear I almost jumped out. By the way, that shirt didn't come in any colors besides yellow did it? I just can't do yellow.

Went into my local place the other day to try and see if the Pyramid Curveball was out yet. It wasn't but I did run into a couple of new to me Sierra Nevada brews. The Summerfest and the Unfiltered Wheat. Decided to wait on the Summerfest until it gets a little closer to summer, probably like next week , but did go for the Wheat. And I must say I'm really digging it. Nothing too fancy for a wheat, just a clean taste of wheat and lemons and quite refreshing. Especially since it's getting close to 80 degrees today! The Sierra Nevada Unfiltered Wheat. Great beer for a warm day.

We'll have to start calling you "Wild Thing" Wally. Tried something new from Magic Hat. The HI.P.A. IPA. Man was this one disappointing. I should have known by the overly fizzy head that this one was going to be more about the fruity flavors and less about the hops. Very, very weak hop bite. Magic Hat has really been letting me down lately. Oh yeeaaahhh! This one gets the Heath Face seal of approval. After that complete disappointment, I needed to get myself a real IPA. Thunderhead did just the trick. The Magic Hat HI.P.A. No hops allowed.

Heh Wally, what's up with the mohawk? Is that your new Curveball Cut? Went with one of new Old Dominion brews that Derek and I picked up on Sunday. The Oak Barrel Stout. Wasn't too bad. Definitley had an oaky taste to it along with coffee but also had some vanilla that helped smooth it out. Not very complex but definitely goes down easy. Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout. Definitley O.K. or should I say "Oaky" in my book.

Yep it's Dante's Inferno at the defunct Miracle Strip Amusement Park. Here's a better pic of the entrance.

It's that time of the month again. Only three short weeks after the last one, it's beer release day at DuClaw. Kim and I and our friend Jay decided to check out the festivities. Come along. Prompting me to have to double fist both the Snake Oil and Naked Fish. No wonder I'm smiling. Thanks for reading. Our Snake Oil pints came out pretty quickly. The free give-a-way this time was a Snake Oil Shirt. Sweet! Beer release time. The release video was slightly strange, utilizing a bunch of footage from the new X3 movie. I guess because it's all about finding a "cure" for the mutants and Snake Oil cures all your "ales". Preview time. Next's months release actually isn't going to be in May. It's in only three weeks! A brand new one, The Berserker Baltic Porter. Nice! While that was going on, I made sweet, sweet beer drinking love to my baby. The Naked Fish! It was getting close to release time, so they started up the Snake Oil Trivia. Next up. The Bare Ass Blonde Ale. Nice and light and malty. Sorry Derek, the button says that you aren't needed. We still missed you though. Kim enjoys her Kangaroo Love Light Lager. Jay and I start things out right with a couple of our favs. He the Bad Moon Porter and me, the Venom Pale Ale. ....The Snake Oil Imperial Pilsner. Back to DuClaw for April's beer release...

Time to get back to some of the Brooklyn Brewing beers that Derek hooked me up with. Tried the Black Chocolate Stout last night. Wasn't too bad I guess. Definitley some Chocolate hints in there, so at least it wasn't false advertising. The Brookly Brewing Black Chocolate Stout. Paired this one up with some Chocolate Fudge Poptarts to get the most out of it.

Oh my god dude! Look at that face. I look like I'm either drunk, constipated, or both. I'll have to work on that face for next weekend.

If I wasn't flying in, I'd bring a case of something. Maybe a couple of six-packs or some bombers would make it allright. I'll have to get some flying safely with beer tips from Derek this weekend. Heh, maybe I'll bring some of this to help us stay awake during those late night ERT sessions. Stone Brewing just put out the press release today. Check out that list of ingredients! I can't wait to try some of this. It's the brand new Bastard Oxide Energy Ale. No more wussy energy drinks.

Wally's going to be at Holliwood Nights? Oh damn! Good thing Santa's Lodge has a bar. Well after an especially craptastic night of work, it's good to come home to two things you can always count on. A chicken salad sandwich and a tasty Hopdevil to go with it. That was yummy. Time to go off to bed now.

So the Wife and I are going to be hitting up Southern California for a week, centered around the weekend of May 20-21. We'd like to hit a waterpark, while in the area on Saturday the 20th and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on some of the local ones. We'd love to hit Knotts Soak City but unfortunately, it doesn't open until the Memorial Day weekend. How is Raging Waters in San Dimas? I remember seeing that listed as a top waterpark on one of the Travel Channel specials. How about Hurricane Harbor at Magic Mountain? We'll be at the ACE event the next day, so we'd be in the area anyway. Any other local ones that are of interest?

I'm going to have to keep an eye out for that Curve Ball around here. Went with a couple of Nor Cal IPAs last night. First up was the Lagunitas IPA. Delicious as always. Then I tried something new that one of the clerks at my liquor store recommened to me. The Boonville Hop Ottin' IPA. This is one of those IPAs that more about the flavor than the hops. Very sweet with some hints of vanilla and other stuff and very smooth. It's definitley different than most other IPAs out there. Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA. Not bad but not quite my cup of tea either. Lagunitas IPA. Yummy as always.

Hopefully Kingda Ka or Nitro this Sunday at Great Adventure.

Gotta work Saturday, so it looks like Great Adventure on Sunday.

Love the shirt Derek. I knew you wouldn't pass up some Thristy Bear gear when you were out there. Tried one of the new offerings from Magic Hat tonight. The Circus Boy Hefe. This one was pretty average. It had some citrus and spicey notes to it but in the end was just kind of watery and boring. The Magic Hat Circus Boy Hefe. They need to keep this one locked up in the cage.

Yeah, the Hippies pretty much owned that leg. Ray and Yolanda really need to tighten their game up or they are going to be next. They only pulled this one out because of those constantly lagging Double Ds. Although in all fairness, they did get screwed by that Yield. I think that the last two episodes have been pretty good. For me the locations and challenges are what really can set an episode apart and Germany and Italy have both been really exciting, with some unique Detours and Roadblocks.

Doesn't everyone get cotton mouth after a couple (or maybe more than a couple) of beers Wally? Went with a Rogue Dead Guy last night. Nice hoppy amber ale. The Dead Guy never lets me down. The Rogue Dead Guy Ale. It's better when it's dead!

Sounds like a plan Derek. TPR Brew Crew Nor Cal meetup next Spring. Speaking of Spring, I know it's officially here when the Spring brews starting hitting the market. In this case, it's this years batch of Dogfish Head Aprihop. The Dogfish Head Aprihop. It's hoppy and a little fruity and damn proud of it!