Rugged One

That's a pretty decent POV. With all the screaming and cursing, it made you feel like you were right there.

I'm going to have to try that next I guess. It was real close tonight between the Anchor Steam and a sixer of Pyramid Hefe. Real close. That Lagunitas Maximus looks nice. Is that a Double IPA? I only wish they distributed around here. Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout. One of those stouts that really grabs you by the taste buds, amongst other things. I knew it was going to be good from the nice tan head it poured. Lancaster Brewing's (my closest thing to a local brewpub, yeah!) Winter Warmer Ale. Very good. Had a pretty strong malt presence but was sweet as well.

Thanks for the update. I'll have to tell my wife that, as he is always taking our nephew up there so he can ride it. He loves that thing. An update will be good. As long as it's not that god aweful late 80s one where they had a space alien or something give you the tour.

Well tonight I drove the whole way to work in anticipation of having to work a 12-hour shift, only to show up and find no one there. Turns out my boss told me the wrong night that we were starting this week and that we had a holiday today as scheduled. Oh well, I guess I should have called and double checked. The good news is that I stopped by my favorite liquor store on the way home and picked up some goodies. It is. And gets the big thumbs up. So how are the Liberty, Porter, and Summer? So I hear this Anchor Steam stuff is supposed to be pretty good. Two Belgians I've wanted to try. St. Bernardus and Delirium Tremens. They had the St. Bernardus in a 4-pack with a glass, so I said why not?

Thanks for the detailed explanation. The couple that brought it up to us, knew of it but not about it. That's a very interesting tradition. I can't really say that we have anything exactly like that here in the States. There are traditional Christmas shows (like It's a Wonderful Life or Rudolph) that air every year but they aren't always shown on the the same date every year. A cable channel here call TNT shows a 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story every Christmas day but I don't think that the entire country is watching. Maybe one of my U.S. compadres on here can remember something I'm forgetting.

Yes Wally. That is very sad.

I'm glad you find the posts interesting. That's the reason I post. To basically show other beer fans what's out there and get some ideas of my own. I can't speak for the rest of these guys and their drinking habits but I've had a lot of time off from work the last couple of weeks, so I've had time to sit around and try some new tasty brews. I have to start back at work today for another long haul, which means maybe just a few beers being consumed during the week, when I get home from work.

So last night was New Year's Eve of course, so we had some friends down for the evening to watch a movie, play some games, watch the Dick Clark thing, and of course, drink some beers. I really didn't imbibe like I thought I was going to. Kind of spaced things out during the course of the evening. We went over to my parents today for the traditional eating of the New Years Day pork and sauerkraut, so I packed a little variety pack for the road. I toasted New Years with a glass of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine. Great way to ring in the new year. Troegs Nut Brown. Nuff said. A couple of Bastards decided to crash the party. They were welcomed with open arms. The Stoudt's Double IPA. Stoudts's knows how to brew big beers and this is a good one. Nice aroma, bite and finish. Seems a little stronger on draft though. The Victory Hop Wallop. Absolutley awesome. I think I like this more than the Hopedevil right now. It's like someone rolled up a bunch of hops in thier fist and punched you in the face. The Weyerbacher Hefe. Damn, I like wheat beers and this one was pretty darn good one.

Just curious Soren. What can you tell me about the German tradition of watching a show called Dinner for One on New Years Eve? We were sitting around talking with another couple last night, waiting for Midnight and they brought this up. I thought this would be a great opportunity to ask.

That really sucks man. I heard about flooding in CA yesterday but didn't hear exactly where. I just checked out the yahoo article and things look pretty bad. Where are you right now in relation to the flooding? You haven't moved into the new house yet right? Keep us posted and good luck!

Your making me jealous Wally. You're having PA beers that this Pennsylvanian hasn't even tried yet. Well tonight I had a beer from probably my favorite brewery right now. Bear Republic Brewing in Healdsburg, CA. Everything I've had from them so far has been delicious. Tonight it was the Big Bear Black Stout and it didn't disappoint at all. After that I tried the latest from the Clipper City Brewing Heavy Seas line, the Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale. This had a decent aroma and initial bite but considering that it's tripled hopped, didn't leave much of a finish. It was decent enough I suppose. I hope you all have a great New Years and be safe. And take lots of pictures! The Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. Pretty decent but I've had better from the line. The Big Bear Black Stout. I got mauled and loved every minute of it.

That looks like a good time Ted. I've often thought about maybe starting a bottle collection of some of the rare or cool bottles I've had but then realize that I have no place to put them. I'm allready starting to run out of room for all the pint glasses and mugs that I collect. :?

I like the addition of the darkride in 06. I'm also not a huge fan of the theme but I have confidence that Hershey and Sally will pull off a fun ride. I think the competitive dueling aspect will really set it apart from a lot of other darkrides out there. I'm not super thrilled about the 07 plans, considering that (like others have said) the water rides and areas have low capacity and are always packed. I'd really like to see them add another flat of some kind. I understand the park's stance that they want to continue to be the area's best family destination but they can't ignore the thrillseekers either. I think a drop tower (or heck maybe one of those new topple towers) would fit in pretty good. I'll agree that what they have in store for the 100th anniversary isn't the most exciting but I have faith in the direction the park is going in. Heck, we'll keep renewing our season passes. I'm sure whatever the park has lined up past 07 (and I'm sure they're working on it as we speak) won't be dissapointing.

I'll go for a new kiddie coaster credit only if I meet the height requirment for it and am allowed to ride. No borrowing of kids for a ride here.

Yeah, I guess they all can't be winners. One of these days (like when I actually make it to the brewery) I would like to try the Dark Lord Russian Imperial. That's the one everyone seems to rave about.

I've seen the Anderson Valley stuff more in local bars than I have at actual distributors around here. I get mine at a place near where I work in MD that sells six packs and singles. I hear ya on the whole getting work done on the house during vacation thing. I've had this past week off and I swore that I would finish, finishing my basement. Gee, do you think that happened? Vacation's too short when you have good beers to drink. Have I mentioned how much I like this place? Finally, I finished up with a Rogue Amber Ale. I next had a Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout from North Coast Brewing. Rather good. Booneville in da house! A Rogue Dead Guy Ale. It's better when it's dead! KClingers is a member of the "Rogue Nation", so I knew what I had to start out with first. So tonight Kim and I met her parents at KClingers for dinner, which is a pretty decent beer bar with over 30 brews on tap and another 200 or so bottles available. After that letdown, I needed to renew my confidence in the company. A Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale did just the trick. Much better. The Black Sun Stout from Three Floyd's Brewing. My first real disappointment from them. It had a real watery pour and a pretty bland taste. I expected better.

I felt like something a little more light and refreshing tonight, so I decided to try another one of the Boonville Beers. The Poleeko Gold Pale Ale. Just the kind of Pale Ale that goes good with a hot summer's day. Makes me allready wish it was warmer. BTW, thanks for the recommendation Wally. Now that's how I like my Pale Ales. Nice and hoppy and crisp!

That's a pretty nice looking bar setup you have there Tom. So how do you like the Delerium Tremens? I see it all the time at my local place and was wondering how it is. I'm not a huge fan of Belgian Ales but I'm always up for trying a highly recommended one.

The Stoudts Fat Dog is a good choice Derek. That and the Victory Storm King are probably the my two favorite local stouts. That's getting me in the mood to try some of the new ones I've got waiting in the fridge. It's nice to see the Rudolph's Reserve still lives one in some people's fridges. I need to get up to the Brew Works and try this years batch of the Rude Elf.

Well now that fall is over and winter is officially here, for lunch I decided to finally break out my bottle of Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale that I've had in the fridge for the last 2 months. Then tonight, while watching our annual viewing of Christmas Vacation with the Wife, I decided to get into something new from Otter Creek. Their Double Decker Olde English Holiday Ale. Cheers! And have a Merry Christmas everyone! The first of the new World Tour series from Otter Creek. They haven't dissapointed me yet. I'm a big fan of pumpkin ales and this one is truelly the king. I bow down.

I need to check out the Penn Brewery. Last time we were out at Pittsburgh over Labor Day, we were going to stop but instead checked out The Red Star Brew Pub in Greensburg. Does the Penn Brewery have a pretty good atmosphere? It looks pretty decent from their site. Anyway, had one of my absolutely favorite beers tonight. The Dreamweaver Wheat from Troegs. It's awesome that they are finally bottling this. Although I think I'll still fill up the old growler tomorrow. Once it hits your lips, it's so good!

I don't really keep track of what I drink either. I just like trying new stuff and going back to the ones that I really like. What I have in the fridge kind of fluctuates. I don't like to keep a ton in there because I just never know when I'll have time to drink it. Like Derek, I live in PA but work in Maryland, which has much more liberal laws about how you can buy your beer. Down the street from my work, I have a pretty kick ass liquor store which meets all of my 6-pack and singles needs. I still do buy by the case though and sometimes split it with one of my friends or my brother-in-law. Finally, the last two beers of Christmas.... The Mad Elf by Troegs. I had heard that the Trogner Bros had tweeked this years recipe and it does taste a little more "accessible" than previous years. Still my favorite holiday brew. The only foreigner on the list. Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale.

1. IOA (Or all of USF in general) 2. Knoebels 3. BGW 4. HersheyPark 5. SDC 6. Holiday World 7. Kennywood 8. BGT 9. Cedar Point 10. SFFT Honorable mention goes to SFOT, SFGrAdv, Lake Compounce, and the Dells.

I gotta go with the Arrows. I love the airtime on the drops. The Schwarzkopfs are OK I guess. They just don't really do a whole lot for me though.