Rugged One

Awesome pics Ted! I have a good buddy that's a pinball enthusiast (although he's more into refurbishing them than competitive play), so I've kind of picked up more of an appreciation for pinball machines over the years. Do they allow spectators at this event? It kind of seems like something that would be cool to check out.

Well originally, we were supposed to go down to VA for the weekend for some Halloween fun at the parks and some tasty beer but with Kim being sick, we decided that it would probably be best to just hang around the area here and let her get better. Luckily, this is a pretty beer blessed area... I go for this month's release, The Pennypacker Porter, which was free since as a Mugger now, I get my first mug of each month's specialy at no charge. Sweet! We'll be back soon to see if my mug come's in. In the meantime, they gave me a loaner from a couple of Mug Club seasons ago. I really like this one! I wish I could take it home. Well it at least looks like some of the new mugs have come in. Mine however is still off getting my name etched on it. To end our night, we stopped off at the ABC for a nightcap. I got admitted into the Mug Club the other week, so I wanted to see if my mug was in yet. I figure that I should probably have a proper English Ale with my pie, so I go with a Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Just as silky smooth as a chocolate shake. Fantastic! We'll probably be back soon to finally try some of that Olde Yeller IPA that will soon be on tap. I'd be remiss if I didn't include a shot of some of their great English inspired pub food here. In this case, a rather delicious cottage pie. I decide to go for a new to me house brew from them. The Bessie's Best Brown Ale. This is actually named after a local brothel madame, whose ghost is said to still haunt the area. Usual mix of import and some micro stuff and naturally a couple of their very own house brewed beers. On Saturday, we were passing through Carlisle, so naturally a stop at the Market Cross Pub was in order. We hadn't been here since we brought Derek back in March, so a visit was definitley in order. One more Golding's Special Bitter on cask for the rode. This is quickly becoming a fast favorite. Look for more pics from next weekend, when this years Hop Nouveau and the best damn Pumpkin Ale EVER will be on tap. I decided that something spicy would go good with my IPA and this Chipotle Turkey Wrap did just the trick. Time for some of their unbelievably awesome IPA. The more I have this, the more and more it reminds of the West Coast IPAs that I love so much. And the good news is that with a some recent upgrades to their brew system, they'll be able to keep it on more. Kim get's some of their allways awesome Root Beer. Like the always fantabulous Golding's Special Bitter on the hand pump. Hot damn, this stuff was even better than when I had it last week. Unfortunately, the pin just kicked before we could get there. Think that ruined my night? Come on folks, this is the SGB we're talking about! I'll just have to get something else on cask. Friday night, we arrived (thanks to a nasty traffic pileup with fatalities) 2 hours late for what was supposed to be a Firkin Friday release of Hop Nouveau.

Fall drinking continues with a new to me Pumpkin Ale that is *gasp* a Macro? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. ...this sucked. OK maybe sucks is a strong word but this thing barely tasted like pumpkin too me. Maybe it was so over spiced that it covered up the pumpkin? Who knows. I guess that this is a great example of what passes for flavor in the BMC world these days. Yee have been warned... The Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale from Blue Moon, which as we all know, is brewed by Coors. Now before you think that I'm going to automatically hate on anything that's Macro, keep in mind that I keep an open mind with all beers, so matter who brewed it. With that being said...

Yeah, Ebay is probably your best bet for that sort of thing. Just keep checking and eventually what your looking for will probably pop up. I don't think that there are any companies out there putting out any kind of "retro" park shirts, except maybe the parks themselves.

With Kim and I both off on Monday, we decided to take a ride down to the King of Prussia Mall for a little shopping. Yet another great visit to Victory! I'm sure we'll be back sooner than later. And then sexes up a fresh pint of Hopdevil on cask. Oh my! While Derek checks out a sample of the Abbey Six, a Belgian Dark Ale that I think we both agreed was a little disappointing. I decide to finish up with the always tasty and hugely sessionable (3.7% ABV) Donnybrook Stout. ...cuz look who decided to stop by for dinner with us. Derek! And he's was thirsty for some Weisen too. Kim and I were hungy as hell, so we decided to destroy this tasty plate of nachos. And we've got help... Thankfully they at least had something new on for me to try. The Wiesen, Victory's take on the more modern day Oktoberfest beers (they are lighter in color and sweeter than the traditional Marzen) that are served in Germany. I was really anticipating trying this years batch of Harvest Ale and the Braumeister Harvest Pils but guess what? The Harvest Ale was gone. Boooo! And the Pils kicked while we were there and before I could order it. Double-Boooo! Luckily the Drafting Room will once again come through with these for us in a couple of weeks. Yeah! After some shopping at the mall, we headed up the road to Downingtown and Victory for dinner. Their Pumpkin Ale gets tapped next week. We'll be heading back in a couple of weekends to try it. I finish up with another mug of a favorite that I've had on a previous visit. The Nevermore Lager, a German style Schwarzbier with some fantastic roastiness to it. I killed this guy pretty quick too. The Catcher in the Rye Rye Ale. Very good and hugely quaffable. I think I killed this mug in less than 10 minutes. Luckily, there was still something tasty on the handpump although our bartender was trying to get me to try it on nitro. Screw that! ...but no Rocktoberfest on the board? They just kicked it the night before. Booooo! ...Rocktoberfest on the coaster... There's Rocktoberfest on the tap handle... Back at Rock Bottom for the first time in awhile. They had just got done rapping up their annual "Rocktoberfest" promotion the night before and I was looking to maybe score some of their take on the traditional Marzen style.

Well, as Derek showed the other night, the latest Fall batch of Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale (and our favorite beer out there) has been released. And lucky for us, he was able to grab something else special that was just released at the Capone's bottle shop. Well there you go kids. If you weren't able to find one of the best beers around before, SN just helped increase your odds. Now excuse me, while I continue to make sweet, sweet love to my beer... Just so, so good. Fresh hop character naturally dominates but this time I really picked up on the spicey malt backbone this thing has. Excellent! So what's better than the yearly release of Sierra Nevada's Fresh Hop Harvest Ale? How about Harvest Ale in new, limited 24oz bottles? Yes!

Special thanks to Bubba for this latest selection: I've been psyched to try this latest hop bomb from the boys in Petaluma and they didn't disappoint. Heavily hopped grassy and citrus taste that is balanced quite nicely with a sweet and dry malt backbone. Just a solid West Coast DIPA yet I still think I liked the Kill Ugly Radio better. I have another bottle chilling of that, so we shall soon see. From the new Sonoma Farmhouse line of Lagunitas, comes a tasty new Double IPA from them, the Hop Stoopid.

Last night, it was something new from a new for me brewery. Ska Brewing in Durango, CO. Basically these guys were a bunch of ska music fans back in the mid-nineties, that decided to start brewing some beers. Now I like ska music and I like beer so these guys should be right up my alley. This one tasted a little better but man did this thing have a thin body! Milk Stouts aren't supposed to have thick bodies but this poured more like a Porter. A really thin Porter. Me thinks that the gentlemen over at Ska Brewing need to concentrate a little less on being cool and edgey and a little more on brewing quality beers. More from these guys later. Well give something darker a try. The Steeltoe Stout. A Milk Stout. And the taste was pretty disappointing too. Not that it was offensive but just didn't taste like much. Some light fruitiness and dry creaminess. Next! First up, the True Blonde Ale. Their take on an American Blonde style. Nice label. Wow, look at all that foam. What a fabulous first impression!

With the end of the traditional Oktoberfest to soon end in a couple of days, I figured that I better get into at least one of these. Not a blow your socks off Marzen but very, very drinkable and seemed sweeter than many I've had. Prost! The Great Lakes Brewing Co. Oktoberfest. A traditional Marzen style Lager.

Happy Birthday Derek! Time to drink locally over the last couple of nights. Hell yeah it is! An American Barleywine to the core, it's kind of a cross between Nugget Nectar and this years batch of Bigfoot Barleywine. Just big fresh hop character and a chewey, chocolatey maltiness. And unbelievablely drinkable for a 9% Barleywine. Definitley not a sipper. Hands down one of the best beers I've ever had from Troegs. Oh my! Look at that dark malty color and foamy hop head! This is going to be good isn't it? Unfortunately with a description like that, a bottle just isn't going to cut it for my first taste of this bad boy. It's growler go time! They finally did something with this release that they should have been doing with all of them, putting a sticker on the case telling a little bit about the beer. And this one even has a name. The Flying Mouflan! WTF? I picked up the latest Scratch release from Troegs the other day. #4 is a 9% Barleywine.

Yeah, and I'll bet it's the best cold you've ever had baby! Time for this month's special bonus edition of Friday Night Pints. Big, make that huge, aroma of pumpkin and spices on this thing. Unfortunately, the taste just couldn't keep up. Straight up pumpkin the whole way through with maybe a touch of vanilla but not much else. For a change of pace, I think Derek actually liked this Southern Tier a little more than I did. I think that we'll both stick with Weyerbacher's though. And finally, we'll finish this night but kick off our traditional Fall drinking season with something new from the always controversial Southern Tier. The Pumking. An Imperial Pumpkin Ale. Wow, this was pretty deserving of it's current ranking. While not super hoppy, it does have enough to nicely balance out a superb malt backbone of caramel, spices, and a little earthy smokiness. Uncannily smooth for a +10% ABV. Then it was time to get into the beer that currently lies at an impressive #40 on the Best of BA. The Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine. This one is brewed in a more traditional English style, meaning more sweet malts than hops. And boy was this sucker sweet. Derek likened it to liquid Swedish Fish. Pucker up! Let's mix it up with a couple of Barleywines from out West. First up, the Old Foghorn from good ole' reliable Anchor Brewing. Butte Creek? More like Butt Creek cuz this stuff tasted like ass! Seriously, this mess of an "organic" beer was so oatey, it tasted like a bottle of IPA poured over a bowlful of grapenuts. Sound appealing? No? Next! Next up, something that I thought sounded interesting when we were doing our beer shopping in Santa Rosa. The Butte Creek Organic Revolution 10th Anniversary Imperial IPA. Wow, that's a mouthfull! Wow, I love this stuff fresh! Just a big bite of smooth malt, fresh hops, and blistering alcohol. Very nice. First up, some leftovers that we picked up in Nor Cal. First up, a revisiting with the one of our favorite hoppy breweries out West. The Moylan's Hopsickle, a "Triple" IPA.

How about the entire new Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach?

Happy Belated Birthday Bubba! I hope you treated yourself to something good. Anyway, finally got the tastebuds almost back to full functionality so I decided to stick with something with a lighter taste tonight. Hmmm. Very interesting. Wheaty, spicey, a little sour with a nutty aftertaste. Definitely another interesting beer from Rogue but not necessarily one I need to revisit anytime soon. From the Signature Series of Rogue Ales, it's the Morimoto Soba Ale, brewed in honor of Iron Chef himself, Chef Masaharu Morimoto. This is brewed with Soba (or buckwheat) which has been a longtime staple of Japanese cuisine.

You mean two awesome people hanging out in the backseat of Maverick, Joe? Not nearly enough if you ask me! The new ride looks great to me. Mav is my favorite steel and this looks like more of the same fun without the launches. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the name but I'm sure it will grow on me. Heading off to renew the season passes this weekend.

Still not feeling well enough to drink tonight, so I'll regale you all with some pics from this past weekend's trip out to Ohio. So long Great Lakes. We're allready planning our next trip back and I guarantee that it'll be before Cedar Point opens again next May. I have to finish up with #61 on the Best of BA. The always tasty Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Mmmm. We decide to soak up the beer with some tasty pub grub. A artichoke dip crock does just the trick. Kim gives another of their Brewpub exclusives a try. The Engine 20 Pale Ale. I start out with their Fall seasonal, The Nosferatu. A nicely hopped stock ale. Lot's of good stuff as always, although they sadly just kicked the brewpub exclusive Cleveland Brown Ale right before we got there. There's something comforting about seeing their old, classic "Eliot Ness" bar that makes you want to hunker down and drink some beers. Let's get to work! I don't think that any trip to Cedar Point can (and ever will again) be complete without a stop in Cleveland and The Great Lakes Brewing Company.

Bubba posting some North Coast Brother Thelonious the other night made me realize that I needed to revisit this little gem of a beer as well has another special guest. Wow, the thing I find most amazing about this beer is how it's going on 2 years old and it's lost none of it's hoppy finish. I had forgotten what I nice burnt coffee and chocolate taste this guy's got. Definitley one of the top, widely available, Imperial Stouts around. And we'll stick with the North Coast theme and revisit another one of their Heavy Hitters. The Old Rasputin Imperial Stout that I found hiding out in the back of the beer fridge. Wow, I really appreciate how smooth this is for a Belgian Style Dubbel. Deep notes of caramel and fruit and every sip ends nicely with a combo kick of bitterness and slight alchohol. Very nice. And there he is! But this time in a shorty bottle.

I like Inferno myself.

^^ Just curious as to how much BGE was charging for these?

Ha! I was wondering if you would catch that and defend the honor of Nor Cal brewing Bubba! It's interesting, if you look over at BA, they actually have the beers seperated by the location at which they are brewed. I actually really like the stuff that I've had from them and we're lucky to get a pretty decent selection of it around here. I'm really looking forward to trying some of their different styles soon. Well with Summer officially ending this weekend, Kim and I bid it a fond adieu... So long Summer 2007! You'll be missed but now it's time to drink the stuff that we really like! Kim has the Abita summer seasonal, the Strawberry Harvest Lager. This had a very nice aroma and (after it warmed up) taste of strawberries. Definitely Kim's type of beer! Mmmm, strawberries. For me, a Red Brick Summer Brew. It turns out that this one's a Hefe and it was decent. Nice touches of lemon and wheat but had a little too much of tartness at the end. Still pretty quaffable stuff.

The blue area you marked is probably pretty much going to be it. Maybe not extending as far back though as the arcade. I'm thinking that the area that has the markings right now (around Milkcan Menagerie) is going to maybe be where a big showstopper element over the midway is going to be placed. Perhaps that Cobra Roll that many have identified off that allready released doodle?

^ Only Southern Tier could screw up a Hop Harvest Ale. They are located up in the biggest area of hop production in the country, besides Washington, and that's what they come up with! Summer is rapidly coming to a close folks. It's unfortunately time to start wrapping up the summer drinking. Mmmm. This was a nicely done Witbier! Hints of lemon, orange, coriander, and a real nice spice kick at the end. Quite refreshing! From a New York brewery that I actually like, it's the Mendocino Summer Ale. A Belgian Style Witbier. Check out all that yeasty goodness!

I orginally tried to post these last night but ran into problems with the site slowing up. Anyway... We stopped by the park on Sunday for a few hours to get in a few rides and most importantly to see if there was anything new going on with the potential site of next years big new attraction. So this whole area will probably be filled up with track next year. What else will be affected? Stay tuned... This one is right on the edge of whatever foodery/game (I can't remember) is located across from the Milkcan game and seems to be the furthest one out. More markings out in the midway. ...and these 2 are on the back corner. It definitely looks like the Milkcan Menagerie is history as this one is right in front of it... Uh oh, something new since our last visit. We now have column markings on the ground. 120+ support columns? Maybe more? Interesting. The sign on the Shoot-Out has been updated with the new announcement date.

Finally back in the thread after that mid-afternoon TPR power outage that I'm pretty sure was caused by all of the flat out awesomeness in the Beer Thread over the last 24 hours! Well done gentlemen. Well done. Well it's September again, which means that it's time for another Stone Anniversary Brew. After bowling over beer nerds everywhere last year with their monstrous 10th Anniversary Double IPA, Stone once again has decided to shake the rafters of the beer community with yet another awesomely hoppy and unique creation. Oh my. Very nicely done Stone! Pretty much a straight up hybrid of both a Double IPA and a Porter. Starts out nicely with a huge hop punch up front, melds into a roasty caramel and coffee middle, and then sails smoothly into a pine and citrus finish. Definitely unique. Definitely a winner. And definitely a beer you need to seek out. Oh yeah! The Stone 11th Anniversary Ale. A "Black IPA" as some are calling it, weighing in at a toasty 8.7% ABV.

^^ Glad to see you finally made it Kevin. You've got a pretty cool Mom there. Do us a favor and do a BTR from there once in a while. That way Derek & I won't miss it too much. ^Glad your liking my hometown Troegs Joe. Time to get into some more West Coast awesomeness, in the form of some of the staple lineup from Deschutes. I've been very impressed from what I've had so far. I think a visit to Bend may just be in order for next year. Wow, and I would totally agree. Just fantastic notes of roasted cocoa, chocolate, and maybe even a little fruit that compliments the silky smooth sweetness of this thing. I need more of this stuff pronto. Next up, the Osidian Stout. Sitting right at #100 on the Best of BA list and one of the top American Stouts out there. Very nice. Not huge on the hops but they're there and rather nicely balanced with a yummy malty sweetness and a touch of citrus and pine. Damn tasty! First up, the Inversion IPA.

^^ I'm glad to see that the La Folie didn't disappoint. Don't get too depressed about the job hunt. These things work themselves out. Trust me, after the last 2 years of job drama, I finally found something that I'm happy with. ^Nice pics from our meetups Rick! We had a great time hanging out with you guys. I'll drop you a line if we head back that way again next year. So last night, Derek came over for this month's edition of "Friday Night Pints". Luckily we had lots of tasty new brews that we brought back from our recent trip out to CA. It's September, which can only mean one thing. Stone 11th is in the house! Look for a joint review from Derek and I soon. Oh and I almost forgot. Picked up something new from Stone on the way home from work. What could it be? Wow. Well you should always expect something different from Jolly Pumpkin and this was no different. Lots of regular stout notes of roasty chocolate and coffee but then melds into a super sour finish. Very strange but still interesting on the palatte. We decide to finally start wrapping things up with something dark. Very dark. Very special and dark. The Madrugada Obscura Dark Dawn Stout from Jolly Pumpkin. An oak aged American Stout. You can always count on an Alpha King Challenge winner. Trust us. With our faith needing restored and palattes needing cleansed, we turned to an old friend. The Moylan's Moylander Double IPA. ...and secondly, it's the worst West Coast IPA we've ever had. Oh well, the distinction had to go to someone eventually. Seriously. We paid $8-9 for this 750ml bottle and neither of us hesitated to drain pour half our glass. It was that bad. Our next West Coast guest, the Double IPA from the Blue Frog Grog & Grill in Fairfield, CA has a couple of special distinctions for Derek and I. First, it's probably the most nicely packaged bottle for something that we hated... A very solid effort with a nice hop profile and a sweet citrus twang but just lacked that West Coast magic. Plus someone unfortunately had to follow that awesome Lagunitas bomber. We keep the hop train rolling with an IPA from a Nor Cal brewery that we unfortunately didn't have time for on our recent trip. Marin Brewing in Larkspur, CA. Right off that fabulous 101 brewing corridor. Oh my! Hugely hoppy, citrusy, and piney, West Coast Double IPAs make Heath & Derek very happy! This was nice. Allright, time to kick the door down with some hops! Courtesty of Kevin, it's the latest release from Lagunitas and the second of their Frank Zappa beers. Kill Ugly Radio. This actually turned out to not really be light at all for a Belgian Style Golden Ale. Big body with sweet notes of fruits and spices. Most importantly though, it was quite drinkable! We start things out "light" with something special from a special West Coast brewery. The Deschutes 19 Anniversary Ale.