Rugged One

^Remember Matt. It's OK to love your beer. Just don't "love" your beer. Know what I'm saying...? Medium to light body with a strongly sweet and fruity taste and some light hoppiness thrown in the mix for good measure. Pretty quaffable stuff! The Brooklyn Summer Ale. An English Pale Ale.

Being the last day of July, I figured that this was my last chance to drink anything in celebration of Christmas in July at the house. So I decided to drink what I had originally planned last Wednesday. I can't believe something from Pizza Port stuck around in the beer fridge this long... Holy cherries! That coupled with a pretty hot alcohol finish, made for something that tasted kind of similar to Robitussin. I hate Robitussin. I lived thogh. The Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper. An Imperial Stout they brew once a year in celebration of the holidays. BTW, this has to be one of my favorite bottle labels of all time. Interesting. Definitely a tale of two beers. When first poured, it's a lot like other typical Imperial Stouts. Chocolate, tons of coffee in the finish. Maybe even a little licorice taste. After warming up for awhile though...

Back to one of my favorite summer brews tonight. Perfect for sipping on a sultry summer night. Mmmmm. Bell's Oberon.

Great pics as usual Bret! I don't think that anyone captures the family fun aspect of Knoebels quite like you do. You're right about Knoebels in the summer. The spring and fall are nice but the summer is when the spirit of the park really comes alive. Sure you have to deal with more crowds but it's such a leisurely park, it ultimately doesn't matter in the end. That's scary, what happened with Rylee. I'm glad to hear that she's allright. Happy belated B-Day to you and the little guy! A birthday at Knoebels makes me wish mine was in the summer.

Some more pics. This time from Saturday evening. I finish up with the latest seasonal, the Kipona Fest, which just went on tap the night before. This is a German Marzen style that's named for the annual Kipona celebration that takes place over Labor Day in Harrisburg. A little early for a Marzen allready? Nah! Soon I'll have one hanging up there. Seriously, unlike a certain other chain of establishments northeast of here, this one's mug club neither cost's an arm and a leg to join nor requires you to spend a third of your annual salary at the place in order to earn the privelage of renewing each year. In other words, they actually respect the Mugger here! So I decided to bite the bullet and apply for a mug during this year's open enrollment. I figure since I work just down the street, I'll have plenty of opportunites to stop by. Not too be outdone, the Gettysburg location has recently contributed a potent concoction of their own. The Triplocity Belgian Triple. Very nice! Kim shows off the new Framboise Lambic that was just brewed over at the Camp Hill location. Wow, it even look's like they are going to be starting up a Brewmaster's Lambic Series. Sweet! This one was very good. Definitely on the sour side. Wow, check that list out! I think that this is definitely the most I've seen on at one time from these guys. 6 staple beers. 4 seasonals. An oak aged. One on the hand pump. And guest brews from the other 2 brewpubs. Just another reason why I've been really supporting these guys lately. Nothing but improvements! Back at the Harrisburg ABC. Gee it must be summer. Check out all the bug splatters on the sign!

^ Aren't beer nights the best? On Friday, Derek and I had our first one in awhile. And maybe the last one with him as a solo visitor? Let's see what we got into. Just tons of vanilla in the nose. Lots more vanilla and huge sweet caramel notes in the taste. Derek likened it to a dessert beer. The bourbon oakiness (and balance in general) really came through as it warmed up. Just a great way to end the night! Finally, the best for last. From New Holland Brewing in Holland, MI, the Dragon's Milk. An American Strong Ale barrel aged in oak. Wow, just a lot going on with this one. Belgian yeastiness, raisens, licorice, cocoa, coffee. The kitchen sink. A nicely done brew. I really liked the disclaimer on their "Extreme" sereis of beers. Something new from my recent trip up to Vermont. The Rock Art Infusco. A Belgian Strong Ale. Of course, we're going to have to bust out the Nor Cal Bubba Faces for this one! Ah, more Lagunitas. The Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale. A Double Amber/IPA that was big on hops but even bigger on malty sweetness. Which means, yes, it's old. But old Gumballhead is still better than a lot of other Wheat Beers out there. Still plenty bitter but lacked the juicy, hoppiness of a fresh batch. Next up, probably our last time to drink Gumballhead out of a bomber. It was recently released this year in 6-packs. Not bad. Plenty of fruity and spicy notes but lacked the sweetness that we've found with most Saisons. First up, a new offering from Weyerbacher. Their Muse Farmhouse Ale.

^ You better believe it was Derek. I should totally be at the GABF this Fall! It's all good. That's what we'll call the Belgian Wit at our brewpub! Nice! Something new in cans tonight. Don't let the face fool you. I liked it! Brooklyn's a brewery I'm trying to try more of and this was another successful sampling. I hope sales are good for these new cans as I'd like to see them try with some other styles. And a darn tasty one too. I think that this might be the first time I've ever had a Brooklyn Lager. I will say one thing about going the canned route. It does produce one fresh tasting product. Oooooh. Looky who's rock'n the canned six pack look now! Brooklyn Brewing itself.

Day 2 took us from Burlington up into the mysterious land of Quebec, where OMG, they speak a language besides English! Actually, we had a great time here. A lot of the French-Canadians are bi-lingual and although some aren't, most at least know a little. And everybody we met was very friendly and courteous for the most part. We must highly praise the public transportation here. It's very fast and efficient and a cinch to use. If anybody out there has any reservations about visiting, don't. It's a great place to check out. Kim and I allready plan on coming back soon. The last time we visited La Ronde last summer, it was rainy and cold the entire day. Although we got to ride some of the big guns like Vampire and Goliath, heavy rain eventually shut most of the rides down and we ran back to the border with our tails between our legs and short a few missed credits. So now we're back! Ready to retackle not only La Ronde but Montreal itself. Let's find out what happened... And so ends our day in Montreal and we couldn't be happier. Fantastic coaster riding at La Ronde, fantastic brewpubs, and a fantastic time in a really great city. Très magnificant! Au revoir Montreal. We'll be back soon. Time for some more rides on Goliath. Once again with no lines. We liked this even more by the end of the day. Not the biggest or the best from B&M but a quality coaster that fits in pretty well with park. We even got our ride on the kiddie coaster, Marche du Mille-pattes. Score! I think that this is definitley our favorite ride in the park. The shorter train gives a balls out intense ride and the mist trench at the end is the sh*t. Heh, now it has 2 trains and no wait. Ta-dah! Earlier in the day, La Vampire was only running one train with a huge wait. Back to La Ronde for what will hopefully be some more quality coaster rides. Thankfully, it looks like the French Canadians are at least excited about the return of Jason Bourne. We kept joking about this movie during our travels through Montreal, as they were hyping it everywhere as their big summer movie. Nitro! It looks like the Fast & Furiosu Part IV. These brewpubs have been a great time and we can't wait to get back in the future for a good old fashioned pub crawl. In the meantime though, we have some more coaster riding to do. Back to the Metro! I finish up with not so awesomely named Imperial Stout. It was pretty tasty and at only 7.5%, went down very smooth. Yep, pizza and nachos are just about the same everywhere. It's nice to see that pub grub doesn't change north of the border. It's just in another language. I went for the awesomely named Montreal Hell! A nicely done Helles Bock. We were told that they specialized more in German Style Lagers here and we found that to be true. Allthough there was plenty of room at the bar, we opted to sit at a table. Not too bad of a crowd on a Sunday night. They had plenty of seating on a couple of different levels, as well as out front. And here's our next stop. L'Amère à Boire. It's a skate boarding competition! We arrive at St-Denis St. to find some kind of craziness going on. Time for plan B! Luckily our buddy at Dieu Du Ciel had recommended some other brewpubs in Montreal and even drew us a map. Back to the Metro! Our next visit was supposed to be just down the street. The Sergent Recruteur. A relatively new brewpub know for their homemade beer and pizzas. Sadly they were closed on Sundays. A parting gift from our new friend. Even though they didn't have their top rated Imperial Stout, Peche Mortel, on tap, they still hooked me up with one of the bottle labels as a souvenir of our visit. A shot of some of the brew equipment off to the right of the bar. Our bartender told us that just that week, they were set to start brewing at their new and bigger offsite brewery. Now they'll be able to brew their 3 biggest sellers there and free up room to brew more of the unique stuff here onsite. This guy here was the real killer though. The Rigor Mortis Belgian Triple. It smelled and tasted of apples and weighed in at an undetectable 9% ABV. Very dangerous beer. You could get in trouble with this stuff real quick. In the meantime, Kim checks out the Corpus Christi. A Rye Pale Ale that she really enjoyed. New on tap was their Stout that they normally brew for Valentines Day. The Aphrodisiqaue. A Chocolate & Vanilla Stout that was big on both! I start out with the Deesse Nocturne, their staple Stout. Loads of great chocolate notes in this one and very quaffable at only 5%. I'm drooling just looking at this list again. All were fantastic. We tried everything except their Paienne (a Belgian Blonde that even our bartender said was only on for the light weights) and their Revenante (Smoked Beer) that they had sadly just run out of. Naturally, that's where we headed. No problem at all with our bartenders, who spoke great English. On a side note, we were served most of the time by one of the assistant brewers, who was a hell of a nice guy and was really excited to chat us up about beer. He kept giving us samples of everything to the point that we insisted that he actually let us buy something! The pics a little dark but it shows off the gist of the place. Small, low tables scattered everywhere and the bar towards the back. After a walking a few blocks, we reach our goal. Dieu du Ciel: Brasserie artisanale. The top rated brewpub in Montreal and probably one of the tops in all of Canada. This way to Laurier St. That's what we want. Even though everything is in French, the Metro layout is very accessible and easy to use. We had no problems getting around at all. We couldn't believe how convenient the whole operation was. We literally went from the park to being on the Metro in like 5 minutes! ...and a transfer ticket for the Metro. $2.75 Canadian gets you a bus ride from right in front of the park... Time for a break from the coasters. So being at La Ronde, you'd probably think that this was the closest that we got to where they make beer, right? Wrong! Last year, we rode this in the cold and rain. This year. A little different story. We actually got some really good rides. Very nice air in the back. I think the final bunny hop before the breaks is the best part. Kind of like another Goliath down South. I think it's safe to say that our opinion of the ride was elevated on this trip. After hearing Derek's horror story on the previous day's wait times, we were shocked to see that this was the line! We rode it 3 times in a half hour. 2 train operations rule! After quick rides on Le Cobra, Super Menage, and Le Monstre, we headed over to the park's latest coaster, Goliath. By the way, that employee totally sums up the operations here. Allright! Back at La Ronde. We haven't even steppped into the park yet and this visit is allready better. Check out that weather! Bonjour! Welcome to Quebec!

So you're the one's that bought up all the Comet shirts! I should have known.

^ I think your thinking of the Grandslam Beer Wally. Unfortunately, they didn't have it on tap. Was it pretty good? We skipped 3 Needs on this trip but we'll check it out on the next one. We really loved Burlington. Just a great town with lots to do and it's very easy to get around to everything. It doesn't surprise me at all that you've spent some time there. So what's up with the Spykes? Did you get a good closeout deal on them? Aren't these the one's that were discontinued so as not to corrupt the youth of America?::

Oh we couldn't forget Christmas in July now could we.... Of course I couldn't leave without some of the regular Mad Elf. It's tough to say which one I liked more. They're both great and we'll just leave it at that. Merry Christmas in July everyone! They even were serving these in the appropriate glass! *I should have taken one home. * Once the clock struck 6 pm it was time for a new to me beer. The Naked Elf! Released during the summer, Troegs strips out the cherries from their popular Mad Elf Holiday Ale leaving behind a pretty heavy taste of honey and spices. The Elf Kegs didn't get tapped until a little later but they had a couple of other offerings from Troegs that I could have with dinner. I went with an always refreshing Sunshine Pils. Although looking out the windown into the actual hotel, kind of takes you out of it. Another shot of some of the themeing in the dining area we were in. Random shot of the bar from where we were sitting. I guess it's supposed to be of old world style. They actually did a pretty good job of decorating the place with lights and stockngs and such. They staff all even wore Troegs shirts and Santa hats. Cuz it's Christmas in July of course! And this happens to be the official Troegs sponsored event in the area. Awww. They even how the little red telephone box out front. How cute. So what would be doing here on a random Wednesday night at some psuedo pub that usually sells the same old macro and imported stuff? The Elephant & Castle, one of a chain of pub themed restaurants. This one is located in the New Cumberland Holiday Inn, conveniently right on way home from work.

We expect to see those pics then Matt. Make sure you drink plenty from New Glarus and Tyranena. Keep those pics of Nor Cal beers coming Bubba! The adventure continues... We really enjoyed our time spent in Vermont. Just a beautiful laid back area that happens to have a booming craft beer scene! I think Kim and I found a new favorite place to visit. And this one is in driving distance. Until next time, when we take this act north of the border.... What can I say? The Alchemist completely kicked ass! Definitely one of the top brewpubs we've been too. We were next going to head up the road into nearby Stowe and hit another brewpub but beer and lack of sleep starting catching up. That's allright, we have some save some stuff for next time! Naturally, I couldn't leave without a full shot of the Heady Topper, which completely surprised me by still being on tap! Ah, do I have to leave? Cooked in the brewpubs own Light Weight Ale, they were great! We wanted to check out the food and it was all pretty good! Naturally, we had to go for the mussels. Born on 7/7/07 and weighing in at 7.77% ABV/77.7 IBU, it definitely made me feel like heading for the heavens. Fantastic stuff! I'm a firm believer that you can never have too much of good thing. So naturally I drank stuff that I had allready had at the Fest. Including their latest release, The Rapture IPA. Ah, time for the beers! The owner and brewer, John Kimmich, is a complete Hop Head and it shows. He constantly has all kinds of crazy hopped up beers on at all times (as witnessed by the Brewfest selections). This place was fairly small although not Selin's Grove small. It mainly consisted of a pretty decent sized bar and then a medium sized dining area behind it. Add a pool table and some bathrooms and that about it. Seriously? You didn't think that we could have all of those tasty beers at the Brewfest and not seek this place out right? Home to the #24 best place to have a beer in America. The Alchemist Pub & Brewery. Next stop. A short 30 minute drive down the road to Waterbury, VT. Look at this! Coffee on the honor system. I love this state! But our day isn't over quite yet. Time to hit the road! I have to make mention of the absolutely fantastic Vermont rest stops. I told you that the VPB was close. I took this picture right in front of the Burlington Hearth. Don't you just love it when brewpubs get along? We'll finish our visit here with a shot of one of the hearths in the corner. I don't know if they were actually using this to cook anything but it sure looked nice! I asked the bartender what he preferred and he recommended the Kolsh Style Ale. I must say, it did got down good. Even though I was allready plenty beer bloated at this point! ..a sample of their Extra Import Stout. Just for the record, the sample was given to me. I did not ask for it. I gotta mention the three hand pumps as well. From whence I tried... They also had a bunch of quality local guest beers on tap as well. The Zero Gravity beers are the ones with varoius tools for taps. Interesting... ... lots of tasty beer on tap! It a basic law of science folks. Nice shiney brew equipment = ... In complete contrast to the VPB, this place was completely deserted (although it did start filling up as we were leaving). Gotta love the front door. It was funny, a guy was taking this same picture, just as we were walking out to leave the place and completely ruined his shot. Amateur! American Flatbread Burlington Hearth. Specializing in yummy woodfired pizzas and their own line of hand crafted brew: Zero Gravity Brewing. Literally down the street from the VPB is our next brewpub. On the way to our next stop...remember the original Ben & Jerry's shop I told you about...well there it is! OK, well at least a plaque commemorating where it used to be. Last but not least, you gotta have growlers for the ride home. ;P Shot of the brew kettles on the way down to the bathroom. Followed up by the Handsome Micks's Smoked Stout and the Forbidden Fruit, a rather tasty raspberry flavored fruit ale. Up first, the Burly Irish Ale and Bombay Grab IPA. They actually had a pretty wide assortment of ways to order your beer. I opted to keep it simple with a 4-beer sampler. Gotta love the moose antlers. These are actually a pretty common decoration around these parts from what we could see. The place was pretty hopping with people pre-partying for the 2nd session of the Brewfest but we found a seat in the bar area pretty quickly. First stop, the Vermont Pub & Brewery. The oldest brewpub in Vermont and third oldest on the East Coast. After the Brewfest, it was time to head into downtown and check out some of the local brewpubs.

^^Larry, they allow you to use your Six Flags pass right at the gate. They must have just changed that this season as last year, Kim and I had to first go over to Guest Services to the left of the gate. Our Season Pass parking worked like a charm as well. We had no problem at the parking gate. I'm glad to see that you and Nicole made the most out of crowded day Derek. I wish you guys could have been there with us on Sunday. Perfect weather and light crowds. We rode Goliath 3 times in the span of a half hour between 1:30-2:00 and then the line was even shorter at the end of the day. I think our impression of it from last year improved for the most part. It gives air up front but it's pretty light and floaty. The pull down air in the back is great though and we really dug the little twisty manuevers on some of the hills. For us, the real star of the park is Vampyre. Hands down the most intense of the Batman clones with that shorter train. And the mist trench at the end rocks! As for the Great Escape, the only thing we rode was the missed Comet credit from last year. I have to agree with Mark that this thing is definitley underated and seems to have been forgotten over the years. It was an absolute beast in the back seat. I can't wait to get back in the future for some night rides.

Much like Derek & Nicole did, Kim and I wanted to get back up north to visit The Great Escape and La Ronde in Montreal. We had visited both parks last summer but due to crappy weather and some unfortunate breakdowns, we missed a few credits while we were up there. While in the process of researching some beer themed extracuriculars I realized that the Vermont Brewer's Fest was going to be held soon in Burlington, VT. Since that seemed to be pretty central to the coastering areas that we wanted to hit and because we had never actually been to Vermont or tasted many Vermont brews and finally that the location just looked too cool to pass up (right on the banks of Lake Champlain) we decided to make a beer trip out of things too. This BTR is going to be pretty epic, so I'm going to have to spread it out over a couple of nights. Let the adventure begin! Wow, what a fantastic time! Great beer. Great weather. A great location! We were very impressed by the Vermont Brewers Fest and look forward to coming back again next year. Whew! And to think that this was only the beginning of the trip! There was just too much there to show everything. We finish up by heading back to the Alchemist for a double shot of Holy Cow IPA and some more Heady Topper. Have I died? Seriously? And so did the weather! Have I mentioned the view yet? The Vermont Brewer's Association manned the tent where you could buy merch, get drinks for DDs, and just learn about Vermont Beer in general. I was very impressed by the close knit passion that all the local breweries seemed to share. It reminded me a little of San Diego. Their Granny Smith Cider did just the trick! When in Vermont, you have to stop by and pay your respects to Woodchuck. Nothing made Kim happier though than free Vermont cheese! They had some decent food options. Pretty important during a 4 hour beer drinking session. That didn't stop Kim from trying some of Shipyard's Summer Ale though. We were kind of disappointed by the presence of both Shipyard & Sam Adams. Neither one really put together much of a presentation. Have I mentioned the view yet? It sure beats dirty ass 3rd St. in Harrisburg during the last one of these we attended. Dogfish was one of the few non-New England breweries that got invited. Of course I only found out after the fact that they had celebrated this feat by bringing along Randall the Enamel Animal. One of the things we really liked about this fest was the amount of room. Things were really spread out and you never felt crowded. Sure it was mostly uncovered but at least on this day, it didn't matter. Well we'll call it "The Bruce Lee Sour Pucker Crane Kick to the Balls" cuz OMG was this thing sour! Kim of course loved it. It was curiously endorsed by Bruce Lee himself. Three Needs, a brewpub local to here in Burlington was pouring just one beer. A sour lambic. Kim tries their Summer Ale called, appropriatley enough, Sunny and 75. Speaking of that, another local favorite that was slightly popular with festivalgoers. Rock Art Brewery of Morrisville, VT. Check out that view of the Lake! I can't imagine a more beautiful site for a Beerfest. The weather was perfect too. 78 and sunny. I try their cask offering. The Rainbow Red Ale. Trout River Brewing brought along a whopping 15 beers! Their Mud Puddle Maple Porter was really unique. Just too many breweries here, so I'll just show a few. Like one of the smaller brewpubs there. The Bobcat Cafe in Bristol, VT. With Derek not around, Kim was going to have to be my drinking buddy. She was more than up to the task! They even had their own Merch Wagon out. A lot of the breweries here were selling their wares. Heath really had to control himself. Hometown favorite Magic Hat was in full force. It turned out that the brewery was just down the street from our hotel. We'll definitley have to pay a visit next time. Just too much to do on this trip. The Heady Topper. The #7 ranked Double IPA in the world. And probably the rarest to get too. Packing in at 8% ABV and a tastebud crushing 120 IBUs, it was flat out awesome. I like these guys allready. Uh, someone's a Hop Head! First stop of the day and one of the reasons for coming the whole way up here. The Alchemist. Pretty nice looking taster! It made the one we got at the Harrisburg Brewfest look like a little turd. Oh wow. There's a little bit of a wait to get in. Actually it wasn't that bad. Because we pre-paid on the tickets, our line moved pretty quickly. Wow, now I know we're in Vermont. You have to hike just to get down to the damn thing! Our Brewfest is somewhere down there. Mmmmm. We better get our tummy's full in preperation for what's next. Icecream! And lots of it! Oh yeah! The official factory tour and all the fun stuff is in nearby Waterbury but they stiill have some of the best stuff right here. ...Ben & Jerry's of course! Now as many of you may know, Ben & Jerry opened their first scoop shop here in Burlington back in 1978. Now this isn't it (it's since long gone) but this place is the official scoop shop of the brands original hometown. First stop after parking was Church St, a pedestrian only street in the downtown area that's home to a bunch of shops and restaurants. Including... Welcome to Vermont! Home of Birkenstocks, Ben & Jerry's, cheese, and Craft Beer! That sea of tents is what we are after though. Coming up on Burlington. Awwww. Aren't we cute? I can't believe how beautiful Lake Champlain is. No sign of Champ though. Steaming away from shore. They even had a snackbar and giftshop on board. The loading process was pretty easy. Pretty soon the ferry arrives and it's time to load up. Perfect weather for a ferry crossing. I guess the ferries are a pretty popular mode of getting over to the Brewfest. After leaving around 12:30 am and a pretty brisk 8 hour drive, we arrive at Port Kent, NY. A little early for our 9:15 am ferry ride.

Another tasty summer brew tonight. This one courtesy of Anchor. You go Anchor! They haven't let me down yet. The Anchor Summer Beer. Nice light, crisp maltiness with hints of lemon and faint hoppiness + low abv make this a first rate summer sipper.

Last post for the weekend. Look for a huge update (hopefully on Monday) of our weekend beer (with a few coasters thrown in) trip towards points North and beyond. Hmmm. Quite the watery mouthfull. A nice effort from my boys in Petaluma but they've done way better. The Lagunitas Imperial Stout. Still not sure what to think about this one. The roasty chocolate and deep malty flavor was nice and it hid it's 8% ABV really well but boy was this thing lacking in body.

Something new tonight. Another crazy collaboration between Garett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewing and a foreign brewery. This time with Schneider brewmaster Hans-Peter Drexler. The beer was brewed just the other week in Brooklyn, fermented with yeast from Schneider and dry hopped with American hops personally selected by Hans-Peter Drexler himself. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse. All international disputes should be settled by brewing a beer together. Make beer, not war! Wow, I think I'm in love! I really dig hopped up wheat beers and this hoppy hefe did just the trick. The hop punch up front and banana & clove sweetness in the back made for a fantastic combination.

Time to revisit a favorite from last Summer. Ah, just a clean, crisp, summer sipper. Heh Wally, how about a pic for old times sake? The Pyramid Curve Ball Kolsh Style Ale. Fruity and sweet up front with a nice dry light hoppiness in the finale.

Allright, time for some Summertime drinking! Ah, this was one easy drinking Wit. Nice but light notes of pepper, coriander, and fruit. A pretty solid effort from Flying Dog. The latest seasonal release from Flying Dog, the Woody Creek White. A Belgian style Wit Beer.

Great pics Ted, especially of Splashin Safari. IMO, it's one of, if not thee best included with admission waterparks out there. So how was the Legend running through the four corners of doom? I remember being very disappointed during last year's rides. It really seemed to lose steam during the second half of the ride. What's up with Thunder Run? It always seemed to give good rides the last couple of years we've ridden it. Hopefully you just caught it on a bad day.

Well originally, we were going to head down to Northern VA to do some beer hopping and sightseeing but instead, with a big drive coming up next weekend, we decided to save some gas and miles on our car and just hang out a little more locally in Baltimore. Wow, with both a Peche and Framboise Lambic on deck, it looks like we'll be returning here sooner rather than later. Kim wants in on some of this action too! This was actually really good. The coconut (and I don't even like coconut!) really came out in the finish as it warmed and nicely complimented the chocolate of the porter. Of course! It's a Coconut Porter that was actually the result of a local homebrew competition. The winners got to brew their creation here at the brewpub on their smaller 4.5 barrel brewhouse. Uh oh, what's that I spy up on the board? Could I actually get the chance to try one of their small limited batches that they brew here? I start out with July's monthly release. And a new one to the lineup too. The Dom Blonde Kolsch. Quite refreshing, with a nice perfume like fruitiness and a good hop bite at the end. Earlier today, we had some business up near Harrisburg, so we decided to drop in at an ABC. Since we hadn't visited the Camp Hill location since last fall, it seemed like the logical place to stop by. I'm glad we did! I decide to skip the Mayhem Weizenbock and go for something a little quicker to drink. A Venom of course! Our waiter was pretty cool and started talking beer with us. He hooked me up with a sample of their Bad Moon Porter that they just starting pouring on nitro. Mmmm, good as always, and now with extra creaminess. The bartender screwed up and didn't pour mine in a Pint Club glass, so we got another one for free. Kim is all too happy to take care of it for me. And it was a nice one too. Nice underlying notes of banana and spice. We hadn't been to a DuClaw since April, so we had some catching up to do with some of the last couple of month's releases. The main one being the 13 Degrees Hefe. Aftert stopping at those fine establishment, it was time to do a different kind of shopping. That's right, the kind at a mall. The Arundel Mills Mall to be exact, for some shopping, movie watching, and of course...DuClaw! They often carry stuff that Shawan doesn't and this trip was no different. I've got a lot of drinking to do now! Oh, but we're not done yet. Next stop, The Wine Source. Luckily we survived and loaded up some great new stuff. I've noticed lately, that my beer selection was getting a little lite on the summery ales. I figured now is as good as time as any to get some beer shopping done. First stop Shawan Liquors. Complete with a giant finger about to crush the buidling. Better get in quick!

Tonight, something new that Derek hooked me up with from a recent trip to New York. Heh, what do you know! This actually wasn't half bad, with a nice balance between the juicey hops character and sweet malt backbone. Wow, I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while! Yeah, something new from the often bland and uninspiring Saranac line! This time, their shot at an Imperial IPA from their High Peaks Series of big beers.

So yesterday, Kim picked me up from work and we had a little impromptu trip up Rt. 15 to the Selingsgrove area. We were supposed to meet up with some friends of ours that were in town for the holiday. Unfortunately, some family drama flaired up and they weren't able to meet us. Uh, not a problem. I think we know how to keep ourselves busy in this neck of the woods. BACT Attack style! Ah. Craft brews, soft serve, and the Phoenix! What a perfect summer evening. How about a 1/2 hour up the road to....Knoebels! And it's bargain night too! I finish up with a perfect summer complement to the Summerbock. The Hoppy Monk, inspired by the hoppy IPAs of Belgian. Seling's Grove was great as always but hmmm, where to go for dessert? Have I mentioned how I love the food here? One of the day's specials was a pulled pork chile. Mmmmm. Kim goes for another one of the Sangria Coolers that she got here last time. I start out with something that recently went back on tap. Their Summerbock. A hybrid Mai/Helles Bock that was fantastic. Allright! We're allready back at Selin's Grove Brewing. Quite a nice little treat on a random Friday afternoon.

Dude, we literally posted that at the same time. Awesome!

^ Mmmm. Moylans. Glad you liked it Bubba. Their regular IPA is fantastic as well. Finally, the second installment in the Troegs Scratch series. Wow, I'm really digging these Troegs Anniversary one-offs! Hopefully, we'll have less time to wait for the next one. Scratch #2. This was a surprisingly hoppy porter. Nice hoppiness the whole way through but it didn't totally mask the yummy chocolate and coffee notes of the porter.