Rugged One

The last 24 hours of beer. We hope everyone had a happy and safe July 4th. To end the night, we drove up to my sister's house for a cookout. And enjoyed some Troegs Scratch #1 on the deck. If you look closely between us, you can make out Three Mile Island in the distance. All that radiation just made the beer taste better! This one was another winner. A little hot in the aroma but masked the tasted really well with a nice malt/hop balance. Good stuff! Finally, we finish up this session with the Boss Cox Double Dark IPA from the Barrel House Brewing Co. in Cincinnati. Much to our shock, while we were purchasing the bottle, we were told that the brewery was located just up the street. We'll definitely have to pay a visit next time, as we really enjoyed this IPA. The Hippie IPA from the Buckeye Brewing Company in Cleveland. Kim does a little celebrating of her own with some Margaritas. Yummy! This one was OK. I think Derek liked it more than I did. Nothing really stood out to me though. Next up, the Hoppin' Frog Hoppin' to Heaven IPA. That's B.O.R.I.S. as in Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout. And it was darn tasty too. Real nice notes of oatmeal and chocolate with a fantastic motor oil viscosity to it. We were very surprised by this one! Today, saw us just hanging out here at the house, watching Beerfest on dvd. We decided to get into some of the Ohio beers that we had bought when we were out there a few weeks ago. First up, from Hoppin' Frog in Akron, OH, B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher! While Hoptimus Prime says "watch me transform into sloppy drunk mode with my Hop Hog IPA!" BTW, we liked the movie for the most part. A little too much humor in some areas but the robots and action rocked! Kegatron enjoys the Rare Rooster Summer Rye, which was actually better than expected. Last night saw us meet up with Derek in Lancaster, cuz our geeky selves just had to go see Transformers on opening night. Naturally, a quick stop before at the LBC was in order.

The pics turned out pretty good Derek. We still liked Pt. Pleasant a lot more than Seaside Heights, but we'll be back there when: 1. They finish the themeing inside Pirate's Hideaway. 2. It's time for a follow up exam with Dr. Pinchy! Ouch!

^You know Adam, over at Beeradvocate, they would consider this spamming! Just kidding Dude. I voted for ya!

I guess since I didn't ride a roller coaster until 2002, I'll start there. 2002 Superman: Ultimate Flight- SFOG Batman the Dark Knight- SFNE Rollersoaker- Hersheypark Ricochet-Carowinds Ricochet-Kings Dominion 2003 Runaway Reptar- Carowinds Top Thrill Dragster- Cedar Point Greezed Lightning- SFKK 2004 Borg Assimilator- Carowinds Cheetah Chase- BGT Timberland Twister- MOA Spinning Dragons- WOF Ragin’ Cajun- SFGrAm Revenge of the Mummy- USF Triton- Mt. Olympus Stormrunner- Hersheypark Half Pipe- SFEG Thunderhead- Dollywood 2005 Hades- Mt. Olympus Italian Job Stunt Track- Kings Island Sheikra- BGT Kingda Ka- SFGrAdv Mr. Six’s Pandemonium- SFNE Hydra: The Revenge- Dorney Park Powderkeg- SDC Wacky Worm- Gillian’s Wonderland Pier Orient Express- Riverview 2006 El Toro- SFGrAdv Tatsu- SFMM Goliath- SFOG Goliath- La Ronde Expedition Everest- Animal Kingdom The Voyage- Holiday World Kentucky Rumbler- Beech Bend Italian Job Turbo Coaster- PKD Crossbow- Bowcraft Shamu Express- Sea World Orlando 2007 Griffon- BGW Coming soon: Maverick, Wicked, and Mystery Mine.

I was always a big fan of Joanna Kerns on Growing Pains. It was awesome seeing her again recently in Knocked Up. She still looked pretty darn good!

Awesome choice with the Hop Stoopid Bubba! I'll trade you a six pack of Storm King for a few bottles of that. By the way, many have tried and failed with the Heath Face. Unfortunately, your missing the red "Come with me if you want to drink" Terminator eye that I frequently sport. See.. "Hasta la vista, baby!" Ah, finally a perfectly fine amount of Ruination to be enjoyed in one sitting. Now I won't be burping pine cones in my sleep. Check out the new hotness of this 12 oz beauty! Hit the bricks, old and busted 22 oz bomber! Well looky here, Stone finally got smart and put their hop bomb, Ruination, in 12oz bottles. You know for those of us that don't like to get f**ked up from one bottle of beer!

Yeah, I turned on RAW at 8 pm and there's his face with 1967-2007. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. It's especially sad, since his family was involved as well. RIP Crippler. You were truelly one of the great performers.

Rest assured Bubba, I'm still alive and drinking beer. Just not so much during the week anymore, as I shed a few unwanted pounds. But it's still all bets are off on the weekends, as you will see from these pics from yesterday. Lots to choose from but I decide to end the day with something new. The Donnybrook Stout. A dry Irish Stout weighing in at a whopping 3.7% ABV. Good stuff. The nice roasty notes and low alcohol made this way too sessionable. We better get out of here while I can still walk. Until next time. Where the heck is everyone? It's 6:30 on a Saturday night and the place isn't crowded at all. Ah, everyone must be at the beach! It's probably a good thing that we didn't go to Rehoboth Beach and Dogfish Head today after all. Last stop. Victory. I finish up with the always awesome Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale. Just a fantastic West Coast IPA. Screw SI, this is the swimsuit issue that I want to read! Time to try the 13th and it's a winner. A nice big Pils that weight in at a hefty 7.8%. Not quite as hoppy as I had heard from others but still very good. Kim also showcases our always delicous pile of nachos that we always get here. Trust me, nothing soaks up beer better than nachos. Nothing. I've always wanted to try one of their excellent looking Bloody Marys but naturally, I'm always obligated to drink beer when I'm here. Thankfully, Kim came to the rescue and got one so that I could try it. And it was just as good as it looked. Woot! ...I have to try some of the 2 year old 11th Anniversary. And it's on cask too! Wow, this American IPA has really held up well. I was burping hops the whole way through. That's right, last Thursday, their 13th Anniversary Beer from Troegs just went on tap. But before we get to that... Like we really ever actually need a reason to visit the Drafting Room but this time, it's because something special just went on draft. Next stop and our main reason for coming out this way. A return to the Drafting Room. In full summer mode too, with shaded tables out front. Being sour, Kim of course loves it. Instead I opted for the latest seasonal from Dogfish Head. The Festina Peche. A Weissbeer with some great peach and sour notes. Capone's also had some decent stuff on tap too. They still had the remnants on from their Allagash promo from a couple of nights ago. I could literally drop a couple of hundred bucks in this place on all the great beer that they have but I stopped at just three bottles. Grand total- $36. See why I stopped at just three? Good beer ain't cheap folks. There was a few bottles of special stuff that I was looking to pick up, so our next stop was our favorite PA place to buy beer. Capone's in Norristown. This was only our first stop of the day, so I quit after having a Fat Dog Imperial Stout. Wow, I had forgotten how great this is and is a nice compliment to the other locally brewed (and much hoppier) Victory Storm King. We had a great time at Stoudts, chatting with some other beer fans, and we swear we will be back sooner than later. ...the Smooth Hoperator. This is quite unique, as it's a highly hopped Doppelbock. And it works fantastically! I think I just found a new local favorite. Lots of nice stuff on tap that I haven't had in way too long. We'll start with something new that recently came out for their 20th Anniversary Celebration... Back to Stoudts in Adamstown, PA. Allthough it's only like 50 minutes away (and like 10 from Derek's) this is the first time that we've been here in almost a year and a half.

^ Just a few, right? Sounds like a plan. That roller rink is one of the reasons why when we do the Portland area, we want to do it right and spend a few days there. I'd hate to just rampage through parks like Oaks and Enchanted Forest and miss out on the little things.

Fantastic pics Justin! The Portland area is on our very short list of places to visit in the U.S. next year. Just the other week, Kim, and Derek, and I were watching an old PBS special on classic amusement parks and Oaks was featured. I was most intrigued not only by the classic Lusse auto skooters but also that fantastic looking roller rink. Do you know if they still have the guy in there that plays the organ while people skate?

Tonight it's a very special episode of "Hangin' with Heath" Friday. Why? Stay tuned and find out.... Yeah, totally Belson style! The Oak Aged Yeti was pretty good. High in the oak and vanilla. It masked the alcohol well but also hid the fantastic taste of their regular Imperial Stout. We'll keep you updated on when Derek reaches 2,000 beers, which at our rate means sometimes in September. ...1,000 different beer! Congrats Derek! It's been a long time coming. Enjoy this BA top 100 beer, the Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Uh oh, what's Derek up to? Could he be texting his long distance girlfriend? No he's documenting his.... Well not quite. It actually had some chocolate flavor to it but ultimately just didn't impress us. What more Bison crap! This time the Chocolate Stout. This couldn't be as bad as the IPA could it? Hmmm. Pretty good. Another solid brew from our boys out in Nor Cal. Hey Bubba! Check these guys out! You gotta keep drinking locally! Time to redeem this night with something that Adam & Ellen were nice enough to get me for my birthday. The Lagunitas Lucky #13. A well hopped red ale. I guess a really smelly aroma and weak ass taste! Next! Up next was the Bison Organic IPA. So what makes it organic? Wow, something mighty impressive from Breckenridge! Crisp citrus undertones and a nice, biting hoppiness made this one a winner of an IPA in our book! First up, something new from the Breckenridge Brewpub in Denver, CO. The 471 Small Batch IPA.

Fantastic PTR Chuck! Any report that references both Baron Von Raschke and an anal probing Smokey the Bear is OK in my book! If we wouldn't have been out of town, we would have loved to have met up with you guys.

^ Keep us posted with how the homebrewing goes Juggler. I'd suggest shooting right for the top with a nice Imperial Stout! ^^I lived in Hershey at one time (when I was very young) but now live about 40 minutes away and work even closer (in nearby Harrisburg). Troegs and ABC are the closest breweries to Hershey and Hummelstown. Probably our only drinking of the week, until Derek shows up on Friday of course to kick off what should be a rather kick a$$ Saturday of beer. Wow, maybe the glass helped! I really enjoyed this, this time around. Very pronounced malt profile that was balanced nicely by a subtle yet lingering hop presence. Good stuff! Next up was the Lagunitas Maximus Double IPA, one that I had been slightly disappointed in last year when I had it. Presented by the new "Ultimate Beer Glass" that Sam Adams has designed. Wow, high gravity is right! At almost 8% ABV and highly hoppy, this wasn't like any Cream Ale we ever had. Kim even got hopped out by it in the end. First up the Lagunitas Sirius. A high gravity Cream Ale.

^^^ Just for the record, one of those bags of merch at Great Lakes was Derek's. Very cool place by the way and one I'm looking forward to visiting again. ^^ Technically the "Triple IPA" isn't a style. It's just a Double (or Imperial IPA) that's even more jacked up with hops and alcohol. The name itself is more of a marketing gimmick by the breweries to differentiate them from the other assorted Double IPAs on the market. There aren't a lot out there but of the ones I've had, the Moylan's was definitely the most drinkable. Definitely seek out their regular and double IPAs. Both are very good and great examples of the West Coast style.

^^^ Wow Bubba, you skipped the Double and went right for the triple. All three of the Moylan's IPAs are fantastic. Derek and I had these back in March if you want to check out the thread from back then to see what we thought. Pics should be coming shortly from this weekends adventures.

Hanging out with Derek tonight. Drinking some beers. Heading out west tomorrow. Wherever we end up, I'm sure it will be GREAT.8) I think that this was even better than the last time I had it. Just a fantastic aroma and taste of citrus and fresh juicy hops. Nice! Next up, a bottle from this years batch of Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA. Wow, suprisingly still fresh and hoppy even though it came out last fall. The Sleighor Double IPA from the currently on hiatus Reaper Ales of Vista, CA. We actually got this bottle at the Capital Ale House of all places.

^I'm following this with crossed fingers Tim, much like the rest of the beer lovers in PA. I think that it would be a great resolution. This way the beer distributors can now sell six-packs but won't have to completely upgrade and reorganize how they do business. I can live without single purchases if it means at least getting six pack sales. I thought I sensed a positive vibe yesterday, as I walked through the Capital Building.

Dude, why do you think we bust your balls so much over the Bell's? We'd love to see you do a Midwest Brewery trip. You live in a hotbed of great beer! Why aren't you at Three Floyds right now! Perfect summer day today. Sunny, a little windy, low 70s. Time to break out a perfect summer beer. Now I'm not usually one for easy drinking, girly, fruit beers but I seriously think I could easily kill a sixer of this stuff in no time flat. Just smooth, refreshing drinking. The Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat. No blueberries were harmed in the brewing of this beer.

Time to once again tangle with (in my opinion) one of the most dangerous beers around. The Stone Double Bastard. ...double the buzz. Yee-haw! That's some good stuff! Double the arrogance. Double the attitude, and....

I had totally forgot about Ton-Of-Wandas from last year. That's definitely up there with Dumb-Fries and Man-Asses. Good stuff! Heeeeeeeeeeeh.

^^^ Beer labeling in this country is regulated by a mixture of both state and federal interests and are very inconsistant. That's why you'll see it on some but not others. If a beer is of a higher ABV, breweries will often put it on there as more of a marketing tool rather than to actually educate the consumer. In recent years, there have been advocacy groups that have been lobbying for a comprehensive labeling system that would include beer facts like ABV, calories, serving size, and ingredients. ^^ Keep searching out the hoppy Imperial Stouts Bubba. They're some of the best ones. The very hoppy Storm King comes to mind but Old Rasputin is good too.

That's cool. 3 hours of marathoning until midnight is definitley something that you don't want to have to follow up with early Sunday morning activities. If you've never done the nighttime ERT there though, definitley go back sometime. Rampage has the most incredible day to night transformation that I've ever experienced on a woodie.

I wish I could keep this bottle around longer but I had to enjoy it while it's still fresh. Nuff said. Nuff said.

So you didn't stay for (what is in my humble opinion) one of the greatest ERT sessions in the country? 3 hours at night on that beast is hard to top. Thanks for the pics. This was our favorite event to attend when we were living down South. It pains us that we can't attend anymore without a costly flight down there. So I'm assuming that they were only running the red train? Was the blue one there but not just being run? I know that they have been alternating the two trains out every season for rehab work.

^ It's for mixing black and tans. Derek's used it before over the last couple of months in previous posts. Strangely, we still haven't used it for what we originally got it for. Last night, Kim and my Dad and I did one of our favorite local activities. A Hershey Bears hockey game. But not just any hockey game. Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals between the Eastern Conference Champion Bears and the Western Champs, the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Bears won the Calder Cup last season. Would there quest for a repeat get off to a good start and most importantly, did we have any good beers along the way? Let's find out. ...Fights! Game 2 is tonight. Go Bears! Unfortunatley, when all was said and done, the Bears decided to not show up and make this series interesting. Fortunately for anyone that knows hockey, the final minutes of a blowout are great because of.... Kim enjoys the light and fruity Strawberry Wheat. I hadn't had the Hop Hog in a while but I still dug it. Nice and fresh and hoppy. Hop Hog and Strawberry Wheat were on the menu. Because Lancaster Brewing was there pouring some of their tasty brews! Why the much closer Troegs or ABC aren't there, I have no idea. Everyone is waving their rally towels getting ready for the game to start. So I'm sure at this point your wondering why all of this is in the beer thread? My Dad even makes a return to the beer thread! He used to work at Bears games (and Hersheypark) back when he was a teenager. Kim says "Go Bears!" Showing off my team spirit. Inside, the Bears warm up for their Calder Cup showdown with the Hamilton Bulldogs. A sight that may be familiar to those TPR members that like to visit Hersheypark. The neighboring Giant Center, home of the hometown favorite Hershey Bears.