FlyerACE1 Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Following our great evening at HersheyPark with Heath and Kim, Ellen and I decided to check out ABC for the first time in Harrisburg on Sunday. This place really surprised me. Great beer and good food! We'll definitely be back. The last photo is of Ellen's lunch- a great salad with craisins, apples, blue cheese, grilled chicken, nuts and a ginger vinigarette. Once again, the beer and its description card. My beer tasting was not done. This time it was the Hoppy Trails IPA. This one was excellent with a great hop flavor that was very complex and different from the first sip to last. One more shot of the brewpub. A random shot of Ellen. She really was having a good time despite her expression. The brewpub has some decent merch with mostly t-shirts and glasses. Ellen and I both picked up a t-shirt. Here's a shot of the restaurant. My appetizer was this ale and cheddar cheese soup. The concept was good but the soup itself was fair. It had the consistency of rice pudding. I didn't know Ellen snapped this shot as I went to check out Brew-Opoly....which I bought!! Once again, the beer and its description. I started off with the Kipona Fest. This one was a little darker than the typical Oktoberfest beer with a bit more alcohol. I LOVED it! Here's a shot of the beer and its description card. June specialty? I can't imagine it lasted that long. Ellen opted for the Hinterland Hefe Weizen as she was surprised to still see it on tap. She really enjoyed this one. ABC is located in a semi-depressed industrial area of town. Typical brewpub atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Yeah. I have more pictures than this but you're not allowed to see. Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 ^!?! Although I had plenty to drink this weekend down in Florida, I was so tired that I forgot my camera for Food and Wine Festival. Don't worry, others picked up the slack of my picture taking (though it did feel weird drinking without one hand holding a camera!). And at BGA I was denied the AB beers I was actually looking forward to trying, the Jack's Pumpkin Ale and the Stone Mill Pale Ale. The Hospitality House was way too crowded for me to wait thru while trying to help my friends accomplish their credit whoring, and nowhere else in the park would sell anything besides Budweiser, Bud Lite, or Budweiser Select. So, my AB beer drinking was solely done at the TPR House. Due to lack of beer at Super Walmart, the only other beer I had was some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. A very pool ready Derek enjoys a Wally brewed Wild Hop Lager. Actually pretty tasty and not bland like Bud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 ^ Ah, come on Nicole, don't tease us like that. BTW, the Cherry Wheat is awesome! ^^ Glad you and Ellen enjoyed the ABC, Adam. Did you ever get to try the Major Hops? That's one of my favorites they brew there. Time for some more Florida pics. Day 2 of our trip took us to Busch Gardens Tamprica. After a few hours in the park, we took a side trip over to Ybor City for a beer break before heading back to the park for Howl-O-Scream. And then followed that us with a Sam Oktoberfest, which they had on special. Can't beat that! I start out with a Franziskaner Hefe. Good as always. It was OK. Pretty decent selection of foreign stuff. I wish they had had a little more on the American Craft side though. Well after that, we still needed some beer, so we headed across the street to an M.J. Barleyhoppers. He told us part of the deal with buying this property was that this outside porch area be included. Should make for a nice beer garden area. The whole thing should be really nice once they open. We ran into head brewer Dave Doble outside of the buidling, who nicely chatted with us for a few minutes. He explained that the delay was due to the brewing system taking 3 X the cost and time to move than they had originally thought. It's not freaking open yet! As a matter of fact, we just missed it by a little over a week. The grand opening is tonight. Hmmm, something doesn't look right... Well here we are at Centro Ybor, home of the brand new location of the TBBC. We next headed to Ybor City, first passing the old home of the Tampa Bay Brewing Co. It's not here, so they must be open in the new place, right? Right? I then decide to get creative and mix the two. It tasted exactly like you would think it would. I sent Kim to get some Tilt because the line was shorter. You can see what she thought of it. I feel compelled to give the Bareknuckle Stout a another go. Still not rock'en my boat at all. I get greedy and start double fisting some more of the Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale. They only had one line open for samples, which of course eventually became a really big line for samples. Uh oh, not another Busch Hospiltality House! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 It was almost cold enough today for me to want to break out the winter ales, but I decided I better enjoy more pumpkins before the frost hits and ruins the harvest! With just enough alcohol taste to keep me warm even when its cold out! DFH Punkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hattuchili Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 ^ Is there a picture from the Oktoberfest in Munich in the background of the beer? --Sören Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R. Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 ^ Is there a picture from the Oktoberfest in Munich in the background of the beer? Good eye. That's the group picture that Derek bought from the cute Fräulein at Oktoberfest. Janna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Okay, that is officially the most hilarious picture of Kim I've ever seen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 The battery in the camera needs to be charged. Anyway... I'm enjoying Old Speckled Hen right now then I'll enjoy a nice Teatly's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 we took a side trip over to Ybor City for a beer break before heading back to the park for Howl-O-Scream. Ah ... the memories. Too bad that Tampa Bay Brewing wasn't open for you guys. If you go to the area again, you have to check out one of my old "lawnmower" brews. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/161/274 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 A nice Great Lakes Dortmunder before I head to bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 ^^^^I'll let Kim know you liked the pic Nicole. When she really doesn't like something, she lets her tongue do the talking. ^ ^Yeah, we had figured that they would be up in their new digs by the time we were there, considering that they were in the process of moving when we were last there back in May. Sh*t happens though sometimes. We really enjoyed the old location the last 2 times we visited. It was small but had a nice vibe and was a pretty cool place to have a pint. It really looks like the new location will give them a lot more room though and a classier look. As for Ybor Gold, they actually had it at the M.J. Barleyhoppers. Kim pointed it out but I skipped it because I knew nothing about it. If I had known it was "Ted Approved", I would have given it a shot. More pics from Florida. Day 3 took us to Epcot and their wonderful Food & Wine Festival. Of course, when we're involved, it naturally becomes the Food & Beer Festival. Wow, just an overall great day at a great park! We'll most assuredly be back. We end the day with a pre Illuminations dinner. Had to go back to Germany for a brat and sauerkraut, along with a full helping of the 11th Anniversary Porter. Sampling the 11th Anniversay Festival Porter. Pretty good. And Kim agrees! Cant beat free samples of Sam! The seminar was cool as they actually taught you how to taste your beer, no merely trying to sell you on Sam Adams. I think that they overall did try to sell over craft beer as a whole, which was cool. While waiting in line, they have a whole "History of Sam Adams" display set up for you to read. Of course, it was eventually time to do the History of Beer in America seminar. Later, I had a Sam Black Lager to go along with my first time sampling of escargots. It was interesting. Kind of like eating mussels. We skipped getting anything at the Great Beers of the World booth. Nothing really jumped out at us. I really liked the Kirin tap at the Japan booth. Of course, when enjoying Oktoberfest, you have to have the obligitory giant pretzel to go along with your Beck's. It's because of the absolutely awesome brat and sauerkraut on pretzel rolls that they sell there! Was it because they had Beck's Oktoberfest on draft? That's a pretty decent reason but no. Easily the highlight of the Festival for us was the Oktoberfest booth. Why? ...while I'm all smiles with my Oktoberfest. Kim samples the awesome Cherry Wheat... Special thanks to my buddy here pouring me my Sam Oktoberfest. He forgot to charge me for the souvenir mug and said "fuggedaboutit"! Thanks dude! Lot's of very good Sam Adam's products on the agenda. Of course, this was the only booth that mattered. I think Kim and I played it smart by putting a certain amount of money on a gift card. Once it was gone, it was gone. I'd hate to see the bills for the people using their room keys to charge. You order at the register and then pick it up at the window. It was a Saturday, so naturally there were long lines all day. For those that have never been, the Festival basically involves these booths, representing different countries foods and wines, set up around World Showcase. They had this little thing called the Food & Wine Festival going on in World Showcase. Back to Epcot, a park we had only previously spent a few hours at before. It was nice to finally spend a whole day here, as it really is a great park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Well, with it pretty safe to say summer weather is over, I guess its time for me to clear out the final remains of my summer goods to make some room for the winters. With a little bit of banana and lemon hints, its not too heavy on the hot dog water. Farewell until next year, Blanche! First to go, the Weyerbacher Blanche, a Belgian Wit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Back to the Pumpkin Ales. Tonights's selection seems to be a real favorite around here. The Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale. This is probably the one to beat when it comes to actual pumpkin flavor. Also some nice spice notes present. My only gripe about this beer is how thin it is. Very, very light. That aspect definitley makes it the most quaffable of the ones I've had. The Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale. Definitely earns the "Pumpkin" in it's name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 My wife ate 5 of those things over the course of our week down there. They were awesome. How'd you like the 11th Anniversary??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Tonight I decided I was craving a really good IPA. Since I still had like 5 Stone 10th Anniversary IPAs, I figured I better get rid of some of them. I sure do miss SoCal, and not just because its like cold outside and stuff So good I'll finish the bottle (of course, its against my nature NOT to finish the bottle, no matter how bad something is) The hops, the alcohol, and overall flavor; all make me very hoppy, err happy One fine IPA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 How'd you like the 11th Anniversary??? The 11th Anniversary was good. It was the first time that I had tried a porter from them. I'd like try some more dark beers from Sam. The Parade of Pumpkin Ales continues with tonights selection. The Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. I really like this one. Definitely meatier than most. Swet maltiness and spices up front on this one. I just wish there was a little more pumpkin and a little less alcohol taste to this one and it would be perfect. The Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. So different, IT'S PUNK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyerACE1 Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 [quote name="Rugged One^^ Glad you and Ellen enjoyed the ABC' date=' Adam. Did you ever get to try the Major Hops? That's one of my favorites they brew there. [/quote] I actually don't remember seeing Major Hops. If I did, I definitely would have gotten it. Come to think of it, I didn't even see it in their master beer list. Did I miss something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 I ran out of IPA just before Lost started, so it was time to reload, this time with a beer with less power and more autumn. Pumpkinhead to the rescue! I could always turn the heat up, but I'd rather spend the money on beer and just throw on a sweatshirt! Really lite, easy session beer, or just something to enjoy on a cold Fall night while watching some addicting television Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 ^^I still have 2 cases of the Stone 10th IPA. Saving it for better days ahead. Having a Boddingtons now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Decided to take a break from the pumpkin ales tonight and get back to the Oktoberfests. The Spaten Oktoberfest to be exact. This one seemed a littel dryer than some of the others I've had. Just a little sweetness at the beginning with some hoppy bittterness at the end. Pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Tonight I was given a special treat from a coworker, a growler of Oktoberfest from Golden Avalanche. Since I would be away for the weekend, it meant I'd once again have to drink the whole 1/2 gallon by myself. Could it be done? Golden Avalanche has some good stuff, can't wait to get back there Not quite a 4th full mug, but then again, not quite an Oktoberfest incident either! 9:00, the last of the beer is out of the growler and in the mug. 8:00, mug #3, just in time for some TV time. Would Smallville make sense after 66oz?? 7:00, mug #2. Goes down fairly easily, just like at the real Oktoberfest Very malty with a little alcohol at the end. Very tasty stuff, better than Sam Adams or some others 6:00, first glass poured To make less trips to the fridge, its time to break out the big mug Sealed seasonal selection, a growler of Oktoberfest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Well, its the final weekend of the "season" and therefore the final weekend for me to travel for a bit. However, this weekend is a bit different, as a good friend, Todd Long, is finally taking the plunge into marriage. So, its off to Detroit for a wedding. Of course, I can't do the trip without a stop or two for brew. Wonder if Casey will see this picture here Of course, since the woman isn't with me, I got a free upgrade to a jacuzzi suite And while here, we watched the World Series end on their giant 1982 big screen! Even Walt couldn't resist spiced pumpkin beer Next up, the Screaming Pumpkin Spiced Ale. Lots of spice, little to no pumpkin and not much of a finish Nice selection of beer coasters on the walls. Shout out to Victory! Very friendly crowd, everyone knew each other too First up, a very hoppy High Seas IPA. Good stuff! Lots of their own stuff on tap though Next up, a drive up to Michigan Brewing Company, which was pretty much a truck stop that brewed. Followed by another Sam I enjoyed a Sam Adams with a side of Walt At the rehearsal dinner, Todd and Krista are pleased to have Walt intrude in their picture First stop, back to Independence at the PHL airport for a Yards Philly Pale Ale. Pretty hoppy for a regular pale ale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Steelhead?... yeah that place doesn't exist anymore. It's a Hooters now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Dammit! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now