This is the perfect site to find a brew pub or brewery wherever you are
http://beermapping.com/brewery-maps/us-brewery-map/
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The Right Side
Somewhere north of Milwaukee
Averaged 38 mpg for the entire trip - mostly due to insane speeds - often traveling at 80 mph. 1100 miles down and 1300 for the return trip.
Averaged 38 mpg for the entire trip - mostly due to insane speeds - often traveling at 80 mph. 1100 miles down and 1300 for the return trip.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Home
Lots of room in the Fiat - just think how much beer I could have brought back if we had taken the Suburu:)
Poor Planning Results in an Awesome Surprise
We hit the trifecta - first the plan to go to Asheville, then the fateful excursion into the bowels of hell (Gatlinburg) and then yesterday. We were headed north in Indiana with the intention of stopping in Columbus Indiana to have a brew at the Power House Brewing Co. (www.powerhousebrewingco.com/) and then head north to spend the night in Indianapolis and sample the brews at the Oaken Barrel.Brewing Co. (www.oakenbarrel.com/). It sounded like a fine idea until Deb looked at her news updates from CNN on her iPhone and we realized the Indy 500 was yesterday. Not a good plan to go to Indianapolis. Once again a good plan gone awry. Not to fear though, we headed west to Bloomington after our stop at the Power House.
The power house was a quality brew pub. They had a Sunday Special - 20 oz beer and the glass was free. I mistakenly assumed it was a glass with their logo - it wasn't. I did buy one of their glasses though. My IPA was excellent although a pint would have been sufficient. Deb didn't enjoy her nut brown as much as I enjoyed my hopped up brew.
Me and my 20 oz glass at the Power House Brew Pub.
We then left and headed for Bloomington - a 45 mile ride through scenic country. The beauty of rural Indiana is not to be missed.
We arrived in town, found the Upland Brewing Co. (www.uplandbeer.com/) and then registered at the Motel 6 (a .8 mile walk). The pub was amazing. We had dinner, Deb had pizza and I had a Caesar salad. Since we were walking we had our fill of amazing brews. I had the IPA, porter and amber while Deb had 2 nut browns. The pub was a happening place - no employee ever stood still and yet our bartender said it was a "subdued Sunday". I have never seen so many growlers and six packs leave a brew pub. I would rate this pub a 10 out of 10 for food, beer and service.
Me and the requisite beer at the Upland Brew Pub:)
This morning after my run I was able to buy 5 six packs of Upland beer - 2 IPA's, 1 each of amber, porter and pale ale.
On to Illinois - can fibs brew beer? Only time will tell.
The power house was a quality brew pub. They had a Sunday Special - 20 oz beer and the glass was free. I mistakenly assumed it was a glass with their logo - it wasn't. I did buy one of their glasses though. My IPA was excellent although a pint would have been sufficient. Deb didn't enjoy her nut brown as much as I enjoyed my hopped up brew.
Me and my 20 oz glass at the Power House Brew Pub.
We then left and headed for Bloomington - a 45 mile ride through scenic country. The beauty of rural Indiana is not to be missed.
We arrived in town, found the Upland Brewing Co. (www.uplandbeer.com/) and then registered at the Motel 6 (a .8 mile walk). The pub was amazing. We had dinner, Deb had pizza and I had a Caesar salad. Since we were walking we had our fill of amazing brews. I had the IPA, porter and amber while Deb had 2 nut browns. The pub was a happening place - no employee ever stood still and yet our bartender said it was a "subdued Sunday". I have never seen so many growlers and six packs leave a brew pub. I would rate this pub a 10 out of 10 for food, beer and service.
Me and the requisite beer at the Upland Brew Pub:)
This morning after my run I was able to buy 5 six packs of Upland beer - 2 IPA's, 1 each of amber, porter and pale ale.
On to Illinois - can fibs brew beer? Only time will tell.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Following in my Grandmother's Footsteps (or not)
We googled Berea and found the Boone Tavern. I was aware that it wasn't a brew pub but one should be able to deviate from their primary goal occasionally, I would think. To Boone Tavern we went. What kind of tavern doesn't serve alcoholic beverages? Ya gotta wonder. The food was very good though.
The Blight of the Smokey Mountains
The route from Greenville to Gatlinburg was beautiful to say the least. It is, in my opinion, more beautiful than the Rockies. We were traveling close to dusk and the shadows etc were unbelievable. I would love to spend time in the mountains. We were on a mission to get to the next brew pub but found time to stop several times to enjoy the scenery.
Deb had the address of the pub in her iPhone and we (OK it was really Deb) made the decision to go past the pub before getting a room. We passed 1 or 2 motels that appeared to have rooms a mile or so out and then -
what the hell do I say here - the shit hit the fan.
We went from entering a quaint town to pure bedlam in less than a minute. Traffic moving at a snails pace, thousands of people, restaurants, bars and tourist crap. It was crazy. We finally made it to the end of town but there was no rooms available - and I wasn't going to backtrack through the hell we had gone through. We stopped at the last inn (they didn't have a no vacancy sign out) and they informed us there wasn't a room to be had. They suggested Pigeon Forge which was 7 miles away. We still had to backtrack but what the hell - we had to get out.
It was already getting dark and it had been a long day so off to Pigeon Forge we went. All I can say about Pigeon Forge is you could drop the Dells into the middle and it wouldn't make a splash. Miles of motels, amusement parks restaurants, amusement parks and lest I forget, Dolly World. The traffic was a nightmare - where did all these idiots come from. Who in there right mind would go there? We had honorable intentions - to drink craft beer - not go to freak shows and amusement parks. Not to worry though the brew pub we missed in Gatlinburg had another in Pigeon Hell. We found one motel with vacancy. They had 2 rooms left and insisted we had to take two nights. That wasn't happening. We got out as fast as we could and went to the interstate and got a room about 11pm.
what the hell is wrong with our society that this would be viewed as a 'fun' place to be? It truly is a blight on an otherwise incredibly beautiful place.
I'm not opinionated or anything, am I?
Deb had the address of the pub in her iPhone and we (OK it was really Deb) made the decision to go past the pub before getting a room. We passed 1 or 2 motels that appeared to have rooms a mile or so out and then -
what the hell do I say here - the shit hit the fan.
We went from entering a quaint town to pure bedlam in less than a minute. Traffic moving at a snails pace, thousands of people, restaurants, bars and tourist crap. It was crazy. We finally made it to the end of town but there was no rooms available - and I wasn't going to backtrack through the hell we had gone through. We stopped at the last inn (they didn't have a no vacancy sign out) and they informed us there wasn't a room to be had. They suggested Pigeon Forge which was 7 miles away. We still had to backtrack but what the hell - we had to get out.
It was already getting dark and it had been a long day so off to Pigeon Forge we went. All I can say about Pigeon Forge is you could drop the Dells into the middle and it wouldn't make a splash. Miles of motels, amusement parks restaurants, amusement parks and lest I forget, Dolly World. The traffic was a nightmare - where did all these idiots come from. Who in there right mind would go there? We had honorable intentions - to drink craft beer - not go to freak shows and amusement parks. Not to worry though the brew pub we missed in Gatlinburg had another in Pigeon Hell. We found one motel with vacancy. They had 2 rooms left and insisted we had to take two nights. That wasn't happening. We got out as fast as we could and went to the interstate and got a room about 11pm.
what the hell is wrong with our society that this would be viewed as a 'fun' place to be? It truly is a blight on an otherwise incredibly beautiful place.
I'm not opinionated or anything, am I?
Greenville SC or Asheville NC?
Yesterday I was up early and was looking at where to go Asheville NC and found out that it was smack dab in the middle of their 10 day brew fest. I decided it was foolhardy to go there and think I was going to get a room. Asheville the town with more than a dozen brew pubs, Memorial Day weekend and the brew fest - not a chance in hell.
We left Charleston around 10 am and decided while driving to head to Greenville SC and then decide what to do from there. Traveling with internet makes decisions very easy.
Entering Greenville it was as any other town, there was the usual assortment of factories, strip malls and the usual crap that makes cities uninviting. Deb was navigating using her iPhone doing the usual; turn left here, turn right there, etc. Suddenly we were on a broad, tree lined street with shops, bars and restaurants. To my amazement there was even a parking spot a block from the Blue Ridge Brewing Co. which was our destination.
I had a sampler - 3 small (emphasis on small) glasses of beer, pale ale, amber and stout. The beer was good and I decided I wanted a 12 oz glass of the pale ale and to my surprise that wasn't an option. She (bartender) was more than willing to pour me 12 oz but I was being charged for a pint - so much for responsible serving - I declined and they lost a sale.
While we were traveling to Greenville we made the fateful decision to head to Gatlinburg TN.
We left Charleston around 10 am and decided while driving to head to Greenville SC and then decide what to do from there. Traveling with internet makes decisions very easy.
Entering Greenville it was as any other town, there was the usual assortment of factories, strip malls and the usual crap that makes cities uninviting. Deb was navigating using her iPhone doing the usual; turn left here, turn right there, etc. Suddenly we were on a broad, tree lined street with shops, bars and restaurants. To my amazement there was even a parking spot a block from the Blue Ridge Brewing Co. which was our destination.
I had a sampler - 3 small (emphasis on small) glasses of beer, pale ale, amber and stout. The beer was good and I decided I wanted a 12 oz glass of the pale ale and to my surprise that wasn't an option. She (bartender) was more than willing to pour me 12 oz but I was being charged for a pint - so much for responsible serving - I declined and they lost a sale.
While we were traveling to Greenville we made the fateful decision to head to Gatlinburg TN.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Who Woulda Thunk?
Lunch time had us in downtown Charleston and I had a pint of a local brew (Pluff Mud Porter) from Holy City Brewery (www.holycitybrewing.com/).
The porter was delicious. Apparently due to the over abundance of churches in Charleston it is called the holy city. Begs the question then, is Cedar Grove the Holy Village?
Last evening Mike took me to the local Sunoco Station and I bought a growler of the Holy City Porter. Yep, that's right, get your growler filled while you gas up.
Here's a February 2012 link
http://www.abcnews4.com/story/17011500/a-new-way-to-fill-er-up-at-the-goose-creek-sunoco
We also went to a Total Wine and More store and I bought some more local brews. Unfortunately Holy City does not bottle. I bought 2 six packs from the Palmetto Brewing Company (www.palmettobrewingco.com/) in Charleston, 2 six packs from Thomas Creek Brewery (http://www.thomascreekbeer.com/) in South Carolina and 1 six pack from the SweetWater Brewery (http://sweetwaterbrew.com/) in Georgia.
The Fiat is getting full:( - looks like Deb might have to take the Greyhound home to make more room for beer.
Today is off to Ashville NC - can't wait:)
Thursday, May 24, 2012
A Barn Full:)
We got up early this morning and were on our way by 5am (6am Eastern). While doing some research for this trip I found the Liquor Barn which is a chain of gigantic liquor stores. As was expected they had a plethora of beer. I bought 4 different six packs from the Bluegrass Brewing Company (bbcbrew.com) from Lousiville and a six pack from the Great Lakes Brewing Company (greatlakesbrewing.com). I have seen beer from Great Lakes once before in Milwaukee and have never seen beer from Bluegrass. We were in a hurry so I didn't get to explore - but I believe I could try different beer every day for a year or two at the Liquor Barn
Lafayette Brewing Company
Yesterday we left work to head to South Carolina. Traffic as to be expected was not so swift in the Milwaukee Chicago area and we didn't make the expected destination of the Oaken Barrel (www.oakenbarrel.com) in Indianapolis. Instead we ended up in Lafayette at the Lafayette Brewing Company (www.lafayettebrewingco.com/) for a pint before we retired for the night. I had a pint of the Tippecanoe Common Ale which was very good. Deb had a wheat of some sort that she also enjoyed. Unfortunately we had to find a room, and as there was none within walking distance we had to leave after one - alas, so many beers and so little time:)
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