On Sunday, Dan and I got to take care of Loren and Lily without Lindsay. She went up to Denver for a hair appointment and some much needed quiet time. It was fun. The kids have a play room area in the lower level. They each had an indoor tent set up from a previous day, I guess. I found an old Transformer (Jetfire) of Dan’s in Loren’s toy box. Loren gravitated to the space shuttle toy. For some reason, we were good and evil (I was good) and we were battling. Of course, nothing could destroy the shuttle. And everything I stated that I had (lasers, missiles, bombs), Loren’s shuttle had too. At first, he didn’t like that the plane turned into a robot. But then I told him the robot could fly too and that made it all better. Dan was watching Lily paint with her water colors. It was a relaxing afternoon. Eventually, the robot and the shuttle became friends. I added a deep voice to the robot when he “spoke” to Loren. That was received well. Then Loren brought down a hand-puppet: Squacky. He of course had a higher voice. Squacky even helped Ace (Loren’s stuffed dog) and became Dr. Squacky.
After getting dinner down, the kids and we got to watch Wall-E. Such a great film. It was interesting watching the film from the perspective of a 4-year old. I take for granted that I can watch a scene, study a character’s actions and facial expressions and guess what emotions and thoughts they might be having. To a four year old, it is silence. What is going on? What is Wall-E doing now? Why doesn’t Eve move? Where are they going now? I’m tired. Where is Wall-E? … and so on. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t annoyed. I answered the best I could and let him keep asking. Curiosity is good.
After the kids went to bed, Dan and I tried beer from our last brewery: Capital brewery. It wasn’t
open for tasting when we visited, so Dan had procured some mixed six packs. We split six bottles and were impressed. They get a five out of six. We could only imagine what these tasted like on draft.
So the following day – Monday – was my last day in Dodge, rather Colorado. Dan and I took the kids up to Denver and got another opportunity to hang with Katie. This time, we got a tour of NREL! Well, I got a slightly better tour than Dan because he chose to wear shorts and flip-flops to a pilot plant. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures. I found out I was allowed only after we left the building! But it was great to see that our money is going towards some great study into gasification of organics for fuels.
The rest of the day was typical end of vacation stuff: head to airport – get through security – have a delay in leaving – fly – meet people – land – wait forever for a bag – have a great friend pick me up – chill in the apt for an hour – drive to Delaware.
Thanks for reading all of this. Even though the roadtrip is complete, I am sure I will find more things to ‘blog’ about.
~J^3
2010-06-30
World Cup and Ft Collins Brew Fest
The fever was “brewing” at the Dry Dock brewery in Aurora, CO on Saturday. The US was going to battle Ghana for the chance to move on from the top 16 to the top 8. Dry Dock brewery opened at noon. We (and a few others) were there by 11:45am. We found our seats at the bar, the TVs came to life and the beer was poured. I ordered a sampler flight which was six beers of my choosing. At 12:30pm, the game started. I don’t think I need to replay the rest of the game for you since you probably watched it. Dan and I only watched it to half-time because we had to get up to Ft Collins. But I will tell you that I tried 9 beers in total and was very happy with the choices. Dry Dock knows their stuff.
I don’t know if you (the reader) have ever been to a Brewer’s Fest. I had not. This one was setup so that for $25 you received a small plastic 4oz mug and could taste about 50 beers from over 30 local breweries. The setup was pretty good. We would get in a quick moving line to get a taste, receive said taste, and hop into another line while finishing our beer. I did this about four times when I made a better effort to find food. While you could get drunk pretty quick, I was not looking to do so. I started taking a few sips when I received my pour and tossing the rest. I got smarter and started asking for just a half pour (2oz). By the end of the three-hour tasting period, I had tried beer from 16 breweries. Not bad. I hit half. I captured a picture of each tent to track where I went. I’ll document in a later post.
The rest of that evening was interesting. Dan and I had joined his brother-in-law’s bachelor party group. Toby, the groom, was pretty lit and in need of food. About an hour later we strolled up on Big City Burrito, which according to Toby, is a local must. Though he also said DP Dough was a must. I like DP Dough but whatever. The burrito at Big City was good – potato burrito, no rice or beans, carnitas, green sauce, tomatillo, cheese. After dinner and taking the group back to the hotel, Dan and I departed and went back to Colorado Springs. It was another good day.
~J^3
I don’t know if you (the reader) have ever been to a Brewer’s Fest. I had not. This one was setup so that for $25 you received a small plastic 4oz mug and could taste about 50 beers from over 30 local breweries. The setup was pretty good. We would get in a quick moving line to get a taste, receive said taste, and hop into another line while finishing our beer. I did this about four times when I made a better effort to find food. While you could get drunk pretty quick, I was not looking to do so. I started taking a few sips when I received my pour and tossing the rest. I got smarter and started asking for just a half pour (2oz). By the end of the three-hour tasting period, I had tried beer from 16 breweries. Not bad. I hit half. I captured a picture of each tent to track where I went. I’ll document in a later post.
The rest of that evening was interesting. Dan and I had joined his brother-in-law’s bachelor party group. Toby, the groom, was pretty lit and in need of food. About an hour later we strolled up on Big City Burrito, which according to Toby, is a local must. Though he also said DP Dough was a must. I like DP Dough but whatever. The burrito at Big City was good – potato burrito, no rice or beans, carnitas, green sauce, tomatillo, cheese. After dinner and taking the group back to the hotel, Dan and I departed and went back to Colorado Springs. It was another good day.
~J^3
2010-06-29
Atari Rocks!
Friday was a no beer day. That sounds strange coming from a guy who generally doesn’t drink very much. But when you are on a brewery tour, it is nice to take a day off. Most of the day was a family day hanging with the Lee’s – spending time with Loren, Lily, Lindsay, and Dan as they did their daily routine. In the early evening, I borrowed the car and headed to Denver. I got a chance to spend more time with Katie and her boyfriend, Lance. The Highlands area where Katie lives is a cool town. We had dinner at a place focusing on New Mexican food and dessert at Après which makes homemade ice cream sandwiches!
After playing on swings and discussing musicals (old, new, and foreign), we found ourselves back at Katie’s and ready to play some Atari. That’s right – Katie was testing games for a co-worker! What a treat. We played some Q*bert, Frogger, Beserk, Haunted House, and several others. I was happy to help.
~J^3
After playing on swings and discussing musicals (old, new, and foreign), we found ourselves back at Katie’s and ready to play some Atari. That’s right – Katie was testing games for a co-worker! What a treat. We played some Q*bert, Frogger, Beserk, Haunted House, and several others. I was happy to help.
~J^3
Denver breweries
As a friend of mine states, I am a people collector. I like to think of it that I have friends everywhere. One of those amazing friends is Katie. She lives out in Denver after she spent many a year on the East Coast. I couldn’t come out to Colorado and not find a way to see her (in her ‘native’ habitat). What a better way than by visiting the second largest brewery in Golden? There’s a little house on Cheyenne street that contains a fun experience – Golden City Brewery. If you plan on going, come early. Last call is 6:30pm and they close at 7pm. They are surrounded by residential homes and like to be nice to the neighbors. The beer was great. The atmosphere was better. We sat out in side lawn enjoying our brew and the warm weather. To top it off, one of the ‘bartenders’ sang us two Irish drinking songs after last call to help us pass the time. Katie was able to enjoy a beer before last call. Unfortunately, she had work to do that evening (sheesh!) and couldn’t join us in our next location.
Dan and I traveled to downtown Denver and were joined by Tyler at another local favorite – Great Divide Brewing Co. Speaking of friends everywhere, this is a time when Facebook comes in handy. I love how I can search an area for people I know. Because of this, we were also joined by my friend Wendy and her boyfriend, Daniel. Amazingly, Wendy and I know each other all the way back from high school. So we all tried some Great Divide. They offer four free tastings. Between our free tastings and a couple of pints we drunk, Dan and I tasted another ten beers. It is safe to say Great Divide is good but not a top five contender. Their popular beers hit the spot but the more experimental ones were off. This evaluation is much to the chagrin of Tyler who rates them higher on his list. If you stick to the main beers, I can understand.
~J^3
Dan and I traveled to downtown Denver and were joined by Tyler at another local favorite – Great Divide Brewing Co. Speaking of friends everywhere, this is a time when Facebook comes in handy. I love how I can search an area for people I know. Because of this, we were also joined by my friend Wendy and her boyfriend, Daniel. Amazingly, Wendy and I know each other all the way back from high school. So we all tried some Great Divide. They offer four free tastings. Between our free tastings and a couple of pints we drunk, Dan and I tasted another ten beers. It is safe to say Great Divide is good but not a top five contender. Their popular beers hit the spot but the more experimental ones were off. This evaluation is much to the chagrin of Tyler who rates them higher on his list. If you stick to the main beers, I can understand.
~J^3
The Presidents and Beyond
So Wednesday morning (last week), Dan and I found ourselves in Rapid City, SD. This was our final overnight before ‘home’ – Colorado Springs. The storms had passed and it was a gorgeous day. Perfect for seeing some carved mountains.
Mt Rushmore was impressive. While looking at the faces of four past presidents could bring up cause others to contemplate history and how these men impacted it, I found the construction/sculpting of the mountain face more interesting. Just like most things in our world, the vision of one man led to what many come to see today. In the visitor’s center at the monument, they had on display some of the original sketches and busts of what the artist envisioned. Had there been more time and probably money, he wanted a full figure of these men to grace the mountain side. An undertaking of this magnitude seemed only possible back in those days. It is much harder to imagine sculpting on this scale today. Until you visit Crazy Horse.
Ambitious. That is pretty much what you call what is being done a few miles away. Started many years ago (1947 or so), this monument was not funded by the government and therefore has taken a long time to move forward. The face is carved and they have the plans on how to sculpt Crazy Horse’s steed. I hope years from now that I can return to that place and see what private donations have accomplished. Who knows – it could be another Wonder of the Modern World.
After our cultural intake, we drove straight on to Ft. Collins, CO. I didn’t mention it before, but it was fortunate that Dan grabbed a number of podcasts from NPR while at the hotels. We were able to here great episodes from Car Talk, This American Life, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Planet Money, and more.
In Fort Collins, we had two more breweries to review: New Belgium and Odell’s. Tyler, Dan’s brother-in-law, joined us for this part. New Belgium was popular! Especially since many people could bike over from town. A new concept here was three free tastings. Overall, we found the beers tasty. The atmosphere was busy yet also a bit touristy. Odell’s on the other hand seemed like the lesser known local brewery. We got two flights – the Classic and the Co-Pilot. Wow. All 10 beers were a hit. Paired with the laid back atmosphere, Odell’s makes it into our top five.
Post Ft Collins, we headed directly to Dan’s new home in Colorado Springs. If you haven’t been out to Colorado at all or in a while and you are like me, the views of the foothills and the open sky is just breathtaking. I understand what draws people to the mountains.
--J^3
Mt Rushmore was impressive. While looking at the faces of four past presidents could bring up cause others to contemplate history and how these men impacted it, I found the construction/sculpting of the mountain face more interesting. Just like most things in our world, the vision of one man led to what many come to see today. In the visitor’s center at the monument, they had on display some of the original sketches and busts of what the artist envisioned. Had there been more time and probably money, he wanted a full figure of these men to grace the mountain side. An undertaking of this magnitude seemed only possible back in those days. It is much harder to imagine sculpting on this scale today. Until you visit Crazy Horse.
Ambitious. That is pretty much what you call what is being done a few miles away. Started many years ago (1947 or so), this monument was not funded by the government and therefore has taken a long time to move forward. The face is carved and they have the plans on how to sculpt Crazy Horse’s steed. I hope years from now that I can return to that place and see what private donations have accomplished. Who knows – it could be another Wonder of the Modern World.
After our cultural intake, we drove straight on to Ft. Collins, CO. I didn’t mention it before, but it was fortunate that Dan grabbed a number of podcasts from NPR while at the hotels. We were able to here great episodes from Car Talk, This American Life, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Planet Money, and more.
In Fort Collins, we had two more breweries to review: New Belgium and Odell’s. Tyler, Dan’s brother-in-law, joined us for this part. New Belgium was popular! Especially since many people could bike over from town. A new concept here was three free tastings. Overall, we found the beers tasty. The atmosphere was busy yet also a bit touristy. Odell’s on the other hand seemed like the lesser known local brewery. We got two flights – the Classic and the Co-Pilot. Wow. All 10 beers were a hit. Paired with the laid back atmosphere, Odell’s makes it into our top five.
Post Ft Collins, we headed directly to Dan’s new home in Colorado Springs. If you haven’t been out to Colorado at all or in a while and you are like me, the views of the foothills and the open sky is just breathtaking. I understand what draws people to the mountains.
--J^3
2010-06-28
Quick update
And the journey home begins. I have a bunch to write about the last few days. I hope to do so on the plane ride home. Until then ... Baltimore, here I come!
2010-06-23
Bikes, Corn, Wall Drug, and Storms
So, if you are reading this, I hope that I am keeping you interested. Writing it all down is great for me so I get to log what happened. And maybe, you enjoy it too.
Minneapolis is a bike-friendly city. That's great for its inhabitants. But now, it is also great for visitors, if you are fortunate to stumble upon Nice Ride stands. We were so lucky. Just outside the hotel was a stand for these free bikes that you could borrow and ride around town. Well, this morning, we did just that. We grabbed a couple bikes and headed downtown for breakfast. Recommendation: Hell's Kitchen. I don't believe it has anything to do with Gordon Ramsey. The food, the atmosphere was fantastic. Dan liked it so much he bought the chef's cookbook.
From there we rode to the river (headwaters of the Mississippi) and along the river path. Since it was a Tuesday morning, there weren't many people out. We headed over to campus (Univ of MN). Finding the bike stations did prove hard. This program was really new so signage definitely needs improvement. After a nice 2 hours of riding we got back to the hotel and got ready to hit the road.
Driving through the southern parts of MN and across SD is well, relaxing. Rolling hills, long straightaways, cows, hay, big sky. There is not much between Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Well, expect for two things: Corn Palace and Wall Drug.
Corn Palace is a building with a corn facade. Corn husks, corn cobs, and probably just corn too. I assume that inside they have sculptures made out of corn and even the history of corn. But we didn't go in. Seeing it from the outside was enough. Look it up. I am sure they'll convince you to visit.
Now Wall Drug is a different story. Located in Wall, SD, this place has pioneered the roadside advertisements. Look them up and check out their story. Better yet, do a search for 'Wall Drug' and 'Time Magazine' - you'll understand what I mean. We did stop off, saw the 3/4 block store, the 'backyard', the 'T-Rex', and had dinner. Lots of eclectic things to buy there.
Looking back, we traveled about 600 miles today! Rapid City was just over an hour from Wall. And heading into that area, we hit an impressive storm front. Seeing the lead clouds, we expected to spot a twister. One or two may have formed, but fortunately no were near us. We actually headed directly to the Firehouse Brewery in downtown Rapid City. Unlike the Town Hall in MN, this place had only 4 crafted beers and one was out. Dan and I tried the Barely Blonde and the Eagle Pale Ale. Both were decent and both were pale ales. Satisfied and tired, we retired to the hotel.
Tomorrow is the final push through South Dakota, Wyoming, and finally into Colorado. It's hard to believe that I started this 5 days ago. Until tomorrow!
~J^3
Minneapolis is a bike-friendly city. That's great for its inhabitants. But now, it is also great for visitors, if you are fortunate to stumble upon Nice Ride stands. We were so lucky. Just outside the hotel was a stand for these free bikes that you could borrow and ride around town. Well, this morning, we did just that. We grabbed a couple bikes and headed downtown for breakfast. Recommendation: Hell's Kitchen. I don't believe it has anything to do with Gordon Ramsey. The food, the atmosphere was fantastic. Dan liked it so much he bought the chef's cookbook.
From there we rode to the river (headwaters of the Mississippi) and along the river path. Since it was a Tuesday morning, there weren't many people out. We headed over to campus (Univ of MN). Finding the bike stations did prove hard. This program was really new so signage definitely needs improvement. After a nice 2 hours of riding we got back to the hotel and got ready to hit the road.
Driving through the southern parts of MN and across SD is well, relaxing. Rolling hills, long straightaways, cows, hay, big sky. There is not much between Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Well, expect for two things: Corn Palace and Wall Drug.
Corn Palace is a building with a corn facade. Corn husks, corn cobs, and probably just corn too. I assume that inside they have sculptures made out of corn and even the history of corn. But we didn't go in. Seeing it from the outside was enough. Look it up. I am sure they'll convince you to visit.
Now Wall Drug is a different story. Located in Wall, SD, this place has pioneered the roadside advertisements. Look them up and check out their story. Better yet, do a search for 'Wall Drug' and 'Time Magazine' - you'll understand what I mean. We did stop off, saw the 3/4 block store, the 'backyard', the 'T-Rex', and had dinner. Lots of eclectic things to buy there.
Looking back, we traveled about 600 miles today! Rapid City was just over an hour from Wall. And heading into that area, we hit an impressive storm front. Seeing the lead clouds, we expected to spot a twister. One or two may have formed, but fortunately no were near us. We actually headed directly to the Firehouse Brewery in downtown Rapid City. Unlike the Town Hall in MN, this place had only 4 crafted beers and one was out. Dan and I tried the Barely Blonde and the Eagle Pale Ale. Both were decent and both were pale ales. Satisfied and tired, we retired to the hotel.
Tomorrow is the final push through South Dakota, Wyoming, and finally into Colorado. It's hard to believe that I started this 5 days ago. Until tomorrow!
~J^3
Go (north) West, Young Man
The trek from Madison to Minneapolis is now a blur. The first stop was Capital Brewery. At 9am, they were not tasting, but the gift shop was open! From there we headed... south. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it was required to get to New Glarus, WI.
New Glarus is a little Swiss town with an amazing brewery. New Glarus brewing was pretty awesome. They have built a new facility on the hill and it is pretty. We tasted six beers there and 5/6 were great. If you take in the whole package - town, facility, beer - they win. If we had more time, touring around the town would have been nice.
After New Glarus, we headed northwest towards Minneapolis. The twin city (St. Paul - Minneapolis) area is nice. We ended up seeing some of the rush hour traffic as we got into hotel, but nothing too bad. The Holiday Inn was in a great location - pretty close to Univ of MN.
After a little bit of rest, we found our way to the Mall of America. Have you been? Just about every major retail chain has one or two store fronts in the three floors of this massive complex. The center is where all the fun is though. There is a sizable theme park! Three to four roller coasters and whole bunch of other rides. We were planning to go on one of the coasters, but that's not how the tickets work. So, we ended up just walking around... lame, I know.
Post mall, we headed back to the hotel. Next door to the hotel was Minneapolis Town Hall brewery. After Great Dane, we didn't have high expectations. Boy, were we surprised! Ten beers and ALL were great. Unfortunately they don't bottle it, so you'll have to come to Minnesota for this one.
New Glarus is a little Swiss town with an amazing brewery. New Glarus brewing was pretty awesome. They have built a new facility on the hill and it is pretty. We tasted six beers there and 5/6 were great. If you take in the whole package - town, facility, beer - they win. If we had more time, touring around the town would have been nice.
After New Glarus, we headed northwest towards Minneapolis. The twin city (St. Paul - Minneapolis) area is nice. We ended up seeing some of the rush hour traffic as we got into hotel, but nothing too bad. The Holiday Inn was in a great location - pretty close to Univ of MN.
After a little bit of rest, we found our way to the Mall of America. Have you been? Just about every major retail chain has one or two store fronts in the three floors of this massive complex. The center is where all the fun is though. There is a sizable theme park! Three to four roller coasters and whole bunch of other rides. We were planning to go on one of the coasters, but that's not how the tickets work. So, we ended up just walking around... lame, I know.
Post mall, we headed back to the hotel. Next door to the hotel was Minneapolis Town Hall brewery. After Great Dane, we didn't have high expectations. Boy, were we surprised! Ten beers and ALL were great. Unfortunately they don't bottle it, so you'll have to come to Minnesota for this one.
Flight pictures
A few pictures of from the breweries...
3 Floyd's (Munster, IN):
Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL):
Tyranena (Lake Mills, WI):
Great Dane Brewery (Madison, WI):
3 Floyd's (Munster, IN):
Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL):
Tyranena (Lake Mills, WI):
Great Dane Brewery (Madison, WI):
2010-06-21
Ambtious day completed
When you last left our travelers, they were headed with great haste from Revolution onto their next destination, Tyranena. First, a quick stop at Binny's Beverage Depot for some 3 Flyod's brew. (Thanks Jen!)
At this point we are back on the road traveling through a traffic heavy Chicago. The GPS is telling us that we are to arrive at Tyranena (Lake Mills, WI) at 7:50pm CDT. Mind you, the bar/brewery closes at 8pm. That's close.
Once we get past Chicago and the northern spur toward Milawaukee, the travel gets better. Dan is driving and we are gaining time. Time is getting closer. Then we hit a wall. A wall of cars that is. Detour is required. I call Tyranena to find out what time they stop serving: 7:45pm. Estimated GPS time of arrival: 7:50pm. I tell the bartender (Jennifer) that we are coming from far to taste the brew. She understands, but says she needs to get out by 8pm. OK, I say.
We re-enter the highway a few miles west of the accident. No traffic - which should be able to make up some time. As we take the exit, I call back to the bar. This time she answers, "Hi. Yes?" I tell her that we are taking the exit and could she pour us a flight. "No problem", she answers. "See you soon."
We turn down the road and GPS leads us about 200 hundred yards past a non-descript building. I call again, "where are you located?" We turn around and run into the bar. It's 7:48pm. A flight of 6 beers and a tasty root-beer are ready. Awesome! I taste each and it's Dan's turn to drink the rest. We both like the Bitter Woman IPA and the root beer. Unfortunately. they don't bottle the root beer.
We catch some dinner downtown on a quaint Main Street in Lake Mills. Then it's off to Madison, our final stop. By the way, if you are keeping count - that's 20 beers.
Last stop, Great Dane Brewery in Madison. The best thing about this place - shuffleboard. And for all the trash talking Dan did prior to our arrival, I am proud to say I beat him, 2 games to 1. Six more beers - not that amazing, but good flight for playing some games.
So, 600+ miles, 18 hours, 26 beers, 4 breweries, NPR, bacon-covered popcorn, and shuffleboard. It was a good day.
And now, a good night!
~J^3
At this point we are back on the road traveling through a traffic heavy Chicago. The GPS is telling us that we are to arrive at Tyranena (Lake Mills, WI) at 7:50pm CDT. Mind you, the bar/brewery closes at 8pm. That's close.
Once we get past Chicago and the northern spur toward Milawaukee, the travel gets better. Dan is driving and we are gaining time. Time is getting closer. Then we hit a wall. A wall of cars that is. Detour is required. I call Tyranena to find out what time they stop serving: 7:45pm. Estimated GPS time of arrival: 7:50pm. I tell the bartender (Jennifer) that we are coming from far to taste the brew. She understands, but says she needs to get out by 8pm. OK, I say.
We re-enter the highway a few miles west of the accident. No traffic - which should be able to make up some time. As we take the exit, I call back to the bar. This time she answers, "Hi. Yes?" I tell her that we are taking the exit and could she pour us a flight. "No problem", she answers. "See you soon."
We turn down the road and GPS leads us about 200 hundred yards past a non-descript building. I call again, "where are you located?" We turn around and run into the bar. It's 7:48pm. A flight of 6 beers and a tasty root-beer are ready. Awesome! I taste each and it's Dan's turn to drink the rest. We both like the Bitter Woman IPA and the root beer. Unfortunately. they don't bottle the root beer.
We catch some dinner downtown on a quaint Main Street in Lake Mills. Then it's off to Madison, our final stop. By the way, if you are keeping count - that's 20 beers.
Last stop, Great Dane Brewery in Madison. The best thing about this place - shuffleboard. And for all the trash talking Dan did prior to our arrival, I am proud to say I beat him, 2 games to 1. Six more beers - not that amazing, but good flight for playing some games.
So, 600+ miles, 18 hours, 26 beers, 4 breweries, NPR, bacon-covered popcorn, and shuffleboard. It was a good day.
And now, a good night!
~J^3
2010-06-20
An ambitous day
We are more than midway through what could be called an ambitious day. It's Sunday and Father's day. Dan and I left Lexington at 6:30a after another Holiday Inn breakfast.
The Air Force museum in Dayton at Wright-Patterson AFB is a must see. It is three hangars full air history. Hundreds of planes and lots of info. If you are history buff, plan for two days to see it all.
From there we had a long-ish drive to 3 Floyd's brewery. Awesome! Beers tasted (full glass):
Arctic Panzer Wolf
DreadNaught
Sampler (Dan; I tasted each):
Pride & Joy
Robert the Bruce
Alpha King
DreadNaught
Then Paul (the bartender) recommended that we shouldn't pass up Revolution Brewing in Chicago. Done. This time it was an 8-beer sampler (5 oz of each) suggested by Matty. I drank them and Dan only had a taste:
Workingman Mild
Cross of Gold
Bottom Up Wit
Iron Fist Pale Ale
Best Coast IPA
Eugene
Mad Cow
Coup de Grace
After that amount of beer I am glad we had a 2-hour drive to Tyranena. Time for me sober up a bit.
You might ask what I recommend having tasted 13 beers so far. Well, I'll give that wrap up later. And probably some pictures. Onward to Tyranena!
~J^3
Sent via BB
The Air Force museum in Dayton at Wright-Patterson AFB is a must see. It is three hangars full air history. Hundreds of planes and lots of info. If you are history buff, plan for two days to see it all.
From there we had a long-ish drive to 3 Floyd's brewery. Awesome! Beers tasted (full glass):
Arctic Panzer Wolf
DreadNaught
Sampler (Dan; I tasted each):
Pride & Joy
Robert the Bruce
Alpha King
DreadNaught
Then Paul (the bartender) recommended that we shouldn't pass up Revolution Brewing in Chicago. Done. This time it was an 8-beer sampler (5 oz of each) suggested by Matty. I drank them and Dan only had a taste:
Workingman Mild
Cross of Gold
Bottom Up Wit
Iron Fist Pale Ale
Best Coast IPA
Eugene
Mad Cow
Coup de Grace
After that amount of beer I am glad we had a 2-hour drive to Tyranena. Time for me sober up a bit.
You might ask what I recommend having tasted 13 beers so far. Well, I'll give that wrap up later. And probably some pictures. Onward to Tyranena!
~J^3
Sent via BB
2010-06-19
Bourbon and Beer
Hello there! If you are just joining us, then you are late. It's probably not your fault since you didn't know that this little place on the intraweb even existed. Well, now you do. There's not much here yet, so don't worry.
You might read the last few posts and figure out that I am in Lexington, KY right now. I've spent the day with friends tasting some fine Kentucky bourbon. From here, we (Dan & I) begin our trek North and West towards Colorado Springs. We plan to stop off at a number of breweries along the way and taste-test our way across a few gorgeous states.
Tomorrow is a well planned day with a fair amount of driving included. I'll be sure to either give updates somewhere along the way or at least tomorrow evening. For those following along at home, we expect to go through:
* Lexington, KY
* Dayton, OH
* Indianapolis, IN
* Munster, IN
* Milwaukee, WI
* Lake Mills, WI
* Madison, WI
See you around!
~J^3
You might read the last few posts and figure out that I am in Lexington, KY right now. I've spent the day with friends tasting some fine Kentucky bourbon. From here, we (Dan & I) begin our trek North and West towards Colorado Springs. We plan to stop off at a number of breweries along the way and taste-test our way across a few gorgeous states.
Tomorrow is a well planned day with a fair amount of driving included. I'll be sure to either give updates somewhere along the way or at least tomorrow evening. For those following along at home, we expect to go through:
* Lexington, KY
* Dayton, OH
* Indianapolis, IN
* Munster, IN
* Milwaukee, WI
* Lake Mills, WI
* Madison, WI
See you around!
~J^3
Distillery wrap-up
Back from the distilleries... I think I appreciate bourbon a bit more. Not that I really knew about it before. But it's was nice to head to Maker's Mark first and get the full tour and explanation of the process. The bourbon there was quite smooth and sweet.
The other two places, Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve, were nice places too. There was a noticeable difference in the bite and spice of the Buffalo Trace bourbon due to the rye. They did let us taste a creme liquor which was much easier to gulp down. At Woodford, we went straight for the tasting. The 'bartender' was helpful in showing us how to taste the product. Adding an ice cube cooled down the bourbon and definitely smoothed out the taste as well.
Here are a few pictures from the three places.
~J^3
The other two places, Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve, were nice places too. There was a noticeable difference in the bite and spice of the Buffalo Trace bourbon due to the rye. They did let us taste a creme liquor which was much easier to gulp down. At Woodford, we went straight for the tasting. The 'bartender' was helpful in showing us how to taste the product. Adding an ice cube cooled down the bourbon and definitely smoothed out the taste as well.
Here are a few pictures from the three places.
~J^3
Bourbon Trail
This morning started early-ish (7:30 wake up). After a nice breakfast at the hotel, Dan, Janet and I hit the road down the Bourbon Trail.
We started at Maker's Mark and got a fun tour of the "oldest distillery structure". We didn't get to see the bottling line and the 25/min hand dipping. Though we saw people hand dipping at the gift shop. We thought about buying a bottle and doing it, but instead we signed up to be Ambassadors. That means in 6 years or so we can get bottles of bourbon from a barrel that had our name on it.
Onward to Buffalo Trace!
~J^3
Sent via BB
We started at Maker's Mark and got a fun tour of the "oldest distillery structure". We didn't get to see the bottling line and the 25/min hand dipping. Though we saw people hand dipping at the gift shop. We thought about buying a bottle and doing it, but instead we signed up to be Ambassadors. That means in 6 years or so we can get bottles of bourbon from a barrel that had our name on it.
Onward to Buffalo Trace!
~J^3
Sent via BB
2010-06-17
First (text) post
Hello friends! Wait, no one even knows that this blog exists. That's ok. Maybe it'll just be for me. Maybe I'll share it.
So there are a few immediate questions I can answer - cause I know you are asking... why lordmufasa? why blog? Can I follow you?
LordMufasa: the short story is that I really liked The Lion King movie when it came out. I really associated with the Mufasa character (Simba's father). Not that I hoped to be killed by wild animals (or evil uncles) - but I liked the message, his words. It helped that James Earl Jones was the voice too. Yay for Vader! And the Lord part? Liked the regal nature of it. So since college, I have used the moniker Lord Mufasa or Mufasa.
Why blog: why not? Everyone is doing it. :) My reason is for a place to record my thoughts, my activities, my ramblings. I don't know how often I'll post. Depends if there is anything interesting to discuss.
Follow me: absolutely. I like followers. I hope I give you a reason to.
So see you around folks. Thanks for reading.
~J^3
Sent via BB
So there are a few immediate questions I can answer - cause I know you are asking... why lordmufasa? why blog? Can I follow you?
LordMufasa: the short story is that I really liked The Lion King movie when it came out. I really associated with the Mufasa character (Simba's father). Not that I hoped to be killed by wild animals (or evil uncles) - but I liked the message, his words. It helped that James Earl Jones was the voice too. Yay for Vader! And the Lord part? Liked the regal nature of it. So since college, I have used the moniker Lord Mufasa or Mufasa.
Why blog: why not? Everyone is doing it. :) My reason is for a place to record my thoughts, my activities, my ramblings. I don't know how often I'll post. Depends if there is anything interesting to discuss.
Follow me: absolutely. I like followers. I hope I give you a reason to.
So see you around folks. Thanks for reading.
~J^3
Sent via BB
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