Category: Trips

Firestone Walker and Abbey

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, baseball, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I was out in the LA area last week and knocked another brewery down. Firestone Walker has a few locations but I was at the Venice one. Huge brewery and tap room. It was LA so I assume everywhere is just busy every night of the week. The beers were solid. I tried a barrel lager strong ale and a wild ale. Nothing really jumped out at me and I didn’t eat there. I did have some great food nearby at C&O restaurants. Highly suggest the place. They bring garlic knots nonstop to your table. Thanks for the recommendation Craig.

Another thing on LA, I sat next to some “celebrities” at the bar one night. Wouldn’t shut up about the one TV show they made and name dropped all night. I don’t care if you know Andy Dick.

Now, the place that I really like was down in San Diego. Lost Abbey is a brewery inside a church. Some people may think it’s sac-religious but I say Jesus liked a good time. I had the House IPA which was a very solid rendition of a west coast IPA. Hazy IPAs get the attention the last 5 years but I really enjoy a well done west coast. The atmosphere was the real reason to go though. The church vibe was really well done and it’s close to Petco Park where the Padres play. The electric atmosphere for the game on a Tuesday could be felt as I walked into the stadium. The hill in the outfield, the standing room sections throughout, and the fact they played 98 Braves by Morgan Wallen for their opponent was just the icing on the cake. I’d go back.

Philly

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, whiskeyLeave a comment

It’s been a month actually since I went to Philly and I actually even made a second trip in that time. While my time on each trip was really limited, I got to say I really enjoy this city. I want to go back when I have the time to be a tourist and see the history aspects. Till then, you’ll have to settle for what I thought of a couple breweries.

The two I saw were Iron Hill and Yards. Both were solid beers, thought the Little Red Wagon at Iron Hill was my preferred one of the trip. Yard’s atmosphere was really nice and I could see that place being a great time during a weekend. Even for a weeknight it had a decent crowd. Bartender’s were engaging as well which is always appreciated when you’re a solo work traveler.

Now, the place I loved the most was actually a restaurant called Harp and Crown. The ambiance and the food were a great stop. My cousin and I caught up there for a few hours and I enjoyed all of it. Get the ribs. Till next time Philly.

Raleighhhhhhh

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

This work travel has me drinking way more than my liver and doctor prefer. You know, it’s not my money though so why not.

Couple weeks ago brought me to North Carolina. Now, I’ve been to Charlotte and Asheville before, but this was my first time to Raleigh. It was a Monday night, most of the city was dead. I expect that anywhere on a Monday. That wasn’t going to stop me from getting to a couple breweries. First stop was at Clouds Brewing where I downed a stack of wings along with two beers. The Hazy IPA I had there, Forecast: International-Ale tasted delicious. Really high quality Hazy.

After that, I stopped at Little City Brewing. The bar was just me and coulple regulars but I enjoyed their Amber Ale called Little City Red. A pretty solid beer as well. That marked my last stop in Raleigh. The town was pretty quiet, but it was a Monday so I’m not shocked. Would definitely like to visit again and see more of the town. I briefly drove through Duke’s campus nearby and UNC vs Duke hoops game is on the bucket list. Guess I have to come back.

Dallas/Fort Worth

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

2023 is starting off with me on the road almost every week. Two weeks ago, I was in Dallas/Fort Worth and then another North Carolina trip followed soon after with more to come. I’ll get to Raleigh in another post, but let’s start here with my Texas trip.

Arriving late in Dallas on a Monday, not much was open but I did snag one beer at Deep Ellum Brewing before they closed. The bartender recommend an IPA so I went with Manic Confidence. Really delicious Hazy. I was pleased with my first Texas beer of the trip.

The next day I grabbed lunch at Wild Acres. While the burger and fries were really good, the Mac and cheese was about the equivalent of Stouffer’s. I didn’t even bother finishing it. I did really like the fries. They were like a thick potato chip. Nice crisp to them. Pretty good Apricot flavored blonde ale as well for the beer.

Which leads me to my last stop, Second Rodeo Brewing. Now, Dallas is basically a concrete jungle with little character in my opinion. Fort Worth on the other hand has a completely different vibe. A fantastic bar scene that is reminiscent of Nashville. They call it the Stockyards and I would vacation here. Could be a great spot for a bachelor party. The Big Buckle IPA at Second Rodeo was pretty good in this area. I preferred the Deep Ellum IPA but this was still delicious. I wish I had spent more time in Fort Worth than Dallas but that just means I need to find another excuse for a work trip.

Vermont Again

On By Chris ElliottIn Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I’ve been to Vermont several times now. Stowe, Vermont to be exact. It’s a small little town straight out of a Hallmark movie. Stowe is home to the Trapp Family lodge. The Sound of Music family for those trying to place that name.

The last time I was up there was 2018. A lot has changed for me since then and while some things have changed in Stowe, a lot is the same. The beer quality continues to be high. I visited several that I had been to last time including Von Trapp, Idletyme, Alchemist, Stowe Cider, and Lost Nation. The new place I visited this time was Ten Bends Beer. This little brewery was going through some licensing issues so I was only able to get tastings but I was still really pleased. Their Mexican lager, Scintilla, was the best beer there but I also really liked their IPAs.

Ten Bends

However, the best beer of the whole trip was Society & Solitude #6 which was on draft at a restaurant in Town called Doc Ponds. This beer was astounding. A really well done Double IPA. It was so drinkable for being a Double IPA. Top beer of the week award winner.

Beyond the beer, Stowe is such a great little town where everything shuts down by 8:30 every night. The weather this time of year is perfect. The hiking around there is really something and the food and beer are worth the trip. I’ll be back again of course.

Queen Of Beers

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, History, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

After a week of schmoozing people for my day job in Charlotte, I decided to stay the weekend and see a bit more of the city. Between a baseball game, a museum (New South Museum) and eating I found some time for a few beers. Ok, more than a few. Over just a few days, I visited seven breweries. My body needs a rest now.

I started off my work trip with a visit to D9 Brewing in Uptown. What’s interesting to note about this place, is that they also looked to be big into coffee. That’s not my thing, but I think beer and coffee lovers have a lot in common in appreciating a unique craft.

On the weekend, I jammed the next 6 into just two days. We started Saturday off with brunch and beer at Suffolk Punch. This was my favorite stop. Between a juicy biscuit chicken sandwich and two sours that even non-beer fans would love, this place hit the spot. From there, after watching a college baseball game at UNC-Charlotte, we visited Armored Cow and then finished the night at Sycamore Brewing with some live music. Shoutout to the guy in a cowboy hat living his best life as the hype man. Oh yeah, before I forget, a very good Hazy IPA there called the Slurricane too.

For Sunday Funday, we visited three more breweries after brunch at The Stanley (get the doughnuts). First stop was Legion Brewing then onto Pilot Brewing and finally Trolley Barn Fermentory. Each of which had some solid beers to tide me over for a bit. Or at least till next weekend. See ya Queen City.

From the Ashes: Phoenix Brewing

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, TripsLeave a comment

The number of breweries out there is pretty amazing. Lot of small towns across the country have them. Many of them are really good. A couple weeks ago, I drove to Mansfield for dinner with a buddy and we took in a few beers at Phoenix Brewing there. Mansfield is probably most known for the old prison that has become a tourist site. The brewery, Phoenix Brewing, is located right in downtown Mansfield. A really nice looking downtown. Straight out a small town downtown movie set. Now, the beer at Phoenix Brewing was pretty good (I enjoyed the sour: Project HG). The most interesting thing though was that they don’t accept tips. They said they raised the prices of the beer to pay staff more but the beer seemed pretty cheap to me. Must have been giving it away before. Interesting concept. Anyways, I would definitely go back to Mansfield to see the downtown more, check out some other places and grab some more beers.

Georgia Beer on My Mind

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Distillery, History, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I should have wrote this a week ago. Thinking of it, I have not done much writing in general lately. I’ll try to change that.

I’ve been to Georgia before but my time there previously had been limited. A couple weekends ago, we made a long weekend trip to Savannah. Savannah is a trendy place to go. Millennials love to go for the insta post. Had to make the trip eventually.

We started off with a walking tour of the city. Lot of cool history to check out there. Among all the site seeing, I tried out three breweries and a distillery in Savannah. We saw Moon River Brewing, Service Brewing Company, and New Realm Brewing (which also is a distillery). Additionally, we went to Ghost Coast Distillery.

Ghost Coast Distillery

All were solid places, but the beer of the trip goes to Service Brewing. The Raspberry Jelly Donut Pastry Sour was like the first bite of an actual jelly donut. I love me a good sour.

Ghost Coast Distillery was also a really good spot. Further away then the main downtown part of Savannah, it was worth the walk. Additionally, we had great food and drinks throughout the city. The wings at Cotton & Rye were top 3 wings I have ever had. Before I forget, Savannah allows open containers. More cities should do this. Creates an amazing atmosphere. Cleveland, I am talking to you. No reason the Ohio City neighborhood shouldn’t be open container. I digress.

Savannah is a beautiful city. It’s also surprisingly small. You can conquer most it in a long weekend. Good food, good history and Southern Hospitality. Great combo.

Jelly Donut Sour

New Year, New Beer

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment
Hollywood Brewing on Las Olas

Time to turn the pages on what most people would say is the worst year of their life. To celebrate the year ending, or maybe just to get away from the Cleveland cold, I went to Fort Lauderdale for New Years. While most of my time was spent on the beach, I did manage to get in a few brewery visits.

I have been all over the sunshine state, but this was my first trip to Fort Lauderdale. The three breweries we stopped into were Invasive Species, Hollywood Brewing, and Orchestrated Minds.

Invasive Species was our first stop. I tried out several beers via a flight and had a pint. The brewery tap room is a smaller bar with a decent sized patio out back filled with metal picnic tables. Here was where I had the best individual beer of the trip. The Slurps (a sour beer) was like drinking a beer smoothie. I could have this for breakfast with a side of eggs and bacon. Incredibly delicious.

Next up, on New Years Eve before dinner at Louie Bossi, which is an incredible Italian restaurant by the way, we got a drink at Hollywood Brewing at their Las Olas location. Las Olas is the main strip in the downtown area of For Lauderdale. Filled with higher end restaurants and shops. Hollywood was solid from a beer perspective. Nothing amazing but nothing bad. I wish they had some rotational beers on tap, but they did not. I tried the Brew Hefner Wheat and the Locals Only Light Lager for your reference.

The last brewery visit was Orchestrated Minds. The depth of beer quality here was impressive. I had three really good beers plus a sip of a 4th from the owner when I was checking out. That 4th was incredible and almost made me decide to have one more. It was another sour and I wish I had remembered the name. This place was my favorite of the three from an overall standpoint. Very good beer and the owner was their working in the small tap room making sure each customer was enjoying the beer. The personal touch was appreciated and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Orchestrated Minds Tap Room

Besides the beer, the food at many locations was amazing. Though we did honestly have some slow service at many points and some bizarre waiters. It seemed that every restaurant was short staffed. Pandemic related? Maybe. Regardless, the food was great. Some of my favorites were Shooters, Louie Bossi (mentioned above), Nanou (awesome French bakery), Tinta and Lona Cocina. Here is to more good beer and food in 2021. Now, time to burn this trip off in the gym.

Nanou: I couldn’t pick one meal

Beer in Amish Country

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I went down to Amish country on Saturday where I gorged myself on four plates filled with fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, noodles and enchiladas at Mrs. Yoder’s kitchen. Surprisingly the Amish like Mexican food. Did not see that one coming.

After that, we stopped at Millersburg Brewing Company. Located in downtown Millerburg, which for those that don’t know is the county seat of Holmes County Ohio. Knowledge is power.

The brewery is in an old brick building and maintains a lot of the building’s character from the exposed brick to the old bar top. The food menu appears delicious but after my Amish buffet destruction I don’t think I could fit any more food in my belly. However, we always have room for beer.

I went with a beer flight to give myself a good variety since I knew I was not going to be able to down multiple full beers at this point. All 4 tastings were very good, but I have to say the Edgy Elf was my favorite. A sweet winter warmer beer that they even put cinnamon on the beer flight glass. That was a nice touch.

The other beers I tried included Belouded (NEIPA), Jolene Jolie (Red Ale), and Haskins 1819 (Blackberry Tart) and were all really solid beers that I would have again. It’s a bit of a drive for me from Cleveland, but I would definitely go here again and would like to sooner rather than later.