Tag: breweries

Asheville Day 1

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

So we made it. Asheville day 1. Some may say I am neurotic for spreadsheeting my vacations, but it allows for maximum intake.

On the first day here, we managed to check out two breweries, Asheville Brewing Company and Hi-Wire Brewing. Both cool spots. Asheville had a very good DIPA (double IPA) and their tater tots with Queso were like a Mexican fried heaven in your mouth. Hi-Wire has a small industrial tap room and plenty of good beers. Both are essential parts of the beer scene down here.

Additionally, we checked out Sky bar and it's amazing views of Asheville and Battery Park Book Exchange along with the River Arts District. Battery Park Book Exchange is a really cool spot where you can drink wine, beer and buy used books. You also trade in your used books for bar credits. Shoutout to my old teachers who got me to keep my books each year. I'm finally going to be able to buy booze with them. Day 2 I'm looking forward to you.

Small Town, Big Flavor

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

A good buddy of mine moved south of the Akron/Canton area of Ohio a couple months ago. I've been meaning to get down there to visit him and Friday I finally got that chance. I also got to try out Lockport Brewery in Bolivar, Ohio. A great excuse to try out a different brewery.

This brewery opened towards the end of 2016 and is an open concept brewery with everything out in the open. This place may be small but the beer was very flavorful. I had a beer sample with an amber Ale and various IPAs. The Tomahawk Double IPA was my favorite of the bunch. This high alcohol beer provided a nice flavor and was done very well.

For dinner, I had their cubano sandwich and it was toasted well and the pork was a nice smokey flavor. This was a great small brewery overall with a great knowledgeable staff combined with a relaxing atmosphere located in this small town of Bolivar, Ohio. Definitely worth the trip south from Cleveland.

Commerce Craft Brews

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

While I visited Griffin Claw Brewing in Michigan one night last weekend, I also visited two others on Saturday night. Saturday my friend Phil and I went to a couple of the Commerce, Michigan area breweries: Kickstand Brewing Company and CJ’s Brewing Company. These were two more new ones to cross off my list.

Kickstand had some great beers. This small brewery situated in a strip mall has a industrial mixed with rustic feel to it with the re-purposed wood pallets hanging from the ceiling. The Mort’s Buck Brown Beer was a delicious beer. Very drinkable for a brown ale. I really enjoyed the smoothness of it. The staff was great and friendly and all three bartenders helped us out. It is a well run establishment that I see having a bright future.

CJ’s brewery had a great patio. It’s always nice to sit outside after a long winter. The Summer Brew beer was pretty tasty wheat beer similar to an Oberon. That summer beer is definitely a popular type among breweries lately. The tater tots there were very unique. I love a good tot (see previous posts) and these were rectangular shape instead of the traditional cylinder type tots. A nice complement to the beer and another great tot for my list.

These two are great additions in the recent years to the Commerce area and a part of the ever growing craft beer scene in Michigan and Nationally.

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Kickstand Brewing Company

The Beach, The Beer, Kennedy, and The Don

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

So, it’s been a little more than a week since I returned from Palm Beach and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I pretty much knew nothing about the area when I booked the trip 9 months ago. Turns out Donald Trump vacations there and was there at the same time as we were (I didn’t see him). Also, turns out Florida has quite a few breweries. I tried out many different beers such as the Funky Buddha Floridian but I also visited two Breweries, Twisted Trunk Brewing and Civil Society Brewing. Both of these Breweries had some good stuff to offer. Each had a beer that is high on my list.

Twisted Trunk is more of traditional upper class bar with outdoor seating available located in the Palm Beach Gardens area. Their IPGA is a fantastic IPA that I really enjoyed.

Civil Society on the other hand, located in Jupiter, offers that industrial brew pub feel that is becoming popular. A couple of locals recommended the DDH Fresh and I’m glad I listened. This Double Dry Hopped Beer did not disappoint. Both of these breweries are great spots in the South Florida scene.

We did not just drink beer and sit on the beach though. We did a little sight seeing and took a short boat ride out to Peanut Island. This man made island is home to the former JFK cold war bunker. This was designed to house JFK from fallout and anywhere a president vacationed during the cold war had to have a bunker available. Pretty cool to think of the mind set back then to warrant these being built.

Between some beer, a history lesson and all you can eat tacos on Clamatis Street, Palm Beach and the surrounding area has quite a bit to offer.

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