Tag: Trips

Smoky Mountain Vacation

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Distillery, Trips, vacations, whiskey1 Comment

There is a quote or something about man going into the woods to search for the meaning to life. I could look that quote up and get philosophical on you all, but let’s skip that part.

This past weekend my girlfriend and I took a trip to the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I went for the hiking mainly, well and the the variety of alcohol. The area has beautiful views (see picture below for proof), but I think many of the people visiting in downtown Gatlinburg could use a hike or two. I’m not a doctor, but I think a little exercise could do some good.

Ok end of my rant, now onto the drinks. There are so many places to do tastings in that city, it’s hard to hit them all. We didn’t even come close to getting to all of them. We did visit some good ones though. Doc Collier’s moonshine was a really great stop that will get you the cheapest buzz you can find. $5 for 18 sips of moonshine. That’s a deal I can get behind. If the 125 proof at the start doesn’t put some hair on your chest, the brandy at the end will.

If you’re more into beer, like I typically am, Gatlinburg has two breweries plus a craft hard cider maker. Both Smoky Mountain Brewery and Gatlinburg Brewing Company make very good beers. Make sure to try the pizza at Gatlinburg Pizza. That was a tasty late night snack. The Barleywine IPA at Smoky Mountain was a really great beer in the city too. And Tennessee Cider Company is a must visit. Such a wide and unique variety of craft ciders plus free samples. You had me at free. All in all, I definitely ate well and drank well and now need to spend a solid week in a sauna.

Quality in Fairfax

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

A big reason I took this job 9 months ago was because of the travel I get to do. This past week I flew off to Fairfax, Virginia for a few days. While my free time is limited on these trips, I do make an effort to try out at least one thing while I’m there. This time I made a visit to Ornery Beer Company and visited a few local bars near George Mason University.

While the beer was great, I would say the best part was the quality of the bartender, Corey. He very well may be the best bartender I have ever had. From offering suggestions to a good conversation, Corey made my visit top notch. Well done man.

Now, the beer and food was pretty good too. The Bull IPA was a really delicious too. This came off a recommendation from Corey. The IPA had a great floral taste to it and was extremely drinkable. A well made IPA.

I honestly don’t know if I will ever be back to Fairfax again in my life, but that is what is great about this job. The opportunity to see little towns and pockets of America I would normally never have checked out. If you ever do find yourself there, check out Ornery Beer Company. Hopefully Corey is bartending that night.

Viva La Beer

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

I could start with a cliche Vegas saying here. But I’ll refrain. And for the sake of my mother, who is one of the 13 people who reads these, I’ll spare most of the details from this trip.

Luckily, I did miss the shooting at the Bellagio by 30 minutes or so. That was more lucky than I was at the tables this trip.

Vegas has pretty much everything you could want but finding a good beer on draft in that city is damn near impossible. And no Mark, Blue Moon is not a craft beer you asshole.

I did manage to get to the Sin City Brewing bar on the strip and have some beer there. Their seasonal Double IPA was one of the most drinkable DIPAs I have ever had. Crushing a few of those by the pool could get dangerous.

Overall, Vegas needs to up their craft beer selection in the casinos on draft. Do better Sin City.

Thank God We aren’t in Kansas Anymore

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, TripsLeave a comment

It has been almost three weeks since I came back from a work trip to Kansas, and it is time I  write about it. Kansas itself was fine. I travel for work a decent amount so I am use to sleeping in random hotels and eating dinner in airports. It is part of the job and for the most part I enjoy the airline miles and credit card points. However, getting back from Kansas was travel purgatory.

Trapped in an airport for 9 hours, my coworker and I even lowered ourselves and tossed aside our dignity to get massages in those big leather chairs randomly placed in terminals that if they were a little bit larger could double as casting couches. Word to the wise, hopefully you like a little butt play because those chairs grab hold of your calves and every couple minutes shoot a little rod up just enough for you to jump up wishing this chair had at least taken you to dinner first. We will always have that moment together Wichita.

Now, why were we trapped there for 9 hours you ask? You probably didn’t ask but I will tell you anyways. Our flight coming in from Chicago was late due to fog and Wichita, Kansas is not exactly a travel hub. Flights out were limited and our gate agent wanted to send us to Baltimore because Baltimore is close to Cleveland. I kid you not, this guy actually thought Baltimore and Cleveland were close by. The apparent lack of geography knowledge by some people is mind boggling. I was ready to hang this guy by his 70s porn stache. United, not only do your flight options suck, but your employee screening process clearly is lacking.

When we finally flew out, we landed in Chicago but with no available flights that we could get on for at least 12 hours, we grabbed a rental car and drove back to Cleveland arriving home at 7 am. I even made it into work at 1 PM. I’ll accept my award now for Employee of the Year.

Oh yeah, I had some decent beer at River City Brewing Co., and a pretty good pizza but the overall mess of that flight back overshadowed the whole thing. Never fly through Chicago people or you will end up sitting in a airport massage chair questioning your life choices. Happy New Year!

Escape to the Mountains

On By Chris ElliottIn Fitness, Random Thoughts, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

Life gets really busy sometimes. It gets cluttered and confusing. We get pulled in a million directions. Some we want to do, some we have to do and some we feel we should. Sometimes we just need a break. Vermont to me is a great place to get away. Particularly, the mountains in Vermont. I spent the last week in Stowe, VT doing not much else but hiking, drinking beer and sitting in the hot tub. While I did have some great beer, even tried out the famous Heady Topper from the Alchemist (I’ll detail all the beer in another post), the mountains are my favorite part of being up there.

In the mountains, cell phones barely work, if at all. Modern civilization is not around you. It’s quiet. The only thing to listen to is your own mind. I hiked on average about 22,000 steps and over 150 flights of stairs per day. Don’t worry I drank and ate all those calories burned. It can be quite a climb sometimes. The views are worth it though.

View from the Summit of Mount Hunger

I hiked Mountains like Mount Hunger, saw three different waterfalls, and countless other trails such as the Stowe Pinnacle. Each view more gorgeous than the last.

Reaching your destination after a grueling climb, dripping in sweat is a self accomplishment you can take satisfaction in. From up there, you realize how small you are but how much you can accomplish. Getting away sometimes is exactly what you need to think clearly, to understand your next step. Or just realize you want to chase waterfalls.

Bingham Falls
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Peak Preak: A Preakness Story

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

Can the written word do justice for what was 10 hours of wall to wall bros, beers and mud? That is up for debate, but oh what a day.

A horse race is always a great day to throw on obnoxious clothes like your name is Wilson Wellington Williams the Fourth ready for another day at the Country Club (Side note, we really did meet a guy who referred to himself as “The Fourth”, dude was blacked out by noon and a douche since birth). The Preakness is no exception with this. From there, the day is filled with booze, music and of course the race.

I can’t begin to explain how we took over the Mug and Vine Club part of the infield. We had a group of 20 plus shouting random phrases, pounding Barefoot mini wine bottles in hopes to fill up the whole table, and forcing each other to chug pink moscato. We ran that place up until the largest man at the table puked for the second time of the day all before 1. Unfortunately, the big man could not rally from this one. RIP to those tables. Despite the loss of those tables, we charged on. There were more Black Eyed Susans to drink.

Did I tell you about the mud? My dry cleaner has her work cut out for her. Girls, check the weather before wearing heels. Eating it face first in the mud is a good laugh for the rest of us, but you will quickly regret it. My shoes didn’t survive the weekend and I am hoping my red pants do. Then there was music. Who knew these fine gentleman named Post Malone and 21 Savage were good? Rap music and horse racing are a shit show match made in heaven.

Then there are the races. The thing about the infield is, you can’t see the race. You see 2-3 seconds as the horses flash by. Yeah, betting on things you have no knowledge of is a rush, but in fact I think most people just wanted the horses to finish so they could drunkenly call a surging Uber ride home. The Preakness was everything I hoped it would be and more. That place is THE PLAY.  However, it is Monday so back to the Rat Race.

Country Music and Beer: An American Tradition

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Trips, vacations1 Comment

Friday morning I caught a plane out to Nashville, Tennessee for work and after taking care of some business, I had the rest of the day, and Saturday, to take in the area. I have been to Nashville before, (Check that trip out Here) but had not been to the breweries in town. So this time, I made sure I got to some of them.

I was able to visit three breweries. I had a couple beers Friday at Cool Springs Brewery in Franklin and then Saturday I visited Yazoo and Jackalope. Before I get into the Breweries, take note of Franklin, Tennessee. It’s a small little suburb of Nashville and the town is pretty much a southern picturesque city. Definitely a cool spot a little away from Downtown Nashville.

Now, onto beer. The one brewery that really stood out for me was Yazoo. I took the tour of Yazoo, relaxed in their tap room and had some of their beers in the city as well. The Hop Perfect IPA was exactly like it’s name, pretty much perfect.

Yazoo was a top notch experience and it’s away from the tourist village known as Broadway. A little less honky-tonk and a little more quality (though who doesn’t love some live country music?).

The tour at Yazoo included three generous samples and while I felt like $8 was a pricey tour, you did get the samples, and a small tasting glass to take home. The tour was a good insight into their history and provided some interesting stories about their beers. Overall, it was easily my favorite of the three breweries I visited. Nashville is known for its music and food but they are doing a pretty good job with the beer over at Yazoo. Yahoo for Yazoo.