Tag: vacations

Royal Easter Beer

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

This weekend I was up in Michigan for Easter or Zombie Jesus day, whichever terminology you prefer. While I may have grown up in Michigan, I honestly don’t know the area that well. We tended to stay in my West Bloomfield bubble. Now, I like to try out the different breweries in the area when I can.

Saturday night we grabbed a few at The Royal Oak Brewery. This place has been around since the mid 90s. The taproom reflects the working class vibes Royal Oak tended to have till it became a millennial hotbed. The brewery makes really solid beers. I went with the Royal Pride IPA and the Northern Kolsch. Both were good beers. Nothing crazy or spectacular that stood out but both good beers that I would have again. Having been around for much longer than many craft breweries, it is clear that they know what they are doing. Sometimes just doing the little things is enough to be good. Credit to The Royal Oak Brewery for recognizing that.

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.

ATX, WVU and a Whirlwind of a Weekend

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

Texas is a completely different place. I think that’s been pretty well documented #texasforever. This was my first time in the state for more than just a layover and I took my talents to Austin. Talents is a loosely defined term.

In a whirlwind of a weekend, I accomplished quite a bit here. The highlight? Witnessing WVU knock down the Longhorns with a two point conversion to go up one point with just seconds remaining. Will Greer is a God.

While the game was amazing, I also managed to go to an EDM concert (The people watching at that is entertainment) and checked out a couple breweries. I visited Brewtorium for lunch and also made a stop at Live Oak. I need more time here as there were plenty more I wanted to check out, but both delivered some good beer. And wow were their spaces huge for craft breweries. Everything really is bigger in Texas. The Spacelaser Double IPA from Brewtorium and Smoaktoberfest from Live Oak were the best of the bunch. The Spacelaser was one of the best Double IPAs I’ve had recently.

Overall, Texas has some great beer, good music and good food. Survived another trip. Till next time, Keep Austin Weird.

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.

First Four, Dayton, and a Gas Leak

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

There are certain sporting events that every guy should go to. Things that don’t require being a fan of either team to enjoy. The NCAA First Four in Dayton is one.

My buddy and I drove down for Day two of the First Four and took in the city of Dayton. We managed to stuff our faces in food ranging from poutine to pizza. We visited five breweries. Lock 27, Dayton Beer Company, Warped Wing, Carillon and Toxic City are all doing really good things with beer. Dayton Beer Company had a great stout. I really enjoyed Lock 27 as the best of the bunch though. Really nice location next to the Dayton minor league baseball team. I imagine that makes for a great summer night.

Then, there is the First Four. We saw two games with the second one being a great one. Syracuse vs Arizona State came down to the end. The crowd was dyed orange as this was clearly a Cuse home game. Really not a bad seat in that arena. I can see why they play those games there in this small midwestern city. Just pure hoops fans in Dayton as we saw people wearing shirts ranging from Ohio State to South Dakota State. First Four does not disappoint.

Now, I have to say I’ve never had and issue with AirBnB and credit to the company and our hosts for refunding our money. See we couldn’t stay in the house because not only was the furnace broken, which they told us as we arrived but we walked into the place and it clearly smelled of a gas leak. If you lit up a cig, I’d imagine that placing blowing up like a fireworks display. So after a day of drinking and right as the hangover hit due to no alcohol in the First Four, we drove home at midnight. Three hours back to Cleveland made for a late night but it was a hell of a day. Dayton didn’t disappoint.

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.

Back to Beer and I’m all Jacked Up

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

When I visit multiple breweries in a short span, I usually combine them into one post. However, Jacked Up Brewery in Escondido, California deserves its own post for their excellent service and crisp clean beer.

The place has been open since January and is run by a husband and wife duo. Michael and his wife Caroline were enthusiastic and appreciative of my business. Caroline took the time to explain their story from home brewing for their neighbors to entering brewing contests where they started to pick up awards regularly. With the knowledge that their beer was officially good, they soon started the plans to open their own brewery and a couple years later were able to officially open their doors and let the taps flow.

The beer was excellent here. Their NE Hazy IPA was a delicious beer and a great take on the increasingly popular style.

They are planning to launch a membership club and the details of it sound like something beer lovers in the area should definitely join. Expansion plans are in the works as well. This is a place that I see will grow and standout in the San Diego area beer market and it starts with the service provided by these owners.

Day 2 & 3 Asheville

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

Day 2 and 3 were each filled with more beer and some hiking on day 2. Asheville contains many breweries and we went to several. Wicked Weed Brewing and Blue Mountain on Day 2. Day 3 included Catawba, Burial Brewing and Green Man.

Wicked Weed had fantastic beer and the house chips and beer cheese were very good. Artery clogging cheese is one of my favorites. Their Riverkeeper IPA was a well done and consistent. A great beer.

Blue Mountain had some of the best pizza around and was right down the road from our AirBnB in Weaverville. The small little brew pub also had some good live music that we managed to catch the end of, plus the waitress was this nice sweet grandma type if your grandma smoked weed daily.

Day 2 we also did a bunch of hiking. It was a bit foggy but we still caught some great views at various overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

On Day 3, we explored Downtown Asheville and did a mini brewery trail with Catawba, Burial and Greenman. The triple IPA at Burial Brewing packs a big punch and Greenman provides a no frills dog friendly tasting room with clean crisp beers. Additionally, the small batch brews at Catawba were delicious and unique. The Red Rhum IPA was a good one.

Asheville has great food, some of the best beer and hiking with majestic views. It is a fairly manageable city and doesn't overpower you or leave feeling like you didn't see much. A great weekend spot. The art was beautiful and this is coming from someone who has little interest in art usually. Take a trip to the mountains and see what you find. You'll enjoy it.