Road Trip to Colorado

We just got back home from our Colorado road trip so I wanted to share a few photos. We only went to a few breweries in Boulder because we actually spent more time hiking than drinking. There are so many choices out there but one of the breweries we liked the best was Twisted Pine. They have a Sweet Amarillo beer (4.8% ABV, 25 IBU) that was amazzing. It is an American Cream Ale and the light grapefruit flavor is refreshing.

We also enjoyed our visit to Sanitas. I tried the Balaton Cherry Saison (5.9% ABV, 22 IBU) and Eric had the “Poolside” Pale Ale (4.7% ABV, 41 IBU). It was a fun brewery and they had a great patio out back.

We also had great time hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed in Estes Park and our last night there we had dinner at Marys Lake Lodge and tried a few of Marys brews. We sat at the bar had a great view and were able to watch the first football game of the NFL season.

I wasn’t expecting much but I was blown away by the quality. We will go back to Mary’s for sure our next trip to Estes.  If you want to check out more of our hiking pics I am posting them to our other blog http://vegetariansouth.blogspot.com

Two Beers From Fullsteam Brewery

This past weekend I picked up two diffrent beers from a North Carolina Brewery I have never tried before.

Fullsteam Brewery is from Durham, NC. Their Summer Basil Farmhouse Ale won Best Beer in the first ever 2015 Southern Living Food Awards. It is only 5% ABV which I like and I love basil in anything.

I also tried the Cack-A-Lacky which is a 5% ABV pale ale brewed with ginger. I liked it because the ginger was refreshing not overpowering. It’s not a typical ginger beer but more mellow.

Here are a few more close ups of the cans because I love a good can.

Lower ABV Beers Great for Summer

Summer is always an active time. We stay pretty busy and try to spend as much time as we can stand outside on the weekends and thats why I haven’t posted in a few months. Wanted to share a few things I have been drinking lately and have enjoyed.

Last time I was up in Tennessee I picked up a six pack of Sorta IPA it’s made by TailGate Beer a brewery out of Nashville. I like what they are doing. The whole point a drinking craft beer isn’t to get wasted so I do enjoy lower ABV beers because I can try more of them. Sorta IPA is 5% ABV with 44 IBU. It does have a really full flavor but it’s not overly hopped and of course I am a sucker for a good can. 

Another good lower ABV beer I have been drinking the summer is Lagunitas DayTime Ale at 4.65% ABV and 54.2 IBU. 

Summer Wheat Beers

It’s Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer but it has been hot outside here in Alabama for a while now. When it starts getting hotter outside I turn to lighter beers. Here are two wheat beers I have tried recently and enjoyed. If you have suggestions on other beers I should try this summer please let me know.

If you get a chance to try Blue Pants new summer seasonal wheat beer your should. It’s simply called Wheat with Peach. It is a light refreshing sour brew. A great seasonal out of North Alabama.

I also recently tried Horny Goat Brewing seasonal Watermelon Wheat. I loved this one. You could really taste the fruit flavor in it. It was easy to drink a few at only 5.6% ABV.  This is the first beer I have tried from this Milwaukee brewery. 

South Florida Trip to Funky Buddha

I just got back from a long weekend in South Florida. On the way down to Ft. Lauderdale. I had a bit of a layover in Tampa which I didn’t mind so much becuase I had time to had time for couple of beers at Cigar City Brewing. Cigar City has a bar in the airport, near gate C40, but unlike other airport bars (like Good People in Bham airport) Cigar City is set up to brew on site. They have a small tank set up you can see behind the bar. I started with my favorite their IPA, Jai Alai, with 7.5% ABV. I sampled the wheat beer too. It was good.

Friday night when I was in South Florida I went to check out Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park. I have driven past this place dozens of times on past trips and always heard it was great but never had a chance to check it out. The Oakland Park location will be celebrating its two year anniversary in June. According to their website it is a 40,000 sq ft facility powered by a 30 barrel brewhouse and that makes them the largest microbrewery in South Florida.

I tried one of their seasonal’s first, More Moro Blood Orange IPA, with 7.0% ABV. It was good and it was what you would expect from the name citrusy and hoppy.

Next I tried their limited release, Key Lime Pie Berlinerwiss, with 4.5% ABV. I really liked it. It was tart and tangy in a good way.

Non-beer related on the trip I checked out Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and they currently have a Chihuly glass art exhibit that runs through the end of May. It was crazy beautiful there so wanted to share some of those photos too.

Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale

Duck-Rabbit is one of the first breweries I fell in love with from North Carolina. They have been around awhile, since 2004, and are based in the town of Farmville. Their beers are good and the logo is cool. This is their Brown Ale (ABV 5.6%). I picked the glass up at a beer fest a few years ago but they sell them cheap on the website too.

Chattanooga Brewing Company

Went up to Chattanooga, TN for weekend and Friday night we checked out Chattanooga Brewing Company. I tried one of their specialty beers the S.A. IPA an IPA infused with hot peppers. A lot of times when something is infused I can’t really taste it but this beer was spicy. I liked it but no one else in my group of friends did. It was different for sure. They had three IPAs on tap on that night and thats normally what I gravitate towards. The Black IPA is pictured with the beer cheese nachos below. The beer was good, all the food was crazy good, and the staff was really friendly.

Highwater Hoppy Tripel from Blue Pants

 I have talked about Blue Pants Brewery before they are a north Alabama brewery. Their Highwater Hoppy Tripel is 9.0% ABV it is their take on a Belgian. It has a stronger hop flavor than I would normally expect in a tripel but I guess if I had read the bottle first I would have expected that. It's pretty good not my favorite from Blue Pants but I am enjoying it. My husband tried it too even though he is not a tripel fan and he was surprised how much it just tasted like a strong IPA.

Avondale Vanillaphant Porter

Avondale Brewing Company is a Birmingham, AL based company. This is their tasty tasty porter. Vanillaphant Porter (6.2% ABV, 25 IBU) is pretty smooth. It has a light body but it has all the roasted flavor and hoppy goodness you would expect in a good porter.

Is it weird I only like porter in the winter? If you are in Birmingham this is a brewer to check out any time of year.

http://avondalebrewing.com/

Back Forty Wildflower Honey

Back Forty is Gadsden, AL brewer we have mentioned before. One of their brews is called Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale. Well they are also selling the raw honey they use to make it. I was really excited when I found it at a local store today. I love local honey!