Stopped by Willards Tap House in Largo on Wednesday night. St. Pete’s Trigger City Trio was on hand to entertain the crowd with a mixture of rock, funk, reggae, and blues, from their original music to unique covers such as Stevie Wonder’s “Sign Sealed Delivered” and The Beatles’ “Back In The USSR.” And of course [...]
Back in the Middle Ages, peppercorns were used as a form of currency to pay everything from bribes to the monthly rent. And there’s an Abbey ale, which I scored in a recent beer trade, that’s worth its weight in peppercorns. Brewer’s Art Green Peppercorn Tripel (The Brewer’s Art; Baltimore, MD; Tripel; ABV: 9.2) is [...]
Anne and I were in St. Pete the other day to check out the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, and decided to hit a couple of our favorite haunts afterword. Belgian ales were the theme of the day after enjoying the festivities. Our first stop was The Ale and the Witch. I started with a Witches [...]
Anne and I hit a new brewpub in downtown St. Pete this past Saturday. The Ale and the Witch has been open for a little over five weeks now, and is a cool place with live music, ambiance, a great location, and of course beer. Owner Bret Andress is a craft beer aficionado, and it [...]
This Saturday marks the second anniversary of Billy’s Beer Blog. To mark the occasion, I’ve decided to do an updated version of my Ultimate Case. While I’m keeping two of my three rules from a year ago – no retired beers and a limit of one beer per brewery – I’m dropping the ban on [...]
While in Asheville two months ago, we stopped by Bruisin’ Ales and purchased a highly recommended barley wine from one of the local breweries. So I decided to share it with the class at Mr. Beery’s Beer Nerd Show & Tell this past week. Olde Hickory Bardstown Brand Ale (Olde Hickory Brewery; Hickory, NC; Barley [...]
Marzens tend to be traditional Fall beers, but I had the chance to try a different take on this beer style at Crum’s Bar and Grill recently. Cigar City Marzen Spring Lager (Cigar City Brewing; Tampa, FL; Marzen; ABV: 5.5) is also known as Cigar City Oktoberfest Marzen when it’s released during the autumn months. [...]
You can add Crum’s Bar and Grill to a growing list of exceptional brewpubs in the Tampa Bay area. Located in downtown St. Petersburg, and owned by Chris Crum and Lanette Miller, Crum’s Bar and Grill offers craft beer, food, and live music in a hip casual setting. Speaking of which, there’s 52 selections of [...]
The last time I was at the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room in Tampa, I learned something new. Did you know that bats pollinate blue agave plants, which provide the ingredient found in tequila? So it’s fitting that I tried a double cream ale, named for the bat, that’s aged in tequila barrels. Cigar City [...]