Our friends Timm & Lori are having their engagement party at Urban Flats tomorrow night. Like me, they’re avid beer lovers. Anne & I recently celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. So the theme of this blog is bells. Wedding bells, as well as several beers that I had recently from Bell’s. Bell’s Special Double Cream [...]
Thelonious Monk was one of the greatest, most influential musicians in the history of jazz. His cool, improvisational style complimented his cutting edge approach to the piano. Considered by many to be one of the founding fathers of bebop, Monk’s music evolved from this initial form and touched upon most genres of music. So I [...]
As I write this, we are 3 days away from St. Patrick’s Day. In addition to the usual holiday classics – Guinness, Beamish, Murphy’s, Harp, Killian’s etc., may I suggest a few additional brews to get your Irish up? Celtic Fury (DuClaw Brewing Co.; Bel Air, MD; Irish Dry Stout; ABV: 5.5): Refreshing with a [...]
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 [...]