Category: Uncategorized

The beertender at the last brewery warned us about this place and she was right. She said it was too commercialized and expensive. When we walked in, they checked our ID’s and put on wrist bands! They don’t allow “tasting” the beer before purchase: you have to buy 5 oz. We did a flight of Yacht Party hazy IPA, Classic Dad amber ale, Proof Pils and 1/2 Way Full pale ale. We beer was good but the atmosphere was too fancy and prices were high. A basket of tortilla chips and a cup of ranch dressing was $11 and the music they were playing was something you would here in a spa getting a massage!

We took a little detour heading home and stopped about an hour out of the way to check out the breweries in our states capital. There were lots of interesting beers on the menu so we went with a flight of Red Snapper IPA, Costal Colada pale ale, Sunkissed orange cream ale and High Seas hazy IPA. All four were really interesting like the red color of the IPA, the coconut flavor of the colada and the “push-up” tasting cream ale. But our favorite was the hazy – just straight good beer.

Our last stop for the day for they brings us to this hip brewery in the heart of the revitalization district surrounded by restaurants & cultural attractions. We switched back to a flight since their beer menu had a few that we wanted to try. We had the Cinny Toast Brunch cerial beer, Sunshine & Puppies hazy IPA, Just Blonde and Foehan Faux Amber ale. The Cinny Toast tasted just like if you poured beer over your Cinnimon Toast Crunch cerial. Unbelievable!

Time to eat. This is the best kinda brewery – beer and barbeque except for the DJ spinning the club music! We kept it light for our meal and ordered the A-Maize-Ing Race cream ale and a Slick & Hazy IPA to wash down the pulled pork sandwiches and mac & cheese. This was definitely a first with the whole DJ in the corner mixing 80’s & 90’s dance music.

We decided to make another stop in Chattanooga to check off a couple more breweries on our way back to FL. This is the first of three on the docket for today so we started off light with an American Day Dream pils and a wILD wEST eND west coast IPA. A pretty good start to the afternoon.

We haven’t had a flight in a while so we got on board and tried the Della kellerbier, Cristo italian pils, Sieg kolsch and Bach pale lager. All were pretty light and had unique flavors but we soon realized we have outgrown light beers but they are a great way to start the day (at 3:00p). We ended with a 5oz. of the Isen russian imperial stout and it was awesome! Cinnamon, graham cracker, vanilla bean, butterscotch and brown sugar – tasted like a cookie!

Our 2nd brewery stop on our trip back to FL brings us to this most southern Indiana brewery located in the town’s warehouse district. There is plenty to do here with cornhole boards, outdoor seating area, dog-friendly and a stage for bands. It’s also a Harvest Host location but we stayed at the Loves just over the bridge. It’s a large space but pretty low keyed with a “sliders” food truck. The downside is there are lots of flies that require lots of fans blowing like a hurricane. We weathered the wind & flies with a 5 ft. Something blonde and Big Booty juicy IPA but tired the Ghetto Philosopher NEIPA and determined is was an “acquired taste”.

Strange things sometime happen when you return to your hometown. There used to be two breweries in our hometown – one that opened back in the early 90’s and the other a couple of years ago. Sadly, both are now closed but we found a real gem about 20 minutes south in a town no one expected. We decided to make it a stop in our RV on the way out of town since they were part of the Harvest Host network where you can camp for free as long as you patronize the business. Boy did we patronize them with the puchase of several 4-packs to-go (including some fruited sours!) and got a lasting impression we will never forget. It started with all the great beers then the friendly, ex-state trooper Mike, owner and brewmaster who made us feel so welcome and allowed us to use the dog play area even after closing. Then, we ran into an old co-worker couple from LaPorte Hospital, Ron and Marcia Carlson. They both worked there during my 20-year tenure. The best beer on the menu was the Intoxicated Pedestrian which was a nod to Mike’s law enforcement days. But the real winner was the canned visitor fruited sours from Indiana Brewing. Who woulda thought?!?!

So the best thing about this brewery is that it sits on the St. Joe river the the views are spectacular. We had a five-beer flight that was just, meh. The Post 1167 cream ale, Solar Warden session IPA and the Whats My Name amber ale on nitro were average but our two favorites were the Vital IPA and the Monday pale ale.

The 2nd stop on our Sunday-funday is two minutes away and a short walk. The owner-brewmaster was working the crowd and photo-bombed our flight pic. The beertender was from Louisville and worked at one of the breweries we visited during Covid. Y’all remember those days?! We thoroughly enjoyed the Amistad cream ale, Just A sKolsch kolsch, Hear Lightning See Thunder hazy IPA and 1865 Amber ale. We got a little crazy and bought a fifth of Indiana Whiskey – their collaboration with the local distillery.