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Every now and then we come across a brewery that has a truely unique and original decor. They don’t offer flights so we will have to revert back blogging about the tap room experience which this one has plenty to talk about. If you look at their website, it will give you an idea of what to expect. Velvet, vintage furniture, magic and steam punk all collide in this eclectic tap room. Shuffleboard, foozeball, books and board games are all available for entertainment while drinking one of the dozen or so beers on draft. We sat on the covered patio (a.k.a. biergarten) and indulged in a pint of Best Mate IPA and an Art Of Exile rye lager while snacking on the locally made Sneaky Heat Caramel Corn that is kissed by some Carolina Reaper spices. Wow – what a kick!

Since we are changing things up with what we write about, why not change the pictures we post? Up until now, we have always taken a picture of the tap handles in the 500 or so breweries we have visited but now that we are drinking flights, we decided to start posting pics of the actual fights themselves. Not only will you be able to read how they taste but actually see how the look. Plus, many of the breweries have unique flight boards which will be fun to share. So, this round we are tasting the Real Southern mexican lager, Oh Be Hazy IPA, Brown Sugar Brown Cow brown ale and Mor’ Chata milk stout. As you can see, the lager looks like water but actually tastes pretty good. The New England IPA is a little hoppy buy finishes nicely and the brown tastes like well, brown sugar! If you are a craft beer drinker, you will know what I mean when I say the stout reminds me of Left Hand.

What a beautiful day for some “day drinking”. Getting the day started with a five-beer flight of the Crushing Pils, CLT Barbarian Blonde, Bang A Uey, Control Alt and Ginger Or Mary Ann. We arrived here to find today was the “release party” for the Ginger Or Mary Ann cream ale where they had the place decorated like Guligan’s Island, passing out lei’s and cranking out caribbean tunes. The cream ale was served on nitro and was delicious with a hint of coconut. The real winner was the altbier with blonde ale coming in at a close 2nd. The pale ale was well balanced with a nice sweetness and not too hoppy. We were surprised the pils was a little bitter considering it was a 2021 Gold winner at the US Beer Open but had good flavor and worked well with our pretzles bite & queso.

Go figure – we decided to start doing flights on our brewery tour and the 2nd place we stop doesn’t offer flights. 🙁 But they do offer a nice selection of different beers as well as six food trucks. They have something for everyone – German, BBQ, tacos, pizza, dumpling and sandwiches. We paired a Riding For The Feeling italian pils and a Country Kind Of Silence helles lager with a couple of churizo tacos and pork dumpings. Weird combo, huh?

So here we go. It’s hard to believe this is our first time drinking a “flight” of beers. We are starting a new chapter in our brewery tour and decided it was time for a change. We are getting outside our box and drinking beers we normally wouldn’t drink. Our “maiden flight” consists of 4 oz. “tasters” of the Hop Helix west coast IPA, the Spelt Bock german lager, the Mello Morning breakfast milk stout and the Macadocious macadamia nut stout. The IPA was unusually smooth for a west coast with only a mild bit of hoppiness and the german lager fit like a well-worn glove. The milk stout lived up to expectations but the real superstar was the nut stout. It tasted like a macadamia nut cookie dipped in a dark beer. Yummy!

So after 500 or so breweries of writing a lot about the location & atmosphere and very little about the actual beers, we thought we would start sharing a little more about the beers…….but then again, our pallets aren’t that sophisticated so maybe trying to write about the hops, barley and the brewing process isn’t the way to go. Plus, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! So, this aviation themed brewery is another one of those true microbreweries that brews onsite and serves it up right next to the vessels. We drank a Pub Ale english ale and their just released, freshly tapped Kolsch Me If You Can. Great beers but maybe we should start getting a little more outside our box or ordering flights?

What better way to celebrate a major milestone of our 500th brewery than a place that combines our love of beer with a NASCAR legend. We made a special trip up here to the famous “It’s Bristol Baby” track town to celebrate with a couple of flights and to take in the scene. We were surprised to find this brewery to be small and friendly, not stuffy and pretentious like some celebrity places. We actually ordered two flights and an extra pint of their 11 beer menu, trying all of Mikey’s brews except 2. They were all awesome including the Fancy Truffle burger with a side of Shake & Bake fries. What better way to celebrate #500 than great beers, great food and great people. Well done Mikey!

Another veteran owned and operated brewery, this place is in a steel building about 15 minutes back toward camp and came recommended by Jeremy at the last brewery. We drank the Back Room blonde and the Frigg’s Apple Ale which were delicious but the highlight of this stop was the Spicy Sweet Pickle blonde ale. We got a taster of it and were pleasantly surprised to find out it was well-balanced between pickle flavor and beer. We probably couldn’t do a whole pint but a “Barbie” beer was definitely do-able.

This place is a little remote but worth the drive. About 30 minutes from our camp site (truck stop), this tap room is another one worth bragging about. It’s got everything we love about microbreweries: simple decor, good people and great beer. We sipped on The Bends marzen and a Drift Dive lager while chatting with the owner & brewmaster Jeremy and Mark the beertender. Both great guys (retired military) with a great mission: providing an intimate brewery for locals to hang out and enjoy beer, music, conversation and throw an axe or two!

Located several blocks from the historic downtown area in a “transitional neighborhood”, this unique brewery is in an old multi-story house with several floors and outdoor decks. We sat on a small 2nd floor deck (had to climb out a window to get to) overlooking a container park area with live music and cocktails served by the restaraunt next door. We drank the Paddy’s Pub stout and the Perminent Tourist pils which were awesome as we took in the music and watched the day come to a close.