Funny. And just a quick side note: I am a Rays fan (previous known as the Devil Rays) and she, is a die-hard White Sox fan.

Adam

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Adam

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I forgot to mention that when we went to the Piggly Wiggly, I noticed that they carried Victory Brewing Co. beers. I was excited because I still have not had their HopDevil IPA (Victory does not distribute to my area). Unfortunately, the only beer they had was the Storm King Stout (well not that unfortunate).

Storm King Stout is a Russian Imperial Stout with the alcohol content ringing in at 9.10% ABV.

With a huge, Pacific Northwest hop aroma & character upfront, Storm King subsides into massive, roast malt complexity. More flavor than mere words can adequately describe. Rich and substantial, it will warm your heart.

I picked up a sixer of this to take back to Florida. Not a bad brew but it does not top my favorite stout of all time: Old Rasputin from the North Coast Brewing Company.

Adam

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One of the first things we do when we get into town is to hit-up the local supermarkets to see what wonderful offerings they have. Harris Teeter usually has a nice selection of beer so we headed over there. We ended up grabbing two different six packs of IPA the first being Magic Hat Brewing Company Hi.P.A. Not a bad American IPA but nothing out of the world special. Certainly drinkable. The other sixer we picked up was the Mad Hatter IPA from the New Holland Brewing Company. I think I would choose this beer as my favorite of the two as it had a nicer hop bouquet to it probably from the dry hopping process. For some reason, we passed on Lakefront Brewery IPA which has an excellent rating on BeerAdvocate. Ohh well, there is always next time.

With our time mostly devoted to spending time with family, there wasn’t much time to visit any local breweries or brew pubs in the area (not that there are many). We did, however, get the chance to head downtown Saturday night to grab a bite to eat and drink some pints at Charleston Beer Works. I found what I was looking for! COAST brewing Co. beer on tap! Their HopArt IPA was great. A nicely balanced hoppy brew that was oh so easy to drink. It tasted extra fresh too.

Walking a fine line of sweet malt and assertive hop character. A hop presence so enticing it truly is a work of art. (7.7% abv). Brewed year-round.

Also on tap from COAST was their 32/50 Kolsch and I believe their Red Legs Scotch Ale.

After leaving CBW, we headed down King St. a few blocks and wandered into the old standby Mellow Mushroom who always has a ton of beers on tap and in the bottle. To my surprise, there was such a thing as a Double Dead Guy Ale from Rogue. As it turns out, this is a new offering from Rogue so we had to try a few pints. My impressions: The taste is very much similar to the Dead Guy Ale only the beer is much stronger (of course). Not bad and I have to admit that Dead Guy isn’t one of my most favorite beers and I didn’t really get much out of this brew either (other than a buzz). You can read some reviews over at Beer Advocate here.

And I almost forgot. My brother in-law and I had made a trip to the Piggly Wiggly AKA “The Pig” to pick up some things needed for a party. To my surprise, they had a very large imported and microbrew selection. They even sold 64 ounce growlers right in the store. This, of course, is something that you will not see here in Florida. Go figure, the liqueur store right next door must close early on Sundays (something like 3:00) but they are allowed to remain open late here in Florida but cannot open before 11:00 a.m. The reasonings behind it boggle my mind.

Adam

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Now, I can’t give away all my secrets (and I doubt my secret will be affected too much by this post), but Rollin’ Oats in Saint Petersburg has 6 packs of Hopslam for only $14.99! That is about 3-4 bucks less than you will find anywhere else.

Just and FYI

Adam

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Via their Myspace page:

Oldsmar Tap House is a different kind of bar. With 35 beers on tap, including American micros, specialty Belgian ales, German lagers, and other craft beers, as well as over 75 bottles of beer from all over the world, you’ll have little trouble in finding the right beer for you.

But great beer isn’t the only reason to stop by. You’ll find your old friends here and you’ll make new ones, too. You’ll find your neighbors enjoying a drink or two. Make Oldsmar Tap House your neighborhood bar.

And for all you beer geeks and afficinados out there, you’ll love the joint. You’ll be drinking the finest craft beer, out of proper glassware, served at the beer’s right temperature. A member of BeerAdvocate.com or RateBeer.com? Bring your laptop and rate your beers, Wi-Fi access is available.

Oldsmar Tap House is currently the #1 rated beer bar in Tampa Bay on Ratebeer.com!

They will be added to my “Ultimate Tampa Bay Beer Guide” shortly but here is some more info on their location:

Oldsmar Tap House:
300 State St. E. #107
Oldsmar, FL 34677
Map here

Hours:
Mon - Thu: 3pm-11pm
Fri: 3pm-1am
Sat: 4pm-1am
Closed Sundays

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It has been a few years since we have been able to make it to this event due to scheduling conflicts or what have you. This year, we were able to secure a baby sitter and my wife and I headed out to Ybor City on a beautiful (and rather cool) Saturday afternoon.

I was absolutely amazed at the number of people that were at the event. Centro Ybor was filled with people guzzling some great beer. I didn’t stick around to find out who the winners were in each category but a few standouts were Lagunitas, Bell’s Brewery and (somewhat surprisingly) Hop’s Brewery who’s Winter Pale Ale was fresh and tasty. There was also a stout that was excellent. (I can’t remember their name and they didn’t have a sign at their booth!)

For reference, you can see a scanned copy (PDF format) of all the vendors and the beer that they served HERE.

Adam

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One minor difference to note is that there is a difference in the alcohol percentage when compared to what one would get in the 22 ounce bomber. The fine folks at Lagunitas have stepped it up a bit to 8.4% compared to 7.5% for the 22oz bottle.

Ohh ya, the bottle pictured below has long since been consumed.

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The 48 participating craft brewers will be pouring their versions of many of the world’s classic beer styles, such as pilsener, porter, pale ale, and stout. Revered styles like wheat beers, barrel aged beers, and Belgian style beers will be chosen specifically by the brewers to best complement an item from the menu.

More info here.

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Via tampabays10.com . . .

The Boston brewer of Samuel Adams craft beers said it is recalling an undetermined amount of beer because of defective bottles that may contain glass particles.

The company said the defective bottles came from a glass company that provides Boston Beer with about a quarter of its glass bottles. The “small grains or bits of glass” were discovered during a quality control operation at the firm’s Cincinnati brewery, Boston Beer said in a statement. The problem was confirmed Friday, and was traced to bottles coming from a single manufacturing plant.

The company said it has not received complaints or reports of injury. A spokeswoman, Michelle Sullivan, estimated that the particles of glass are found in fewer than 1 percent of the bottles coming from the problem plant. Only Samuel Adams beers in 12-ounce brown glass bottles are involved in the recall. Potentially dangerous bottles are embossed around the bottom with the code N35 followed by OI.

Article continues here.

Hopefully the amount of beer to be recalled is small and money grubbing lawyers aren’t already hearing the sounds of cash registers.

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