Jumpin' At The Woodside

Good evening, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Not a flake fell here yesterday. Had rain, some sleet, lots of cold, but not even a trace of snow. I was checking in on the Cowboys vs. Saints game online, and figured a good chance to catch up on the blog. Last night's beer of choice was the Belgian seasonal St. Bernardus Christmas Ale . Very nice dark, Belgian style brew. Got in some "Team Building" Thursday night at the Wild Wing Cafe - I don't think I've ever eaten so many wings in my life! Great wings, lots of good flavors! Also this week was our company Christmas party, consisting of lunch, bowling and billiards at Strike City . Cool place, reminded my of Lucky Strike Lanes in L.A., when I was out there for Adobe MAX. But, being lunch no "adult beverages" were served. Stay warm and here's to a Merry, Merry to all and to all a goodnight. - Buon Natale!

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a good week. Cold here, so much for the south being warmer. It didn't get above 40 today and going down to 23 tonight! It may be colder up north, but 23 degrees is cold regardless of your latitude! I got my "Griswold" on last weekend and put up the Christmas lights outside. I noticed a couple lizards hanging out on the front of the house. The house faces west and gets a good deal of sun on that side so naturally that's where they like to warm themselves. I also finished the last of the leaves, finally! I only rake to get them off the driveway and back porch, then I mulch them all with the mower in the yard. In other news... After many years, I think I finally have the Sam Adams Winter Seasonal 12-pack figured out. Every year I'm always puzzled as what to do with the 1-2 beers I don't like in the seasonal offering. Granted if they'd simply release Old Fezziwig Ale and Holiday Porter in six-packs I'd forego this annual rit...

Friday at The Woodside once again! Sorry no update in awhile, but I was traveling to the lands of the north last week. I had a great visit seeing family and friends for the long holiday weekend, and attended my 25th high school reunion. Two fellow attendees of The Big 40 , Russ and Stace, at the reunion. My old pal Stace and I went to the reunion and then later met up with some friends at Porter's Pub in Easton, Pa. The reunion itself wasn't packed, but they had a good turn out. Saw lots of faces I haven't seen in awhile and some I had to check the name tag before saying hello. I think it was a great idea to simply have a casual cocktail party rather than a formal sit-down dinner. The one part of the night I didn't like was when I entered the room. There was a good size crowd in front of the bar, and I soon realized I had to cross a hefty span of empty carpet to get there. Many people turned to see who was coming in out of natural curiosity, and wow that short walk fel...

Happy Friday The 13th! Congratulations again to Jimmy Joe Pete and the Mrs. on the arrival of their son Jay earlier this week. All are home now and doing fine. It finally stopped raining here. It rained for three days straight! Wet leaves are stuck everywhere, and most cars have leaf remnants stuck to them similar to how salt, dirt, snow and ice coat cars following a snow storm. Like I wrote last week, the winter seasonals are on the shelves and even though it's only November I can't resist. On tap this evening is Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve , a double-hopped red amber ale. Much better than I remember from last year, I think because in my mind I was comparing it to the 2X Dead Guy, which was not fair. While both would do well on a chilly evening, Santa's Reserve is not as sweet as the 2X Dead Guy, and I'm not sure if my photo does the color of Santa's Reserve justice! Good stuff. In other news, my 25th high school reunion is coming up soon. Looks like I...

Happy Friday! Our First Frost of the season is on its way this evening. Yes, it gets cold here in the south too! It may be a little early, but I couldn't think of a better choice for a chilly eve than Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale . Actually, most of the winter seasonal brews have already arrived on the shelves. Election Day was earlier this week, and it always surprises me how empty the polling places are on non-Presidential years. There wasn't even a line when I voted, and here in Charlotte we were voting for a new mayor! In other news... I don't mind that the Yankees won the World Series, but I hate that it had to be the Phillies taking the loss. They've accomplished so much in the last couple years, and hopefully they can bounce back next year! I'm also afraid it may be my fault the Phils lost. I was wearing a Shruty's Pub sweatshirt during all their wins in the post season. That was until Game 6, I forgot to wear it! Sorry fellow Phillies fans! Reg...

Happy Almost Halloween! I guess you could call me a "Pumpkin Traditionalist." Yeah, people like to carve all kinds of designs in their pumpkins these days, but I like the simple triangle eyes & nose and the toothy grin! Enjoying the Sierra Nevada - Estate Brewers Harvest Ale this evening. LIVE from The Woodside - Salud!

Greetings and salutations on this warm evening - sultry if you will. Reminds me of a word I came up with awhile back - OK so it never caught on and you won't find it in your Webster's or Funk and Wagnalls... but, the term I coined was on a day the air was warm and humid, and had this softness to it. So on that day the term "swofty" was born. I think I was trying to say two different words and they came out at the same time. Ah well, such is the way many new creations are stumbled upon. Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" came on the jukebox and reminds me tonight's Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale is sweet and smooth. Good stuff and a rare treat. Odd though, sometimes I forget how fitting the Dead Guy's are this time of year with Halloween right around the corner. I think it has to due with the fact that I had my first 2X Dead Guy just before last Christmas , not to mention they're great any time of year. Even had some with me on our Dave Matthews Band ...

Friday once again and fall has finally arrived here, had to turn on the heat the other night! Looks to get chilly on the overnights this weekend as well. What could be more appropriate for the weather than Sierra Nevada's Harvest Wet Hop Ale . I've been waiting for this to arrive since I found it last year. The Harvest Wet Hop Ale is one of three special-release fall seasonals. A little smoother than the Estate , another special release, but both are equally great in taste. Weird though... so far both Total Wine locations here are only carrying the Estate. Today it dawned on me that I needed to stop at the Common Market over in the funky part of town, across the street from the Penguin , which has been featured on Food Network's " Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ." The Common Market has an excellent beer selection and today not only did I find the Harvest Ale, but also a little gem that I won't reveal until football Sunday! Thanks to everyone who passed along kind...

Flipper (aka Bubba) 1994 - 2009 Flipper passed away today at the age of 15 years and 5 months. He was a great friend and he will be missed. The last couple years he was diabetic and managed to do OK, but he had deteriorated over the last month or so. Seems like only yesterday I picked up a little grey kitten at a pet store located on Newbury Street in Boston. My friend Karen said I should have a cat, and she picked a grey one from a large litter of kittens. But what to name him? It took me a little while, but as soon as the name "Flipper" popped in my head, that was it. Flipper was always trying to escape outside. Seemed his days were filled with looking for ways out. He hated closed doors and learned how to open them at a young age. He would even open kitchen cabinets while I was at work. It looked like a scene from "The Sixth Sense" when I'd walk in and see cabinet doors left wide open. I knew I didn't have a ghost just the Flip. Today I let him go outsid...

Wow, what a week. Last week U2 and this week L.A. for Adobe MAX . Got back yesterday and I'm still tired. (click photos for larger view) Flew out last Saturday afternoon with Jimmy Joe Pete to get in a day of touristy stuff before the conference began on Monday. Wanted to get to the beach, but never got there. We hit Grauman's Chinese Theater and checked out the cement footprints. I was surprised at how small some footprints were like Paul Newman. Probably because they seemed larger than life on the big screen. Had lunch at the Hooter's across the street from Grauman's and caught some football. Just after lunch, police cars screamed into the street and blocked traffic. Still not sure what this was all about, someone said they did this every year. Vintage police cars lined the street and as I walked farther down I noticed there were also some very famous cars including the original Batmobile, Herbie The Love Bug, the Back to the Future Dolorean, and the Blues Brothers ...

Friday night and a Happy October to one and all! That's Sierrra Nevada's fall seasonal Anniversary Ale, very nice for evenings when a chill starts to creep into the air. Last night I was at the U2 show in Charlottesville, VA, at UVA's Scott Stadium. Great show! My 7th time seeing the boys from Ireland, starting in 1985 and every tour since . I drove up to Richmond to meet up with Lazy Acres and then we had a couple brews at the Capital Ale House in Richmond's West End before heading over to the show. We thought we might be running late, but got into the stadium just before the opener, Muse, started their set. U2's stage set up for this tour is pretty amazing. They played a good number of songs from the latest CD, but also included old favs like New Year's Day (love to watch Edge switch seamlessly from piano to guitar), I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Where The Streets Have No Name. Bono didn't seem to h...

Happy Fall Friday! I chose a Black & Tan this evening in honor of Arthur Guinness ! I also decided to dust off the Halloween selections yet again and added them into regular rotation on the Woodside jukebox . Funny though, only two have come up so far, but I guess it's not that funny considering there are 1,735 songs in the current Woodside playlist and only 123 of them are " Halloweeny ." Woot had a "woot-off" the last couple days, but missed out on the "bag of crap." Not too upset since the last couple "bags of crap" I got were pretty much "crap." I did get a Woot screaming monkey just before the "woot-off" ended - woop, woop! Speaking of monkeys and Halloween, The Monkey and I got to see Jerry Seinfeld live on Broadway shortly after "Seinfeld" ended its run back in 1998. We even met the real "Kramer" (aka Kenny Kramer ) outside the theater. I'm looking forward to seeing U2 on SNL tomorrow...

Happy Friday! It was gloomy all day here, but warm almost 80. Seemed to get dark very early, well before sunset, but it's getting to be that time of year. I believe I saw Halloween lights on a neighbor's house a couple doors down. The seasonal brews are hitting the shelves as well. This evening I tried New Holland's seasonal brew, Ichabod , and what may be the first pumpkin ale from a bottle I've ever enjoyed. I found it smooth, and without too much spice, very drinkable. Previously, the only other pumpkin ale I ever liked was served on tap at Salem Beer Works . If you're a fan of the fall season and Halloween, get yourself to Salem, Mass. , for a long weekend and soak everything in . And if you're really into the Halloween spirit, the annual Halloween party at Salem's Hawthorne Hotel is the place to be. Keeping in the spirit of the fall season, which kicks off next week, I also tried Easton, Pa's own Weyerbacher Brewery Imperial Pumpkin Ale . Oh my, I ...

We packed up and left Saturday morning (9/5) around 7:30. We made our way up to Scranton and then up through New York, going through Binghamton, Syracuse and Watertown. We had heard there wasn’t a long line at the Canadian border, but after we crossed the first Thousand Islands Bridge we got in a huge line waiting to gain entrance to the Great White North. Part of the problem was a broken down car, but that didn’t account for the volume of traffic and our 1.5-hour wait. Once across the border, traffic was much smoother and we crossed the second Thousand Islands Bridge with ease. We also picked up our fishing licenses at a spot just over the border. As we made our way on back roads through small towns, I noticed lots of Canadian flags in front of the homes. Funny, even though I knew I was in Canada, I still expected to see the old Red, White and Blue. We drove to the tiny town of Delta, Ontario on Upper Beverley Lake; I don’t even think they had a traffic light. The downtown, if you ca...

OLD & NEW: While this is a new post it contains information from this past spring, and haven't found time to finish it until now. Friday, April 17, I drove up to Richmond, Va., to catch up with Ol’ Lazy Acres and celebrate my 43rd year. After about a 4-5 hr. drive north, I arrived in Richmond and saw the new Lazy Acres office and met the staff. We ventured into the city and after a couple memory jogs from my time in the River City in the early 90s, we settled in at the Penny Lane British-style pub downtown. I had a Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA from Scotland and Lazy Acres had the Fullers London Pride Pale Ale . I was expecting the IPA to have that typical old-style flavor of European hops, but was quite surprised to find a taste reminiscent of the American IPAs. Nice stuff, wish I could find it here at the Total Wine, but perhaps soon as I spotted a Belhaven Scottish Ale on the shelves the other day so hopefully the Twisted Thistle IPA isn't too far behind. After a coupl...