Ol’ Saccy got invited to a pig roast in Gatlinburg. It was an authentic pig roast with the pig head staring at me while I ate and a hoof on the serving dish. That part was a bit creepy but I can overlook that since there was some good beer to be found in the cooler. I made a nice Hot Irish Monk for everyone to enjoy on the drive up (except for the driver; I ended up drinking most of his). It consists of hot cocoa, Jameson Whiskey and Frangelico. Perfect on a chilly day. I filled our to-go coffee cups and we headed from Downtown to Gatlinburg. I’m glad we had the drinks because traffic was horrible and it took quite a while to get there. We had a lot of fun on the drive since everyone in the car enjoys a good laugh. We even saw some major nose picking from a guy in a car beside of ours. We all expected the leaves to be more colorful but they just seemed kind of washed out!
After a couple of wrong turns, we finally arrived. We had a quick home tour and checked the surrounding area out. It was beautiful with a creek running right in front of the cabin, lots of trees and the leaves were much nicer than on the drive up. Someone handed me this Goose Island IPA. I believe we actually brought it and it was pretty good. I don’t believe I’ve ever had it before. Don’t let the lantern fool you, they had electricity!
I finished my beer, mingled around and chatted a bit with some people I knew and some people I had never met before. It was an interesting crowd. The next beer handed to me was Yazoo Rye Saison and just in time for dinner. I really enjoyed this beer and feel sure we brought it as well. I don’t believe anyone else attending the party enjoys beer as much as my photographers and I do!
That being said, I did happen upon this Samuel Adams Hazel Brown while rooting around in the cooler. This was tucked down near the bottom and actually turned out to be quite good and was perfect for dessert as it had a bit of a chocolate flavor. We definitely didn’t bring it so I was surprised to find it…probably a leftover from another gathering. I took this one outside to wander through the woods and check out the beautiful creek.
While walking around and enjoying the beautiful scenery I found this table and thought it would be nice to sit out here with a Hot Irish Monk on a chilly evening. It was a good time in spite of the long drive up and back.
Last Sunday we ventured out West for some light shopping and ended up stopping at the Bearden Casual Pint (surprise, surprise). I enjoyed talking with Nathan (the other Nathan) while there. He is always very funny and I definitely appreciate a good sense of humor. I also enjoyed a Green Man ESB. Nutty with a hint of chocolate.
My traveling partner had this bottle of Wells Bombardier. He is a lover of British beer and prefers it a little warmer. He even describes most of them with a British accent which is most entertaining since he is a Southern Boy being from Virginia and growing up in East Tennessee. He spent quite a bit of time trying to “warm” the beer before drinking it. Nathan and I gave him a hard time about that.
On the way home from The Casual Pint we stopped by the Bearden Beer Market to do a little bottle shopping and I picked up a 6 pack of Caldera Pale Ale. For some reason I was just drawn to a canned beer for this trip. Maybe because it’s lighter to carry home from the parking garage. I first had this at the Corner BP, I was very said to hear they closed. This is a nice hoppy beer.
One night during the week (I believe it was another stay at home Friday) We opened a bottle of the Red Hook Audible Ale. It wasn’t bad for an ale. Mildly hopped which gave it a little flavor. It would be a good summer, hot day beer.
It was another calm week downtown. Things picked up a bit for the weekend but I’ll talk about that in another post, this one’s getting a little lengthy.
