Yikes

I've got some catching up to do.  So, this may be rather incomplete because a lot of my notes are missing (I need ONE notebook - not many).  But, the log of the travels is important as are some of the pictures.

So here goes...

Way back in November we did the Circus Trip and followed the Chicago Blackhawks to California for the Thanksgiving weekend.  We had to stop back at Stone Brewing...

I don't know what these are (probably Ruination and Sublimely Self-Righteous).  We sat at the bar this time around (we sat outside last time) and also went on the tour when we were done.

I love this hanging bar decoration.











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We also stopped at the famed Pizza Port in Carlsbad.  This is a picture of the samples we tried.  The pizza was fantastic.











We took a trip to Detroit to watch a hockey game and stopped at Original Gravity in Milan, MI. 

We were very happy with the beers and the food.  It was a cute small town.  The place was spacious and the staff were friendly.

We tried a sampler but the Southpaw IPA was great.  This is one we will visit again.


Fast forward to June, 2012...  We took a trip around Lake Erie through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario and Michigan.  We Yelped and found a great place for lunch in Wauseon, OH  - Sullivan's

Sullivan's was a beer bar / restaurant.  We were very pleased with the food and the beer selection.  Tony had the Cobb Salad and I had the Southwest Chicken Salad.  Our waitress / bartender, Brenda, was friendly and knowledgeable about the beers.  We tried a Lake Erie Monster IPA from Great Lakes.

Next we headed to Fat Heads in Cleveland.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from Fat Heads as I realized (once we go there) that I left my camera at Sullivan's.  However, we samples Head Hunter IPA, Bumbleberry Honey Blueberry Ale, Sunshine Daydream Session IPA and Rocketman Red.  We ate cheese and potato pierogi.

Back to Milan for my camera - Mac and Tong's restaurant for dinner.  The food was delicious but the restaurant was very dated and smelled like a funeral home.  We spent more than three hours looking for a hotel after dinner and ended up driving about 200 miles to Ashtabula, OH.  Breakfast at Lakeway Restaurant the next morning was quaint as we sat at the counter.

Next - a brewery that was on our list of destinations - Southern Tier in Lakewood, NY.

We tried Hop Sun (L) and Phin and Matts (R).  Phin and Matts was very light, lager-ish.  Hop Sun was mild but less lager-ish)

We went with pints of Unearthly IPA and Iniquity Black IPA.  To help pass the time, we picked up some sea salt and cracked pepper peanuts to nibble on.

We went to Toronto and watched the NHL draft on television.  We tried Gretzky's but it was pretty quiet there.  So, we headed to Real Sports.  It was huge, crowded and loud.  But, the atmosphere was more of what we were looking for.

On our way home, we stopped in Flint, MI at Redwood Steakhouse.  We sampled the Pale Ale, American IPA, Porter and Brown.  They were decent beers and we split a wedge salad to hold us over.

We continued on to Grand Rapids and ate dinner at Hop Cat - which is always a treat!

The next day we stopped for lunch at New Holland Brewing Company.  We sampled Rye Hatter (L), Black Hatter, El Mole Ocho and Envious (R).

Tony liked the Rye.  The Black is very smooth.  The El Mole Ocho was a little spicy and fruity.  Apparently I failed to mention what we ate in my notes... I swear, we did eat something.

And, to cap off a wonderful trip, we stopped at the Livery in Benton Harbor on our way home.  I saw a post on Facebook that they were tapping a firkin of Double Dry Hopped Anvil IPA in the middle of the afternoon so we high-tailed it to the pub.  It was fantastic.

It was too hot to sit outside in the sun at the picnic table and drink so we headed inside to the downstairs bar.  We sampled a few more and had a good one called String of Ponies - pale ale.