We'd been anxiously awaiting Valpo Brewfest for months!  We got VIP tickets which meant we'd get a neat Tshirt, early entrance and access to some food/beer pairings.  Huzzah! It was a cold and rainy morning the on Sept 24th, so when we set forth for Va… more »

Armed with some interesting directions, we head out to Stella's Lounge. To get to it, we walk past Hopcat. We, well, we get a bit turned around and lost.  Jon knows where it is, sort of, and I'm floundering but frankly when you have blue hair people n… more »

In the past, I've had stretches of maybe a few weeks, a month or so tops, where I haven't gamed much or at all - but as of right now it's been several months since I've done any gaming.  I did convert my main machine to Linux a month or so ago, and did… more »

We decided that Madcap coffee was well reviewed and may have appropriate coffee for us. As we've said before, when we travel, we bring our own homeroasted pre-ground coffee and our Melitta cone brewer.   Most industrial coffee makes me very sick to my… more »

We head out to The Place Which Will Not Be Named. And this is where the entry gets a bit reflective. To malaprop-paraphrase the late great Bill Hicks - if you're here for beer chat, we're getting to that.  I got a *lot* of that.  But this is good too,… more »

A good friend of Jon and ours commented thusly on my Facebook wall: "Thanks for all the commentary from the road. I enjoy your ramblings. It makes me think I may have missed something - not having drunk any beer since college. -)" The thing is that th… more »

I call Hopcat, and I imagine that I'm sounding a little weird.  I had my potatoes thankfully, but I'm a little edgy when I lose things, especially important things. Me: "I left my red notebook there last night and all my beer tasting notes are in it"… more »

New Holland Brewing Company Almost immediately after we arrived, the threatning rain finally arrived. Like a 'we promise you you WILL get wet' water ride at an amusement park, the rain just fell and fell. We were inside and had the promise of great b… more »

Friday morning came early. No matter when we get to sleep, we seem to be incapable of waking up later than 6 or 6:30. Rise and shine, said my internal clock.  I made us our usual roadtrip coffee  in the hotel room, thanked Jon for the nachos last nigh… more »

This onc's about first impressions and the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover." We were at a pub in the early night, and I noticed a girl.  She was fairly pretty, with an "alt" look - and happened to have some very nice tattoos, including one w… more »

We walk off into the Grand Rapids night from B.O.B.  We've got GPS up, and our destination is in sight. Z's Bar and Restaurant I have no fancy title, nothing clever - because at this point in the night, I'm needing food. I'm not stomach-hungry, but my… more »

When we last left our story, we were headed to see Parsifal, who resides outside of The B.O.B. The Bob is a 77,000 sq ft building that houses a bunch of stuff.  Here's the list from their website: Judsons Steakhouse Gills Blue Crab Lounge Monkey Bar… more »

Moving on from Founders Brewing Co,  we had some big decisions to make. Namely, move on to *where*? Cool as Cats We decided on Hopcat - they have a huge craft beer list, both taps and bottles.  Plus we'd been salivating a *lot* over their 'Crack Frie… more »

And the journey continues. Having experienced Dark Horse Brewing Co, but having wanderlust in our veins we moved on to Grand Rapids. American Music more »

On our way to Dark Horse Brewing Co we got pulled over by a friendly Michigan patrolman. When we placed our People's Brewing Company, Figure 8 Brewing and The Tattooed Heart bumperstickers on our car (along with the Subgenius license plate frame, tho… more »

The first day preparing for the roadtrip started out pretty hectic; Jon had packed his stuff and I had to finish up work and pack my stuff. Finally got everything packed and I had a wicked craving for soup.   This summer, I've just craved good soups li… more »

I took Friday off, making Memorial Day weekend into a 4 day weekend, and we set out with a vague plan to end up at a few different places. Maybe. Unless we changed our mind. :D This time, we decided to avoid interstates/freeways, and instead take on… more »

As I begin penning (so to speak) this entry, it's around 8 o'clock on a rainy Monday morning, the memories still ultra-fresh of this trip that I simply must chronicle. It would be all too easy to chalk this up to "you had to be there" or "you wouldn't… more »