So, Happy Birthday to my mother in law - otherwise known as Mimi.  I don't make a lot of noise or issue with that sort of thing on Facebook or anywhere really.  It just isn't my thing.  But tonight we hung out at Aunt Erica's (my sister-in-laws) and had a great night.  We hung out and drank some beer, ate some burgers, and played some yard sports (frisibee, wiffle ball, and corn hole to name a few).  It was a great relaxing evening and I think the family enjoyed.  We also did a Family Hike today that I was super proud of to be honest.  On my wife's suggestion I took the family out to Raccoon State Park today for a nice hike.  We had a blast.  Both little girls took some "injuries" but stayed strong through the 1.7-2 mile hike.  We even "double timed" it back to the car towards the end.  Had a great time and really enjoyed the family time I got to spend today.  Score big family points for the Blutes today!  Now onto the beer:
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Organic Brewing Company - Wheat Ale - Grade 3.5
These guys are relatively new (7 months old I believe the lady behind the bar said).  We found these guys sort of by accident as we walked the "broad walk" of Hollywood Beach, Miami, FL.  We got here as a family around 11 or so in the morning.  We really were not sure what we would find or do.  We planned on hanging at the beach a bit and maybe moving to a kids museum.  Unfortunately for the kids, fortunately for me the storms moved in and we couldn't get back to the car soon enough.  We took shelter in this place and watched the storms roll past us to the south of us.  I am guessing these storms HAMMERED Miami Beach for sure.  It sort of missed us.  Meanwhile, we hung on the deck of this brewery and ordered an appetizer and a few beers.  I settled in on the Wheat Beer that they served.  It was nice and cloudy in the glass.  I nice bright yellow cloudy liquid in the glass.  I got some sour fruit and big banana in the flavor.  The smell was super fruity and flowery ester.  It smelled great.  It was a nice medium bodied beer with some hints of cherry flavors.  I would love to brew beer at this establishment.  Brewing beer on the beach.  How does it get better then that?  The interesting thing about this place is I talked to the lady behind the counter and I believe she was of Russian decent.  The brewer also was from Russia.  The brewed organic beer in the German style which was quite interesting.  They had German Schnapps behind the bar (home made flavorings).  And German foods on the menu - lest not you worry - there was some nice Vodkas on the menu as well.  I would have liked to talk to the Brewer a bit but could not find him during my visit.  Either way, an incredible place to have lunch and if you happen by this place.   Please visit it... good people making good beer!

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Kirkland Brand - Indian Pale Ale - New York Brewing Company - Grade 2.75
This is Costco's brand.  For those of you in PA that may not have gotten out of the state much - or those that do that don't make it to grocery stores while you are out you are missing out!  My wife and I make it a point to make it to local and not so local grocery stores while we are in different areas.  Who knows what you might find.  On this trip to Costco (which was actually on the 12th coming back from Hollywood beach) we found that they sell wine, liquor and beer; not to mention their own "brand".  Now, I will not call this the best beer I've had but what I've drank of it for $20'sh a case of variety pack.  Costco does has a good name!  It pours nice and medium in the glass.  The flavor has some peppery notes in the bite.  It has some smooth clean malty body in the glass.  It is of course a very hoppy beer and the bottle talks about Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo hops in the mouth.  I didn't get a lot of smell out of the glass but that was probably more my person smelling issues then the beer.  The head clung to the side of the glass and did not want to leave the glass.  It definitely gives a nice amount of spicy hop on the tongue that tingles the senses nicely.  For the price of the case it will not win many 1st place finishes but it is well worth the drink if you get a chance.  I drank this beer quietly solo in Miami as my last night.  We head to Raleigh North Carolina tomorrow and I/we needed our rest.
NOTE: I linked to the Costco website above - they didn't have a specific link for their beer that I found.  BUT if you google Kirkland beer there is a ton of information about them.  I will also note that we bought SEVERAL bottles of wine here way cheaper then PA wine.  And we bought their Kirkland Red and White Wine.  The White Pinot Grigio was pretty good for the $4-5 I think we paid for it.  Also, I found Kirkland brand Bourbon (and Rum, Vodka and Tequila).  I bought and tried the Bourbon.  I don't know that it will compete with some of the best bourbons but for $20 a bottle it holds its own.  It is a bit watered down and not quiet as bodied as I like in a bourbon but still mighty tasty.

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Red Oak Brewery - Hummingbird Golden Lager - Grade 2.25
This is a local Raleigh, North Carolina brew.  It was very light yellow in color with lots of carbonation in the glass. It was a nice medium bodied "light beer".  It had a bit to be desired in my opinion.  It was a bit metallic in taste.  Though, I attribute this to many other lagers that I've had.  I'm not sure it is "metallic" as much as some bi-product of the yeast that is used.  I didn't review this in great detail as I drove 12.5 hours this day from Miami, FL to Raleigh, NC.  After a long vacation in Miami, I was tired.  I can tell you that the hotel we stayed at in Raleigh was not the best but we got it for $50 a night on HotWire.  It was supposedly a 3.5 star Radisson.  The pool was broke and they used Sleep Number beds in their rooms.  In my opinion, these beds are glorified air mattresses that do not deserve the glorification!  I will not talk badly about either of these but I will say we asked for a regular bed the next night and luckily the hotel accommodated us.  I will only also say that the door man at the Radisson set me in mind of the hotel on "Hot Tub Time Machine" and sort of freaked me out a bit.  That all said, we stayed the two nights and will have a family memory to remember for ever.  I will also say that the Buffalo Wild Wings by the South Point Mall was interesting.  We had a some what not good experience but THANKFULLY the waitress and the manager took care of EVERYTHING for us.  It was a crappy deal that was a mistake I'm sure.  But thankfully they did good on us.  And I want to thank the Store Manager and the Waitress for their kindness to us for sure.

Thanks again for stopping by.  Please stop back when you get time.




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