Traveling Man ... out to Portland, Oregon

I was sent out to Portland, OR at the beginning of August to work and manage the AV side if a conference for a client. It was the first time we've done this particular event though we work on other events throughout the year. Since the event was out West, it was decided that I would drive the gear and we would hire labor in Portland.

I didn't mind having the driving duty for two reasons. One: the equipment would all fit in a Sprinter van. This usually isn't the case and we are driving box trucks to the destination and following strict DOT regulations. None if that in a van. I could plan my route anyway I wanted (with in reason). Two: the drive to the Pacific Northwest is one of the few major routes in the US that I have never traveled.

I was excited and planned route around scenic sites I wanted to see and beer destinations I wanted to stop at. The way out took me to South Dakota into Wyoming through Yellowstone down to Idaho and finally into Portland. Four days to arrive.

My day one planned stop over night in Sioux Falls, SD. It was going to be a long day of driving. I got up early, after not being to sleep the night before due to over indulgence at the local beer festival and a long nap afterwards. I headed out around 7:30am and pushed hard throughout the day with Queens of the Stone and The White Stripes pumping out the speakers.

The drive took longer than I anticipated due to road construction from Chicago to Wisconsin and lots of traffic in the Wisconsin Dells area. I ready to stop by the time I hit the Minnesota state line but powered on. Around thirteen hours after my start time and a time zone switch, I arrived in Sioux Falls at dusk and stopped at the hotel I booked downtown.

I wanted to here for a particular reason. Monk's House of Ale Repute, a well known brew pub and one often rated on many best beer bars in America lists. Nothing taste better than beer and real food after a long drive with minimal stops.

I walked the few short blocks to the bar, which was not very busy even for a Sunday night. I saddled up at the bar and looked over the impressive beer menu with so many choices not available to me in Indiana. The bar had really laid back feel and a good layout. Darn good food too, I had Kobe beef kabobs. After a few beers consisting of  Left Hand Voodoo Stout, Lucky Bucket Certified Evil Porter, Gran Teton Howling Wolf Weisse, and Lake Front Fuel Cafe Coffee Stout. I wanted to walk around downtown more and see some of its offerings, but it was time to head back to hotel, clean up, and get sleep.


My day two designed stop was Cody, WY. I headed out early once again and started through the gorgeous scenery of South Dakota. The rolling hills are a thing of beauty and they go for miles. I noticed an unusal amount of motorcyles on the ride. I found out  it was the beginning of Bike Week in Sturgis, my planning I failed to find it out. Motorcycle traffic was heavy as I drove through the heart of it all. There were some very nice bikes but that is as close to to the spectacle as I ever want to get.

South Dakota

It thinned out a bit as I got into Wyoming. More luscious scenery entered my view as the miles passed. I got off the interstate to get to my destination, up into the Horn Mountains, and into the final stretch. Here is a tip, if one had even a remote feeling of having use a restroom, then stop in Sheridan, WY because there is no where to stop. I held my urine for nearly three hours before finding a gas station. Lesson learned: never pass up the opportunity to pee.

Horn Mountains

After twelve hours on the road, I pulled into Cody with the sun still in the sky, barely. This is a tourist town. The last major stop before Yellowstone and even beyond. It is expensive because it can be. The town is also historic due to Buffalo Bill Cody and has a rodeo every night. I was tempted to go but opted for food and drink at the Silver Dollar Bar where I had an Alaskan Amber, Madison River Copper John Scotch Ale, and Big Sky Moose Drool. On my way back to the over priced dumpy hotel, which served its purpose, I stopped in liquor store and bought a couple of bombers. The town was bustling with people. Again, I was whipped and a third long day of driving a head of me so I retired for the evening.


Morning came with the sun rising in my rearview and the great National forest ahead of me. The hour long stretch between Cody and Yellowstone is beautiful beyond words.

 
As I entered Yellowstone awe and wonderment filled me. I never realized it was mountainous (not sure why). I slowly drove through the giant pines and around Lake Butte soaking it all in with pure delight. I took my time and stopped often. I headed towards Jackson, WY and into the Gran Teton National Park each mile was more beautiful than the next. The Tetons are simply breath taking.Words cant do justice what I was seeing.

Yellowstone

Gran Tetons

 The main reason for stopping in Jackson was Thai Me Up!, an award winning micro brewery and Thai food restaurant. Since I enjoyed both it seemed like a no brainier. Jackson is another huge tourist town and basically the first town after Cody. It is very busy in the summer and not the best place to find parking for an extended length van. I almost gave up finding a space when one appeared. I swung in and walked to the restaurant/brewery just as it was opening for lunch.

Thai Me Up

The combo of Thai Me Up provides seems odd but works very well. I had delicious green curry and two fine beers Mayhem and Big Country.
With lunch and lots of water in my belly there was still plenty of driving to do before I retired in Boise. Off I slowly drove up into the Tetons and came out in the back roads of Idaho before cutting over to Idaho Falls and back onto the interstate. 

While this day was tremendous with nature after nearly eight hours of slow back road driving, I was ready to lay the pedal to the floor. I was already exhausted and still had over three hours until Boise. This was the longest stretch of the trip out.

I did make it though and stopped at the Red Lion in downtown for the night. I had every intention of walking around and seeing Boise. But I was wiped out from three days of twelve hour plus of driving, sun burned from driving with the bright sun, and simply tired. When I saw the hotel bar with seven taps handles and a menu, I knew this would be my only stop of evening.

And it was the only stop. Food entered my system followed by local beers Salmon River Big Buzz Coffe Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, and Sockeye Amber. Then nightly drill of showering and sleep followed.

The next morning I awoke early once again at daybreak. With only seven hours to go until Portland, I headed out. Part of plan was to get there mid afternoon and park the vehicle so I could spend the rest of the day exploring the city. The terrian of Southern Idaho was nice with the hills, mountains, forest, and Snake River running all about the state, I was pleasently surprsed. But not as surprised as wait awaited me in Southern Oregon.

In my mind, I always thought of Oregon and Washington as entire states of nothing but thick, dense forest. But Southern Oreogon was so much more diverse and beautiful than I could ever imaged. As a drove on the interstate which was once The Oregon Trail, the desert like mountains turned into plateaus and eventually into hills and mountains of trees as I followed the Columbia River into Portland.

I stopped at a rest area just outside of the city. I had made great time this morning and was early. It was only noon and couldn't park the van until 2pm. I knew of places to go to stall time and hopped back in the van. The city of Portland awaited my arrival.





Observation of An Illogical mind by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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Favorite Albums (number four)

It's starting to get very tough deciding who makes the cut. Here are the next ten on list (find the other three posts in past threads).



The Who - Who's Next (1971)

I enjoy The Who a lot and dont believe they get quite the same recognition as some of their English counterparts from the same era. Daltry, Townsend, Moon, and Eitewistle made could be their best work and my personal favorite. But this album isn't just about the songs which became hits like "Wont Get Fooled Again", "Baba O'Riley", and "Behind Blue Eyes". The real power lines between those tracks with "Love Aint For Keeping", "Bargain", and others. For my money, this is a near perfect rock album.


Alice In Chains - Dirt (1992)
 
While Alice In Chains debut album blew me away, it was their sophomore effort Dirt which solidified them as one of my favorite bands. The moody guitars riffs of Jerry Cantrell combined with intense vocal stylings of Layne Staley crooning about addiction and death, both of which he and the band were going through. And you hear the pain comes through the speakers on the songs "Dirt", "Rain When I Die", and "Down In A Hole".


The Cult - Sonic Temple (1989)
 
Probably the band's best known and most successful album, it's the one which made me become of fan (and my friend Dave). The first six songs are as strong as any rock album of the era: "Sun King", "Fire Woman", "American Horse", "Edie (Ciao Baby)", "Sweet Soul Sister", and "Soul Asylum". Ian Astbury rarely gets the credit he deserves for vocals and lead guitarist Billy Duffy is also highly under rated.



Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads (1996)

Nick Cave possesses one of the coolest voices in all of music. He also writes some of most bad ass and interesting lyrics one can imagine. I like many of his albums but Murder Ballads is my favorite. I find it facsinating one can croon along with a sweet melody while pouring out such violent and disturbing lyrics. Make no mistake this album is all about death, murder, and violence. Songs like "Where the Wild Roses Grow" and "Stagger Lee". There is only one Nick Cave and if you have never listened to his music, then you are in for a ride.


Father John Misty - Fear Fun (2012)

Though this album came out in 2012, I didn't discover it until the spring of 2013 (shortly before I started this list) and since then I have listened to it over and over again. And I have yet to grow tired of even one song that tells sad and beautiful and strange tales. "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings", "Nancy From Now On", and "I'm Writing A Novel" are just a few of the great songs on this album which gets better after every play.


Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)

For pure, heavy, balls out, loud metal there is no album greater for me than Master of Puppets. The title song, "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", "Damage Inc." got me pumped up for my share of football games in high school. At least during my sophomore year, which is when I discovered this little gem and dove head first into the world of Metallica.


White Stripes - Elephant (2003)

I've mentioned how much of a Jack White fan I am before, so to find a White Stripes album on this list should be no surprise. I could have truly put any of their albums on the list but I believe Elephant is their best one. "Seven Nation Army" never gets tiredsome (even though its turned into something of a sports anthem for many teams), "In the Cold, Cold, Night", "I Just Dont Knoe What To Do With Myself", "Ball and a Biscuit", and "Hardest Button To Button" are a few of the stripped down greatest one can find here.


Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)

It's no shock to find the "album which shaped a generation" on my list, since I am part of the generation. My senior year in high school, this album exploded onto the scene and I listened to it. A lot. While I liked the other dubbed Seattle grunge bands better than Nirvana, there is no denying the pure power and catchy rhymes found on timeless classics like "Lithium", "On A Plain", and the one that started it all "Smells Like Teen Spirit".


OutKast - Stankonia (2000)

Like many this is album which introduced me to Andre 3000 and Big Boi's unique mesh of hip hop. The two distinct and different vocals over kicking bass guitar and drums with a dash all sorts of funkiness makes"Sorry Miss Jackson", "B.O.B", and others still pack a powerful punch.


Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)

During the late 80's after this albm came out, one would have hard pressed to find a more popular band than Def Leppard. It takes me back to early teens years just before entering high school which are mostly cloudy, obscure memories. Some of the songs have aged a tad and some of the lyrics are really out there. I mean have you ever really listened to the words in "Pour Some Sugar On Me". Still the songs "Hysteria", "Animal", and "Love and Affection" bring a smile to face and a bang to my heart. I guess that is why it made the list.


Only ten more to go....





Observation of An Illogical mind by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://www.seankimmel.com.
Please feel free to share the link but contact me for any other uses or publication. Thanks.

Thoughts on Brew Haven 2013

I think Brew Haven is hitting its stride in the festival's third year. It has grown and gain reputation amoung beer enthusiasts and breweries not only in the area, but around Indiana and the surrounding states. They organizers has listened to suggestions and learned from year's past. Plus the weather ended up being fantastic. All of those factors made this one great festival.

The area expanded this year and it was needed to help with the amount of attendees. It was a nice layout which provided a good flow. But also, more space was needed because far more brewery reps showed up. All were excited to share their brews and talk about them with you. Many of these brewers were in the area for the first time including co-event sponser Tinman Brewing (Evansville, IN) and some others like Bloomington Brewing Company (Bloomington, IN), Big Dawg Brewhaus (Richmond, IN), Thr3e Wisemen (Indianapolis, IN), Cutters Bewing (Avon, IN), Destihl Brewery (Bloomington, IL), Ohio Brewing Company (Akron, OH), and Hunters Brewing (Chesterton, IN).

Lechyd Da

Plus other breweries you might have seen around but never tried such as co-event sponser Iechyd da Brewing Company (Elkhart, IN), People's Brewing Company (Laffayette, IN), Flat 12 (Indianapolis, IN), Mt Pleasant Brewing Company (Mt. Pleasant, MI), Figure 8 Brewing (Valparaiso, IN), Crown Brewing (Crown Point, IN),  Evil Czech Brewery (Culver, IN), Greenbush Brewing (Sawyer, MI), Against the Grain Brewery (Louisville, KY), Mad Anthony's (Fort Wayne, IN), Lexington Brewing Company (Lexington, KY), and Sun King Brewing (Indianapolis, IN).

Sierra Neveda

And let's not forgot the names you know probably know such as co-event sponser Sierra Neveda & New Belgium, Bell's, New Holland, Harpoon, Founder's, Granite City, and Samuel Adams. I'm sure there's a few I forgot, but that's a pretty impressive list.









The distributors were clearly marked (Five Star, Aalco, Starlight, and Cavalier) were also pouring samples of many different brews with Goose Island, Triton, New Albanian, Finch's, Shoreline, and more were amoung those. The local MASH Club had their own corner and once again was a big crowd hit... possibly the unsung heroes of the event. I sampled a couple of different ones. These guys can make a good beer. A few vendors such as Brewer's Art, Cheeseman Store, Hops N Harvest, Old Crown Coffee Roasters, and Cap 'N Cork had tables as well. The food had its own seperate tent with lots a tables and a long line early, as usual.

Overall it was a great layout. Which allowed people to clearly see if what brewery, vendor, or distributor you were walking up to, though I think a couple of breweries ended up being a no show or came very, very late. For the most part, there was plenty of room to move around and converse with other beer junkies and friends.

 My only slight complaint was the middle of the tent was extremely populated with people as both sides had people lined up. Not sure there is really a good solution for this problem because at some point with that many people gathering in a small place, an area or two will get bunched up. Also a suggestion would be better "beer table" map online or available at the festival would help people navigate and find the brewery they want to go to. Both are minor things.



Once again, I got the VIP enterance. For me, it's just worth it to sample a lot of different beers, talk to with breweries, and get the feel of the land before the masses start coming in. This is also my downfall because I sample so much, so quickly that I keep my head on strait.

Evil Czech

So what did I enjoy? Well, count me in as a fan of Evil Czech. I will defintely be making the short drive to Culver soon. The Vanilla Rye Porter was amoung one of the best samples I had. And the White Reaper and Dracula's Bite Habenero Black (the habenero taste lasted about three beers afterwards) were both excellent. I was really impressed with Big Dawg's Downtown Brown and Tin Man's Pear Sour Shady were excellent and both had impressive selections. All three these brewers were more than excited to chat up their beers and seemed to having a blast.

Big Dawg

Speaking of having a blast...the guys from Flat 12 made it their mission to have fun. And they brought a couple of specialty brews, Espresso Infused Penny Ale and Cask Conditioned Saison with cranberries, both of which were great. Mount Pleasant blew my mind with the Peach Gruit and the Blackberry Ale. These were the most impressive new to me brews of the day. I had many others and some old favorites.








By about 4pm, my belly full of deliciousness it was time to head out. One of these years I will pace myself a bit better and close it down. Or may be not....



Congrats to Trion Tavern and Greg for another excellent festival. And a special thanks to all of those who helped make it possible from the workers to the volunteers to breweries to the distributors to any one I may forgot to mention. I'm sure more lessons were learned and will be applied to the 4th Annual Brew Haven on Aug 2, 2014!

I'll be there.

And maybe I will be able to get a review out a bit sooner.



Observation of An Illogical mind by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://www.seankimmel.com.
Please feel free to share the link but contact me for any other uses or publication. Thanks.

Favorite Albums (round three)

The ongoing series is at the midway point. Have you been interested by my selections? Well, here are some more....
And if you dont know the parameters I used, then go check the first entry.


Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (2011)

Since their first couple of albums the  band has really grown on me and personally, I think the group keeps getting better with each album. Their latest (from 2011) is one I have listened to over and over again while never getting old. "Alexandria" and "Dear Rosemary" may be my favorites but thier isn't a bad song on album.



Tom Waits - Closing Time (1973)

Tom Waits certainly has a style and sound all his own. Whether it's by his signature gravely voice or folk jazz style piano strokes. I may be a fan, but not all his tunes resonate with me. His debut album though is pure gold evne if the best songs are probably more famous for being sung by other artists. The drunken love ballad "I Hope I Dont Fall In Love With You" always pulls at my heartstrings. While "Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)" makes me yearn for a life on the road. And "Ol 55" is simply a wonderful tune. If you not familiar with Waits' work, this is a good place to start.


Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (1992)

The summer after I graduated high school this cassette tape rarely left car stereo. The songs on the album simply get me jacked up. Dime Bag's hard riff echo loudly in "Walk" but the songs "Hollow" and "This Love" will always remain my favorites.


Gaslight Anthem -  Handwritten (2012)

One would be hard pressed to choose a best album between the band's three releases. All are great and I darn near put The '59 Sound on here. But I think Handwritten is the slightly more complete album. Or perhaps I flipped a quarter. Trademark outstanding lyrics are present here and musically the band has never been tighter. "Mulholland Drive" is the cream of the crop here.


Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales (2001)
 

I use this album this album a lot in my professional career. It makes excellent walk in music for an event with it's laid back vibe, smooth guitar, and catchy lyrics. "Flake" and "Fortunate Fool" are the stand outs. 



Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magic (1991)

This is sort of the quintessential Chili Peppers album and became their big, mainstream breakthrough, Coincidentally (or maybe not) it's also the first album guitarist John Frusiante and drummer Chad Smith were on. Catchy tunes like "Give It Away", "Under the Bridge", and "I Could Have Lied" run from start to finish. It's hard funky, rock, soulful greatness that can only be the Peppers.


The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)

A person could choose many different Beatles albums. What I love the most about album is how each song seamlessly and effortlessly flows to the next, starting with "Come Together" and ending with "Her Majesty". It's a perfect album.



Stone Temple Pilots - Core (1992)

STP certainly carved out a niche for themselves over the coarse of their careers (or at least the orginal line up). Their debut is a litlle heavier and the lyrics a tad darker than their other efforts. And that's probably why it sticks out as a whole for me. The DeLeo brothers screach through "Where the River Flows", "Dead & Bloated", and "Plush" while Wieland's vocals tie the whole thing together whether the song is heavy or more of a ballad, like "Creep".



The Kills - Blood Pressures

If you like stripped down garage rock, then you will like The Kills. On the band's fourth effort Allison Mosshart's vocals purr in the microphone with a solid command while Jamie Hince's guitar and drive the beats of the songs. Simply and beautiful rock and roll on songs like "DNA" "Pots and Pans", and "Nail In My Coffin".


Queensrÿche - Empire (1990)

One might only know Queensrÿche from the song "Silent Lucidity", which happens to be on this album, but the band constantly put out great material. Their hard progressive rock style often works in conjunction with concept albums. Not so much the case with Empire but othe great songs include "Another Rainy Night (Without You)" and "Best I Can". Did I mention that lead singer Geoff Tate possesses one of the greatest vocals in rock history.


Until next time



Observation of An Illogical mind by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://www.seankimmel.com.
Please feel free to share the link but contact me for any other uses or publication. Thanks.