Widespread, notes from the Rogue

"Anything that is worth pursuing is going to require us to suffer, just a little bit."
                                                                               -Chris Burkard, Surfer/Photographer
Angry Lake Michigan surf pounds Chicago's North Avenue Beach as temps plummet. 12/26/2017

There's a magic in the air
Snow is falling everywhere
It's the season to be jolly
So they say...
-Wayne Newton, Christmas Journey
   Traveling 'cross country. Family's widespread. East Coast to Midwest. Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri. Come together. Find a way. We always do. All roads, no matter how gnarly, lead to an open door when family is involved. Did our road trip to Chicago's western suburbs. Carol Stream, Oswego, Aurora, Naperville. Side trip in Michigan to visit Lisa's daughter. Ann Arbor area. Favorite kind of pit stop. Local brewery tour. In an old church no less. Saline's Salt Springs Brewery.

Salt Springs Imperial Chocolate

Stout. 11.3% ABV/30IBUs. Dark,
 almost black with a thin brown head. 
Tons of chocolate and coffee. Light,
 bitter finish. Rated an A-.

Got to the 'Burbs.  Fire was stoked, food laid out, and plenty of drink enjoyed. Need it with our family. And it snowed (after all, it was Christmas Eve).

Baderbrau's Christmas Bliss. A Baltic

Porter that was the hit of the evening. Dark

Brown with a thick tan head. Sweet fruit

with hints of Vanilla. 6.7 ABV. Rated a B+.

Then it got cold. Like fridged. Single digits. Mid-week...below zero wind chills. Was time to head back east.  

Stoked Cousins

Nice warmer put in for the

season from 3 Floyds. Alpha
Klaus Christmas Porter checked
in at 6% ABV. Hazy brown with 
aromas of chocolate and tastes 
of sweet malt. 38 IBUs add a 
fair hop ending. Rated a B.

   Return trip smooth, save a snow detour in Indiana. Still, made the trek in fifteen and a half hours. Not bad. In addition to choice Midwest brews, we brought the ear burning temperatures. Single digit winchills roaring off the Bay back at The Pointe. A second Christmas celebration. Daughter and Granddaughter.

Christmas as it should be...

through a child's eyes.

New Year's Eve dinner at Sunset Grille on the commercial docks. Ahi tuna, crab cakes, and key lime pie. Return home, Another brew. Watch the Granddaughter dance and the Ball drop. Happy New Year!

A gift. Enjoyed on both
Christmas Day with close
friends, and New
Years Eve with family. A 
great IPA. Unfiltered with
tons...90 IBUs worth...
of five hop varieties. 
Stone Brewing's Enjoy By 
12.25.17. Juicy peach 
and resious pine. Poured
an amber- orange with a
thick white head. Rated
an A.

Sunset grillin'. 12/312017.

 

New Year Moon...full of promise. Frozen reflections over the St. Martin River, the Pointe. 1/2/2018