We had made plans to attend the Thirsty Orange Brew Extravaganza in Johnson City, TN months in advance. My folks drove up on Friday so we could leave the next day. My step dad brought up some Cigar City brews for us to enjoy that night, and we are glad he did. We all really loved the Jai Alai IPA, Puppy’s Breath Porter, and Tocobaga Red Ale. I wish we could get beer from this brewery up here.
We headed up I-26 the next day and enjoyed the beautiful scenery all the way to Johnson City. It was a splendid day. You couldn’t ask for better weather for an outside beer festival. We arrived in town and looked for a place to pick up some beer for the hotel and to take back home. We found One Stop Wine & Spirits that was near the festival and the hotel. We popped in and were greeted by a friendly staff. This store has a larger selection of wine & liquor than craft beer but they do have a growler station. We picked up a couple of bombers and walked next door to Earth Fare (and we’re glad we did). We were pleasantly surprised at quite a nice craft beer selection. We found some local and regional beers and headed out to the hotel. We checked in and had a great light lunch that Catherine had made for us and waited for the cab to take us to the Millennium Center were the festival was being held.
The taxi ride over was quite an experience. We had first pour tickets that allowed us in an hour and half before the gates were officially opened. And we are glad we had them. There was already a long line winding through the walkway. When we attend these festivals we always try to hit the breweries that we can’t get in our area. However it was nice to see South Carolina represented with RJ Rockers Brewing, Thomas Creek Brewery, and a new comer in Carolina Bauernhaus from Anderson. They should be opening in the coming months. It was great enjoying the beers and the weather. The winners to us for the event were as follows; Tennessee Brew Works Basil Ryeman Saison, The Black Abbey Brewing Potus 44 Porter and their The Rose Belgian Blonde. Foothills Brewing Hoppy Medium Imperial Brown, Blind Squirrel Brewery Nut Brown Ale, Studio Brew IRA Hop Bomb Irish Red Ale, their King’s Porter and their Dark Rider Black IPA. At the Wolf Hills Brewing table they had a Tri Local 1 Belgian Pale Ale that was a collaboration brew with several area breweries that was also really tasty.
When we finally had enough we called for another taxi to take us to check out the local brewery which was Johnson City Brewing. It was a little hard to find the brewery downtown but we are glad we found it. We had spoken to the owner/brewer of the brewery at the festival and wanted to make sure we tried it out. Once inside we met his wife who was there to greet us and ordered a flight. The feel to this place was great. There were board games around that would have kept the kids occupied if they were with us. Although I think it kept Catherine occupied as well. She especially liked the Scrabble board game & their Perfect Tenn Blonde Ale. After finishing up we wanted to get our grub on. Lucky for us that The Main Street Pizza Company was literally across the hallway. We sat at the bar and ordered a beer. They had several local craft beers on tap. We had a hard time choosing what to eat. There were so many good choices to choose from. Catherine and Guy shared a create your own pizza and I had the spicy chicken alfredo sub. Each of which was splendid. We hailed our final cab for the day and headed back to the hotel. It was a great day altogether.
Sunday morning we checked out and headed back down I-26. Catherine, in all her infinite wisdom, had a great idea to stop in Asheville for a beer and lunch. Guy suggested Sierra Nevada’s new brewery in Mills River. We all agreed. Catherine and I had been there last year for Beer Camp but the restaurant wasn’t complete yet so we were looking forward to going. We arrived right when they were opening, which was a good thing because it quickly filled up. Once again this place is immaculate. We sat down and ordered a flight. The winners for us were the West Coast Double IPA, the Scotch Ale, Hop Hunter IPA, and Torpedo Extra IPA. The food was out of this world good. We all shared what we got which was a burger, skirt steak sandwich, and a mushroom baguette. After shopping for the kiddos we headed home with our belly’s full and the thoughts and memories of a great weekend.
Cheers!
Jason
Awesome article Jason. Every time I look at that Scrabble Board, it makes me laugh. I hope everybody else at the festival had as much fun as we did.