Things were 'back to normal'; the Field of Beers was back at the baseball stadium and the Saturday festival came back to the larger stadium lot space. This was good to see as the last couple of years have been tough on big public; events. At the Field of Beers, the dugouts were too crowded so the outfield was utilized for more open spaces. It's a great event; 15 breweries bring a special brew and pair it with appropriate foods. A few samples: Aardwolf Brewing had Asian style Pastrami Egg rolls paired with Don't be Suspicious Double Rye IPA. The spiciness of the rye malts went well with the egg roll. Fresh shucked Bluepoint oysters were paired with Dixie Grill and brewing Fatta Matta a 9% stout with habanero peppers, vanilla beans and cocoa nibs. Nice combo. Local Tequesta Brewing had Mahi Mahi Tacos with ginger scallion relish paired with their Sheltered Grapefruit double IPA. The citrus notes and malty tastes paired well with the fish and hot relish. Barrel of Monks had a complex flavored Grand Cru that was paired with a Thai Beef Salad. This one would get anyone's attention; try it with Rincon Heat hot sauces which I see here every year. Quite tasty! This is one of the best beer events and a group of us, staying at the nearby hotel, had an after party where rare, unusual and some very old beers were shared with the group. I look forward to this evening every year. See y'all next year!

Festival day weather was cloudy and cool. There were about 50 different brewers and several food vendors. The theme this year was Beers on my Heart. (I love beer?) As usual it was "The best day of the year...so far". There were many old favorites and some new breweries as well. Tarpon River and Bold City were near the entrance so they were tried first. Bold City now has their IPA in cans and hopes to be in South Florida soon. Tarpon's Honey Love was tasty. Next door at Marker 48, they had a light lager with a label that looked a lot like Miller Lites'. Not sure how many craft beer drinkers really want that! Barrel of Monks was around the corner with good Belgian style beers. Later, I found Stormhouse with a great Dopplebock. Aardwolf had all colorful (blue, green) brews / seltzers. Pareidolia Brewing had all good brews; Pete, the owner was working the booth today. Humble Abbey had a Bier de Garde which is unusual to find. This festival is fun and everyone is having a good time and friendly. I met several people and their friends all around the festival. This is probably one of the best things about this festival. I certainly plan to return next year. Website: JupiterCraftBrewersFestival.com

The idea for Prison Pals started in Argentina. Three guys who " share three main characteristics: highly qualified people who had this feeling like being prisoners in their own land, passionate about world-class beer." Eventually, they ended up with a state of the art production brewery, in Doral, FL and two taprooms. I visited the newest taproom, about two blocks from the brewery. it's a small space but fresh and new with some really good brews available. With 20 on tap and many more canned; there is something for everyone. The flight I had was four different IPA s. The Nelson and Double Nelson were both hazy and reflected the style well. There are also many fruited brews and sours available. The food truck made everything with lobster in it. Nice change from the standard fayre of food trucks. We finished the night off with a bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout. (Barrel Series 1) I looks forward to visiting again. Website: PrisonPalsbc.com

Florida Keys Brewing is located in the Islamorada Arts District where there are many art galleries and stores. The production brewery is just down the street from the taproom and garden. Painted ins the ubiquitous 'Keys Turquoise and other pastels it looks like a laid back, fun place; oh, the beers are great too! The brewery has been around since 2015 and has grown into the upper keys favorite brewery. The decor is all 'island' with cool bottle cap art throughout. Perfect for a local and tourist hangout. I enjoyed a 5 brew taster and all were good with the Spiny Hopster IPA my favorite. The Hurricane Hole Irish Red was the surprise, for me, it was excellent and quite tasty. If I were local that would be my go to brew here. Alas, it was time to go way too soon as Key West beckoned! We will return. Website: FloridaKeysBrewingCo.com

After a day of walking all around Key West, (17,000 steps!) we were ready for a soft seat, cool air and refreshing cold drinks. We found them at The Waterfront Brewery a few blocks from Duval street. TWB is a big place with plenty of seating and a good waterfront view. We got seats just inside the dock area. A sunset cruise ship was loading and we would see them, partying, later as the sun set. There are 10 brews available; 7 of theirs and 3 guests along with a full bar and restaurant. The best brew was Truman a 9.5% ABV Double IPA. It was easy drinking with piney hoppy notes and malts in the background. Key West is known for some 'big' drinking so I joined 'em! The waters were good to have as well. I was able to get a growler to go which cam in handy for the sunset viewing which was spectacular. It was nice to sip on a local fresh brew and see the sun sink into the ocean. A good stop on any Key West adventure. Website: TheWaterfrontBrewery.com

Edge Brewing was the first stop after landing in Boise. A great stop for good food and beer. It is their 9th year in business and we can see why. Serving a wide variety of beer styles and some great food to go with them. First up was a sampler of four beers served on a cool Idaho shaped tray. (Pictured here.) Sesh Time Hazy is a hazy pale ale with orange zest and dankness. Edge Amber is malty and brewed with three types of hops. Pugeilla IPA is a citrusy west coast IPA also brewed with three types of hops. At 7.0%ABV is was my favorite from this tray. Townsend Stout is a roasty Irish Stout served on Nitro. I discovered that there were some brews, I missed, on the high gravity menu. The Imperial Red was excellent; it was malty, hoppy and easy drinking. 9.4 ABV gave it a kick but wasn't evident. Obligatory DIPA is well balanced with lemon and piney notes. At 9.2% ABV is is also a customer favorite. Matte Black Imperial Stout was very black and tasty. At 13% ABV this one could be dangerous. Between the two sampler trays a great lunch was had. The taco special was a great welcome to Idaho where we would stay for a week. Edge gave us top service, great beers and food. A must stop when in Boise. The Bar / Tap Area was cool as well. Website: Edgebrew.com

After walking around downtown Boise, we found Barbarian Brewing, nearby. This was a quick stop before we hit the road for the two hour drive to our destination. Barbarian serves many different styles with a focus on sours. There were 24 different brews; something for everyone. My choice was Dank Juice Double IPA a west coast IPA with a malty backbone and piney aromas. It was brewed with two types of hops that balanced well with the sweetness from the malts. The taproom looks like a fun place; we where there on a Tuesday afternoon when it was quiet. It looks like they have some fun stuff to do at different times. I like the "Yes we have Rules" sign which shows four "rules" of the house. Rule number being the most important. I sampled the Belgian Style Tripel which had the authentic flavors of the style. This was a 'drive by' tasting as we had to hit the road. A worthwhile stop if in the area. We hit the road where I saw the posted speed limit of 80 MPH! I haven't seen that since Kansas in the 1960s! Website: BarbarianBrewing.com

We were staying in Sun Valley for a week and wanted to explore Hailey, a nearby small town with amenities of a much larger town. We found Sun Valley Brewing for lunch; it is a brewpub with excellent pub food and brews to go with it. I had a Cranky Uber IPA that went well with the spicy Asian and Mexican dishes. It was tasty with a good maltiness and well balanced with citrus hop notes. The fish taco and daily special were both good. The IPA stood up to the spiciness of the dishes. The Blaine County Museum of local history and Americana was a few blocks north of the brewery. It has local history and all kinds of cool old stuff from the past. Fun fact: There is a display of the Star Brewery, founded in 1865 along with a 'branded' keg. (To keep track of whose kegs were whose!) Beer and brewing are part of Hailey history to this day. The brewery and museum are well worth the time when in Hailey. Brewery website: SunValleyBrewery.com #beerhistory

Sawtooth Brewing has two locations; the brewery / taproom and a pub located in Ketchum. The pub was about five minutes from our condo. There is outside seating and indoors as well. We started outside but a sudden afternoon rainstorm brought us inside. It was later afternoon and there were several groups there. The mug club mugs are displayed right in the taproom. I got a sampler tray with five brews. The favorite here was Tandem DIPA. Made with local malts, five hops / oils, dry hopped with three more; it had grapefruit / citrus tastes and was easy drinking. Idahome IPA was a good hoppy, aromatic and dank 'San Diego' IPA. Myopia Hazy IPA was a juicy one with four hops and dry hopped two times. Free Solo Hazy was a light brew hopped with Azacca hops. The outlier of my tray was Out Cold Winter ale. Brewed to be a malty ale there were some different German hops and English Ale yeast. We enjoyed our time at Sawtooth; good people and great beer. You can't go wrong with that! Website: SawtoothBrewery.com

Warfield Distillery and Brewery is located on Main Street in Ketchum. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and it was quiet. It is a full restaurant, sieving locally sourced organic food and spirits. The brews are also organic. The restaurant wasn't open yet; we wanted to try some of the brews. Unfortunately, WDB doesn't offer flights as we could have tried some interesting brews. Smooth Liquidation Cold IPA is a 'New Zealand' IPA, brewed like a lager so it is a clear smooth brew with the hoppiness of an IPA. It was the favorite here and in line with this years 'IPA Theme'. Yard Sale is an Imperial Stout dark and malty. it was very smooth drinking and the 9.4% ABV wasn't evident. Careful with this one! I tried samples of several others; everything was good and true to style. The food looks fantastic; it should be tried if available. We would like to return. Website: DrinkWarfield.com

Mica Town has two locations in Marion, NC. We visited the downtown location on a Saturday afternoon. It was a hot summer day and we were happy to enter the cool taproom. There is breweriana; local and regional, on all the walls. The Growler Collection was cool and I recognized several that I have in my collection. It looks like it is a favorite for locals. Marion Jane IPA was the favorite with North Cone Hazy IPA a close second. Mica Town in on the Catawba Valley Ale Trail which focuses on local breweries. The area covered is from Old Fort to the Hickory area; AKA the Catawba River Valley. There is a rich history here with varied local cultures along the way. Each area has some unique local crafts and all use local sources to make their products. The craft breweries use local / regional ingredients when ever possible. Our visit was short and we will return to explore more breweries in this area. Website: MicaTownBrewing

Brewery Bhavana is a brewery / taproom, flower shop - bookstore with Dim Sum and Chinese dining. I visited the brewery late one afternoon. Bhavana shows the 'hand of the maker' in everything they do. The brewer has a hand in the process from start to finish. The brewing is 'Belgian inspired' but not Belgian beer as it is usually presented in the US. I enjoyed the brews that I tried. Ember, a Red IPA with good malty tastes and three hops. It was good to find a RED IPA that let the malts come through. Vase is a West Coast IPA 6.2 % ABV. It was a clear golden straw color with a dank piney flavor. The hops were classic West Coast; Amerillo, Simcoe and Cascade. This is one of the first styles of the modern craft beer movement. I am starting to see some of these again and I'm ready to go 'back to the future'. Pithy is their 'concise' IPA made with a new hop, Vic Secret. They also have a small barrel aging program. Using fresh first use bourbon barrels the Barleywine had been aged for six months when I had a sample. The barrel imparted bourbon notes with vanilla in the background. I wonder it the barrel will be used for a 'second' generation' aging. I will return to try the Chinese cuisine and more brews. Website: BreweryHavana.com

Magnetic South Brewery is located in the Judson Mill district in west Greenville. Judson Mill was a functioning textile mill; opening in 1912. The original buildings are being re-purposed and similar new construction has created a mixed use complex that will revive the area. There are now retailers, offices and apartments on site. This is the perfect spot for a local brewery to expand along with many other businesses. Magnetic has a large taproom that also holds different events. The taproom wasnt busy the day I was there but the brews didn't disappoint. I can see that it is popular at night and on weekends. There is indoor and outdoor spaces for enjoyment of the varied beers and good food to go with them. The variety of styles should please most drinkers. My favorite was Hitman Hops a 6.7% ABV NE IPA tasty and hazy as expected. Ale Earnhardt is a Rye ale and Red Carpet is a 6.2% ABV Irish Red Ale that was a good one. Website: MagneticSouthBeer.com

Pangaea Brewing is located, along the Reedy River, in Unity Park. The Swamp Rabbit Trail is just across the river and leads to a nearby brewery, Southernside Brewing, and goes for 20 miles more! PBC has a 'trailside' beer garden outside and a taproom inside. The interior has a cool collection of olld stuff all around. I like the idea of going on the trail and stopping, for a cold brew, along the way. Cold IPA is the 'new' style this year and Pangaea had two. Stone Cold Sabertooth Tiger is a 7.0% ABV clear and light as the style should be. Give 'em the Byrd is a 'session' 5.5% ABV Cold IPA. Other brews were Jötunn is a 6.8% Cyro IPA. I don't see this one much and it was very hoppy and not too bitter. There is a good variety of brews to suit all palates. the food is made on site in the scratch kitchen and everything goes well with beer! We ennjoyed the beer and atmosphere here and look forward to a return visit. Website: PangaeaBrewing.com

Sponge City is in an old Phillips 66 gas station. It's on the main drag just west of the sponge docks / tourist area of Tarpon Springs. The night we were there it was busy with a solo guitarist playing outside. RyeRyeRyeRyeRyeRye... IPA was the favorite here. I don't see too many Rye beers and this one really let the rye flavors shine through. This 7.1% ABV brew is a year round beer and is quite popular. McKrakken West Coast Double IPA was excellent At 8.9% this brew packs a punch and tastes. Great to see another old fashioned West Coast IPA again. I think the style is undergoing a revival. Tres Hazy Bios Hazy IPA, 6.5% ABV, has pineapple and citrusy notes. Sponge City was decorated for the season with the old oaks covered in white lights. They added to the charm of the place along with the cooler weather. Website: SpongeCityBrewinng.com