I’m still feeling a bit overwhelmed from the whirlwind weekend. A pub crawl, an all day Christmas tree decorating event, coupled with a nail biter Raven’s win and I’m exhausted! And all after a busy Thanksgiving at our house.

After surviving 4 Columbia Pub Crawls, I have learned to severely pace my alcohol intake during the walk, usually ordering small pours and seeking out low ABV beers. So when I saw a hazelnut porter at Black Flag (Praline Mountain), I pounced on it and ordered the 4-oz pour. Oh, did I mentioned, I love hazelnut in any form, especially brown ales. It was delicious with plenty of yummy hazelnut flavors to accent a solid brown ale, aka Dude Mountain.

More coolness followed, when just a 15-minute walk later, I looked over the beer list at Hysteria. They too had a hazelnut, A Dark and Hazel Fortnight. This time, I really upped my game and ordered a 5-oz pour. I’ve had Dark and Hazel before but this one has more roasted flavors than I remember, sadly covering up some of that savory hazelnut zest.

While at Hysteria, watching a spirited Jenga match, I heard that Hysteria head brewer, Jordan, is moving to Full Tilt in Baltimore. I checked Full Tilt’s web page and Jordan McGraw is listed as “coming soon”. I had heard he lives in Baltimore, so I’m happy he can shorten his commute but I’m disappointed he will not longer be making ales in Columbia. Good luck, Jordan!

Cheers!

Warren