The 411 From 406 » beer

Petrus At The Winking Lizard

Chewie — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:25:16 +0000

The Winking Lizard (Bedford Heights, Ohio)

If you’ve never been to the Winking Lizard (@winkinglizard on Twitter) you’re missing out. They’ve got some of the best wings in Cleveland, have several locations to choose from and have a TON of beers for your tasting pleasure. This year, I’m participating in the 2012 World Tour of Beers. This Petrus was #32 on the year.

The 2012 Beeramid

Chewie — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:11:10 +0000

WrestleMania 28 was held on April 1st. And just as the WWE has a tradition of putting on it’s biggest pay per view of the year, Pip and I have started a bit of a tradition of our own… The Beeramid. And for the 7th time we set out last Sunday night to once again attempt the mighty feat.

I have to give HUGE props to my brother Marko for once again joining us for the event. Not only is the event itself Herculean in nature, but Mark and his wife had just 5 days prior welcomed their first child into the world. As his wife said, “With a dad and uncle who are so big into wrestling… there’s no chance she won’t be a fan!” And let’s be honest… what kind of an uncle would I be if I didn’t instill a love for wrestling in my niece? On another family note, the Wife and kids were out of town this year which was a real bummer cause Pip (aka Mr. Matt) loves to see them and the boys talk about him just about all year… we’ll have to wait till next year for that.

In any case… with our rules of engagement set before us, we awoke Sunday morning ready for action. I’ve often said that if you’re going to do something stupid you may as well go all the way, so we started with a tremendous pre-WrestleMania breakfast of steak, eggs & Yuengling!

The Breakfast Of Champions

Mark wasn’t going to be doing a ton of drinking as he was running on about 46 minutes of sleep, so Pip and I knew we had our work cut out for us. Luckily, the first row of the Beeramid flew by with little incident.

1 Row Down... 6 To Go

Row #2 went by pretty easily as well. Those first two are rough but rows 3, 4 and 5 is when business really starts to pick up.

2 Rows Down - Gaining Confidence

See what I mean?

3rd Row... Foreign Objects

At this point we were about halfway through the show and it was time to kick things into high gear. Shotgun!

Rise... Above... Beer Bong

Row #4 - Time For An Attitude Adjustment!

Guess Who We're Rooting For?

Chalk this next one up to, “It sounded good at the time.” Note to self… getting a large man into a Tombstone Piledriver is made to look very easy on television. But to be fair, I don’t think the Undertaker drinks 15 beers prior to trying it.

Brother's Don't Hug. Brother's Gotta... Tombstone?

Million Dollar Dream & Pip Out = One More Beer!

The Champs... Are HERE!!!

Once again, we made it. There will come a day when we may have to cut a row out of the glorious structure, but it was not to be this year. For something as simple as stacking beer cans, the sense of accomplishment that we get is quite exhilarating.

We... Are The Champions... My Friend...

And We'll Keep On Fighting... Till The End

Break It Down!

Once Again... The Structure In All It's Glory

And just like that, Mania weekend was over. Pip and I tend to build these twice a year weekends up in our mind, but I have to say this one was pretty fucking epic. The return “match” with the Beeramid will take place at WrestleMania 29 on April 7th, 2013. Stay tuned!

A HUGE Oversight – The Annex

Chewie — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:10:14 +0000

The Annex Bar & Grille (Solon, Ohio)

I was reviewing my Beer Shots earlier today and I realized that I’d made a grave mistake by inadvertently omitting the greatest bar in the world. The Annex is the best “home town bar” you’ll ever run across and it’s my #1 choice when I’m headed out. In addition to probably the greatest decor ever, you want a great burger? Good lord… this is the place to be.

The WrestleMania 28 Drinking Game

Chewie — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:41:14 +0000

WrestleMania XXVIII (28 for you non-Roman numeral folks out there) will take place on April 1, 2012 in Miami, Florida. For the 7th time, Pip and I (and for the second year in a row, my brother Marko too!) will once again try to “walk that isle” and build… The Beeramid.

Since WWE announced it’s Mania main event the day after last year’s show (Rock vs. John Cena for those not paying attention), I figured we’d better get going and put together rules of engagement for the evening’s festivities.

This year, we’re starting something a bit different. Moving forward, we’ll have 20 rules for each event. This first batch of 10 will carry over from year to year and the second batch will be Mania-specific rules.

Year Over Year Rules

1 drink for a missed match outcome / 3 drinks if title match / 5 drinks if main event
1 drink for foreign object
3 drinks for a bloody wrestler / 5 if an announcer references a “crimson mask”
3 drinks for (unannounced) legend appearance or a surprise return
1 drink for a small package attempt / finish beer if it wins the match
1 drink for each reference to the sponsored song
2 drinks for a submission victory
5 drinks for a double count out or double DQ
1 drink for a finisher / 2 if opponent kicks out / 4 if it’s reversed / Finish beer if the reversal directly leads to pin fall or submission
1 drink every time they show footage of a previous WrestleMania

WrestleMania 28 Specific Rules

1 drink for every mention of something “trending worldwide” on Twitter
2 drinks if a Diva and wrestler make out (each occurrence)
1 drink every time it’s mentioned that Miami is the Rock’s home town
3 drinks for each reference to CM Punk’s ice cream bar
5 drinks if the Rock announces he will return to the next WrestleMania
1 drink for each (different) chant of “lady parts”
Finish beer if the RAW GM is revealed
3 drinks if Michaels super kicks someone (5 if he superkicks Undertaker AND HHH)
10 drinks for a definitive Cena heel turn
5 drinks for a ref bump / 7 is next ref gets bumped, etc.

ED NOTE: Pictures of the 2012 Beeramid can be found here. Recap of the show and game results are here.

Channeling 406 – This Is IU

Chewie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:22:14 +0000

Pip sent me this video earlier today… I clicked and had absolutely no idea what to expect. I quite literally got goose bumps. THIS video is the essence the college experience at Indiana. These guys (who apparently have some fame in the Hoosier state) don’t know it, but they’ve completely channeled the 406 Northlane experience.

Please don’t take this to mean that life at IU was all about partying. There was certainly (more than) a fair share of that, but what this really evokes from my memory is the FUN that we had. I met some of my best friends there… friends that I’ve got and cherish to this day. Not only that, but I grew up there (kind of). IU and Bloomington hold a special place in my heart and these videos have captured a little piece of it…

Where the hell did they dig up all the 406 footage for this video???

If I wasn’t pumped for my trip back to my second home on Friday (which I was) you can damn well be sure that I’m bursting with excitement at this point. Am I remembering and romanticizing a time from when I was a lot younger, in a lot better shape and could drink a lot more beer? You’re damn right!

Good God it’s going to be great to be back in the Hoosier state!

Get ready… Chewie’s coming home!

Beer Shots – Akron Aeros Baseball

Chewie — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:33:55 +0000

Canal Park Home Of The Akron Aeros (Akron, Ohio)

Not only did I get to take in a ballgame at beautiful Canal Park in Akron the other night, but we also go to watch midget wrestling! Beer, baseball and midgets. What more could a guy ask for?

Beer Shots – Eddy & Iggy’s

Chewie — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:59:22 +0000

Beer Shots #3 - Eddy & Iggy's (Lakewood, Ohio)

I recently went to a networking event at Eddy & Iggy’s in Lakewood. I didn’t stay long, but was there long enough for a Summer Shandy from Leinenkugel. Yummy!

Beer Shots – Der Braumeister

Chewie — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:22:51 +0000

Beer Shots #2 - Der Braumeister (Cleveland, Ohio)

Der Braumeister is a German restaurant, market and “biergarten” located on the west side of Cleveland. You can find their website here: http://derbraumeister.com/

Beer Shots – A New Passion

Chewie — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:34:52 +0000

As I’ve said in the past I’m definitely not what you’d call a “foodie”. However, going through the pictures I realized that I have a proclivity to take pictures of my beer. Not sure why I’ve started this, but figured I’d post these here. Without further fanfare, I give you the initial offering of a new passion I call: Beer Shots (as in pictures… not necessarily shots. Though come to think of it, those may be in there from time to time too )

Beer Shots #1 - Saxon Pub & Grub (Austin-Bergstrom International Airport - Austin, Texas)

My Version Of “Foodie”

Chewie — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:23:08 +0000

I have quite a few friends that I’d consider “foodies”. They write awesome blogs, share reviews and tend to photograph the food they eat. I’ve never really considered myself a food photographer and I’m certainly not a foodie with all the crap that I eat. However… I was going through some recent pics on my phone and I realized that I’ve taken quite a few food pictures over the recent months.

Nachos From BW3

These nachos were free for being the Foursquare mayor at BW3. I haven’ t been there in forever so I’m not sure I’m the mayor anymore, but damn were these great… especially with that price!

Valentine's Day Dinner

The wife and I treated ourselves to an incredible (if I do say so myself) dinner on Valentine’s Day. Luckily we didn’t have the same problems with this lobster as we did in previous years.

The Parmageddon From Melt

Definitely not good for you but DAMN was it good. This sandwich is called “The Parmageddon” for obvious reasons.

Meatball Sub & Cookie

Shredded Chicken

WrestleMania 27 Food

Stir Fried Dinner

Cupcake @ The Office

The rest of these pics are from a recent trip I took to Austin, Texas. I can’t say that I ate all that healthfully, but between Texas BBQ and some ice cold beer I have to say it was an outstanding culinary trip.

Nachos During Happy Hour

Texas BBQ From Iron Works

Mmmm... Beer

Bowl Of Fried Glory

This Is Me Being "Artsy"