TODAY'S STATS: 6.31 miles, 1 hour, 46 minutes. Jackson River Scenic Trail, Petticoat to Smith Bridge, and the Smith Bridge area

This walk is actually from earlier this week, I'm a little late posting the pictures. The JRST is really my favorite place to walk. I've done a fair amount of traveling this summer and had opportunities to walk in a few different, beautiful areas. But I always come back to this trail, which is practically in my own back yard. The trail is wide and clear, and gravel-lined. The scenery is beautiful and varied. As you travel this section of trail, you walk along the river, past some gorgeous views, and through a few rural, residential areas. Even on an overcast day like this one was, the walk is really pretty. I've walked this trail quite a bit this year, and if I go long without a walk, I begin to miss it.

Guinness Black Lager says on the label, in big letters, that it is COLD BREWED. So, yeah, alright. It's a lager. And it is not a good one. It pours dark brown, almost black, with very little foam. The aroma is a little bit of charcoal, a little bit of coffee, and average lager notes. The flavor is slightly sweet and rich, but the after-taste is godawful. Medicinal. A little astringent. I won’t have this again.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine surprised me with a case of Blue Moon Belgian White. I'm not really a Blue Moon fan, but I'm not one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, either. Over the last few weeks I've slowly drank the whole case, and the truth is, it ain't a terrible beer. I've had far worse beer from "craft" breweries. Blue Moon Belgian White pours a cloudy, burnt orange color with very little head. The aroma is yeasty. Maybe a little funky. There’s a cooked cabbage thing going on. The flavor is better than the aroma. It’s like a diluted version of a pretty average wheat beer. The label mentions orange and coriander. I don’t pick up on that. Sometimes, when my only option in a restaurant is crappy beer, I just drink water. I've passed up Blue Moon as an option before. I might be more willing to go ahead and have one with dinner in the future.

Boulevard's Entwined Ale is a blonde that's brewed with grape juice. It pours kind of an apricot color with a little bit of suds. The aroma is white grapes. The flavor is white grapes, too. Like a mild, slightly tart white wine. Boulevard is usually pretty reliable, but this beer isn’t very good.

TODAY'S STATS: 5.09 miles, just under 90 minutes. Jackson River Scenic Trail and surrounding area

There was a hell of a lot going on over the last couple of weeks and I missed a lot of walks. Most of my recent walks haven't been particularly photogenic, anyway. I've just walked around town after work, stuff like that. But today I got back onto a hiking trail and really enjoyed the early fall weather. And I got the absolute hell scared out of me by an owl about the size of a minivan. More about that in a minute.

Porkslap is Butternuts Brewing's version of an English pale ale. it's fairly dry tasting, which is surprising, given the very low 4% ABV. Porkslap pours a cloudy amber with a persistent head and an aroma of spice, mellow malt, and some hop tingle. The flavor starts with the tingle, has little bit of citrus at the swallow, and finishes a little ripe. This beer is pretty OK.

This song wrecks me every time I listen to it.

It wrecks me.

Uinta's Detour is a damn good imperial IPA. It pours a really clear amber color, with a lot of sticky suds. The aroma is sweet cereal malts behind a really bright citrus hop character. Apples, pine, and mellow bread notes in the flavor. I don't drink beer daily anymore, so when I have one, I want it to be a really good one. Cha-ching.