Travel
Nick True
Freelance Writer
United States
United States
Travel
My wife and I recently returned from the trip of a lifetime in Japan and it opened our eyes to beauty, culture, and experiences that we had no idea existed.
My wife and I took a huge 2400 mile road trip this past week through western Montana and Northern Wyoming that included Yellowstone National Park. We made a deliberate effort this trip to avoid the interstates at all cost and only traveled via state highways and county roads, all routes neither of us have ever seen before.
A few years ago four buddies and I decided that we were going to have one last adventure since we were all settling down; after many pints and much discussion we took the plunge and decided to travel to Iceland on the first ever direct flight out of Denver.
Dublin is an amazing city that straddles it's rich history and modernity with ease, finesse and elegance. My wife and I visited last summer and it quickly became a trip of a lifetime, I hope that others can experience just as we did; one pint of brew and glass of whiskey at a time.
My wife and I just got back from a long weekend in Seattle and it was wonderful. We landed at SeaTac airport to perfect skies and a 70 degree day, the weather could not have been better. We started with lunch at Serious Pie, a stylish pizzeria where cooks made fresh dough near the center of the restaurant.
One of the most striking realizations upon arriving in Japan is just how good the food is. On our first night in Japan I was sitting at the hotel bar as my wife was getting ready and a local businessman told me his favorite thing about his home was the food, he explained that everywhere serves good food and if you find something you do not like it is solely because of your tastes and not the quality of food.
Austin Texas is well known for it's fantastic food, music, and craft beer. Since Austin is the capital of Texas and is home to one of a kind cultural sites and museums my wife and were sure to make our first stop the LBJ Presidential Library.
As amazing as the beer was during my recent weekend trip to Portland the food we had was just as spectacular. I was blown away again and again by this food scene where you could choose to have nearly anything for an affordable price at an extremely high quality.
My partner and I spent the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in Portland Oregon and had the time of our lives as we experienced some of the best beer this country has to offer. After being welcomed by the greatest views of Mt.
Movie Inspired Original Cocktails
Welcome to the start of a new series where I create an original cocktail or pair an existing recipe to whichever movie I am particularly in to that week. To debut this series I decided to create a new and original cocktail based on the visually stunning and extremely engrossing spy thriller Atomic Blonde.
The Royal Tenenbaums is an amazingly layered film that is so simply beautify that it is truly astonishing. After introducing the children of family as adolescences, the film follows this 'family of geniuses' through their reunification as they all live under the house for the first time in years and care for their father as he appears to be dying of stomach cancer.
The world of Blade Runner 2049 is a bleak desolate dystopia where the ecosystems of the world have collapsed. No traditional agriculture or anything green is left and instead all nutrition is grown in mechanical pods that are mechanical and wholly unnatural.
Bridesmaids is one of my favorite comedies; every scene is a joke or set up for a later payoff and it features some of the best comedic actress of our time. But what really makes it a close favorite of mine is that when it came out 7 years ago it I saw way to0 much of my 24 year old self in Kristen Wigg's main character.
With Deadpool 2 on the near horizon I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute to this Merc with a Mouth in the best way possible; creating a cocktail for him.
Beer, Breweries, and Beer Culture
Thousands of people organized in columns of hundreds anxiously await for the call to battle. No, this is not an invading force readying for war but rather people from across the United States and beyond gathering for the greatest beer that America has to offer; the Great American Beer Festival.
This weekend Wiley Roots Brewing in Northern Colorado is releasing two of the most innovative and impressive beers I have ever been introduced to. Wiley Roots will be celebrating their 3rd anniversary this Friday and Saturday with new beer releases and a cigar and beer pairing, this is an event celebrating one of the best and most creative small breweries in the country.
Greeley Colorado is going through a craft brewery renaissance. Right now this small city of only 100,000 is home to 5 fantastic breweries and one of them was just named the best new brewery in the country by USA Today.
Spangalang Brewing in the heart of the Five Points neighborhood in Denver Colorado is a hidden gem that is not to be missed under any circumstances. In a city where great breweries are born and bred it is difficult to find one that is truly unique and has a full line up of unmissable brews like this one.
Do you have someone in your life looking to get into homebrewing? If so getting them started may seem a bit daunting to a beginner or loved one without much experience, but luckily FactoryTwoFour has your covered so you can give them the gift of brewing this holiday season.
Finding a truly great craft hard cider is deceptively hard; so many ciders are shockingly sweet or are just artificially flavored malt alcohol. Lucky for me I have a good buddy that started working right by The Old Mine Cidery and Brewpub in tiny Erie Colorado, and after he tried it he insisted that I drive down and experience it for myself.
Winter is finally fully upon us and every brewery is rushing to get their winter seasonals on the shelves yet in a sea of innovation Snowbank Brewing has created something truly special that stands apart from the rest.
Colorado Wheat Ale is a dynamic classic wheat beer that comes from an amazingly innovative new brewery in Northern Colorado; Soul Squared Brewing Company. Soul Squared is a new upstart that is housed in the original barn of a working farm that sells their beer in the same manner as the farm around them sells their crops; through community-powered and supported agriculture.
Funkwerks Punch is good. So good that I think it is my new brew for spring. Funkwerks has been my favorite Brewery in Fort Collins Colorado since it opened. To some this would be blasphemy in the mecca of beer with breweries such as New Belgium and Odell, but Funkwerks c is something very special and each of their beers are expertly and passionately crafted.
The Open Gate Brewery is the experimental brewing arm of Guinness and the specialty brewers there are continually producing some of the best beers that Europe has to offer. All St. James Gate Brewery beer is built around the same closely guarded strain of yeast that all Guinness beer has at its core for over 200 years and these beers are no different.
Dub Double India Pale Ale by 10 Barrel Brewing Co. is an extremely hop-centered and malty beer that represents everything the American Double style strives to be. Double or Imperial IPAs are everything you would expect from an India Pale Ale just turned up to 11 and Dub is no exception.
Road Beers is a reoccurring miniseries of quick reviews of beer I enjoy while traveling. These posts are usually done on the spot and posted via my phone live while actually traveling, this way you can experience the beer the way I have; on the spot and it in their natural habitats.
Somethings just go great together: peanut butter and jelly, thunder and lightning, Kim and Kanye, and now Double Chocolate Raspberry Nitro Stout by Fort Collins Brewery with vanilla ice cream. It is well known that stouts mixed with ice cream is an unbeatable combination but with this pairing we have found the king of the crossover.
Warrior IPA from Left Hand Brewing is a balanced India Pale Ale that puts Colorado Cascade hops hops on a pedestal. Left Hand has a history of talking proven and well explored beer styles and tweaking them in slight ways in order to create their own unique takes on well-known classics.
Nothing is better for unwinding after a long day like cooking your favorite meal while enjoying a couple of beers and listening to your favorite record as it is meant to be heard; on vinyl. Blue Moon sent me their Cook, Collaborate, and Listen pack full of four of their beers and Family of the Year's self titled album, the beginning of a great evening.
Pop Culture and Strongman
A couple of weekends ago I was lucky enough to attend Denver Comic Con and I have to say it was more fun than I ever thought possible. The panels were intellectual and invigorating, the artists in attendance were the best I have seen, and the cosplayers were out of this world.
On May 20th I competed in my second ever sanctioned strongman competition; the Third Annual American Team Tom an American Tribute. Once again it was hosted and organized by Team Tom in Greeley Colorado and this event pushed me harder than I have ever been pushed before.
If you have read my articles here on FactoryTwoFour for any length of time you will obviously be aware of my love for craft beer, fine liquor, and great food. While these loves are among the best passions to explore and enjoy it does come with the caveat that you have to balance them with a healthy lifestyle and diet when you are not writing a weekly review.
Right now, there's a war being waged against the level and fair internet we love. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are working to pass through their plans for a "free and open internet" which would significantly roll back current FCC regulations which protect the internet we enjoy today.
Liquor and Cocktails
I love discovering new ways to create refreshing and innovative cocktails, so when I got a pack of organic sodas I was a bit hesitant in how they would fit with my home bar and my method of creating new drinks.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Don Q rum for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. Here in Colorado the days are getting shorter and the weather rapidly cooler, and with that I always like to focus on new and creative Fall cocktails to usher in my most favorite seasons.
I am not a huge rum fan mostly because I thought it only lends itself to sugary mixed drinks that I tend to shy away from, but I was wrong on this one. Enter Havana Club Añejo Clásico; this dark rum has been aged and blended in such a way that it makes for the perfect base of true cocktails, not just Rum and Cokes.
Summer is finally upon us. As a teacher summer officially begins this week; it the last week with students and the season really starts off with the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Starting this week and going throughout the summer I am going to be intermittently writing about my favorite refreshing yet classy and innovative summer cocktails.
Beer, Pizza, and Wings have always dominated the the Super Bowl refreshments menu, and while I love all three they are not everyone's favorite. I decided to try and find a cocktail that had the robust backbone required to hold its own with the most flavorful and even greasy of Super Bowl foods while still bing deep and complex enough to enjoy purely on its own.
The Martini is an iconic drink that is synonymous with class and high quality drinking. Every bar makes a Martini, but few really know what separates a truly great one from a merely passable mixed drink.
I love whisky. I love ice cream. I really love them together in a shake. With the days get a bit cooler and shorter I turned to my trusty blender and favorite ice cream to create a perfectly creamy boozy milkshake to celebrate the end of the this hot and long summer.
The snow is finally melting here in Colorado as the wild flowers start to awaken and the foothills erupt in a deep green. Light, flavorful, and lively spring cocktails are among my favorites of any season and a great whisky has to be my favorite liquor to use as the base.
Vodka is used the base of innumerable alcoholic drinks; everything from horrid shooters to some of the classiest and best cocktails around. This week I decided to focus on one of the best warm weather vodka cocktails there is; the Volstead.
Netflix B-Side Movie Reviews
Netflix B-sides is a twice monthly column that takes a look at the lesser known entries of Netflix's vast catalogue. We will dive deep in to the cavernous universe of B-movies to find the best of the worst, the worst of the best, and those movies that celebrities would rather you forget.
Netflix B-sides is a twice-monthly column that takes a look at the lesser-known entries of Netflix's vast catalogue. We will dive deep in to the cavernous universe of B-movies to find the best of the worst, the worst of the best, and those movies that celebrities would rather you forget.
Iron Sky is best described as an amazingly high quality "cinematic" porno without the sex. The storyline revolves around a regiment of Nazi's that left Earth during the fall of the Third Reich to set up a secret base and society on the dark side of the moon.
I should not have watched Masters of the Universe on Netflix; I made a horrible mistake. The memories of watching Mortal Kombat last month were still too fresh; my childhood memories were not yet ready to take another hard hit like this so soon.
Netflix B-sides is a twice-monthly column that takes a look at the lesser-known entries of Netflix's vast catalogue. We will dive deep in to the cavernous universe of B-movies to find the best of the worst, the worst of the best, and those movies that celebrities would rather you forget.
is a gritty and grime covered cult classic from 1979 that has some of the most immersive and engrossing cinematography that I have ever witnessed. From the subdued and eerie opening focused on the color-saturated Coney Island Wonder Wheel to the closing shot of the same pier during daybreak, The Warriors is beautifully shot.
Client Paid Content
I just got back home from an amazing weekend at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado and had some of the most amazing brews I have ever tried, and while I will get to those in my GABF roundup post next week I want to take a minute to write about one of the true standouts of the festival: STUBBORN Soda.
Brewing beer yourself use to be hard, but the world of technology has made this once mighty endeavor more accessible and versatile than ever. BrewArt has created a series of high-end appliances that integrates the art of the brew with the power and ease of technology seamlessly.
Beer and Liquor are my obviously my forte. I feel comfortable reviewing these types of alcohol because they are my passion and I love sharing what I know with others, but every once in a while I get the chance to review something that is out of my wheelhouse yet truly spectacular in its own right.
Living in Colorado I am outdoors an inordinate amount of time, and living on the front range I am at an amazing microbrewery almost as often.
Brisk Maté is a new line of Ice Tea from Brisk that includes three new fruit flavors of Dragonfruit, Mango, and Cherry, each blended with a fairly niche tea known as Yerba Maté.
In my never-ending quest to create the perfect home bar I jump on anything that gives my set-up unique character and fits my personal style. I have already reviewed a couple of pint and rocks glasses on here but I have yet to find a shot glass that is engaging and striking yet not gaudy or chintzy, until now.
This is a huge Father's Day for me, mostly because this is my first as a dad myself. Last Father's day I shared a steak dinner and a bottle of a Crown Royal that was part of their Noble Collection with my amazing step-father, and it was a day to remember.