North Carolina.

Outer Banks. Local-ish beers (North Carolina, at least):

Natty Greene's Buckshot Amber Ale: Not super crazy about this. It's a little sweet, but just doesn't seem particularly balanced or interesting. Just not really worth the effort.

Natty Greene's Pale Ale: This one, on the other hand, is pretty good. Maybe I've just gotten well into hoppy beers at this point in my life, maybe it's because this is nicely hoppy and refreshing in the heat and humidity of Duck, North Carolina, or maybe it's just good. I think that. I can't say it's much besides hoppy, but it was well received by a group of people who typically prefer hoppy beers.

Highland Oatmeal Porter: GOOD STUFF. I like that beers with oatmeal involved are generally pleasant and not too strongly flavored like anything but stout (or in this case, porter). This was delightful. Malty but balanced, smooth but interesting. Definitely a winner. I'd do this again or recommend it to others who like dark beers (or perhaps even those who are still conflicted in their feelings toward darker beers; Mike, who wrinkles his nose in an epic way to most of my black-paint beers besides Guinness, liked this).

I saw Paul and his awesome wife at a wedding last weekend. Congratulations, Tyler and Christie! We drank a lot of your Yuengling. Paul keeps promising he'll tell us all about Dogfish Head...