A Toast to Great Grandma Hudson: A Tad Dodgy – Perfect Name for Beer #4984
From the Desk of JT, the Beer Logger (B-Logger)
- Mission: 50 Beers to 5000
- Beer #: 4984
- Location: Hudson, Florida
- Beer: A Tad Dodgy (Mild Light Ale)
- Brewery: Tidal Brewing Company
- Vibe: Reflective, sunny, family-rooted
- Mood: Grateful, thoughtful, proudly nostalgic
🍺 Beer #4984: A Tad Dodgy (3.75)
After returning from an incredible UK adventure, my body was back in Florida…
…but my mind was still very much in England.
So naturally, instead of unpacking emotionally like a normal person, I drove one hour north to Hudson, Florida, thinking about Great Grandma Hudson — and how absolutely wild her life story really was.
That’s where Beer #4984 entered the log.
On a sunny Gulf Coast afternoon at Sam’s Beach Bar, one beer jumped off the menu and basically introduced itself:
👉 A Tad Dodgy
I mean… come on.
It didn’t stand a chance.
🌍 Great Grandma Hudson: Braver Than Any of Us
Let’s rewind. Way back.
Florence (Annis) Hudson — my great grandmother — left Manchester, England at 15 years old with her younger brother.
Let that sink in.
She:
- Found her way to the port
- Bought passage for two
- And boarded a ship for North America
No parents.
No safety net.
No Google Maps.
No phones.
No guarantees.
Just courage, necessity, and maybe a crumpled map that was only mostly accurate.
The Hudson Family Facebook group offers a few details:
- Her parents’ names were Mary and George
- Were they alive when the kids left? Unclear.
- What is clear is that life must have been unimaginably hard.
Poverty.
Limited opportunity.
Or the sheer pull of the promise of something better in the United States or Canada.
Either way — could you imagine doing that at 15?
She was an incredibly strong woman before she ever stepped onto that ship.
🧓 My Memories of Her
I was lucky. Truly.
As a young boy in the 1960s and early 1970s, I spent time with Great Grandma in Zion, Illinois, visiting her trailer home with Mom, Grandma, and my sister Lisa (and possibly Tracy, too).
My memories are vivid, even if the details aren’t:
- Playing cards
- Her floor-length hair
- Warm conversations (content long forgotten, feeling very much intact)
She also visited us in Kenosha, Wisconsin a few times. I have one photo I treasure deeply — featuring:
- Great Grandma Hudson
- Grandma Alberta Dagon
- My mom, Gloria Thomas
- And me
Four generations.
Three strong women.
And one very lucky kid.
I was profoundly blessed.
ChatGPT helped me have some fun with a new version of the photo. Love the caricature, although Grandma Alberta didn’t look anything like that. And, just to clear the air, that is root beer in my hand! The first iteration had all four of us with beers in our hands. Even AI gets caught up in the moment sometimes.
🇬🇧 England in the Blood
This trip also stirred something deeper.
I believe at least two of my eight great grandparents were from England. On the Thomas side, family history traces back to Cornwall, in the south — while Great Grandma Hudson brings in that northern England Manchester grit.
So yes…
There’s a bit of north and south England running through my veins.
Bloody brilliant. 🇬🇧🍺
🍻 The Beer That Fit the Moment
Back to Hudson. Back to the Gulf. Back to the present.
At Sam’s Beach Bar — a tiki-leaning, toes-in-the-sand kind of place — A Tad Dodgy from Tidal Brewing Company felt like fate.
JT Mild Ale Breakdown:
- Style: Mild Light Ale (of course)
- Drinkability level: Extremely high
- Vibe check: Perfect for a one-beer afternoon
- Flavor notes (non-snobby):
- Smooth
- Clean
- A gentle biscuit malt backbone
Tidal Brewing describes it as:
“A tasty pale mild made with all English malts… sessionable and delicious.”
They’re not wrong.
JT rating: 3.75
And for a mild ale brewed in the States, that’s a strong score.
This was a beer that didn’t try to overpower the moment — it respected it.
📱 Untappd, Cousins & Connection
Speaking of respect — I love how beer quietly connects people.
I have two active Hudson-family cousins on Untappd:
- Darryl Thorn — cousin Darryl!
- Still logs several craft brews
- He and his wife Kim even took a UK trip recently
- Kevin Thorn
- Artist, graphic designer, and Lego / Minifigs store owner
- Logs beers when life allows
- Runs the shop, and life, with wife Tammy
If you are curious, you should join us on Untappd:
- Me: @buffmeister
- Darryl: @dkthorn
- Kevin: @NuggetHead
My 50 Beers to 5000 journey goes back to 2012, logging unique beers — that simple habit turned into this blog (b-log). A fun project while semi-retired… and a good reason to do more than just sleep and eat 😄
You can also follow along on Facebook (@50Beersto5000), Instagram (@50Beersto5000), or YouTube (@JTBeers).
🍺 JT Final Toast
Beer #4984 wasn’t just a beer.
It was a reflection.
A toast to:
- Immigrant courage
- Family roots
- England and Florida somehow colliding
- And the quiet ways beer helps us remember where we came from
So here’s to Great Grandma Hudson —
Braver at 15 than most of us will ever be.
And here’s to family, friends, travel…
…and being A Tad Dodgy every once in a while.
Cheers! 🍻
Related Links
