After a late night of drinking, an early rise, and a heck of a long drive the destination on our GPS finally seemed attainable. As we transitioned into the hills of Tennessee and headed across the border to North Carolina the last episode of S-Town came to an end (absolutely fantastic). I had done some scouting and knew that we’d be crossing the Appalachian Trail. We were running late so we only had a short window of time to jump out of the car, stretch our legs, take a short walk on the trail, and enjoy the amazing weather. We had planned to meet our friends Nicole and Eric in Asheville to share a hotel for the night as well as hit up a pair of breweries. So we jumped back into the car and made an incredibly windy path through the mountains to our first stop: Burial Beer Co.
Continue Reading…Wild Mind Artisan Ales
May 9, 2017
Flipping through my Instagram feed on a late March day I happened upon a post from Wild Mind Artisan Ales. It described their first bottle release event for their Golden Ho/rye/zon American Wild Ale. I made a mental note but promptly forgot about it. The day of the event I was grumbling at work about being cooped up during the unseasonably warm weather and searching for any excuse to get outside. Just like that the event popped back into my head and, after a quick call to my wife, we were off.
Continue Reading…Motorworks Brewing
April 12, 2017
This March we were given a rare chance to start patio season a little early. My wife’s family had rented a house on Anna Maria Island. We went down for a week, and my parents visited the week prior. Since we arrived on a Friday night and my parents weren’t leaving until Saturday afternoon, they wanted to take us to lunch before they hit the road for the long drive home. It didn’t take too much to convince my father that a brewery was a good idea, and as long as there was food my mother was happy. I’d done a little pre-trip research so I figured what better way to kick off our trip than a visit to Motorworks Brewing, Bradenton’s first craft brewery.
Continue Reading…Goat Ridge Brewing Company
March 10, 2017
On a Saturday morning in early December, Samantha and I were sitting at a small table in New London’s Middle Fork Cafe. We were enjoying a small brunch in preparation for our the next taproom on our list and trading stories about our travels from the night before. The food was good but once I finished my sandwich the mind switched gears to beer. We paid and then took to the cold streets to arrive at our next stop, Goat Ridge Brewing Company, just as they opened at noon.
Continue Reading…Wenonah Brewing Company
February 25, 2017
After a night of drinking, a rare opportunity to sleep in, and a breakfast of french toast we hit the road. Because our next taproom wasn’t open until the afternoon we needed to kill some time. We made a day of it by visiting a couple of apple orchards (tasty hot cider and crispy donuts), ate lunch at the historic Hubbell House, got a very informative tour and beer samples from Tod Fyten at nearby Mantorville Brewery, and took in Winona from the Garvin Heights overlook. After a full morning working up a thirst we finally arrived at our destination: Wenonah Brewing Company.
Continue Reading…LTS Brewing
February 24, 2017
After filling our stomachs at Forager Brewery and saying goodbye to my brother and his family, we braved the unseasonably cold weather and made the short trip to our second and final destination of the night. When we arrived and I climbed out of the car I took note of the vast difference between this and our last stop. While it didn’t appear as polished, LTS Brewing promised good beer and we were going to take them up on the offer.
Continue Reading…Forager Brewery
February 22, 2017
During our effort last year to complete our Northern Ale Guide we knew we’d have to make a trip or two to knock a bunch off the list. We set aside a weekend with our friends Megan and Mitch to hit the southeastern Minnesota breweries. So on an early October evening we started our journey at Rochester’s Forager Brewery.
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We’re experiencing a renaissance of craft beer across the country and in 2016 Minnesota really hit its stride. With a new brewery opening weekly there were a glut of new breweries to visit and a many others establishing themselves within the community. Since it was my first full year blogging and after visiting over fifty breweries, I figured it would be worthwhile to do a recap of my year in Minnesota craft beer and hand out some awards for my own personal favorites. Read on to see the winners!
Continue Reading…Big Axe Brewing Company
October 14, 2016
As I mentioned in my previous post about my visit to Jack Pine Brewery, I was in the Brainerd lakes area for a bachelor party at the end of August. Mid-day on Saturday I had to leave early to get to a wedding, but I took a slight detour into Nisswa, MN to get one more stampy in my Northern Ale Guide. So, on a windy overcast day, I pulled into the parking lot of Big Axe Brewing Company.
Continue Reading…Harriet Brewing
August 15, 2016
Hoping once again to use our Northern Ale Guide and an expired Groupon we joined up with our friends Mitch and Megan to make a trip into Minneapolis for yet another weeknight brewery trip. This time we were headed to Harriet Brewing which is located in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis.
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