“They changed locations recently,” I said to my wife. We were on the Blatnik Bridge, Lake Superior lay calm to our left with the St. Louis Bay on our right. “Oh really, I don’t remember their old location. Where did they move?” she replied. “They’re in an old train depot, it looks neat,” I said. Our goal was an easy dinner, we had begun a winter trip to Duluth. Pizza sounded the ticket, and craft beer wouldn’t be bad either. Thirsty Pagan it was.
Continue Reading…Sawmill Pizza & Brew Shed
May 2, 2022
“I see a sign, right there,” I said to my wife. We were returning from a weekend at my sister’s cabin in Hayward, Wisconsin and had decided to take a different route back. “Oh yeah, I see it,” she replied. An old brick schoolhouse sat on the corner; a hand-painted wooden sign pointed the way. “Pizza and beer, sounds like what we’re looking for,” I said. Sawmill Pizza & Brew Shed awaited.
Continue Reading…Tin Whiskers Brewing
August 11, 2017
“I want pizza.” This was the response when I asked if we had any plans for dinner. Not an odd request, but when my wife said she wanted to try Black Sheep I mentioned we could kill two birds with one stone. We’d been to the brewery before but I’d never formally blogged about it. With camera in tow we made our way across the river to Tin Whiskers Brewing.
Continue Reading…Pryes Brewing Company
August 6, 2017
New taprooms continue to open every month, and the summer is high season. When my brother-in-law mentioned he wanted to visit a taproom that “nobody had been to yet” I knew there were several to choose from. I told him that Pryes Brewing Company had just opened their new riverside taproom. A day later we were working up a thirst and cruising along the river road.
Continue Reading…Southern Pines Brewing Company
July 28, 2017
One perk of taking long road trips is the ability to visit friends you don’t often get a chance to see. A side effect of having a beer blog is that those friends are eager to share their local breweries with you. Not many complaints here! After a respectable amount of driving we rolled into our friends’ driveway, stretched our muscles in the balmy air, took a quick tour of their new home, said hello to our old friend Roxy (a Great Dane we knew as a puppy), and then hopped in their truck. A short drive through endless pine forests and we arrived at Southern Pines Brewing Company.
Continue Reading…Frothy Beard Brewing Company
July 25, 2017
I awoke on our last full day in Charleston to a quiet condo with six people asleep. After stumbling out of bed, I made my way to the balcony overlooking the ocean. The early morning sunlight warmed my face and a moment of sadness crept in as I thought about the cold that awaited us back home. I’d sent some feelers out for any breweries that would be open on Easter Sunday just in case we were looking for something to fill time. A response in my inbox let me know that Frothy Beard Brewing Company would be happy to provide a place to eat and drink.
Frothy Beard is located northwest of downtown Charleston in a neighborhood called West Ashley. There was a bit of a struggle locating the building, but when we were greeted by a large mural adoring the name and logo of the brewery we were fairly certain we were in the right spot. With the midday sun beating down on us we took our obligatory photos and entered Charleston’s largest taproom.
Continue Reading…Union Pizza & Brewing Co.
March 8, 2017
On an early December evening Samantha and I were in our car headed northwest to knock the last couple of breweries off of our Northern Ale Guide list. That day the destination was Fergus Falls where the furthest brewery that remained was located. It was a long drive and under the darkness of the night we arrived at Union Pizza & Brewing Co.
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…Fulton Brewing
August 13, 2016
In an ongoing effort to complete our Northern Ale Guide, Samantha and I joined our friends Mitch and Megan for a trip to Minneapolis. Our aim was to hit two spots on a weeknight and the first of those was Fulton Brewing.
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