It’s the early evening of day ten and we just finished visiting Sierra Nevada brewery and eating dinner at In-N-out burger. I must say that that In-N-Out is by far my favorite fast food chain in the US. That isn’t really saying too much, considering the fact that I don’t eat much fast food (at least outside of Beercation). All that aside, let me tell go back in time to the morning of day six. As I mentioned at the end of the day five blog, day six began with a bit of a hiccup. We woke up at the Biggerstaff’s house and Matt couldn’t find his keys. We all did a bit of drinking the night before and none of us could remember who had his keys last.
Matt remembered giving me his keys to grab my bags out of the trunk so that we could all get situated for bed the night before. But I distinctively remember giving Matt his keys back. He also remembers opening up bottles of beer that we bought along Beercation and were enjoying at the Biggerstaff’s house. We looked for nearly a half hour without any success locating Matt’s keys. But no one had asked Andrew whether or not he had them or remembered borrowing them the night before. Once Andrew was done showering, we approached him to see what he knew of the missing keys.
Surely enough, Andrew had put them in the bottom of his bag. But Matt has outside when we found out this information. So I thought it would be a good idea to mess with him. I approached him outside and said something along the lines of, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is, this (losing his keys) is the worst problem we’ve had so far on this trip. The bad news is that Andrew doesn’t have your keys either.” I head back inside, eager to share my joke with everyone. Ben, erring on the side of compassion, decides that enough is enough and tells Matt that I was just messing with him and Andrew had his keys in his bag all along.
After saying goodbye and thanking the Biggerstaff’s for the overwhelming show of hospitality, we headed in search of some good beer at Three Floyd’s Brewery in Munster, Indiana. Stopping in Hobart for a quick lunch, we made it to Three Floyds about an hour and a half after leaving the Biggerstaff’s house. We arrived at Three Floyds and everyone but me tried a sampler which included four of the breweries top selling beers. Because I had already visited and tried quite a few of the beers at Three Floyds, I decided to have an Apocalypse Cow. Matt, Andrew, and Ben all thoroughly enjoyed their samplers and we hit the road to stop at my parents place on our way north toward Wisconsin.
We got to my parents house and were greeted by dad and sat down to enjoy some BLTs and waffles my mom made in the morning. I tried to eat light when we stopped for food in Hobart at Chipotle so I could save room for food at my parents. Everyone else ate a burrito, so I don’t assuming that they wouldn’t eat much. But boy was I surprised when Ben ate a BLT, Matt had some waffles and a sandwich, and Andrew also ate some waffles and half a sandwich. I made an awesome BLT with potato chips and a cold glass of water to wash it all down. It was nice to be able to unload all my dirty clothes at home and grab clean clothes for the rest of the trip. But obviously the best part was being able to see my family and secondly telling them about how great our trip had been so far. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to see my little sister. So Melora if you are reading this, sorry I missed you when we stopped by. But I have a surprise for you when we meet up again in Florida. And for mom and dad, I’ll also have a surprise for you two, as well. (I wanted to write you two, too but I thought that might be confusing). And no mom it isn’t like the mother’s day card I sent you. For those of you not in my family, I’ll get back to Beercation.
After spending a little less than an hour with my family, we were off to Wisconsin to our first stop at Tyranena Brewery in Lakes Mills, Wisconsin. Coming from home, this was a great placed to stop because of the great community feel at this brewery. Although we encountered what seemed like a ridiculous amount of road closures and construction, we eventually made our way to Tyranena Brewing. After ordering a sampler of beer at the bar, I met an older couple sitting next to me at the bar. We made small talk about employment, Wisconsin, and the brewery itself. She told me that I should try and speak with the head brewer at the brewery who was sitting outside enjoying some live music. So, I waited for him to head inside to the bar and approached him with a number of questions in the back of my head.
I asked him if he would mind if I videotaped our conversation, but he was a bit hesitant to be on camera. Nonetheless, we had a great conversation about his role as head brewer, the brewery itself, and the local and community feel to Tyranena. He said that as the head brewer he was responsible for creating the beer and didn’t have much to do with the beer outside of Wisconsin. He did mention that Tyranena had distribution to the Chicago area. When we discussed the brewery, I told him that I thought it had a very local and community-oriented feel to it. We exchanged opinions about what it meant to be local and both agreed that the brewery was heavily tied to the community. He said that Tyranena was the only brewery he was aware of that supported running (half and full marathons), cycling (not sure the exact events, sorry), and local charities and events. I was very impressed with the breweries interest in staying local. The brewery doesn’t even serve but recommends ordering food to the brewery from local eateries or bring your own food from other local establishments. The outdoor garden even has a grill, so Tyranena was a place to buy their beer and BYOM (bring your own meat). One thing that the head brewer mentioned during our conversation was that their brewery was about 1/8 the size of Capital. Ironically enough, there Beercation’s next stop in Wisconsin.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Day 5 Part 2
After talking with the head brewer at Old Peninsula, we were off to visit the highly recommended Livery. We hit the road and arrive there about an hour later. We walk into the Livery and notice an outdoor beer garden to the left with a few people enjoying the muggy summer weather. After walking through the entrance, we head down a flight of stairs to the bar area and order a sampler of the beers on tap. This bar has a lot of cycling jerseys, paintings, and other objects throughout the bar and even some beers with a cycling influence. When we get our samplers, I ask the bartender if Steve the head brewer is around. He lets me know that Steve will be down to talk to us in a few minutes, so we slowly begin to consume our samples. After we’ve finished a couple of beers in our samplers, Steve approaches our table and our trip to the Livery becomes one that we will always remember.
After explaining our trip to Steve, he asks us if we’d like to take a tour of his brewing operation. He agrees to let me film everything that I’m about to tell you, so I’ll work out a way to put this extended tour and interview online. We leave our samples on the table and head upstairs to get a private tour of the Livery. Steve unlocks the door to his world and we are in for quite a surprising treat.
Steve shows us his operation and explains how he acquired his equipment, the equipment’s use, and then leads us to some of the barrels that he’s currently aging. He tells us that he started the Livery because of people like us, who enjoy locally crafted beer and a great atmosphere to enjoy beer in. Some more words are exchanged and questions answered by Steve. Then he asks us if we’d like to sample some of his more rare beers. If you remember earlier, we all tried some of Harpoon’s 100 barrel series beer. The beer that we were about to try was a single barrel of beer that Steve had been aging and hadn’t tried himself.
Of course, we felt honored to sample his creation and give our thoughts about the beer. And let’s face it, who can turn down a free uniquely crafted beer or a free beer in general? Not me. So Steve crawls over some brewing supplies to get back to the barrel we were about to sample. He uses a tasting stick (not sure that’s the correct terminology but it sounds cool) to remove a few ounces of beer and puts it into a pint glass. We were able to get try to great beers including: a bourbon aged beer, a peach infused beer, and our collective favorite a maple beer. The maple beer was aging in a barrel that was originally used to make maple syrup, then sold to Founder’s to make a breakfast beer, and finally sold to Steve to make this amazing tasting maple beer. After tasting some truly unique and amazing beers and talking in depth to Livery owner Steve, we had to say goodbye.
We thanked Steve for his hospitality and the opportunity to gain some useful insight into his company and the brewing industry, we headed out with the intention of making it to Munster, Indiana. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it as far as Munster and instead ended up in Michigan City, Indiana. Thankfully, I had a great friend who lives in town, Annie Biggerstaff. So, we stopped in town to try a few beers and get some food. I let Annie know that she was welcome to meet us for dinner. A few minutes and beer samples later, Annie joined us for food and drinks. She let me know that if we were planning on staying in town that her parents wouldn’t mind letting us stay at their place. After making sure that the Biggerstaff’s wouldn’t mind four charming young gentleman at their house for the night, we headed off to Annie’s to meet the Biggerstaff family.
When we arrived at the Biggerstaff’s, we were greeted by Annie’s mom and dad, Peg and Steve. First off, let me say that they were both extremely hospitable and we really appreciated the opportunity to meet them and crash at their house for a night. I must also mention that Steve’s pulled pork was phenomenal. Seriously though, it was some of the best that I’ve ever had and was perfect late night compliment to a few beers. Ben, Andrew, Matt, and I also introduced ourselves and thanked the Biggerstaff’s for their hospitality. Then Ben, Andrew, and Matt went outside to join Steve enjoying the cool summer breeze coming off the lake. I stay inside to get chat with Annie and get acquainted with Peg. We talk a little about a lot of things.
I let Peg know about Beercation, my family trip to Florida the week after Beercation ends, and my future employment with Chase. Peg and I talk for a bit and get on the topic of my family vacation to Florida and wonders where we are staying. At the time, I’m not sure but I know we are staying near the Clearwater and Tampa area. And I right now I’ve talked to my parents for the past five days and still haven’t remembered to ask what town we are staying in. Sorry to get off track but Peg did recommend some great places to visit, grab a bite to eat, and some attractions in the area. I give her my email address and the link to this blog and tell her to email me what she’s just told me and check out our blog. So if you are reading this Peg, thanks so much for the hospitality and recommendations in Florida. And tell Steve that I’m might need to steal his recipe for the pulled pork. Lastly, Annie you should come visit the Chicago area sometime soon. Likewise I’ll try my best to make a trip to either Michigan City or Purdue sometime in the near future. Overall day five was a blast, the combination of the Livery and staying with at the Biggerstaff’s at night made for a great time. Day six was also a fun time but the beginning of the day started off with a bit of a road bump.
After explaining our trip to Steve, he asks us if we’d like to take a tour of his brewing operation. He agrees to let me film everything that I’m about to tell you, so I’ll work out a way to put this extended tour and interview online. We leave our samples on the table and head upstairs to get a private tour of the Livery. Steve unlocks the door to his world and we are in for quite a surprising treat.
Steve shows us his operation and explains how he acquired his equipment, the equipment’s use, and then leads us to some of the barrels that he’s currently aging. He tells us that he started the Livery because of people like us, who enjoy locally crafted beer and a great atmosphere to enjoy beer in. Some more words are exchanged and questions answered by Steve. Then he asks us if we’d like to sample some of his more rare beers. If you remember earlier, we all tried some of Harpoon’s 100 barrel series beer. The beer that we were about to try was a single barrel of beer that Steve had been aging and hadn’t tried himself.
Of course, we felt honored to sample his creation and give our thoughts about the beer. And let’s face it, who can turn down a free uniquely crafted beer or a free beer in general? Not me. So Steve crawls over some brewing supplies to get back to the barrel we were about to sample. He uses a tasting stick (not sure that’s the correct terminology but it sounds cool) to remove a few ounces of beer and puts it into a pint glass. We were able to get try to great beers including: a bourbon aged beer, a peach infused beer, and our collective favorite a maple beer. The maple beer was aging in a barrel that was originally used to make maple syrup, then sold to Founder’s to make a breakfast beer, and finally sold to Steve to make this amazing tasting maple beer. After tasting some truly unique and amazing beers and talking in depth to Livery owner Steve, we had to say goodbye.
We thanked Steve for his hospitality and the opportunity to gain some useful insight into his company and the brewing industry, we headed out with the intention of making it to Munster, Indiana. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it as far as Munster and instead ended up in Michigan City, Indiana. Thankfully, I had a great friend who lives in town, Annie Biggerstaff. So, we stopped in town to try a few beers and get some food. I let Annie know that she was welcome to meet us for dinner. A few minutes and beer samples later, Annie joined us for food and drinks. She let me know that if we were planning on staying in town that her parents wouldn’t mind letting us stay at their place. After making sure that the Biggerstaff’s wouldn’t mind four charming young gentleman at their house for the night, we headed off to Annie’s to meet the Biggerstaff family.
When we arrived at the Biggerstaff’s, we were greeted by Annie’s mom and dad, Peg and Steve. First off, let me say that they were both extremely hospitable and we really appreciated the opportunity to meet them and crash at their house for a night. I must also mention that Steve’s pulled pork was phenomenal. Seriously though, it was some of the best that I’ve ever had and was perfect late night compliment to a few beers. Ben, Andrew, Matt, and I also introduced ourselves and thanked the Biggerstaff’s for their hospitality. Then Ben, Andrew, and Matt went outside to join Steve enjoying the cool summer breeze coming off the lake. I stay inside to get chat with Annie and get acquainted with Peg. We talk a little about a lot of things.
I let Peg know about Beercation, my family trip to Florida the week after Beercation ends, and my future employment with Chase. Peg and I talk for a bit and get on the topic of my family vacation to Florida and wonders where we are staying. At the time, I’m not sure but I know we are staying near the Clearwater and Tampa area. And I right now I’ve talked to my parents for the past five days and still haven’t remembered to ask what town we are staying in. Sorry to get off track but Peg did recommend some great places to visit, grab a bite to eat, and some attractions in the area. I give her my email address and the link to this blog and tell her to email me what she’s just told me and check out our blog. So if you are reading this Peg, thanks so much for the hospitality and recommendations in Florida. And tell Steve that I’m might need to steal his recipe for the pulled pork. Lastly, Annie you should come visit the Chicago area sometime soon. Likewise I’ll try my best to make a trip to either Michigan City or Purdue sometime in the near future. Overall day five was a blast, the combination of the Livery and staying with at the Biggerstaff’s at night made for a great time. Day six was also a fun time but the beginning of the day started off with a bit of a road bump.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Day 5 Part one
We just stopped for a bathroom break and gas in Wyoming, and I must say there isn’t a whole lot of anything here. Aside from a few gas stations, the state is very open with a bit of hills and mountains, but our trek ahead looks a bit flatter. The last town we stopped in had a whopping 261 residents, the largest city in a hundred miles in any direction. How 261 people can live in that town baffles me. What jobs are around the area? Just a thought but let me fill you in on my favorite brewery trip and day, up until yesterday. Yesterday’s Colorado’s Brewers Festival was a blast but you’ll have to wait for me to catch up in my blogging to read stories about our drunken escapades. Without further ado, here’s what we did on day five.
We woke up and checked out of our hotel in Ann Arbor. After a bit of driving through Michigan, we made a stop for some five dollar footlongs at Subway. Our first stop of the brought us to Bell’s Brewery. I really liked the beer and atmosphere here. We all made our own personalized six beer sampler. Having tried a few different beers (both the Oberon and Two-hearted), I tried six beers that were all new to me. I must say that they were all great. Everyone else really enjoyed the Oberon and Two-hearted. After sampling a few beers, we made our way to the gift shop and home brewing store.
One of the employees, Trevor gave a great tour of the home brewing and gift shop at Bell’s. He does a lot of home brewing and also gave me some great advice. The best of which is, “Sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, and sanitation.” I have the tour on video and will figure out how to get it online. He also told us that our Beercation would not be complete without a stop to The Livery. He said to ask for Steve, the owner and head brewer. But before making a memorable stop at the Livery, we took a brief detour to the Old Peninsula in town.
We left Bell’s and made a quick drive over to Old Peninsula and immediately ordered a sampler of all the beers on tap. I was able to talk in depth with the head brewer about this brewery, his roll, and where the company has come since he began working there. He started as a home brewer in the nineties and began a home brewing club in the area. He let me tour the facility while we chatted and also gave me some advice about home brewing. He said don’t get into it to make money, do it for yourself and to enjoy doing it. He also recommended joining a home brew club. For him, the home brew club helps him stay up to date on new sometimes revolutionary techniques that he can use to improve his brewing on a larger scale.
We woke up and checked out of our hotel in Ann Arbor. After a bit of driving through Michigan, we made a stop for some five dollar footlongs at Subway. Our first stop of the brought us to Bell’s Brewery. I really liked the beer and atmosphere here. We all made our own personalized six beer sampler. Having tried a few different beers (both the Oberon and Two-hearted), I tried six beers that were all new to me. I must say that they were all great. Everyone else really enjoyed the Oberon and Two-hearted. After sampling a few beers, we made our way to the gift shop and home brewing store.
One of the employees, Trevor gave a great tour of the home brewing and gift shop at Bell’s. He does a lot of home brewing and also gave me some great advice. The best of which is, “Sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, and sanitation.” I have the tour on video and will figure out how to get it online. He also told us that our Beercation would not be complete without a stop to The Livery. He said to ask for Steve, the owner and head brewer. But before making a memorable stop at the Livery, we took a brief detour to the Old Peninsula in town.
We left Bell’s and made a quick drive over to Old Peninsula and immediately ordered a sampler of all the beers on tap. I was able to talk in depth with the head brewer about this brewery, his roll, and where the company has come since he began working there. He started as a home brewer in the nineties and began a home brewing club in the area. He let me tour the facility while we chatted and also gave me some advice about home brewing. He said don’t get into it to make money, do it for yourself and to enjoy doing it. He also recommended joining a home brew club. For him, the home brew club helps him stay up to date on new sometimes revolutionary techniques that he can use to improve his brewing on a larger scale.
Day 4 Part 2
Updated Day 4
I’m including this paragraph again because the last sentence does not do justice to the neighborhood this barbeque joint was in. Ben had been texting his last boss of an art gallery in New York about our Beercation and mentioned being in Michigan. She let Ben know that there is a great BBQ restaurant with some great beers on tap. We spent quite some time trying to find this restaurant. While our GPS knew the fastest way to get there, it seemed like all the large roads and interstates in city of Detroit were under construction. About thirty minutes of driving through a fairly deserted and rundown area, we arrived at Slow’s BBQ. Apparently this place is in an up and coming neighborhood where a lot of hipsters live. Right up the street is the Depot where a lot of homeless people and squatters live. The entire back road trip into this place was full of deserted houses and homeless people out barbequing their own creations. We found out later that night that there was a big firework show that night and might have explained why so many people were out and about throughout the city. Or it might have been the fact that Detroit has a ton of homeless people. After a very satisfying meal and a Annilator beer from Southern Tier at Slow’s we left the city of Detroit for Ann Arbor, Michigan to find a place to stay and sample more good local beers.
We arrived in Ann arbor and check into a Motel 6 a bit outside of town, relaxed for a bit and turned on the college world series game. At this point, Ben is extremely jetlagged and tired and decides that he won’t come out drinking with us. Matt’s sister and my cousin Mary has a boyfriend who attended University of Michigan. So we get a few recommendations of where to head out to in town. After making a selection, we head into town to Arbor Brewing. It’s a pretty muggy night, but we decide to sit outside and get a sampler. We talk to our server about the brewery and beers on tap. After a bit of a discussion, we get to business to order an nine or ten sampler. We all agree that the beer is a bit warm and lacks carbonation at least for our taste. But overall the quality of the beer is pretty good. We finish up our samples and head back to the hotel to get some sleep. While I had a great time in Ann Arbor, day five was one of my favorite days, thus far of the trip. At the moment, we’re driving through Colorado on our way to California. I’ll have some time to write more about the past few days during the drive, but I’m very full for a great burrito from Big City Burrito in Fort Collins. I feel like I’m going to have a food coma, so a nap seems like a good idea to settle my full belly.
I’m including this paragraph again because the last sentence does not do justice to the neighborhood this barbeque joint was in. Ben had been texting his last boss of an art gallery in New York about our Beercation and mentioned being in Michigan. She let Ben know that there is a great BBQ restaurant with some great beers on tap. We spent quite some time trying to find this restaurant. While our GPS knew the fastest way to get there, it seemed like all the large roads and interstates in city of Detroit were under construction. About thirty minutes of driving through a fairly deserted and rundown area, we arrived at Slow’s BBQ. Apparently this place is in an up and coming neighborhood where a lot of hipsters live. Right up the street is the Depot where a lot of homeless people and squatters live. The entire back road trip into this place was full of deserted houses and homeless people out barbequing their own creations. We found out later that night that there was a big firework show that night and might have explained why so many people were out and about throughout the city. Or it might have been the fact that Detroit has a ton of homeless people. After a very satisfying meal and a Annilator beer from Southern Tier at Slow’s we left the city of Detroit for Ann Arbor, Michigan to find a place to stay and sample more good local beers.
We arrived in Ann arbor and check into a Motel 6 a bit outside of town, relaxed for a bit and turned on the college world series game. At this point, Ben is extremely jetlagged and tired and decides that he won’t come out drinking with us. Matt’s sister and my cousin Mary has a boyfriend who attended University of Michigan. So we get a few recommendations of where to head out to in town. After making a selection, we head into town to Arbor Brewing. It’s a pretty muggy night, but we decide to sit outside and get a sampler. We talk to our server about the brewery and beers on tap. After a bit of a discussion, we get to business to order an nine or ten sampler. We all agree that the beer is a bit warm and lacks carbonation at least for our taste. But overall the quality of the beer is pretty good. We finish up our samples and head back to the hotel to get some sleep. While I had a great time in Ann Arbor, day five was one of my favorite days, thus far of the trip. At the moment, we’re driving through Colorado on our way to California. I’ll have some time to write more about the past few days during the drive, but I’m very full for a great burrito from Big City Burrito in Fort Collins. I feel like I’m going to have a food coma, so a nap seems like a good idea to settle my full belly.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Day 4 (Part 1)
We’re stopping for a quick bite to eat at Sonic’s just outside Des Moines, maybe Urbandale. And I am going to write about our fourth day of the journey. We woke up in the morning and drove to Niagara Falls and stopped for a couple of minutes to take some pictures and videos of the falls. We weren’t able to see the falls from the Canadian side because a few of our passports were expired. That was a bit disappointed considering that I’ve heard the Canadian side is a better view. Anyway, I was still very impressed with the enormous size and beauty of the falls. After taking a quick tourist stop, we decided to get some grub at a Quarter Steak and Lube. We each got the buffet which consisted of plates full of wings and riblets. After getting some food into our stomachs we were eager and ready to wash it down with some beers.
We found out that there was a local brewery in town where we stopped for lunch and set off to find it using Matt’s GPS. We punched in the address and turned off the main drag when the GPS began demanding that we turn right. Confused, Matt turned into a gas station and the GPS recalculated where we were suppose to go. He turned back onto the road we originally turned onto and keeps heading the same direction. At this point the GPS begins barking out, “When possible make a U-turn.” Matt makes one a few hundred yards up and looks at the GPS to see where the heck this brewery is. The GPS tells him, “Turn right.” So we end up in a cul-de-sac which confuses us even more. The end point is a bit to our left as we begin to turn around in this cul-de-sac and look for the street that this brewery is on. At this point, Matt stops and starts looking at the street names in the area on the GPS and trying to figure out where we are and where the GPS thinks we are. After a few minutes, we take a right a few yards before the last street we were on and find the brewery at the bottom of the hill. As we pull into the brewery, the GPS recalculates how to arrive at our destination. It begins talking again, “Turn left, then right, turn left.” At this point we’re laughing in the parking lot of Erie Brewing Company.
We walk into the small facility and find out that it’s not going to be possible to try any of the beers on tap because the brew tubing and tap system needs to be cleaned out. We tell the girl about our Beercation and convince her to let us try a couple of the beers that this brewery brews. A few samples later, we are ready to make the drive to Cleveland to visit Great Lakes Brewing Company. Thus far, this brewery has been one of my favorite stops along the way.
We arrive and find some parking a few blocks over from the brew pub. Walking up to the brew pub is are a few outside tables with people enjoying the extremely mugging weather. I think the temperature was around ninety degrees and by shirt was definitely sticking to my back as we entered into the gift shop. I ask if it’s okay to film a bit of the inside and told that the marketing and pub manager will stop by and speak with me. After we sit down at the bar and order a sampler of the beers on tap, the marketing manager stops by to speak with me. We tell her about our trip and how we are documenting via blog and video along the way. She lets me know that it won’t be a problem and tells me to speak with the restaurant manager and one of the bartenders. I have a great interview with the manager who was very sincere in explaining about the origins of the brewery, some of the legendary stories, and also about the beer. I’ll also try to get this online at the end of our trip. It’s a great interview, but I haven’t gotten a chance to listen to the audio. I’ll check that tomorrow when we are at our hotel. But the next interview I had was also a great one.
A bartender who has been working at the bar for fifteen years answers some more questions about how he came to the states, what’s it’s been like working at Great Lakes Brewing Company, and some of the stories he can share from years past. One night, half of the band Led Zeppelin came in and got drunk in the local fashion with Steve. As Steve recalls it was a great time that lasted well into the early hours of the morning. I thought partying with my friends in college led to a great times and great stories. While I had some great nights drinking, I think Steve’s night with Led Zeppelin tops any night of me partying in college. After talking to some interesting people at Great Lakes Brewing Company, we decided to push our driving to Ann Arbor and spend a night in the college town of University of Michigan. But Detroit is somewhat on the way, so we made a slight detour.
Ben had been texting his last boss of an art gallery in New York about our Beercation and mentioned being in Michigan. She let Ben know that there is a great BBQ restaurant with some great beers on tap. We spent quite some time trying to find this restaurant. While our GPS knew the fastest way to get there, it seemed like all the large roads and interstates in city of Detroit were under construction. About thirty minutes of driving through a familiar deserted and rundown area, we arrived at Slow’s BBQ. Apparently this place is in an up and coming neighborhood where a lot of hipsters live. If you don't know what a
hipster is, click the link shown.
It's the morning of day eight and we had a long drive from Wisconsin to Fort Collins, Colorado. We made it here and grabbed a bite to eat at Waffle House around 5:00 am this morning. Today we have the Colorado Brewer's Festival, which we are all looking forward to. We were able to get to the hotel that we are planning on staying at tonight and were able to sleep in the room we are staying in tonight for no extra cost. So we got the best nap of the trip in from about 5:45 am this morning to about 9:30 mountain time. I'm about to hop in the shower and get this day going. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish to update the blog and hammer out a few more days of writing later today. Of course it will be after the beer festival, which lasts from 11:00 am mountain time til 6:00 pm. But seeing as I'm a bit smelly, it's time for a refreshing shower. Unfortunately, we didn't chill any beer this morning on the fridge in the hotel room. So a beer shower is out of the question. But I'm a happy camper just being able to get myself clean again.
We found out that there was a local brewery in town where we stopped for lunch and set off to find it using Matt’s GPS. We punched in the address and turned off the main drag when the GPS began demanding that we turn right. Confused, Matt turned into a gas station and the GPS recalculated where we were suppose to go. He turned back onto the road we originally turned onto and keeps heading the same direction. At this point the GPS begins barking out, “When possible make a U-turn.” Matt makes one a few hundred yards up and looks at the GPS to see where the heck this brewery is. The GPS tells him, “Turn right.” So we end up in a cul-de-sac which confuses us even more. The end point is a bit to our left as we begin to turn around in this cul-de-sac and look for the street that this brewery is on. At this point, Matt stops and starts looking at the street names in the area on the GPS and trying to figure out where we are and where the GPS thinks we are. After a few minutes, we take a right a few yards before the last street we were on and find the brewery at the bottom of the hill. As we pull into the brewery, the GPS recalculates how to arrive at our destination. It begins talking again, “Turn left, then right, turn left.” At this point we’re laughing in the parking lot of Erie Brewing Company.
We walk into the small facility and find out that it’s not going to be possible to try any of the beers on tap because the brew tubing and tap system needs to be cleaned out. We tell the girl about our Beercation and convince her to let us try a couple of the beers that this brewery brews. A few samples later, we are ready to make the drive to Cleveland to visit Great Lakes Brewing Company. Thus far, this brewery has been one of my favorite stops along the way.
We arrive and find some parking a few blocks over from the brew pub. Walking up to the brew pub is are a few outside tables with people enjoying the extremely mugging weather. I think the temperature was around ninety degrees and by shirt was definitely sticking to my back as we entered into the gift shop. I ask if it’s okay to film a bit of the inside and told that the marketing and pub manager will stop by and speak with me. After we sit down at the bar and order a sampler of the beers on tap, the marketing manager stops by to speak with me. We tell her about our trip and how we are documenting via blog and video along the way. She lets me know that it won’t be a problem and tells me to speak with the restaurant manager and one of the bartenders. I have a great interview with the manager who was very sincere in explaining about the origins of the brewery, some of the legendary stories, and also about the beer. I’ll also try to get this online at the end of our trip. It’s a great interview, but I haven’t gotten a chance to listen to the audio. I’ll check that tomorrow when we are at our hotel. But the next interview I had was also a great one.
A bartender who has been working at the bar for fifteen years answers some more questions about how he came to the states, what’s it’s been like working at Great Lakes Brewing Company, and some of the stories he can share from years past. One night, half of the band Led Zeppelin came in and got drunk in the local fashion with Steve. As Steve recalls it was a great time that lasted well into the early hours of the morning. I thought partying with my friends in college led to a great times and great stories. While I had some great nights drinking, I think Steve’s night with Led Zeppelin tops any night of me partying in college. After talking to some interesting people at Great Lakes Brewing Company, we decided to push our driving to Ann Arbor and spend a night in the college town of University of Michigan. But Detroit is somewhat on the way, so we made a slight detour.
Ben had been texting his last boss of an art gallery in New York about our Beercation and mentioned being in Michigan. She let Ben know that there is a great BBQ restaurant with some great beers on tap. We spent quite some time trying to find this restaurant. While our GPS knew the fastest way to get there, it seemed like all the large roads and interstates in city of Detroit were under construction. About thirty minutes of driving through a familiar deserted and rundown area, we arrived at Slow’s BBQ. Apparently this place is in an up and coming neighborhood where a lot of hipsters live. If you don't know what a
hipster is, click the link shown.
It's the morning of day eight and we had a long drive from Wisconsin to Fort Collins, Colorado. We made it here and grabbed a bite to eat at Waffle House around 5:00 am this morning. Today we have the Colorado Brewer's Festival, which we are all looking forward to. We were able to get to the hotel that we are planning on staying at tonight and were able to sleep in the room we are staying in tonight for no extra cost. So we got the best nap of the trip in from about 5:45 am this morning to about 9:30 mountain time. I'm about to hop in the shower and get this day going. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish to update the blog and hammer out a few more days of writing later today. Of course it will be after the beer festival, which lasts from 11:00 am mountain time til 6:00 pm. But seeing as I'm a bit smelly, it's time for a refreshing shower. Unfortunately, we didn't chill any beer this morning on the fridge in the hotel room. So a beer shower is out of the question. But I'm a happy camper just being able to get myself clean again.
Updated Day 3
We just left the rest stop and are on the road again, probably hour or so hours outside of Omaha, Nebraska and about eleven hours outside of our hotel in Fort Collins, Colorado. But I’m going to jump back into day three again. After a brief stop for some samples and six packs to add to our collection of beer in the trunk of Matt’s Honda Accord, we were off on the road again. This time we were headed to Middle Ages in Syracuse, New York. Because of our stop at Cooperstown Brewery we were pushing it close to 6:00 pm closing. We arrive there at 5:50 pm, just in time for one sample. We walk around the gift store and talk to an employee and a few visitors. One of the people in there is the mailman who sells his own beef jerky. I’m not going to lie, beef jerky and beer are two of my favorite things in the world. Women being another one (love you mom). Anyway, it’s closing time for the tasting room at Middle Ages. We decide that since none of us have tried the beer that another six pack is a good idea to throw in the trunk. We take off from Middle Ages, and the rest of our night is pretty uneventful.
We continue on the trip and end up in a hotel in Buffalo, New York. Ben is exhausted and extremely jet lagged so we decide that going out in Buffalo is not in our best interest. Instead we decide to share a couple of growlers of beer that we have picked up along the way. Side note: Growlers are a 64 ounce glass bottle usually with a small handle and topped off with a metal cap. The glass can be a variety of colors but brown growlers are preferable because beer in brown glass does not spoil as quickly as beer in clear glass. Anyhow, we order in some food from Domino’s and drink in the classiest fashion that we know, clear plastic cups. We settle sleeping arrangements and call it an early night.
We continue on the trip and end up in a hotel in Buffalo, New York. Ben is exhausted and extremely jet lagged so we decide that going out in Buffalo is not in our best interest. Instead we decide to share a couple of growlers of beer that we have picked up along the way. Side note: Growlers are a 64 ounce glass bottle usually with a small handle and topped off with a metal cap. The glass can be a variety of colors but brown growlers are preferable because beer in brown glass does not spoil as quickly as beer in clear glass. Anyhow, we order in some food from Domino’s and drink in the classiest fashion that we know, clear plastic cups. We settle sleeping arrangements and call it an early night.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Day 3
Day 3
It’s a few minutes after 2:00 pm on the seventh day of our trip and I slowing falling behind blogging. We just left New Glarus Brewing Company, by far the largest brewery we’ve stopped at. But as this is day three’s post, I’ll rewind back a few days. After a good night of drunk sleep on day two, we wake up and drive to Ommegang Brewery. Coming into the brewery was quite a spectacle. You enter under a large arch with the name of the brewery and drive straight through a split in the brewery before parking along the backside of the brewery. After parking, we jump out of the car eager to get our drink on.
I make a quick pit stop in the bathroom and meet Matt, Ben, and Andrew in the tasting room. As I arrive there, the three of them are already a few samples ahead of me. So I do my best to catch up and sample beers quickly. I sample quite a few beers including the three philosophers, Wit Beer, Chocolate Raspberry, and the Lambic. I take some great video of the tasting room and gift shop at Ommegang. I also had a stirring revelation about one of the beers offered in the tasting room.
Before visiting Ommegang, I thought that I hadn’t tried any of the beers, but now I stand corrected. I saw a bottle of Fin de Mar I picked up a bottle of this same beer at a local liquor establishment back home near Chicago. I make the connection that I had tried some of the beers from this brewery until the dazzling and a bit trippy artwork on the Fin de Mar jumped out at me. On our initial drive into Ommegang, we saw a sign for a brewery in Coopertown. While walking to the car, we decide that yet another unscheduled brewery can only make the trip better.
Ben uses his Iphone to look up the address for the brewery, and Matt punches the address into his GPS. On a quick side note, Matt’s GPS has been an essential on this trip across the United States. But it did lead us into quite a frustrating drive trying to get to Erie Brewing company. But you’ll have to read the day four post to figure out what happened to us. To get back on track, we type in the address and begin driving from Ommegang to Cooperstown brewery. The estimated time of arrival is four minutes so we presume that the brewery is just up the road. A couple of miles later, we arrive at the brewery which is much smaller in comparison to Ommegang. Matt notices and points out a still from the last century. We enter into the brewery, which consists of a small gift shop which doubles as a tasting room and the brewing facility. The head brewer is very open and lets me record our tasting and some questions.
We discover that the brewery sells locally and in a few places in the state of New York. While the beer is sold only locally in the United States, the beer is heavily distributed into Japan. We continue sampling and all agree that the Pride of Milford is our favorite beer. We all throw in for a communal six pack of the Pride of Milford. Ben enjoys it so much that he picks up another six pack for his neighbor back in Texas. Personally, my favorite part about the Cooperstown brewery is the bathroom. I know that sounds kind of weird but let me explain.
The inside of the bathroom is lined with beer bottles, mostly the traditional twelve ounce ones. But there are a few larger twenty-two ounce bottles. Immediately, I recognize a few beers but many of the bottles are not familiar to me. I took a pretty good video of the bathroom and bottle collection that lines the wall, so I’ll try and put that online sometime at the end of Beercation. We just pulled off at a rest stop in Iowa, so I’m going to put up what I have been writing about day three and finish the rest with a second posting. But don’t worry, I’m going to knock out another day or two in writing today. I just found out that this blog is 6th on google searching Beercation. We're moving up in life.
It’s a few minutes after 2:00 pm on the seventh day of our trip and I slowing falling behind blogging. We just left New Glarus Brewing Company, by far the largest brewery we’ve stopped at. But as this is day three’s post, I’ll rewind back a few days. After a good night of drunk sleep on day two, we wake up and drive to Ommegang Brewery. Coming into the brewery was quite a spectacle. You enter under a large arch with the name of the brewery and drive straight through a split in the brewery before parking along the backside of the brewery. After parking, we jump out of the car eager to get our drink on.
I make a quick pit stop in the bathroom and meet Matt, Ben, and Andrew in the tasting room. As I arrive there, the three of them are already a few samples ahead of me. So I do my best to catch up and sample beers quickly. I sample quite a few beers including the three philosophers, Wit Beer, Chocolate Raspberry, and the Lambic. I take some great video of the tasting room and gift shop at Ommegang. I also had a stirring revelation about one of the beers offered in the tasting room.
Before visiting Ommegang, I thought that I hadn’t tried any of the beers, but now I stand corrected. I saw a bottle of Fin de Mar I picked up a bottle of this same beer at a local liquor establishment back home near Chicago. I make the connection that I had tried some of the beers from this brewery until the dazzling and a bit trippy artwork on the Fin de Mar jumped out at me. On our initial drive into Ommegang, we saw a sign for a brewery in Coopertown. While walking to the car, we decide that yet another unscheduled brewery can only make the trip better.
Ben uses his Iphone to look up the address for the brewery, and Matt punches the address into his GPS. On a quick side note, Matt’s GPS has been an essential on this trip across the United States. But it did lead us into quite a frustrating drive trying to get to Erie Brewing company. But you’ll have to read the day four post to figure out what happened to us. To get back on track, we type in the address and begin driving from Ommegang to Cooperstown brewery. The estimated time of arrival is four minutes so we presume that the brewery is just up the road. A couple of miles later, we arrive at the brewery which is much smaller in comparison to Ommegang. Matt notices and points out a still from the last century. We enter into the brewery, which consists of a small gift shop which doubles as a tasting room and the brewing facility. The head brewer is very open and lets me record our tasting and some questions.
We discover that the brewery sells locally and in a few places in the state of New York. While the beer is sold only locally in the United States, the beer is heavily distributed into Japan. We continue sampling and all agree that the Pride of Milford is our favorite beer. We all throw in for a communal six pack of the Pride of Milford. Ben enjoys it so much that he picks up another six pack for his neighbor back in Texas. Personally, my favorite part about the Cooperstown brewery is the bathroom. I know that sounds kind of weird but let me explain.
The inside of the bathroom is lined with beer bottles, mostly the traditional twelve ounce ones. But there are a few larger twenty-two ounce bottles. Immediately, I recognize a few beers but many of the bottles are not familiar to me. I took a pretty good video of the bathroom and bottle collection that lines the wall, so I’ll try and put that online sometime at the end of Beercation. We just pulled off at a rest stop in Iowa, so I’m going to put up what I have been writing about day three and finish the rest with a second posting. But don’t worry, I’m going to knock out another day or two in writing today. I just found out that this blog is 6th on google searching Beercation. We're moving up in life.
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