Breweries on my South Dakota trip
It’s a given that when we travel, I’ve got my eyes peeled for breweries. I love visiting new places and trying local beer, as well…
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Ginger Syrup
During the summer I love a good mule drink. Really simple vodka, ginger beer, lime, and ice. I’ve always wanted to make my own ginger…
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Seeking more health improvements through plants
Most people who have known me for a while know that I’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs when it comes to general…
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Experimenting with N/A beer
As anyone who knows me knows, I love beer. I’ve been a craft beer guy for a long time and have tasted just about every…
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Brewery Review: Boathouse Brewpub
Of course when traveling I need to sample the local brewery scene. Ely, MN has a nice little brewery right on the main drag that…
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Beer Review: Hairless Dog Black Ale
I’d heard about Hairless Dog (a 0.0% ABV beer) for a few months now. It’s finally ramped up production enough that it’s hitting lots of…
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Brewery Review: New Glarus
Most Minnesotan’s are very familiar with the New Glarus name. It’s a Wisconsin craft beer company that is only available in Wisconsin. It’s a part…
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Quick Review: VEGA Essentials Shake
I’m not one to jump on a diet or health-trend bandwagon. Despite having lost 40 lbs at one point in my life, I’ve basically tried…
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Sibley State Park camping
A couple of weekends ago the wife and I took the camper out for our first weekend of the summer. I had read a news…
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Brewery Review: Back Channel Brewing
The wife and I finally had some time to do a little brewery tourism recently and decided to hit a new place that I’d heard…
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Brewery Review: Torg Brewing
The Twin Cities brewery and taproom market has exploded over the past 7 years, and one of the most common questions that people ask is…
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Garphish Brewing Company
This past weekend I had some time free, so I decided to check out the newest brewery in the north metro area, Garphish Brewing Company.…
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The bad beer needs to stop
I don’t exactly recall if I’ve talked about this before on the blog so directly, but I feel like I need to say something about…
Read morePart 2 of an impromptu Decorah trip
After we visited Pulpit Rock we spent a leisurely night in the hotel, recovering from a long day of running and frivolity. Sunday morning meant…
Read moreAn impromptu weekend in Decorah, IA, part 1
This past week a running podcast that I enjoy called Ten Junk Miles, released a long interview with two ladies that I know who completed…
Read moreBreweries and soft drinks: a rant
Hey breweries! You guys with all the awesome taprooms that I love to visit? Ya you. You all probably know how much I love visiting…
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Death of a brewery
Today the news broke that local brewery NorthGate has ceased operations. I only recently learned that they had sold the business to an investor, and…
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Blue Wolf Brewing
The nearby suburb of Brooklyn Park has gotten its first brewery, Blue Wolf Brewing. Their grand opening was Thursday, so I decided to swing by…
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Milwaukee Breweries: MobCraft and Urban Harvest
The second stop on my Milwaukee brewery tour took us to MobCraft and Urban Harvest. I had just spent hours in the tattoo chair, so…
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Milwaukee Breweries: Enlightened and Eagle Park
On my trip to Milwaukee this weekend I made sure to spend some time visiting the local breweries. On Friday my son and I headed…
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More fat bike testing
My buddies Abe and Chuck joined me today at a fun event at Surly Brewing. The bike maker by the same name (Surly) joined forces…
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Loony’s Brews
As always, when I’m traveling I like to engage in some beer tourism. Last week when I was in International Falls for the start of…
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Need to alter the homebrew strategy
The other day I went downstairs to get a beer from my keezer and realized that I’ve been pouring the same two beers for a…
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Maple Extract in Beer Works
This past weekend I was at 10K Brewing and got to sample their Maple Black Ale. I’ve had maple stouts before, most notable Sugar Shack…
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Birch’s on the Lake
On Saturday, I spent the morning running and volunteering at a local half-marathon with good friend Mike B. The race was held at Gear West…
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Macro-brew
I’ve never been a fan of macro-brews from the large scale breweries like Miller or Coors. I’ve always found the taste of corn in them…
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Another 50 mile bike ride
Last year I did a 50 mile solo bike ride around a bunch of breweries near the SW metro area. This year I turned it…
Read moreThe beer count fail
As many of you know I enjoy recording my beer in the Untappd app. It’s a fun way to keep track of what you’ve tried…
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State Fair 2017!
Monday, the wife and I took off from work to go visit the Minnesota State Fair. This is a really fun tradition for us, especially…
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Some needed gaming relaxation
To say that Tuesday was a stressful afternoon at work would be a huge understatement. It was a rough day with challenging interpersonal issues that…
Read moreThat regular place
Something I lamented about in the past was how much I love having that “regular” place to hang out and have a beer. When we…
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Hoops Brewing
This weekend we’re up north again, and I had the opportunity to check out the newest taproom in Duluth, MN; Hoops Brewing. The ownership of…
Read moreSunday Sales!
This past Sunday, I did something I have never been able to do in the State of Minnesota. I went into a liquor store and…
Read moreMy newest ink
My last tattoo was a celebration of my life of technology geekiness. I also wanted some ink that represents my love of beer. I worked…
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Alluvial Brewing
One our way across Iowa last weekend, we stopped in at a place just north west of Ames called Alluvial Brewing. This is a beautiful…
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Farnham House Brewing Company
Since we were traveling this weekend, I had to hit some new breweries. After we spent some time at the Omaha zoo on Saturday, we…
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Take 16 Brewing
Blue Mounds State Park, where we were camping, is only a few miles away from the town of Luverne, MN. As the craft beer boom…
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The amazing evolution of Minnesota brewing
As all readers of this blog know, I’m a huge fan of beer. I’ve been drinking craft beer since the only game in town was…
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Easter Vegas vacation, day 2
On Saturday we decided to take my youngest son, and my wife’s nephew, on a few fun adventures. First though, the wife and I started…
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Return of Beer and Bikes
With the start of April, also begins a new season of biking to breweries on Wednesday nights. A couple of years ago I was invited…
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Winona Breweries, pt 1
This past weekend, the wife and I decided to take another short trip out of town, and of course, breweries were a part of the…
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10 Year Homebrewing Anniversary!
In 2007 I was surprised by my good friend Michael with a birthday present of a homebrewing kit. He had been homebrewing for a year…
Read moreSome cultural eating
Saturday for lunch we hit a local Indian buffet. I got one of my kids to go along to try it, and despite finding it…
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On the way to 1K
I’m an avid user of the Untappd app which is used for checking in beers. I’ve been using it for years, and recently I realized…
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Second Runnings 