sometimes think the reason he took his life was that he could see the insanity of this world, the tribalism, the borders and boundaries,
the wastefulness of wars, the ignorance, the hatred, all the absurd hatred, the killing,,,, and he seen it all on a grand scale. Is it better
to be a depressed intellectual or a happy idiot? I don't know.
Moving on. As we started to travel, bicycle, hike and visit these breweries
and towns, we realized we were learning much more than we
anticipated. We started to re-think this journey. Like Bourdain we were
digging deeper, we were learning about the history of the town or places
we visited, the geography of Minnesota, meeting the local people and
listening to their stories. We were getting an understanding of local
culture, place, home, and the social landscape we inhabit.
We are both in our late (myself, very late) 50’s and this journey was
evolving into more than just drinking beer, riding bicycle and hiking, it
was an exploration of life, and of self. When you drive over 10,000 miles
across the State in one year, you better learn something. We did not
want it to be JUST about beer anyway and it became more than we ever
imagined.
Did we hit every brewery in Minnesota in one year? The short answer is,
YES! The longer answer is more complicated. I’ll take you down that
rabbit hole briefly. We did not count the Rock Bottom and Granite City
corporate chains. There was a brewery (Iron Exchange) that opened in
December which started brewing but, were not serving their beer as they
had to build up inventory. There is a farm brewery in Rollingstone, that is
not open to the public. So, there are a few anomalies that we did not
count. The bottom line is that we hit 191 breweries in one year in
Minnesota and we think that’s quite an accomplishment.
Teri and I never thought that we would make it to every brewery in
Minnesota, in a one-year time frame, and looking back now, we don’t
care. Because we would not trade this year long adventure for anything,
we learned far more than just achieving a number. We also never knew
that 365 days would pass by so quickly. Virtually every weekend was
about beer trekking, and the days prior was about making plans. Which
made every weekend an adventure, and as Pooh was trying to come to
grips with, the sweet feeling of anticipation. Always something to look
forward to. It was just one year but, it was one to truly never forget.
I know there are many out there on social media who are considered
"social media influencers" or want to do that. That’s all fine and good but, we don’t aspire to be that. This was our own personal
journey and we are happy many followed us, enjoyed our travels, and gave us
hugs and encouragement. Maybe we should have had our own blog, wrote and
promoted it more. I don’t know. I guess that’s just not us. We just posted some
pictures on our Facebook pages. We mostly prefer to travel under the radar,
we like it that way.
Sometimes our two sons came with, sometimes we made new friends
and sometimes old friends rode with. All the laughs and fun we had, all the
stories that were told and the beers shared. In between the grooves of the
songs we sang, and the miles traveled we will remember you all.
We received complimentary beer and food at many places and we
certainly appreciate it. Teri made an interesting observation, the higher the
number on our white board, the cheaper it got. We would not refuse these
things but, that was not what we were looking for. Thanks to all who rewarded
us. What made it even more special is having Teri with. I could not have done it
alone. I also want to thank a friend at work (Dave E.) who took my overtime to
help me out, our two sons (Robert & Charles) who took care of our (their) cats
and the house. There are many others who just wanted to be part of this and
lived their dreams through ours. We are happy you could join us.
I will say we enjoyed our “15 minutes of fame” many times. We were just
doing what we do, living the “beer life”. There were moments when it sure felt
like we were special/famous and believe us, it is very good feeling and we
would say, addicting. Yet there is a saying that goes, “A wise person walks with
their head bowed and is humble with the dust”. Meaning, don’t get too “full” of
yourself.
Northbound
Northbound Brewery
Brewery &
&
Smokehouse
Smokehouse
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