Brewery Tour continued from page 7
What we learned:
On the surface Minnesota craft beer is alive and well. It seems to us that all these breweries, and especially in the
smaller towns, have revitalized the local economy and it sure seems that the local people have truly embraced them. Boy,
have they embraced them! On a deeper perspective, if you noticed the theme, I have been writing about home/place. When
asked, everyone would tell us about their love for their hometown and brewery. We also met many people who had traveled
the world and came back to their hometown/place to live. When we would ask why? The answer was simple, “This is where I
grew up, it’s home.” Seems like an easy answer, yet it is much deeper. It’s about connection/community.
We purposely left our hometown brewery as our last stop of the year. We never went once during this tour until the end.
We wanted to see if we had as much love for our place/home, as those we met had for theirs. We have lived in Hutchinson
almost all our lives, and even with all the zits, warts and boils, it is our home/place. So, yes, we love our place and our
hometown brewery. We have many friends here and even though we have considered moving, we really can’t imagine doing
that. Connection/community.
Every town, every home, every place, every brewery, IS special to those that reside there, as it very well should be. We
found these feelings everywhere we went. Minnesota is special and so are the people. BUT, these are things that people all
over the world feel about their place/home, as Bourdain (in my view) so beautifully examined and told. These are shared
feelings for people everywhere. This is not new information or some epiphany we discovered I just think people need to be
reminded of it every so often.
We are all one, yet we are not the same, we are all different and we all need to carry each other. In the current
social/political landscape we live in, we think this is something that needs to be said and understood. If you agree, live it. By
doing that it lessens the burden on us all.
I want to relate one last short story. As we were nearing the end of our adventure, on December 7th at stop #186,
Copper Trail Brewing in Alexandria, we walked in and on the wall, were 3 large words. “Enjoy the Journey”. We had someone
take our picture under it. Here we were, nearly a year past, a window in time, with less than a handful of breweries left, and
those words stopped us in our tracks. You could not have scripted a better ending to this journey, a perfect bookend. It’s a
beautiful thing when reality lives up to all your hopes and dreams. We both had a mist in our eyes.
Throughout the year we made our way across Minnesota, listened, learned, and had more fun than ever imagined. Our
lives have truly been enriched for it. These places and people we met and visited with, will remain in our minds and heart for
the rest of our lives, especially our trip to Luverne and Take 16 Brewing. That is where our "other" family resides. I received a
heart transplant May of 2012 and my donor family resides in Luverne. This year long adventure has been more than we
could have ever imagined, and we are grateful we were able to do it. Because, 7 plus years ago, waiting on my new heart,
we never thought this would have been possible. So, I want to say, “Thank you”, to Amanda, my donor, who will never know
but that’s ok, we know. We had a dream and we lived it. I feel Mr. Bourdain and Pooh, would be happy with us.
Miller Caves on the tour
A Song:
So, let’s get happy, instead of all the seriousness. There is a group that call themselves “Beer Guys TV”, they are on social
media/ Facebook, go check them out and have a few laughs. At Mineral Springs Brewery, we met a member of this “tribe”,
Greg Johnson and his girlfriend. As we were “chewing the fat or drinking it?”, Greg suggested I write a song about all our
travels, like that Johnny Cash song, “I’ve Been Everywhere”. If you have not heard it, I highly suggest you go listen to it now,
so you have an idea of what I’m doing here. I reworked it with most of the breweries Teri and I have been to. Could not fit
them all in. It’s really a shout out to Liz Foster. Hope you enjoy.
We were thumbing our way along the dusty Minnesota roads,
When along came a gal driving a Jeep, who was in a very happy mode.
“If you’re going to a brewery, my peeps, with me you can ride.”
So, we climbed into the seats and settled down inside.
Miller tap room
Kato Show 2017
Liz was her name; beer was her game. She asked us, if we’d drank beer that was so great?
We said, “Listen, Ma’am, we’ve traveled to every gull darn brewery in this here State.
Refrain:
We’ve traveled everywhere Ma’am,
We’ve drank everywhere Ma’am.
Crossed this State bare, Ma’am
We’ve drank craft beer Ma’am
Of breweries we’ve had our share Ma’am
We’ve been everywhere.
Continued on page 9.
Grain Belt
Cowboy hats
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