The Brewery Tour Rolls On!
Continued from the last issue
The Big Question and some Opinions:
THE one question that Teri and I were
asked almost every time we met someone was,
"What is your favorite brewery?" Picking just one
as our favorite is impossible. What I like, you
may not. I suppose it would be similar in respect
to having a dozen kids and asking who's your
favorite?
ALL, these breweries are special and some we like better than others, but it all comes down to my (and your)
own personal likes and tastes. We did not rate these places on just beer
alone. There are plenty of other "beer people" who critique, sniff, smell,
rant, and stand on their heads to judge flavors/tastes and I mostly could
care less. It depends on who’s doing the judging, someone who knows
something or some knucklehead. I will say, this judging of beers/flavors is
great, and we love those who do that but, we have outgrown that phase of
our lives. We know what we like, and we know what we don’t, it’s all
personal taste. We can’t emphasize that enough. Just because I don’t like
something, does not mean that I (or you) need to degrade and demean it.
I personally don't much care if someone thinks the beer that they are
drinking is the best in the world. That's great and we want to sample it and
feel your joy but, we all have our own tastes. I think that horse is now
dead.
So, there is an overall "feel" or “it factor” we get when rating these
places. For some the beer might be outstanding but the place not so much
or vice versa. Some are special to me or Teri for various reasons. I think there is much more to enjoying beer then just
going around critiquing the flavors, telling someone what you know is “best” for them, having a following, or trying to
be a "social media influencer" of which I find most of those people are pretty self-absorbed. I suppose we need those
people and I guess that can be enjoyable also, but for us, we’re not trying to be famous, influence people, make
money, or see how many “likes” on Facebook we can get. We’ll leave that for others. I think that horse is now dead.
So, back to the original question. We personally think having a beer with a friend/stranger, sharing your stories and
listening (that’s key) to theirs, relaxing in the surroundings, enjoying the moment, memories of past visits, or the
revelation of the new, understanding the local culture, history, love of place/home, new foods, friends, and the
enlightenment of travel. ALL of these are things, we find, make the whole experience of enjoying and the anticipation
of, drinking beer (and just life itself) worth every breath we take.
So, with all that in mind, Teri and I present the following,
of our 42 favorite breweries of one year in Minnesota craft
beer land. Why 42? There is no reason, just was getting tired
of writing, I guess. We could have listed more but, that’s
enough. We encourage YOU to explore, travel and drink
YOUR way across Minnesota, (don’t just listen to us) that
way you can find out what you enjoy and like. We have
included just some simple notes about them. These are listed
randomly in NO particular order. Enjoy!
Favorite Breweries:
Bang- St. Paul. I would say this is probably the most unique
brewery we have been to. A Grain Bin serves as the brewery
and taproom. Small, intimate, flower garden patio, no
mowing, all natural. A wood fired pizza oven makes some of
the best pizza we have ever had. The brewer/owner's name
is Jay, so that helps. Park and bicycle to many and I mean
many other breweries from here.
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