Let me preface this post by saying that nobody was drunk at any point during the brewery tour as we shared pints or flights, ate food, and had enough physical activity and time between breweries to metabolize quickly.
What is this bingo you may ask? Well, we made bingo cards with scavenger hunt type things like find someone with a tattoo behind the ear, find someone with your name, find someone wearing a bro tank and jorts, find someone wearing a fanny pack, etc. We also had challenges like get something for free, play a yard game, and get a non-alcoholic drink. Everyone pays $3 for the card and whoever wins get the pot. You have to take pics of the subject to prove that you got bingo. It was very fun and added more thrill to the day. No, I did not end up winning.
We chose Sociable Ciderwerks as the rendezvous point to begin our adventure. Everyone trickled in between 3:00 and 4:00pm. We had a cider, did the inaugural toast, handed out the bingo cards, and set out for the rest of the adventure. At Sociable, we tried the Red Flesh cider which is an infusion of the Freewheeler. We also had the Spoke Wrench which is a stout cider. I like this one because it is quite sour. The Helles beer was probably the standout though. Still not sure if I like it because it literally tasted like a meat and cheese platter in liquid form. Very very odd. But I give them props for always having an unusual and unique beer on tap. I really like it when people in general take liberties and push the envelope to create something new and interesting.
Next we walked to Logan park to pick up the Nice Ride bikes. Here's the deal. You have a 30 minute time limit to get to your destination or you get charged an additional fee. Additionally, you are at the mercy of the rack as there may or may not be enough bikes available to take or slots to park your bike. You also have to find a Nice Ride station close to your destination to cut down on the walking distance. This added an extra element of problem solving to the day which was super fun. We had a few mishaps but it worked out well for the most part.
We rode to Boom Island Brewery. Thankfully it didn't start to rain until we were inside and then quit raining by the time we left! Between everyone's purchase, I got to try all of the beers at Boom Island. My favorite for sure was the Framboise - a raspberry wheat. Very smooth. The Wit, Saison, and Hoodoo were also , but I really didn't like any of the others. I'm not a huge Belgian fan I suppose.
Next we rode to Sisyphus Brewery in the Loring Park area. They don't have many on tap, but the ones that they have are all good. I tried the Oatmeal Pale Ale as well as the Imperial Brown Ale. Delish.
By this point we were getting hungry. Our next stop was Day Block Brewing in Minneapolis. We had amazing pizzas, bacon flights, and beer! My absolute standout for the day was Day Block's Berliner Weiss. Oh my goodness. Perfect in the summer on a hot day. And the bacon flights. I can't even. They are worth trying.
The last stop of the night was Dangerous Man. We biked there in the dark and got to enjoy the view of the skyline from Broadway Ave. Unfortunately they had run out of the beer that I was really excited to try so I went with the Cream Ale which was okay.
Throughout the day I just kind of marveled at how beer and adventure bring people together. I didn't know four of the people in our group, but it is easy to hang out with people who share a common goal and interest. It really was a fun day. We had planned on taking the Green Line to St. Paul and hitting at least two breweries there, right off the Green Line route, but we ended up not having enough time. I think we were a little ambitious with our plans :) So while we didn't fulfill our entire mission and hit every destination, as my friend Dea says, the point is not the destination, the point is that the journey is the destination. Enjoy the moment, live in the here and now. Whatever you are doing at this moment has purpose and meaning. You may never reach what you think your destination is, but you sure can enjoy the journey.
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