Brewpubs in 4 different states: now that's a pub crawl
by Kitty Dunn,posted Sep 14 2009 8:59AM
Mike and I were on vacation last week, and as we often do, we checked out brewpubs. A couple of years ago we hit 13 in one week, and while we didn't break that record..we set a new geographic personal best, hitting brewpubs in four different states--Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.
This time we added a couple of new ones, including Old Man River Brewing Companyin Marquette, Iowa. It's really a charming tiny little town on the Mississippi River with a great old downtown. That's where you'll find the brewpub--in a beautifully restored old building. The beer was quite delicious..the bartender cordial and friendly, and we also met a nice couple who'd recently moved to Wisconsin from Missouri. (And from the way they tell it, Missouri has a lot of great breweries we need to check out sometime!)
We also finally made it to the Potosi Brewery, way down in the southwest corner of the state. The original Potosi Brewery closed in 1972, and has now been restored, and is part of the National Breweriana Museum. Tiny little Potosi beat out St. Louis (think Budweiser), and Milwaukee (think Miller and all those other great breweries of the past.) If you're a beer fan or a history fan, you'd definitely be fascinated with all the memorabilia from all over the country, but with an emphasis on Wisconsin breweries. Back around the turn of the century, almost every little town had its own brewery. I think Galena,Illinois had three or four! Many of them survived until the 60's or 70's when they just couldn't keep up with the big boys.
We got to Potosi on the last leg of our journey on the Great River Road, along the Mississippi River. The views were gorgeous, and yes, the beer was tasty. I can't wait to go back..and think a fall excursion is definitely in order.
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
One small detail I like about Bonnaroo ... the security people's shirts say "Safety" and "Here to help". They seem well-trained and they do the things security folk do ... but I like the emphasis on safety and that they're doing these things...
The Jack Johnson show last night was terrific. He'd been coming just to hang out with other musicians, maybe do a late night jam with friends in ALO. Very low-pro, as Jack said. That changed when Mumford had their medical emergency...
Still no mag. This is as close as my phone zoom can get. The dancers are sparkly. Bjork has a dress that looks like duct work from a dryer vent. The hat face thing looks like a cross between bubble wrap and pinhead from Hellraiser. Which could all be...
We waited at the main gate for over a half hour. A dozen safety full were poised to open the fences. Three on horseback provided back up. When they opened them up, it was a speed walk at first. Upon seeing that another, distant gate had...
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
One small detail I like about Bonnaroo ... the security people's shirts say "Safety" and "Here to help". They seem well-trained and they do the things security folk do ... but I like the emphasis on safety and that they're doing these things...
The Jack Johnson show last night was terrific. He'd been coming just to hang out with other musicians, maybe do a late night jam with friends in ALO. Very low-pro, as Jack said. That changed when Mumford had their medical emergency...
Still no mag. This is as close as my phone zoom can get. The dancers are sparkly. Bjork has a dress that looks like duct work from a dryer vent. The hat face thing looks like a cross between bubble wrap and pinhead from Hellraiser. Which could all be...
We waited at the main gate for over a half hour. A dozen safety full were poised to open the fences. Three on horseback provided back up. When they opened them up, it was a speed walk at first. Upon seeing that another, distant gate had...
Mike and I were on vacation last week, and as we often do, we checked out brewpubs. A couple of years ago we hit 13 in one week, and while we didn't break that record..we set a new geographic personal best, hitting brewpubs in four different states--Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.
This time we added a couple of new ones, including 
