Surly Brewery Tour

Surly Brewing Company
So after a bit of organizing, some friends and I found a Friday that would work for the Surly Tour! The thing that excited me most was the free tour, which meant "free happy hour Friday"! Plus, I love tours and yes, that seals my status as nerd.

This brewery is small! But bare in mind the last one I toured was Lienie's, so that isn't fair for me to judge. But the fact that the entire tour could be conducted in one room was amazing to me. They just have one machine to can all the beer. Just one!

The man that conducts the tour is the owner/founder/CEO and he is adorable. I was fine with him talking about himself and his company for like an hour and half. I could have easily seen myself be annoyed by that, but I wasn't, he was fun to listen too. Plus, at anytime we could return to the bar and get a refill on the beer!

This is a fun way to start the weekend, I highly recommend it!

We missed Darkness (the newest in the family of Surly's) by like two weeks, but we did get to sample:

• Furious, American IPA
• Bender, Oatmeal Brown Ale
• Cynic Ale, Belgian Saison (no wheat!)
• Coffee Bender, Coffee Brown Ale

~Posted by Ann

Happy Hour at a Museum??

It is true!

The Bakken is a very "hands on" museum, showing us the power of electricity. The night I visited was "Monster Mash", so it was very Halloween themed. There was a big focus on Mary Shelly and Frankenstein, although there is a permanent exhibit on Frankenstein. Bakken may have had an obsession with the story (did you know Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was 15 and it was published when she was 18!?) and has a first edition book.

The Tudor style house is quite beautiful too. And, it does have a quirk - the amount of doors. A small den had 6 doors! The man that built the house, Goodfellow, was a little paranoid (like eccentric, rich folks tend to be) and thought an intruder would get lost in the dead end of doors, giving Goodfellow enough time to escape. Poor guy should have been more paranoid about his relationship though. He built the house for his girlfriend, but before the home was even finished she dumped him. He never married.

Probably one of the top highlights was this:
Yes, you get to have your picture taken -- showing the power of static electricity!! HA, strangers were screaming at me, "you look like a dandelion!"

So be sure to check this out sometime, the second Tuesday of every month. And yes, admission (which is $7, but don't forget to log onto the site before you go, sometiems they have links for 2 for 1 coupons!) does cover wine and appetizers!!

~Posted by Ann