BEER RUN, LLC

04/02/2017

https://matadornetwork.com/trips/12-facts-northern-michigan-will-surprise/

Castles. Beer. Underwater shrines. The Northern Lights. Yep, we're still talking about Northern Michigan.

03/03/2017

So, we finished this winter’s brewery tour, having met some new friends along the way and made several contacts. A few things we discovered:
1) Next time we’ll bring a mobile hot-spot so we can communicate.
2) Everyone is making really good craft beers. In our opinion, America has become the great craft brew nation. Happy to say, gone are the old days when beer choice was limited to similar tasting golden lagers and pilsners, all made by a couple dozen mega-breweries.
3) We didn’t get to visit nearly as many breweries as planned… something about the Florida sun, beaches, and a general difficulty prioritizing between work and play.
We’re sure we’ll miss mentioning a few, but here’s a short list of some of our favorites.

Oyster City Brewing Company, Apalachicola, FL. As we rounded the corner and saw a mountain of oyster shells alongside the fishery (oystery?), it was obvious where the Oyster City nickname came from, and that this was a tough town if you were an oyster. However, if you’re a fan of good beer, it doesn’t get much better. This may be our favorite tasting room, open-air feeling and located in the brewing room, you literally become part of the action, especially when weaving through the production equipment to get to the bathroom. The Red Right Return Amber Ale is sure to keep the fishermen returning to home port.

A1A Ale Works, St. Augustine, FL. They have a perfect location in the downtown of America’s oldest city, by one measure. They do a fine job with the red that we sampled. Much to our pleasure, they also served a Swamp Head Brewery coffee stout, called Midnight Oil, that popped our eyelids back open.

St. Augustine Distillery Company. Someone suggested (foolishly, we might add) that we can’t live on beer alone. So, off we went to St. Augustine’s #1 tourist attraction (by one account, anyhow), the makers of bourbon, gin, vodka and rum. And, yes, the tour does include samples.

Jacksonville, FL. Host to at least eight breweries, they have some cool, collaborative stuff going on. There’s a shuttle bus that will deliver you to each establishment, while ensuring you do not get dehydrated in between stops. A beer passport can be stamped at each brewery and, after visiting all eight, you receive a free t-shirt (a relatively inefficient, but very entertaining way to cloth yourself). We had time to visit only two: Engine 15 Brewing Company, which has an extensive selection and a very nicely balanced IPA; and Zeta Brewing, with a cozy, open-air patio and a nice rye (one of our favorite styles) named Private Rye.

Tomoka Brewing Co, Port Orange, FL. Here, we enjoyed a fine flight of beer and good food. We stumbled upon this place while staying at Tomoka State Park, a cool place of its own, and home to the 40’ statue of Chief Tomokie, who was slain by Oleeta, while defending the golden cup. Whatever was in that cup must have been very good (kinda like Tomoka Brewing Co's beer).

RipTide Brewing Company, Naples, FL. This was our kind of place, with a whole flight of really good IPAs. It made for a fitting place to finish up our Florida brewery hopping adventures and spend the last few weeks off-grid, simply enjoying Florida’s climate and recreational activities.

Quote of the day:
“A beer doesn't have to be difficult to acquire, but damned if that doesn't make everything taste better.”
― Patrick Dawson, The Beer Geek Handbook: Living a Life Ruled by Beer

01/24/2017

Catching up on things here. Visited Fairhope Brewing Company, Fairhope, AL. Wide selection of tasty beers on tap. Surprise of the day was a sour that was delicious. Not overdone on the sour and lots of nuanced flavors. Yum. Next stop Nivol Brewing, Panama City Beach, FL, which came with high recommendations. Unfortunately, they were not open. We planned to return, but got our toes stuck in that beautiful, white Florida sand for six days and couldn't move. Next time through, we'll be stopping there. Headed for Swamp Head Brewery, Gainesville, FL, but weather diverted us south and east to avoid the tornadic thunderstorms. With a name like that, we'll be back there. Spent the evening in a bath house utility closet at a state park, while tornadic thunderstorms serenaded us. Sometimes, the best move is don't move. Anyhow, it was warm, friendly and relatively safe in our cozy closet, but no interesting beverages to comment on. Quote of the day: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”
― Abraham Lincoln

01/24/2017

Our thoughts go out to all of the people who have been impacted by the devastating storms of the past several days in the southern states where we have been travelling.

01/16/2017

1/11/17 Made it to the first targeted brewery destination, Ghost River Brewing Co. in Memphis, TN! Again, we’re not critics, but we’ll say this: Cool, cool old building, big equipment, and the smoothest ales we’ve tasted. Got talking to one of the crew, Hopper, who’s opening pitch was classic “yeh, I was born to brew” (don’t bother asking, we aren’t close to witty enough to make up something like that). He credited the smoothness of their beers to special well water and a unique filtering process. Never know, you might hear more about these guys later on.
Quote of the day: Getting there is half the fun – anonymous. (It felt appropriate to deviate from the beer theme, considering the start of this trip)

01/16/2017

We're back in the land of internet, post-dated from 1/10/2017: 1/10/17 Still waiting on the motorhome tranny… ARGGG! We’re experiencing severe corn field fever (aka cabin fever for us Nordern Michiganders, eh?!). Thought about jumping out the window, but decided a 3-1/2 foot fall onto the spiky remnants of corn stalks would be senseless at best, and could become humiliating if we landed wrong. Sis saved the day and found a craft brewery for us, named Peel Wood Fired Pizza, in O’Fallon, Illinois. Their beer was great, and the equipment got us a little bit excited (state of the art, or so it looked to an untrained eye). The crawfish andouille jambalaya wood fired pizza was pretty good, too. But, hey, this site has nothing to do with being a critic. Just rambling ‘cause we’re bored.

01/09/2017

Greetings from the crew here at BEER RUN,LLC and welcome to our inaugural FB post! If you have stumbled upon this page, we’ll assume you’re either a lover of good beer or a fan of one of our favorite musicians, either of which makes you awesome.
We’re currently on a cross-country beer run, hoping to reach our first brewery later in the week, assuming our rebuilt transmission is back in the old hippie camper-van by then.
Meanwhile, we’re enjoying the panoramic, 360 degree view of the frozen, tilled under corn fields of central Illinois. It’s breathtaking…

o “Can’t we just blame this on the beer?” moment of the day:
Don’t worry, that transmission shudder will fix itself once we get on the road …

o Quote of day: (and, perhaps a factor in the above statement)
Beer... Now there's a temporary solution. - Homer Simpson

Cheers for beers!