I’m still playing catch-up after a busy weekend and an even busier week. The short version is that MNBeer.com has a new niece, the Twins (who played poorly as well) whooped the Brewers on Saturday and work is crazy. Somewhere in there I found some time to have a few beers…
The long story (minus work and a new niece) is as follows… Saturday, Dawn and I went to the Twins/Brewers game in Milwaukee with my in-laws. Despite the fact that Miller Park has no shortage of Miller Lite and MGD, I was able to find a number of craft brew stands, which, quite frankly, put their peers our Metrodome to shame. While enjoying watching the Twins beat the Brewers, I was able to enjoy a New Glarus Spotted Cow (probably their least adventurous brew, but still light years beyond MGD), a bourbon-barrel aged brown ale (from a brewery whose name escapes me) and another fairly refreshing brew that Dawn simply referred to as “Autumn Wheat.” Hopefully, when the new Twins ballpark is built, Minnesota will follow suit and devote a little more space to local and craft brews and not just Miller, Coors and Budweiser.
The in-laws wanted to stay somewhere west of Milwaukee, and since I was in charge of reservations, we ended up in Delafield, WI, about a mile from Delafield Brewhaus. Dawn and I made the short trip to the bar and tasted some nicely-crafted beers in the form of an IPA and an ESB and later a porter and an amber as thanks for entertaining the local drunks. Delafield Brewhaus sits on a hill above I-94 and looks absolutely massive at night. The brewhouse sits in the middle of the building and rises up two floors. I can only imagine that it would be a joy to watch them brew sometime, and judging by the design, any seat in the house would give you a good vantage point.
After a short night at Delafield Brewhaus, we retired to our hotel for some sleep as we were to head back to Minneapolis early in the morning. On the trip home, the in-laws even made a special stop for me in Hudson so that I could pick up a few “necessities” at Chicone’s.
All-in-all, despite the fact that it was anything but a “beer-trip” and we missed some major destinations, it was a productive little beer adventure, if I do say so myself…
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Of course if that weren’t enough, friends “coaxed” us into meeting them at Barley John’s on Tuesday for dinner. Yeah, twist my arm… OH ALRIGHT, I guess I could go to Barley John’s, eat some “Pizza H” and be wowed by their maibock and our exceptional server. FINE. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!
(Their triple oat stout was tasty as well. I decided to avoid the Dark Knight as I had plans of operating a motor vehicle later that evening and judgement got the better of me. Damn conscience.)
How much is a beer at Miller Park? A pint of Anchor Steam at Pac Bell (er, ATTSBC) will set you back around $8.00, a joke, right? I went w/my partner, heckled Matt Lawton when he was a Pirate, and we likely spent more money in one afternoon on stadium food than if we had gone to Zuni. (4 beers, an order of garlic fries and something that was a futile attempt at cleansing one’s palette after a basket of greasy garlic fries. SAY NO TO GARLIC FRIES!!) At Candlestick. beer is a $1.00 more, the stadium is uncomfortable and the Niners are horrible.
The STRIB ran an article recently which speculated beer and concession prices will rise at the new ballpark. Which leads me to, would you be willing to spend a few dollars more for a pint of whatever is being brewed locally if the prices are around $8.00 a serving? Does the inflated price even benefit a local brewery? And, would a wise marketing team sell this shit even higher under the vague “artisan” moniker?
-lj
I believe a pint of Spotted Cow was about $6.25 and the other 12 oz. beers were about $6.00. I’m not quite sure how much the MGD and Miller would set one back.
Currently, you can pay about a buck more per beer and get a Summit, Newcastle, etc. behind home plate. If that were the case in the future, I’d be willing to pay a buck more for a Summit or Surly if it means drinking something tasty as opposed to Bud or Miller.
I have a feeling that the increased beer prices won’t do much, if anything for the local breweries, of course.
was the bourbon beer from Tyranena and was the autumn wheat leinies sunset wheat?
Good call, you were half right, anyway. The bourbon-barrel brown ale was indeed from Tyranena (Rocky’s Revenge), but the wheat definitely wasn’t from Leinenkugel’s… I don’t care for their Sunset Wheat and this was much better.
I dont like leinies sunset either too much blueberry taste..may it was capitals island wheat then
As nice as it would be for good beer to be not so dead expensive at ballgames, I think we’re consigned to it. At least Saints games has Summit XPA for relatively cheap.
Pity the Rollergirls only have MGD.
dont forget the saints also have schells dark