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Category: Brewery

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Granite City Food & Brewery, Lincoln NE (June 28, Brewery Stop #10)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Granite City Food & Brewery, Lincoln NE (June 28, Brewery Stop #10) The 10th brewery we stopped at during the beer discovery tour (click here to read about the whole trip)was Granite City Food & Brewery in Lincoln NE. We slept in a little bit (as it was a Sunday) and decided to go out for lunch to Granite City out by the mall. This is a corporate chain in the mid-west that can be found in most major cities. It’s sort of like the “Appleby’s of Breweries” as the food is ‘ok’ and the beer is drinkable but not outstanding. We got there about 11am, forgetting that they actually do a Sunday brunch, but we were going to do some tasting so eggs with beer, not a good call. We decided to sit up at the bar and chat up the bartender to see what he thought about their beers and the local scene. He was happy to pour us the full lineup, and give us his opinions of them, which surprisingly wasn’t that great considering that there isn’t a lot of choices in Lincoln when it comes to locally made beer. The food we …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Empyrean Brewing Company, Lincoln NE (June 27, Brewery Stop #9)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Empyrean Brewing Company, Lincoln NE (June 27, Brewery Stop #9) The ninth brewery that we visited on the beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Empyrean Brewing Company in Lincoln NE, June 27th, 2015. After saying goodbye to Denver, we drove across Nebraska to Lincoln to visit some family for a few days. Having been born and raised in Lincoln, it’s nice to see the city grow up some, expand it’s food and beer offerings, and be a destination for some and not just a layover for those taking I-80 across the mid-US. We got into town late afternoon on Saturday, spent some time with my family, and then headded out for a drink after dinner at Empyrean Brewing/Lazlow’s. 20 years or so ago I worked at Lazlo’s Brewery & Grill for a summer while I was going to college in Lincoln. Back then, it was the ONLY micro-brewery in Lincoln, and their beers were unique and really stood out. Over the past few decades, a lot of changes have occurred with Lazlow’s including expansions and new locations, the brewery becoming it’s own company, separate brewing facility, and changes in the restaurant …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Avery Brewing Company, Boulder Colorado (June 26, Brewery Stop #8)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Avery Brewing Company, Boulder Colorado (June 26, Brewery Stop #8)The eighth brewery that we stopped at during the beer discovery tour (click here to read more about the whole trip) was Avery Brewing Company in Boulder CO, June 26th, 2015. We drove to Boulder taking the back roads from Oskar Blues Brewing in Longmont, which surprisingly wasn’t that long of a drive (20 mins?), and we ran into very little traffic which was nice. When we pulled into the Avery brewing complex, it was clear that it’s a really popular brewery to visit as we got one of the only free parking spots in their big lot. The facility is quite large as you can see (like a factory), with full production area, restaurant (upstairs), swag/bottle shop (upstairs), self-guided tour area (upstairs), and taproom with an outdoor patio. That afternoon, the weather was really nice and we thought about sitting or standing on the patio, but as you can see from the pics there was no available spots outside on the patio. We got lucky and found a small ‘standing’ table at the back of the taproom and ordered our beers. The really cool thing with …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Oskar Blues – Tasty Weasel, Longmont Colorado (June 26, Brewery Stop #7)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Oskar Blues Tasty Weasel, Longmont Colorado (June 26, Brewery Stop #7)The seventh brewery on our cross country beer discovery tour (click here to read about the whole trip) was Oskar Blues Brewery (Tasty Weasel Taproom) in Longmont CO, June 26th. We finished up at Left Hand earlier that day, went for lunch downtown Longmont, and then drove over to Oskar Blues. The taproom called the Tasty Weasel and is at their main production facility on the outskirts of town in an industrial complex. Oskar Blues has a restaurant location that has all of their beers as well, but this one is on the way south towards our next stop (Avery). When you get to the address, you will find that you have to drive all the way around the large complex to find it…so just follow the signs. As it was a Saturday afternoon, it was a little bit busy, but not too bad when we got there. The entrance is next to their loading dock, and there are a number of tables and a long bar inside. There is NO food at this location, just beer on draft, cans, bottles, growlers, and plenty of swag …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont Colorado (June 26, Brewery Stop #6)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont Colorado (June 26, Brewery Stop #6)The sixth brewery on our cross country beer discovery tour (click here to read about the whole trip) was Left Hand Brewing Company in Longmont CO, June 26th. We drove up from Denver after sleeping in a bit that morning (having had a rough day of drinking prior) and enjoying a great breakfast at a local joint next to our hotel downtown. Longmont CO is a great historic town north of Denver about 1/2 an hour by freeway with a great little downtown and easily traversed layout and the brewery is located SW of the main downtown corridor. We were excited to make it to Left Hand as all of us had consumed some of their more widely distributed beers and wanted to try it at the source. We definately were not dissappointed when we got there. The brewery building and production facility share the same parking lot, with a large outdoor patio on the street facing side of the taproom. The inside of the taproom has some swag, memoriabilia, and a number of tables and large bar you can sit at. We plopped down on …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Prost Brewing Company, Denver Colorado (June 25, Brewery Stop #5)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Prost Brewing Company, Denver Colorado (June 25, Brewery Stop #5)The fifth brewery along our cross country beer discovery tour (click here to read about the whole trip) was Prost Brewing Company in Denver CO on June 25th. After having a great dinner at a nearby restaurant on the west side of downtown with Gary’s cousin Sheila, we walked a few blocks over to Prost Brewing. The evening was a bit showery, and we were welcomed with a double rainbow as we were finishing dinner. I guess mother nature was giving us the thumbs up! This brewery is on an industrial block, with a pretty large parking lot (gravel) out front. There is a patio (partially covered) and inside there’s a number of tables to sit at with a full length bar. They have a door you can peek through to see their production are (as showin the pictures to the right) next to the bar. The bar area has a cooler with bottles to go, and growler fills available. They have some interesting swag available as well, we ended up with some stickers, a masskrug, and a hat for Gary’s collection. As this was a weekday …

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