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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Modern Monks Brewery, Lincoln NE (June 28, Brewery Stop #12)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Modern Monks Brewery, Lincoln NE (June 28, Brewery Stop #12) The 12th brewery we stopped at on the cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Modern Monks Brewery at Misty’s Steakhouse in downtown Lincoln NE. After a great Sunday of beer discovery and hanging out with the family, we went to dinner at one of Lincoln’s oldest steakhouses, Misty’s. I had never been to their downtown location, which as it turns out, has a brewery inside, called Modern Monks. I wasn’t able to get a lot of pictures as we got there as the dinner crowd was picking up and it got dark in the area. It’s suggested to get reservations as they do fill up quickly. There’s a brewery production area behind some larger windows on the north side of the restaurant area. They have a small bar and some seating at the front of the restaurant as well, but we got sat way in the back so we didn’t get much of a chance to check out the scene up front. They have six regular beers on draft at all of their restaurant locations, and one or two seasonals …

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2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Ploughshare Brewing Company, Lincoln NE (June 28, Brewery Stop #11)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Ploughshare Brewing Company, Lincoln NE (June 28, Brewery Stop #11) The 11th brewery to be visited during the cross-country beer discovery tour (click to read about the whole trip) was Ploughshare Brewing Company in downtown Lincoln NE just a few blocks from the UNL campus. This was one of the first true surprises during the road trip, we had no idea it existed until earlier that day when we started looking at what was open in town for breweries and this new brewery came up. We had no idea what their beers were like, but we were pleasantly surprised and truly glad we stopped by before going to dinner that night. The brewery has a large main area and bar to sit at. They don’t have much in the way of food (or didn’t at that time), but they did have 10 distinct and great beers to sample from. The server was excited to hear that we were new to their beers, and made sure to answer any questions we had about them. They did mention that they were getting ready to ramp up production and keg so they can start distributing around the area. We …

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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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