Typical Minnesota Evening

When I think of what a "normal" night in Minnesota might consist of, I think about getting drunk. Being a native of the (previously) great state of Wisconsin, I can appreciate the idea of how most evenings should be spent in the company of good friends, appreciating cocktails or beers until the alcohol wins and you must pass out before the sun rises. Perhaps my perspective is slightly skewed to highlight the drinking... but this is a drinking blog after all! There are few things in life as important to me as my friends. Although I have spent very little time with them, Abby's friends from college (Kyle and Erika), who currently live in Minneapolis are considered to be great friends. These are people I would go out of my way to see and to spend time with. They were part of my wedding and we always make an effort to spend time with them when we can. Seeing as how I spent the last weekend attending a conference in downtown Minneapolis I wanted to take this time to see them again!

My week in Minneapolis was very busy talking Science with other like minded "nerds" and discussing the intricacies of neurobiology and the complexities of behavioral neuroscience. Honestly, all I wanted to do was go hang out with my friends Kyle and Erika and drink some Surly! Fortunately for me, I was able to break free for the chaos of the conference for one night to grab dinner with them and pound a beer or 6! 

Since I was without a car, Kyle and Erika picked me up at my hotel and we headed to the Nordeast section of Minneapolis. Although I did not get conformation of this, I believe the term "Nordeast" to be some sort of Norwegean or Dutch version of the word "North East". We ate burgers on the patio of a bar called "Bulldog NE" and drank some brews! My first beer of the evening was Surly Brewing Company's Furious. Furious is an American style Pale Ale that is dark in color and loaded to the brim with hops. I love this beer. It always reminds me of being in Minneapolis and how much fun I have there. Since its only available in the MSP area I "HAD" to consume at least 2 of them!

My next beer was Rush River Brewing Company's Unforgiven. After drinking a Furious, the Unforgiven tasted like a more watery amber ale. They claim this beer to be a session beer and comes in at a meager 5.5% ABV but was over powered by the Surly. I feel bad that I can't give this beer a raving review seeing as how I typically love Wisconsin beers. Maybe next time I am in the area, I will give their beers another try!

After dinner we hit up a MSP landmark. Nye's Polka Bar is a dark throwback to the 1970's. Stiff drinks, cheap beer, classic 70's style vinyl booths and of course some crazy old guy on an organ playing classic rock and oldies in a karaoke style. By this time, we had gained one to our group, one of E and K's friends from the NE neighborhood, Alison, joined us in singing classic Bob Seager songs and drinking more beers! Since there were NO craft beers in this joint, I went with the closest thing I could find: Leinenkugels Honey Weiss. The beer was served in large (probably 24 oz) glasses that were frosty cold and served with a slice of lemon. I rarely drink this beer, but it used to be one of my favorite brews when I first started drinking. Pounding 2 of these while singing songs and hanging out with good friends really reminded me of my "good old days" and made the experience of Nye's all that more enjoyable.

It was a great night with great friends and I hope they were not too hung over for work the next day! I hope too much time doesn't pass before I get to see them again!

Anyway, that's enough mushy-ness for one post. Stay tuned, as I am brewing a batch of homebrew this weekend and will be again blogging the recipe and keeping my readers posted on the status of the beer!

Till next time, and as always, if you would like to follow me on this Drinking Adventure just click on the link on the right where you can subscribe to my feeds. you can also follow me on twitter at @williepawn or friend me on Facebook. You can also email me here.