Sunday beer

Sunday was a perfect summer Minnesota day, made even better with some great Minnesota beer. We met some friends for lunch, finally making it to Great Waters’ Sunday special “Kegs, Pegs and Eggs.” Although we skipped the pegs (Cribbage) this time the kegs and eggs were worth coming back for, especially if the weather is cooperative and you can sit out on their patio. As part of this special bloody marys, screwdrivers and all beers can be had for just $2 each and they have a rotating egg special for just $4.95. I started off with their Hand Grenade IPA on cask which is a hoppy but smooth IPA with that creamy head you can only get from a cask beer. I jumped on ordering the egg special when our server, Molly, told me it was a fried egg sandwich with bacon and choice of cheese accompanied by Tator Tots. No one else at our table joined me in ordering the special but that was their loss. The egg was perfectly fried with a runny center and the brie I chose complimented the sandwich wonderfully. The Tator Tots were so good that one of our friends ended up ordering a side of them to accompany her pasta dish. After a tasty meal and coming highly recommended from Molly, I decided to give their version of a bloody mary a try. While it wasn’t the best bloody mary I’ve ever had I’ll have to admit it was pretty darn good and for $2, I’d order it again. My only criticism would be that they needed to add more edible goodies to it…there was only one large green olive and one pepperconi. While we had seriously considered spending the rest of the day on their patio we decided there were a few things that actually did need to get done so mid-afternoon we reluctantly drug ourselves away and headed home to be productive.
With an amazing amount of restraint we did manage to be spend a couple of hours getting some needed things done although in the back of our minds we were already thinking about returning to the joy of sitting outside having a few more beers. We must have been putting off some pretty good “let’s drink” vibes because within 10 minutes of concluding our productiveness for the day the phone rang and another set of friends called, inviting us to join them at Town Hall. Without hesitation we agreed, quickly fed the dog her dinner and hopped in the car. I had to start off with their cask Centennial IPA as the last time we were there that was the next beer that was going to be released. I’m glad I was able to have some before it was gone as this is one good beer! Our server was wearing one of the special shirts they had printed to coincide with the release and I nearly bought one. Still might have to check out their website to see if I can order one as they are quite cute and appear to have been ordered in women’s sizes as well so I won’t be swimming in even the smallest men’s size. Dinner for me ended up being the hummus pizza from their appetizer menu. I’ve had this before and it was as good or better than I remembered. I’m sure they make their own hummus and it’s a wonderfully garlicky version. Along with that I had their other IPA on cask. It seems to me this is one of their standard beers on tap and equally as good as the Centennial although the two are noticeably different. All in all it was a great end to the week and a nice primer for the upcoming trip to Chicago on Wednesday that will no doubt involve plenty of beer.