Surly Open

Sunday morning we headed over to Hyland park in Bloomington with Kat and Scott to take part in the 1st Annual Surly Open- Leave Your Balls @ Home. We were signed up for the afternoon session and were eager to start partaking in $1 Surly beers. Being there were only four of us and each team was to be made up of five people we got to make a new friend. Our new buddy Dave/David was clearly the best and most motivated disc golfer among us. I think he ended up finishing with a score of 66 and mine was somewhere around 112. No one came close to catching me for last place. That’s ok though, I was just happy not to have passed out climbing the hills…yes, the ones that the ski lifts take people up in the winter…particularly when I was carrying a tray of beers up to the rest of my team. The best part of the day though was after we were done hiking the course and due to the thirsty Surly Nation, Omar brought out a keg of Coffee Bender to replace the empty CynicAle keg. It looks like the event was officially a success as Surly’s site is advertising that there will be a 2nd Annual event. I just hope they pick a flatter course next year.

Drinking Local

In our continuing search for places to drink good beer Mag and I picked up Kat and Scott and headed over to Common Roots Café on Lyndale in Minneapolis last night. I had read about this recently opened place and with their emphasis on local food and beer I was looking for a time to give it a try. We were given a good reason earlier this week when Surly sent out an email that Omar would be giving out free Bitter Brewer there at 7:30 Thursday night. Common Roots offers four beers on tap: Surly Bender, Surly CynicAle, Flat Earth Angry Planet IPA (their organic offering) and from Milwaukee, WI, Lakefront Organic ESB. While disappointed there was no Furious to be had I consoled myself with a Bender and happily ate my grilled cheese sandwich made with Gouda, Chevre and raw milk cheddar. I think I enjoyed my meal the most out of our group but since our real focus was the beer it all sufficed to pad our stomachs. About the time we finished our meal Omar had arrived and was setting up the pin of Bitter Brewer toward the back of the restaurant so we decided we’d better grab a table nearby. Heading back there we ran into Dave and Sharon and then Lori and Paul who had brought along Paul’s sister who was in town for a visit. So we pushed a few tables together, enjoyed some free Bitter Brewer and more purchased pints. Still in a drinking mood but looking for a broader selection our group headed across the street to the original Bulldog. I’d been to the new Bulldog NE previously but this was my first trip to the original. Walking in the door was like walking into a freezer so we headed out to their patio. It’s a cozy, completely enclosed patio so don’t expect to come here with a large group. The seven of us ended up crammed together around a table meant for four but since our waitress wouldn’t allow us to move another table over (fire restrictions) we made due. They do have a great selection of beers and seven varieties of Tator Tots! We got the Cajun and garlic ones along with some of their soft pretzels. While the Cajun Tator Tots and the soft pretzels were good, the garlic ones were outstanding! All in all we had a nice Thursday night filled with plenty of tasty beer which served to whet my whistle for Sunday’s Surly Open. I’m sure I’ll have the worst score of all of the participants, but I’m not too concerned…I’ll be spending the afternoon outside drinking $1 Surly beers.

Random Encounters

Kris and I decided to check out the newly opened Buster's on 28th in South Mpls. (42nd Street and 28th Avenue) yesterday. The reviews we'd read from its opening on the 24th were pretty much spot on (good food, great beer menu but many selections aren't quite available yet, very new servers still learning their jobs - kind of what you'd expect from a place just opening up). Overall, we had an enjoyable time, although I think we drove our server crazy with questions to which she did not know the answer and had to run inside and research.

Anyway, we grabbed a table for the two of us just outside the front door. Little did we know, but this table seemed to attract all the patrons that wanted to step outside for a smoke. They come out, grab our chairs, light up, and set their drinks on our table. Normally this would irritate the hell out of me, but I was a bit cheerful from the beer. So, rather than ignoring them or telling them to buzz off, we invited them to join us. All in all, this lead to some interesting conversations with a number of folks who live near Buster's and have done so for many years. One fellow was even kind enough to point out the local "crackhead" as she stomped and danced her way past us on the sidewalk. You don't get this kind of local color without chatting up the locals.