Day 1 was incredibly long, made longer by holiday traffic and summer construction. The first leg was from Minneapolis to Munster, Indiana. It’s about a 7-hour drive. I assumed I could shorten this time by going faster with cover from my new radar detector. However, it turns out Google Maps uses average speed, so it already accounts for everyone speeding, so the only way you can pick up time is to drive like a maniac. Recalculations are in order on some drive days.
The first stop was 3 Floyds Brewing. I had recently learned the brewery taproom was closed, but they were on the way, so I stopped up to pick up some bottles of Space Station Middle Finger pale ale and a couple of sours to try. The sours were 13 Hands and Geordonnay. Never tried those two before, so we shall see when we can open them. So a quick stop at Floyds and the traffic to get there was a mess; even though I left early, I got there late. Also, a major brain fart on my part because I forgot about the Eastern time zone, so My next stops were Eastern Standard Time, so I lost an hour.
Up next was Transient Artisan Ales. I have only tried a couple of their beers, and I liked them, so I thought I would head up to Michigan, This was initially planned for the way back, but I wanted to clear that day a bit to get home, so I thought, why not. Also, I was going to continue to Jolly Pumpkin, but I got so far behind time that I would never be able to get back on track to Indianapolis on time. Transient had a decent gose that I tried, and I left with a few bottles of stout, a couple of farmhouse ales, and a four-pack of passion fruit sour. The place was pretty crowded, as I would expect by the great lakes on holiday. There are tons of stuff to choose from to go and in the house, but as I am learning, I cannot buy all the beer, so picking and choosing when you must drive so much is a challenging task that is better skipped. Hopefully, the take-home bottles will give me a clue should I return.
From Michigan, I headed South through some of the strangest highways I have ever seen, with no towns or stops to be found for what seemed like hours. Much slower going than I anticipated. Finally got to Upland and tried out the new peach sour. It was pretty good but a fairly run-of-the-mill golden sour style that doesn’t differentiate itself much. I have to work on that palate, but the golden sours taste the same. I Picked up a few small bottles of fruited sours to try at home and then took a drive through the cornfields to Taxman. Taxman in Bargersville seemed like it popped up out of the cornfields. Had me an Indianapolis pork tenderloin sandwich ( and yes, I was thinking beef when I ordered it) tried a couple of their beer offerings, and left with three 4 packs. One thing I can tell you about Taxman is that beer is dirt cheap for take out and the more you buy the cheaper it gets.
So day one is in the books. It was more about positioning myself for the rest of the trips. As always, I’m hoping for some surprises when I get home and try the carry-out, and I will cover that when I get to it. But today is day 2, and we get an easy day of three stops. Up first Is Urban Artifact in Cincinnati. The place is in an old church, and the menu looks like it has some real potential. I will, of course, stop for some 5-way chili as well. That’s another thing about this trip. I like food and trying regional items, so I am open to suggestions if I am coming to your area. Then I will move on to Nashville for stops at Yazoo Brewing and Barrique Brewing and Blending. I’m really excited about Barrique, so I plan to stay in the area and have a few there. Atlanta follows the next day.
