From the patio at Vintage Escapes Winery & Vineyard
This is the fourth year of having a summer vacation with our best friends, the Richlings. We are well into the groove to the extent that we optimize the vehicle space to ensure that the massive 55-quart cooler can make the trip. Yes, it is heavy, but this Blue brand cooler keeps the beer ice cold while visiting breweries. On this trip, Paul even brought a tape measure to ensure everything would fit before heading out on the road to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Lua Brewing in Des Moines
Last year’s beercation took us to Iowa, and our first stop was at Lua Brewing. We decided to go there again as a nice break from the drive to Minneapolis. This is always a great place to start, thanks to the excellent food and craft beer! Paul and I were shocked to find out that they had Gil’s Pils served from a slow-pour tap. The anticipation of when the beer is finally ready to be served is overwhelming!
Kristi enjoyed the Say Yes sour with blueberry, boysenberry, and blue raspberry—her favorite from last year—but this time, there were no four-packs available. I think the trauma lasted for the next two hours after leaving Lua Brewing. I had the hazy Pale Ale called Tiny Beam of Light, which is made with just Citra hops and is very tasty!
The next stop was a beautiful property near Kilkenny, Minnesota - Vintage Escapes Winery & Vineyard. This is Kristi’s happy place! She did a tasting to determine what to bring back to Omaha. Her favorites were the Riesling, a dry version of this style of wine, and the Hotsy-Totsy, an off-dry wine blend. It was a gorgeous day, and I enjoyed the legendary Grain Belt Lager. There is a rich history surrounding this beer that you can enjoy here.
A beautiful waterfall in a city park
After arriving on Thursday, we headed to Minnehaha Park on Friday morning to see the waterfall. We had a lovely walk, taking in the sights and seeing that many others had the same idea that we did. It was enjoyable to see a mother and her two children wading and laughing in a shallow pool along the stream. If you're a numbers person, you might be interested to know that it took 106 steps to walk down to the water level to take in the waterfall. It was time for lunch, and Kristi was up to the challenge of finding a great place to go to!
The Yard House in Minneapolis
We were looking for a place to go for lunch that would be close to our afternoon brewery destination. Kristi found the Yard House in the Shops at West End. If you've never been to a Yard House, the beer selection is massive, with over 100 taps. My first experience was in Las Vegas while I was attending a conference.
Everyone found a beer to enjoy. I enjoyed the classic 3 Floyds Brewing Zombie Dust. Kristi found a local sour - more to come on this later. The food was incredible, and the service was outstanding! This was a great choice as we headed to Utepils Brewing.
Friday afternoon will be a time that we will never forget! We spent over two hours at this incredible brewery with Dan Justesen, the creator and owner of Utepils Brewing. A lot was happening during this visit, and to fully enjoy it, you will need to read the story I wrote to savour the sun!
After the brewery visit, we did some shopping and then had dinner. I should clarify that Mrs. Joe and Kristi went shopping, while Paul and I walked to the nearest watering hole, which luckily had some local craft beer.
So, I have tried to build up the anticipation of why we chose Minneapolis. It was the perfect choice because my oldest, Jae, and her significant other, Jasper, had recently moved there. It was incredible to have the two of them show us the city and put up with my mediocre selfie taking. I think the picture captures our happiness while walking in Fort Snelling State Park.
I think our original plan for this Saturday morning was to take a short, two- to three-mile walk. The trails were very nice, and we made it to where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers meet. It was a lovely morning on a day that would hit 97 degrees! Somehow, I think I got punked because before we knew it, we were on the back side of the fort. Our navigation skills might not be the best, but we were having such a great time that we didn’t care!
We arrived at Fort Snelling and were ready to explore the fort! Unfortunately, because it was such a hot day, there were no self-guided tours available, and the next one wouldn’t be for another hour. Jae and Jasper agreed to guide the old guys, Paul and me, back to the vehicles so that we could go pick up the wives back at the fort. I was very grateful to Jae and Jasper, especially when we made it back to the parking lot! Before getting back on the road to pick up the wives (thank you, Google Maps), Paul and I took a minute to enjoy a great friend of mine, Dort Munder. I think it was Paul’s first time meeting Dort.
After heading back to the hotel for a shower and lunch, we were ready to explore a couple more breweries! Kristi was excited to visit Pryes Brewing Co. The brewery is situated along the Mississippi River and features a massive outdoor patio. Kristi was on a mission to see if they had the blueberry sour available in a 4-pack - this was the sour she loved at the Yard House!
I grabbed an IPA flight, and Kristi had a sour flight. My good friend Paul, who was driving, disappeared; he had to inquire about the dry sauna company that was poised outside the brewery. Hmmm, I was wondering who would want to go into a sauna when it is 97 degrees outside. I can see how this can be an attraction in the cold winter months in Minneapolis, though.
I took a few notes about the IPAs I had, and here were my thoughts.
Miraculum is a Midwest IPA that is malty and balanced between sweetness and hop bitterness, with an ABV of 6.4%.
Glamorama is a West Coast IPA with a light body. It features notes of pineapple and stone fruit, with a low level of hop bitterness. This was my favorite, coming in at 7.1% ABV.
Hazy Citra Pale Ale has citrus notes that are well-balanced with some earthy hoppiness. It is easy drinking at 5.1% ABV.
Mass Haze-Teria is a hazy IPA with notes of citrus and stone fruit. It is mildly dank with a fuller body that comes in at 7.1% ABV.
Kristi enjoyed the sours, but the elusive blueberry sour was not available in 4-packs. It was a bummer to find this out. Oh, what about Paul? Good news, he did not succumb to the pressure of getting into the dry sauna. We were off to the final brewery of the day!
While we were at Utepils Brewing, the owner suggested we check out Arbeiter Brewing Co. The brewery’s name, Arbeiter, is derived from the German word for worker. The brewery owners state on their website that they are firm believers in the idea that you get only what you work for.
As we arrived, the wives found a couple of bookstores, which were awesome! So that meant Paul and I could spend more time at the brewery. As we walked in, it was hectic, but luckily, there were two open seats at the bar! My favorite place to learn about a brewery is at the bar!
We had heard about Ha Ha Pils, a northern German Pils, that you could say is the world’s best German Pils after winning gold at the 2025 World Beer Cup and 2024 Great American Beer Fest. This beer didn’t disappoint, and I would say it is in the top two of German Pilsners that I have ever had! Our beertender was very nice to explain the different beers, even though they were extremely busy with an international painting contest, according to a gentleman whose wife was participating.
The dark beer pictured is named Roggen Stickum, and it is a Sticke Alt with Rye coming in at 9% ABV. This is my first time having this style of beer. As the beer warmed, the dark fruit and brown sugar notes blended seamlessly with the spiciness of the rye malt. This was the most unique beer of the trip, and I was glad to have the opportunity to try it!
We left to grab some food to take back to the hotel, where the night would become competitive!
A night in at the hotel and we found a table to play the game Carbles (also known as Aggravation). The game involves using cards to move marbles around a board, to get all your marbles into your "home" space. It is an enjoyable game, and Paul made the beautiful wooden board.
The game got competitive when we had teams of husbands vs wives. The intensity was that of a boxing match to see who would win the title. I needed water to continue this battle!
You know Joe would never instigate anything, but somehow when I opened my water bottle, Kristi got wet. The same thing happened to me later, when a random sprinkler turned on and soaked my shorts. I think it was a distraction just so that the wives could win!
We headed out Sunday morning to go home and made it just in time for brunch at Barn Town Brewing in West Des Moines. There is nothing like having a Groovy Ruby (hazy grapefruit IPA) with an omelet and their house potatoes. Makes me want to go back very soon!
We have such a great time on beercations, and next year will be our fifth anniversary! We will have to plan something special for this one!
Cheers to good friends, fond memories, and the occasional water incident!