Huge Road Trip: Where should I stop?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Turns out well be headed through Iowa city tomorrow! Cant wait to hit up John's grocery.
 
So did you get to meet Doug at John's...I guess you would still be there hearing all the stories!
 
bergen69 said:
So did you get to meet Doug at John's...I guess you would still be there hearing all the stories!
Click to expand...

No not yet. I thought Wed be there today but were stopping in Des Moines for the night. I'll be there tomorrow for sure.
 
mrrshotshot said:
UPDATE!

Decided to update this thread since we have our official route selected. Wanted to get some late suggestions to see if I've missed anything. THE ROUTE CAN NOT CHANGE so your suggestions need to be for beers I will find in that area. And again, I'm not looking for breweries to stop at but am looking for suggestions of beer I should find/buy at liquor stores along the way. Here is the updated route:

ScreenShot2013-05-08at44135PM_zpsd4181f81.png
[/URL]

We start in my home town (Petaluma) which is located by San Francisco. We then stop at Declo, ID to stay with some friends. Then a short stay in Jackson, WY before staying at Yellowstone for a few nights, then stopping to see Mt. Rushmore. Our next and longest stop is in Crown Point IN. Crown Point is very close to Munster and I'm gonna try and stop at Three Floyds. We then travel to Memphis, TN. I plan on stopping at Binny's Liquor in Champaign, IL to look for brews. I also want to try and stop at Johns Grocery before leaving the Crown Point/Chicago Area. We stay in Memphis for a few days before the long trek to the Grand Canyon. After that it's back home.

Here are items I already know I will be looking for:

New Glarus
Three Floyds
La Cumbre
Marble
Great Lakes
Founders
Ale Asylum
Pipeworks
Two Brothers
Schlafly
Nebraska Brewing

So, looking for more suggestions and must get brews if I can find them! Thanks for any and all help!
Click to expand...


By the sound of your last couple of posts it looks like you ended up deviating from your last planned trip route and decided to dip down south down into Iowa and go straight into Illinois from there (I-80 route). Just like a few others have said New Glarus would have been a good pickup if you would have taken that more northerly route through Wisconsin.....I know how road trips with family go though....sometimes the plans change to the detriment of beer drinking. In the off chance that you veer off course and happen to end up in the borderlands of Wisconsin, New Glarus does have a spot on their website where you can search for places that carry their specific beers if you are trying to find some of the rarer/one off stuff that you can't always find everywhere. (http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/BeerFinder). I highly recommend the Berliner Weiss which is a one off that came out in May/June but can still be found around. Also they just came out with their Wild Sour and a Strawberry/Rhubarb fruit beer which I have yet to try but is on order to find this weekend. Happy travels through the Midwest and watch out for the severe thunderstorms/tornadoes.
 
Indianhead_Brewer said:
By the sound of your last couple of posts it looks like you ended up deviating from your last planned trip route and decided to dip down south down into Iowa and go straight into Illinois from there (I-80 route). Just like a few others have said New Glarus would have been a good pickup if you would have taken that more northerly route through Wisconsin.....I know how road trips with family go though....sometimes the plans change to the detriment of beer drinking. In the off chance that you veer off course and happen to end up in the borderlands of Wisconsin, New Glarus does have a spot on their website where you can search for places that carry their specific beers if you are trying to find some of the rarer/one off stuff that you can't always find everywhere. (http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/BeerFinder). I highly recommend the Berliner Weiss which is a one off that came out in May/June but can still be found around. Also they just came out with their Wild Sour and a Strawberry/Rhubarb fruit beer which I have yet to try but is on order to find this weekend. Happy travels through the Midwest and watch out for the severe thunderstorms/tornadoes.
Click to expand...

Yeah we deviated a bit haha. I'm hitting up John's grocery tomorrow then binnys liquor in champaign Illinois next week.

I'm hoping to find new glarus at one of those stops. If not, I have a hook up for trading in Wisconsin through this forum.

It is hard to find beer on a trip like this though. I'm doin my best but I can't really stop at breweries. Were in an Rv so its home and parked when we arrive at the city. Can't really take it out and hunt for brews, ya kno?

Either way I've been pretty happy with how things are turning out. Hoping to get lots of founders this week. I've got quite a list and a lot of spending cash. I'll get some good brews no matter what. The Thai me up brewery in Jackson hole was a huge surprise. Great stuff.
 
If you are going through Champaign then go to Piccadilly Plaza on Neil Street also, Friar Tuck in Savoy (both of these beat Binny's). If you go through St. Louis or want to pick up local beers then I recommend Schlafly (St. Louis), and Two Brothers Brewing (Warrenville). If you want Champaign local beer then you have to drink from the tap. There is The Blind Pig Brewery, Destihl, and Triptych is the newest.
 
mrrshotshot said:
Yeah we deviated a bit haha. I'm hitting up John's grocery tomorrow then binnys liquor in champaign Illinois next week.

I'm hoping to find new glarus at one of those stops. If not, I have a hook up for trading in Wisconsin through this forum.

It is hard to find beer on a trip like this though. I'm doin my best but I can't really stop at breweries. Were in an Rv so its home and parked when we arrive at the city. Can't really take it out and hunt for brews, ya kno?

Either way I've been pretty happy with how things are turning out. Hoping to get lots of founders this week. I've got quite a list and a lot of spending cash. I'll get some good brews no matter what. The Thai me up brewery in Jackson hole was a huge surprise. Great stuff.
Click to expand...

A RV and Johns ought to be interesting...if you have time you should have lunch at the Hamburg Inn, about 2 blocks from Johns. Every President since Ford (maybe more) has campaigned/eaten there. A lot of history. Get the pie shake....it's a shake with a piece of pie in it...what more has to be said.
 
Just stopped at John's. Didn't have time to talk to anyone but I got good beer. And yes, an Rv was tough but we managed.

Here's what I picked up:
A sixer of Founders Centennial IPA
A fourer of Founders Curmudgeon
A sixer of Lakefront Cream City PA
Singles of Founders Rubaeus, Double Trouble, All Day IPA, Dirty Bastard, Goose Island 25th ESB, Schlafly A IPA, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, and Bells Two Hearted, Expedition Stout, and Oberon Ale.

I'm pretty happy.
 
Just stopped at Binnys in Champagne, Il. I wanted to stay forever! Here's what I picked up:

Great Lakes PA
New Holland Dragons Milk
Founders Rubaeus
Founders Devil Dancer
Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout
Two Brothers Cane and Ebel
Great Lakes Commodore Perry
Hoppin Frog BA Borris
Southern Tier Choklat Stout
New Holland Rye Hatter
Southern Tier Creme Brulee
Two Brothers Laughing Panda

Somehow I failed to get any Three Floyd's. CRAP! Oh well. Perhaps a trade is in the future....

Heading to Memphis as I type till Thur.
 
Just stopped at the Flying Saucer in Memphis. Not impressed. The food was good.

Ordered a flight of sea dog wild blueberry, Blackstone nut brown, Blackstone porter, yazoo hop project, and finchs imperial IPA. Everything feeled waterey... Beer was served not very cold (and its hot here!). Not sure if they clean the lines often enough or if beer sits in the keg too long.

The finchs had marijuana-esque taste....

Oh well, time to go to my cousins, BBQ, and drink some other beer.
 
Wow. Very surprised to hear that. The Flying Saucer in Nashville was awesome. On a 2 night trip we stopped in both nights. Great selection. No complaints on quality there.
 
mtnagel said:
Wow. Very surprised to hear that. The Flying Saucer in Nashville was awesome. On a 2 night trip we stopped in both nights. Great selection. No complaints on quality there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, maybe the Nashville one sees mire traffic or sumthin. I also noticed all the pints that were being served were full to the brim with no head. I guess some people want quantity over quality but I appreciate a nice 1/2-3/4" head on my beers.
 
Well, starting the long trek home. Left Memphis this morning. Well be stopping in the Oklahoma city are to camp for the night.

Considering this wasn't a beercation specifically, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. Finally got to try Founders and wasn't disappointed. Trying to convince my parents to stop at Le Cumbre in Arizona. Well see....
 
Well I hope you manage a stop in Arkansas...Diamond Bear (I think that's the brewery) makes some interesting brews...all canned.
 
mrrshotshot said:
Well, starting the long trek home. Left Memphis this morning. Well be stopping in the Oklahoma city are to camp for the night.

Considering this wasn't a beercation specifically, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. Finally got to try Founders and wasn't disappointed. Trying to convince my parents to stop at Le Cumbre in Arizona. Well see....
Click to expand...

Founder's is, in my opinion, one of the best overall breweries out there. At least as far as the bigger craft breweries with fairly big distribution. I haven't had a beer from them that I didn't think was at least very good if not great.
 
hogwash said:
Founder's is, in my opinion, one of the best overall breweries out there. At least as far as the bigger craft breweries with fairly big distribution. I haven't had a beer from them that I didn't think was at least very good if not great.
Click to expand...

I agree. The only one I thought was a miss was devil dancer. More of a barley wine than a triple IPA. Rubaeus was a huge surprise for me.
 
Stopped in Albuquerque for the night. Went out to dinner at the prickly pear. Food was good. Had a Marble Red (more of a mild IPA than a red ale). Also had a Le Cumbre Elevated IPA... Phenomenal! One of the best beers this whole trip.

Left the restaurant and walked into a huge thunderstorm! Stopped at Sprouts and picked up a 4 pack of the Elevated IPA.

This is probably it for beer on this trip. Driving to Williams tomorrow, the Grand Canyon on Sun then home to good ol Petaluma on Monday.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I wish I could have stopped everywhere but there is only so much time in the day. Planning a true beercation next summer to Colorado. Until then, cheers!
 

Similar threads

JAReeves
Road Trip
Replies
2
Views
397
JAReeves
JAReeves
A
Looking for information on how historical English Porters were aged.
Replies
10
Views
1K
Cheshire Cat
Cheshire Cat
Brooothru
Say Hello to the FNG
Replies
1
Views
504
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
D
Need a little guidance
Replies
8
Views
928
bernardsmith
bernardsmith
CallMeKiupid
My First Brews .... what should I look out for?
Replies
10
Views
1K
CallMeKiupid
CallMeKiupid
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top