Surly Brewing Company - Date Night!

A recent date night (I KNOW! RIGHT?) had the Hubs & I trekking to the opposite ends of the earth metro to visit the infamous Surly Brewing Company ~

I was thrilled to get a spot in one of their elusive Brew Tours...as I see people constantly complaining around the interwebs that they can't get in for a tour! I suppose this isn't the place to say I was able to get in on my very first try!

YAY ME!

It was, however, birthday week that I was able to land the tour for, so...there's something to be said for that I suppose! Happy Birthday to ME!

Anyhoo - Rob and I toured the Coors Brewery out in Colorado one year - that was pretty awesome...

But Surly Brewing Company...That tour was it's own kind of awesome! (& HELLO! Local! Well, sort of, seeing as how it IS across town and all...)

First off...admission is FREE!
Yes, folks...FREE...Well, not totally free...You are REQUIRED to bring a non-perishable food item as your ticket for entrance...that's pretty awesome if you ask me. 


According to their website, almost 20,000 lbs of food had been donated by early 2010! I wonder what that number is now, almost 2 years later?

A handful of FREE BEER TOKENS! YES PLEASE!

 Omar (the beer drinker behind this whole operation) stood on pallets and gave the tour...pretty much all from one place...mug of Surly Brew in hand.
Tour attendees stood around, laughing at his animated stories, giving him their undivided attention - except when they needed refills ~ which we were encouraged to get at any time we wanted to (with our tokens.)

At one point, his dad, who had been standing next to us, got up & talked a bit...he reminded me so much of my own dad ~ it was like one of those signs...you know, those signs? What my dad and a sign regarding beer would have in common is beyond me...but sometimes, just sometimes...

Anyway - back to the tour...

Rob marking the 11/11/11 date night on the white board in the Surly Brewery.

 I was hoping to see some canning in action - but it was a Friday night...so what did I expect?

Empty cans and kegs abound...
an interesting fact...in 2006, Surly sold 1748 kegs...in 2011they will sell around 55,000 kegs. All started in one man's garage. Pretty amazing huh?

Date Night 11/11/2011

It was a super fun night, something out of the ordinary and so extraordinary!

I highly recommend the Surly Brew Tour...sign up with some friends!

I'd totally go again....
And a HUGE thanks to Dan & LeAnn for entertaining our kiddos so we could get away for some adult time!

*** This is an unsolicited post.  Words and opinions are my own...So are the pictures...taken on my camera phone - I sort of wish I had taken my good camera on this tour but it was more about the beer, not about the pictures...And judging from their FB page and twitter feed and how hard it is for folks to get into a tour, they certainly don't need anyone promoting their delish brews! ***