Griffins, Glasses and Good Times

This vicious griffin is the mythological spokes creature for Sprecher Brewery. Touring this brewery became a favorite past time of ours because at the end we actually got to sample their wares. Sprecher Brewery is far more famous for their soda than they are for their beer, especially the Root Beer, which is on tap and generously distributed at the end of the tour. Not to mention this absolutely fabulous soda called Orange Dream, which is good enough to bathe in if it weren't so sticky. I can't even tell you how much I love that stuff.

Here's Sara in front of some sort of beer cart. So are there any other cities out there in the world that have more than a few breweries open for public tours? I submit that there are not. Even though Milwaukee didn't end up being our forever city, I gotta raise a glass to the town for knowing how to have a great time...at least during the warm months of the year. Milwaukee is one of those American cities that most of the country couldn't point out on a map, unless they happened to live within a 200 mile radius. There aren't a huge amount of people there, and the downtown really isn't something many postcard companies are publishing pictures of. Yet over the summer there is always something going on there and people come from all over the world to participate in the local goings on. I'm really proud of Sara and I for getting out and having a great time in the city while we were there, and Sprecher Brewery was a great locale to mix up a great big vat of entertainment. I love my little Sara so much for always being willing and excited to get out there and see our world with me.
And here's Zoe atop a barrell of beer. This is in the little sitting room the brewery tourists are corraled into at the end of the tour to drink stuff. All the adults get four beers each, while the kids and Mormons get all the soda they can pour into their stomachs. These beverages are served in a great little glass you get to take home with you for later use in orange juice consumption. Brewery touring has instilled inside of me a passion for collecting drinking glasses every where I can get 'em. Sara used to not be such a big fan of souvenir shopping with me because if I can't see a use for the item, I ain't buying it. But you'd be surprised how many gift shops sell hurricane glasses for a pretty good price. Now when I'm sitting at home in a deep and dark December, eating my lemon chicken, I can stare at my glass o' water and wish I were vacationing. It's awesome.