A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles. : June 2013

Well I'm not totally psyched to report this one but it was achieved and therefore must be documented. On a rest day from the hand bruising magnificent cracks of Indian Creek we embarked on a challenge I wasn't entirely sure we could handle....we took 23 shots within 24 hours...each.

We attempted to be diligent and clever in order to make this as painless as possible. Therefore we took shot number 1 at 3:38 a.m. before going back to sleep. Once awaking, we tried to take another roughly every 30 minutes. Until you are taking shots every 30 minutes you don't realize how fast the time goes. I felt like every time I turned around it was time for another one...miserable. We didn't waste the day, Kyle being the kind gentleman that he was drove us to town to take showers, be our caretaker and recorder (marking our arms when another shot was down). The day was never-ending and resulted in Kathleen passing out early after dinner while I forgot to eat and ended up drinking three quarters of a gallon of milk that night. Much to my surprise I wasn't very hungover and I was able to jam my hands into some amazing lines the next day. I am happy to have this one done and I will never attempt something like this again. Done Did!

About 12 shots in...looking our finest (post shower)

Get Giddy!

22 ticks + 1 star = 23 shots, Done Did!

In honor of my new job, our next item on the list of 23 is...Breweries!

So right off the bat we knew we wanted to visit at least 23 Breweries along the way. We successfully accomplished this plus some. We used a rating scale based on quality of beer, the atmosphere, and how much we generally liked the brewery. This was done via a 1 - 3 star scale rating with a rare 4 star if the brewery was truly exceptional. We always had different beers in order to sample as many as possible and sometimes wrote comments depending on our stupor. Be sure to check out our favorites! (These are the order we visited)

1. Steamworks Brewery Durango, CO -
Not a good way to start off
2. The Moab Brewery Moab, UT ***
Canned beer is where it's at! beer on tap is 3.2 ABV therefore fair
3. Santa Barbra Brewing Company Santa Barbra, CA **
Get the nachos with your beer
4. Cannery Row Brewing Company Monterey, CA *
5. Mammoth Brewing Company Mammoth Lakes, CA **
Well this is practically our home brewery, some of the bottled beer is awesome, fun tasting room and a huge plus is...it's in Mammoth
6. Flagstaff Brewing Company Flagstaff, AZ **
Good beer, good location, good vibes, 2 stars
7. Mother Road Brewing Company Flagstaff, AZ *
Great, simple tasting room, I really wanted to like this place but we actually couldn't finish our beers
8. Lumberyard Brewing Company Flagstaff, AZ **
Thumbs up to beer
9. Beaver Street Brewing Company Flagstaff, AZ *
4 breweries in 3 hours might have been a little ambitious
10. Carver Brewing Company Durango, CO ***
Super friendly staff who give great recommendations, great beer, reunion with Sam
11. Ouray Brewery Ouray, CO **
I'm sure the beer was fine to good but all I can remember is the swinging bar seats, props for atmosphere
12. Ourayle House Brewery Ouray, CO ****
Honestly I'm a bit surprised Mr. Grumpy Pants has a website. The tiny town of Ouray has 2 breweries and this is one not to be missed. We stopped by three times, you'll have to visit to see why! With matter-a-fact (and sometimes crude) sayings adorning the walls, and childhood games to enjoy while you drink incredible beer Ourayle house is like no other place. Sitting by the wood stove listening to stories from Hutch, it's the perfect retreat after a cold day of ice climbing. Be prepared for entertainment and good, simple, fun. Don't forget to bring cash and don't think to ask for water dude, man up.
13. Colorado Boy Brewery Ridgeway, CO ***
Cozy atmosphere, good beer and good pizza
14. Smuggler's Brew Pub Telluride, CO ***
15. Telluride Brewing Company Telluride, CO ***
Simple, good and to the point...Beer & Skiing
16. 2 Rascals Brewing Company Montrose, CO **
Popcorn points
17. Lefthand Brewing Company Longmont, CO ****
Lefthand hooked us up with beer, a private tour, and incredible hospitality. It's a great brewery standing for the good in beer, a green environment, plus the beer is fantastic! If you get the chance try the Milk Stout Nitro on tap and if it's still around the Ambidextrous it's out of this world (and those are just two of the many)! Lefthand is also the official sponsor for the NC Bike MS Ride so come out and have a beer with us and support me here!
18. New Belgium Brewing Fort Collins, CO ****
If you want to know how a large craft brewery should run, visit New Belgium. They have everything down to a science but they make you feel at home and that you are worth their time. Sign up for a free tour and you will understand how wonderful this brewery is. They are proud of their beer (which you get ample amounts of), proud of their green friendly environment, and everyone is proud to work there, as they should be. New Belgium has been voted in the top 30 places to work by Outside Magazine, I think they even have made number one!
19. Odell Brewing Company Fort Collins, CO ***
Nice environment, good beer, Lugene Stout is amazing
20. Fort Collins Brewery Fort Collins, CO *
The beer was alright to good, the atmosphere was pretty cool, but the workers were pretentious and stuck up. They were rude and talked down to us, not to mention we had recently showered.
21. Avery Brewing Company Boulder, CO ***
Holy smokes I wish they had the beers on tap in bottles. This place was packed for a good reason: The Beer. The Chai beer was one of the most unique and wonderful beers I've had.
22. Breckenridge Brewery Breckenridge, CO ***
Pandora's Bock for Kathleen, ironic on so many levels
23. Epic Brewing Company Salt Lake City, UT ***
Utah surprisingly has some great beer when bottled
24. Wasatch Brewery Park City, UT ***
Jalapeño beer and The Devastator, enough said
25. Draught Works Brewery Missoula, MT ***
So close to being a 4 star. Great open space atmosphere with one of my favorite beers; order 2/3 coffee stout with 1/3 milk stout.
26. Magic Hat Brewing Company Burlington, VT **
Fun vibes and swag, beer is much more refreshing with vibrant flavors on tap.
27. Fiddlehead Brewing Shelburne, VT **
Almost 3 stars. Simple and just getting starting, I'm sure great things will come for this brew.
28. Switchback Brewing Company Burlington, VT *
Surprisingly doesn't have a website...beer is better fresh, who would've thought. Vermont Classic!
29. The Alchemist Waterbury, VT ***
Finished with a BANG! The tasting room is small, the brewery is small, but they excel. They make the world famous Heady Topper which always leaves the VT shelves in a hurry (because that's the only place you can buy the beer). I understand why it wins so many competitions and scored a 100 on Beer Advocate.

Please remember these are just our opinions usually from one short encounter with a brewery. I'm sure some of them we were mistaken about but take it as you will. Feel free to click the links above to visit their websites! I continued to visit more breweries on my way south including Lancaster Brewing Company (**), Spring House Brewing Company (***), and Appalachian Mountain Brewery (*).

My new job is at Bull City Burger and Brewery and I couldn't be more excited! Take a look at the website and come by for a visit. EVERYTHING is grown/made in house or obtained locally and this place is always packed. We do everything from growing our own mint for Mojitos and hops for beer, to baking our buns, to catching rainwater. This place is the future and it's great to see it thriving, plus the food and beer are stupendous!