All Pints North

M and I went again went to the 2nd annual All Pints North beer festival in Duluth on Saturday, July 13th.  We went up that Friday, stopping in Hinckley for breakfast with my sister Jamie and BIL Tom and then we went to M's parents house for a little while before taking the scenic route to Duluth.  We took this route the month before when we went to Duluth but it was hazy and cloudy so we missed this scenic overlook.

We went through Superior, Wisconsin this time to get to Duluth in the late afternoon.  We checked into our hotel which was less than desirable (but it was free thanks to my lovely sister) and then went to Canal Park.  We ate and then right about where this picture was taken I ran into one of my coworkers (my former supervisor) on the street walking her dogs.  It was really weird to see her there but she was in Duluth for a dog show for the weekend.  

That evening, we heard music coming from one of the blocks close to our hotel and saw a block party with a band and people in the streets so we hung out there before walking down to 7 West Taphouse for a Surly takeover. 

We drove up as far as Two Harbors on Saturday only to turn around because they were having a parade through the main drag.  We checked into a different hotel in Canal Park and waited for the beer fest to begin at 3 pm.  Jamie and Tom would be meeting up with us there shortly after the gates opened.  It was a really hot weekend in Duluth so even though the cloudy day wasn't the most desirable, it saved us from extra heat.  

M and I went to last year's debut of APN and it was a little different this year including about a thousand more people than the year before.  Having my sister and Tom along enhanced my afternoon and they had a great time experiencing all different kinds of beers.  My sister and I liked the grapefruit beer by Schell's, Schell Shocked, the best.  There were several experimental beers with fruit besides grapefruit including clementine, watermelon, coconut and mango. 

The size of this game was funny!  The bags were pillows! (see original size in the left side of the picture)

APN wrapped up at 7 pm so we headed over to Grandma's.  We got a spot on the balcony patio and ordered food.  One of the servers brought a flight of beers to our table complimentary of another table.  We were like, are you sure it's for us?  We think it may have been from a group of people we met earlier in the day that we saw sitting in the corner.  We thank you whoever it was!

We got to see a ship come in from our elevated view on the patio.

After Grandma's, we walked over to the lake walk, hanging out for awhile before settling at Canal Park Brewery.  We didn't even finish a beer there as a ship was leaving so we just left to go see it.  After that, we separated for the night, Jamie and Tom going back to their hotel right next to the brewery and M and I walking down a couple of hotels to ours but stopping in a store full of pop on our way home.  It was almost 11 pm and they were closing for the night but let us come in and shop around.  I rarely drink pop but it was pretty fun and colorful in there.

I walked down to the bridge on Sunday morning to see the same ship we saw come in at Grandma's the night before, depart.  We left Duluth around 10:15 am with another memorable weekend.