Plenty of fun, but no sign of the Purple One

Without a doubt, the Leinenkugel’s Brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, offers the very best deal we’ve encountered on our budget roadtrip. At no cost, the 176-year-old business has samples, tchotchkes, postcards (with postage!), and among the very best tours we’ve ever taken. Our genius guide walked backwards at a pace, whizzed through facts and punchlines about the history and workings of the Germanic brewery, and harmlessly flirted with a group of old fishing buddies, all while maintaining a delightfully bored visage. Among any number of fleeting production figures, we learned that the aforementioned Curly’s Special Ale is actually produced as a "no-name" brew, available to businesses to brand as they please; locally, it’s known as both Dale’s and Schlobberknocker’s. In the tasting room, we tipped back glasses of Creamy Dark, Special Amber, and Leinie’s Original, accompanied by a salty Bavarian Pretzel.

After roaring into Minneapolis - St. Paul with a hole in our exhaust system, we took the car in for some routine maintenance and headed out to explore the Twin Cities by bicycle. We toured the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden before watching the home team get trounced by Cleveland at a Minnesota Twins baseball game (it was a shame). Exhausted from pedalling and cheering, we made for the city’s trendiest dining room, the 112 Eatery, where we feasted on sweet and sour crab salad, stringozzi with lamb sugo, and tagliatelle with foie gras meatballs. We expect mostly bison burgers from here on out.

More pictures of our exciting adventure are available here: