I’m back. Looking back it seems I have only posted four times in the last two months.

I’ve been away from home for the better part of those two months working on a non-beer project that was pretty all-consuming, but definitely worth the time and effort. I have a nearly annual gig at St. Leonard’s House, a halfway house on Chicago’s West Side making theatre with men and women who have just been released from prison. This year I actually lived at the men’s house with the guys. That was interesting in its own right. Imagine a Cicerone® spending two months in a sober house. You get the picture. Still, it’s one of my favorite gigs and one of my favorite places to be and to work.

Being away for two months, I became pretty disconnected from the Minnesota beer scene. A lot of things were happening of which I was only vaguely aware. The “Surly Bill” is now the “Surly Law.” The t-shirt bill, Sunday sales, and brewpub bill all went down in flames. Not to mention that I missed all of Minnesota Craft Beer Week!

I was in Chicago during Chicago Craft Beer Week, but it fell during my production week, so I didn’t even really get to take advantage of that. I think I attended one event. But it wasn’t an entirely beer-free two months. During my stay I managed to squeeze in around 25 brewery visits for the Upper Midwest Beer Guide that I am writing, interviewing brewers or owners at most of them. Illinois is in about the same place as Minnesota in terms of developing its craft beer industry. It was late to get started, but is making up for it with a vengeance. During the time that I was there, three or four new breweries put beer on the streets, making it hard to keep my master brewery list up to date. There is some great beer being produced by breweries and brewpubs both old and new in the great Chicagoland area. More posts about these will be forthcoming.

It’s time to end my internet silence. It’s great to be back.