Month: August 2020

PSA: Guys! Learn How to Zipper Merge!

Have you seen this sign around town?

If you have a driver’s license, the answer had better be “Yes!” But do you know what it means? Well, do ya, punk?

It means there’s a Zipper Merge coming up – an indication that you should keep driving in your lane until you hit the construction zone, and then confidently take turns when the road narrows.

What it doesn’t mean is that you should all try to squeeze into one lane a mile back and then give the stink-eye to folks that end up alongside you when the orange cones force the lane change.

We know, you’re all extra-polite mid-westerners out there, tooling around town in your sensible not-too-spendy domestic automobiles. And it seems like the nice thing to do is to get over as soon as you can.

But when traffic is heavy, it’s really not. Getting over early just means you’re extending the inevitable back-up another notch or two down the road, pushing congestion into other intersections and blocking traffic that would otherwise be able to self-negotiate its way through the still-available lanes.

Don’t believe us? Check out this video.

So re-frame! Put those neighborly instincts to work and embrace The Zipper Merge! Just ’cause it’s new to you doesn’t make it wrong. Like sushi?

Fernson Pops Skip Day Seltzers

Or maybe they should call ’em “Skip The White Claw” Seltzers?

Been to a backyard fire pit recently? No one seems to be immune to the new wave of canned beer-alternatives on the market. Especially in this day of socially-distanced, BYOB, outdoor gatherings. Somebody’s gonna bring along a little four-pack of cute cans to contrast with your sixer of PBR tall-boys.

And hey, why not? They taste pretty good!

Not to be left out, Fernson’s got a new thing on the market: Skip Day Hard Seltzers, currently in 3 fruity flavors. Order up some at the brewery or look for them around town.

Just the thing to sneak into your next Zoom conference call too. Not that we’d endorse such a thing, but let’s face it: the definition of a “skip day” keeps getting a little blurrier.

65 Year-Old Sioux Falls Guy Bikes to Alaska!

Here’s a man we’ve got to meet!

Age is just a number right? Sure… kind of like how the “2,998 miles” from Pierre, SD to North Pole, AK is just a number too!

Sioux Fallsian Gary Weitgrefe was itching for adventure and thought he’d make a dash for it once he could justify his on-time retirement. And dash he did, breaking through this original plan of 50-mile days, often putting in a hundred before bedding down for the night.

So now what? Now that you’ve gone to the top of the world on pedal power? What’s next? He’s going to write a book about it! We’re looking forward to that. As you can tell from his blog about the adventure, it’s sure to be a fun read.

Nice job, Gary!

Free Flicks at The Dancing Spider Film Fest!

Get yourself out of town tonight and tomorrow for the Dancing Spider Film Festival! This is the 5th year they’ve been bringing an amazing line-up of independent films outdoors to the big sky country of Luverne, MN. With one little change…

This year they’re partnering with Take 16 Brewing, moving off-site from the always iconic Luverne Drive-in over to the brewery to for your liquid-laden viewing pleasure.

We got in touch with the Dancing Spider Crew and they sent over a few highlights…

“We’ve been able to show films from all over the world.  Now in our 5th year, we are still able to hold a film festival at a time when (no matter where you live) they are very hard to come by. Two of our films are out of Iran. Our feature on Saturday Night is a Premiere out of New Zealand. Two of our short films were selected to play at Sundance Film Festival. Several are animations. We also have three local films playing, with filmmakers in attendance.  It’s been great, even in a year like this, to showcase the hard work and creativity of filmmakers and we hope that the community takes advantage of the opportunity to come out over a beer (or two) and watch some new things.”

Absolutely!

The shows start at 10:00 Friday and resume Saturday at 8:30, going late into the night! And did we mention it’s free? (Donations are accepted so show some love, folks!)

The weather’s looking good, so head on out, grab a pint, and take in a few films while you do! In the meantime, check out their recap real from years past, and pop over to their Insta for latest updates.

Hear Ye! Monk’s Is Back!

Remember the dark ages of beer drinking, back around 2005 or so? During those benighted times, nary could a thirsty reveler find but a mass-produced pilsner to slake his weary thirst upon visiting Sioux Falls.

And then Monk’s House of Ale Repute came along, and the clouds parted. Belgian Ales and IPAs flourished. Porters and Stouts were poured. And the people rejoiced!

After a hiatus, Monk’s is now back, saved by the folks behind Rapid City’s Independent Ale House. (Blessings to you!) They’ve left most things alone, just doing some light remodeling and expanding the food and drink selection. Now they’ve got 50 beers on tap, up from 39, with specials and seasonal offering coming in all the time.

We’ll be making our first pilgrimage soon! See you there, brothers!