By Katie Goodroad, Workforce Research/Curriculum Diversity Specialist at Summit Academy OIC
On Friday, February 12th, our cohort was feeling the love as we made our way to Sisyphus Brewing. After having the cohort vote between bowling and a brewery tour, the event committee spent the month of February searching for a local brewery who would be willing to tour a group of 16 thirsty VISTAs. Fortunately, after hearing quite a few “no’s,” the event committee finally got a “YES!” After enjoying a busy morning talking about self-care and spreading the love, our cohort headed over to Sisyphus Brewing. Sisyphus Brewing is a small brewery located west of downtown Minneapolis. The brewery opened a little over a year and a half ago and is known for their microbrews. They like to brew new, creative beers in smaller batches. From pale ales to porters, they had something for every type of beer drinker. They even had crafted sodas for our non-beer drinking VISTAs!
We each grabbed something to drink and we started our tour. When Sisyphus first started, the owners did not know which of their passions they wanted to follow: brewing beer or comedy. So they did both! The backroom of Sisyphus is a comedy lounge with a stage perfect for stand-up comedy. The company just started hosting professional comedians, but every Thursday hosts an open mic comedy night.
Next, our tour took us to where the magic actually happens. I’ll be honest, there was a lot of technical terms which I did not follow such as yeast, barrel, balling degrees, cask, fermentation, hoppy, infusion, mead, and priming. Basically, they work hard to create a variety of good beers. Their small barrels allow them to provide a rotating tap list in smaller quantities, so it is first come first serve. Yum.
After finishing our tour, we took our glasses over to the tables and spent the rest of the afternoon playing board and card games. Overall, it was a great afternoon spent with great people.
