Reminiscing a Cheesy Victory
Good news: April is National Grilled Cheese Month. And it gives us another reason to boast about one of our talented designers, Alyssa. Why, you might ask? Beyond being an incredibly skillful designer, she makes a MEAN grilled cheese. We’re talking about a “won the 2014 Best in Show at the Grilled Cheese Recipe Showdown presented by the Grilled Cheese Academy” kind of good grilled cheese.
So, we (virtually) sat down with Alyssa to recap this victory—and once the office opens up, you can bet we’ll be enjoying some Limburger Leaps, the name of her winning sandwich, together.
Creating the Limburger Leap
One thing we’ve learned about Alyssa is that she thrives under pressure. She can have five projects due in an hour and you could not detect an ounce of stress. This seemed fitting when we learned about her process creating the Limburger Leap.
Alyssa said, “I knew about the contest for several weeks before entering. I was doubtful of my chances to win and put off entering until the last day. My entry was so last minute that I actually only did one trial run, then and adjusted the original draft of the recipe without testing it again before submission.”
The Inspiration Behind the Cheese
Considering the contest originated in Wisconsin—and that she’s a die-hard Packers fan—Alyssa wanted to create a game day-themed sandwich.
“You have to play the judges, right?”
She worked with her co-creator and twin sister to name the Limburger Leap after the iconic Lambeau Leap. “Once Limburger was in place, we knew that the other recipe ingredients needed to add complexity and balance out the pungent cheese,” she continued.
The Grill of Victory
After about two months of waiting, Alyssa arrived to work one morning in July to find the email in her inbox.
“I read it several times and still couldn’t believe it. Really, BEST OF SHOW?!?!”
Overjoyed she immediately called her sister to share the news. “I don’t really remember much else besides a blur of excitement that day. Our recipe had just won $10,000 in a national recipe contest!”
In the end, Alyssa and her sister used their winnings to take a trip to London and Paris the following summer and to help pay off the rest of their student loans.
If you’re looking to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month (because who doesn’t love a reason to eat grilled cheese?) and would like to try the Limburger Leap for yourself, here’s the recipe.
25 before 25
This year our agency celebrated its 25th year! Inspired by Alyssa’s “30 before 30” list of things to do before she turned 30 years old, we thought of 25 things to cross off of our list before our big day. Here’s a look at some goals we crushed this year!
- Host our first large-scale event: We had over 100 close friends, family and partners of IN food here to celebrate our 25 years. #INToasts25
- Learn and grow as a company: This year we hosted a number of ‘Lunch and Learns’ on topics like social media, workplace wellness, and conference recaps. Our account team also has a book club! Here are a few of the books we’ve read:
- Create an inspiring creative space: We added a photo wall to our creative room and everyone contributes pictures to update it with. So far our themes have been Minnesota State Fair, hygge, apples, and our calendar photos. Send any suggestions you have our way!
- Roll out ‘Traction: EOS’ to our whole company: Check!
- Host a food drive: With a little friendly competition, our account and creative teams challenged each other to see who could contribute the most donations for March out Hunger
- Volunteer 100 hours: From gardening with Pillsbury United Communities to stocking food at the Open Door and serving meals at Loaves & Fishes, we’re proud of our team and the spirit to give back.
- Complete a race for charity: The run we planned on going to was rained out. L However, Emily ran for Jandy Strong and we donated to the cause!
- Expand our composting process: An additional compost bin is now IN the kitchen! In addition to their roles as Account Manager and Design Manager, we’d all agree that Maggie and Betsy also lead our compost division. They even went on a tour of a composting facility together!
- Go for a trash walk (see: plogging)
- Explore our neighborhood: The North Loop has been booming, we’re thankful that there’s so much to explore between new food halls and breweries.
- Spend a summer day together: We spent our summer outing on the waters of Lake Minnetonka.
- Do something challenging: Our wellness committee introduced us to daily challenges during our wellness week, such as standing for an hour of the day or having no added sugar.
- Explore the outdoors more: 3 o’clock walks help our team get outside on a daily basis. Additionally, we ventured toward the Mississipi River for a scenic yoga class and lunchtime scooter ride.
- Bring-our-dog-to-work day: Pups are some of our favorite coworkers! During the dog days of summer, we welcomed some furry friends into our office.
- Embrace Minnesotan winters: Long winters can be brutal; our team finds creative ways to embrace the season. Some of which include: soup days and a February step challenge (this sounds contradicting but getting outside helps lighten the mood even if it’s below freezing!).
- Get crafty together: We got crafty in the kitchen and made facial scrubs.
- Learn something new: Nebraska native, Sam has taught us a lot about life in Nebraska since joining the team. One thing we learned about is Runza, which Dustin made for us all to enjoy on Sam’s birthday!
- Get competitive: (See #5)
- Expand our taste palate: Through our “soup” days we got to try a slew of cozy foods such as homemade curry, chili and hot dish.
- Embrace our INternal talents: Emily guided us through a session of vinyasa yoga.
- Take time for ourselves: Our 25 Days of Meditation challenge highlighted the importance of taking time for ourselves and being intentional. As a company benefit, we each also get to take time for ourselves on our birthdays with an additional day of PTO.
- 25 Days of Meditation: At our morning status meetings we’d go through a meditation together. We’d recommend Headspace!
- 25 Days of Push-Ups: We probably won’t do this again…
- Hydration challenge: Drinking water is important for your health! The wellness committee hooked us up (again) with Yeti tumblers for this.
- Host a 25thAnniversary Celebration! It was great to celebrate 25 years of business with former employees, clients and friends earlier this month. Thanks to all who joined!
We’re thankful to have 25 years in the book. And we’re excited to see what the future brings. Cheers!
25 lessons I’ve learned in 25 years
March 1st marked my 25-year anniversary of owning IN Food Marketing & Design. Honestly, I had no idea when I started out that I would be fortunate enough to still be in business all these years later. As the date approached, I found myself getting a little sentimental and reflecting on what I’ve learned over the past 2 and a half decades. In no particular order:
- Be curious. Ask questions and bring a sense of curiosity to every interaction and endeavor. It will force you to keep learning and growing, and you’ll be amazed at some of the crazy and interesting things you’ll learn.
- Practice gratitude. I use the time when I’m walking from my car into the office each day to reflect on my blessings. It helps me bring a positive energy into my workday.
- Be mindful of finances. Making business decisions on a wing and a prayer is not an effective strategy. Understand financial metrics and apply them rigorously.
- Have a strong support network. Let’s face it. As a business owner, there are days that are really, really hard. Having business advisors, family and friends who you can freely share and process with makes all the difference.
- Follow your gut. Every single time I’ve ignored my gut, I’ve regretted it. I once lost hours of sleep tossing and turning over someone I was about to hire, and still went ahead with it. Yep, bad decision!
- Be true to yourself. Walk your own path, at your own pace, in your own time. Fight the urge to compare yourself and stay focused on what is right for you.
- Have fun. If I had a nickel for every belly laugh and silly moment over the years, I could retire very comfortably today. Take your work seriously but make sure you’re having fun doing it.
- Listen well. As a business skill, there’s almost nothing more important than really listening to the people around you. Stephen Covey’s quote sums it up well: “Seek to understand before being understood.”
- Show appreciation. No one in business is successful without the help of clients, employees, partners and advisors. Be intentional about showing appreciation on a regular basis.
- Take risks. Some of the best decisions I’ve made have been the riskiest ones, like rebranding as a food agency in 2008. Did it close some doors? Absolutely. But it’s opened many, many more.
- Be humble, but not modest. It can be uncomfortable to receive accolades or talk about successes, especially as a woman. But to be competitive in business, it’s important that we share our positive news.
- Be true to your word. This is at the heart of what integrity is all about: just doing what you say you’re going to do. It’s one of the key factors in building trust with clients, team members and vendor partners.
- Give back. Find ways to bring your time, talents and resources to your community to make your purpose bigger than just financial success. Giving back 5% of our profits to hunger-relief efforts has enriched our agency in so many positive ways.
- Be kind. By this, I don’t mean we always have to be “nice,” but I do believe we can always choose to be kind. Over the years, I’ve had to let many people go, both for performance and financial reasons. Bringing empathy and kindness to those conversations has made all the difference.
- Invest in people. Great people are the most valuable assets of any business. Helping them grow and develop is one of the smartest things you can invest in. I love the anecdote about the CFO who was worried that employees would leave the company after getting expensive training. The CEO replied, “yes, but what if we don’t and they stay?”
- Make courageous choices. Whether it’s saying “yes” to an opportunity that takes you out of your comfort zone or saying “no” to a piece of business that isn’t quite right, I’ve found the universe always seems to reward choices that require a bit of courage.
- Make time to think. Great ideas generally don’t emerge in a sea of “doing.” They arise when you allow yourself the space and time to take a step back and ponder.
- Empower people. We accomplish A LOT at our agency every day, and it is so true that people will rise to the level of the expectations you set for them. I’m blown away on a regular basis by the great thinking and ideas of my team members.
- Admit when you’re wrong. As a leader, you’re probably going to be wrong… a lot. Own it, apologize, and make it a point to learn from it and do better the next time around.
- Love your space. You spend 40-50 hours a week in your office. Make it a place you like to be in. My office is filled with plants, flowers, inspirational quotes, favorite photos –and usually a calming essential oil wafting from my diffuser.
- It’s ok to change your mind. Over the years, I’ve had ideas that seemed fantastic one day, then awful the next. If possible, give yourself time to reflect on it. If not, give yourself permission to change your mind.
- Be clear about your values. When you know what you stand for, making decisions becomes really, really easy. I love that our values have permeated our organization so much that we reference them in our Slack shoutouts.
- Challenges lead to resilience. It seems cliché, but tough times really do make us much stronger. If you can remember that as you’re going through the sh*t, and know there is an amazing lesson to be learned, it really does help.
- Good clients are priceless. Over the years, we’ve been blessed to have some absolutely fantastic clients who are collaborative, transparent, receptive and appreciative. They are the true gems who make this business so fun and rewarding. Make sure to have a good vetting process in place so you bring on the great ones.
- Celebrate successes! Too often, we forget to celebrate our achievements, large and small. Take a moment to raise a toast to your successes. And to all the clients, partners, employees, family and friends who have been part of our journey, thank you for making it a wonderful 25 years!
What would you do with an extra day?
Once every four years, we get the gift of an extra day, special thanks to the non-precise orbit time of the earth around the sun. If you’re like me (Abby), you’re always wishing you had more time, so now that we’ve got it, I was curious about how some of my fellow IN Foodies were going to spend their leap day.
“What could be better than an extra day of the year that falls on a Saturday?” – Anita
Anita’s planning on making her extra day count by racking up some steps and enjoying a (hopefully) sunny weekend outside. We’re happy that the extra day falls in February because it’s giving us an extra day to meet our February Step Challenge goal! As a team, we’ve set a goal of 2.5 million steps in February to celebrate our 25th anniversary!
Emily and I are also planning to embrace what’s left of winter. I’ll be going skiing, and she’s heading north to go dogsledding and snowshoeing with her part-time job at Get Knit Events. Although, she says she SHOULD be doing laundry. Very relatable.
Maggie loves the idea of using the day to be productive, but it comes as no surprise to us that she’ll be soaking up the sun in Arizona for a wedding. If there was an award for attending the most weddings in a year at our office, Maggie would win by a landslide in 2020.
Lori and Betsy will be helping (and celebrating) at With One Breath, a non-profit supporting Cystic Fibrosis research. This year is special in that a new drug was released that’s able to treat over 90% of people with CF. “Still fighting for a cure, but this is changing lives.” – Lori
Also doing something sweet is Ciara, who’s going home to spend her day with her grandma!
If you have any cool plans of how you’re going to spend your bonus day, we’d love to hear from you!
Warm up to winter with a soup-er idea from the IN Kitchen
Soup’s on!
While the natural response to Minnesota’s long, harsh winters may be dread for most, here at IN Food, we give ourselves a few reasons to smile this season. One of our favorites is soup days!
If you’ve been following the happenings at IN for a while, you might be familiar with our beloved Soup Day tradition. If you’re new around here, welcome! And here’s the deal. When the weather starts to turn, team members each choose a day to wow the others with a lunch consisting of soup or a favorite comfort food.
Although we DO love a good soup, we aren’t the type to discriminate against more solid comfort food choices, including what Betsy brought for this season’s first soup day.
Taco ‘bout a delicious lunch!
The chef: Betsy
The dish: Shredded chicken walking tacos
Perhaps Betsy’s upcoming vacation to warm Latin America inspired her soup day menu. Or, maybe, she simply wanted a fun reason to enjoy some Nacho Doritos. Either way, on a cold December day we can’t blame her.
While Walking Tacos, or “Taco in a Bag,” might sound like a simple meal, Betsy didn’t slack on this Soup Day choice! Going away from the classic ground beef taco meat, Betsy opted for juicy shredded chicken and impressed us all with her crockpot skills.
No one was surprised when not a single fixing was missed. Betsy treated us to all of the staples as well as freshly prepared guacamole, black beans, cilantro and even lime wedges for a fresh zest.
The cheesier the better
The chef: Abby
The dish: Hearty beer cheese soup
When it comes to soup, and jokes, I prefer the cheesy ones. When I heard about IN’s Soup Days, I knew I had to ask my mom for the recipe that she’s been using for the past several winters. My “Hearty Beer Cheese Soup” with potatoes, veggies, ground beef, and of course plenty of cheese and beer, filled all our stomachs with cheesy goodness and had my coworkers asking for the recipe as well!
A unanimous Midwestern favorite
The chef: Maggie
The dish: Tater tot hotdish
Just as Soup Days have become a tradition in our office, so has Maggie’s tater tot hotdish. Providing the delicious combination of crispy tater tots, veggies, and of course – cheese – what more could we Midwesterners want? Whether we are from Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska or Wisconsin like Maggie, this is one meal we can all agree upon. Football teams? Not so much.
Although our commutes may be longer, we are motivated by a warm reward waiting for us in our favorite form: delicious food. With at least one more month of winter ahead of us, we’re looking forward to Ciara’s take on a creamy tortellini soup and Anita’s tried-and-true white bean and Italian sausage chili. We have a few undecided chefs in the office, so if you have a favorite soup recipe, send it our way and we just might all gather around your suggestion!
How Your Workspace Can Promote Creativity
“Sometimes a creative environment affects what happens within it.”
-Peter Gabriel
If being creative is in your job description, you owe it to yourself to have a workspace that inspires you. This is especially true for advertising and marketing pros. Whether you’re a designer, account manager or HR coordinator, each role has to hatch creative solutions to unique problems. That’s why you need to surround yourself with images, sounds and even smells that inspire the creativity within you.
How Your Environment Can Boost Creativity
Studies show that around 70dB of ambient noise can distract the mind enough to make way for more creative thoughts. Which means, if you’re in need of some big ideas, a coffee-shop approach (light music, conversation) is better than library-like silence.
What about what you see around the office? Can certain objects inspire creative ideas? One psychological study revealed that the physical embodiment of metaphors can boost creativity. It’s all because of a concept called “embodied cognition.” Seriously. In one of the experiments, participants who did a creative task in close proximity to a box (“think outside the box” *wink*) performed better than those inside a box, or a plain room. Science rules, huh?
Whatever Works
Some creatives, naturally, have unusual spaces where they get work done. Stephen King wrote his first novel at a makeshift desk nestled between a washer and dryer. Maybe bouncing back and forth during a spin cycle jostled a few brilliant ideas loose.
Creative Spaces at IN
At IN, we’ve worked hard to create an inspiring space for everyone at the office. And we’re always looking for ways to freshen things up.
The photo wall in our designer/writer room changes at least once a season. We always encourage our team think of new ways we can update it with food-related images. Throughout late August and September, we filled it with Minnesota State Fair food pics. I seem to recall working corn dogs into copy a lot for some reason. Not sure why.
Sometimes a slight change in perspective can help. Our sit/stand desks aren’t just a great way to add a little bit of healthy standing to our routines—they’re a great way to break up the monotony of sitting in the same position all day.
There are so many good ideas at IN, you’d think something was in the air—and you’d be right! We’ve got essential oil diffusers around the office to help add some inspirational aromas. And all winter long we’ve got our humidifiers cranked to help keep that cold, dry air from making a dent.
Last but not least, our kitchen is a major source of inspiration. We are a food agency, after all. From Monday status meeting to Friday Happy Hour, the kitchen is our favorite place to gather, strategize and concept. Within the drawers and cabinets there are plenty of great ingredients and tools at our disposal, but also glass cups and stainless steel utensils that make us feel at home. You can call it a kitchen—or you can think of it as a big oven where we bake our big ideas. Up to you!
Do What Works
At the end of the day, follow your creative gut. If a space filled with blaring music, beautiful posters and knick-knacks from your last seven vacations is what inspires you, keep it up. If you do your best work between the washer and dryer, don’t stop now! Like the creative work you do every day, there are endless ways to create your ideal environment.
What’s unique about your creative space? Do you light it with seven lamps? Blare math metal through oversized headphones? Leave a comment below to let us know.
20 questions with Sam, our new Copywriter
From his least favorite word to the candy he can live without, we found out a whole lot about Sam when we asked him these 20 questions.
- When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I was dead set on being a sports journalist. At a newspaper. Weird, right?
- What has been your previous work experience? I’ve worked everywhere from a one-room startup with four people to a 100-person office with a disturbing number of personal space heaters.
- How did you get interested in your current line of work? I’ve always been a creative person, so advertising came naturally to me. I love seeing how big an idea can get.
- What strengths or unique talents do you bring to IN Food Marketing & Design? I obsessively try to whittle down an idea to its simplest form. That quick line is often what’s going to get someone’s attention. You can get wordy after that, but first, you’ve got to get your audience to care.
- What one item in the kitchen best describes you and your personality? I’m a spoon—here’s why. I opened beer bottles with a spoon in college because, at one point, we lost all our bottle openers and didn’t buy another one for months. I had to figure out another way to get that sweet hoppy nectar, so I did trial and error opening bottles with the cutlery. Something like a spoon has seemingly one purpose, but it’s capable of more if you think outside the box.
- What is your favorite candy? Least? I’m all about Kit Kats. Great crunch, great jingle. Twizzlers do nothing for me.
- If you had to eat the same meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be? Realistically, I could eat a grilled chicken sandwich every single day. Lettuce, tomato, red onion and honey mustard on a good bun. *chef’s kiss*
- What is your favorite restaurant? Lee’s Chicken in Lincoln, NE. If you know, you know.
- What is your most embarrassing food-related incident? I was a picky eater as a kid. My family took a vacation to Costa Rica when I was in 3rd grade and I spent most of the trip fussing about the meals. So, one day they decided to find me some pizza. I’d for sure eat pizza, right? We drove for what seemed like hours and, miraculously, found what I believe was a Pizza Hut. Victory? Nope. I had two bites, then said it wasn’t the same as the pizza back home. What a brat. I’m surprised they didn’t leave me behind.
- What is your favorite kind of pizza? You bring the meat lovers pizza, I’ll bring the TUMS.
- What are you “in” to? Loud live music. Nature walks. Hot coffee with cream.
- What music are you “in” to? I like 60s rock and RnB, but I’ll listen to just about anything.
- What movies are you “in” to? 90-minute ones.
- What TV show are you “in” to right now? At any given time I’ve got an hour-long drama and a 20-minute comedy in rotation. Right now I’m on Succession and Schitt’s Creek.
- If you could live anywhere, what country/city/place would you live “in”? A house with a recording studio in the basement.
- What’s the funniest situation you’ve ever been “in”? My wife and I drove a scooter 10+ miles on the Spanish interstate one time. In the rain. We lived.
- If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be? Sorry if this is cliché, but I’d totally fly. My commute would take no time at all and I wouldn’t have to worry about parking. Keep your laser vision.
- If you could be an animal for one day, what would you be and why? I wouldn’t mind being my spoiled Boston Terrier. Dude snoozes for 16 hours a day, I swear.
- What is your favorite word? What is your least? Favorite: Boogie. Least: Thimble.
- What is your favorite song to karaoke? SOLO: “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Frank Sinatra. WITH A GROUP: “The Weight” by the Band.
Welcome to the team, Sam! We’re excited to have you on board.
2019 Food for All Spotlight: The Open Door Pantry
At IN Food Marketing & Design, it’s no secret what we specialize in. We know food—and we know it well. Years ago when we were deciding on a way to give back to our community, one cause made perfect sense: using our marketing skills to fight hunger in our community. As a result, our Food for All Partnership Program was born.
Food for All is part of our larger 5% Give Back Campaign, where up to $10,000 of our profits go to local hunger-relief organizations in the Twin Cities. This addition to our overall giving efforts brings pro bono marketing services to the mix to amplify the message of a new partner each year.
For our 2019 campaign, we received many worthy submissions and were blown away at how many organizations are doing important work in our area. It would’ve been a tremendous opportunity to work with any of them, but in the end, we selected The Open Door.
The Open Door, an Eagan-based food pantry, has an innovative approach to combating hunger. Their efforts include an on-site pantry, 20 mobile pantry sites, a Mobile Lunch Box program and a Garden to Table program — all with a focus on fresh, healthy foods. As a relatively young organization (founded in 2009), they have already become leaders in the hunger-relief space by prioritizing food that’s both healthy and accessible, especially in suburban areas with limited public transportation.
With so many offerings and programs, they were looking for a clear, concise and inspiring way to tell their story. We produced a video to share their mission, offerings and vision. It debuted at their annual OctoberZest fundraiser and was created to be used across events, social media, their website, volunteering shifts and more.
Check out the video below:
Thank you to The Open Door for being incredible partners in 2019. We’re thrilled to be accepting new applications for 2020—and we can’t wait to team up with another great hunger-relief partner!
Are you a non-profit interested in becoming a 2020 Food for All partner? Learn more about the program here.
Meet Dustin, our new Project Manager
World, meet Dustin, the newest addition to the IN Food Marketing & Design team! Dustin comes to us with an array of agency experience, most recently as a traffic manager with the ability to handle a million details at once (just what we need!).
We sat down with Dustin for a quick Q&A so YOU could get to know him, too:
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an actor—I participated for 8 years in a children’s theater program as a kid, and four years of a high school drama. By the time I was in high school I was participating because it was an opportunity to hang out with my friends.
Wow, does that mean we can add “commercial and video talent” to our capabilities?
I wish! Once I got to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls it was the enthusiastic and personable professors in the Marketing Communications department that got me to where I am now.
Okay, now to the important stuff. What one item in the kitchen best describes you and your personality?
Oven mitts. This is a stretch, but I try to make uncomfortable situations more management and stay cool under intense heat or pressure.
What four living people would you most like to share dinner with?
Gordan Ramsey, Jamie Oliver, Wolfgang Puck, and Paul Hollywood. Assuming they all cook the meal.
Smart! Now it’s time for a lightning round:
- What are you “in” to? My family, my wife, my friends, my dog.
- Foods? Anything made on the grill is usually a good bet.
- Color? Teal or turquoise.
- Music? Anything good. I’ve enjoyed a lot of music from a lot of different genres. I grew up with country music so some of the 90’s artists like Garth Brooks and George Strait are a nostalgia trigger.
- Movies? I’ve been into Marvel movies since Tobey McGuire was Spiderman. Also, I’ll see anything Quinten Tarantino releases.
Lastly, why should we and our clients be excited to have you (which we already are!)?
My work ethic will be beneficial to the team. I have experience working cross-functionally and my previous roles consisted of working with third parties to meet hot deadlines for our clients.
Welcome, Dustin, we’re so glad you’re part of the team!
The Brew Review
We love our North Loop home. It’s a quaint hub for fine eateries, dive bars, coffee shops, breweries and much more. To celebrate the official beginning of patio season, we took off early on a Friday to sample delicious brews and ciders from our neck of the woods.
First Round: Number 12 Cider & Inbound Brew Co
Next up: Modist & Fulton
New to the neighborhood, this cidery was a must on our list. As credible food (and beverage) experts, we have to know what’s out there! At Number 12 cider, our team of employees and friends tried a variety of ciders.
Here are our thoughts of the ciders we sampled:
- Black Market Cider: With semi dry notes of currant and a pleasing red berry color, Caroline describes this cider as, “Not too sweet, not too dry. For a cider, I can get on board!”
- Miss Morrissey: It’s light and subtle with an apple flavor. There’s a hint of carbonation and bitterness to it and overall it has a juicy appeal.
- Wickson: We get hints of white wine from the Wickson. It has subtle pineapple notes and tang.
- Trilogy: Not too sweet with a nice apple flavor. We dig it.
- Voyage: This will take you on a fruity flavor trip with a strong apple presence.
- Helix: This dry cider is light and refreshing, a good go-to.
When it comes to the atmosphere, Number 12 cider has it all: a good indoor ambiance with lots of seating, a large patio space, booth seating and a more private upstairs. It’s great for groups, dates and doggos alike with a contemporary vibe that is somehow industrious AND cozy.
Next came Inbound. Home to food trucks, live music and a true industrial vibe, it’s a classic and reliable Minnesota brewery.
Here’s what we thought of the brews:
- Hibiscus Saison: This saison is delectable and an excellent follow-up after visiting Number 12 cider. It has a sunset hue, great notes of hibiscus and is a smidge more bitter than an actual cider (which we like).
- Fruit of the Loop: The Fruit of the Loop is a good IPA packed with a citrus punch (as expected) with a bitter finish.
- Juicy Lucy IPA: “Delicious.” – Maddy
- Kolsch: This beer is SO smooth. We’d rank it up there with beers from across the pond in Germany.
- Cream ale: A beer you can’t go wrong with. It’s easy, light and has a subtle aftertaste.
Inbound is a great brewery for groups. It boasts an open concept with large tables, beautiful windows and cool lighting. On a warm day, you’ll notice the garage doors open for a nice breeze. Plus, it’s pup-friendly which is a win in our book.
No matter where you stop by for a drink, we always recommend being equipped with snacks or getting Von Hanson’s seasoned pretzels.
