Brews and Bonfires

Who doesn’t love craft suds and yard games on a summer night?
A group of people cheers'ing with glasses and bottles of beer.
Photo by Rawpixel.com – Fotolia

Let’s play a game, it’s called “Guess the Location of the Beer Garden Event.” Not super creative, I know. But I promise it’ll be fun. Maybe.

1. It takes place in a garden on the property of a home. (You might’ve guessed this one based on the title. And if you guess right after this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on tomorrow’s Powerball.)

2. Lakeside living was a feature of the property. (So that narrows it down to *begins counting using fingers* 1, 2, 3, 10,000.)

3. The total size of the property is 12 acres. (Let’s hope they have a riding mower.)

4. The home on the property features 39 rooms and has a gate at the end of its driveway. (I know what you’re thinking, and, no, it’s not Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory… but I wish it was *kicks a rock.*)

5. The owner had a pretty serious mustache. (Freddie Mercury? He was just a poor boy from a poor family, so definitely not. Alex Trebek? *buzzer sound* That’ll cost you $800. The Monopoly Guy? Go directly to jail. Do not pass “Go.” Do not collect $200. Also, I get that this really isn’t a hint. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun to include.)

6. It resides in one of the state’s most iconic cities (I swear to God, if someone guesses St. Cloud…)

7. The area in which it’s found is the North Shore (As if this area wasn’t already one of the popular kids.)

8. The home is famous for a murder of two of its residents. (I know, it was Colonel Mustard with a wrench in the conservatory! Just kidding, it was Roger Caldwell on the stairs with a candlestick and in the master bedroom with a pillow.)

Did you guess it yet? (I’m running out of jokes.)

OK, one more.

9. It rhymes with zenqueen byzantian (ah, yes, the Supreme Ruler of Dimension C-137)

10. It’s Glensheen Mansion (I can’t make it any more clear than this.)

Every Wednesday night throughout the month of June, Glensheen Mansion hosts Beer Garden at Glensheen.

Open to the public and free to attend, this suds soiree will feature a different brewery each Wednesday in the estate’s Winter Garden—but it should be noted the entire grounds are open for exploration.

Running from 7 to 9 p.m. guests are invited to sip on craft brew while also partaking in yard games, including bags and ladder golf.

The event also features a brew talk from the featured brewery starting at 7:30 p.m. before capping it all off with a bonfire at 8:00 p.m. on the banks of majestic Lake Superior. Talk about a summer night that’s tough to beat.

And for those still looking for their prize for guessing the location correctly like how I dig to the bottom of the cereal box for the toy (I NEED that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Michelangelo mask, OK?!), I don’t have one. But at least you have the satisfaction of guessing it. That builds character, right (where my parents from the 70s and 80s at?!)