Just a Day in the Village

Marc is getting ready for another departure this coming week to North Dakota where he’ll brave the already falling temps and muddy quagmire of his job sites, so we decided a relaxing day of local entertainment was in order. Central Water’s Brewery is in the business park directly behind the corn field behind our apartment complex and it serves as the headquarters for a big charity event held yearly called Lettie’s River Run. It is the major fundraiser for a well-supported community center here in Amherst and at 10 a.m. sharp we saw hundreds run past us on their five mile course. Once the run was over, there was a party and Amherst Beer Fest being held at the brewery from noon to 5 p.m. complete with two bands and a brat BBQ. More about that later.

We headed into downtown Steven’s Point so Marc could sign up for a library card as he has discovered audio books on CD, figuring they would be a good way to pass the ten hour drive to North Dakota. Once we finished with that we wandered over to the Saturday farmer’s market in the square, which will soon be winding down for the season. I always love the color and the freshness offered up at these kinds of things.

By 3 p.m., we ourselves were ready to join in the festivities at the brewery so we walked over and were surprised by the crowds. Marc’s company built the brewery, in fact, just got done adding on an addition as the brewery has enjoyed tremendous success and growth in its nearly 16 years. We actually lucked in to a brew we both enjoyed from Central Water’s called Peruvian Morning Brand Stout, which was a dark bourbon keg aged beer with heavy notes of coffee and bourbon! Wisconsinites do love their beer and the crowd seemed to be really enjoying itself right down to the smallest members being pushed by parents in strollers. What a great day!