Best Brewery Roadtrip Yet

What a perfect prompt for the day when the most memorable road trip was just this past Thanksgiving. Just a weee little 19 hour journey from Colorado to Wisconsin. (Yes more hours were added due to many brewery pit-stops that were absolutely worth it. The drive itself was smooth. It was a cruise of absolute nothingness most of the time. This was actually 100% supreme while just ripping pure cruise control. Our first pit stop was at Second Chapter Brewing which actually used to be an old library in Ogallala, Nebraska. It was pretty damn wild. Just Abby and I sat on one end of the bar. Two older people were a few seats down the bar. We started talking as the people there are actually nice. We found out those two had lived on Main St. in Parker just minutes away from my current house. Absolutely mind blowing coincidence. The world can be quite trippy sometimes that’s for sure. We both crushed a couple of flights to make sure we had as many of their beers as possible since we have no clue when we’ll ever be able to go back. Overall, the beer was pretty solid. We got a bomber to-go, which we have yet to crack. The bartenders told us that it was absolutely unreal. We’ll be the judge of that one day!

Second Pitstop of the Roadtrip: Thunderhead Brewing Company

After another few hours of driving, we went to the next place the Parker Colorado peeps suggested. That place was Thunderhead Brewing Co in Kearny, Nebraska. This place had a lot more people in it but it was a pretty weird atmosphere. It wasn’t terrible. However, it seemed very local in nature. I had a lady stare into my soul for the full hour we were there. Overall wouldn’t recommend it because the beers weren’t all that great either. Their glass art was neat so I’ll give them that but sadly the beer was just sub-par. Maybe we were just there at a bad brew time but who knows. Here’s a couple shots from there

Passed away in bed immediately in Omaha, Nebraska and then onward to Wisconsin!

After two breweries and another few hours of driving afters after Thunderhead brewing we were ready to knock out immediately. We left Omaha with our sights set on the next brewery which was Lua Brewing in Des Moines, Iowa. This spot was hands down my favorite brewery of all time. Every single one of their beers was at least a 4.5 out of 5. Not only that but they had my favorite stout that has ever graced this mouth hole. It was called Trouble and it was absolutely incredible. Sadly Abby buried the whole thing while I wasn’t paying attention and watching football. Probably a good thing since I had another 6 hours to drive after that. Man was I sad when I found out they didn’t have any to-go beers of trouble though. I would 100% drive all the way there again specifically for that beer. If you’re ever in this area, you 100% have to go. The brewery itself is beautiful. The merch is awesome. The beer is top notch and the food was incredible. Here’s another gallery of beer that we sipped on while we were there … and yes … it was quite a few. And you’re damn right I got a crewneck sweater. That’s one brewery I had to remember for a very long time. This was also Loki’s first road trip through Iowa so yeehaw to that!

Straight to Wisconsin we go!

After all of the Lua it was time to get our booty cheeks straight to Wisconsin. We loaded up with a solid 16 to-go beers to bring home for the homies and took off with the dogs. Our plan was to hit other breweries on the way back. Of course, we had some more to visit while in Wisconsin.

R.I.P to Leinenkugels Brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI.

We were lucky enough to tour Leinkugels OG brewery. This happened before they shut it down for good in 2025. Sadly, Coors decided to move operations to Milwaukee. This decision led to the closing of this legendary brewery that opened up in 1867. I was a big Coors Light guy once. Hearing stories like this saddens my soul. I now buy other beverages. It isn’t missed. BUT … the brewery was unreal. It was incredible to see all that has gone on in that building for over 100 years. Just wild. Luckily their Leine Lodge will still be opened for business, even though the main brewery will no longer be running. The tour guide told us they will focus more on experimental craft brews at the lodge. This focus is actually pretty damn neat. Check out some of the shots of the now closed legendary brewery & the still open Leine Lodge.

New Stop The Brewing Projekt!

Every time we’re in the land of cheese it’s a must stop at this incredible brewery in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. None other than the BREWING PROJEKT! If you’re a fan of smoothie sours this is the spot for you. They are always guaranteed to have at least 3-4 that will absolutely blow your mind. Oh, you like stouts? They have some slapping stouts too. After we got a few flights and a couple full guys, we left with about 24 to-go beers. We also took 2 stout bombers to bring back to the homeland. You can imagine how jam packed our car is getting especially since we drove Abby’s tiny little chevy missile. Get a look at some of these beers below … You gotta go!

The Road Home Begins!

Thanksgiving came to an end … we chilled … we hung out … we got family time on. Then it was time to hit the road. We had another pitstop in Omaha on the docket. We took a slight detour. We did this to make sure we could visit the legendary Toppling Goliath Brewing on the way home. Out in the middle of nowhere Decora, Iowa, this was a must-go spot. If you haven’t had a hazy from there and you love a bangin IPA, you’re 100% missing out. This place was absolutely incredible as well. The hazy brews were off the chart as expected, their food was insane and they also had a lego T-Rex! It didn’t disappoint one bit. We left with even more to-go beers that we barely squeezed into the car but we made it happen! Apologies to the dogs Loki and Cannoli who had to squeeze around said beers. Check out that T-Rex Below!

The Final Stretch!

One final brewery the Parker Colorado peeps told us to stop at was Peg Leg Brewing. We were struggling to stay awake after the long detour in Decora. We didn’t know when we’d ever be making this journey again. Therefore, we sacked up and swung on into this one last brewery! We heard that the owner actually has only one leg. He kept all of his old peg legs hanging from the ceiling. Can confirm … those peg legs are for sure dangling from the rafters and it was absolutely awesome. The beer was decent. It could have just been so mediocre because we just came from Toppling Goliath. Most of them were just very crushable lager style bevies. So if you love that then you’ll love it here! It was pretty empty there. They had some solid prices on beer. Football was on, so it was a win-win. Check out them Peg Legs below!

That’s a Wrap for a Round Trip from Colorado to Wisconsin

Hands down the best road trip I’ve ever been on in my entire life. If you’re a beer lover, I’d 100% recommend adding some brewery pit-stops. Break up your trip and make it a fun little journey. Not only does it give them legs a rest but your brain too. I was ready to get through hours and hours of driving no problem. Just space out your bevvies and take some time to drink water and you’ll be good to go! Check out the map of our journey below!

Let us know your favorite brewery in the comments!

We’re always looking for suggestions and might just do a road trip dedicated to hitting every slapping brewery possible. Our #1 on the list is a trip to Fargo to hit Drekker! One Day! Cheers my friends.