When we planned a trip to Springfield, IL for a long family weekend away we didn't realize our trip would coincide with the city's St. Patrick's Day parade and celebration. We reached out to Obed and Isaac's Microbrewery & Eatery to let them know we'd love to say "hi" when we were in town and give them a sticker and they looked forward to meeting us but warned us about how busy it would be because of the celebration and couldn't guarantee we'd be able to speak to anyone.
The warning wouldn't deter us because we were already planning to visit the Lincoln Home National Historic Site which is located right around the corner from the brewery. We did get a little hesitant the first time walking past because it looked pretty packed inside and the weather was pretty cold to sit outside in the beer garden, so we walked on. After a little more sightseeing the sun started to come out and we decided to brave the beer garden now.
While waiting to order our beers we struck up a conversation with a couple of employees about Brewourism who didn't happen to be the people we had contacted earlier. They seemed excited about what we were doing and let us place our own sticker on the wall. Some of the patrons in the crowded indoor area started asking us about the website and expressing themselves about how they like to travel to visit breweries.
Going back outside into the beer garden the weather started to warm up and our kids had bought some coffee and hot chocolate from the place next door. Soon the beer garden got pretty crowded as a bagpipe and drum band started to play and Irish dancers began to perform. It was a really fun time for my wife and I as we had grown an appreciation for bagpipe music after attending Monmouth College which has Scottish roots, hearing it often.
The overall experience of our visit was very nice and the staff very friendly and helpful, but because of the crowd and our trip schedule we weren't able to experience the restaurant part of the establishment that is in a beautiful old home next to the brewery. Maybe on our next trip we can more fully experience everything they have to offer.