Every time I can find cell-service, I’ll check-in on FourSquare to Hill Farmstead. It’s my favorite brewery in the world. It’s 75 miles each way from my house which can be trying at times when gas prices went up, when my car became too expensive to drive from a maintenance standpoint or when ice, rain, snow are all falling (sometimes at the same time). I still managed to visit Hill Farmstead at least once a month since February of 2012 (link to my first visit) when I went up for the first time to buy Damon, Art and Flora which ended up biting me in the butt when I sold a Damon on eBay 2 months later.
I’ve had Shaun’s beer at least 1,000 times since February of 2012 which is about 18.5 check-ins per month on his beer.
While 100 check-ins might seem small, it’s slightly off because when I visit Hill Farmstead and can’t find cell-service, I don’t check-in so I’d assume that I have probably visited 130 times versus the 100 I have logged on FourSquare. While I used to trade away a lot of Shaun’s beer, I choose to drink all of it these days. 2-3 times a year, I send a 6-bottle shipper of his beer to Alex in Sweden, Adam in Chicago or to Eric in So-Cal.
I bought a motorcycle that can haul 3 cases of saisons and a 30L Keg w/o issue so my trips to Hill Farmstead could be even cheaper (45 MPG loaded up versus 21 in my Golf R). Heather goes with me almost every time and she and I both help pick dandelions for Vera Mae and volunteer at all of Shaun’s festivals. I do feel like I’m a part of the extended family up there.
Anyway, i had to document this milestone of 100 check-ins and it happens to be the day I volunteered at Festival of Farmhouse Ales. It’s the first time I’ve been able to pour beer at a festival which is usually a spot reserved for breweries and local bar-owners that serve Shaun’s beers. When Shaun asked me if I’d be fine with pouring, I was ecstatic. I was pouring Troy Casey’s beers and that’s pretty awesome!!!!
Visiting Hill Farmstead is my favorite past-time and I look forward to going for many years to come.
PS: If anyone knows how I can visualize my check-ins by month so I can see how many times I visited HF per month in a graph, that would be awesome.