According to the MyBeerNation app on my iPhone, I have been to 195 different breweries/brewpubs. Since it took me awhile once I got the app to figure out that I could add breweries and brewpubs that were not already on the app, I know that the number is higher, more than 200. But officially according to the app the number is 195.

The numbers break down this way.

• California – 8
• Iowa – 12
• Illinois – 8
• Massachusetts – 3
• Maryland – 1
• Minnesota – 118
• Missouri – 3
• Montana – 18
• North Dakota – 4
• Oregon – 4
• Texas – 1
• Wisconsin – 14
• Washington, D.C. – 1

It is the Minnesota number that blows my mind, 117! It is hard to believe that the state even has that many to begin with. But since my friend Keith told me last year that he had been to over 200 in Minnesota alone, I know that there are still plenty more breweries in the Land of 10,000 Lakes that I could add to my list.

As I look at my list I see that a number of places have now come and gone. Nationally the brewpub trend has slowed a great deal over the years. As has alcohol consumption in general. From what I hear, younger generations are much more likely to avail themselves of legalized THC products than to grab a six-pack of Coors Light.

A collector by nature, I naturally keep track of things like books I have read, states I have visited, ballparks I have been to, and breweries I have visited. It is a “habit” that I realize at times borders on the obsessive.

So far in this iteration of ClimbingSky, I have been writing about baseball and baseball books. That will eventually change as the seasons change as well as my moods. In previous blogs, I tried keep to one or two subjects, but quickly found I couldn’t. This time, I am not even going to try. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.