Scooter's Bar Journal » Downtown

Fernson Brewing Company

scooterj — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 17:10:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1805th bar, first visited in 2024.

The next morning I woke up to dense but rapidly-lifting fog and I first walked a block north to The Source, a bar and coffee shop that I went to to get a coffee rather than beer (hence the lack of an entry for it on this site). I then turned around and walked south to the city’s one remaining brewery that I had not been to yet, sipping my coffee along the way. During the journey I thought it was strange that the main north-south street through downtown was completely empty of traffic — odd because it had been very congested doe the entirety of my visit here. The mystery was solved about a block before thee brewery when I realized I was following part of a 5K route.

Fernson is both a brewery and coffee shop, and as it opens at 7am it also serves breakfast. I ordered a breakfast sandwich and a Snow Eater (stout). I also bought some merchandise, and also got a hot mocha (my second of the morning) to go.

After breakfast and my beer I took my coffee and walked around downtown to do some final sightseeing and view a few more sculptures. I then returned to my room to gather by bags and wait for my ride to the airport.

332 S Phillips Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 789-2012
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The Hello Hi

scooterj — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 17:20:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1804th bar, first visited in 2024.

Just kidding about being in for the night!

After an hour lying on my bed watching a tornado documentary, I got a second wind of another kind and remembered a cocktail bar I’d noticed the previous night while walking back to by room. I decided to head back out and check it out.

This place was hopping, but I was able to find an open seat at the end of the bar. I chose a cocktail called Welcome To The Tarragon that I chose due to its tasty-sounding ingredients (see below).

After that I walked back to my room to go to bed for real.

120 S Phillips Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 275-4544
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Wiley’s

scooterj — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 17:14:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1798th bar, first visited in 2024.

Wiley’s was not on my itinerary, but when I returned to my AirBNB for a mid-afternoon break I got to thinking that some lunch would do me good — and Wiley’s was literally right behind my AirBNB so I might as well pay it a visit.

Wiley’s is a very large sports bar with a good beer selection, and has both covered and uncovered outdoor seating in the back. I had Chislic for lunch, adong with a Guiness.

330 N Main Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 336-0054
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Tommy Jack’s Pub

scooterj — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:19:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1793rd bar, first visited in 2024.

After leaving Top Hat I decided to take a short cut through the alley to avoid the construction zone, but found the alley was impassable. So I walked to the next street over behind Top Hat to come down the hill that way. Unfortunately even that didn’t avoid construction and I’d have to cross the same street back and forth anyway. Oh well.

My first photo was taken right after I arrived and sat down and shows a fairly quiet bar. 10 minutes later the places was packed. But then, 20 minutes after that when I took the second photo, it was empty again. I’m assuming the largely college-aged crowd likely moved outside to the patio (third photo).

I had a Guinness.

This would be my last stop for the evening, and I then made my LONG walk back to my AirBnB while stopping to look at numerous sculptures and murals along the way.

214 E 12th St
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 367-9706
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Top Hat Lounge

scooterj — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:18:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1792nd bar, first visited in 2024.

Walking here proved to be quite a longer haul than I expected, made more difficult thanks to construction closing various sidewalks. Once I realized how far off and up a hill it was I considered cutting it or replacing it with one of the more upscale places I passed along the way, but I decided to persevere.

I has a Lagunitas IPA.

508 S 1st Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 367-9706
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The Orion Pub

scooterj — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:17:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1791st bar, first visited in 2024.

This dive-ish bar was right next door to Glacial Lakes so visiting it wads a no-brainer.

Right after I ordered by beer a guy sitting two bar stools to my right slowly and not-very-stealthy slid a brochure over to me. I ignored it for a while, but finally glanced at it and it was for some sort of gold investment scheme he was involved in. Later as I was getting ready to leave I overheard the bartender mildly chastise him for promoting his side hustle to her customers.

Look’s Beer Company was on my list for the next day, but because it was so far away from everything else on my list it was also on my list of places to potentially cut for time if needed. So, as an insurance policy in case that happened, I ordered the Daisy Gazer (NEIPA) from Look’s Beer Company.

127 W 10th St
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 271-1481
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Glacial Lakes Distillery and Brewhouse

scooterj — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:16:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1790th bar, first visited in 2024.

I almost changed my mind about coming here because there was a singer on the patio and the place looked crowded, but it turned out the crowd was mainly outside and indoors was fairly empty.

I had a Blueberry Bold Fashioned. I really liked it so considered ordering another cocktail, but I remembered how that went for me the previous night in Fargo so thought better of it.

There were stairs leading to a lower level, but it was unclear to me if that was a public area or staff only. I’m suspecting they likely went to their distilling area and/or pizza kitchen.

200 S Main Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 271-5087
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Woodgrain Brewing

scooterj — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:15:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1789th bar, first visited in 2024.

After dinner I walked back across the river again into the main core of the downtown area and headed to Woodgrain Brewing, located on the ground floor of a large office building.

I had pre-picked two beers that I was really looking forward to, so naturally they were two of the five with “sold out” signs on the menu board.

I ended up going with the Unnecessary Air Quotes (NEIPA) and the Overlapping Dialogue (Imperial IPA).

While I was enjoying my beer I overheard a conversation at the other end of the bar about how awful the TSA at the local airport (FSD) is. I wondered how the TSA at such a small airport could possibly be that bad and laughed it up. (Two days later I found out the answer: I’m pre-check and basically got two hernia exams anyway.)

101 S Phillips Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
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+1 (605) 310-5316
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Remedy Brewing Company

scooterj — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:14:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1788th bar, first visited in 2024.

My next stop was a brewery about a bock and a half south, where I decided to have dinner. It was here that I discovered Chislic, a South Dakota delicacy of meat bites coated in Turkish spices. I’d end up eating this as a meal two more times during my stay in Sioux Falls.

Beer-wise, I had the Oktoberfest and the Remedy IPA.

401 E 8th St
Sioux Falls, SD 57103
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+1 (605) 271-6193
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Covert Artisan Ales & Cellars

scooterj — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:13:00 +0000

(Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD)

Scooter’s 1787th bar, first visited in 2024.

After turning in the rental car and getting checked into my AirBNB, I began a long evening of walking all over Sioux Falls’ surprisingly beautiful downtown area. This started with a walk across the Big Sioux River to a brewery several blocks southeast.

Trivia was getting going so the place was pretty busy, and I got a little extra entertainment watching the staff try to deal with the POS system somehow getting switched to Chinese and trying to figure out how to get it back to English.

I had a Barrel Aged Cake Actually (German chocolate cake rye barrel aged stout).

434 E 8th St
Sioux Falls, SD 57103
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+1 (605) 389-5954
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