A couple weeks back my wife and I toured Summit Brewing Company in St. Paul. Much to our surprise the day turned out a bit differently than we had planned. The tour was your standard brewery experience; they showed us the brewing kettles, the fermentation tanks, and the packaging line. Our tour guide did a pretty good job considering she was a new volunteer and she got bonus points for dealing with a crowd of testosterone-charged beer distributors from Boston who would heckle her at every turn. After the "adult daycare session" or tour, it was time to start sampling the latest from Summit. Especially good were the 25th Anniversary Ale which was basically a "hopped up" version of the EPA, and the Honeymoon Saison, the latest variety from the Unchained Series. Both of these brews were new and not yet available in stores so they were a must-try. I also sampled the Oatmeal Stout which I found to be creamy and quite tasty. After a stop at the gift shop, where I got a very cool brewing/grilling apron complete with bottle pocket and opener, we met a very nice couple from San Francisco. They are traveling the country on what they call the Amber Waves Rally; a mission to tour as many breweries as possible. They made great conversation with stories about the different breweries that they had toured and brewers they had met along the way. In fact, we enjoyed the conversation so much that we decided to do lunch afterwards as they were heading to the Tour de Fat before closing out their day on the Surly Brewing tour. Their tour has spanned the entire United States and the stories they told resulted in plenty of laughter and good times over lunch at Joe's Garage. We finished off our day at the New Belgium Tour de Fat which was a very cool experience to take in. The festival had a European carnival feel and it was a perfect day to be outside. Bikes lined the fences all over Loring Park as happy pedalers soaked up the sun and enjoyed great music and beer. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to our new friends. Upon arriving home, we couldn't help but feel energized by the random encounter that had just taken place. It was an important reminder to remain open to the possibilities that life brings your way – you never know what you might find at the Summit.