What started as a gentle request is now a family tradition.

Families have one thing in common — our children grow up and take on a life of their own. Sometimes that means our kids end up a long distance from us and staying in touch can be a challenge. Of course, technology has given us the ability to communicate over the airways but, for me and as our kids moved to New York City, Minneapolis and Chicago, there was a loss of personal closeness. I couldn’t see their eyes.

In thinking about how to remain close to them and knowing we visited them in various locations around the country, I suggested that each time we’re together we take a walk and talk.

Since then, I’ve been lucky to walk and talk with them as we strolled through New York’s Central Park, the Logan Neighborhood of Chicago and around the beautiful lakes of Minneapolis. It’s a pleasant way to see where they live and to be alone with them for a brief moment of time.

During these sessions of meandering, any and all subjects are up for discussion. After all, I am their father and it’s nice to play the papa ace card once in a while. It’s good to have them beside me and to hear what’s happening in their lives — spoken with their voice and with their feelings. I cherish those times together but it’s worth remembering that times of walking and talking aren’t just reserved to family members.

For example, I knew it was time to have a chat with Dustin Brau of Brau Brothers Brewing Company and when we scheduled a time to meet, I asked to have a talking walk through the brewery. We were soon together and it began.

The entire brewing area is a treat to experience. From the large brewing pots, to the pallets of malt, through the crisp 38 degree cooling room, passed the bottling line and into the aging room, it’s a story of hard work, passion and persistence.

In the aging room, there are numerous Templeton Rye whiskey barrels aging various beers. Just thinking of the unique beers that will come from those barrels made my mouth began water. But, that’s a story for another time!

There were pallets of malt from around the world — each bringing its own flavorful message to Brau Brothers’ beers. Centennial and Citrus hops are prevalent and give each beer a nice amount of bitterness and balance when mated with the malts and yeasts.

When I asked Dustin about the future of the brewery, he said the ultimate goal is full automation and increased barrel aging experiments. Then we stopped walking and began to talk taste — that’s double talk for “It’s tasting time!”

I’ve never tried the Red Velvet MooJoos and soon a beautiful dark stout was standing in front of me. I sniffed the sweetness and vanilla scents and was tempted to taste it — the entire glass was soon gone. I’m easily tempted. At a soft 24 IBUs and a respectable 5.8 percent ABV, this is a pleasurable and luscious beer — this is a must try beer!

A couple of IPAs are worth noting. 3 Trees IPA is a nicely brewed and balanced beer. Although it has 73 IBUs, the hops are nicely balanced and the result is a good tasting and easy to drink beer. If you want an IPA that will catch your attention, try Devil’s Regret. You won’t regret having tried it but you know you’re drinking an in your face hopped up beer. Being an IPA fan, I liked it.

If your thing is a beer you can sit with, talk over and totally enjoy, try Thresher. This is a good pilsner with balanced flavor that leads to a perfect session beer. When you’re with a group of friends who want to stay put for a while, this is the pils to drink. The name is reminiscent of the good old days when farmers threshed grain all day and then had a cold pilsner to refresh themselves. Now, instead of walking in the field all day and threshing, you can sit and talk with your pals over a Thresher. Seems like a better deal to me.

No matter how you look at it, walking and talking is a good way to relate to people and, in the case of our kids, to stay parentally connected. I want them to never forget how important they are to me.

Next week, the Heights called me!

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!