This was our second (hopefully annual) trip up to Sunderland, MA to Mike’s Maze for their beer tasting event. Josh and I went last year and had a lot of fun and kept an eye out for when the maze was opening for the season to buy tickets. And we had a third wheel join us! My friend, Alex, who I worked with in the marketing department; she left earlier this year for another job but she’s still in the area and we’re trying to meet up more to still stay in touch.

It seems like every weekend for the past few months it always rains, and this past weekend was no different. All day Friday I kept checking Mike’s Maze’s website and Facebook page to see if the event was still on that night. (If not, our backup plan was date night with my parents. It looked like if the event was postponed, it would be the following night.)

Around 2:30 p.m., they posted on their website that although the regular maze was closed for the day, the beer maze was still on. I texted Alex to let her know and that we’d meet her there shortly after 6:00 p.m.

Josh and I had a quick dinner before leaving around 5:15 p.m.—and after getting all of our rain gear ready. On the radar, the rain didn’t look like it’d be heavy or even a thunderstorm, but we still wanted to be prepared.

Just like last year, there’s a smaller maze out in the back of the field specifically for the beer tasting. Unfortunately, it was quite muddy walking out there and I almost slipped a few times. We checked in at the main ticket booth before heading out to the maze, where there was another booth where we got our map, cups, beer tickets, and a flashlight.

I brought an umbrella with us that Josh used mostly to keep the map dry (at the end, though, it was pretty soaked). The map showed the beer tents (marked by the beer glasses) as well as the trivia stations. We tried our best at the trivia—it was artificial intelligence/science-themed—but we probably didn’t do as well as we thought.

It was already pretty dark by the time we got to the maze, but the beer tents had lights around them that you could see through the corn stalks so we could tell if we were close. Overall, the rain was sort of drizzly/misty, so we alternated having our hoods up and using the umbrella. 

Most of our beers of choice were fall-ish, like Octoberfests and pumpkin ales. ‘Tis the season, right?

Before we hit the last beer tent, we stopped at the port-a-potty, where we encountered some pretty interesting, and probably pretty buzzed, folks in line. Again, just like last year, it’s hard to use one of those in the dark but we all made it quick so we could go to the last tent.

That’s when the rain started to really pick up, and thankfully the guy at the table let our group of three stand under the tent. He was pretty funny, too, saying he’s a Minnesota Vikings fan and how happy he is that New England Patriots fans finally know mediocrity this year. The two beers he had for sampling were a West Coast style, meaning they tend to have a piney taste. He was explaining it to people as “If you don’t like drinking a Christmas tree, I’m not your guy.” I usually don’t like West Coast IPAs but the one I tried I actually liked. I said something along the lines of, “I usually don’t like this kind but it’s actually pretty good” and he replied, “Oh, that’ll be a great review: random girl says she doesn’t like this but thinks it’s pretty good.”

I think the rain picked up again, so we decided to head out, which meant trekking back through the mud. I kept the incredibly damp map—which dried out overnight on my desk—and we safely made it back to our cars. We didn’t bother to check our trivia answers because we were soaked.

I’m glad the rain wasn’t too bad, but Alex’s first time in a corn maze was dark and rainy and gave off Children of the Corn vibes—her words, not mine. It was great to have her join, and we’ll extend an offer to her next year; I think a few of Josh’s friends might join us then, too, so it’ll be an even bigger group to get lost in the corn maze.