Author: Ryan Tuenge

Fulton Releases a New Brand Called Standard Lager

By on September 8, 2016in Fulton Brewing Co.

Fulton Standard LagerEasy drinking lagers are hot right now in the craft beer world, and Fulton just made a solid statement with Standard Lager. It’s actually a “brand” rather than just a new beer, similar to what Firestone Walker did with 805 Beer.

It’s an all-malt American lager (which means that they don’t use adjuncts such as corn) that’s clean and balanced—perfect for the grill, fishing off the dock, or the last few weeks on the patio.

This will be available in stores (12 packs) across at all of their accounts beginning in October.

Fair State Brewing Expanding

By on September 6, 2016in breweries, Fair State Brewing, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, tap rooms

Nearing 1,000 members strong and a healthy demand for their beers, Fair State Brewing Coop has just signed a lease on a 40,000 square foot brewing space just a couple miles (2077 Ellis Avenue in St. Paul) from the taproom. In less than 24 months the beer being made at their brewery/taproom has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally. This is something president and CEO Evan Salle is clearly proud of. “When we signed that first lease we had 125 members. Today we have over 900” he said to a roaring crowd at their members only party.

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They were named as one the top ten new breweries in the world by RateBeer and were also named the best new brewery in Minnesota for 2015. The new space means they will increase their production five-fold and with a new distribution agreement, Bernick’s will help them move into Duluth, St. Cloud, Rochester, and across northern Minnesota. “The plan is to make quantity over here [at the new facility] and keep the small batches over at the current space” says Sallee. This expansion has been in the works for well over a year and the brewery has been operating at capacity for at least that long. The new space will also allow for barrel storage meaning that their barrel-aging program will also be getting a boost. Anyone who’s had their barrel-aged beers should be very, very excited about this.

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Head brewer Niko Tonks seems equally excited as he lamented about being able to do even more experimental stuff at the current space. It’ll be similar to Fulton where the highest volume beers are produced at the new facility, leaving the smaller batches to be brewed at the taproom space. “It’ll be good be able to do real experiments at the current space” Niko said chuckling. He also mentioned that they’ll initially be canning Roselle, Pils, Saison DuPonde, and Hop Lager out of the gate.

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Expect to see more of their beers available in cans and on draft at accounts around town. Oh and Roselle (the first sour beer canned in Minnesota) will be readily available in stores once the new space is up and running in early 2017 according to Sallee. They’ve had trouble keeping up with the demand for that beer.

Cheers!

News and Notes for September

By on September 2, 2016in Summit Brewing Co., Surly Brewing Co.

SUM_BYB_709x709_-_CopySummer may be coming to a close, but in the beer world there is still plenty going on. Here are some notes from around town.

Summit Brewing is hosting Backyard Bash on Saturday, September 10th which will also commemorate 30 years of making beer in St. Paul. Local legend Bob Mould will be headlining the event with his guitar shredding skills and Summit will be pouring a couple of legendary beers. Great Northern Porter and Summit EPA. Stay tuned for our piece coming next week with some insight from founder Mark Stutrud himself. Tickets will cost $30 and can be purchased at Electric Fetus Minneapolis, the Summit gift shop, or right here on the interwebs. The event runs from noon until 8 PM.

SurlyFest, Not-a German-Style-Oktoberfest-Bier is now available in stores in all of their markets. This year, the event will take place on September 24th at the destination brewery. This year the party will not require tickets and it’s expected to go for 11 hours. There will even be German inspired food for purchase. Music will go from 11 am until 9 pm and will feature The Red Daughters, The Gleam (with Surly lead brewer Ben Smith), and Shannon Blowtorch. Check their site for packages that include commemorative steins, t-shirts, and VIP access.

One of our favorite food trucks is opening a small takeaway spot located inside of Sunny’s Market in Northeast Minneapolis. Bark and the Bite will be serving favorites from the food truck along with a few new surprises (please serve your ribs…) that chef Noah is cooking up. They will open next Friday and Saturday and they plan to extend their hours in the following weeks.

I’ll be making an appearance tomorrow on Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl’s radio show called Off The Menu—which airs on WCCO live from the fair at 11 AM. We’ll most likely be chatting about all of those gimmicky beers at the fair.

 

That’s all for now.

Beers to seek out at the Minnesota State Fair

By on August 22, 2016in August Schell Brewing Co., Bad Weather Brewing Co., beer education, Bent Paddle Brewing Co., breweries, education, general beer, Lift Bridge, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer

The Minnesota State Fair is the place for gimmicky food, and beer of course is no different. This year there will be a couple of new beers that fit this category including a cider and another beer based on a deep fried sugar bomb staple of the fair. We’re not gonna waste any time, so here are some beers that you may want to seek out at The Great Minnesota Get Together.

Mini Donut Beer from Lift Bridge – Yep, this is a huge hit every year at the fair and it’s not going away anytime soon. This malt monster is a real treat, one that I only want once a year. The cinnamon sugar rimmed glass gives a much needed touch to base of this beer. You can find this at Ball Park Café.

Hopmosa from Bent Paddle Brewing – No, this doesn’t taste exactly like a mimosa—but the folks at Bent Paddle know a thing or two about infusing beers. The beer being infused is Bent Hop IPA and the addition of orange zest will only make this more appealing on a hot summer day. Find this over at Ball Park Café.

Sociable Caramel Apple Cider from Sociable Cider Werks – Jim Watkins over at Sociable Cider Werks is known for carefully sourcing the apples that he uses in his products over at the taproom in Northeast Minneapolis. This one is a blend of a few different varieties along with a simple syrup he concocted with a little help from a childhood friend. Expect this to be topped off with an apple slice drizzled with caramel. You’ll only find this at Giggles Campfire Grille.

Red Sangria Lager from Schell’s – Radlers are known for being a tad sweet, yet make for a refreshing summer treat. This one promises to be less sweet but should deliver in terms of drinkability on an 85-degree day in Minnesota. The beer is said to feature flavors of elderberries, pear, citrus, and apples. It’s only 4.8% ABV and will be topped with a Red Citrus Sangria Beer Foam. The Schell’s Stage Stand might be my first stop. It’s also available at LuLu’s Public House.

Funnel Cloud from Bad Weather Brewing – This would seem at first glance to be a sugar bomb. Joe at Bad Weather tells me otherwise stating that this won’t be overly sweet like some of the others. I’m skeptical, but head brewer Andy Ruhland knows what he’s doing over there, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Expect this to have undertones of vanilla and cinnamon/sugar. This beer is exclusive to Mancini’s Alfresco so it will only be available there.

Your best bet though is to visit the Land of 10,000 Beers Exhibit near the food building where you can purchase a flight of beer to wash down those cheese curds. This is where you will get a real taste of the beer being made here in Minnesota.

Cheers!

Eastlake Collaborates with Du Nord for The Long Goodbye

By on August 17, 2016in Eastlake Brewery & Taproom, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer

The folks over at Eastlake decided to take inspiration from the Gin Gimlet in creating the latest (#10) sour in their Kirby Pucker Series. To do this they teamed up with Du Nord Craft Spirits—known for their Fitzgerald Gin and also located in south Minneapolis. Gin botanicals from the distillery along with lime zest were used in this beer that they are calling The Long Goodbye.

This is an homage to Raymond Chandler who is famous for writing the novel which claimed gin as the only spirit to use for a Gimlet back in 1953. The Kirby Pucker Series has been a hit around the Midtown Global Market taproom where they’ve utilized interesting ingredients such as beets, yellow birch, ginger, basil among others.

The beer is now available in the taproom and will hit store shelves in 750 ml bottles later this week. It should be a solid patio beer for the final days of summer.

Cheers!