Author: Ryan Tuenge

Modist Introducing the Deviation Series

By on October 13, 2016in cooking & food, general beer, hops, misc. mn beer, MN, Modist Brewing, new beer, tap rooms

The brewery in town known for pushing boundaries is launching a series of beers they’re calling Deviation. Keigan Knee and his crew of brewers plan to make use of a 10-barrel fermenting vessel they installed 6 months ago with the sole purpose of experimenting with ingredients and processes to create new beer experiences.

These “experiments” will be taproom only releases and will not be made in large batches unless they are successful—measured strictly by popularity with their patrons. Those cute names they’ve given their flagships offerings will not apply to this series. Each batch will only be assigned a number beginning with 001 and 002. The first two will be available in the taproom on Friday, October 14th beginning at 7 pm for 001, and 8 pm for 002.

Deviation 001 is being described as a dark beer that was brewed with pilsner, rye, wheat, and coffee malts. The hops used in this batch were Amarillo, Cascade, and Columbus. Only 17 kegs were produced so it won’t last long. 5.6% ABV, 43 IBU, 21 SRM.

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Deviation 002 is a wheat monster. In fact, it was brewed with 100% wheat malts (which is very uncommon) and tons of Citra, Bravo, and Ella hops. This should be a beautiful, hazy looking beer due to the use of 100% wheat malts. Only 20 kegs were produced. 7% ABV, 88 IBU, 4 SRM.

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These releases are one-of-a-kind so you don’t want to miss out.

The Modist vision:
At Modist, our aim is to modify beer and how it is perceived by defying rules and
expectations. We don’t abide by established style guidelines and refuse to bend to pre-
conceived notions. We push past traditional brewing by embracing creativity and
unconstrained experimentation, taking an innovative approach to ingredients and
techniques in order to harness raw inspiration and create a new beer experience.

 

Cheers!

Surly Hashing Up Plans to Paint the Town Black Leading Up to Darkness Day

By on September 30, 2016in Surly Brewing Co.

img_1914Back in 2007, Surly Brewing was just a small brewing operation out of a Minneapolis suburb making bold beers for loyal beer nerds. One of those beers was called “Darkness” which is a Russian Imperial Stout that was dreamed up by Director of Brewery Operations Todd Haug. Now this is one of the most sought after beers in the country—where people line up 24 hours prior, just for the opportunity to purchase some on the day dedicated to the annual release…Darkness Day. “The first year I made 12 barrels” says Haug. “That first month at Café 28 [a restaurant formerly owned and operated by Todd and his wife Linda] no one knew about it” he said.

But for the last 8 years they’ve not been able to make enough of it which is why this year they made a concerted effort to do so. Surly is now distributed in the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Chicago, Iowa, and Nebraska and they don’t want let those markets down. So this year they’re running a campaign called Paint the Town Black. They will be releasing 3 dark beers into all of their markets starting this week with Furious Black, a nod to the character from Harry Potter. The recipe for this version of Furious is essentially the same aside from the addition of roasted malts—which add notes of dark chocolate and seemingly tone down the bitterness of the hops in comparison. This is the only one of the 3 that will be draft only.

Damien is a beer that has been made for 5 years but has only really been available at the annual Darkness Day event. This year it will be packaged in bomber bottles that will sell for around $8 in all of Surly’s markets. The release date will be October 3rd for the beer dubbed as “The Child of Darkness” according to Jerrod Johnson, lead brewer over at the Brooklyn Center brewery. “Damien is made from the last runnings of Darkness” he explains. “It’s always been a big game to see how high we can get the ABV [percentage of alcohol by volume] on that beer.” This year though, it’s different. They wanted to make it a more sessionable beer steering the ABV below 6.5%. Damian is somewhat similar to Darkness but you don’t get the stone fruit notes and the chocolate notes seems to be more prevalent in “The Child of Darkness.”

img_1913Darkness will round out the lineup being released into the wild October 17th, a couple of days after Darkness Day. There should be quite a bit of this available this year unlike in years past, which has always been a gripe of those among the Surly Nation. People have often accused the brewery of brewing a limited supply to keep up with demand, but that’s not the case according to Johnson. “The only thing that has kept us from brewing this amount was capacity. That’s it. We’re excited to be able to provide more of it this year” he says. Todd verified that statement and also added that over the years they’ve really been able to “dial in” the recipe. “It is what it is” Haug says. It took us years to get that recipe down, and brewing more of it has allowed us to do some blending.” Surly Darkness Day will take place on Saturday, October 15th at the usual location, the Brooklyn Center Brewery.

One last note about the 2016 version of Darkness being released in a couple weeks is that it is not barrel-aged. The High West Rye Whiskey barrel-aged version will hit shelves in early 2017 meaning it will get its own release at that time. In the meantime, enjoy these limited fantastic offerings. They won’t last long.

If you go:

Surly Darkness Day

When:

Saturday, October 15th 2016

Where:

4811 Dusharme Drive

Brooklyn Center, MN 55429

Bev-Craft Seeks to Improve Minnesota Beer

By on September 28, 2016in beer education, education, general beer, MN

Tim Nelson and Dave Hoops left Fitger’s Brewhouse over a year ago with hopes of improving the quality of Minnesota beer by starting a consulting business called Bev-Craft. A “think tank” is what they like to call it. Dave Hoops who is the Director of Brewing Operations is excited to lend his experience to new breweries seeking to improve their beer. “Unless you’re someone like Sierra Nevada, you should always be trying to make better beer” says Hoops.

Dave and a team of cicerones tasted over a hundred beers (locally made) at the state fair and gave feedback, positive and negative to breweries around the state. The goal was to give honest advice to some of the breweries looking to improve their beer. “I’m overly opinionated” he said. “But I’m fair.” Dave also serves as a judge at the Great American Beer Festival which gives him a head up on most brewers (in my book) here in Minnesota.

Tim Nelson acts as CEO while Dave Hoops heads up the brewing operations. Brad Nelson (Tim’s brother) is in charge of the branding while Paul Christensen is responsible for sales. “Basically we’re here to help breweries start up. We’re also specialized consultants. That doesn’t mean that I’m approaching them. People that have a question, we’re there to help” says Hoops.

In an overcrowded local market, this can only be a good thing. Especially with all of the sub-par beer being produced by the newer breweries. My advice to new breweries looking to open….don’t serve your beer until it’s ready.

Quality should always come first. And if you need help, reach out to the professionals.

Cheers!

Noteworthy Beers from Autumn Brew Review 2016

By on September 18, 2016in beer events, breweries, Dangerous Man Brewing Co., general beer, hops, Indeed Brewing Co., Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer, NorthGate Brewing

With so many fantastic beers on display at the 16th annual Autumn Brew Review, it’s hard to choose favorites. Instead I’ve highlighted some that stood out. Here they are:

Whiskey Queen from Indeed Brewing – A smooth Russian Imperial Stout that delivers flavors of bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, stone fruits and oak to the palate.

Twisted Zweig from Forager Brewing – This was probably my favorite beer at the festival. An Imperial Berliner Weisse aged on black currants. Sour, juicy, and extremely drinkable. You’d never know this was an 8% (ABV) beer, which is almost dangerous. This brewery has really impressed me this summer and it would be worth your while to visit them down in Rochester. I was honestly shocked that there wasn’t a line at this booth.

Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout from Dangerous Man – Smooth and creamy milk chocolate with a little bit of heat (alcohol) on the end. It’ll be fun to explore some these barrel-aged beers coming out of Dangerous Man in the coming months.

IWL from Town Hall Brewery – This wheat based lager was very heavy on my two favorite hops—Mosaic and Citra. Another fine creation by Mike Hoops and his team of brewers over at the Seven Corners brewery. There’s a reason it’s the first place I take anyone new to the Twin Cities.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout from NorthGate – Dark stone fruits, chocolate, and bourbon dominated the flavor profile of this one. Nice example of the style for a brewery that focuses on British ales. This one stood out among the many other Imperial Stouts available at ABR.

Cheers!

Craft Beer Pioneer Summit Celebrating 30 Years

By on September 8, 2016in beer events, breweries, charity, general beer, history, hops, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, Summit Brewing Co., tap rooms

hardroad-letterThirty years ago Top Gun was all the rage. That was 1986, the same year that Summit Brewing opened its doors in an old building that used to sell truck parts on University Avenue in St. Paul. To say this was a humble beginning is an understatement as founder Mark Stutrud received a letter from the Brewers Association back in 1983 during the early planning stages advising him not to attempt such an endeavor.

That was just one of the many challenges for Mark, challenges that microbreweries today do not face. For one, there was no blueprint for a small brewery to succeed in the midwest. At that time was no such thing as a microbrewery. “Thirty years ago there was no regional point of reference as far as other small breweries were concerned – ‘microbrewery’ was not in the wholesaler’s or retail customer’s vocabulary. The idea of ‘craft beer’ didn’t exist in the drinker’s mind. The beer landscape was sterile” says Stutrud.

Two of the beers they produced that first year would pioneer a movement toward beers with a little more flavor, beers that would challenge palates on many levels. Those two beers of course are Summit Extra Pale Ale and Great Northern Porter.

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Summit EPA seems to be the most established and well-known variety that they make and the beer itself was born with a local touch. “The ‘extra’ in EPA was a reference to the love that we put into our beer [the overused word passion wasn’t in fashion in 1986]. The flavor profile of projecting a malt structure with a definite hop balance was a direct reference to the fact that we live in ‘barley country.’  We didn’t realize at the time that we were creating and establishing a specific style.”

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Great Northern Porter was a complete gem of a beer upon its arrival. Even storied beer journalist Michael Jackson loved it. It was so good that it earned Summit a Gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in its first year. “Great Northern Porter was the second beer that we introduced in late 1986” says Stutrud. “At that time, we were one of five breweries in the WORLD that produced a porter. Great Northern Porter received a Gold Medal at the 1987 Great American Beer Festival. Michael Jackson had a deep respect for our beer” he stated.

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If there’s one thing that’s true about Summit back then and now, it’s that quality always comes first. People can say what they want to about Summit not making a crazy one-off beer that sets beer fans abuzz, but the fact of the matter is that they want to make beers that they know how to make—and they make them great every time.

They started the Unchained Series as well as the Union Series to allow their brewers to experiment a little with different ingredients, and to inspire their creativity. All of the beers they make are brewed on a state-of-the-art system that is admired by many across the country. In fact, it’s what separates them from the other local breweries and from those across the country. “No other brewery in the region takes quality assurance to the deep level that we do. These attributes and qualities not only separates us from local breweries, but it distinguishes us on a national level” he says.

When he’s not drinking a Summit, Mark enjoys Pinot Noir, margaritas, the Noble Star Series from Schell’s, Anchor Steam, and Liberty Ales, an occasional Steel Toe, and a Budweiser from his neighbor.

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Summit is celebrating 30 years with a Backyard Bash at the brewery (910 Montreal Cir, St Paul, MN 55102) headlined by local punk legend Bob Mould (formerly of Hüsker Dü and Sugar) and taking place on Saturday from noon until 8 pm. You can grab tickets ($30) online here or at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis. There will be plenty of music and food trucks where you can purchase food. Part of the proceeds will go to Minnesota Music Coalition, an organization that Summit is proud to support. “The originators of this relatively new non-profit organization asked me to serve on the Board of Directors to an entrepreneurial and business perspective.  MMC has become an effective change agent for the independent music scene in Minnesota” says Mark. The band schedule (descending order) is as follows:

6:00 pm – Bob Mould
4:40 pm – Bully
3:35 pm – Dem Atlas
2:30 pm – Bad Bad Hats
1:25 pm – Apollo Cobra
12:20 pm – Nooky Jones
12:00 pm – Hotpants Minneapolis Minnesota (and between all live sets)

Food trucks on site include: The Anchor Fish & Chips, the Black Forest Inn, Bennett’s Chop and Railhouse, Pizza Lucé, Signature on Wheels, World Street Kitchen, FrioFrio MN and PoppedCorn.

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Summit has 30 years under its belt, and they are taking the appropriate amount of time to reflect while still moving forward. Their 30th Anniversary beers are some of the best beers they’ve come up with in recent years and they are not going to stop anytime soon. “Several individuals have asked me if I ever stop and look at what ‘I’ve’ created…There is an awesome and overwhelmed look on their faces when they tour the brewery.”

A brewery that will most certainly live to see 60.

Cheers!