Author: ryan

Ryan Anderson (that's me!) is the editor & founder of MNBeer. Much has changed since the fall of 2005 and I'm proud to have been a part of it all. Sometime I'll tell you about my grand theory that links craft brewing to punk rock. Just ask.

Bank Brewing Co. Longbeard Winter Wheat

Jason Markkula from Hendricks’ Minnesota’s Bank Brewing Co. dropped us a line to share that they’re  set to launch their Longbeard Winter Wheat soon. In fact, it’ll debut at this weekend’s St. Cloud Craft Beer Expo. Here’s a description from their website:

A unique American Lager, almost black with a nice mahogany head, the large dose of wheat gives Longbeard body but allows it a light taste. The dark roasted malt gives way to a slight wooden note and makes this dark beer almost drink light. Designed for the between season when winter gives way to spring.

Harriet Brewing One Year Anniversary

Harriet Brewing is celebrating their first anniversary at The Blue Nile on Jan. 27th from 4pm – 2am. They’ll take over all 12 taps, highlight local artist & of course music.

Happy early birthday, Harriet. My partner in crime, Dawn, fell in love with Dark Abbey Dubbel on Friday at Pig & Fiddle. Details below:

Tap #1 – Elevator Doppelbock – Our traditionally brewed German-Style Doppelbock is being released for the first time at the Blue Nile on January 27th.

Tap #2 – East Side IPA – Our second brand spankin’ new beer in January (Release party at the Groveland Tap on January 11. We’ve taken our flagship West Side Beigian-Style IPA and replaced all of the American hops with their European cousins and substituted Carapils for the Special B creating a beer that honors the floral, earthy, and spicy character of a traditional Belgian-Style IPA.

Tap #3 – Small Beer – You really shouldn’t be drinking this one. This is our beer. We’ve made this sessionable Belgian-style brew from the second runnings of Elevator so that we can drink our own beer at the brewery and still be moderately productive. This is an extremely limited beer that will seldom see the world outside of the brewery, so get it while you can.

Mankato Brewery Launch Thursday

…and the first brewery born in 2012 is… Mankato Brewery. Thursday marks the launch of their first beer, Mankato Original.

Mankato Original (M.O.) is an homage to the traditional top-fermented beers of Cologne, Germany; it is light and refreshing with a crisp bitterness, delicate hop aroma, subtle malt flavor and a hint of fruitiness.

I’m curious to try it – I enjoyed Brewer Mike Miziorko’s last Kölsch-style offering, the first in Summit’s Unchained Series. For now though, it looks like the Mankato area gets first dibs on this one. Below you’ll fine release events and accounts.

January 5th:

Number 4: 5PM-7PM
Tim Tupy, Co-Founder

Pub500: 5PM-7PM
Tony Feuchtenberger, Co-Founder
Mike Miziorko, Head Brewer

January 6th:

Patrick’s On Third: 6PM-8PM
Tony Feuchtenberger, Co-Founder
Tim Tupy, Co-Founder
Mike Miziorko, Head Brewer