Brewpubs

Barley John’s Brew Pub | website | 781 Old Hwy 8 SW, New Brighton
Barley John’s may not be the biggest brewpub in the Twin Cities, but they more than make up for that with their tasty beers and food to match.

Beers: Little Barley Bitter, Stockyard IPA, Wild Brunette (Wild Rice Brown Ale), Old 8 Porter, seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

BoatHouse Brewpub & Restaurant | website | 47 E. Sheridan St., Ely
BoatHouse Brewpub & Restaurant is Minnesota’s newest & northernmost brewpub.

..::||||||||||::..

Fitger’s Brewhouse | website | 600 East Superior Street, Duluth
Before the brewpub existed, Fitger’s was one of Minnesota early breweries, dating back to the 1850s. Fitger’s survived Prohibition by making candy and soda and finally closed in the 1970s (more history here). Today the Fitger’s complex houses dining, shopping, lodging, and most importantly (to this crowd, anyway) a great brewpub.

Beers: Lighthouse Golden Ale, Witchtree English Style Bitter, El Nino India Pale Ale, Big Boat Oatmeal Stout, Apricot Wheat, Starfire Pale Ale, lots of seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

Granite City Food & Brewery | website | multiple locations
Granite City first opened in the granite city, St. Cloud, in 1999 and has grown steadily. In addition to the Minnesota locations, you’ll also find Granite City in Fargo, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Lincoln, Sioux Falls, Wichita, Kansas City, Olathe and no doubt other locations as the company expands.

3945 2nd St. So., St. Cloud
11909 Main St., Maple Grove
3330 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan
851 Rosedale Center, Roseville
5500 Excelsior Blvd., St. Louis Park

Beers: Brother Benedict’s Bock, Duke of Wellington Pale Ale, Broadaxe Stout, Northern Lights Lager, seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

Great Waters Brewing Company |website| 426 St. Peter St., St. Paul
Great Waters opened in 1997, in the historic Hamm’s Building. Surely the beer gods smiled upon Great Waters and today they push and pull (cask) some great beer.

Beers: Golden Prairie Blond Ale, St. Peter Pale Ale, Brown Trout Brown Ale, Ale. House Bitter (cask), seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

The Herkimer Pub & Brewery | website | 2922 Lyndale Avenue S., Minneapolis
The Herkimer specializes in German-style lagers.

Beers: Handy’s Lager, Daily Pils, Sky Pilot Kellerbier, High Point Dunkel, Red Flyer Marzen, seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

McCann’s Food & Brew | website | 3320 3rd St. North, St. Cloud
McCann’s Food and Brew occupies the space that used to house O’Hara’s Brewpub. They also employ former O’Hara’s brewer Chris Laumb. The space has been entirely renovated, the beer recipes are new and St. Cloud is once again brewing!

Beers: Deep Seven IPA, High Bank Amber, McCann’s Golden Ale, seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery | website | 1430 Washington Avenue, Minneapolis
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary and have become a 7 Corners area institution. I’m fairly sure I saw “Forever Plaid” years ago in what is now the brewery. Town Hall typically has two cask-conditioned beers on tap as well as a few seasonals and five house beers. Parking tip: skip the ramp attached to the Holiday Inn – it’s recently been privatized and prices have spiked as of late. Find a meter or park in the lot behind the Corner Bar, south of Town Hall.

Beers: West Bank Pub Ale, Dortmunder lager, Masala Mama IPA, Black H2O Oatmeal Stout, Hope and King Scotch Ale, cask ales, seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

Rock Bottom Brewery | website | 800 LaSalle Plaza, Minneapolis
Rock Bottom Brewery is part of a chain of brewpubs across the US. Each has their own brewmaster and their own recipes. In Minneapolis, the current brewmaster, Byron, came from Superior’s Thirsty Pagan. Rock Bottom serves up a variety of year-round beers as well as a constantly-rotating list of seasonals as well as some cask-conditioned beers.

Beers: North Star Premium Lager, Itasca Extra Pale Ale, Erik the Red, Big Horn Nut Brown Ale, Stillwater Stout, seasonals.

..::||||||||||::..

Wellington’s Backwater Brewing Co. | website | 1429 W. Service Drive, US 61, Winona
Wellington’s Backwater Brewing Co. is the only brewpub in Minnesota to feature a bowling alley. To be more accurate, Westgate Bowl is the only bowling alley in the state to feature a brewpub… In any case, the bowling alley dates back to the 60s, the pub arrived in the late 80s and the brewpub came to fruition in 1995. Brewmaster Chris Gardner is the son of Westgate Bowl’s founder and a graduate of the Siebel Institute. The brewery produces five year-round beers and does not do growlers or seasonal beers.

Beers: Bullhead Red Ale, Cat Tail Pale Ale, River Town Nut Brown Ale, Steamboat Stout, Wing Dam Wheat, Rootbeer.