[ June 20, 2008 to June 21, 2008. ] The third annual National Brew Fest will be June 20-21 in downtown Mankato, Minn. There are tasting sessions from 4-7 p.m. each day, with live music from 4-11. This year’s musical headliners are The Marshall Tucker Band and Canned Heat, and they’ll be joined by a half-dozen local/regional bands like Lamont Cranston and the Butanes. […]

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Yesterday was Stillwater’s 2nd Annual Brewers Bazaar, hosted by the Stillwater Sunrise Rotary Club.  For those of you who couldn’t make it, here’s a quick recap.
First of all, this event was lightly attended relative to many other local beer tasting events (still too new, I guess), so lines were short and attendees could spend time […]

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[ June 7, 2008; 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. ] ShamROCK is Finnegans’ second annual outdoor music event benefitting Heading Home Hennepin. ShamROCK 2008 is an afternoon-to-evening music extravaganza featuring up-and-coming local and national acts and a headline performance by Built to Spill. You’ll find Finnegans beer on tap, street entertainment and contests, food from The Cabooze & Whiskey Junction, and a day of partying […]

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[ June 7, 2008; 7:00 pm; ] Here is the skinny: June 7th, 7PM - 10 Beers - Schell’s Caramel Bock and Firebrick, Surly Cynic Ale and Bender, Summit Extra Special Bitter and Hefeweizen, Whirlybird Oatmeal Stout and Scotch Ale from Brau Brothers and Angry Planet Pale Ale & Black Helicopter from Flat Earth.  Each will be paired with a course of […]

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Join the Surly folks for these upcoming events…
Wednesday, May 14
Firkin Night at Sea Salt restaurant at Minnehaha Falls, 7:00 pm
They will be tapping a firkin of Bitter Brewer and one of Furious with $2 pints.
Next 3 weekends
Surly will be selling 750 ml bottles of Two at the brewery during growler filling times (noon - […]

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I first heard about this project quite a while ago and a glad to see that things appear to be coming together for Lift Bridge Brewery in Stillwater.
Their goals seem modest and achievable:
At this time, we want to release a few brews into the market to share with a small amount of consumers our goals […]

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[ May 2, 2008; ] Ooh! Another 150th Anniversary Draft Series release from Schell’s this weekend. It is a Munich Dunkel based on a recipe from 1867. The beer is a deep copper color with a reddish tint. Medium bodied, rich and malty, with hints of vanilla and chocolate. The beer is in honor of George Marti, who […]

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Mark your calendars… Thanks Jeff…
5/5 Beer tasting at Syrduk’s - Minneapolis
5/5 Twin Ports Brew Bash - Duluth
5/8 Beer tasting Cellars - Forest Lake
5/12 Beer Tasting Rum River - Anoka
5/17 Brewer’s Bazaar - Stillwater
5/18 Where the Wild things are! - Lake City
5/20 KBEM Jazz RestuaranTour – Café Barbette - Minneapolis
5/22 Brewing for a Cause Sweeney’s – […]

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Have I mentioned this yet? Perhaps not. In any case, Schell’s and Rapala have teamed up to co-brand a beer for the fishing opener, Lakemaid Beer. Here’s a piece about the beer in the New Ulm Journal. Check out the Lakemaid website as well. Definitely a bit campy, but funny as well.
“Half woman and half […]

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City Pages “Best of the Twin Cities” issue has hit. Congrats to all of our friends…
Brew52 won the reader pick for Best Website
Surdyk’s won the reader pick for Best Liquor Store
Groveland Tap won the reader pick for Best Burger
Andrew Kopplin won Best Barista
Summit Extra Pale Ale won Best Take-Home Beer
The Happy Gnome won Best Neighborhood […]

Posted in beer stores, breweries 15 Comments »

Huh? The Ugly Mug? Wha? No, it’s not that coffee house in Farmington… The Ugly Mug is the bar formerly known as Harvey’s. They’ll be closed this week for a remodel and will reopen on Friday as The Ugly Mug. Half price pints from 4-7pm and free Schell’s from 7-9. It’s listed as Schell’s Amber […]

Posted in free beer, bars, breweries 14 Comments »

Tours: reservations are now available for for May tours. However, the fine folks at Surly have decided to shake things up a bit… like I mentioned, they’re taking reservations… in fact you’ll need one… and the only way you’ll get one is by making a reservation online… make one here! Secondly, tours will take place […]

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Spring has arrived (?) and the Brau Brothers have a new single-batch series beer, an Oatmeal Stout. May 12th is their official release date and they’ve limited the beer to 1000 cases and 32 kegs.
Perfect for breakfast! Check out  for more information.

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On April 17th, Summit Brewing Company will start accepting entries for the first ever Summit Beer Movie Contest. The contest asks Minnesotans to make a short film, 5 minutes or less, that includes a Summit beer product placement. Since the brewery’s start back in 1986, Summit has supported the vibrant creative community […]

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[ May 17, 2008; 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. ] The Stillwater Sunrise Rotary Club will be holding their 2nd annual Brewers Bazaar on Saturday, May 17th from noon to 5pm in downtown Stillwater at the historic Water Street in.
At the historic Water Street Inn. Participating breweries include August Schell, Summit, Flat Earth, Fitger’s, Pig’s Eye, Great Waters, Finnegans, Mantorville/St. Croix, Minneapolis Town Hall, Barley […]

Posted in breweries, brewpubs, beer events 10 Comments »