Category: breweries

Fair State Mirror Universe Review

By on March 14, 2018in Fair State Brewing, general beer, new beer, tap rooms

Haze is all the craze right now and Fair State Brewing seems to be embracing (sorry Niko) this trend. Their collaboration with Modern Times out of San Diego called Spirit Foul was a hit so it’s no wonder they’re going forward with this popular IPA style. Throw in a Star Trek reference and you have my attention. Here are my thoughts on Mirror Universe.

Like all hazy IPAs this looks like grapefruit juice in a fancy glass. Pineapple and papaya come through in the nose and in the flavor but the level of bitterness is very low. This feels like a mouthful of juice, similar to drinking a mimosa. Overall a nice version of the style and very similar to Spirit Foul which is still their best hazy IPA.

Modist is still the local darling when it comes to this style, but don’t sleep on Fair State. They seem to do everything pretty damn well. Grab a four pack of Mirror Universe if you don’t believe me.

Cheers!

Fading Trend: Black IPA

By on March 5, 2018in general beer, history, Indeed Brewing Co., Steel Toe Brewing

About five years ago there was a beer style that was showing up in taprooms all over the country with the intention of attracting fans of IPAs and Porter alike. They called this style a Black IPA which seemed silly considering the “p” in IPA stands for pale. It would later be re-named a Cascadian Dark Ale or CDA. At any rate, the style became so popular that some of the breweries starting canning their own version (think 21st Amendment’s Back in Black) for sale in liquor stores.

Some characteristics of this style are that the beer should be light bodied, roasty, and use plenty of northwestern US hops which provide flavors such as citrus and pine. Not many local breweries are making Cascadian Dark Ales and the future doesn’t look bright for them as Milkshake IPAs and Hazy New England IPAs continue to soar in popularity.

The only two local examples worth a damn are Steel Toe’s Douglas and Indeed’s Midnight Ryder and with good reason. The recipes and execution are on point unlike some of the others that have been attempted here in Minnesota. Indeed even decided to go with MIdnight Ryder as one of their original two flagships along with Day Tripper which was a bold move at the time. Will we see any local breweries attempt this style with any success again? The answer is most likely no.

Minnesota Beer Industry Loses a Great Friend and Ambassador

By on February 20, 2018in Bad Weather Brewing Co., MN, tap rooms

“What do you think of the beer?” That was a phrase I was used to hearing from one of the biggest supporters of Bad Weather Brewing and the local beer scene in general. This was Greg Carpenter, father of Zac, who is one of the founders of Bad Weather Brewing. His smile was infectious and his passion for all things beer was enormous.

Sadly Greg passed away last Tuesday leaving heavy hearts around the brewery and the industry. There are so many interactions that we’d had that I’ll never forget. One of my favorites was at an arcade event held at the brewery last summer. Bad Weather had just released their first Helles Lager. We talked about this style of beer which we agreed was underrepresented here in the Twin Cities and how brewer Andy Ruhland had done such a great job executing this. He was so proud to talk about the brewery that he helped bring to life from the ground up.

Greg always supported my writing and genuinely cared about what was going on in the beer world. For that, I am forever grateful. I’m proud to have called him a friend and my love and condolences go out to Zac and the Bad Weather Brewing family.

Godspeed. 

2017: 30+ New Breweries

By on January 5, 2018in breweries

Ashby Brewing Co. – photo courtesy of their Facebook page.

This MinnPost article reminded me that I need to update my database… badly. I won’t make (many) excuses. MNBeer is largely a one-person show, with some awesome contributors that ring in here and there to help me keep my shit together. (Thanks Ryan, David & Jeremy.) In the last year-and-a-half my family moved twice, sold a house, bought a house, said goodbye to the Twin Cities and a very cool job at BSG in Shakopee. Life happens, right?

Though our brewery listing needs an update, I compiled a list of 34 (?) new breweries that arrived on the scene in 2017. True to the article linked above, more than half of these breweries have landed outside of the Twin Cities and its suburbs, gracing cities like Grand Rapids, Pine City and Ashby with their first breweries in recent times. Bubble? I’m not holding my breath. In 2017, 3 breweries officially closed up shop – South Fork, Wenonah, and Sidhe, though the latter had planned to re-emerge as Culhane Brewing in St. Paul’s former Station 4 building.

Here’s our big list of breweries that opened in 2017. As always, we consider a brewery “open” when then can legally put a beer in my hand, not the year that they printed their first t-shirt. 🙂 Corrections/additions/subtractions in the comments.

  1. 12welve Eyes (St. Paul)
  2. 14 Lakes Brewery (Crosslake)
  3. Alloy Brewing (Coon Rapids)
  4. Ashby Brewing (Ashby, duh.)
  5. Back Channel Brewing (Sprint Park)
  6. Barrel Theory (St. Paul)
  7. BlackStack (St. Paul)
  8. Broken Clock (Minneapolis)
  9. Chapel Brewing (Dundas)
  10. Cuyuna (Crosby)
  11. Giesenbräu (New Prague)
  12. Headflyer Brewing (Minneapolis)
  13. Imminent Brewing (Northfield)
  14. Hoops Brewing (Duluth)
  15. Island City (Winona)
  16. Karst (Fountain)
  17. Klockow Brewing (Grand Rapids)
  18. Loony’s Brew (Rainier)
  19. Portage Brewing (Walker)
  20. Pryes Brewing (Minneapolis)
  21. Revelation Aleworks (Hallock)
  22. Roets Jordan Brewery (Jordan)
  23. Roma Restaurant & Brewery (Willernie)
  24. Shakopee Brewhall (Shakopee)
  25. Starkeller Brewery (New Ulm)
  26. Starry EyedBrewing (Little Falls)
  27. Tanzenwald Brewery (Northfield)
  28. Three Twenty Brewing (Pine City)
  29. Union 32 Crafthouse (Eagan)
  30. Unmapped (Minnetonka)
  31. Utepils (Minneapolis)
  32. Venn Brewing (Minneapolis)
  33. Waldmann Brewery (St. Paul)
  34. Ward House Brewery (Waseca)

Ale Asylum MN Launch

By on December 12, 2017in beer events, breweries, Republic

In 2012 we dropped a hint to Madison’s Ale Asylum that maybe they ought to look westward for expansion. Clearly they got the message and have dutifully spent the past five years planning, toiling and experimenting on the willing subjects of Wisconsin just to perfect their beers before their Minnesota release. What an honor. Thanks, guys.

In celebration of the border jump they’ve scheduled a series of events culminating on Friday at Republic in Minneapolis where, starting at 6:00, they’ll tap five of their standard beers along with a pair of rare, barrel-aged ones. Get there early and be rewarded with commemorative glassware. BONUS: the patio will be open and heated so bring your toques and mittens to celebrate outside.

Cheers!

Ale Asylum MN Launch Week
12/13 – Ox Cart Ale House, St. Paul, 6-9pm
12/14 – The Happy Gnome, St. Paul, 4-7pm
12/14 – Kelly’s Tap House & Grill, Red Wing, 5-7pm
12/15 – Republic, Mpls, 6-8pm