Since I couldn’t describe it any better, here’s the details on tonight’s cask at Barley John’s, straight from the horse’s brewer’s mouth.

Tonight’s cask offering is going to be a variation of our Stockyard IPA – I kept 5 gallons of the wort last time I brewed and fermented that very special 5 gallons with champagne yeast. Last time I did that, with the Little Barley Bitter, the result was a somewhat Belgian-charactered version of the original: flowery, a little sweet, with fine bubbles and the slight sulfur character characteristic of a good champagne.

Barley John’s offers up their Old Eight Porter infused with dried sweet orange peel for your drinking delight tonight. It’s described as, “nice subtly sweet with aromatic orange.”

Alongside classes on homebrewing and winemaking, Northern Brewer Minneapolis is hosting several events in February that may interest all craft beer lovers.

Town Hall Brewing Company
Feb. 11th / 1-3 p.m.
Round Table Discussion with Town Hall Brewer Mike Hoops and crew, topics include going professional, Pro Series collaboration, barrel aging.

Briess Malting Company
Feb. 25th / 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Join Penny Pickart of Briess as she talks about the history of Briess, their malting facilities, rye extract collaboration and the Maltster Reserve Series.

I received a quick note from our good friend Bob over at Rock Bottom with a list of February tappings. My absolute favorite? “Dork Lord of Dorkness Coffee Imperial Stout.”

Feb. 2nd: Dark Star IPA with a Winterfest ticket giveaway
Feb. 9th: Adieu Adieu 2u & U & Ewe w/ a special tapping of a keg of Hobliteration
Feb. 16th: Cask Tapping of Dork Lord of Dorkness Coffee Imperial Stout
Feb. 23rd: Modern Monk

All beers tapped at 6pm.

Announcing a Growler Sale in honor of Groundhog Day!

You’ve seen the movie with Bill Murray where he relives the same day over and over again…

Wouldn’t that day be a whole lot better if you had good beer in the fridge – beer that was replenished every day automatically, and for free? We can’t guarantee that’s going to happen, but wouldn’t you kick yourself if it did and you missed out?

Therefore all next week enjoy our Groundhog’s Day Growler Special — Fill up (2) growlers and save $5! (1/30/12 – 2/4/12)

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SAVE THE DATE:
2/14/12 St. Valentine’s Day Dinner
Now taking reservations: 651-636-4670

Details including the special menu will be emailed to you soon.

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For those of you who were lucky enough to get tickets to Winterfest…

We are going to be there and bringing some fun stuff!

No guarantees now, but here’s the list of things we’re thinking of bringing:
Stockyard IPA, Wild Brunette, Smoked Old Eight Porter, Kaffir Pale Ale, Imperial Pilsener and a MYSTERY BEER you’re sure to be excited about…
We might even have a cask along.

If you weren’t one of the lucky 700 people to buy tickets in the 8 seconds before they sold out…
Stop by the restaurant and bring some of our beer home with you. It’s fresh, local, ON SALE, and perfect to cry into.

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You want to know what our cask offering is going to be every Wednesday?
Like us on Facebook to find out what’s going on at Barley John’s.

www.facebook.com/BarleyJohns

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New Seasonal Beers:
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WINTER ALE [6.5%]
Those of you who’ve stopped by Barley John’s in the summer are familiar with all the hops growing along our patio. We harvest them and use them to dry hop this yearly seasonal. This American amber ale incorporates our estate Cascade and East Kent Goldings hops as well as toasted caraway and fennel seed into a beer that is fresh, hoppy, spicy, and a perfect warmer for the (finally) colder winter months.

IMPERIAL PILSENER [8.3%]
Lagered in our cellar for nearly three months, this Pilsener is a big guy! Brewed with copious amounts of Pilsener malt and hopped with Noble Hallertau hops, this beer isn’t your grandpa’s brew. This is a traditional beer Czechs and Germans would recognize – except for the increased potency – that’s all-American.

KAFFIR PALE ALE [5.8%]
An already citrusy American Pale Ale brewed with the addition of fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves in the boil, whirlpool and dry hopped for a week in secondary. Kaffir Lime leaves are a staple of Vietnamese and Thai food, and they’ve found a new home in this exceptionally fresh, complex and citrusy Pale.

Available soon: Schwarzbier – a light-bodied German Black Lager.

Don’t miss out – our Imperial Stout is almost gone – you can’t take it home in a growler, but it is worth taking a seat at the bar for.

Hi All,

Looks like we made it to February! Lets have some fun, here is some info on upcoming events-

Feb 5- Show off your abilities in the annual Chili Cookoff. Chili in by noon and Battle off the Chili tasting begins at 2:30. Space is limited, signup within

Feb 11- Town Hall Garage Sale???? We have some interesting things we feel you may have some interest in. First Come First Served….Noon til Gone

Feb 14- Happy Valentines Day! The kitchen strikes again…….Special ala carte menu for your enjoyment- Choose from Bacon wrapped tenderloin or homemade ravioli for those that are not interested in eating meat. Don’t forget the sweets….a dessert designed for two.

Look for a keg of Chocolate Cherry Stout to be released at 5pm

Feb 20-25 BARREL AGED WEEK.- Time for use to brush of the dust, spiderwebs, and pry open the cellar door…..creeeeeeeekkkkkk…………all beers will be released @6pm, growlers will be available of all but only by pre-purchased tickets (don’t worry I will send you that info in a follow up email)

Mon Feb 20- Buffalo Bock- Weizenbock aged in Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrel

Tues Feb 21- Wee Jack- Scottish style Wee heavy aged in JD Tennessee Whiskey Barrel

Wed Feb 22- Twisted Jim- American Barley Wine aged in Jim Beam Bourbon Barrel

Thurs Feb 23- Tumaltuous Rare- Wheat Wine aged in Eagle Rare Bourbon Barrel

Fri Feb 24- Barrel Monkey- Double IPA aged in Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrel

Sat Feb 25- Czar Jack- Everyone’s favorite barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Feb 22- Special Laphroaig Scotch Tasting 7pm Limited seating (sign up within)
Taste Laphroaig 10, Cask 10, Quarter Cask, and 18 year old Scotch. All accompanied with dried apricots, figs, other fruit, nuts, breads, and crackers. This journey will be hosted by Laphroaig’s own Stacey Clark. cost $30

Feb 29- LEAP BEER open to close. Enjoy your choice of regular priced Town Hall Brewery Pints just $2.50 All Day Long. Only happens once every 4 years…..take the day off and have some fun!

How’s that? Who says there is nothing to do in Minnesota in February?????

Cheers
Mike

The first annual Spring Ale Fest takes place on April 7th at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. The event will feature 8 local craft brewers 30+ beers over two sessions, noon-4pm and 5-9pm. Tickets are $30 before February 7th and $40 afterward. Tickets, of course, include unlimited samples. The event will also include raffles & prizes, etc.

Currently, the breweries include Brau Brothers, Barley John’s, Lucid, Harriet, Flat Earth and Dangerous Man.

Tickets & more info at SpringAleFest.com

Barley John’s spices things up with their first cask offering of 2012, Stockyard IPA with one of the most recognizable hot sauces around, Sriracha.

While you’re there, why not sign up for their Barley Beer Society (BBS) annual membership? For $65 you get happy hour beer pricing all the time, $2 off growler fills and the first pint of a brand new seasonal on the house.

This Thursday Rock Bottom releases the latest creation from Assistant Brewer Pete Mack, Smoking Goat Rauchbock, described as, “a German style bock brewed with beechwood smoked malt, the smoked malt balances nicely with the Vienna, Melanoiden and Black malts giving a wonderful malty experience.”