On Saturday, May 19th from 2-6 “Taste of River Lakes Craft Beer and Wine Expo” will take place River Lakes Civic Center in Richmond MN. The event advertises over 100 different varieties of craft beers and 30 varieties of wine to sample throughout the afternoon. From what I gather, if you don’t get your fill, the event will continue offsite with special bar tapping at local pubs. Advanced tickets are $25.00 (Cash Wise Liquor) or $30.00 at the door. All proceeds to benefit River Lakes Hockey.

Music by The Hell Country Truckers. Food available from Jimmy’s Pizza, Cold Spring Bakery and others.

WWW.RiverLakesExpo.com

That’s about all I have. Third Street Brewhouse and Cold Spring are sponsors, so no doubt they’ll be present.

A couple of updates from Granite City for American Craft Beer Week… First, they’ll be tapping their Blueberry Ale tomorrow (Wednesday). If I remember correctly, their version reminds me a bit of a very lightly-hopped blonde ale with a very generous addition of blueberry.

Secondly, they’re advertising brewery tours – see manager for details. As you might know, their process is a little different than most brewpubs, with a brewhouse (worthouse, perhaps) in Iowa the produces wort that is then shipped to locations in something not unlike a dairy truck (broken into sections for beer varieties) and then fermented on-site. With the exception of St. Cloud, none of the pubs have a full brewhouse on site. Regardless, it might be interesting to check out. Fill us in if you take a tour!

Finally, they’re offering samplers now. $3.75 gets you 8 small portions of beer.

Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, great for lager lovers, and the Kentucky Derby, great for mint julep lovers, but it’s also a great day for Maibock lovers at Town Hall.

This Saturday marks the annual release of the Maibock. What does this mean you may ask? Well, deep in the cold months of winter we brew this fine German style lager……the Blonde Bock. Our annual release has grown to signify the start of summer for Town Hall Brewery, and it has become kind of a customer appreciation day for us. We invite you to come to Town Hall Brewery and annual our traditional Blessing of the Bock. We have a man of the cloth come and bless your beer and we at THB extend complimentary Maibock to you from 5-6pm on that day. Blessing will be shortly after 5pm , complimentary Maibock Lager until 6pm. Come and enjoy the event this Saturday.

Pint clubbers- our weekly pint club reception will be cancelled this coming Saturday, as we will be offering you complimentary Maibock from 5-6pm

Prosit!

Barley John’s is upping their Wednesday cask beer game this week with a “wild” version.

Mark your calendars now – this Wednesday around 4pm we will be tapping a cask of Saison Brunette – our first WILD Wild Brunette. I kept 5 gallons of the wort last time the beer was brewed, fermented it with a French Saison Yeast as well as Brettanomyces bruxellensis. It has been aging for nearly 7 weeks in the cask now, so it should have some great bretty-funk to it. This one is going to go fast, folks!

Pouring soon @ Burrito Union
Sierra Neveda Torpedo

Pouring soon @ The Rathskeller
Schlenkerla Smoked Helles

Pouring soon @ Tycoons Alehouse
Tugboat Irish Stout
Joe Logger Vienna Coffee Lager

…and just for fun, Duluth’s Trampled by Turtles filmed a video for their song Alone in The Rathskeller, check it out. This will be MNBeer.com’s one and only link to CMT.com

This festival has been in the works for quite some time and we’re very glad to see it happening! Congrats to the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild on the announcement of their newest beer festival, All Pints North Summer Brew Fest. The event will take place on July 21st from 3-7 pm at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. Tickets are $30 in advanced or $40 at the door if available. Tickets go on Sale Sunday at noon!

1st Annual All Pints North Summer Brew Fest in Duluth!
TICKETS WILL GO ON-SALE APRIL, 15 at NOON (CST)

EVENT DETAILS:

• Saturday, July 21, 2012
• 3 – 7 p.m.
• Bayfront Festival Park | Duluth, MN
• $30 in Advance | $40 at the door (if available) | $10 Sober Driver

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The Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild is excited and proud to bring the newest of its craft beer festivals to Duluth! The first annual All Pints North Summer Brew Fest will celebrate beer brewed in Minnesota by breweries and brew pubs in the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild, plus a few select regional and national craft brands. Join us by the lake to meet the brewers and enjoy unlimited amazing Minnesota+ craft beer samples, hip food vendors, beer-centered activities and educational components, live music and entertainment, and much more!

The Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 2000 to promote Minnesota breweries, create an open line of communication between brewers, and be an advocate for progressive beer laws in Minnesota. The Guild promotes Minnesota’s burgeoning brewing industry by sponsoring festivals and special events, including Autumn Brew Review and Winterfest, that showcase the talent of Minnesota’s craft brewers. These long-standing, professional and fun festivals typically sell out quickly, so the Guild is thrilled to bring the same energy and patron enthusiasm to Duluth with the new All Pints North Summer Brew Fest.

If you are planning on traveling to Duluth for the event, be sure to make lodging arrangements early, as rooms tend to fill up during the summer months in Duluth. There is some info on lodging on the festival website, including potential camping options.

For more details and ticket purchase, visit our website:

www.mncraftbrew.org/festivals/allpintsnorth

Ticketing Website:

www.tempotickets.com/allpintsnorth

Below you’ll find upcoming beers at the Fitger’s Brewhouse, Burrito Union and Tycoons Alehouses. Man, I need to head back to Duluth…

Pouring soon @ the Brewhouse
Joe Logger Vienna Coffee Lager
Brewhouse Brown
Woodford Barrel-aged Ol’ Redbeard BarleyWine (2009 edition)

Cask Conditioned Ales
Starfire Pale Ale
Brewhouse Brown

Pouring soon @ Burrito Union
Duluth Black Ale

Pouring soon @ Tycoons Alehouse
Joe Logger Vienna Coffee Lager
Tugboat Irish Stout

Pouring soon @ the Rathskeller
Victory Prima Pils
21st Amendment Bitter American
Schneider Weisse
Schlenkerla Smoked Pils
Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye
Alaskan Black IPA
New Belgian Dig Pale Ale

You’ve got a little time yet to make your plans to head north and take in all that is the Gitchee Gumee Brewfest in Superior, WI. Tickets range from $25 for general admission to $75 for VIP (which gets you a 3:30 admission as well as a VIP room with pizza and your very own VIP restroom).

Check out Rock Bottom this Thursday for a taste of their Paranoid IPA, “a powerful West-Coast style IPA loaded with Simcoe hops.” Have a free pint and if the floral and citrus grapefruit character tickles your fancy, stick around for a few more.

We mentioned Great Waters’ 15th Anniversary in an earlier post, but below you’ll find some specifics on their  special five-course, five-cask dinner. The menu, created by Great Waters’ chef Ernesto, has been carefully planned alongside five specially chosen beers by Brewmaster Bob.

Details of the dinner, which takes place at 7pm on Monday, April 2, at Great Waters Brewing Co., are below:

1. Smoked Tomato Capsicum with Great Waters House Ale

2. Carnitas Lettuce Wrap with Blackwatch Oat Stout (with Cacao Nibs)

3. Almond Encrusted Walleye & Tomato Scallop Sauce with Dry-Hopped Timma IPA

4. Pork Tenderloin, Polenta & Mild Chipotle Sauce with O’Byrne’s Irish Red

5. Fruit Pizza & Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookie with Scotch Ale

Tickets are still available for the event at $65, http://www.greatwatersbc.com.