Category: history

Hygge Hoopla Virtual Beer Fest

This is a very strange time to be alive. We are asking everyone to isolate to stop the spread of COVID-19 which has been sweeping across the country at an alarming rate. While we’d love to be enjoying a beverage with our pals, we know that it’s not smart to be hanging in groups. The best part about uncertain times is the fact that we as humans find creative ways to navigate our current situation. Apps like FaceTime and Skype have been around for a while and were probably ahead of their time, but now more than ever we need to embrace such technology and be thankful for our ability to adapt to change.

Beer festivals are usually about gathering with people in person and sharing beverages but that is not possible during this time. The crew over at the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild has come up with an idea to bring people together virtually and they’re calling it Hygge Hoopla Beer Fest. This event will take place on Saturday, April 18th from 3 pm until 5 pm.

The cost will be $10 and will feature a whole lineup of speakers that will cover a variety of topics such as beer history, tasting notes, and food pairings. Your purchase will support the Silver Linings Fund which benefits industry workers in need. Below you will find the list of speakers for this event.

Featuring:

Jacob Schnabel, Spilled Grain Brewhouse
Linda Rae Holcomb, GLUEK BEER
Eric Harper, Utepils Brewing Co
Ryan Pitman, Eastlake Craft Brewery
Craig Richardson, Day Block Brewing Company
Derek Allmendinger, Unmapped Brewing Co
Ryan Mihm, FINNEGANS
Matt Schwandt, Bauhaus Brew Labs
Ryan Petz, Fulton Beer
Gabe Smoley, Pryes Brewing Company
Jen Fox, Spiral Brewery
Matthew Lange, Lake Monster Brewing
Mike Willaford, Tin Whiskers Brewing Co.
Andy Klockow, Klockow Brewing Company
Dave Hoops, Hoops Brewing
Jeff Zierdt, Lupulin Brewing Company
Brian Schanzenbach, Blacklist Brewing Co.
Tim Wilson, Bent Paddle Brewing Co.
Jace Marti, Schell’s Brewery

To purchase tickets to the event, please visit this link. Be safe, take care of yourselves, and support your local Minnesota breweries. We hope to see you at the event, but if not we’ll have to grab a pint when this is all over.

Cheers!

Fading Trend: Black IPA

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.

Craft Beer Pioneer Summit Celebrating 30 Years

hardroad-letterThirty years ago Top Gun was all the rage. That was 1986, the same year that Summit Brewing opened its doors in an old building that used to sell truck parts on University Avenue in St. Paul. To say this was a humble beginning is an understatement as founder Mark Stutrud received a letter from the Brewers Association back in 1983 during the early planning stages advising him not to attempt such an endeavor.

That was just one of the many challenges for Mark, challenges that microbreweries today do not face. For one, there was no blueprint for a small brewery to succeed in the midwest. At that time was no such thing as a microbrewery. “Thirty years ago there was no regional point of reference as far as other small breweries were concerned – ‘microbrewery’ was not in the wholesaler’s or retail customer’s vocabulary. The idea of ‘craft beer’ didn’t exist in the drinker’s mind. The beer landscape was sterile” says Stutrud.

Two of the beers they produced that first year would pioneer a movement toward beers with a little more flavor, beers that would challenge palates on many levels. Those two beers of course are Summit Extra Pale Ale and Great Northern Porter.

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Summit EPA seems to be the most established and well-known variety that they make and the beer itself was born with a local touch. “The ‘extra’ in EPA was a reference to the love that we put into our beer [the overused word passion wasn’t in fashion in 1986]. The flavor profile of projecting a malt structure with a definite hop balance was a direct reference to the fact that we live in ‘barley country.’  We didn’t realize at the time that we were creating and establishing a specific style.”

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Great Northern Porter was a complete gem of a beer upon its arrival. Even storied beer journalist Michael Jackson loved it. It was so good that it earned Summit a Gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in its first year. “Great Northern Porter was the second beer that we introduced in late 1986” says Stutrud. “At that time, we were one of five breweries in the WORLD that produced a porter. Great Northern Porter received a Gold Medal at the 1987 Great American Beer Festival. Michael Jackson had a deep respect for our beer” he stated.

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If there’s one thing that’s true about Summit back then and now, it’s that quality always comes first. People can say what they want to about Summit not making a crazy one-off beer that sets beer fans abuzz, but the fact of the matter is that they want to make beers that they know how to make—and they make them great every time.

They started the Unchained Series as well as the Union Series to allow their brewers to experiment a little with different ingredients, and to inspire their creativity. All of the beers they make are brewed on a state-of-the-art system that is admired by many across the country. In fact, it’s what separates them from the other local breweries and from those across the country. “No other brewery in the region takes quality assurance to the deep level that we do. These attributes and qualities not only separates us from local breweries, but it distinguishes us on a national level” he says.

When he’s not drinking a Summit, Mark enjoys Pinot Noir, margaritas, the Noble Star Series from Schell’s, Anchor Steam, and Liberty Ales, an occasional Steel Toe, and a Budweiser from his neighbor.

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Summit is celebrating 30 years with a Backyard Bash at the brewery (910 Montreal Cir, St Paul, MN 55102) headlined by local punk legend Bob Mould (formerly of Hüsker Dü and Sugar) and taking place on Saturday from noon until 8 pm. You can grab tickets ($30) online here or at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis. There will be plenty of music and food trucks where you can purchase food. Part of the proceeds will go to Minnesota Music Coalition, an organization that Summit is proud to support. “The originators of this relatively new non-profit organization asked me to serve on the Board of Directors to an entrepreneurial and business perspective.  MMC has become an effective change agent for the independent music scene in Minnesota” says Mark. The band schedule (descending order) is as follows:

6:00 pm – Bob Mould
4:40 pm – Bully
3:35 pm – Dem Atlas
2:30 pm – Bad Bad Hats
1:25 pm – Apollo Cobra
12:20 pm – Nooky Jones
12:00 pm – Hotpants Minneapolis Minnesota (and between all live sets)

Food trucks on site include: The Anchor Fish & Chips, the Black Forest Inn, Bennett’s Chop and Railhouse, Pizza Lucé, Signature on Wheels, World Street Kitchen, FrioFrio MN and PoppedCorn.

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Summit has 30 years under its belt, and they are taking the appropriate amount of time to reflect while still moving forward. Their 30th Anniversary beers are some of the best beers they’ve come up with in recent years and they are not going to stop anytime soon. “Several individuals have asked me if I ever stop and look at what ‘I’ve’ created…There is an awesome and overwhelmed look on their faces when they tour the brewery.”

A brewery that will most certainly live to see 60.

Cheers!

Insight Dedicates a Day to the Saison

Insight co-founder and head brewer llan Klages-Mundt is a very interesting guy. Spend five minutes with him and you’ll gather that he’s big on doing things the right way. In fact, he’s spent plenty of time over in Europe seeing how they do things in countries such as England, Denmark, France, and Belgium. So it’s no surprise that he’s a fan of making beers rooted in those regions. “Every time you go somewhere, you know you’re going to take something back with you. You don’t always know what that is” says Ilan.

It’s no coincidence that he’s a fan of the Saison which was originally a farmhouse style beer brewed during the winter months in the Belgian countryside. “I like that guidelines for the style are so wide. It’s like the Sauvignon Blanc of beer. You can sour them, or add fruit and spices” he says.

This year Insight is dedicating an entire day to it. The date is Saturday, July 30th from noon until 10 pm at the brewery. The plan is to release and showcase their stellar iteration of the Saison style they call Doe Eyes. This ruby red colored beer is packed with cherries and is refreshingly tart with a dry finish. This is always one of their most popular beers at festivals and with good reason — it’s one of the best made fruit beers in town. He tells us that there are about 1 lb of cherries in a pint. In fact they sourced about 15,000 lbs for the entire batch.

Also being featured at the event will be a Blackberry Saison (Lost Satyr) and Raspberry Saison (Frugivorous) to go along with a list of cask releases. Bottles (750 ml) of Doe Eyes, Lost Satyr, and Frugivorous will be on sale for $15 each with a limit of 6 total. Casks will be released as listed below:

2:00 – Cucumber Saison
4:00 – Pineapple Saison
6:00 – Juniper Citrus Saison

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You can also expect a list of local 90s tribute bands:

1pm Lithium (Nirvana)
3pm Trompe le Monde (Pixies)
5pm Muzzle – A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins
7pm Pleezer (Weezer)
9pm Alive-Tribute to Pearl Jam

Food trucks on site include:

El Taco Riendo, Peeps Hot Box, and O’Neil’s Cheese Curds.
Basically if you’re a fan of beer, you should swing in and find out what Ilan has learned since his trip to Belgium. For as Ilan says “You can never learn enough.”

Cheers!

Historic Yoerg Brewing to Make a Comeback

Yoerg Logo 2If you know a bit about Minnesota’s beer history, no doubt you’re familiar with Minnesota’s first brewery, The Yoerg Brewing Company. Yoerg was founded in 1848 on the bluffs of what is now Ohio Street in St. Paul. As is the case with many breweries of that time, prohibition dealt a crushing blow to the brewery. Though Yoerg survived prohibition by producing a variety of other products, the brewery ultimately succumbed to post-WWII competition and closed in 1952. A fire destroyed the brewery several years later. All that remains of the brewery are highly sought-after pieces of breweriana.

…but all is not lost. This week we learned that the brand is being resurrected with a new brewery and tasting room. They’re currently in the process of finalizing a location and plan to use the original Yoerg artwork on all packaging and marketing materials.
We’re told that the lineup will consist of two year-round beers and two seasonal beers.

Yoerg’s Beer: a classic Bavarian Dampfbier.

Yoerg’s Bock Beer: A dark black bock with “a toasty malt profile and an assertive hop presence.”

Yoerg’s Picnic Beer: “A thirst quenching Pilsner with a rich, creamy mouthfeel and a wonderful dance of hops.”

Yoerg’s Strong Beer: A rich Doppelbock brewed “only while the weather is shitty.”

WEBSITE: www.yoergbeer.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Yoergbeer/