Author: Ryan Tuenge

Beer Smarts Class Back in Session at Modist

By on February 27, 2017in beer education, Modist Brewing

Modist Education Director Paige Latham will again be hosting her Beer Smarts class at the brewery beginning on March 6th. The six-week course will cover water, grains, hops, fermentation, evaluating beer, food and beer pairing, and the popular optional 7th session which is a beer dinner with chef Ian Gray from The Curious Goat and The Smoking Cow. Tickets for the optional four course dinner will cost $50 and the seats are limited.

I had the opportunity to sit in on one of these sessions and I was very impressed. Paige is very knowledgeable and is the perfect person to teach such a class. She’s the woman behind the blog Alcohol by Volume and is the beer expert at Heavy Table. She also worked at The Four Firkins in St. Louis Park where she became a Cicerone Certified Beer Server.

Tickets for the six sessions are on sale for $60 and you can find them here. See the schedule below:

Session 1: Beer History and Water (3/6/17)

  • Intro to course
  • History of brewing
  • Properties of water
  • Ratio of grain to water / “gravity”
  • Beers famous for water reasons

Session 2: Grains and malting (3/13/17)

  • Focus on malted grain / barley
  • German Purity Law
  • Other sources of sugar (candied sugar, lactose)
  • What happens when water meets grain
  • Beers famous for grain reasons
  • Mini brewery tour!

Session 3: Hops (3/20/17)

  • Hops – what they are, how they’re grown, and where they’re grown
  • From the filter to the boil kettle
  • Hop additions and other additives

Session 4: Fermentation (3/27/17)

  • Historical significance of yeast as magic / God / luck
  • Classification of yeast
  • An overview of fermentation
  • Significant yeast strains through history and by style
  • Other methods of fermentation
  • The bright tank (forced carbonation vs natural)

Session 5: Evaluating Beer (4/10/17)

  • Packaging beer
  • Beer service (cleanliness/glassware)
  • Beer expiration
  • Critical evaluation and tasting
  • How to improve your palate
  • Good beer gone bad: off flavor training

Session 6: Food and Beer Pairing (4/24/17)

  • Why pair beer with food?
  • Pairing with beer vs wine
  • Basic taste elements
  • Congruent vs complementary food and beer pairing
  • Pairing tips and tricks

Winterfest 2017 Preview

By on February 21, 2017in breweries, brewpubs

The premier event hosted by the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild has a new home this year, The Legends Club at Target Field. The Brewer’s Guild outgrew the Union Depot even with the two-night format. The 16th edition of Winterfest will feature beer from nearly 100 Minnesota breweries. Once again the Snowshoe Award (Best of Fest) will be up for grabs and last year’s winner Bent Paddle Brewing will be defending their title.

Attendees will be able to try out some of the best beers made in Minnesota as this often serves as a showcase for rare beers that aren’t available year-round. Here are some beers we’re looking forward to:

Lichtenhainer from Fair State Brewing – This Smoked Sour Wheat beer aged in barrels sounds very interesting. This isn’t something I’d typically seek out, but Fair State has a great reputation with sours and this should be no different. You don’t often see beers like this around the Twin Cities.

Tawny Port Barrel-Aged Peanut Butter Porter from Dangerous Man Brewing– This beer sold out within an hour and a half of being released back in December. The last time I sampled this one there were some big bittersweet chocolate notes and the peanut butter had really mellowed. You’ll want to seek this one out early because it probably won’t last long.

Westside Brewery Collective Barleywine from ENKI – This beer is the perfect beer for Winterfest in that it’s big on caramel and molasses yet weighs in at a relatively low 7.1% ABV., uch lower than most Barleywines. They brewed this in collaboration with some of the other west metro breweries using the same ingredients including Minnesota grown Cascade hops.

Eye Wine Red from Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery – This is a delightful beer with strong hints of grapes in the nose and a wonderful dose of honey on the back end. This was brewed for Barrel-Aged Week at the brewery and should certainly be a contender for Best Beer.

Vintage Lunker from Steel Toe Brewing – Marshmallow, dark chocolate, and plums can be found in the aroma of this beer that is certain to warm you up with its high alcohol content of 13%. The brewery out of St. Louis Park has been releasing plenty of Barrel-Aged offerings over the years and Lunker is always one of the highlights.

HEXIT from Badger Hill Brewing – This beer certainly lives up to the hype surrounding it. Big hops dominate this beer but if you let it warm a bit you’ll be rewarded with wonderful complex flavors from the local honey used to make it. This beer was made in collaboration with Todd Haug who recently left Surly to join 3 Floyds Brewery.

Emily’s Dream #15 from LTD Brewing – This should be a nice sour offering from the brewery located in Hopkins. This Emily’s Dream series has been a bit underrated and the combo of cherry and pomegranate together has me intrigued.

Flock Together from Indeed Brewing – This Belgian Dubbel is a collaboration project with the much anticipated Hoops Brewing out of Duluth. It can be difficult to find a well-made Belgian-style beer around town but this should be something special. Indeed’s head brewer Josh Bischoff has been heavily influence by the Hoops brothers (he worked under Mike at Town Hall Brewery) and this sort of a project seemed like a no-brainer. “The Hoops brothers have always had a strong influence in my brewing career, and with the announcement of Hoops Brewing opening this year, a collaboration seemed like a fun way to work with an early mentor” according to Bischoff. Hoops brewing is set to open this spring/summer.

Dreamyard from Modist Brewing Company – If you tried Deviation #2, this is the finished version of that beer. Plenty of hops are used to make this beer but it’s not super bitter. This actually tastes sort of like a IPA/mimosa hybrid. Lots of orange juice flavor in this beer.

Kolsch from Waconia Brewing Company – This beer is made with continental pilsner malt and will be a great in between beer at Winterfest. It’s lower on the ABV chart than most (5%) so you can go back for this one multiple times.

Town Hall Brewery Barrel-Aged Week Preview

By on February 16, 2017in Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery

Barrel-aged beers are trending in Minnesota and across the country. Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery has always been ahead of the trends here in Minnesota winning a gold medal in 2001 at The Great American Beer Festival for their Russian Imperial Stout, Czar Jack.

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery is celebrating Barrel-Aged Week beginning on Sunday, February 19th at 10 am with the pre-sale of 750 ml growlers. This means that you will wait in line to get tickets which will allow you to return to the brewery the day that beer is released and pick up your growler. There will be new beers released every day of the week beginning with the Foolish Angel Series.

Barrel Selection:
The art of barrel-aging beers begins with the barrel selection process. Head brewer Mike Hoops heads down to Kentucky every year to select the whiskey barrels that he will use to concoct many of these beers. There are a multitude of factors that go into choosing the correct barrels. Most bourbon barrels are made out of white oak from the southern portion of the United States. The barrels are then “charred” which mellows the tannins found in the wood and acts as sort of a carbon filter. This will contribute to the flavor of the whiskey, and afterwards the beer stored in the barrel.

According to Town Hall head brewer Mike Hoops the barrels are an ingredient just like hops and grain. The base beer can be the same every year, but the beer will come out a little different each time. “Barrels are harder and harder to get now” says Hoops. Back in the year 2000 (the first year that he made Czar Jack) he was able to purchase that barrel from the Jack Daniels General Store. “We paid $45 for that first barrel, and $75 to ship it” he said chuckling.

One of the biggest factors is the level of humidity in the space where the barrel is stored. This often means that barrels that are stored higher up in the warehouse could be considered more desirable. Barometric pressure causes the bourbon (during first use) to penetrate deeper into the staves which creates the ideal vessel for imparting flavor into the beer during the barrel-aging process. Hoops wouldn’t elaborate on the extent of his standards but it was clear in speaking with him that the level of char, and the depth that the whiskey penetrates the staves are important in this process.

Manhattan Reserve is one of the best barrel-aged beers made at Town Hall. The story behind it is just as interesting. Hoops’ father-in-law loves a good Manhattan cocktail. Mike wanted to create those flavors in a beer and gave it a whirl. The result is nothing short of spectacular. This beer starts out as a Grand Cru on red tart cherries, and is then stored in Woodford Reserve bourbon whiskey barrels for a number of months.

This is the best event put on the brewery all year so you don’t want to miss out. For the full schedule of releases, see below:

Barrel Aged Week Release Schedule 2017:

Sunday, February 19th | 10am

750ml Growler Pre-Sale | If you’re looking to take home this year’s barrel-aged releases, this is your chance! Tickets go on sale at 10am; beers can be picked up once they are released on tap.

Monday, February 20th | 5pm

  • Foolish Red | Belgian-style Quadrupel aged in French oak red wine barrels.
  • Foolish Angel | Belgian-style Quadrupel aged in bourbon barrels.
  • Single Barrel Reserve Foolish Angel | A very special single-barrel offering.

Tuesday, February 21st | 5pm

  • Manhattan Reserve | Belgian-style Grand Cru with red tart cherries, aged in bourbon barrels.

Wednesday, February 22nd | 5pm

  • Twisted Trace | American Barleywine aged in bourbon barrels.
  • E.T. Wee | Scottish-style Wee Heavy aged in bourbon barrels.

Thursday, February 23rd | 5pm

  • Eye Wine Red | Minnesota Honey Ale aged in French oak red wine barrels.
  • Eye Wine White | Minnesota Honey Ale aged in American chardonnay barrels.
  • Le Baltique | Baltic Porter aged in French oak red wine barrels.

Friday, February 24th | 5pm

  • Project 3106 | Belgian-style Strong Brown Ale with kumquat and chocolate, aged in bourbon barrels.
  • Buffalo Bock | German-style Weizenbock aged in bourbon barrels.

Saturday, February 25th | 11am

  • Czar Jack | The grandaddy of them all. Russian Imperial Stout aged in Tennessee whiskey barrels.

Got the Winter Blues? Modist Has You Covered

By on February 8, 2017in cooking & food, food pairing, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, Modist Brewing, new beer, tap rooms

Summer festival season is still months away and the Modist crew wants to fill the void on February 18 from 5 pm until 10 pm with music, food, and beer. They’re partnering with ZZQ Smokehouse and Genius of Fun Promotions for the event which will feature music from Hurricane Harold & Doug Otto, Brothers Band, Black River Review, and Jorgensen Tagg Band.

Tickets will cost $39 and include:

3 pints of beer (see list below)
2 BBQ (pulled pork or chicken) sliders and a side (potato salad or coleslaw)
Live music
Specialty beers
Discounted room rate ($149) at Hewing Hotel

Modist will be serving their flagships TOATS, Smoove, Wasteland, pHresh, and First Call—as well as something from their Deviation Series and several specialty beers. Additional food and beer will be available for purchase at the event.

Cheers!

New Breweries to Look Forward to in 2017

By on January 22, 2017in breweries, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, new beer, tap rooms

This is going to be very good year for new breweries here in Minnesota with many set to open this spring. The latest wave of brewery openings have been fairly disappointing but there is reason for optimism this year. Here are a few of the highlights to consider.

Barrel Theory – This highly anticipated brewery is set to open in Lowertown right next to Dark Horse. Brett Splinter and Timmy Johnson both formerly of Surly are looking to introduce some interesting barrel-aged offerings east of the river. Quality beer is going to be the theme here and given their experience, we should be very excited. Expect some very big beers and plenty of barrel-aged sours to come out of this space.

Oakhold Farmhouse Brewery – You know those fantastic sours that have been coming out of Fair State? Yeah, the owners of Oakhold are behind many of those and they are planning to open a farmhouse brewery out of Midway Township near Duluth, Minnesota. Expect some fantastic mixed culture sours along with some traditional farmhouse beers similar to those found over in Belgium or France.

Hoops Brewing – Canal Park has long been a popular tourist spot in one of the most picturesque cities in Minnesota. Soon it will be home to Hoops Brewing, headed up by the man (Dave Hoops) who put Duluth on the beer map while he was with Fitger’s Brewhouse. Now his team will be led by former Fitger’s Brewhouse brewer Melissa Rainville—who I’m told will be tasked with developing many of the recipes for their lineup. Expect a taproom that will welcome anyone including hockey fans, a group that Dave feels very much a part of. They will create a solid lineup of flagship offerings and will proudly feature a barrel-aged program that is certain to please even the most discerning palate.

Star Keller – We’ve been waiting for far too long for this place to open. Jace Marti (from Schell’s Brewing) has been concocting recipes and plans to make more of those fantastic Berliner Weiss beers in the Noble Star collection, as well as a variety of blended mixed culture sours, and even a Flanders Red Style. My biggest concern about the Star Keller is the location. Here’s to hoping that New Ulm embraces having an all sour taproom in town.

Most of these breweries are expecting to open this spring, but I’d expect Oakhold to take a little while longer with a late 2017 opening date.

Cheers!