Author: Ryan Tuenge

A Sneak Peek at the Winter Dabbler Lineup

By on January 5, 2017in beer events, breweries

One of the longest running (8 years) winter beer fests in Minnesota is set to take place on February 4th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Tickets are on sale for $45 in advance, or $55 at the door. The event kicks off at 2:30 pm and ends at 6:30 pm. The Winter Dabbler promises some unique offerings from reputable breweries and new breweries alike. We dove in and found some that should be worth checking out.

Twisted Zweig from Forager Brewing – The version they offered with currants late last summer was one of our favorite beers of 2016. A fantastic version of a Berliner Weiss from the folks in Rochester.

Driftless Dry from Wyndfall Cider – Cider is a beautiful thing, especially when it’s made right. The folks at Wyndfall are very passionate about their products, and a super dry cider made from heirloom apples sounds pretty fantastic.

Winter Flannel from Lucette Brewing – A winter warmer made with chocolate malt. These are typically malt forward and full of flavor. A classic choice for an outdoor event in January.

Salted Caramel Quadrupel from Birch’s on the Lake – It’s hard to find a well-made Belgian here in Minnesota, but when your brewer comes from Schlafly in St. Louis it carries weight. Expect this to be a big beer, rich red or even brown in color, and high in alcohol content but heavy on flavor. This one ought to warm anyone up.

Tuque Black Saison with Juniper Berries from Fair State Brewing Cooperative – What doesn’t Fair State do well? Expect more of the same with this Saison featuring the key ingredient in gin, juniper berries.

Calamity Russian Imperial Stout from Bad Weather Brewing – Andy Ruhland is running a great brewing program over on West 7th, and this chocolate forward Russian Imperial Stout should be sought out by fest goers. Originally released in their taproom in late October, this beer is designed to get you through winter. But be careful, this will sneak up on you.

Last Fathom Dark Lager from Lake Monster Brewing – This looks to be another somewhat sessionable go-to weighing in at only 5.5% ABV. We’re suckers for a good Dunkel, and this one features wild rice and is low on the bitterness.

Golden Nugget from Toppling Goliath Brewing – This hop heavy beer features Golden Promise malt (a favorite for showcasing hops) along with the classic hop variety know as Nugget. Nugget hops tend to have earthy/herbal tones and serve as great bittering hops. IPA lovers rejoice!

Warm Beer with Mulled Spices from Olvalde – If you haven’t tried any of the offerings from Joe Pond and his brewery based in Rollingstone, MN—you’re really missing out. This small operation puts out fantastic beer made with ingredients found on his farm. This warm beer will serve as a nice change of pace and should warm you up from the inside-out.

Cheers!

 

Looking Ahead to 2017

By on December 29, 2016in general beer

2016 was the year that proved that we in this country are more divided than we’ve been in a long time, but we’re not here to talk about that. Beer brings people together, and hopefully we can all mend our differences over a couple pints and show some love for one another. 2017 will be an interesting year here in our growing beer scene, and here are some predictions for the year ahead.

Barrel Theory, Wild Minds, Star Keller, and Oakhold Farmhouse will change the way we think about sour beers. In years past, Fair State, Surly, and Indeed were setting trends locally with fun sour offerings that invited our palates to a new world of beer. Now we’re starting to see breweries open that are focusing solely on these styles, and their brewers have some experience playing with bacteria. If we’re lucky, we might just have something similar to Rare Barrel or Jester King right in our back yard.

Old World beer styles are going to start showing up in taprooms across the state. Braggots, Pilsners, Lambics, and Farmhouse Ales celebrate the culture of those who came before us in far away lands. For example, a certain local brewing legend just made a Braggot with the folks over at Badger Hill in hopes of drawing attention to the local bee population and the importance of pollination. Look for more of this.

Breweries will start utilizing more local ingredients (Insight’s cherry beer Doe Eyes comes to mind) in their beers, similar to what Joe Pond is doing down at Olvalde. Look for things like mushrooms, wild rice, herbs, flowers, berries, spruce and just about anything that can be grown here locally. Local hops are also picking up steam thanks in part to the processing facility that Mighty Axe Hops is building near St. Cloud.

We want more Idaho 7 beers! (Image: BSG)

Single hop beers will be making their way onto draft lines as more experimental hops are being introduced into the market. These beers are typically made with a single malt and a single hop in order to showcase the flavor profiles of each ingredient. You’ll also begin to notice that many of these beers are not bitter but they are very heavy on citrus/melon/berry flavors. Breweries such as Town Hall Brewery, Dangerous Man, and Bad Weather have all been making these already.

Tickets to beer fests will no longer be hard to get. It’s not that people are turning their backs on beer, but with so much going on around town, it’s hard to convince people to go to a beer fest they’ve been to 5 years in a row. Attendance is still strong, but the tickets just aren’t selling out anymore.

Bring on 2017.

 

Steel Toe Brewer’s Evolution Series Takes Flight

By on December 23, 2016in general beer

Michael Wagner was hired on at Steel Toe Brewing a couple of years ago to help brew their familiar lineup of beers including Size 7, Provider, Rainmaker, and Dissent—along with some of their special beers like Wee Heavy, Lunker, Before the Dawn, Size 11, and Sticker Fight. Now after completing brewing school, and with some experience—he’s running a new program at the 5 year old brewery called the Brewer’s Evolution Series.This series will focus on historically significant styles and will mostly be taproom exclusives.

First up was an American Pale Ale that utilized English malts and American hops, was copper in color, and weighed in at 5.5% ABV. That beer went pretty quick and next up is an English Brown Porter that should show up early next week.

“The series will continue, and almost act as a journey through classic styles, at least to start, that informed, educated, and started my path in first being a craft beer consumer, and now a professional brewer” says Wagner. “Some of the beers will have significant historical context, some will be based on seasonality of release or classic brewing calendar cravings, and some will be more outlandish, experimental and new.”

Stay tuned to their website and social media accounts for regular updates on their beer offerings including the popular Lunker release which will be happening soon.

Cheers!

Life After Todd Haug: Surly Moving Forward

By on December 15, 2016in Surly Brewing Co.

Authenticity. That’s the word being thrown around the Surly beer hall over in Prospect Park. They called a select group of media together to announce how they planned to replace their original brewer and trendsetter Todd Haug.

Ben Smith and Jerrod Johnson will carry the torch for the brewing team as co-head brewers, and they have plans to create more unique beers for the market and also to pair with the highly acclaimed food being served at The Brewer’s Table. In order to do this, they are starting a “Brewers Series” to showcase their unique talents. Ben has been there for over 3 years while Jerrod was employee #5 back in 2008. The first experiment will be a “champagne beer” created in cahoots with Jorge Guzman and his team for the New Years Eve Dinner which is being hosted by the restaurant. “Collaboration is the name of the game” says Smith. “We’ve always set trends. We make the beers we wanna make here.”

What about the image of the brewery going forward? Well Ben’s probably not gonna grow out his hair and cover himself in tattoos, but he’s also a metal head—and Jerrod is probably the brewing industry’s biggest Zelda geek. So probably more of the same, and somewhere in between. “We’re gonna continue to build this dysfunctional family. Change has been the only consistent thing here at Surly” says Johnson.

Something that was emphasized throughout the event (as they poured all four of their IPAs) was that they are not limited to making hop forward beers, but at the same time they won’t apologize for their love of hops.

Owner Omar Ansari also spoke about growth of the brewery and mentioned that they may one day go worldwide. “When we envision the growth, we want to continue to explore and create new beers. They’re [Ben and Jerrod] just as excited to try the new beers as others.”

Here’s to hoping for some Zelda themed beers.

MNBeer Holiday Gift Guide

By on December 6, 2016in Bauhaus Brewlabs, Dangerous Man Brewing Co., Junkyard Brewery, Modist Brewing, Sisyphus, Summit Brewing Co., Surly Brewing Co.

ba-dmThe holidays are right around the corner and we’ve got some gift ideas for you over here at MNBeer. With so many choices it can seem a bit overwhelming at times. That’s why we’ve got you covered.

Surly Brewer’s Table Gift Card – The accolades keep piling up for the Jorge Guzman run fine dining restaurant located upstairs at the Surly destination brewery. The food is phenomenal and the way they pair it with the beer is unlike any other experience in town. This is why Food and Wine Magazine named it one of the top 10 Restaurants of the Year and they were not alone. Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl also gave it high praise in her piece for Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine last spring. The gift card is available from $25 -$150.

Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild Ticket Pack – With over 100 brewery members, the guild is stronger than ever and the brewers often bring their best beers to these events. Winterfest is going to be at a new location this year (Target Field Legends Club) while the picturesque Bayfront Park in Duluth plays host to All Pints North in the summer. Autumn Brew Review serves as the finale and is held at the Grain Belt Brewery Complex in Northeast Minneapolis. If you have someone who loves local beer, this is the perfect gift pack ($300 includes 2 tickets to each event) for them.

Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest Tickets – What sets this beer fest apart from the others is that it features 30 breweries from here and around the country, and they bring beers that you may never see on local store shelves or on tap at the local breweries. The focus is on rare beers in an intimate setting with fantastic food included in the ticket price of $100. The Minnesota History Center is the perfect fit for this upscale event.

Hoodie and a Hat from Sociable Cider Werks – For $45 this is a great stocking stuffer. You choose a hat and a hooded sweatshirt, perfect for the cold Minnesota winter. Sociable Cider Werks specializes in apple graffes and their taproom is great place to check out music on the weekend and the fire pit is a great hangout on cold nights in the Twin Cities.

Crowlers from Dangerous Man, Bauhuas, Junkyard, Sisyphus, Sociable Cider Werks, and Modist – Let’s face it, beer is an affordable luxury and it makes the perfect gift. Stop in at any of these breweries and pick up a few crowlers. These 750 ml (size of a bottle of wine) cans of beer are perfect for the holiday dinner table or out back by the fire pit. They usually run anywhere from $7 – $10 each and are a great way to try beers from multiple breweries around town.

Dangerous Man Barrel-Aged Bombers – You know that delicious Peanut Butter Porter made by Dangerous Man in the Sheridan neighborhood? Yeah, they put that in Port wine barrels and aged it for months—and they’ll be releasing it on Saturday at the taproom. It’s gonna go very fast along with the Dopplebock (one of the best beers crafted by them) they aged in cedar rye whiskey barrels. The sale kicks off at noon and the bottles are priced at $20 each. Be sure to get there early if you want to pick these up. There will certainly be a line.