Category: breweries

Fair State Big Bottle Drop Saturday

By on January 27, 2017in Fair State Brewing, new beer

Photo courtesy of Fair State Brewing Cooperative

If you are a fan of sour beer, you may want to sit up and pay attention. It’s Friday. Perhaps you’ve just returned from a long lunch and plan to sit your ass down and argue the finer points of presidential politics in the comment section of your favorite news source. Stop it.

Put down the keyboard TRVMPLVR52 and NOTMYPRZ69. I have something you can agree upon.

On Saturday, January 28th (i.e. “this” Saturday), our friends at Fair State Brewing Cooperative are making three great sour beer available in bottles, including a personal favorite from last year’s Winterfest, Raspberry Roselle. Fair State has been making some amazing sour beer since their inception and these three will no doubt continue in this fine tradition.

The beers:

 

U-Pick – available on draft now

We went berry pickin’ with co-op owners, workers, and friends in August, and 280 pounds of raspberries later, this beer is the result. We added the fresh berries to mature barrel-fermented sour beer and allowed it to re-ferment.

IBU: 23, ABV: 5.5

Bricoleur #4 – available on draft 1.19

The fourth in the popular series, Bric 4 is an 80% stainless fermented mixed culture Saison, 20% barrel-fermented mixed culture sour blend, dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc. We’ve been working on blending young Brett. beer with mature barrel sour beer. The result is a tart, funky original with a hoppy nose.

IBU: 18. ABV: 4.9

Raspberry Roselle – available on draft 1.26 (Taproom), first off-site tap 1.27 (Republic)

The return of the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild 2016 Winterfest (Friday session) Best Beer-winner. We re-fermented Roselle, our canned hibiscus sour saison, with a whole bunch of raspberries. The result is a fruit-forward, rose-hued beer that’s distinctly juicy and dry.

IBU: 10, ABV: 5.8

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!

Growler Gala #2: Roosevelt High School Theater Fundraiser

By on January 20, 2017in breweries, charity, general beer, MN

Next Thursday, the Advocates of Roosevelt Theater Arts will be hosting the second annual Growler Gala event at The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge from 7 until 11 pm. The event is open to ticket holders who are 21 and older and will feature, beer, music, a growler cake walk, and a silent auction.

The goal of the event is to raise enough money so that the program can produce a spring musical. Last year was a huge success and they are expecting even bigger things this year. Growlers have been donated by local breweries and the music lineup for the evening will include Rocket Appliances, Grammar, and the Betsie’s.

Get out and support local high school theater and bring some friends with. It’s certain to be a good time. Tickets to the event can be purchased here for $15, or at the door for $18.

When:

Thursday, January 26th from 7 – 11 pm

Where:

The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge

3010 Minnehaha Ave.

Minneapolis, MN 55406

What to bring:

Dancing shoes, money, your thirsty friends

Cheers!

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!

 

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.