Category: breweries

Minnesota Beer Industry Loses a Great Friend and Ambassador

“What do you think of the beer?” That was a phrase I was used to hearing from one of the biggest supporters of Bad Weather Brewing and the local beer scene in general. This was Greg Carpenter, father of Zac, who is one of the founders of Bad Weather Brewing. His smile was infectious and his passion for all things beer was enormous.

Sadly Greg passed away last Tuesday leaving heavy hearts around the brewery and the industry. There are so many interactions that we’d had that I’ll never forget. One of my favorites was at an arcade event held at the brewery last summer. Bad Weather had just released their first Helles Lager. We talked about this style of beer which we agreed was underrepresented here in the Twin Cities and how brewer Andy Ruhland had done such a great job executing this. He was so proud to talk about the brewery that he helped bring to life from the ground up.

Greg always supported my writing and genuinely cared about what was going on in the beer world. For that, I am forever grateful. I’m proud to have called him a friend and my love and condolences go out to Zac and the Bad Weather Brewing family.

Godspeed. 

2017: 30+ New Breweries

Ashby Brewing Co. – photo courtesy of their Facebook page.

This MinnPost article reminded me that I need to update my database… badly. I won’t make (many) excuses. MNBeer is largely a one-person show, with some awesome contributors that ring in here and there to help me keep my shit together. (Thanks Ryan, David & Jeremy.) In the last year-and-a-half my family moved twice, sold a house, bought a house, said goodbye to the Twin Cities and a very cool job at BSG in Shakopee. Life happens, right?

Though our brewery listing needs an update, I compiled a list of 34 (?) new breweries that arrived on the scene in 2017. True to the article linked above, more than half of these breweries have landed outside of the Twin Cities and its suburbs, gracing cities like Grand Rapids, Pine City and Ashby with their first breweries in recent times. Bubble? I’m not holding my breath. In 2017, 3 breweries officially closed up shop – South Fork, Wenonah, and Sidhe, though the latter had planned to re-emerge as Culhane Brewing in St. Paul’s former Station 4 building.

Here’s our big list of breweries that opened in 2017. As always, we consider a brewery “open” when then can legally put a beer in my hand, not the year that they printed their first t-shirt. 🙂 Corrections/additions/subtractions in the comments.

  1. 12welve Eyes (St. Paul)
  2. 14 Lakes Brewery (Crosslake)
  3. Alloy Brewing (Coon Rapids)
  4. Ashby Brewing (Ashby, duh.)
  5. Back Channel Brewing (Sprint Park)
  6. Barrel Theory (St. Paul)
  7. BlackStack (St. Paul)
  8. Broken Clock (Minneapolis)
  9. Chapel Brewing (Dundas)
  10. Cuyuna (Crosby)
  11. Giesenbräu (New Prague)
  12. Headflyer Brewing (Minneapolis)
  13. Imminent Brewing (Northfield)
  14. Hoops Brewing (Duluth)
  15. Island City (Winona)
  16. Karst (Fountain)
  17. Klockow Brewing (Grand Rapids)
  18. Loony’s Brew (Rainier)
  19. Portage Brewing (Walker)
  20. Pryes Brewing (Minneapolis)
  21. Revelation Aleworks (Hallock)
  22. Roets Jordan Brewery (Jordan)
  23. Roma Restaurant & Brewery (Willernie)
  24. Shakopee Brewhall (Shakopee)
  25. Starkeller Brewery (New Ulm)
  26. Starry EyedBrewing (Little Falls)
  27. Tanzenwald Brewery (Northfield)
  28. Three Twenty Brewing (Pine City)
  29. Union 32 Crafthouse (Eagan)
  30. Unmapped (Minnetonka)
  31. Utepils (Minneapolis)
  32. Venn Brewing (Minneapolis)
  33. Waldmann Brewery (St. Paul)
  34. Ward House Brewery (Waseca)

Ale Asylum MN Launch

In 2012 we dropped a hint to Madison’s Ale Asylum that maybe they ought to look westward for expansion. Clearly they got the message and have dutifully spent the past five years planning, toiling and experimenting on the willing subjects of Wisconsin just to perfect their beers before their Minnesota release. What an honor. Thanks, guys.

In celebration of the border jump they’ve scheduled a series of events culminating on Friday at Republic in Minneapolis where, starting at 6:00, they’ll tap five of their standard beers along with a pair of rare, barrel-aged ones. Get there early and be rewarded with commemorative glassware. BONUS: the patio will be open and heated so bring your toques and mittens to celebrate outside.

Cheers!

Ale Asylum MN Launch Week
12/13 – Ox Cart Ale House, St. Paul, 6-9pm
12/14 – The Happy Gnome, St. Paul, 4-7pm
12/14 – Kelly’s Tap House & Grill, Red Wing, 5-7pm
12/15 – Republic, Mpls, 6-8pm

Duluth’s Bent Paddle Brewing Co. is building a new taproom

Cool news out of Duluth today – our friend at Bent Paddle Brewing Company have announced plans to relocate their taproom to a larger historic space adjacent to their main production brewery and current taproom. Bent Paddle expects the new taproom to open in early 2018. In addition to the larger space, the taproom will also feature a 7bbl pilot brewing system, an event space, bar games, fireplace gathering area, performance area, retail shop, kids’ nook area, and pet-friendly patio.

 

Construction began in November 2017 and will continue into early 2018 with an official opening date of the new taproom to be announced in early 2018. We can’t wait!

Lift Bridge Commander Barleywine Release Party Saturday

Our Friends at Lift Bridge are having a party this Saturday from noon to 10pm. Their seasonal Barleywine, Commander, makes its appearance at the brewery this weekend along with food, prizes and other merriment.
– Commander Mustache Contest and Hairy Chest Contest at 5:45 w/ prizes from Man Cave Precision Hair
– Live Music
– Giant Turkey Legs and other tasty items available for purchase from Big Guy’s BBQ
-Lift Bridge Beer (and root beer)
-Event tickets are $7 and include a beer tooken or 2 root beer tickets.
Commander Barleywine is an English-Style Barleywine ale brewed a ton of malt and a little bit of cardamom, then aged in  bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distillery in Kentucky. At 12.5% ABV, you may want to kick back and savor this beer. Maybe. 
Bottles of Commander Barleywine can be pre-ordered right here (limit of 6 per person). You can also use the link to pre-order tickets and/or buy a 5 year vertical (2012-2016) of Commander Barleywine (!). I’d suggest you do it now. Bottles are $18 each after November 10th.

Music Lineup: 
1:30-3:15 Buster Phelan

3:45-5:30 Thick & Tasty
6:00-7:30 Apollo Cobra
8:00-9:30 Candy Shop

*Note that the event is all-ages until 7pm.

Lift Bridge Brewery, 1900 Tower Drive, Stillwater, MN