Category: brewpubs

Indeed Brewing/ Northbound Smokhouse Collaboration Beer Release

By on February 11, 2013in beer events, breweries, brewpubs
Indeed/Northbound Hot Box

Indeed/Northbound Hot Box

The collaborative beer is the is like the split 7″ of the punk rock world. That being said, perhaps I need to play my copy of the split from The Strike and Dillinger Four while I sample this particular beer.

Indeed Brewing Co. and Northbound Smokehouse have collaborated on a beer aptly named Hot Box, an Imperial Smoked Pepper Porter. Say that five times fast while listening to jam bands in the brewhouse! The recipe was designed by Smokehouse brewer and owner Jamie Robinson and Indeed head brewer Josh Bischoff and brewed at Indeed with malt and peppers smoked at Northbound.

You can get your hands on some starting at 3pm today (Monday) at Northbound Smokehouse or Thursday at Indeed. Limited bottles will be available for sale at Indeed as well.

Barrel Aged Week at Town Hall

By on February 7, 2013in beer events, brewpubs

Town Hall has a week filled with releases of barrel aged beers they’ve been working on for the past year. Stop in every day to taste the newest release and take your favorites home with you.

All releases will be at 5pm

Monday 2/18- Twisted Trace- Our Barrel Aged Barley Wine has never tasted so splendid. We changed to barrels from a different distilllery because we were unhappy with the performance from the barrels we used before. Wow, that was the correct decision.

Tuesday 2/19- Double Barrel Aged Jack Frost- This Imperial Stout was aged for one of our aging seasons (6-12 months) in a whiskey barrel and then moved into a French Oak red wine barrel fresh from California and aged for another season. Special Beer!

Wednesday 2/20- Manhattan Barrel- Production on this beer will be increased next year! We stopped at a distillery we had not yet used (that I believe has natural cherry character) for a prospect barrel. We aged our Grand Cru with tart cherries for many moons then added it to this fine bourbon barrel. Well my father in law introduced me to Manhattans (he does not use bitters) I think he would be proud of this Bourbon “Manhattan”.

Thursday 2/21- Buffalo Bock- The return of the bourbon aged Weizenbock from last year. This beer surprised the brewers and the customers the first time it was made. It really is nice.

Friday 2/22- Tumaltuous Rare- Our wheat wine aged in bourbon barrels. Nice and delicate, this one offers great toffee character.

Sat 2/23- Czar Jack- Russian style Imperial stout. Nice beer and for those of you that missed the coconut character that we usually get from the wood last year….it is back this year! (I missed it.)

These beers will be sold in growlers this year. They will all be available but only by tickets. Tickets go on sale this Sunday when we open (11am) prices will be $45 for Double Barrel, $40 for Manhattan Barrel, and $30 for the rest. You will be permitted to by up to one growler of each style while they last. Due to supply, we will sell only 30 Tumaluous Rare, Manhatten Barrel, and Double Barrel jack Frost, 60 Buffalo Bock, and 100 each of Twisted Trace and Czar Jack.

We anticipate 750ml bottles will return next year. We are purchasing some equipment for this purpose that has not arrived yet.

P.S. We also will be featuring a special menu for Valentine’s Day and will release a full batch Blackerry Belgian Bruin Feb 14th. Yep, growlers will be avaiable. Call down and get your reservation today.

Cheers,
Mike

Winterfest 2013

By on February 5, 2013in breweries, brewpubs
The very dapper Lift Bridge Brewing Co.

The very dapper Lift Bridge Brewing Co.

In a flurry of snow and icy temps Winterfest 2013 has come and gone. The Minnesota History Center played host to the annual festival put on by the MN Craft Brewer’s Guild on Friday February 1st in St. Paul. This event, while potentially prohibitive in cost for some, offered an intimate setting to sample craft brews from 38 of Minnesota’s great breweries.  This year showcased the staples of the MN breweries, and also welcomed a slew of new breweries.

Borealis Fermentery

Borealis Fermentery

As there were only 750 tickets sold, attendants were given the opportunity to talk with the brewers about their craft while sampling some tasty offerings without having to wait in lengthy lines.

Harriet Brewing

Harriet Brewing Co.

It would be impractical to list all the great beers that were sampled, but some definitely stood out.  A smashing availability of winter seasonals were on display but that wasn’t the only thing on tap.  A few personal favorites were Bemidji Brewing Co’s Sour Red, Fitger’s barrel aged Edmund Bourbon Imperial Stout, Fulton’s Double IPA, Lift Bridge’s Silhouette, Borealis’ Homdinger and of course all the new breweries representing Nordeast Minneapolis.

The Snowshoe for Best of the Fest was again awarded for to Barley John’s Brew Pub for best beer as well as best brewery as voted by the crowd. Congratulations for consecutive years with the Snowshoe!

Thank you to the MN Craft Brewer’s Guild for putting on an impressive festival once again!  I’m sure many of the attendants woke up today thankful this only happens once a season.

Surly Brewing Co.

Surly Brewing Co.

Great Twin Ports Taste Together with Dropkick Murphys

By on January 30, 2013in beer events, breweries, brewpubs

We sort of missed the boat this year on this festival. By “sort of” I mean that it looks as if the regular tickets are all sold out, but there are still some hotel package options available as I write this, so without further ado…

Killer beer and an awesome band? Check! The Great Twin Ports Taste Together features four hours of great local and national breweries and wineries from the Duluth Superior area and beyond. Brewfest tickets also include free access to a concert by The Dropkick Murphys. Win-win. Music starts at 8:30pm.

More details here.