Category: general beer

Eastlake Collaborates with Du Nord for The Long Goodbye

By on August 17, 2016in Eastlake Brewery & Taproom, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer

The folks over at Eastlake decided to take inspiration from the Gin Gimlet in creating the latest (#10) sour in their Kirby Pucker Series. To do this they teamed up with Du Nord Craft Spirits—known for their Fitzgerald Gin and also located in south Minneapolis. Gin botanicals from the distillery along with lime zest were used in this beer that they are calling The Long Goodbye.

This is an homage to Raymond Chandler who is famous for writing the novel which claimed gin as the only spirit to use for a Gimlet back in 1953. The Kirby Pucker Series has been a hit around the Midtown Global Market taproom where they’ve utilized interesting ingredients such as beets, yellow birch, ginger, basil among others.

The beer is now available in the taproom and will hit store shelves in 750 ml bottles later this week. It should be a solid patio beer for the final days of summer.

Cheers!

Bauhaus Bringing a Taste of Kentucky to US Bank Stadium

By on August 8, 2016in Bauhaus Brewlabs, breweries, cooking & food, food pairing, general beer, hops, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer

Bauhaus is teaming up with Revival to bring a taste of the south to US Bank Stadium this fall in the form of a beer called Slawhammer—a Kentucky Common Style Ale. Matt Schwandt who is the President and head brewer at Bauhaus spent some time living down in Nashville and was excited to work with Revival on this beer which will also be featured at their restaurants. “When I lived in Nashville, I learned that there are really only two beverage options for Tennessee hot chicken: sweet tea or a cold beer. So we figured, why not marry those ideas” he says.

Kentucky Common Style Ales were brewed pre-prohibition and they were  popular in that region of the country. They were also cheaper than other styles being sold in and around Kentucky during that time period, sometimes selling for half the cost of other varieties such as Stock Ale.

The Bauhaus version will have some citrus and black tea notes from the hops that were used in the brewing process. It’s extremely drinkable at 4.8 % ABV and should pair nicely with that phenomenal chicken sandwich offered at the stadium.

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Nick Rancone who is a co-owner of Revival was happy to align with Bauhaus due to the product they put out, and their similar values. “We are thrilled about the partnership. Revival is all about tradition and modernity, and that is the same way we view Bauhaus. It’s so important to align with people that you respect and adore, and share values with, and it was most excellent that this collaboration came to fruition in the way that it did. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner” says Rancone.

Look for this beer to debut at US Bank Stadium in 16 oz. cans on August 10th, and on tap at The Revival/Corner Table family of restaurants in the Twin Cities in the following weeks.

Cheers!

Insight Dedicates a Day to the Saison

By on July 26, 2016in Beer Ingredients, breweries, cask beer, general beer, history, misc. mn beer, MN, new beer, tap rooms

Insight co-founder and head brewer llan Klages-Mundt is a very interesting guy. Spend five minutes with him and you’ll gather that he’s big on doing things the right way. In fact, he’s spent plenty of time over in Europe seeing how they do things in countries such as England, Denmark, France, and Belgium. So it’s no surprise that he’s a fan of making beers rooted in those regions. “Every time you go somewhere, you know you’re going to take something back with you. You don’t always know what that is” says Ilan.

It’s no coincidence that he’s a fan of the Saison which was originally a farmhouse style beer brewed during the winter months in the Belgian countryside. “I like that guidelines for the style are so wide. It’s like the Sauvignon Blanc of beer. You can sour them, or add fruit and spices” he says.

This year Insight is dedicating an entire day to it. The date is Saturday, July 30th from noon until 10 pm at the brewery. The plan is to release and showcase their stellar iteration of the Saison style they call Doe Eyes. This ruby red colored beer is packed with cherries and is refreshingly tart with a dry finish. This is always one of their most popular beers at festivals and with good reason — it’s one of the best made fruit beers in town. He tells us that there are about 1 lb of cherries in a pint. In fact they sourced about 15,000 lbs for the entire batch.

Also being featured at the event will be a Blackberry Saison (Lost Satyr) and Raspberry Saison (Frugivorous) to go along with a list of cask releases. Bottles (750 ml) of Doe Eyes, Lost Satyr, and Frugivorous will be on sale for $15 each with a limit of 6 total. Casks will be released as listed below:

2:00 – Cucumber Saison
4:00 – Pineapple Saison
6:00 – Juniper Citrus Saison

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You can also expect a list of local 90s tribute bands:

1pm Lithium (Nirvana)
3pm Trompe le Monde (Pixies)
5pm Muzzle – A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins
7pm Pleezer (Weezer)
9pm Alive-Tribute to Pearl Jam

Food trucks on site include:

El Taco Riendo, Peeps Hot Box, and O’Neil’s Cheese Curds.
Basically if you’re a fan of beer, you should swing in and find out what Ilan has learned since his trip to Belgium. For as Ilan says “You can never learn enough.”

Cheers!

Places and Events to Check out Over All Pints North Weekend

By on July 21, 2016in 612 Brew, August Schell Brewing Co., Bauhaus Brewlabs, beer events, Bent Paddle Brewing Co., breweries, Dangerous Man Brewing Co., Fair State Brewing, Fitger's Brewhouse, Fulton Brewing Co., general beer, Indeed Brewing Co., misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, Surly Brewing Co., Tycoons

All Pints North is one of the best beer fests held here in Minnesota for a few reasons. The first reason is that Duluth is one of the most picturesque cities in all of Minnesota, and there isn’t a better city to host such an event. The second reason is that Duluth is home to my favorite bar scene, partially due to all of the music that takes place on stages big and small across town. The third reason is that the beers that breweries bring to this event are some of the best being made here locally.

While the main event is always going to be the beer festival, you owe it to yourself to make a weekend out of it and check out the town on Friday. If you see me around, be sure to say hello. I’ve highlighted some of the events going on the night before the big event.
All Pints Eve Hootenanny at Bent Paddle – This event starts at 2 pm on Friday and will feature some rare beers which will of course include Double Shot Double Black. There will be a happy hour (3-5 pm) with 90.9 The Current which will be followed by bands from 7-11 pm.

Fulton Beer Presents This is a Cool Party at Pizza Lucé Duluth – Admission to this event (9:30 pm until midnight) is free and it will feature the bands Reflectivore and Dem Atlas. Grab a few beers and some pizza and prepare to party.

All Pints Eve at Sir Ben’s Tavern on the Lake – Live music, a restaurant pop up, and special tapping highlight this event on Friday from 4 – 9 pm. Beers from NorthGate, Bauhaus, Surly, Indeed, Castle Danger, Schell’s, Fair State, Dangerous Man, 612Brew, Beaver Island, and Bent Paddle will all be available for purchase. There will also be games and a kombucha station.

The Rathskeller at Tycoon’s – It’s no secret that this basement hangout is the place to be over the weekend. The Rathskeller is where people in the beer community hang and with good reason. The beer selection is top notch, and the whiskey is some of the best you’ll find around town. One thing to note is that the fire code dictates that only a certain number of people can be down there (it’s in the basement of Tycoon’s) so you may have to wait in a line to get in.

Places to eat over the weekend include Duluth Grill (fantastic breakfast), Northern Waters Smokehaus, Fitger’s Brewhouse, New Scenic Café, Tycoon’s, and Taste of Saigon.

And finally some pro advice: Don’t overdo it on Friday night or Saturday might be daunting. I’ve done this a few times. Perhaps I’ll never learn…

Cheers!

Republic Obtains Off-Site Liquor Catering License

By on July 15, 2016in general beer

Have you ever wanted to host a fully catered party that featured a keg from a local brewery? Look no further than the crew behind Republic. Essentially you can now hire them to come out (via the Red River Kitchen food truck and their new tap truck) and provide everything from sandwiches to beer.

According to co-owner of Republic Matty O’Reilly, they are picking up the truck this weekend and should have it ready to go by August for full service catering. “We were getting calls on this for a while. We saw folks with makeshift bars and I was like I wish we would have known. We are already doing the catering” says O’Reilly.

This idea had been floating around for a while but they couldn’t justify it until this year. “We just couldn’t wrap our head around the fees initially, now it’s the next layer of potential for us” according to Matty.

The fun part is that it’s not just limited to beer. As long as the city knows and the correct paperwork is filled out, they could even bring a full bar if the customer wants that.

“We can do art openings, weddings, and all of that” he says. Consider it Republic’s way of staying creative.

Cheers!