Category: general beer

Badger Hill Brewing and Valley Fair Team Up for High Roller Extra Park Ale

By on May 5, 2016in Badger Hill Brewing, breweries, cooking & food, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer, tap rooms

High roller tap handle

Valley Fair is turning 40 this year and they wanted to celebrate with a special beer offering at the park. The folks at Badger Hill met up with Valley Fair last month to come up with a beer (Extra Pale Ale) that will be available at 3 locations within the park. Those locations are Atomic Beer, Chickie’s and Pete’s, and Depot Refreshments.

The beer will be called High Roller Extra Park Ale and will also be available in the Badger Hill Taproom when the beer is officially released on Friday, May 13th. Oh, and the tap handles are made out of reclaimed wood from the famous High Roller ride that was built back in 1976. The beer checks in at 5.2% ABV and hits 43 on the IBU scale.

Who says that kids get to have all the fun?

Also, The Curious Goat’s little brother The Smoking Cow will be debuting at the Badger Hill Taproom tomorrow (Friday, May 5th) from 4:30 until 8 pm. Ian Gray and Kiri Anderson are the ones behind both of these trucks, and they are known for serving up some of the best locally sourced food around. Heads up: If there’s brisket on the menu, order that. You’ll thank me later.

Cheers!

Indeed Puckers Up with New Belgium on a Sour Ale

By on April 27, 2016in general beer, Indeed Brewing Co., misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer

Josh Indeed

Mention the name New Belgium to sour beer lovers and they will often tell you that La Folie (first brewed back in 1997) was their introduction to the style. Now veterans of brewing up these funky beverages, New Belgium is teaming up with Indeed to collaborate on a kettle-soured beer they are calling Strawberry Fields. It’s easy to see where the name comes from (the last collaboration was called Come Together) when you know the history of Indeed and head brewer Josh Bischoff’s love of 60s music.

The beer itself will be brewed right here in Minneapolis and it will be brewed with strawberries to compliment the Belma hops which already produce berry notes. The brew date happening this Friday will serve as a homecoming for New Belgium brewers Travis Burge and Matt Pollock. Pollock worked for Indeed before moving over to New Belgium and Burge is a Minnesota native. Pollock considers Bischoff his mentor and one can’t help but think this won’t be their last collaboration.

Distribution will be limited but the timing will be perfect with this release. A patio beer in May…sign me up.

Cheers!

Modist Brewing Looks to Push Boundaries in the North Loop

By on April 13, 2016in beer education, breweries, cooking & food, education, general beer, grand opening, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer

Modist4

It took a while, but Modist is looking to change the way we think about beer. First of all, founders Eric Paredes, Kale Anderson, Dan Wellendorf, John Donnelly, and Keigan Knee are all in on some state-of-the-art equipment that gives them efficiencies that other breweries just can’t achieve. “We’ve been able to reach 90 – 98% efficiency with our beers” says Paredes.

This is in reference to the fact that they “pulverize” their grain into a powder and filter it out afterwards rather than having to clean out the mash with a shovel. Essentially they run it through an expensive piece of filtering equipment which produces a cake of the unusable material.

Modist5

With the beer (reasonably priced at $3 for a tulip, and $5 for a 20 oz. pour) they hope to change the way we view beer. Paredes went on and on about how he wants people to see beer pair with food the same way that wine does. They aren’t big on making beers to fit into specific styles. Out of the gate they are pouring three beers, pHresh, TOATS, and Calibration Ale which are all very clean.

Modist1

PHresh is your sessionable patio beer. It’s described as “a refreshing tart beer” which it certainly will be. The initial batch didn’t quite reach the pH balance they were looking for so it’s not very tart out of the gate, but I’m told the next batch will be. “It’s super drinkable. A gateway sour beer” according to head brewer Keigan Knee.

Toats is my favorite of their initial offerings. People tend to think of robust and roasty Stouts, and a velvety mouthfeel with oat based beers. This one is clean, sessionable, and damn tasty with a citrus kick in the nose. A perfect example that the color your beer does not determine the bitterness, nor the alcohol content of your beverage.

Calibration is the first beer that they brewed on their new equipment. Years of homebrew experimentation inspired this one. This tasty sipper clocks in as their highest ABV offering yet at 5.9%. Once again, this is very drinkable and the Pilsner malt comes through nicely lending it a touch of sweetness.

The wait is over and Modist definitely lives up to the hype. With those prices, Twins fans are going to be very happy.

Grand Opening

Friday, April 15th 3:00 PM

Modist Brewing

505 N 3rd Street

Minneapolis, MN 55401

Cheers!

LTD and MN Beer Activists Team up with Adam Turman on Sunday Sales Beer

By on April 6, 2016in beer events, beer laws, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer, tap rooms

image000000

The fine folks at MN Beer Activists spent a rainy Tuesday over at LTD Brewing where they helped brew a beer they are calling Sunday Sales Pale Ale. Part of the proceeds will go to SundaySalesMN.org which is run by consumer activists.

The estimated release date is on Sunday, May 1st from 1 pm until 5 pm at LTD which is located in Hopkins. Adam Turman is the man behind the label and has long been an advocate for changing this law.

If you’d like to join the cause, sign the petition over at their website.

LTD Brewing
8 8th Ave. N.
Hopkins, MN 55343

Cheers!