Category: general beer

Friday 5ive: MNBeer Musicians

I’m coming off of a looooong Thursday and Friday setting up an event for my day gig, so we’ll keep this brief. My original intention was to throw together a craft beer supergroup, but I just wasn’t happy with how it was coming together, so instead, I give you music (past and present) from 5ive folks involved in the Minnesota craft beer world. There are quite a few options… here are a few… see what you think…

When Something Fails – Garth Blomberg. He played a graphic designer at Northern Brewer on TV.


Kruddler – Tony Zaccardi. Your favorite bartender from Grumpy’s NE.


Dillinger 4. Erik owns the Triple Rock Social Club, and there’s a good chance that Paddy and/or Billy has poured you a drink at Grumpy’s or the Triple Rock or Muddy Waters… or…

Powermad – Todd Haug. Have you ever seen the Surly brewmaster without a beard? Here’s your chance.


The Gleam – Ben Smith. Another Surly fellow, another music genre. Ben played drums with The Gleam.

Beer Dabbler Store 2nd Anniversary Sale

The Beer Dabbler Store celebrated its 2nd Anniversary in September, and now they’re hosting a tent sale to celebrate! Coinciding with the St. Paul Art Crawl, and held at our store just down the road from the Schmidt Brewery, the Tent Sale is sure to have something for every craft beer lover. Discounts start at 30%, and sale items include:

  • Apparel
  • Accessories
  • Books
  • Glassware
  • Gifts
  • and much more!

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A Few New Chop & Brew

We’ve fallen a bit behind on posting new Chop & Brew episodes — so here’s a quick update for the homebrewers out there!

Episode 28 “AHA Wort Rally Beer Tasting Notes” features a taste panel on four very different beers made from the same Double Black IPA wort donated to homebrewers by Lucid Brewing Company at this year’s AHA Wort Rally. See how much impact the changes in dry hopping and yeast made to the beers.

Episode 29 “Bad Ass Barrelfied Imperial Porter” finds the krewe of Chop & Brew homebrewing a wicked Imperial Porter and conditioning half of the batch in a recently-emptied Woodinville Whiskey Company rye whiskey barrel. Tasting notes and discussion includes advice on barrel-aging in second-use barrels.

Episode 30 “Rhubarb Saison” features a homebrewed saison that includes four pounds of rhubarb throughout the brewing and fermentation stages for a dry, tart saison.

Chop & Brew #26: 2014 BJCP Style Guidelines

Chop & Brew coming through with some breaking news that affects all homebrewers, beer judges, competition organizers, and other beer-related hobbyists/professions. This C&B video features Gordon Strong, president of the Beer Judge Certification Program, updating the 2014 BJCP Style Guidelines last weekend at the 2014 National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Public feedback will be taken on the new proposed guidelines when they are released at the BJCP website and forum. What are your thoughts on these new ideas?

Tin Whiskers Grand Opening – June 5th

George, Jake, Jeff (courtesy Tin Whiskers Brewing Co.)

After a soft opening in May, Jeff, George and Jake at Tin Whiskers are ready to host a Grand Opening celebration this Thursday June 5th.  Join Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman for the ribbon-cutting at 4:00, then take in the sounds of the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band while you sample some new brews with a chance to win some merchandise.

As Minnesota’s open-source brewery (their recipes and how-to’s are available on their website, twbrewing.com) they’re encouraging interaction and interpretations on their processes, so be a participant and help them kick off of their contribution to downtown Saint Paul.

Tin Whiskers Brewing Co.

125 E 9th St.

St Paul, MN 55101

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