In this episode of Chop & Brew, we hit the road from the Twin Cities to New York City for the NYC Homebrew Tour. The C&B crew join beer journalist Joshua M. Bernstein and dozens of beer tourists as they visit three homebrewers and their homebreweries in Brooklyn. Maybe some day soon, we’ll see soemthing like this in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area? Check out the Official Episode page at Chop & Brew’s website for information on the tour, three homebrew recipes, and C&B merch like t-shirts, stickers and ringtones.
Category: general beer
Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival – Recap
Ryan couldn’t go to the Beer Dabbler last Saturday, so I made it my duty to check in on the things he thought he’d miss out on.
Backpack full of cookies
The day turned into a blur. A cold, mumbling blur. I will not fault anyone with the event for the cold weather. It is winter in Minnesota, so prepare for it if you’re going to stand around outside. Everyone seemed to be dressed and prepared for the conditions – including the dude I sat next to on the bus ride there who wore a backpack full of home-baked cookies. I didn’t pack snacks, but I was ready.
Turns out I could have done more. It was damn cold.
Brewers who poured from bottles/cans clearly were feeling fortunate because they seemed to be the only ones able to reliably satisfy the masses. Excelsior Brewing – pouring from an insulated trailer – was also a hit. Not everyone’s lines froze, but more often than not we were met with an apologetic shrug and shake of the head from brewers’ booths. Space heaters, foam insulators and human ingenuity limped many of them along but weren’t enough to save them all from freezing over.
Being resourceful
I couldn’t sample everyone (who could?) so I tried to stick to new Dabblers and folks I hadn’t met yet. Hammerheart, with their immense barrel-aging capacity didn’t disappoint with no less than three barrel-aged beers. Blacklist Brewing out of Duluth was showcasing their collection of Belgians and the guys at Junkyard Brewing in Moorhead had some good beer and seemed to be the ones most genuinely happy to be there.
Any downtime I had was spent trying to clean out my frosty tasting glass or simply huddled next to someone’s fire, trying to warm up. It was difficult to enjoy, but I managed to do just that. The day after, though, presented a different challenge entirely.
That’s what Ryan did miss. And now, the 10 things he thought he’d miss:
1. Beer from newcomers Burning Brothers & Day Block Brewing
Couldn’t find Burning Brothers, which irked me because I pledged to myself I’d check them out for the sake of my GF friends. I did try Day Block. I think. Probably. Did I mention things turned into a blur?
2. The James Page folks & Oskar Blues folks duking it out over who really was the first craft brewery in cans
Oskar Blues clearly flexed their marketing muscle. I didn’t bother waiting in line. Given that I already think they’re ubiquitous and they’ve only just entered the market I don’t think they’re going to make it difficult for me to find their beer.
3. Sims
Probably performed. The stage was so far from the rest of the action (itself very spread out) I had little clue what was going on. The only thing I recall hearing from the stage was “This is definitely the most Minnesotan thing we’re ever going to do.”
Junkyard Booth
4. Random dudes wearing horse head mask(s)
Surprisingly none! Wise. Those things aren’t insulated and are a pain to drink from. A friend told me.
5. Beer from our friends in the plans of Fargo & Moorhead, Fargo Brewing Co. & Junkyard Brewing
I think Fargo had froze by the time I found them but Junkyard did not. They, along with Blacklist were my two most memorable, friendly stops. The cold didn’t seem to phase the folks from Moorhead & Duluth.
Yes, he biked there
6. Freezing dude in kilt.
I fully expected to see this, but did not. Clearly this dude, wherever he was, is not without logic.
7. Winchfest
This actually looked like a blast. It reminded my co-Dabbler of growing up near Green Bay where their idea of fun was throwing on skis and getting towed behind a Sixties-era Airens snowmobile.
8. NateDogs
ND: “You want the beer mustard?”
Me: “Yeah, in fact, just skip the dog and give me the mustard?”
9. Pelting intoxicated people with snowballs during the World’s Largest Snowball Fight
Did this even happen? Seriously, I had no clue where it was supposed to go down. Apparently there was a fee to participate as well? [Update: It happened. It was free. Sadly they didn’t break the record. Given the cold temperatures, a lack of participation isn’t a surprise. -RA]
10. Having a beer with you. Seriously.
Aww, shucks. I missed you too.
“By your powers combined…” Pour Decisions and Bent Brewstillery To Merge
Over the past several months, Bent Brewstillery and Pour Decisions Brewing Company have been working together more and more closely. Contract brewing in the spring led to brewing and distilling in the same space this summer and a relationship flourished. Well, after months of living together, one of them finally popped the question and the other said YES! The two are formally merging and re-opening as Bent Brewstillery at the Pour Decisions location in Roseville.
Kristen England of PDBC will retain the brewing reins and Bartley Blume, founder of Bent Brewstillery, will still distill. Their partnership will allow for a renovated and expanded taproom and increased production of Bent beers & booze as well as your favorites from PDBC. Michael Agnew at A Perfect Pint has an in-depth discussion with Blume about the changes here. Takeaway: Michael likes gin. No, he really likes gin.
Currently, Bent and Pour beers are both on tap and in stores, so don’t fret over finding them. If you’re looking to fill a growler, though, you’ll need a little patience, Axl Rose. The taproom which will be closed until the end of February to accommodate construction.
Hold your tears – the name may be going away, but the beers will be the same with Kris in charge. He’ll just be sporting a new kit, so to speak. So hold on to your PDBC growlers until they tell you otherwise and definitely hold on to that 750 of this year’s Maroon & Bold you just finished; that’s likely to be a collector’s item someday.
Here’s to the new partnership!
Follow their progress and look for updates from your favorite internet vantage point:
Bent Brewstillery on Facebook
@BentBrewstiller on Twitter
@BentBrewstillery on Instagram
Chop & Brew #17: Fresh Hop Tasting Notes
A bit late on this post. You know – holidays and life and all.
Chop & Brew rounds out the triology of homegrown hop episodes with this episode in which the krewe tastes the massively hop-backed / fresh-hopped beer homebrewed in Episode 14… with hops seen in their infancy in Episode 06. For links including the recipes discussed in this episode and Chop & Brew Logo T-Shirts, see this official episode page link. Or just watch in this handy-dandy YouTube viewer.
Fresh Hop Double Session IPA, anyone?
Beery Christmas to You And All That
Merry Xmas, Happy Holidays, etc., etc. dear readers! Christmas is a great time to share the gift of beer with loved ones, especially those uninitiated into the world of craft beer. So share your favorite winter warmer or special seasonal with family and friends this year and give the gift of great beer and great cheer.
Thank you all for another year of ridiculous traffic on the site. I still can’t believe this site gets thousands of unique visitors a day, but it does, and I’m thankful for all of you! You’re the ones that drive the site and make it all worth doing. Thanks also to our brewery, brewpub, beer bar, beer store and homebrew friends. Monumental growth in these areas makes what we do with the site all the more exciting and worthwhile.
For me, your fearless “editor,” this has been a year of change. My family added a second child, and my day gig had some new and exciting changes. Needless to say, I’ve been super busy. Thankfully the dust is all starting to settle and I’ll be able to devote more time to craft beer and look at some new permanent help for MNBeer.com. If you’re interested, let me know! Also look for a new design in the next few months.
Thanks again beer friends. Drink up, buttercup!