Category: general beer

Hot Trend: Lagers

By on April 29, 2017in general beer

It’s not hard to see that lagers are the latest trend in craft beer here in Minnesota. A word once associated with “macro brewers” such as Budweiser and Miller, lagers are now finding their way onto draft lines here and across the country. There’s a good reason for this. Lagers are often desired by brewers and are often used as a measuring stick to determine their skill level.

August Schell Brewing has been making these german varieties for over 156 years but they’re fairly new to many of the local breweries. The difference between an ale and a lager is the yeast strain used in the brewing process. Ale yeast works its magic on top of the wort and typically takes less time to reach attenuation. Lager yeast works at the bottom of the vessel and can take much longer to convert the sugars to alcohol. Lager yeast operates at cooler temperatures also, which tends to make temperature control all that much more important for these styles.

What should you look for? Pilsner, Kolsch, Helles, Bock, Marzen, Schwartzbier, and Dunkel are some of the more common varieties you’ll see on menu boards. The first few tend to showcase hops whereas the latter tend to be heavy on the malt. Basically they cover a pretty wide spectrum of bitterness, sweetness, and color.

Here are some of our favorites around town:

Helles from Bad Weather Brewing – This is a very clean, refreshing beer that finishes dry. Notes of cracker and a spicy hop aroma make this a fantastic patio beer. Here’s to hoping this makes it onto the menu for the summer.

Pils from August Schell Brewing – Quite possibly the finest example of a Pilsner in the country. They’ve been brewing this beer since 1984 and it won Gold at the Great American Beer Festival back in 1988. Sterling hops provide this a slightly spicy kick and notes of fresh cut grass. This should be in your fridge at all times.

Maibock from Summit – Maibock is a style that was traditionally brewed in early spring to get the monks through the Lenten season. This beer features some very subtle banana notes and moderate hop character. A slightly sweet and moderately carbonated treat just in time for the warmer months ahead.

Mexican Honey Imperial Lager from Indeed – Mexican orange blossom honey is the star of this recipe. Floral, sweet, and some bread notes along with a hint of cinnamon. This isn’t gonna be a beer you want to sit and drink all day (high ABV) but one or two will surely do the trick.

Citra Kellerbier from Lift Bridge – This one is a little harder to find around town, but is well worth seeking out. Citrus dominates this light and nearly transparent summer gem thanks to the Citra hops. This should be enjoyed outdoors but out of the sun. It’ll skunk up immediately in the sunlight. Patio umbrellas are your friend.

Cheers!

Dangerous Man and Electric Fetus Collaborate on Single Hop IPA Record Store Day Beer

By on April 20, 2017in Dangerous Man Brewing Co., general beer, new beer, tap rooms

A few years ago, Electric Fetus owner Aaron Meyerring was trying to bring in some more stuff to sell for Record Store Day—a day that kicks off the spring/summer festivities here and around the country. He decided that he wanted to work with a local brewery and Dangerous Man stepped right up. “They’re great people over there and it’s been a great partnership” he says. The record store sells some Dangerous man merchandise and the brewery makes an exclusive beer for this day. Unfortunately, they can’t serve it at the south Minneapolis retailer, but if you bring your Electric Fetus receipt in to the brewery you’ll get a dollar off a pint of the beer.

Meyerring wishes they could serve the beer but notes that they don’t want to take away from what Record Store Day is about. “We didn’t want to make Record Store Day a beer fest or anything like that” he says. The beer itself is Single Hop IPA brewed with Eureka hops. Vinyl collector and Dangerous Man Operations Manager Hilari Bandow describes the flavor of the beer. “Black Currants, pine, dark fruits, slight citrus and herbal notes from the hops blanket the aroma and flavors of this ale. Crisp, clean simple malts round out the backbone to keep the balance all in check.”

New merch at the store will include some official Prince (a known supporter of Electric Fetus) merchandise not available anywhere else in the world. A year ago Aaron had the opportunity to attend Prince’s last show in Atlanta. “We got call saying Prince would like you to come to his show in Atlanta. It was an opportunity you can’t pass up.”

An opportunity he’s sure to remember for the rest of his days.

Here’s the schedule for Saturday:

Music schedule:
10:00 a.m. – DJ Jake Rudh of Transmission
Noon – Marah in the Mainsail
1:30 p.m. – Sims
3:00 p.m. – Flipp
4:30 p.m. – Monica LaPlante

Peace Coffee will be on hand outside the store before we open.
Heggies Pizza will have breakfast pizza for those in line, starting at 7 a.m.
Glam Doll Donuts will have tasty treats inside at 9 a.m.
Natedogs and Chef Shack Ranch Minneapolis food trucks will be on site behind the store starting at 10 a.m.

10 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Relax in the Red Bull Sound Select lounge behind the store and check out the rockin’ kids’ craft area in the lounge…
DJ FunSize spins tunes
Cool activities for kids including projects recycling old vinyl, design your own album cover and more!
Warner Music Group will be here with posters and other free goodies behind the store.

Pick up your coupon for the special Electric Fetus Record Store Day beer at Dangerous Man Brewing Co all day Saturday.

Thanks to these additional sponsors:
Twin Town Guitars, Audioengine

Check out the list of Record Store Day exclusives here in PDF or web form:
https://electricfetus.tuneportals.com/NewsItem/4134
We can’t guarantee what we’ll have, but we’ve tried to get in as many as possible.

Cheers!

Inbound and Modist Celebrating One Year in the North Loop

By on April 12, 2017in breweries, general beer, MN, Modist Brewing, new beer, tap rooms

Two of the breweries that make up the new brewery hot spot in town are celebrating one year anniversaries. Both events are free to the public but you’ll wanna get there early because the parking can be cumbersome in the North Loop.
Modist will celebrate on Saturday with a bash that will include live music, live painting, a beer release, and fundraiser supporting Free Arts MN. The Curious Goat is the food truck in residence and will be there selling food all day. Their anniversary beer will be a bright pink kettle sour fruited milkshake IPA called Turbulent Juice.

Details:
We’re having a Music Concert, Live Painting, Beer Release, Free Arts MN Fundraiser Party!

Our first year in almost in the books, and it’s already been a crazy ride. Now it’s time to celebrate. On April 15th, 2017, we’re going have 4 live music acts, and have 8 artists create live art on large canvases, and release a crazy beer – all while raising funds for Free Arts Minnesota. There will also be a dunk tank.

The music lineup will feature 4 MN artists, including:

– The 4onthefloor (9 PM)
– Greg Grease (8 PM)
– Sarah White (7 PM)
– Nato Coles & the Blue Diamond Band (4 PM)

and DJ sets by:
– Sophia Eris (5 PM)
– Mike 2600 (also the designer of our First Call cans 🙂 (10 PM)

And it’s all hosted by Go953MN’s Auggie 5000!

Alongside the musicians, 8 LOCAL ARTISTS will each be creating a piece on 4′ x 4′ canvas that will be auctioned off to the benefit of Free Arts MN, an organization that supports the artistic and personal development of youths in challenging circumstances.

Some of the artists involved, include:

– Wes Winship of Burlesque of North America(also the designer of our DREAMYARD cans)
– DWITT
– Artists from Rogue Citizen, including Lizardman, Dalsen, and Blaster
– Erin Sayer
– Joy Spika
-Meduza

We’re also helping out Free Arts MN by having an Art Supplies Drive. If you’re in the giving spirit, here is a list of supplies they’re in need of. Please bring something from the list along with you on the 15th:

-glue sticks
-scotch/masking/duct tape
-canvas paper/multi-media paper
-t-shirts
-drawing pencils
-kneaded erasers
-sharpies
-cardstock paper

We’ll also be releasing another one-of-a-kind beer. It’s still a secret. More details soon!

We’re going to have custom birthday donuts from Sssdude-Nutz!

We’re going to have a make your own button station from SiK PiN!

We’re going to have a dunk tank!

Inbound will celebrate next Saturday (April 22nd) with live music, a Berliner Weisse release, one-off beer infusions, and games. Mighty Axe Hops will also be on-site to talk about locally grown hops. The Outlaw Grill will also be there serving food at the event.
Details:
Thanks for joining us on our journey into beer. This celebration is all for you. You’ve been through the seasons with us, drank all 55 beers we’ve released, and you continue to impress us with your ability to pack our taproom each and every day.

It’s been a wild ride, but we’re excited celebrate 1 Year of Beer together.

Let’s Party:

11am: Taproom Opens
12pm: Live Jams by Alex Rossi Music
12pm: The Outlaw Grill-Food Truck
1pm: Free Brewery Tours [Every hour, on the hour. 20 slots per tour. Sign up in the Merch Shop. Must have close-toed shoes.]
2pm: Local Vendors – Mighty Axe Hops & Brewing a Better Forest
7pm: Live Jams by DJ Adatrak
12am: The party ends, but come back tomorrow for Sunday Funday!

Beer:

20+ craft beers will be on tap
New Beer Release – Berliner Weisse
Tons of new infusions

Games:

Life size jenga
Bean Bags
Tons of board games

Outdoor patio will be open (pending weather)
Minnesota Twins game is at 1:10pm
It’s Earth Day, so learn a little about locally grown hops from Mighty Axe Hops or donate to Brewing a Better Forest and help water local trees.

Happy birthday to both breweries!

Cheers!

Early Summer Beer Preview

By on March 31, 2017in Fair State Brewing, general beer, mnbeer.com, new beer, Steel Toe Brewing, Summit Brewing Co., Surly Brewing Co.

Warm weather is just around the corner and there are plenty of new local beer options hitting store shelves soon. Summit is releasing a Boundary Waters twelve pack while Surly is going year-round with their Xtra Citra release. Steel Toe will be releasing Sommer Vice and Fair State just released their Du Pounde and Pilsner. We tried these out with our thoughts below.

Summit Wit – This is going to be a hit on those 90 degree days. It’s got all the things you look for in the style. Spices, citrus, and those nice bubblegum notes from the Belgian yeast drive this beer. A perfect replacement for that Blue Moon sitting in the back of your fridge. This is part of the Boundary Waters twelve pack.

Summit Hefeweizen – It’s back! This is a well-balanced Hefe with some nice banana and clove notes that aren’t as overpowering as some of the other options out there. Not my favorite example of a Hefeweizen but it’s certainly tasty. This can also be found in the Boundary Waters pack.

Steel Toe Sommer Vice – This is one of my favorite local examples of a Hefeweizen. Big clove and bubblegum flavors in this hazy beer set it apart from some of the others. This will hit the taproom and store shelves in May. My only issue is that I want this in cans. One 22 oz. bomber won’t do the trick. (Notes for this were taken from last year. The recipe will be the same I’m told)

Fair State Du Pounde – Centennial hops give this a nice floral character in the nose and contributes a nice dose of citrus in every sip. This wheat based beer also utilizes a French Saison yeast which provides a slight funk to this one. Fill your cooler with this at your picnic or graduation party and you’ll be the most popular person there.

Surly Xtra Citra – Session beers are still growing in popularity, here and around the country. Xtra Citra is Surly’s version of the style and it doesn’t dissapoint. In fact, this is my favorite local session beer along with Size 4 from Steel Toe. Huge citrus flavor with a light body, and for the low price of $6.99 a four pack this should be in your fridge all summer long. I’m told this will also be available in twelve packs of 12 oz. cans around Memorial Day.

Summit Keller Pils – They say the best way to judge the quality of a brewery is by trying their Pilsner. This is because it’s near impossible to mask any off flavors in this style of beer. Well Summit hit a home run with this offering and I dare you to find a better local option outside of Schell’s. This is easily the best new recipe (debuted last year) from the 30-year-old brewery in St. Paul. Be sure to soak your brats in that cheap domestic stuff and save this for sipping out by the grill. This is available in twelve packs and can also be found in the Boundary Waters pack.

Fair State Pils – A nice, dry Pilsner with earthy aromas and a heavy addition of Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. Not quite on the same level as the Schell’s Pils, but certainly worth a spot in your cooler on a fishing trip. Drink this one as cold as possible.

 

Cheers!

Surdyk’s Open for Business on a Sunday Ahead of Law Change

By on March 12, 2017in beer laws, beer stores, general beer, MN

Just another Sunday in March. Snow flying, temperatures fluctuating, and a liquor store open on Sunday? Yep, you read that correctly. Surdyk’s which has been in business for 80 years opened for business today at 11:00 AM even though the recently passed Sunday Sales law doesn’t go into effect until July 1st.

Consumers were smiling and laughing in the store as if they knew they were doing something illegal, but didn’t have to suffer any consequences as the store would be responsible for penalties. We spoke to Nate from Southwest Minneapolis who was adamant that Minnesotans should be able to purchase beer on Sunday. “A friend of mine posted on Facebook that they were open today. I think all stores should be open on Sundays. Listen to your customers” he suggested.

For context, Jim Surdyk has opposed this law change from the beginning but it didn’t stop him from making decision to open his store today. “The governor signed it. Why the hell are we gonna wait three months for this” he says.

We asked him if he plans to open on Sundays in the future leading up to the law change but it doesn’t seem likely. “The cat’s outta the bag. Maybe others will follow suit. I’m the first to do it” he said with a chuckle.

So what’s the penalty? According to this state document, it would seem that a suspension or revocation of their license is in order. He didn’t seem quite so sure. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

 

Read into it however you may, but this seems like a big middle finger to his competitors while offering a fun opportunity for Minnesotans to purchase beer on a Sunday ahead of the law change. Whatever happens in response to this should be interesting. Stay tuned.

***Update***

Minneapolis fines Surdyk’s $2,000 and hands out a 30 day suspension for the Minneapolis liquor retailer beginning on July 2nd. The suspension begins the first day of the law change. They will further penalize Surdyk’s (revocation of license possible) if they choose to open for business on the Sundays leading up to that law change.

 

Cheers!