Category: general beer

Starkeller Now Open in New Ulm

By on March 5, 2017in August Schell Brewing Co., general beer, grand opening, new beer, tap rooms

It’s finally here. The all sour taproom headed up by Jace Marti (of Schell’s) was given the go ahead from the TTB recently and they’ve opened the doors and are ready to serve (check their social media for hours) their popular Berliner Weiss beers. “This story began in 1919. Prohibition happened, so for 13 years we were making soda” according to Jace. He is of course referring to those beautiful cypress tanks they purchased (and repurposed for the Starkeller) back in 1936 which were much cheaper than their steel counterparts. “We couldn’t afford new equipment after prohibition so we installed wooden tanks instead of steel ones.” The vessels were used at Schell’s from 1936 until 1991, mostly for Deer Brand Lager.

One might ask why they decided to use these cypress tanks from 1936 at the new space. Well there are a couple of reasons. For one, they’re gorgeous, rare, and they add a ton of character to the space. “These are the last 10 tanks like this in the world” says Marti.  Another reason is that the bacteria and brettanomyces being used at the brewery like a tiny bit of oxygen which steel tanks can’t provide on their own. The cypress tanks breathe a little which allows a very small amount of oxygen in without ruining the beer.

Why Berliner Weiss? Schell’s has always made traditional German style lagers but Jace wanted to do something a little bit different. So he went to Berlin to learn about a style of beer they were brewing over there that had roots in other parts of Europe. “The French brought the sour technique that they learned in Belgium over to Berlin” he says.

The second oldest family run brewery in the country is once again changing the way we think about beer. From Belgium to Berlin, and now to New Ulm. Welcome to Sour Country.

 

Cheers!

Got the Winter Blues? Modist Has You Covered

By on February 8, 2017in cooking & food, food pairing, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, Modist Brewing, new beer, tap rooms

Summer festival season is still months away and the Modist crew wants to fill the void on February 18 from 5 pm until 10 pm with music, food, and beer. They’re partnering with ZZQ Smokehouse and Genius of Fun Promotions for the event which will feature music from Hurricane Harold & Doug Otto, Brothers Band, Black River Review, and Jorgensen Tagg Band.

Tickets will cost $39 and include:

3 pints of beer (see list below)
2 BBQ (pulled pork or chicken) sliders and a side (potato salad or coleslaw)
Live music
Specialty beers
Discounted room rate ($149) at Hewing Hotel

Modist will be serving their flagships TOATS, Smoove, Wasteland, pHresh, and First Call—as well as something from their Deviation Series and several specialty beers. Additional food and beer will be available for purchase at the event.

Cheers!

New Breweries to Look Forward to in 2017

By on January 22, 2017in breweries, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, new beer, tap rooms

This is going to be very good year for new breweries here in Minnesota with many set to open this spring. The latest wave of brewery openings have been fairly disappointing but there is reason for optimism this year. Here are a few of the highlights to consider.

Barrel Theory – This highly anticipated brewery is set to open in Lowertown right next to Dark Horse. Brett Splinter and Timmy Johnson both formerly of Surly are looking to introduce some interesting barrel-aged offerings east of the river. Quality beer is going to be the theme here and given their experience, we should be very excited. Expect some very big beers and plenty of barrel-aged sours to come out of this space.

Oakhold Farmhouse Brewery – You know those fantastic sours that have been coming out of Fair State? Yeah, the owners of Oakhold are behind many of those and they are planning to open a farmhouse brewery out of Midway Township near Duluth, Minnesota. Expect some fantastic mixed culture sours along with some traditional farmhouse beers similar to those found over in Belgium or France.

Hoops Brewing – Canal Park has long been a popular tourist spot in one of the most picturesque cities in Minnesota. Soon it will be home to Hoops Brewing, headed up by the man (Dave Hoops) who put Duluth on the beer map while he was with Fitger’s Brewhouse. Now his team will be led by former Fitger’s Brewhouse brewer Melissa Rainville—who I’m told will be tasked with developing many of the recipes for their lineup. Expect a taproom that will welcome anyone including hockey fans, a group that Dave feels very much a part of. They will create a solid lineup of flagship offerings and will proudly feature a barrel-aged program that is certain to please even the most discerning palate.

Star Keller – We’ve been waiting for far too long for this place to open. Jace Marti (from Schell’s Brewing) has been concocting recipes and plans to make more of those fantastic Berliner Weiss beers in the Noble Star collection, as well as a variety of blended mixed culture sours, and even a Flanders Red Style. My biggest concern about the Star Keller is the location. Here’s to hoping that New Ulm embraces having an all sour taproom in town.

Most of these breweries are expecting to open this spring, but I’d expect Oakhold to take a little while longer with a late 2017 opening date.

Cheers!

Growler Gala #2: Roosevelt High School Theater Fundraiser

By on January 20, 2017in breweries, charity, general beer, MN

Next Thursday, the Advocates of Roosevelt Theater Arts will be hosting the second annual Growler Gala event at The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge from 7 until 11 pm. The event is open to ticket holders who are 21 and older and will feature, beer, music, a growler cake walk, and a silent auction.

The goal of the event is to raise enough money so that the program can produce a spring musical. Last year was a huge success and they are expecting even bigger things this year. Growlers have been donated by local breweries and the music lineup for the evening will include Rocket Appliances, Grammar, and the Betsie’s.

Get out and support local high school theater and bring some friends with. It’s certain to be a good time. Tickets to the event can be purchased here for $15, or at the door for $18.

When:

Thursday, January 26th from 7 – 11 pm

Where:

The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge

3010 Minnehaha Ave.

Minneapolis, MN 55406

What to bring:

Dancing shoes, money, your thirsty friends

Cheers!

Looking Ahead to 2017

By on December 29, 2016in general beer

2016 was the year that proved that we in this country are more divided than we’ve been in a long time, but we’re not here to talk about that. Beer brings people together, and hopefully we can all mend our differences over a couple pints and show some love for one another. 2017 will be an interesting year here in our growing beer scene, and here are some predictions for the year ahead.

Barrel Theory, Wild Minds, Star Keller, and Oakhold Farmhouse will change the way we think about sour beers. In years past, Fair State, Surly, and Indeed were setting trends locally with fun sour offerings that invited our palates to a new world of beer. Now we’re starting to see breweries open that are focusing solely on these styles, and their brewers have some experience playing with bacteria. If we’re lucky, we might just have something similar to Rare Barrel or Jester King right in our back yard.

Old World beer styles are going to start showing up in taprooms across the state. Braggots, Pilsners, Lambics, and Farmhouse Ales celebrate the culture of those who came before us in far away lands. For example, a certain local brewing legend just made a Braggot with the folks over at Badger Hill in hopes of drawing attention to the local bee population and the importance of pollination. Look for more of this.

Breweries will start utilizing more local ingredients (Insight’s cherry beer Doe Eyes comes to mind) in their beers, similar to what Joe Pond is doing down at Olvalde. Look for things like mushrooms, wild rice, herbs, flowers, berries, spruce and just about anything that can be grown here locally. Local hops are also picking up steam thanks in part to the processing facility that Mighty Axe Hops is building near St. Cloud.

We want more Idaho 7 beers! (Image: BSG)

Single hop beers will be making their way onto draft lines as more experimental hops are being introduced into the market. These beers are typically made with a single malt and a single hop in order to showcase the flavor profiles of each ingredient. You’ll also begin to notice that many of these beers are not bitter but they are very heavy on citrus/melon/berry flavors. Breweries such as Town Hall Brewery, Dangerous Man, and Bad Weather have all been making these already.

Tickets to beer fests will no longer be hard to get. It’s not that people are turning their backs on beer, but with so much going on around town, it’s hard to convince people to go to a beer fest they’ve been to 5 years in a row. Attendance is still strong, but the tickets just aren’t selling out anymore.

Bring on 2017.