Category: mnbeer.com

Putting My Money Where My Beer Is/Goes

By on February 3, 2007in mnbeer.com

I’ve been challenged to consume only Minnesota beers for the rest of the year.

As an advocate for beer in Minnesota, this doesn’t seem like a terrible idea, once one gets past the notion that I like a lot of beers from around the US and abroad. Could I do it?

Probably. Maybe. I have a 5 HopSlams in the chilly room below my front steps, a Trois Pistoles and La Fin Du Monde in my fridge… two Miller Lite’s that I probably won’t touch anyway. There are some other beers like last year’s Bigfoot, Bell’s Batch 7000 and Old Horizontal that would probably be fine if they aged another year. Dawn could drink the last can of Newcastle…

Between our brewpubs and our breweries, we’ve got a lot of good beer in Minnesota. I’m a homebrewer, as are some of my friends. Whaddya’ think? 6 months? The rest of 2007? Let me drink the last 7 non-MN beers and consider Autumn Brew Review a “holiday” and I think I could do it.

No, I’m not drunk. Cold, perhaps, but not drunk.

Who Has MNBeer T-Shirts?

By on January 23, 2007in mnbeer.com

Thus far, we’ve sold a few MNBeer t-shirts from our Cafepress store. And yet I haven’t seen anyone wearing their shirt yet. If you bought one of or shirts or received it as a gift, let me know. And of course, if we see you out with a t-shirt, we’ll buy you a beer!*

*Offer null and void if we sell a shitload of t-shirts. I’m skimming a buck or less in profit from the things. 🙂

Winterfest (Post) Two: Electric Boogaloo

By on January 13, 2007in general beer, mnbeer.com

Sorry.

Here’s the line-up for Winterfest 2007.

August Schell Brewing Co.
Barley John’s Brew Pub
Brau Brothers Brewing Co.
Finnegan’s
Fitger’s Brewhouse
Flat Earth Brewing Co.
Gluek Brewing Co.
Granite City Food & Brewery
Great Waters Brewing Co.
Herkimer Pub & Brewery
Mantorville Brewing Company
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
O’Hara’s Brew Pub
Rock Bottom Brewery
Summit Brewing Co.
Surly Brewing Co.

I’ll beg and plea a bit over the next day or two to see if we can’t the okay to share a sampling of what everyone is planning on bringing on Friday. I’m especially excited about tasting Flat Earth’s beer… I have no doubt that the “new” kid on the block will have some tasty beer to share.

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Just a reminder that we’re now accepting donations to the MNBeer “I didn’t drop it in the toilet” camera fund. Just think, for as little as $1 you can help a lowly blogger continue to take the photos that he so desperately needs. Imagine the joy on his face as he submits group photos with brewers and drinkers to local magazines (Minnesota Monthly, Mpls.-St. Paul) for their cheezy “out and about” sections. Fundraiser dinner photos? Walker openings? Pshaw! Beer geeks need love, too. So dig deep, brothers and sisters, praise the beer, and give us five bucks so we can shut up already… link at right. Word.

MNBeer Predictions for 2007

By on January 6, 2007in beer laws, breweries, brewpubs, mnbeer.com

I shouldn’t need to say this, but I will. Everything in this post below this line is pure speculation, un-informed guesses or perhaps even straight-up bull… er baloney. So without further ado… Minnesota Beer predictions for 2007.

Brau Brothers Brewing Co. beer will arrive in the Twin Cities in 6-packs and kegs. They will deliver the first case to my house for, uh, quality control…

Finnegan’s… just pure speculation here, but we’re guessing that they’ll give a bunch of money to charity… and a bunch of beer to the folks at MNBeer.

Flat Earth Brewing Company will brew some kick-ass Belgian and/or farmhouse ales and bottle them in bombers and/or champagne-style bottles. One of their beers will have “Minnesota” in the name. Strangely enough, an elf will deliver their beer to my doorstep in the middle of the night.

Gluek Brewing Company will continue to be pimped by Dan Gladden during Twins games. When we ask nicely, they’ll arrange to give us a tour on a Saturday. See above post about delivery elves…

Lake Superior Brewing Company is going to dig out the wild rice for a new brew. The company purchases more firkins and Don starts showing up in the Twin Cities with cask-conditioned beers on a semi-regular basis. Again, remember the elves…

Mantorville Brewing Company will break into the Twin Cities market in full-force with a new pale ale made with a combination of Amarillo and Centennial hops… no, wait, maybe it’s an IPA. Due the overwhelming success, Tod closes St. Croix to concentrate on new beers and recipes. Again, strangely, this new beer ends up on my doorstep in the middle of the night. My supply runs low and it magically appears again. Who needs magic beans or a beanstock? I have delivery elves/gnomes/dwarves… whatever they are…

Pig’s Eye Brewing drops by MNBeer world headquarters one Friday even and proceeds to get us hammered. Feelings of deja vu arise, though I remember that I am no longer the 16-year-old getting sloshed on Pig’s Eye in the College Manor apartments on the campus of the FFCC in Fergus Falls.

August Schell… Dave Berg puts on a show this year at Bockfest where he jumps 2 live deer and a peacock on his bike. He wipes out but is saved by the “bock fairy” (what, you’ve never heard of her?) and her magical, seldom-seen quadruple-bock. When he is out cold, he is inspired to revamp the Zommerfest recipe with a new ale yeast (something like Wyeast’s Ardennes…) and lemongrass. Friends take to calling Dave “Evol.”

St. Croix – See above.

Summit Brewing Company puts their Amber on hold as well as their Pilsner and IPA. Their Alt makes a return and old fans finally stop bitching about the fact that it is no longer available. Summit introduces a Saison mid-summer and revamps the Pilsner recipe.

Surly Brewing Company – Two words. Imperial Furious. Local drinkers learn to order it by hand signals. (Stick your left pointer finger in the air and make a rough “F” with your pointer and middle fingers on your right hand). A New York Times article follows. They mis-quote us.

Barley John’s undergoes a small expansion. Local food critics wet themselves over new menu items. Chaos ensues.

Fitger’s Brewhouse invites Dave’s brother Mike to brew a batch of Masala Mama. Duluth fans rave for more. Beer fans rally and help pass legislation to allow brewpubs to sell their beer to distributors in Minnesota.

Granite City opens a number of new locations, including Bloomington and Minneapolis proper. A new, larger brewing facility is planned and/or built in the Twin Cities. The other location is reserved for seasonal beers.

Great Waters changes the name of their Mild, cuz a little bird told them that “Mr. Smooth” was cheesy. Unexpected food items are placed in the mash tun and result in excellent beers.

Green Mill Brewing Company gets more attention in 2007 thanks to involvement in the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild and, uh, free pizza and beer for MNBeer readers…

The Herkimer surprises everyone with a highly-hopped IPA-like lager. People love it so much it becomes part of the regular line-up. It’s name? Duh. “The Prediction.” They also brew a steam beer which gets lots of attention.

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery expands. Upward. …er… the crystal ball is hazy, folks… maybe they actually open a second location in the vicinity of the new Twins ballpark. Another cask is added to the line-up.

O’Gara’s totally revamps their brewery and surprises everyone.

O’Hara’s remodels and gets lots of attention for a new Imperial Porter that Chris brews.

Rock Bottom cranks adds a pulled beer to their line-up, much to everyone’s surprise. Men rejoice, ladies are so happy they cry, kids are jealous…

Wellington’s Backwater Brewing Company becomes a weekend destination for Minnesota beer geeks. Beer, barbecue and bowling? Yes. Parties ensue. Winona hotels are overbooked with Minnesota beer geeks.

MNBeer.com becomings a paying gig for two lucky sods. We’re all forced to work out daily, heavily, thanks to all of the free beer we’re forced to consume. Michael Jackson calls us for information on beers, wanting to know more about all of the great offerings in Minnesota.

In Minnesota, laws are passed to allow brewpubs to sell kegs to distributors. No less than 30 Minnesota bars carry at least three beers from Minnesota by the end of the year. Beer that was once only available to Minnesotans via travel to Wisconsin and beyond becomes available. Local brews, in turn, are sent far and wide. Two new brewpubs are opened as well as two new breweries.

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Okay, so one of these predictions is actually, mostly factual. Stay tuned in the new year to see which one is true. I’m not telling…

Screenshot Request

By on December 31, 2006in mnbeer.com

I’m a Mac user. I own an SGI that runs Windows 2000, but it’s sitting in the basement, unplugged and stored. I know there’s a bit of an issue (aesthetically, at least) with the beer menu on the right side of the site. The lines that separate bars/brewpubs don’t show for the first few places. If you could be so kind, Windows users, could you please take a screenshot of MNBeer, let me know what browser/version you’re using and e-mail it to me at ryan AT mnbeer.com? I believe the issue is with Internet Explorer 5+6 and not 7. I don’t believe I saw it in Firefox, but feel free to send me shots.