News & Updates

Friday 5ive: Xmas “Favorites”

By on December 5, 2014in Friday 5ive

I firmly believe in the notion of “No Xmas Music before December.” I’m just not ready for Bing and Elvis and those guys who play the wooden flutes in shopping malls until at least December. As far as I’m concerned, there’s a one month window for “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” and standing idly by while your poor grandmother gets laid out by Rudolph. Period.

Not that I don’t like the stuff – we tend to play a variety of the old classics in the MNBeer household – Guaraldi, Sinatra, Elvis, Bing Crosby and perhaps even some Johnny Cash if he’s actually singing and not talking about Christmas.  We try not to veto much in the MNBeer household (after all, I have a five-year-old who loves “Frozen”), but Christmas albums from  Mariah Carey, N’Sync and contemporary country artists are banned.

That being said, let’s roll out a few Christmas/holiday/winter offerings that I enjoy for one reason or another. Sit tight:

The New Standards – Snow Days.

So this was originally a Trip Shakespeare song… but you knew that, right? In any case, I was never a huge Trip Shakespeare fan, but I enjoyed some of their songs and even saw them in Moorhead, Minnesota one summer in the 90s. (Side note, there were several “huge” TS fans. One of these fans almost got punched in the throat by other audience members for shouting incessantly at the drummer ‘Elaine! ELAINE!’) Anyway, this song has always stuck with me and I find myself humming it every time it gets shitty outside. Fitting.

The Ramones – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight), Brain Drain (Buy it.)



Bad Religion – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Christmas Songs (Buy it.”)

Bad Religion did a Christmas album. Think about that for a second. Bad Religion did a Christmas album.

RUN DMC, Christmas in Hollis (Buy it!)

This always makes me smile.

The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale of New York, If I Should Fall from Grace with God (Buy it.)

This is my absolute favorite from the entire list. Love it. Bonus, here’s version from the band No Use for a Name with Cinder Block (Tilt, Fabulous Disaster) filling in Kirsty MacColl’s spot. I never got too excited about NUFAN, but this version is a standout. Link.

New Brewpub: Gun Flint Tavern & Brewpub Grand Opening Friday

By on December 4, 2014in general beer, Gun Flint Tavern Brewpub
If you’ve been to Grand Marais and/or up the Gulflint Trail, you’ve probably made a stop at the Gun Flint Tavern to quench your thirst with some great beers. If you haven’t visited, suffice to say that the Gun Flint Tavern, suffice to say that the place is your last great beer stop Northeast of Two Harbors.
And now there’s another reason to celebrate – the 16-year-old institution will start serving their own beers starting on Friday.  Not surprisingly, they’ll be celebrating in grand fashion that evening with a variety of house brews and live music.
Photo: Gun Flint Tavern

Photo: Gun Flint Tavern

Black Friday Fun

By on November 28, 2014in beer events

blackfriday

…shouldn’t necessarily involve shopping. Here are a few beery options for Black Friday and American Express Small Business Saturday.

Friday: Tickets for Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest are on sale as of 10am. Not to be missed.

Friday: The Happy Gnome just tapped (11am) a taproom exclusive from Lakefront, Black Friday on, well… Black Friday. Black Friday is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout that’s never before seen the light of day outside of Lakefront. They’ll also have Fuel Cafe, Imperial Brandy aged Pumpkin Ale, and India Black Ale.

Friday: SW Craft Bar (Senor Wong) is holding their third annual Imperial Black Friday, a celebration of Imperial stouts, food and live music. Beers include 2013 Surly Darkness, Indeed Rum King, 2013 Dark Horse Plead the 5th, Clon Shoes Itasca, Evil Twin Even More Jesus and more! The action starts at noon.

Friday – Sunday: As part of the first-ever European Christmas Market in St. Paul, our friends at Great Waters Brewing Co. are offering up two fun seasonal beers to compliment central European fare.

St. Martin‘s Wit is a cloudy, unfiltered Belgian wheat beer with orange peel, coriander and citrusy noble hopsand hints of spice, vanilla and clove. Yuletide Ale is a robust porter with coffee and toffee flavors and lactose sugar for body. Oh my! Look for mulled wine for the strange folks who don’t want to enjoy these beers as well as traditional sausages, kraut, lebkuchen, marzipan and stollen from other vendors.

Saturday: Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery locations are offering a free Minnesota-made beverage with food purchase when you present a receipt for a Small Business Saturday purchase from a local, small business. If beer isn’t your thing, something may be wrong with you… not that we’re judging. In any case, they’ll also offer Peace Coffee and Minnesota cider/guest beer/liquor selections. After all, it’s all about supporting the local economy.

Fine details: They’ll only accept receipts for purchases made on Small Business Saturday of this year. The customer can bring in the receipt to any Town Hall location throughout the rest of 2014. When they present the receipt, it will get punched so that it cannot be used again.

Black Friday 5ive: Five Bands Named Black… Something or Other

By on November 28, 2014in Friday 5ive

So it’s Black Friday today. And instead of shopping, you’re here… and we’re rocking. Let’s do this:

Black Flag – Rise Above, Damaged. Buy it… (and support MNBeer)

Black Francis – Threshold Apprehension, Bluefinger. Buy it.


Ballerina Black – Microphones in the Mattress, Cattle Arithmetic. Buy it.

Big Black – Bad Penny, Songs about Fucking. Buy it.


Black Sabbath – War Pigs, Paranoid. Buy it.

Surly Doomtree Day Details

By on November 25, 2014in bars/restaurants, Surly Brewing Co.
SURLY-DOOMTREE-SCHEDULE-1
You wanted details on Surly Doomtree Day? You’ve got Surly Doomtree Day info… As you know, Surly Doomtree Day will be a special curated bar crawl around Minneapolis and St. Paul to kickoff the Surly Doomtree collaboration and the release of the draft beer. Your friends from Surly and Doomtree will lead two busses of fans and friends on dueling bar crawls in St. Paul and Minneapolis, ending with a special invite-only Doomtree performance at an undisclosed location.

 

Yes, there will be opportunities to win tickets to that performance.

 

Dedicated Doomtree fans who purchased a full Blowout ticket pack will be joined by Doomtree and the gang from Surly. Didn’t buy tickets? Fear not. You’re encouraged to meet up with the pub crawl at various locations to try the beer and hang out. At each stop, they’ll be giving away a handful of tickets for the exclusive show as well as some of the Blowout shows.

 

…and yes, you can still get on the bus. Of course you’ll need to win those tickets. Keep your eyes on social media over the course of the next week or so for your chance to win.

 

Minneapolis bar crawl:
– 2:30pm, Muddy Waters
– 4:00pm, The Depot Tavern
– 5:30pm, Red Stag Supper Club

 

St. Paul bar crawl:
– 2:30pm, Billy’s on Grand
– 4:00pm, Pizza Luce
– 5:30pm, Grumpy’s Roseville
– 7:00pm, Exclusive Doomtree Show (invite only)

 

…and as a side note, dare I speculate where the show might take place? Perhaps somewhere partway between Minneapolis and St. Paul? Like maybe a destination brewery? Inquiring minds want to know…
So much for that theory. I’ve been told that the brewery definitely won’t host the show. It was a nice thought, anyway…