Tag: MN Beer

Steel Toe Brewing Moving to Cans

Back when Oskar Blues first starting canning their beers in 2002 many people wondered why they went that route. Now just about everyone is going to cans for many reasons, one of them being that you can take them anywhere. Just ask Steel Toe Brewing owner Jason Schoneman who tells me that they are going to start canning their suds—which are expected to hit a limited number of stores on July 13th. “The big reason we are going to cans is that we want our beer to be everywhere” he says. “We like going to the lake too, and bombers (22 oz. bottles) are a pain in the ass” he says laughing.

STB3

 

Steel Toe will be canning their popular flagships Size 7 IPA and Provider Golden Ale to start with other varieties to follow. The regal design of these cans will showcase the signature boot logo in a black on silver look that features the color associated with each brand. Green for Size 7 and yellow for Provider. They will be sold in 6 packs of 12 oz. cans and as stated above will start out at select retail locations across the metro beginning on July 13th. The plan then is to roll them out to all of their retail locations by the end of the year. You’ll still be able to find their other varieties in bomber bottles around town for now.

STB2

They had been talking about this change for a while but tank space was always the concern. So why the switch now? Two words: The customer. “We’ve had so many requests for this format. It’s what the customer wants” says Shoneman. Here’s to hoping Sommer Vice and Size 4 follow suit.

STB4

So grab your camping gear and don’t forget a six pack or two on your way out of town.

Cheers!

City Pages Beer Fest Moves to West End

City Pages Beer Fest has moved around over the years, this time to West End in St. Louis Park. The event is taking place from 5 – 9 pm on Saturday, May 21st and will feature over 50 breweries—many of them from Minnesota. Some of the highlights include Castle Danger, Steel Toe, Bad Weather, Oskar Blues, Clown Shoes, and Blacklist Artisan Ales out of Duluth. This is one of the longest running beer festivals (now in its 24th year) here in Minnesota and part of the proceeds this year will go to Finnegans.

City Pages Beer Fest 2016

The food lineup is solid as well with Rusty Taco, Urban Sub, Big 10 Restaurant, WildEarth Wood Fired, Pinstripes, and Cheer on Top Confections. Free and Easy Band will be performing throughout the festival along with accordionist Bill Koncar and Brian Boru’s Irish Pipe Band.

Tickets will cost $30 and you can grab them here. See below for the entire brewery lineup.

Alesmith Brewing Co.
American Vintage Beverage
Bad Weather Brewing
Bank Beer
Bent Brewstillery
Bent Paddle Brewing Co.
Big Sky
Blacklist Artisan Ales
Boom Island
Bull Falls
Burning Brothers Brewing
Canal Park Brewing Company
Capital Brewing
Castle Danger Brewery
Clown Shoes
Company
Crazy Mountain
Empyrean Brewing
Enki Brewing Co.
Excelsior Brewing Co.
Fargo Brewing
Finnegan’s
Furthermore Brewing Co.
Fytenburg/St. Croix/Stage Coach
Goose Island
Harriet Brewing
Horny Goat Brewing Co.
Indeed Brewing Company
Insight Brewing Co.
Lakes & Legends Brewing
Lift Bridge
Mankato Brewery
Maple Island Brewing
North Loop BrewCo (Lucid)
Omni Brewing
Oskar Blues
Prairie Artisan Ales
RJM/Grays Brewing/North Lake Brewing/Killebrew Beverages
Rock Bottom Brewery
Sand Creek Brewing
Schilling Cider/Two Towns Ciderhouse
Schram Winery & Brewery
Sierra Nevada
Sixpoint Brewery
Sociable Cider Werks
Steel Toe Brewing
Stone Brewing
Third Street Brewhouse
Tin Whiskers
Wabasha Brewing Co.
Waconia Brewing

Cheers!

Growler Gala Fundraiser to Benefit Roosevelt High School Theater Program

Growler Gala

It’s been about twenty years since the curtains were last drawn in the theater at Roosevelt High School. Thankfully Rick Spaulding and some of our local breweries have stepped up to help raise funds to revive the program in south Minneapolis.

On Thursday, February 4th the Parkway Theater will host an event from 7 PM until 10 PM where you can dance, mingle, and enjoy some drinks with friends. Pepito’s will be there selling food and beverages and there will be both a live, and silent auction where you can bid for growlers donated by the following breweries.

Excelsior Brewing
Fulton Brewery
Harriet Brewing
Town Hall Brewery
Lakes & Legends
Tin Whiskers
Northbound
Surly
Urban Growler
Insight
Dangerous Man
Boom Island
Eastlake
Sisyphus
Fair State
56
Bang
Bauhaus
Bad Weather
Lake Monster
LynLake
Sociable Cider Werks

Tickets will be $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Don’t miss your chance to help bring the Roosevelt Theater program back to life.

Details:

Thursday, February 4th from 7 PM until 10 PM.

Parkway Theater
4814 Chicago Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55417

Cheers!

MN Beer Notebook: Early January 2016

LBSilhouette

Fulton will be brewing their 300 IPA year-round now. Brewed with Mosaic hops, this has quickly become a local favorite for hop heads. Expect to find this around town starting on January 18th.

Our friends over at France 44 Cheese Shop (MPLS) just tapped Hawaiian Speedway Stout from AleSmith Brewing. This highly coveted Imperial Stout is a version of their popular “Speedway Stout” but is made with vanilla beans and toasted coconut.
Summit Brewing is celebrating 30 years in 2016 and they plan to celebrate by releasing four special beers throughout the year. The first one will be a Double IPA (8.5% ABV) made with Pale, Concerto Pale, and wheat—and aggressively hopped with Mosaic, Citra, Equinox, Bravo, Orbit and Experimental 06300. Four packs of tallboys should begin to hit shelves in a few weeks.

Dangerous Man, The Minneapolis Beard and Moustache Club, and Chowgirls Killer Catering will be hosting the 3rd annual Beard and Mustache Contest at the Solar Arts space on Sunday, January 17th at 1 pm. This also kicks off Dangerous Man’s 3rd Anniversary Week. You can register on the day of the event and if you’d like to attend it will only run you $5. Dangerous Man beer will be available for purchase on site as well as those fantastic pasties from Potters.
Lift Bridge is hosting their Silhouette Release Party on January 23rd from noon until 10 pm. They conducted a pre-sale for bottles of Silhouette but will sell any remaining bottles they might have at the event. Tickets are only $5 and include a free beer token.

Cheers!

Community Keg House Set to Open in Northeast on 1/15

Community Keg House

Here is a Q & A session I conducted with Nate Field from Community Keg House which is set to open on Friday, January 15th. This “beer room” is located in the Grain Belt Brewing Keg House and it provides a different experience than the other taprooms in town.

When was the idea for Community Keg House born?

I came up with the idea around 6 years ago. This was before the taproom boom. I wanted to create a space where beer enthusiasts could get closer to the experience of enjoying and understanding beer. I liked the experience I’d had at some wine bars and I modeled much of it on that form/vibe.

How did you secure that location?

My real estate broker found the space for us. We knew we wanted a location in NE where I live. When we found the space in the Grain Belt Keg House it felt right. We liked the idea that we would be celebrating the history of Minnesota beer while showcasing the next generation of what we are brewing.

How does the system work?

A patron walks up to our bar. Rather than order a specific beer they order a glass (either 16 or 10 oz size).

They enter a self-contained room we refer to as the “pour room.” Within the pour room is a 17-foot long table with 16 taps on it. Each tap is a different Minnesota brewery. Located and monitoring the tap table are “taptenders.” The taptender is there to help you. You can talk with them about beer, get a sample or directions on how to pour the perfect pint.

When you decide which beer you would like to drink, you POUR YOUR OWN PINT!

Now, beer in hand, you exit the pour room. You return to one of our seating areas. When you want another beer you return to the bar and get a new glass. The cashiers at the bar (bar control) can cut you off if you’re drunk). And the system repeats.

How will you make sure that people are pouring their beers correctly in regards to proper sanitation?
Well, each time you go back to the table you have to get a new glass. We will have some signage on proper pouring and the taptenders are there to advise.

Will you have options for people who don’t like beer?

Yes. We have two ciders on tap at all times. Also, there are NA drinks in the kitchen.

 

Which local beers will be available?

Belgian

Boom Island Witness
Insight Sunken City
Harriet Dark Abbey
Schell’s Snowstorm 2015

Winter

Northgate Stronghold
Summit Winter Ale
Bauhaus Tallander
Indeed Stir Crazy

Hoppy

Surly Furious
Fair State Pomp Le Moose
56 Brewing Polonaise APA
Able Seedhouse & Brewery First Light

Alternative

Grain Belt Nordeast
Bent Brewstillery Maroon & Bold
Four Daughters Loon Juice
Sociable Cider Werks Freewheeler

Community Keg House
34 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Hours:
Monday 4 pm to 12 am
Tues-Wed Closed
Thursday 4 pm to 12 am
Friday 4 pm to 12 am
Saturday 1 pm to 12am
Sunday 1pm to 10 pm

Cheers!