They’ve talked and planned and dug and poured and cleaned up for what seems like forever, but we’re excited to note that the new Surly brewery celebrates its grand opening THIS FRIDAY starting at 11am. Excited? Read on.

We’re proud of ’em. Some time after MNBeer.com got it’s start a little over 9 years ago, we began to hear talk of a new brewery in Brooklyn Park… or was it Brooklyn Center? Heh. A couple of long-haired (Sorry, I don’t have any shots of Omar with long hair.) dudes were going to be offering up two beers – a hoppy red ale of sorts and something similar to a brown ale or porter. These guy were going to open the first new brewery in quite some time, and we were excited to be a part of it… as were our 50 readers. 🙂 Beer fans got their first taste of Furious and Bender at Winterfest that year. We were all impressed. Little did we know that they’d blow up.

Friday, our old friends open their new brewery to the public. We’re guessing you’ll be there… if not Friday, soon. The Beer Hall and kitchen swing their doors open at 11am on Friday. Look for 12+ Surly beers on tap and of course a full-service food menu courtesy of chef Jorge Guzman. If you can’t make it Friday, regular hours will be 11am – 11pm Sunday through Thursday and 11am – 12am Friday and Saturday.

Congratulations guys. You’ve worked your asses off for this. We’re glad to have been friends since day one.

…and Omar, you look better with short hair. Just sayin’. 🙂

If you go…The brewery is located at 520 Malcolm Avenue SE in Minneapolis. Yes there’s parking, and yes there are plenty of bike racks. They’re also a short walk from the Green Line. For the first weekend, MN Transit is offering free public transport from 6pm – 3am on Friday the 19th and 10am-3am on Saturday the 20th. Follow this HERE link for the downloadable free pass that you’ll need to print out.