Growlers will go on sale Thursday May 29th from 3:30 to 6:30. Jeff and Cathie will have growlers of Belgian Pale Ale, Element 115, Cygnus X-1 and Black Helicopter. Prices are $16 cash only, for Belgian, Element 115, Cygnus and Angry Planet when available. Seasonals will vary on pricing. Black Helicopter will be $20.
Month: May 2008
National Brew Fest
The third annual National Brew Fest will be June 20-21 in downtown Mankato, Minn. There are tasting sessions from 4-7 p.m. each day, with live music from 4-11. This year’s musical headliners are The Marshall Tucker Band and Canned Heat, and they’ll be joined by a half-dozen local/regional bands like Lamont Cranston and the Butanes. Last year about 5,200 people attended the event, which featured about 100 beers from 30 brewers around the nation. More information and tickets are available at www.nationalbrewfest.com
City Pages Beer Festival
100 different beers, food, music & more.
A portion of proceeds from the tasting will benefit the St. Paul Jaycees.
The event takes place near the corner of Hennepin and Lake, Minneapolis.
$25 in advanced, $28 at the gates.
Brewers Bazaar – A Post Mortem
Yesterday was Stillwater’s 2nd Annual Brewers Bazaar, hosted by the Stillwater Sunrise Rotary Club. For those of you who couldn’t make it, here’s a quick recap.
First of all, this event was lightly attended relative to many other local beer tasting events (still too new, I guess), so lines were short and attendees could spend time speaking with the brewers and reps, if they were so inclined. The crowd was diverse in terms of age and craft beer experience, but seemed united in its enthusiasm for the beer.
The breweries and brewpubs were very well represented, which was a surprise and delight for many of us. I had a chance to chat with the following brewers/founders/etc. representing their respective joints: Dave Berg (Brewer, August Schell); Mark Stutrud (Founder, Summit); Steve Rinker and Dan Schwarz (Brewers, Lift Bridge – I think several other Lift Bridge folks were there, but I didn’t get a chance to meet them…sorry); Trevor Brau (CFO, Brau Bros.); Bob DuVernois (Brewer, Great Waters); Jeff Williamson (Brewer, Flat Earth); and Brian and Bob (Fitger’s…did I get the names right guys?). Additionally, C.R. Stephens, founder of Still-H2O (Homebrewing Hydroponics & Organic Gardening Supplies) was there will a panoply of hombrewing gear, cooking up a batch of blond ale. Tod Fyten of Mantorville/St. Croix was also there, but I didn’t get a chance to catch up with him. I also didn’t get a chance to catch up with the folks at the Finnegans table. Town Hall and Barley John’s, which were on the program, were no-shows. Too bad, but there was enough other, good beer to go around.
This wasn’t an event crammed full of special releases but Brau Brothers debuted their Whirly Bird Oatmeal Stout and Lift Bridge’s entire offering was new.
Overall, I would call this intimate beer event a good time. It would be well worth attending next year, especially if the breweries and brewpubs are as well represented and you can catch a free moment to meet the folks.
Pedal Pubs Now Legal
The legislature passed, and the governor signed into law, some changes to the state’s liquor laws Thursday. The most notable change, at least to this follower, legalizes pedal pubs to operate on streets and in parks, gives pedal pubs the same rights as limos and party buses with regard to consumption in public. Woo hoo! Oh yeah, you may have also heard that bars can now stay open until 4 a.m. during the Republican National Convention.
The entire bill can be viewed here.