Tonight (Thursday May 17th) from 6pm-9pm Old Chicago in Minnetonka will be celebrating American Craft Beer week with local and national beers in support of Craftworks Foundation, an organization that helps the hungry and homeless. They’ll have 10+ breweries featuring 20+ beers as well as some tasty food. Tickets are $25 at the door. All proceeds will benefit the Craftworks Foundation helping the hungry and homeless.
Author: ryan
Ryan Anderson (that's me!) is the editor & founder of MNBeer. Much has changed since the fall of 2005 and I'm proud to have been a part of it all.
Sometime I'll tell you about my grand theory that links craft brewing to punk rock. Just ask.
New Belgium Tasting/Takeover at Heritage Tonight
Heritage is getting all New Belgium-y on us. Beer Ranger Derek (aka Theo) will be pouring samples from 5-7. If that weren’t enough, the bomber of the week at Heritage is New Belgium’s Abbey Grand Cru and they’re running specials on 4 and 6 packs as well. Read on:
New Belgium Heritage Takeover!
For the price of a debt they’ll never be able to erase (the juice is running!), we’re allowing New Belgium Brewery to take over our store this week. The truth is that we’ll do all the work and they’ll get all the credit, but you’ll get to reap the benefits.
Bomber of the Week
For our BOTW, we’ll have their Abbey Grand Cru, a big, beautiful version of their Abbey Ale at 20% off. Rich and bottle conditioned, this a great beer to cellar.Thursday Tasting
For our tasting on Thursday the 17th, we will have Derek (aka: “Theo” aka: the sexiest Beer Ranger in whatever room he is in) here to pour samples of some of their brews from 5-7PM.Brewery of the Month
There’s a theme developing … our featured brewery this month is … stay with me here … New Belgium. For the month of May we’ll have their 4-packs and 6-packs on sale for $7.49 and their 12 packs (can and bottle) on sale for $12.99.
Taste of River Lakes Craft Beer and Wine Expo Saturday in Richmond, MN
On Saturday, May 19th from 2-6 “Taste of River Lakes Craft Beer and Wine Expo” will take place River Lakes Civic Center in Richmond MN. The event advertises over 100 different varieties of craft beers and 30 varieties of wine to sample throughout the afternoon. From what I gather, if you don’t get your fill, the event will continue offsite with special bar tapping at local pubs. Advanced tickets are $25.00 (Cash Wise Liquor) or $30.00 at the door. All proceeds to benefit River Lakes Hockey.
Music by The Hell Country Truckers. Food available from Jimmy’s Pizza, Cold Spring Bakery and others.
That’s about all I have. Third Street Brewhouse and Cold Spring are sponsors, so no doubt they’ll be present.
Maredsous Beer Dinner at Kip’s
Kip’s Irish Pub in St. Louis Park is holding their first beer dinner on May 21st, featuring beers from Maredsous. $40/person gets you three courses, each paired with a different Maredsous offering. Call or email for reservations, 952.367.5070 and kip@kipspub.com respectively.
Menu/pairings below the fold…
Granite City Blueberry Ale Release Wednesday
A couple of updates from Granite City for American Craft Beer Week… First, they’ll be tapping their Blueberry Ale tomorrow (Wednesday). If I remember correctly, their version reminds me a bit of a very lightly-hopped blonde ale with a very generous addition of blueberry.
Secondly, they’re advertising brewery tours – see manager for details. As you might know, their process is a little different than most brewpubs, with a brewhouse (worthouse, perhaps) in Iowa the produces wort that is then shipped to locations in something not unlike a dairy truck (broken into sections for beer varieties) and then fermented on-site. With the exception of St. Cloud, none of the pubs have a full brewhouse on site. Regardless, it might be interesting to check out. Fill us in if you take a tour!
Finally, they’re offering samplers now. $3.75 gets you 8 small portions of beer.