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.

Odell Tasting at Heritage Tonight!

The crew at Heritage is hosting a tasting with beer from Odell Brewing tonight. Head on over and sample two new beers to the Minnesota market, from 5-7PM.

*Friek* is a creative amalgamation invented by the brewers, blending a Kriek style ale with a Framboise as the newest offering in Odell’s Single Serve series of beers. Multiple Kriek Lambic ales were brewed over the past three years and fermented with a combination of yeasts (some wild), lactobacillus, and pediococcus. Then, 3500 pounds of sweet and tart cherries were added, and the beer was transferred into oak barrels where it aged taking on the cherry flavors. As the beer matured, Framboises (raspberries) from Schroyer Family Farms in Fort Collins were hand-picked by Odell Brewing co-workers and readied for the beer. The fresh raspberries were added just before the final blending.

Light and effervescent in the nose, *Friek *marries a tart cherry pucker with a bright raspberry finish. The two flavors co-mingle on the tongue, and the lactobacillus creates a sour complexity that accentuates the fruit. The beer is 100% bottle conditioned in cork and cage bottles.

*Myrcenary*, Odell’s new 4 pack Double IPA should be very popular with hopheads and is named for Myrcene, a component of essential oils in the hop flower. With some grassy hops, a bit of bitter resin, perhaps a hint ofpine, the taste is big and nicely bitter with some chewy resin flavor going on. A hint of pine, strong and bitter hop profile here, with a light malt color and flavor creating a surprising amount of substance.

Vine Park Photo Contest

If this isn’t a great incentive, I don’t know what is… Vine Park is offering up a chance to win two tickets to their August Brews Cruise for the best photo. Read on:

This year’s theme is Show us your Jugs! Send us a photo conveying a sense of having fun and include at least one VPBC growler jug and/or growler cozy with our logo showing.

Photos must be received by Father’s Day. Send them to newsletter@vinepark.com and we’ll pick the one we like best. All photos will be posted on our Facebook page for public comment.

Thursday Tasting at Heritage: Weyerbacher

Another Thursday at Heritage and no doubt another great tasting, this time with Weyerbacher:

We might not want to admit it, but there’s still a little cold weather time left, and we have some new, malty brews to finish out the winter. Pennsylvania’s Weyerbacher Brewing just brought 3 beers into Minnesota for the first time and we’ll be tasting them out this Thursday the 10th from 5-7PM.  We’ll have samples of Fireside, a smoky Dark Ale, Old Heathen, an Imperial Stout, and Insanity, their bourbon barrel aged Barleywine.  And we’ll have 10% off these beers Thursday night only.

I tried Old Heathan a while back and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Summit Unchained #6 Gold Sovereign Ale Release Parties

“I mean, you’re a — you’ve been given sovereignty, and you’re viewed as a sovereign entity.”

…er. Sorry. Damian McConn steps up to the faucet to pour the latest in Summit’s Unchained Series, his Gold Sovereign Ale. As reported eralier, Damien describes his inspiration for the the beer:

I thought it might be fun to produce a beer based on an old recipe but incorporating some of the most modern varieties of malt and hops available. Our base malt, Westminster, for example, was only approved in the UK for brewing a few years ago. However, I decided to use the organic, floor malted version as a nod to the production methods used in malting during the 19th Century. We also often seem to think that very hoppy/bitter, and/or high alcohol beers were somehow only “invented” in the last twenty years by brewers on the US West Coast. An examination of some European recipes from the past indicate however, that this approach is not a recent fad but has existed for some time!

Wednesday, March 9 at Blue Door Pub, 3pm
Wednesday, March 9 at Turf Club, 6pm with Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi DJs, $3 pints all night
Friday, March 11 at Muddy Pig, 4pm
Monday, March 14 at Campus Pizza, 6-8pm
Tuesday, March 29 at Four Firkins, 6pm tasting

I think the Turf Club gig sounds especially cool…