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.

Eat Craft Beer: Brooks High Beer Battered Kickstarter

Watch. Laugh. Contribute.

Brooks High Beer Battered has my attention. Their Kickstarter video is nothing short of awesome. Stop what you’re doing and watch it. Now. What do you think?

What’s not to like about beer-battered goodness that begins with a base of Minnesota craft beer? They’ve already secured partnerships with two Minnesota breweries (Bauhaus and LynLake) and their beer-battered walleye looks… excellent. Check them out.

Visit their Kickstarter page here!

Northern Brewer Pumpkin Peach Ale

nbpeachHere’s a thumb to the nose for Budweiser’s silly ad that picks on craft beer.

Northern Brewer has introduced “The  Peach of Resistance Pumpkin Peach Ale” as a homebrew kit. “No suds. No rice. No pretense.”

The recipe is designed to feature faint pumpkin spice character, a malty body and lots of peach in the nose. Do you need to brew this beer? Click here.

Beer Personality:

  • Stands for innovation and experimentation and the ingenuity of the craft brewer
  • An unlikely combination of flavors that works together because its brewed the right way
  • Opposes sameness and conformity in brewing
  • Proudly an Ale, rather than mere “golden suds”

 

#MNCleanPint 2015

Ladies and gentlemen, fire up your beer glasses and your smartphones and get your hashtags ready! February 1st us upon us and that means you’ll see #MNCleanPint tagged across the social media spectrum.

And what, you ask, is all the fuss about? #MNCleanPint celebrates “beer clean” glassware. Beer clean glassware is free from contaminants, residue and film. You’ll find nice rings of lacing inside your class with “beer clean” glassware.

Petroleum-based cleaner, incorrect chemical dilution and improper washing are the three biggest culprits that lead to that “not so fresh” beer glass. Obviously these contaminants can also lead to off flavors in and aromas in your beer. Mmmm… sanitizer.

It’s hard to believe that I sat down with Joe from JJ Taylor to talk about making #MNCleanPint happen over five years ago, but it’s true. Over the course of those five years, the folks from JJ Taylor have worked with the Cicerone Program, Micromatic, the Better Beer Society, MNBeer.com, Minnesota Beer Activists and A Perfect Pint to help raise awareness and educate beer drinkers about clean glassware.

So empty your glass (You can do that, right?), and show us the lacing on the inside of your glass on your social media platform of choice. Tag your photo with #MNCleanPint, and let us know where you’re throwing down beers. At the end of the month, the establishment with the most mentions will win the title of “Cleanest Pint in Minnesota.”

Prizes? Yessirree! How does this sound… Cicerone training and tests, a $100 bar tab, and a home kegerater kit. Does that work for you? You’ll also have a chance to win glassware and all kinds of other prizes throughout the month.

Get your post on.

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612 Brew Has Nice Cans (And I Have Dumb Puns)

612unrated-rye

So have you heard the one about the brewery who named their beer “Rated R” (for rye), only to find that the MPAA wasn’t crazy about it and filed a cease and desist? Indeed (no, not them) it’s true for 612 Brew.

That, however, isn’t what this piece is about. No siree. Instead, let’s talk about some cans. Our friends at 612 Brew are on the verge of releasing some beers in 12 oz. cans with some beautiful artwork from none other than Adam Turman.

We cornered 612 Brew‘s Robert Kasak at the donut shop and begged him for the inside track on canned beer at the brewery. Here’s what he had to say.

Cans?
Yes – we received the canning line 2 weeks ago from Wild Goose in Colorado and the cans last week.

…and when can we get said cans?
You can find 612Brew in cans on shelves stating February 16.

Why cans?
Since we began writing the business plan, cans have always been in the works. We only had a finite amount of money to spend when we started the brewery so we could either focus on building a world class taproom or build a canning line. We opted for the former. We chose cans because we think the packaging is best suited for the lifestyles of us and our beer drinkers. We love drinking cans of beer at the beach, on the golf course or simply at the back yard get together. The light weight packaging and recyclability are great for taking the beers with you up to the cabin, and of course bringing them back home to recycle them. Lastly, in our opinion, cans provide a better package for our beer and the shelf life of the beer. All 612Brew is unfiltered and unpasteurized therefore we need to have our beer in a light free package. Cans are truly the best option for that.

Nice work. We can’t wait to pop one or four of these open!

Day Block Brewing 1 Year Anniversary Starts Today

dayblockDay Block Brewing Co. is turning 1 and they’re not f#%&ing around! They’ve planned five days of festivities with beer releases, prizes, music, bacon flights, pickle flights, Hot Scotchies and more.

Beer releases: Coffee Porter, Black IPA, Imperial Stouts and Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Rye, Mocha Stout American Oak Aged Imperial Stout, French Oak Aged Imperial Stout and Hungarian Oak Aged Imperial Stout. (See event info for release schedule.)

Weekend of Giveaways: Chances to win 6 pack of Growlers, Gift Cards, Bacon Raffles, Brewer for a Day (You can choose Paul or Dan). Visit Day Block any time during our anniversary and receive a raffle entry with every beer purchased!

Full details: https://www.dayblockbrewing.com/events/1st-anniversary-party