Hey, we’re a little late, but whaddya’ do?
Hey All,
Thanks to all of you that attended Winterfest, I hope you enjoyed the event.
We will release Banana Bread Beer TODAY [Monday]. Sorry about the short notice… I thought we had another week, but we need it now. So, swing on by and try a pint of Banana Bread Beer from 5-6pm for just $2 per. Notice to short???? Don’t worry – swing in on Wednesday during pick a pint night (again just $2 for house beers from 5-6pm).
Cheers,
Mike
You guys are awesome. I met a lot of great people on Friday night, many for the first time. Professional brewers, homebrewers, event organizers, beer fans… Many of you had a lot of positive things to say about MNBeer, and on the same note, I have nothing but good things to say about your ales, lagers, events, restaurants and passion for beer in Minnesota. The compliments flew back and forth to the degree that I felt like I’d just stepped into a Successories outlet for beer enthusiasts. And though it felt a little cheezy, it’s all true – there’s a lot of heart in beer in Minnesota.
Jeff Williamson, Mike Hoops and all others involved with the planning and execution of Winterfest deserve our gratitude. I can only guess that putting on an event of this magnitude involves a lot of work and little thanks.
Oh, and the beer wasn’t too shabby, either. I enjoyed a variety of beers, some of my favorites included August Schell’s Scmaltz’s Alt, Barley John’s Extra Special Lager and Old 8 Porter, Brau Brothers’ dubbel, Fitger’s Misty Mountain IPA and El Diablo, Flat Earth Pale Ale, Great Waters’ Imperial Wit, Herkimer’s Altbier, Town Hall’s Old Jack Frost, O’Hara’s IVP, Rock Bottom’s Belgian Brown, Summit’s Cask-conditioned Oktoberfest and Surly One among many others.
A couple of things really caught my attention that night – first, the unveiling of Flat Earth Brewing Co.’s “Flat Earth Pale Ale” which, as predicted, was a Belgian-style pale ale… and it’s good, too. I’d really like to drink a pint or two and wax poetic, but if memory serves, I enjoyed its complexity – a bit of biscuit, spice and dark fruit. Great beer. I can’t wait to see what else Jeff has up his sleeve.
Secondly, I was really impressed by the fact that Brau Brothers are screen-printing their own bottles on-site. Many of you are all-too-familiar with my design/printing background and know what a nerd I am with respect to that sort of technology. Very cool.
Constructive feedback? Very little. I wouldn’t mind seeing the tables moved back one set of columns next year. Hindsight is 20/20, though, and I’m sure it’s hard to envision 400-some people packed into a space and need to guess just how far out to place the tables. The other thing that I’d probably change (If I were king for the day…) would be the tasting glasses. They look cool, but they were slippery and a little hard to hang on to due to their bulbous shape. I was shuffling a program, some business cards, a camera and the glass and just about destroyed my glass very early in the tasting.
Good times! Next up for Minnesota? Bockfest. Arborfest. (Or Gitchee Gummee if you want to stretch to include Duluth’s uglier little sibling, Superior.)
(Oh, and you’ll notice that I mentioned that I brought a camera. Yup, I got my old, mostly-dead camera to work once again. Unfortunately, it’s as good as dead since the photos are filled with digital nonsense 90% of the time. I think I have ONE passable Winterfest photo. I’ll post it later.)
Just think, tomorrow night at this time some of you will be finding your way to a cab or bus or Great Waters, basking in the joy of what was Winterfest.
In case you’ve been jonesing for some more info, I’ll give you more beers for Winterfest. Without further delay…
Brau Brothers Brewing Co. will perhaps be bringing a dubbel. Go easy on them if they don’t – starting a production brewery, even with the brewpub background, is quite an endeavour. If the brothers don’t bring the dubbel, I promise they’ll bring a Scotch ale.
Collin tells me that Barley John’s will be bringing an “Extra Special Lager,” a 7.3% abv pre-prohibition style lager that’s been hanging out in their new dedicated lagering tank. “Brewed using Czech Saaz hops and our special Lager yeast blend, this high gravity winter pilsner was made to offset the traditional Winter Warmers while still delivering the same end result – the Extra Special.”
The Great Northern Brew-Ha-Ha (February 9th & 10th) is currently accepting entries until January 29th. You can enter online at
http://www.northernalestars.org/greatnorthernbrewhaha.htmlYou can bring your entries to the Upper Mississippi Mash-Out and they will be transported to Duluth for FREE!
Judges and Stewards are needed. Register to judge or steward online at http://www.northernalestars.org/greatnorthernbrewhaha.html
You can find entry details along with hotel and awards dinner information at…you guessed it…
http://www.northernalestars.org/greatnorthernbrewhaha.htmlOnline registration, FREE shipping, BJCP points, Midwest Homebrewer of the Year points, Best of Show winner will brew their winning entry at the Thirsty Pagan Brewery…the list goes on and on!!!
If you have any questions please e-mail them to northernalestars AT hotmail DOT com.
If you have extra Winterfest tickets that you need to unload or if you’re in need of Winterfest tickets, please post your information in the forum. That should make everything easier and faster for everyone.
Another beer? Okay. The gang at Fitger’s Brewhouse will be bringing an 11% abv beer called “El Diablo,” a Belgian-style strong golden, brewed in the style of Duvel. It’s a young’un – aged nine months. Word from the northwoods is that it goes down smooth but is liable to kick your ass if you’re not paying attention.