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.

Great Books: Local Craft Beer in Print

By on February 11, 2014in misc. mn beer

Little confession here… I like to read. Give me a comfortable chair and something from an author like London, Kerouac, Palahniuk or Eggers and I’m a happy camper. I also have a slight addiction to beer books, especially of the homebrewing persuasion. It it’s a halfway decent book, there’s a good chance I’ve either skimmed it, read it entirely or own it.

Here are three books that touch on the Minnesota beer scene in one way, shape or form. Check them out! By the time you read this, all three should be available for your purchasing pleasure.

Locally Brewed: Portraits of Craft Breweries from America’s Heartland, Anna Blessing
localThis book is a fun, fast read profiling a variety of breweries that call the middle-west their home. Blessing profiles three Minnesota breweries (Schell’s, Surly and Steel Toe) and an array of other breweries form the heartland – some you’ve heard of and others that probably aren’t even on your radar. The writing is approachable and honest, and when I put down the book, I felt like I had a good sense of the breweries featured without a lot of help from the brewery PR departments. The photography is good as well the “Brewer’s Playlist” is a nice touch. Midwest brewers seem to have (mostly) good taste in music (in my book anyway), but Two Brothers wins the award for most eclectic, with selections ranging from GG Allin & RKL to Rusted Root and Amy Winehouse.

Craft Beer for the Homebrewer, Michael Agnew
craftbeerHey, I know that guy! Michael Agnew, Minnesota’s first certified glass-carboy juggler Cicerone brings us a new book that is one part homebrew recipes, one part brewery profiles and another part awesome. Michael and his band of merry beer writers profile a variety of brewers from around the country and squeeze homebrew recipes out of said brewers. Minnesotans will be happy to see both Surly and Schell’s represented, with homebrew recipes for Furious and Smoke from Surly and Snowstorm (2009, Baltic Porter) and Pils from Schell’s as well as recipes form the likes of The Bruery, Funkwerks, Odell, Rogue, Lagunitas and more. I’ve yet to brew any of the recipes from the book, but perhaps it’s time to fire up the kettles. It’s now clear that my attempt to clone Lagunitas’ Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ was WAY off. 🙂

The American Craft Beer Cookbook, John Holl
cbbThis book features a ton of recipes from a variety of breweries across the country. The book touches on every course and to be honest, a lot of the recipes in here look pretty damn tasty. One, in particular, deserves our attention. The lone Minnesota representative in this book comes from Surly Brewing Co. in the form of a recipe for Ginger-Garlic Chicken Stir Fry that begs to be enjoyed with a Saison (Cynic perhaps?). I’ve yet to try said recipe, but I’m pretty damn sure it’ll be good. Now if they could have only tracked down Barley John’s pizza recipes…

Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest Tickets on Sale Today at Noon!

By on February 7, 2014in beer events, breweries, brewpubs

northernlightsToday at noon you can buy tickets for the newest beer festival from the folks from Chop Liver, the people who have brought you the St. Paul Summer Beer Festival as well as other festivals in Rochester and Mankato. Needless to say these fellas are well-practiced, so the Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest should be something special.

The event promises to showcase a selection of rare, vintage and specialty one-off beers. A select group of ~30 brewers and owners were invited to share unique offerings in an event that also raises money for Pints for Prostates.

“This is the first year for the Northern Lights fest,” said organizers Juno Choi and Mark Opdahl [in unison, no doubt], “and we’re very excited because it will be unlike any other beer event in the area. It will be a great chance to try some really unique, maybe even once in a lifetime, beers.”

“These aren’t beers you’re going to be able to go out and buy off the shelf or on tap at a pub,” according to Choi. “These are limited-availability, vintage bottles from a past release, and in some cases brewed specifically for the fest.”

Besides rare beers and the opportunity to rub shoulders with the beer geek elite, ticketholders will also enjoy complimentary food catered in by top area chefs and live music.

Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest
March 29th, 2014
Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul
7-10pm
$100

Tickets go on sale Friday, February 7th at noon online and at participating retailers. For more information, including a list of participating breweries, are available at the event’s website: http://northernlightsrarebeerfest.com/

Barley John’s to Build Brewery in Wisconsin

By on February 4, 2014in breweries

barley_johns_frontNick Halter’s Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal article (Barley John’s Brew Pub plans Wisconsin brewery) rolled across my screen and brought up some truly mixed emotions. Barley John’s hosted one of MNBeer’s early get-togethers and I’ve been drinking their beer and enjoying their excellent food for years. I love those guys and that place. So while it’s awesome to hear that they’re planning to forge ahead with a production brewery, it’s really a bummer that it won’t be in Minnesota.

Barley John’s John Moore has made no bones about the fact that he wants to expand and that he’d go to Wisconsin if we didn’t change our laws in Minnesota. Under current state law, he can’t package and sell his beer to a distributor, retailer or bar. True to his word a Barley John’s production brewery will open in the spring in New Richmond, Wisconsin. The 13000 sq/ft location will include a taproom and an overall capacity of 10000 bbl. According to the article, Moore plans to produce around 7000 bbl in the first year.

“I would rather have done it here, two minutes away, but that’s not the way it is,” Moore said. “The law is not in favor of brewpubs. It’s in favor of breweries.”

…

Barley John’s still won’t be able to distribute beer in Minnesota, but will sell in Wisconsin. Moore said Minnesota residents will be able to buy his beer in border towns.

Brewpubs have been fighting this fight in Minnesota for years. Long before anyone ever thought the Taproom Bill would ever be a reality, legislation to allow brewpubs to distribute was moving along nicely, and may have even been railroaded by the desire to sell pints at the brewery. (To read a little more about unique brewpub legal issues, check out this article by Elliot Ginsburg and Erin Conway.)

In 2006, a fairly politically active Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild was very close to making this happen. Shouldn’t we change things before we lose another brewery and it’s associated employees, taxes & revenue to another state? What happens when Minnesota’s two largest brewpubs reach the cap of 3500 bbl/year?

Folks, let’s not lose another brewery to Wisconsin.

Big Wood Brewery Taproom Opens Friday

By on February 3, 2014in breweries

big wood breweryBig news! (Pun not intended, though timely.) White Bear Lake’s Big Wood Brewery will open their taproom to the public this Friday, February 7th. For their taproom, they tapped into the history of the area and their turn-of-the-century building. According to Big Wood’s Steve Merila, “We wanted to build something unique, something that fit into the existing décor of this historic town and it took a while to accomplish that. I think that we set the record for the longest, most awaited Taproom.” The taproom features a nice array of materials reclaimed from old White Bear Lake buildings, barns and fallen trees. Go check it out Friday!

The Taproom will be open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays from 3 pm to 10 pm and Saturdays from 1 pm to 10 pm. They will sell growlers, beer by the glass and offer tours of the brewery.

 

Fitger’s Brewhouse Sochi Series

By on January 30, 2014in brewpubs

SochiSeries_Poster_GenericThe gang at The Brewhouse in Duluth is celebrating the Olympics in their very own way, with a series of beers, art and swag revolving around the theme. And with around twenty Minnesotans headed to Sochi to compete, it seems appropriate! Cheer on your favorite Minnesota curler, xc skier, hockey player, speed skater or biathlete and grab a Brewhouse brew.

For this series, each of their brewers developed their own recipe –  a collaboration of brewer creativity. And to make mirror the Olympic games, they set up a little competition, pitting IPA vs. IPA. One IPA was brewed with 25 different hops from around the world and another was brewed with 25 different kinds of hops from the US. You can just hear the chants now, “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

These beers will be available starting Monday, February 3rd. Like the Olympics, beers will be poured at different venues. Look for World IPA, Back End Wee Heavy, Slippery Slope Stout, and eventually USA IPA will be at theBrewhouse. You’ll find USA IPA and eventually World IPA at Burrito Union. USA Curling Capital can be found at Redstar. If you want all 7, the Rathskellar in the basement of Tycoons is the place to go—but pace yourself, these are big beers!

Details on the beers, you ask? Here they are:

Back End Wee Heavy (ABV 9%, SRM 22, IBU 28)
Drawing on inspiration from the birthplace of curling, this Scotch Ale will keep you warm on or off the ice. Pours a rich brown color with garnet highlights and offers aromas of roast malt & toffee. Flavors of chocolate paired with a malty sweetness belie a substantial alcohol content. Named after the strategizing & shot-calling mem- bers of a curling team (the third and skip), this Back End may just put you on yours.
Iron Curtain Imperial Red (ABV 8.2%, SRM 27, IBU 80)
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” Winston Churchill coined this phrase in times of war. As we approach the Winter Olympics in a time of peace, we reflect on a time when The Iron Curtain ruled that landscape. Iron Curtain is a high gravity red ale with caramel-like malt flavors. A Simcoe and Centennial hop regiment balances the alcohol and malt pro- files with notes of citrus and pine. Enjoy!
Performance Enhancing Pils* (ABV 7.5%, SRM 6, IBU 81)
A light and smooth but rich malt character mixes with intense aromas from the noblest of hops. Perfect for warming up by the fire or a long-winded toast to the snow gods; this robust “Überpils” will make any day feel like a powder day.
* Will not actually increase performance.

Slippery Slope (ABV 8.3%, SRM 55, IBU 48)
Dessert on the ski slopes, ya say? This milk stout was brewed with over 120 lbs of coconut and 15 lbs of cacao nibs. Lactose lends a super smooth and full mouthfeel, found in very few styles. Be careful though, having too much of this dessert will leave you slippery on any surface.
USA Curling Capital (ABV 8.7%, SRM 38, IBU 100)
USA Curling Capital is dark in color, packed full of hop flavor and malt character. American and New Zealand hops meet Belgian yeast for a beer with an international flair. Our fair city of Duluth can be considered the curling capital of the US as we are again the home of the US Men’s Curling Team. Enjoy with pride as you cheer on our athletes to victory in the Winter Olympics in Sochi!
The World 25/25 IPA (ABV 7.5%, SRM 10, IBU 110)
The World is part of two batches of beer we made for the Sochi Series honoring the athletes in the upcoming Olympic games. This beer features 25 different hops grown all over the world. Hops from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, U.K., Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic were added to the kettle over 25 hop additions. Every 5 minutess we added 1 pound. We then open fermented this beer with Burton Ale yeast and very aggressively dry hopped. This is simply a hop bomb. Meant to be sipped and to be compared to its counterpart USA 25/25 IPA.
USA 25/25 IPA (ABV 8.5%, SRM 10, IBU 110)
USA is part of two batches of beer we made for the Sochi Series honoring the athletes in the upcoming Olympic games. This beer features 25 different American grown hops added to the kettle over 25 hop additions. Every 5 minutes we added 1 pound. We then fermented with American yeast and very aggressively dry hopped twice during fermentation. This is simply a hop bomb. Meant to be sipped and to be compared to its counterpart The World 25/25 IPA.