Category: breweries

Growler Gala #2: Roosevelt High School Theater Fundraiser

By on January 20, 2017in breweries, charity, general beer, MN

Next Thursday, the Advocates of Roosevelt Theater Arts will be hosting the second annual Growler Gala event at The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge from 7 until 11 pm. The event is open to ticket holders who are 21 and older and will feature, beer, music, a growler cake walk, and a silent auction.

The goal of the event is to raise enough money so that the program can produce a spring musical. Last year was a huge success and they are expecting even bigger things this year. Growlers have been donated by local breweries and the music lineup for the evening will include Rocket Appliances, Grammar, and the Betsie’s.

Get out and support local high school theater and bring some friends with. It’s certain to be a good time. Tickets to the event can be purchased here for $15, or at the door for $18.

When:

Thursday, January 26th from 7 – 11 pm

Where:

The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge

3010 Minnehaha Ave.

Minneapolis, MN 55406

What to bring:

Dancing shoes, money, your thirsty friends

Cheers!

A Sneak Peek at the Winter Dabbler Lineup

By on January 5, 2017in beer events, breweries

One of the longest running (8 years) winter beer fests in Minnesota is set to take place on February 4th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Tickets are on sale for $45 in advance, or $55 at the door. The event kicks off at 2:30 pm and ends at 6:30 pm. The Winter Dabbler promises some unique offerings from reputable breweries and new breweries alike. We dove in and found some that should be worth checking out.

Twisted Zweig from Forager Brewing – The version they offered with currants late last summer was one of our favorite beers of 2016. A fantastic version of a Berliner Weiss from the folks in Rochester.

Driftless Dry from Wyndfall Cider – Cider is a beautiful thing, especially when it’s made right. The folks at Wyndfall are very passionate about their products, and a super dry cider made from heirloom apples sounds pretty fantastic.

Winter Flannel from Lucette Brewing – A winter warmer made with chocolate malt. These are typically malt forward and full of flavor. A classic choice for an outdoor event in January.

Salted Caramel Quadrupel from Birch’s on the Lake – It’s hard to find a well-made Belgian here in Minnesota, but when your brewer comes from Schlafly in St. Louis it carries weight. Expect this to be a big beer, rich red or even brown in color, and high in alcohol content but heavy on flavor. This one ought to warm anyone up.

Tuque Black Saison with Juniper Berries from Fair State Brewing Cooperative – What doesn’t Fair State do well? Expect more of the same with this Saison featuring the key ingredient in gin, juniper berries.

Calamity Russian Imperial Stout from Bad Weather Brewing – Andy Ruhland is running a great brewing program over on West 7th, and this chocolate forward Russian Imperial Stout should be sought out by fest goers. Originally released in their taproom in late October, this beer is designed to get you through winter. But be careful, this will sneak up on you.

Last Fathom Dark Lager from Lake Monster Brewing – This looks to be another somewhat sessionable go-to weighing in at only 5.5% ABV. We’re suckers for a good Dunkel, and this one features wild rice and is low on the bitterness.

Golden Nugget from Toppling Goliath Brewing – This hop heavy beer features Golden Promise malt (a favorite for showcasing hops) along with the classic hop variety know as Nugget. Nugget hops tend to have earthy/herbal tones and serve as great bittering hops. IPA lovers rejoice!

Warm Beer with Mulled Spices from Olvalde – If you haven’t tried any of the offerings from Joe Pond and his brewery based in Rollingstone, MN—you’re really missing out. This small operation puts out fantastic beer made with ingredients found on his farm. This warm beer will serve as a nice change of pace and should warm you up from the inside-out.

Cheers!

 

Life After Todd Haug: Surly Moving Forward

By on December 15, 2016in Surly Brewing Co.

Authenticity. That’s the word being thrown around the Surly beer hall over in Prospect Park. They called a select group of media together to announce how they planned to replace their original brewer and trendsetter Todd Haug.

Ben Smith and Jerrod Johnson will carry the torch for the brewing team as co-head brewers, and they have plans to create more unique beers for the market and also to pair with the highly acclaimed food being served at The Brewer’s Table. In order to do this, they are starting a “Brewers Series” to showcase their unique talents. Ben has been there for over 3 years while Jerrod was employee #5 back in 2008. The first experiment will be a “champagne beer” created in cahoots with Jorge Guzman and his team for the New Years Eve Dinner which is being hosted by the restaurant. “Collaboration is the name of the game” says Smith. “We’ve always set trends. We make the beers we wanna make here.”

What about the image of the brewery going forward? Well Ben’s probably not gonna grow out his hair and cover himself in tattoos, but he’s also a metal head—and Jerrod is probably the brewing industry’s biggest Zelda geek. So probably more of the same, and somewhere in between. “We’re gonna continue to build this dysfunctional family. Change has been the only consistent thing here at Surly” says Johnson.

Something that was emphasized throughout the event (as they poured all four of their IPAs) was that they are not limited to making hop forward beers, but at the same time they won’t apologize for their love of hops.

Owner Omar Ansari also spoke about growth of the brewery and mentioned that they may one day go worldwide. “When we envision the growth, we want to continue to explore and create new beers. They’re [Ben and Jerrod] just as excited to try the new beers as others.”

Here’s to hoping for some Zelda themed beers.

MNBeer Holiday Gift Guide

By on December 6, 2016in Bauhaus Brewlabs, Dangerous Man Brewing Co., Junkyard Brewery, Modist Brewing, Sisyphus, Summit Brewing Co., Surly Brewing Co.

ba-dmThe holidays are right around the corner and we’ve got some gift ideas for you over here at MNBeer. With so many choices it can seem a bit overwhelming at times. That’s why we’ve got you covered.

Surly Brewer’s Table Gift Card – The accolades keep piling up for the Jorge Guzman run fine dining restaurant located upstairs at the Surly destination brewery. The food is phenomenal and the way they pair it with the beer is unlike any other experience in town. This is why Food and Wine Magazine named it one of the top 10 Restaurants of the Year and they were not alone. Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl also gave it high praise in her piece for Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine last spring. The gift card is available from $25 -$150.

Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild Ticket Pack – With over 100 brewery members, the guild is stronger than ever and the brewers often bring their best beers to these events. Winterfest is going to be at a new location this year (Target Field Legends Club) while the picturesque Bayfront Park in Duluth plays host to All Pints North in the summer. Autumn Brew Review serves as the finale and is held at the Grain Belt Brewery Complex in Northeast Minneapolis. If you have someone who loves local beer, this is the perfect gift pack ($300 includes 2 tickets to each event) for them.

Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest Tickets – What sets this beer fest apart from the others is that it features 30 breweries from here and around the country, and they bring beers that you may never see on local store shelves or on tap at the local breweries. The focus is on rare beers in an intimate setting with fantastic food included in the ticket price of $100. The Minnesota History Center is the perfect fit for this upscale event.

Hoodie and a Hat from Sociable Cider Werks – For $45 this is a great stocking stuffer. You choose a hat and a hooded sweatshirt, perfect for the cold Minnesota winter. Sociable Cider Werks specializes in apple graffes and their taproom is great place to check out music on the weekend and the fire pit is a great hangout on cold nights in the Twin Cities.

Crowlers from Dangerous Man, Bauhuas, Junkyard, Sisyphus, Sociable Cider Werks, and Modist – Let’s face it, beer is an affordable luxury and it makes the perfect gift. Stop in at any of these breweries and pick up a few crowlers. These 750 ml (size of a bottle of wine) cans of beer are perfect for the holiday dinner table or out back by the fire pit. They usually run anywhere from $7 – $10 each and are a great way to try beers from multiple breweries around town.

Dangerous Man Barrel-Aged Bombers – You know that delicious Peanut Butter Porter made by Dangerous Man in the Sheridan neighborhood? Yeah, they put that in Port wine barrels and aged it for months—and they’ll be releasing it on Saturday at the taproom. It’s gonna go very fast along with the Dopplebock (one of the best beers crafted by them) they aged in cedar rye whiskey barrels. The sale kicks off at noon and the bottles are priced at $20 each. Be sure to get there early if you want to pick these up. There will certainly be a line.

Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest Announces Breweries and Ticket Sales

By on November 21, 2016in beer events, breweries, Brewers Supply Group, general beer, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com

Mark Opdahl and Juno Choi of Chop Liver Inc. decided four years ago that the Twin Cities needed a rare beer festival. Something similar to the Firestone Walker Invitational, Denver Rare Beer Fest, and the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers. Their solution was a rare beer festival held at the beautiful Minnesota Historical Society called Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest. “We wanted to take those ideas, hand select the breweries, and give the beer community what they want” says Opdahl.

Olympus OMD EM1

The breweries (30 in total) are a mix of local and national, which provide a nice variety of beers that are hard for Minnesotans to get their hands on. “We’re pretty lucky too” says Opdahl. “It’s a testament that they want to have some of their beers up against the best in the country. It really shows that they appreciate what we do the rest of the year with Chop Liver Inc. events.” This event is also rare in that food is included in the cost of the ticket ($100 with a portion of the proceeds going to Pints for Prostates) and is often better than you’ll find at other beer events around town. “It’s not just deli sandwiches and potato chips” he says laughing. For example, last year they served pork belly sliders, beer cheese soup, along with all sorts of snacks.

Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest

Another thing that sets this event apart from others is the venue. The Minnesota Historical Society hosted Winterfest for years before they outgrew the space with so many new local breweries. “The venue is really what makes this event what it is” he proclaims. “Marble top to bottom, and a view of the capitol from the 3rd floor. We only sell 750 of these tickets so it’s easy to get around. If you spend this kind of money, you should be able to move around.” So how do they get so many of these breweries on board? Experience. They had been running beer events for 6 years before the first Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest giving them the opportunity to meet representatives from many of these breweries. The other co-founder Juno Choi has been working at Brewers Supply Group for years where he’s built relationships with some of the most notable people in the industry.

Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest

This year’s event will take place on March 11th with tickets going on sale this Friday at 10 AM, just in time for the holidays. The festival provides attendees the chance to try a lot of these beers without committing to full bottles and long lines outside of liquor stores. “Its a great opportunity to try unique beers that are often not found in stores. If you go into a normal bar and pay for a single flight, you’re already at $15” states Opdahl.

 

All in all this is one of the best beer festivals held here in Minnesota, and a ticket to this event is a great gift idea for those who seek out hard to find beers.

So which breweries are gonna be there? We at MNBeer.com are proud to announce the brewery lineup which can be found below:

unnamedAugust Schell Brewing Company (2015 winner)
Avery Brewing Company
Ballast Point Brewing Company
Bells Brewery
Bemidji Brewing Company
Bent Paddle Brewing Company
Boulevard Brewing Company
Central Waters Brewing Company
Dark Horse Brewing Company
Deschutes Brewery
Elysian Brewing Company
Fargo Brewing Company
Fitgers Brewhouse (2016 winner)
Forager Brewing Company
Fulton Brewery
Goose Island Beer Company
Grand Teton Brewing Company (2014 winner)
Great Divide Brewing Company
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Indeed Brewing Company
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Left Hand Brewing Company
Lift Bridge Brewing Company
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Oskar Blues Brewery
Steel Toe Brewing Company
Stone Brewing Company
Surly Brewing Company
The Bruery
Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

Cheers!