Shake off the thoughts of the mountains of snow outside and replace them with the memory of the warmth of the summer sun because the details are out on this year’s St. Paul Summer Beer Fest.
WE ARE MOVING!!!!! The 3rd Annual St Paul Summer Beer Fest will be on June 25th from 1-6pm at the MN State Fairgrounds inside the International Bazaar……can’t wait to see you all there this summer!!!!! —Mark and Juno—
Tickets for the event will go on sale online Saturday, April 2nd at noon. Price: TBA.
For those living in the Twin Cities, getting to and from Bockfest is probably the determining factor in attending or not. The Happy Gnome and St. Paul Jaycees offer you an all-inclusive option.
The Saint Paul Jaycees are heading to New Ulm for Bockfest, and you can ride along. Bockfest is an outdoor festival which celebrates Schells Brewery and their Special Fest bock beer. There is a fire, food, and many other beer-lovers. The Happy Gnome has partnered with the Saint Paul Jaycees to sell tickets and provide breakfast. Your ticket includes a round trip bus ride to New Ulm departing from The Happy Gnome, entrance to the Bockfest on the Schell’s Brewery grounds (YOU MUST BRING YOUR ID!), some Schell’s beer to drink during the ride, prizes, trivia, and entertainment You will need to arrive at The Happy Gnome at 7:30 am for breakfast with the bus leaving promptly at 8:30 am. You will return to the Gnome around 6 pm (leaving New Ulm at 4 pm). Tickets are $60 for a day of fun.
Click here to buy tickets.
So undoubtedly you’re on Twitter right? No doubt you’ve been foaming at the mouth for legislation information and found that Aaron shared the link to SF416…. The City Pages crew took it a bit further and grabbed a new quote from Frank Ball from the MLBA:
On Friday afternoon, Ball had not yet read the bill but backed way off of his earlier condemnation of the project. He says the earlier announcement lead him to believe that Surly wanted to sell its famous four-pack out of the brewery, undercutting distributors and store owners. The actual language of the bill only allows the new brewery to sell pints on location.
“We do think it’s a great idea,” he says now.
I guess this kills my plans for a short lecture on why this is all good for distributors, beer stores and bars. One would guess that you already know that additional brewing capacity would allow more bars and liquor stores to carry Surly. Win-win? Hopefully!
Homebrewers can attest… sometimes clone beer recipes suck. In my early days of brewing, I remember trying a clone or two from a distant homebrew shop (not a MN shop… my bad for buying elsewhere) that ended up tasting nothing like the real thing. Nothing. There are a few books out there that are hit or miss as well. That being said, our friends over at Northern Brewer have a Pro Series where all the recipes come from the professionals – the folks who actually make the beer that you’re trying to clone. Check ’em out… Included in the list are several beers from Surly (ever heard of ’em?) and Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery. Given the fact that the recipes are coming straight from the source, you no longer have wonder whether or not your “clone” recipe is actually a clone or someone’s best guess… point blank… if the beer sucks, it’s probably your fault.
Visit MacKenzie Pub on Friday for Bock Fest from 3-7. They’ll be pouring Schell’s Bock and serving
brats, kraut and giant pretzels. “Come in and get your beer poked!!”