Category: breweries

Schell’s “The Current” Beer

By on February 18, 2014in breweries

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Today the fine folks at The Current have announced that the station is hooking up with our friends at Schell’s to introduce a co-labeled Schell’s The Current beer, available in May. The beer will be a limited edition run of Schell’s Seasonal Zommerfest, a Kölsch-style ale. Look for it in 16 ounce cans at bars and liquors.

Surprised? Perhaps a little, though with the station’s attention to craft beer in recent years, this seems like a fun fit. And to be perfectly honest, aside from the “Frozen” cd that my four-year-old requests daily, The Current is a staple in my car. I’d suspect that many of our craft beer loving friends are also fans of The Current.

“We know that many of our fans love craft beer, and we look at any partnership or promotion through the lens of our audience,” said Jim McGuinn, program director for The Current. “We know our listeners and this is a natural fit.”

In addition to increasing brand awareness of The Current, the station also hopes to introduce listeners to local bands, whose songs will be available in May at thecurrent.org/beer. A list of participating bands and songs will be announced closer to the launch of the beer.

“Local bands and local beer are a great match,” McGuinn said. “We love that we can bring the two together. Through the downloads available at thecurrent.org and upcoming shows featuring these artists, we hope to continue to support our local music scene.”

“Beer drinkers are looking to quench their thirst with a brew that has a good story behind it,” said Ted Marti, President of Schell’s, and a fifth generation member of the brewing family. “We’ve got that covered with 154 years of German heritage, and The Current has that covered with the fantastic local music it supports. It’s a win-win.”

Any revenue generated from the sales of Schell’s The Current beer will go back to The Current and the work it does to support local music.

Hey Art Nerds, How ‘Bout a Beer Gig?

By on February 14, 2014in breweries, general beer

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Our friends at Surly Brewing Company are looking for their next featured artist. Said artist will create art for Surly’s next anniversary beer (∞ight?), SurlyFest & Darkness. You’ll no doubt see the artwork on bottles posters, shirts and other fun things.  Surly has worked with a variety of artists over the past number of years (tattoo artists, graphic designers, illustrators, painting elephants) , so the medium & style is wide open with the caveat that the work needs to be unique and “Surly.”

And while recognition and free beer is nice, this is a paid gig as well. “The chosen one” will be working from concept to design to finished piece with the merry men and women of Surly on a timeline.

Care to join the likes of artists such as  Josh “Jawsh” Lemke, Brent Schoonover, Michael Berglund, Aesthetic Apparatus, DWITT, Nic Skrade, and Adam Turman?  Send some info about yourself, your connection with Surly and examples of your previous work (links to your portfolio, etc.) to michael@surlybrewing.com by Friday, March 7.

Good luck!

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.