Ready for a taste of the bayou? On Friday, May 31st, Summit Brewing Company is hosting a crawfish boil put on by Chef Tim and the krewe from the Cajun 2 Geaux food truck. The boil will include crawfish, shrimp, Andouille sausage, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes and cauliflower. If you want in on some of this goodness, you’ll need to RSVP and the spots are filling up fast. Follow this link to RSVP. The event is from 6-8 p.m. Local brass band McNasty Brass Band will be performing as well. Summit Brewing Company is at 910 Montreal Circle in St. Paul.
Category: breweries
Surly Picks a Distributor
Surly Brewing Company has just signed a deal with Johnson Brothers, a St. Paul based liquor distributor, to become our newest Minnesota beer distributor.
We’ve been distributing our own beer since we sold the first Surly keg back in early 2006. Since then, we’ve grown our network to more than 500 bars, restaurants and liquor stores throughout the Twin Cities and at various locations across the state.
As demand for our beer continues to grow, we’re going to be working with Johnson Brothers to expand our network of on and off-premise accounts and find a more efficient way to distribute our beer. We’ll still be maintaining our relationships with beer distributors in the northwest Twin Cities suburbs, Duluth and Rochester.
By the end of 2014, we’ll be significantly increasing beer production at the Destination Brewery. Once the brewery is fully operational, Johnson Brothers, through its Artisan Beer Company, will help us distribute significantly more beer to bars, restaurants, and liquor stores across Minnesota. Surly couldn’t take its next steps without a partnership like this.
We wanted to work with someone who understood our company, and Johnson Brothers is the ideal partner. We’re both growing, family-owned Minnesota companies and it was clear that they understood the Surly way.
“We are extremely proud and excited to be partnering with Surly, one of this region’s truly great craft breweries,” said Todd Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of Johnson Brothers. “We look forward to working closely with Surly and helping make these fantastic beers available to even more beer lovers throughout Minnesota. They can’t build that new brewery soon enough.”
Surly Seviin
Sweet little play on Roman numerals with this one… one can only guess that next year will see 8ight or perhaps ?ight. In any case look for Seviin in June. Surly describes this beer as follows: “For 2013, our head brewer Todd Haug raided Trappist traditions to brew up a Belgian-style ale called SEVIIN, using Belgian yeast, rye, oats and wheat.”
More to come, of course, as we learn more.
Duluth Beer Week & Bent Paddle Launch
Photo: Bent Paddle Brewing Company
This week, Bent Paddle Brewing Company is releasing their beer to the public for the first time ever. Fifteen breweries from around the state (including several in or near Duluth) are teaming up to bring an all-Minnesota tap lineup to the Rathskeller in Tycoons. And of course, Fitger’s master brewer Dave Hoops is serving up his own contribution to the party. May 13–19 is American Craft Beer Week—and Duluth is rising to the occasion.
“It’s the nation-wide celebration of American craft beer,” Hoops says. “We wanted to really take the opportunitiy to really highlight local craft breweries.”
Ground zero for the week’s activities is the Rathskeller, the speakeasy-style bar in the sub-basement of Tycoons Alehouse (132 E Superior St, Duluth). They’ve turned all 14 of their taps over to Minnesota breweries (and one cidery) to celebrate local beers, and are serving bottles from two further breweries as well. And some of those breweries are from Duluth.
Beer at the Rathskeller. Photo: Maxwell McGruder.
For Bent Paddle’s first-ever release, they’re offering up two flagship brews: the Bent Hop and the Black. The Bent Hop is a smooth, chocolaty, semi-roasted ale somewhere between a porter and a stout, and the Bent Hop is a non-traditional IPA with a big floral/citrus hop flavor. Both will be on tap at the Rathskeller in the starting tonight at 5pm.
Duluth beer fans will also want to try Blacklist, a “nomadic” brewery based out of Duluth and with limited distribution. Their contribution is the Or De Belgique, which honors traditional Belgian processes and boasts tropical fruit flavors and rich aromas. Dubrue is participating too (Brown), along with Knife River’s Borealis Fermentery and the Castle Danger Brewery.
“It’s always been us alone,” Hoops says. “We now have quite a few breweries in Duluth.”
But the brewers aren’t just sending along beer. Several are coming in person to celebrate this Wednesday night from 7–9pm. Brewers who have confirmed that they are coming come from Blacklist, Borealis, Castle Danger, Bent Paddle, Big Wood, and the Brewhouse. They’ll be available to answer questions about their process and otherwise talk good beer.
With new breweries popping up seemingly overnight, Hoops says that it’s a good time for craft beer in Minnesota. He thinks that this week’s celebration shows a deep field both locally and statewide, and that the movement’s only getting started.
“I feel like we’re on the trajectory to get to maybe double where we’re at as far as brewery numbers,” Hoops says. “The sky’s the limit on selling craft beer.”
Pour Decisions Infidelity Burton Ale
Pour Decisions releases their new Burton ale, Infidelity this weekend at Ward 6 in St. Paul and at their taproom for draft and growler sales! “Infidelity is a British, hop-centric, nourishing ale with herbal hops, spicy endive, cedar and hints of grapefruit flowing into a rippingly tannic, crisp finish.”
Head Brewer Kristen will be at Ward 6 starting at 2pm Saturday for the release party to talk shop and pass out phone numbers. Look for wider distribution next week.