First, a few photos from our visit to the packed Surly Brewing Co. grand opening on Saturday. We arrived around 2:00, bellied up for some free beer and took the tour. Between the two of us, we had a chance to get a good taste of everything (Bourbon-Barrel Bender {yum}, Furious {which, after a few months of sampling pints, reminds me of my latest homebrew, albeit less biscuit-y}, Bender and the Belgian-style beer whose name currently escapes me {actually it reminds me of the best hefeweizen I’ve ever made, with WLP380}), and had a really good time.

And since I needed more CO2, we decided to drive over to St. Paul after getting Surly and get an exchange at Northern Brewer. Along the way, I decided that I was hungry and Dawn needed to “PEE REALLY BADLY!” so we decided to visit the Green Mill on Hamline and Grand so Dawn could relieve herself, I could eat and more importantly, MNBeer could get a list of what’s on tap at the Green Mill since we’ve been slacking on that one since day one. For those of you like myself who are too lazy to pick up a phone, Green Mill’s seasonals are currently a Bitter and a Honey Brown Ale.

Finally, we’ve added a few photos to the breweries and brewpubs pages. Just a few, mind you (Summit, Surly, Schell’s and an outside shot of Green Mill), but it’s a start. In the meantime, if you have any photos of Minnesota beer-related events and places that you’d like to share, let us know!

One last reminder about Surly’s grand opening… I plan on visiting sometime on Saturday, I’ll be the one with the 1-liter “tasting” mug… er, ah, the guy that they kick out…

Hello Surly Nation

One last reminder,

Our open house is this Friday 4-8 and Saturday noon-4. Directions and info
are on our TOURS page and there is a link to Mapquest directions.

Stop on by and check out Minnesota’s newest brewery!

Omar

If the stress ever gets to me and I decide to kiss the design/printing industry goodbye, this is the kind of job I’d enjoy… talking homebrew, working with other brewers, getting discounts at the homebrew shop, considering an afternoon of brewing to be “homework,” etc., etc.

Anyway, Northern Brewer is hiring.

We’re looking for an enthusiastic worker for our retail store. This
Full-Time Position is to start around the first week of June.*

*Qualifications: Must like Beer.*

*Homebrewing, winemaking, cider and mead knowledge is a plus.*

*Start at $11/hour*

*Benefits include Medical, two weeks Paid Vacation, simple IRA and of
course an excellent employee discount.*

*Duties include helping customers, taking orders by phone, light
lifting, stocking and gaining knowledge about everything related to
fermentation.*

*Please contact Juno at 651-291-8849 or juno@northernbrewer.com

Barley John’s Brew Pub Newsletter:
**********************
Spring Beer Releases:
**********************
Maibock (7.2%abv): We brewed this years Maibock in the German Brewing tradition, incorporating a double-decoction mash and a true 4 month lagering period. Gold color, emphasis on the malt and a complimentary bitterness.

Triple Oat Stout (5.6%abv): This beer is named for the usage of three forms of Oats in the mash – Golden Naked Oats, Toasted Flaked Oats and whole malted Oats. This trio makes itself known under a backdrop of stout roastiness. Complimented with a traditional stout tang on the finish to add a refreshing springtime zest.

Dark Knight is coming…. The Barrels have been emptied, the kegs have been filled and the Dark Knight is poised to make a return. Look for it on tap this Friday, May 12th…

For those of you that might not know about this cool resource, there is a site called BeerMapping.com which uses Google Maps to post beer locations around the Twin Cities. There are maps for many large metro areas in the U.S. too.

http://beermapping.com/maps/stpaulbeer.html

Enjoy!