Now this is cool… Don posted this on Northern Brewer’s Forum and I received his blessing to repost it at MNBeer…

I thought I would throw out a general invite to the local homebrewers who might want to stop by and try some brew. It is not designed to be a “pay $5 and drink all you want” kind of thing, but you are welcome to stop by for a little visit, or a longer one. There will be a handful of local brewers on hand, including three of us pouring our fundraiser beers.

Heck, if you’re coming, bring something of your own to share too.

details: here

A fundraiser involving beer for books? Personally, I don’t see how you could go wrong! Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town this weekend, but I’m sure it’ll be a good time. If you go, however, I challenge you to donate a crisp $20 rather than the suggested $5.

Surly Brewing, the newest Minnesota brewery, sent out their second mailing, and in case you didn’t get it, here’s the lowdown… First and foremost, there’s a great article on the brewery in Minnesota Homebrewer’s Association newsletter, The Boiler.

Unfortunately, Surly hasn’t received all of its equipment yet, so we won’t be drinking their beer at Autumn Brew Review. I’m sure, however, that they’ll be ready for this year’s Winterfest instead.

In light of the delay, Surly is having a contest:

Why don’t you tell us when we will first brew, and then we’ll both know! Seriously – let’s have a “Guess the brew date contest.” Send us the date you think we’ll first start brewing. It could be any day between tomorrow (not so likely) and Dec. 31st (2005, for the smart-alecks out there). The winner gets his/her choice of $100 worth of Surly merchandise, anything from hats to frisbees to glasses to shirts and jackets.

So let’s hear it! Shoot us an email at beer@surlybrewing.com, pick your date and prepare to be the first on your block to rock some Surly swag. Vote today, drink tomorrow!

From Barley John’s e-mail list:

That time of the year is upon us, colder weather, falling autumn leaves, hops ready to harvest on the vine, and yes, the beer that gets its own fest designation: oktoberfest. We brewed this malty beverage in the German brewing tradition (double decoction mashing) and have been lagering this annual brew for the last 4 months and now it is time to release it to your glass. Tawny amber in color, malty to taste and subtle on hops with a clean lager finish. Come out this Thursday and help celebrate with us as we serve up a modest German menu coupled with $3.00 pints of this year’s Oktoberfest from 8-10pm. Prost!

First off, thank you for all of the help in filling up the MN Taps section. With just a few exceptions, we’re almost up to date. Soooooo… lend us a hand and fill us in on the following:

Barley John’s: Current seasonal(s)
The Brauhaus: Everything
Green Mill: Everything
O’Gara’s: Are we missing anything?
Union Station/1st City: Everything
Wellington’s Backwater Brewing Co.: Everything

Thanks!

You probably heard about the recent fire in one of the old Hamm’s Brewery buildings. Sometime before that, a group of Twin Cities urban adventurers, The Action Squad paid the old brewery a visit. Though many of us never had a chance to visit the brewery (and never will, for that matter) we can live vicariously through the Action Squad. They’ve got some great photos of the innards of this wonderful old Minnesota landmark.