No doubt you’ve heard that Tallgrass arrived this week. Here’s a little more information from the gang at Capital Beverage:

We are excited to announce the arrival of Tallgrass Brewing Company to the Twin Cities on Monday August 16th.  They will have three of their great craft beers available in the Twins Cities through the Original Gravity Distributors.  www.twitter.com/Orig_Grav

Available brands will be: Tallgrass IPA, Buffalo Sweat and Oasis.  The beers will be available on draught in bars and restaurants and in 4packs of 16oz cans at local liquor stores.

Tallgrass Brewing was founded by Jeff Gill after a lot of hard work and planning.  Tallgrass brewed their first batch in August 2007.  In the spring of 2010 Jeff converted all their bottles over to 16oz cans and hasn’t looked back.  Cans are better for the beer and the environment!  You can read the full story of the decision to make this change at www.tallgrassbeer.com/canifesto.html

The decision to found Tallgrass Brewing Company was made by Jeff Gill and his wife Tricia on April 8, 2006. Tricia had asked Jeff THAT question: “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” Jeff had been thinking about that exact question quite a bit. “I want to start a microbrewery!” Jeff answered. He had been an avid homebrewer for six years and loved to brew beer that people enjoyed. At that point, he and Tricia made a commitment to start a new microbrewery in Kansas. It would mean moving from where they lived at the time, Jeff giving up his career as geologist, and Tricia changing jobs.

They chose Manhattan, KS for the location of the brewery, and chose Tallgrass for the name. They had always wanted to settle in this area to raise their family and live near the scenic Flint Hills and Tallgrass Prairie surrounding Manhattan. It just so happened that the water near Manhattan is an excellent choice for brewing beer, too!

For more information about the brewery and their beers visit www.tallgrassbeer.com.

Brooklyn Brewery in Minnesota… Late 2010/early 2011. Thanks Frank!

So there I was, cruising down Hwy. 13 near the Rahr Malting facility when I drove by a Summit billboard ad.  It was a simple ad asking the question (and I paraphrase), “If Minnesota can have a state flower, why not a state beer?”  That got me to thinking.  Would I want to see a state beer?  More importantly, what criteria would one use to determine the state beer?  Would you base it on consumption levels?  Could it be produced out of state?  Would longevity of the brand matter?  Should other factors such as state employment by the brewery producing the beer be considered?  What about hard to measure factors like the story of the beer and its history?  Could it be focused on the brewery instead of the beer?  Could you have the state beer change periodically versus sticking with the same one all the time?

Now, ignoring the fact that I’m opposed to pigeonholing Minnesota into ascribing its identity to things like  a state beer, state flower, state motto, state bird, etc., it does make for an interesting discussion.  I think Summit EPA would have a good case to make.  I also think Schell’s and one of its products would fit the bill as well.

What beer reflects/represents/typifies Minnesota?

Crafting a Love of Local Beer, Andy Rathbun, Elizabeth Mohr, Pioneer Press