2016 was the year that proved that we in this country are more divided than we’ve been in a long time, but we’re not here to talk about that. Beer brings people together, and hopefully we can all mend our differences over a couple pints and show some love for one another. 2017 will be an interesting year here in our growing beer scene, and here are some predictions for the year ahead.

Barrel Theory, Wild Minds, Star Keller, and Oakhold Farmhouse will change the way we think about sour beers. In years past, Fair State, Surly, and Indeed were setting trends locally with fun sour offerings that invited our palates to a new world of beer. Now we’re starting to see breweries open that are focusing solely on these styles, and their brewers have some experience playing with bacteria. If we’re lucky, we might just have something similar to Rare Barrel or Jester King right in our back yard.

Old World beer styles are going to start showing up in taprooms across the state. Braggots, Pilsners, Lambics, and Farmhouse Ales celebrate the culture of those who came before us in far away lands. For example, a certain local brewing legend just made a Braggot with the folks over at Badger Hill in hopes of drawing attention to the local bee population and the importance of pollination. Look for more of this.

Breweries will start utilizing more local ingredients (Insight’s cherry beer Doe Eyes comes to mind) in their beers, similar to what Joe Pond is doing down at Olvalde. Look for things like mushrooms, wild rice, herbs, flowers, berries, spruce and just about anything that can be grown here locally. Local hops are also picking up steam thanks in part to the processing facility that Mighty Axe Hops is building near St. Cloud.

We want more Idaho 7 beers! (Image: BSG)

Single hop beers will be making their way onto draft lines as more experimental hops are being introduced into the market. These beers are typically made with a single malt and a single hop in order to showcase the flavor profiles of each ingredient. You’ll also begin to notice that many of these beers are not bitter but they are very heavy on citrus/melon/berry flavors. Breweries such as Town Hall Brewery, Dangerous Man, and Bad Weather have all been making these already.

Tickets to beer fests will no longer be hard to get. It’s not that people are turning their backs on beer, but with so much going on around town, it’s hard to convince people to go to a beer fest they’ve been to 5 years in a row. Attendance is still strong, but the tickets just aren’t selling out anymore.

Bring on 2017.

Michael Wagner was hired on at Steel Toe Brewing a couple of years ago to help brew their familiar lineup of beers including Size 7, Provider, Rainmaker, and Dissent—along with some of their special beers like Wee Heavy, Lunker, Before the Dawn, Size 11, and Sticker Fight. Now after completing brewing school, and with some experience—he’s running a new program at the 5 year old brewery called the Brewer’s Evolution Series.This series will focus on historically significant styles and will mostly be taproom exclusives.

First up was an American Pale Ale that utilized English malts and American hops, was copper in color, and weighed in at 5.5% ABV. That beer went pretty quick and next up is an English Brown Porter that should show up early next week.

“The series will continue, and almost act as a journey through classic styles, at least to start, that informed, educated, and started my path in first being a craft beer consumer, and now a professional brewer” says Wagner. “Some of the beers will have significant historical context, some will be based on seasonality of release or classic brewing calendar cravings, and some will be more outlandish, experimental and new.”

Stay tuned to their website and social media accounts for regular updates on their beer offerings including the popular Lunker release which will be happening soon.

Cheers!