News & Updates

Bauhaus Bringing a Taste of Kentucky to US Bank Stadium

By on August 8, 2016in Bauhaus Brewlabs, breweries, cooking & food, food pairing, general beer, hops, misc. mn beer, MN, mnbeer.com, new beer

Bauhaus is teaming up with Revival to bring a taste of the south to US Bank Stadium this fall in the form of a beer called Slawhammer—a Kentucky Common Style Ale. Matt Schwandt who is the President and head brewer at Bauhaus spent some time living down in Nashville and was excited to work with Revival on this beer which will also be featured at their restaurants. “When I lived in Nashville, I learned that there are really only two beverage options for Tennessee hot chicken: sweet tea or a cold beer. So we figured, why not marry those ideas” he says.

Kentucky Common Style Ales were brewed pre-prohibition and they were  popular in that region of the country. They were also cheaper than other styles being sold in and around Kentucky during that time period, sometimes selling for half the cost of other varieties such as Stock Ale.

The Bauhaus version will have some citrus and black tea notes from the hops that were used in the brewing process. It’s extremely drinkable at 4.8 % ABV and should pair nicely with that phenomenal chicken sandwich offered at the stadium.

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Nick Rancone who is a co-owner of Revival was happy to align with Bauhaus due to the product they put out, and their similar values. “We are thrilled about the partnership. Revival is all about tradition and modernity, and that is the same way we view Bauhaus. It’s so important to align with people that you respect and adore, and share values with, and it was most excellent that this collaboration came to fruition in the way that it did. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner” says Rancone.

Look for this beer to debut at US Bank Stadium in 16 oz. cans on August 10th, and on tap at The Revival/Corner Table family of restaurants in the Twin Cities in the following weeks.

Cheers!

Summit 30th Anniversary: West London-Style Ale

By on August 4, 2016in breweries, Summit Brewing Co.

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Well this doesn’t suck. Our friends at Summit Brewing Company have announced the third beer in their 30th Anniversary Series: West London-Style Ale. Come celebrate with Summit on Sunday from 10am-4pm at Brit’s Pub in Minneapolis if you’d like to toss this beer down your gullet before anyone else gets a chance to do so. They’ll also have a smattering of other Summit offerings and lie music from Freddie Manton & The Southsiders and Hard Day’s Night Beatles Tribute Band.

If you can’t make the event, look for West London-Style Ale on tap and in six- and 12-packs of cans the second week of August.

Beer details? Okay. Brewer Damian McConn dreamed up a British-Style Best Bitter making use of the classic Maris Otter malt (Crisp? Simpson’s?) with some traditional and more modern hop varieties, Endeavour (UK), Cascade (US) and Motueka (New Zeland). The fine folks at summit describe the beer as “medium-bodied with toasty, graham cracker malt flavors, complemented with hop flavors and aromas of loganberry, redcurrant, grapefruit and lime.” Sold. I’ll drink some.

“The 30th Anniversary Series showcases the unique qualities and attributes that have helped drive Summit forward over the last three decades,” said McConn. “We kicked off the series early in the year with a powerful Double IPA, followed up in late spring with a classical German Keller Pils, and now we’re staying across the pond as we enter August with a thirst-quenching session ale packed with flavor. West London-Style Ale presents complexity, character and drinkability in a low ABV beer with an assertive hop profile that doesn’t overwhelm beer lovers.”

West London-Style Ale Deets:

ABV: 4.6%
IBU: 40
Color: Light Amber
Malts: Maris Otter
Hops: U.K. Endeavour, U.S. Cascade, New Zealand Motueka
Yeast: Multi-strain yeast comprised of private collection U.K. ale strains formerly utilized by an old British Brewery

Food Pairings: Cotswold cheese, traditional fish and chips, ploughman’s lunch, Cornish pasty, roast beef, Cumberland sausages

Get Your Autumn Brew Review Tickets at NOON TODAY!

By on July 26, 2016in beer education, beer events, breweries, brewpubs
Look forward to many smiling faces at Autumn Brew Review. Hi Chelsea!

Look forward to many smiling faces at Autumn Brew Review 2016. Hi Chelsea!

(TL-WR*) Tickets are $45 and you can grab them here. Autumn Brew Review takes place on September 17th from 1-5pm.

Yes today… Tuesday, July 26th. Don’t screw this up!

The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild-sponsored festival is one of my very favorite festivals and if past history is any indicator, you’ll want to be on your computer right at noon for a chance to grab tickets as everyone else seems to enjoy the event as well.

ABR runs from 1-5pm Saturday, September 17th at the Historic Grain Belt Brewery in Northeast Minneapolis and will feature more beer than you can possibly drink from more than 130 participating breweries. If that’s not enough for you, there will be live music, food vendors, beer education and more.

*Too long, won’t read. Lazy fuckers.

 

Insight Dedicates a Day to the Saison

By on July 26, 2016in Beer Ingredients, breweries, cask beer, general beer, history, misc. mn beer, MN, new beer, tap rooms

Insight co-founder and head brewer llan Klages-Mundt is a very interesting guy. Spend five minutes with him and you’ll gather that he’s big on doing things the right way. In fact, he’s spent plenty of time over in Europe seeing how they do things in countries such as England, Denmark, France, and Belgium. So it’s no surprise that he’s a fan of making beers rooted in those regions. “Every time you go somewhere, you know you’re going to take something back with you. You don’t always know what that is” says Ilan.

It’s no coincidence that he’s a fan of the Saison which was originally a farmhouse style beer brewed during the winter months in the Belgian countryside. “I like that guidelines for the style are so wide. It’s like the Sauvignon Blanc of beer. You can sour them, or add fruit and spices” he says.

This year Insight is dedicating an entire day to it. The date is Saturday, July 30th from noon until 10 pm at the brewery. The plan is to release and showcase their stellar iteration of the Saison style they call Doe Eyes. This ruby red colored beer is packed with cherries and is refreshingly tart with a dry finish. This is always one of their most popular beers at festivals and with good reason — it’s one of the best made fruit beers in town. He tells us that there are about 1 lb of cherries in a pint. In fact they sourced about 15,000 lbs for the entire batch.

Also being featured at the event will be a Blackberry Saison (Lost Satyr) and Raspberry Saison (Frugivorous) to go along with a list of cask releases. Bottles (750 ml) of Doe Eyes, Lost Satyr, and Frugivorous will be on sale for $15 each with a limit of 6 total. Casks will be released as listed below:

2:00 – Cucumber Saison
4:00 – Pineapple Saison
6:00 – Juniper Citrus Saison

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You can also expect a list of local 90s tribute bands:

1pm Lithium (Nirvana)
3pm Trompe le Monde (Pixies)
5pm Muzzle – A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins
7pm Pleezer (Weezer)
9pm Alive-Tribute to Pearl Jam

Food trucks on site include:

El Taco Riendo, Peeps Hot Box, and O’Neil’s Cheese Curds.
Basically if you’re a fan of beer, you should swing in and find out what Ilan has learned since his trip to Belgium. For as Ilan says “You can never learn enough.”

Cheers!

BSG’s Brand New Distribution Center in Shakopee

By on July 25, 2016in Beer Ingredients, Brewers Supply Group, Rahr Malting

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Big things in beer are happening in Shakopee, Minnesota. Brewers Supply Group recently opened a new 80,000 square-foot distribution center across the street from Rahr Malting. The new facility will replace the former warehouse in Kasota, serving BSG’s brewery customers across the country.

The new distribution center is part of a large expansion project undertaken by BSG and its parent company, Rahr Corporation. The expansion also includes a new malthouse as well as a 20,000 square-foot technical center housing a pilot brewery, micro-malting facility and expanded malt quality control lab. More on those updates as they come online.

The new warehouse is, in my humble opinion, pretty rad. It features increased cold storage for hops and other perishable ingredients as well as state-of-the-art technology for malt packaging. They’ve added a new bagger that can fill twenty 50-pound bags per minute and perhaps my favorite thing, a robotic palletizer.

Full not-that-it-should-really-matter disclosure: I worked for Brewers Supply Group for about 7 months before relocating and loved it. I’m a little enamored with the place, the people and the malt.