News & Updates

Ball Backs Down?!

By on February 18, 2011in breweries

So undoubtedly you’re on Twitter right? No doubt you’ve been foaming at the mouth for legislation information and found that Aaron shared the link to SF416…. The City Pages crew took it a bit further and grabbed a new quote from Frank Ball from the MLBA:

On Friday afternoon, Ball had not yet read the bill but backed way off of his earlier condemnation of the project. He says the earlier announcement lead him to believe that Surly wanted to sell its famous four-pack out of the brewery, undercutting distributors and store owners. The actual language of the bill only allows the new brewery to sell pints on location.

“We do think it’s a great idea,” he says now.

I guess this kills my plans for a short lecture on why this is all good for distributors, beer stores and bars. One would guess that you already know that additional brewing capacity would allow more bars and liquor stores to carry Surly. Win-win? Hopefully!

Northern Brewer Pro Series

By on February 18, 2011in breweries, homebrew

Homebrewers can attest… sometimes clone beer recipes suck. In my early days of brewing, I remember trying a clone or two from a distant homebrew shop (not a MN shop… my bad for buying elsewhere) that ended up tasting nothing like the real thing. Nothing. There are a few books out there that are hit or miss as well. That being said, our friends over at Northern Brewer have a Pro Series where all the recipes come from the professionals – the folks who actually make the beer that you’re trying to clone. Check ’em out… Included in the list are several beers from Surly (ever heard of ’em?) and Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery. Given the fact that the recipes are coming straight from the source, you no longer have wonder whether or not your “clone” recipe is actually a clone or someone’s best guess… point blank… if the beer sucks, it’s probably your fault.

Wyeast and Northern Brewer at The Happy Gnome

By on February 16, 2011in bars/restaurants, beer events, homebrew

Northern Brewer is happy to announce a special event with our friends at Wyeast! Owen Lingley and Greg Doss of Wyeast will be making a special appearance at the Happy Gnome (Firehouse Room upstairs) for our customers. Come join us for a Q & A and short discussion on their current Private Collection Strains and Northern Brewer’s NeoBrittania strain. Bring your questions because they got answers!

February 25th, 5:30-7pm
Admission is free but space is limited!

Happy Gnome
498 Selby Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55102

Thursday Tasting at Heritage

By on February 16, 2011in beer events, beer stores

This Thursday’s tasting at Heritage involves Mexican micros… read on…

Believe it or not, there are a handful of Mexican microbreweries that are rewriting the rules for south-of-the-border brews, the most prominent being Cucapá Brewing Company. Their name comes from one of the five Indian tribes that live in the Mexicali Valley of Baja who were the first settlers of the region and whose love for water and nature took them to live in the delta of the Colorado River.

For this week’s Thursday night the 17th tasting, we will be pouring 2 of their 22oz bomber brews. We’ll have samples of *Lowrider*, a Rye Ale made with wheat, German hops and a Belgian yeast strain, and *La Migra*, their Imperial Stout named after border guards that is brewed with piloncillo, a Mexican candy.

Our Thursday tastings run from 5-7PM.