Great news from Montgomery, MN. Last night the City of Montgomery passed a provision to allow for Sunday growler sales. The city worked quickly and Montgomery Brewing Co. will be open for the state’s first Sunday growler sales this Sunday, May 24th. Don’t hesitate, though… they have a 3 bbl brewing system and the beer just won’t last.
Congrats to Montgomery Brewing!
How many empty growlers are squirreled away in your basement, in the back of your cupboard or in your garage? And of those growlers, how many do you actually use?
If you’re up to your neck in old growlers, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery can help. Through Sunday, May 17th, you can bring your growlers to Town Hall’s flagship 7 Corners location and exchange those growlers for either a $4 gift card or a $4 discount on a fresh growler of beer from Town Hall.
Earlier this week we were told that Town Hall had accepted more than 1700 growlers. Most of the returns have come from Minnesota breweries and brewpubs, but returns have also come from places such as Wisconsin and California.
After Sunday, through the rest of the month, Town Hall Brewery will continue to accept empty growlers from other breweries. Fans that return growlers will receive a $4 discount on refills.
Exciting news for craft beer in Minnesota – on Friday, Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill that allows Sunday growler sales at breweries and brewpubs. While it’s not a full-on repeal of bans on Sunday sales, it’s a positive step toward changes to old laws that have been on the books for years – laws that we would never pass today if they didn’t already exist.
Sunday sales of growlers at breweries, brewpubs and taprooms evens out an oddity in Minnesota’s liquor regulations. For quite some time, farm wineries have been able to sell bottles to go on Sundays in Minnesota. I’ve had the pleasure of buying wine at small wineries on Sundays for several years – I think it’s great, but I’ve always thought beer should have been part of that. Now it is! Breweries will still have to obtain municipal licensing, but this is definitely a move in the right direction.
Friends, Romans, homebrewers! Lend me your ears… er eyes. On Saturday, our friends at Lucid Brewing Co. will host a Big Brew Day celebration from 8am-5pm. Big Brew Day takes place around the country on the first Saturday in May as a celebration of National Homebrew Day.
Saturday is your chance to celebrate the holiday at Lucid. Whether you’re a seasoned brewer or new to the hobby, you’re invited to the brewery to learn more about brewing, connect with local homebrew clubs, drink Lucid beers and more.
That’s not enough for you? How about a chance to catch Dave Okar and his film, “Crafted to Last?” Gear and prizes from Midwest Supplies? A food truck? Lots of beer nerds?
Lucid’s BFD (Brewer for a Day) will also be announced Saturday. The BFD will join the Lucid brewing team for a day and have their beer on tap at Lucid. The beer will also be entered into the Pro-Am contest at the Great American Beer Festival.
Good times! Don’t miss it!
For the uninitiated, take note. Art-A-Whirl is the largest open studio tour in the country. Cool, eh? Art-A-Whirl is your opportunity to tour tons of studios and galleries, connect with artists and of course buy their work. Breweries and craft beer bars have been stepping up their game as well, and you really don’t want to miss this.
Fair State Co-op
Fair State will be swinging the doors open to their new Beer Garden, and throwing down with lots of live art, games and music. They’ll be partnering with Recovery Bike Shop as well. The shop will feature comic artists, painters, photographers, sculptors, and more!
Friday music schedule:
5pm: J.E. Sunde
6pm: JiLL
7pm: Sun Gods to Gamma Rays
8pm: Zoo Animal
9pm: Gramma’s Boyfriend
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Grumpy’s NE
Grumpy’s NE is going to make your Saturday special. Live music and art is a given. They’ll also feeature Aardvark Records Travelling Record Show. And the music line-up… well it may just be the best you’ll find at Art-A-Whirl. Barb Abney hosts the festivities.
Saturday music at Grumpy’s NE
Sims (Doomtree)
The Cactus Blossoms
Grant Hart
Farewell Milwaukee
Private Oates (A Tribute to Hall & Oates)
Eleganza!
Animal Lover
Dumpster Juice
The Mill City Devils
From The Midwest
Uncle Bob
…and a special guest band to be announced the week of Art-A-Whirl.
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Bauhaus Brew Labs
Bauhaus Brew Labs is hosting an event dubbed The Liquid Zoo as part of Art-A-Whirl. They begin with music, casks and games Friday night with host Barb Abney. Bauhaus follows this up with a music-filled Saturday in their parking lot with lots of great bands and host Jason Nagel. Sunday wraps up with lots of art and artistry ranging from jewelry and ceramics to tattoos. Good times.
Saturday music line-up:
BBGUN 3:00-3:45pm
Pho 4:00-4:45pm
Carroll 5:00-5:45pm
Van Stee 6:00-6:45pm
Black Market Brass 7:00-7:45pm
Black Diet 8:00-8:45pm
Night Lights (90s R&B Cover Band) 9:00-10:00pm
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Indeed Brewing Co.
Indeed is throwing another big bash this year, dubbed Whirlygig. Whirlygig will feature three days of music, food trucks, beer and other fun things. This may well be the largest and most-ambitious collection of music of the weekend.
Friday music line-up
6:00pm Driftwood Pyre
7:00pm Little Man
8:00pm Slim Cessna’s Auto Club
Saturday music line-up
1:00pm The Ventures Cover Band
2:00pm Mike Gunther
3:00pm Rich Mattson & The Northstars
4:00pm Sam Cassidy
5:00pm Erik Koskinen Band
6:00pm American Scarecrows
7:00pm Nato Coles & The Blue Diamond Band
8:00pm Rupert Angeleyes
9:00pm Mark Mallman
Sunday music line-up
1:00pm Steve Palmer
2:00pm Peter Lang
3:00pm Ben Weaver
4:00pm Paul Metzger
5:00pm Grant Hart