News & Updates

Thanks!

By on April 19, 2009in mnbeer.com

Thanks everyone! Saturday night’s MNBeer party at Stub & Herb’s was an absolute blast! It was ridiculous… in the best way of course. I don’t know where to start – five casks of beer, tons of great people, way too much swag… birthday cake, noisemakers and streamers… crazy. Lots of fun! Photos to come…

P.S. Drop me a line at ryan AT mnbeer.com if you’re interested in a shirt. I’ve still all sizes, from small to XXL.

Princeton’s Liquors Celebrates 75 Years

By on April 19, 2009in beer events, beer stores, free beer

Princeton’s Liquors in Osseo Maple Grove is pulling out all the stops for their 75th anniversary on May 13th…distributors and breweries will be pouring beer, Osseo Meats is serving up brats made with Southern Tier Oat, and awesome sale prices for the entire month of May. Stop by and give Bill a huge congrats and thanks!

Hey all beer freaks,

So 76 years ago, my grandfather ran an ice cream shop in little ol Osseo, MN. That is until March 23, 1933. On that day President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law an amendment to the Volstead Act known as the Cullen-Harrison Act, allowing the manufacture and sale of certain kinds of alcoholic beverages. Well, shortly there after, my grandfather turned that ice cream shop in to Princeton’s Saloon. 75 years later, the Princeton family name is still running strong in the booze business.

MY dad gave me the month of May to celebrate. So what does a beer nerd do to celebrate 75 years of his last name being in this industry? THROW A BIG CRAFT BEER PARTY!!!!!!

On Wednesday May 13th from 5pm to 8pm, I am having a craft beer party!!!! I got representatives from 3 of the major craft beer distributors coming to pour: JJ Taylor (New Belgium, Dark Horse, Magic Hat), Chisago Distribution (Avery, Moylans, North Coast) and Hohensteins (Lagunitas, Southern Tier, Victory). To boot, I have set it up where representatives from specific breweries will be coming in and pouring. Those 4 are Boulevard Brewing, Bell’s Brewing, Goose Island and our very own Surly Brewing out of Brooklyn Center.

What is that you say, that is an awful lot of beer on an empty stomach. Well don’t worry my friends. We have set it up with Warner Stellians where they will be grilling brats outside in their parking lot. Not just ordinary brats though. We have set it up with our friends at Osseo Meats to make special brats for this occasion. They will be taking Southern Tier Oat and making the brats. Not boiling them, replacing the water used in their recipe with Southern Tier Oat. Seriously, HOW COOL IS THAT???!!!!

I will also be doing sales on specific beers starting in May. I am going to go crazy on the pricing, so be ready. I will start announcing the prices in early May. I am skipping beer of the month in May, mainly because there will be multiple beers of the month.

This entire event is free of charge. I just want everyone to come in and celebrate 75 years of business (30 years in the Maple Grove location). So please mark down Wednesday May 13th. Bring friends and neighbors. This is a great opportunity to have someone who is not in to craft beer come and try them. It is also my opportunity to thank everyone for being customers. So this is my party for you. Come by and say hi, I promise it will be fun.

Thanks for caring about great beer,

Bill

Design a Surly Coaster

By on April 19, 2009in breweries

So you think you can draw? Can you come up with a Surly approved drawing that fits in the confines of a coaster? If you’re up for the challenge, keep reading!

Have you noticed while drinking at your favorite watering hole that the Surly coasters only have one printed side? There is a good reason for that. We want to put your art work on that blank side. We need to order 100,000 more coasters, so why not have a contest. Pick up a coaster at your favorite bar. Sketch, paint or draw your idea of what should be on that blank canvas. Drink a Surly for inspiration. You will need to mail that coaster to Surly. Your other option will be to drop it off at a spot to be determined during Art-O-Whirl in NorthEast. In addition to your coaster art, we will need your name, email, phone # and the bar where you picked up the coaster. We will pick a winning submission and have the announcement at the bar which the coaster came from. We will have the announcement the 3rd week of May. You, as winning artist, will probably have to do the art work again and submit it to us in some sort of computer file. We are getting low on coasters, so get to work!
What’s in it for you? 100,000 pieces of your design around the twin cities finest drinking establishments. Your name on each one of those coasters. A great conversation starter at a bar. A Great pick-up line. But wait there is more! You also get a 15.5 gallon keg of your favorite Surly beer.
I’m sure the rules will change as folks point out holes in this plan as large as the plot holes in Matrix 3.
One more thing, we hope to make this an annual event and choose a new design yearly.