All posts by Andrew Schmitt

Andrew is just a guy that likes beer. You can usually find him on the twitters or spending time with his family.
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Lucid Brewing – FOTO

FOTO

Veiled in a cloak of mystery and ambiguity, the new beer from Minnetonka’s Lucid Brewing, Foto, is a big beer not for the faint of heart. At first glance, it looks and smells like an unassuming, juicy IPA, but that’s where Lucid throws us all a head-fake and starts playing with us.

When poured, Foto leaves a finger-thick head that falls quickly into a golden amber body. The aroma is very citrusy over a bright hop overtone, but also very sweet with a touch of caramel. It’s clean, barely allowing a slight touch of pine to poke through.

Once tasted, the fun begins.

The first impression is a bit of an anomaly; it starts off incredibly bitter, but quickly gives way to a rich sweetness that fades into the malt backbone. From there, it balances and finishes off remarkably clean, leaving an interesting aftertaste of spice and grapefruit tones interacting.

The interesting part is the moutheel, as Foto is so thick and syrupy that it almost comes off as a really big IPA, but it clocks in at a moderate 6.5% ABV. Its overall taste is so big and busy that you would swear it’s stronger, but it’s not. Chalk it up to the generous flavoring of cascade, centennial, and zythos hops.

Foto is a beer that commands respect, one that borders confrontational. It is an IPA with way more going on than would be expected, and isn’t nearly as strong as the taste would suggest. It looks and smells incredibly sweet and innocent, yet tastes bitter and bold. The best part is that none of these things are at all a bad thing – they just speak to the fun irony embodied by Foto.

For those attending this year’s Autumn Brew Review, be sure to stop by the Lucid Brewing booth. They’ll have Foto and a few other anniversary beers available for sampling, which will be three kegs of its Belgian Saison; one made with Pinot Noir wine must, one with a Gewurztraminer must, and one with Zinfandel must.

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Interview with Fitger’s Brewhouse Co-Owner Tim Nelson

We had a chance to interview Tim Nelson, co-owner of Fitger’s Brewhouse in Duluth.  Be sure to

Tim Nelson

stop by the Fitger’s booth at Autumn Brew Review on Saturday.  They will be sampling several amazing craft beers:

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Beers
Barrel-aged Witchtree ESB
Barrel-aged Edmund Imperial Stout
Barrel-aged 1100 Wheatwine
Fruited Beers 
Cherry Batch (17th Anniversay beer)
Breakwater Blue (wit beer w/ blueberries )
Spanish Fly (cherries, hatch chilis, IPA)
Brewhouse Oktoberfest Wiesn
Blue Label Grande Reserve ( Belgian style double abbey)
 
The Duluth Craft Beer Scene is blowing up. Do you think this is part of the general growth of Craft Beer, or is it something else driving it?

Tim Nelson: I think it’s the general growth of the scene across the whole It’s pretty obvious that this is happening everywhere when you see breweries starting in little towns like Leech Lake or Brainerd. Things are blowing up because local brewers want to make beer for their local community and that’s great.

How is the Duluth/North Country Craft Beer experience different from Minneapolis/St.Paul?

TN: As the Duluth scene matures, it’s going to get a deeper personality and become an even more unique place for brewing beer. Breweries and brewpubs usually start with one guy and one idea, which is kind of like a band. So when a city’s music scene develops, you have loads of these guys with ideas and when they come together they create this unique community that creates a personality. That’s what’s happening with craft beer scene here in Duluth. Fitger’s has been here since 1995 and the experience has developed since then and continue to develop as more breweries and brewpubs open – every Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild board meeting I attend we seem to be voting on letting a new member join. It’s fantastic.

Every brewery is a little different from the next. What sets your brewery or beer apart from the others?

TN:We were the first guys to have multiple craft beer taps in Duluth and we were working with bands as the Duluth music scene really began, so as the beer and music scene in Duluth took off, that really propelled us and I think we positively affected the growth of Downtown Duluth. A small group of us threw down the Duluth scene and now it’s growing fast and we‘re pretty proud of what we have up here, we have cool music and good beer Fitger’s focused its energy on Duluth culture and that culture now sets us apart and people are taking notice. We’re having a fun party up here now!

 
What is next for your folks, any plans you want to share?

TN: The next big project for us is coming down to Minneapolis and opening a new brewpub. It’s not a done deal yet, but we focused on making it happen. We love Minneapolis, a lot of fans are from Minneapolis and we have a great connection with the city. This project wili not bring Duluth down to Minneapolis, we want to make this something for Minneapolis and do what the city wants us to do. We want this pub to be part of the Minneapolis scene with great food, live music and great beer.

People often tell me that they think the market may be saturated with local breweries, leaving little to no room for newcomers. Do you think this is true?

 
TN: There’s only room for so much beer! But as the local movement grows, they’ll be more chance to make more beer. I see the European culture where they drink beer every day and I think that’s evolving here. You visit your friends and pick up a growler and everyone enjoys each other’s beers. As the movement opens up here and beer drinking becomes a bigger part of the culture, a lot more opportunities will open up to have a beer.

I really like the that The Brewers Guild is moving out of Mpls/St. Paul, do you think there is future for fests in Rochester or St. Cloud?

TN: There is potential for more fests for sure, but right now we are concentrating on the new Duluth festival as well as our new State Fair presence. Omar, the board and the events committee are working really hard right now to get this new stuff off the ground and it‘ll take time for us to test things out and assess how the new projects work. The Guild would rather take our time and be really good at what we do before expanding even more but these new events are really exciting.

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Fresh Hops from Windward Farm

Windward Farm has fresh hops picking!

Windward Hops

All the hops you pick for $3 per 5 quart pail, which dries down to just over an ounce

Want a quantity? They will make a deal! 

All the hops on Windward Farm are naturally fertilized with manure from some of the finest horses in the country.

Picking is by appointment – Call 612-616-5043 to schedule your appointment

 

Windward Farm Hops 

Cascade Cascade is an aroma-type cultivar which originated as the first commercial hop from the USDA-ARS breeding program. It was bred in 1956 but not released for cultivation until 1972. It reached its peak in 1975 when it produced 13.3% of the total American crop. It was obtained by crossing an English Fuggle with a male plant, which originated from the Russian variety Serebrianka with a Fuggle male plant. 

 

A very popular U.S. variety, with a moderate bitterness level and fragrant, flowery aroma. Cascade is often used in highly hopped West Coast ales that have a citrus-floral hop character.

(alpha acid: 4.5-6.0% / beta acid: 5.0-7.0%) 
Great for Pale Ales, IPAs

 

Chinook Chinook is a bittering variety with aroma characteristics released in May, 1985. It was bred by crossing a Petham Golding with the USDA 63012 male. 

 

A high alpha acid hop with a wonderful herbal, almost smoky character when used as an aromatic during the last few minutes of the boil when dry hopping. Excellent for hopping American-style Pale Ales, especially those brewed to higher gravities. (alpha acid: 12.0-14.0% / beta acid: 3.0-4.0%) 
Used for most beer styles…Ales to Lagers

 

Nugget Nugget is a bittering-type cultivar, bred in 1970 from the USDA 65009 female plant and USDA 63015M. The lineage of Nugget is 5/8 Brewers Gold, 1/8 Early Green, 1/16 Canterbury Golding, 1/32 Bavarian and 5/32 unknown.  

Nugget is a great bittering hop with a heavy herbal aroma.

(alpha acid: 12.5-14.5% / beta acid: 4.0-6.0%) 

Preferred for Ales and Stouts

 

Sterling Sterling is an aroma cultivar, a diploid seedling made in 1990 with a 21522 female plant and a 21361 male plant. Its parentage is 1/2 Saazer, 1/4 Cascade, 1/8 64035M (unknown German aroma X open pollination), 1/16 Brewers Gold, 1/32 Early Green, and 1/32 unknown.

(alpha acid: 4.5-5.0% / beta acid: 5.0-6.0%) 
Use in Ales, Pilsners and Lagers

 

Zeus American aromatic high-alpha hop with noticeable bitterness. Similar, if not identical, to Columbus/Tomahawk. (alpha acid 15.0%)

Questions? 

Jerome Bauman

978 40TH Street SE, Buffalo, MN 55313

612-616-5043 or jeromebauman@charter.net

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Lucid Brewing inks distribution deal with Original Gravity

Lucid Brewing, LLC has signed a distribution agreement with Original Gravity, a network of locally-

Lucid logo

 owned craft distributors to bring their beer portfolio to the Twin Cities and surrounding suburban market. On & off premise retailers in the state of Minnesota are now able to order and serve Lucid Brewing Company’s draft & bottled beer selections.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Original Gravity for distribution,” said co-owner Jon Messier. “Together, we’re ready to grow the Minnesota craft beer scene and to continue to create new options for beer lovers in and around the Twin Cities.”

“We have had a lot of interest in Lucid Brewing and so have our customers,” says Original Gravity’s Hans Hanszee” Lofgren. “We are extremely happy to be adding a local brand to our craft beer portfolio!”

OG

Distribution which began this spring with Thorpe Distributors has grown significantly with the signing of the additional Original Gravity distribution group members, Capitol Beverage, C&L Distributors, and College City Distribution. The total coverage for distribution now extends from St. Cloud and Brainerd Lakes, to Stillwater and as far south as Owatonna.

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Schell’s Stag Series #6

Looks like Schell’s is getting set to release the latest batch in its limited Stag Series. This time around they are creating a fresh hopped pils made with 100% whole cone Citra hops.

Citra hops are a cross of Hallertauer Mittelfruh, U.S. Tettnanger, East Kent Golding, Bavarian, and Brewers Gold. Citra has a citrus aroma and flavor, with a heavy aroma of tropical fruits (guava, mango, tropical fruit). It is typically used as an aroma hop.

 
Photo Via Beerpulse
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Brewed in Minnesota

www.brewedinminnesota.com

CHUX, a professional design and custom apparel design and production shop in St. Louis Park, MN, has a passion. A passion for beer. And the people that brew it. Especially in Minnesota. From that passion grew the vision for Brewed in Minnesota.

While working with several Minnesota brewers on identity development, website design, and apparel production, CHUX began to recognize craft, care and customization that is the art of micro brewing. And a thirst was born for Minnesota brewers and the beer they create. The Brewed in Minnesota brand was born.
The idea for Brewed in Minnesota developed from work they were doing with local brewers – each of which has their own approach to the qualities of beer, but all of whom shared the passion of crafting the very best they had to offer. And the pride they took from being a Minnesota brewer.
While Brewed in Minnesota started on the back of a business card, it quickly grew into an identity that resonated with people at Chux, with brewers and the passionate people who enjoy beer, including home brewers passionate about their own creations.
Knowing that craft beer – both brewing and consuming – is all about collaboration and sharing with those around you, CHUX asked for input from some of their artistic beer friends and with their help they came up with a vision for their brand.
The momentum is gathering and the community is growing. CHUX and local brewers are hooking up to put BiMN products and Minnesota beer together on shelves to promote the quality and passion put into every beer Brewed in Minnesota.
Now you can drink local and wear local, all while supporting beer Brewed in Minnesota. Look for
Brewed in Minnesota products at select MN breweries, retailers, craft beer events, and online at
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Iron Brewer Minnesota – A New Kind of Homebrewing Competition

Are you up to the challenge?  Do you have what it takes to be the best of the best?  Iron Brewer MN is a new homebrewing exhibition that pits brewers and their beer against each other in a public setting.

 
 

 

The winner gets to brew on a production scale brewing system at Lucid Brewing Company, help name the beer, and be a part of their beer release during a series of events in March.
 

 

 
 

 

See the press release below for full details.
 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

Iron Brewer Minnesota Competition seeks to find Minnesota’s best home brewers

Twin Cities, MN. Please join us for an event that aims to find the best beer brewer in Minnesota! Chop Liver Beer Fests and Thrifty Hipster in association with Blue Plate Group and Lucid Brewing Company are pleased to announce the creation of Iron Brewer MN Competition.

 

Iron Brewer MN is a brand new, one of a kind opportunity to bring a local craft brewery, locally owned and operated craft beer bars, and homebrewers together to come up with an event that highlights each while also showing an appreciation for all parts of the local craft beer community.

 

The first ever Iron Brewer MN will be determined through a series of 4 qualifying events, which will be held at a different Blue Plate Group Restaurant every Thursday in October. Each week 6 local homebrewers bring a beer to be judged; the winner of each week will be given ingredients courtesy of Northern Brewer to make a beer for the Finals.

 

The Finals will be held at Lucid Brewing Company on February 2nd and the winner will be known around Minnesota and beyond as IRON BREWER MINNESOTA.

Iron Brewer MN will give local homebrewers an opportunity to be able to brew on a production scale brewing system with the gang at Lucid Brewing Company, help name the beer, and of course be a part of their beer release during a series of events in March.

 

Each of the four events will be limited to 200 attendees and will cost $15. Ticket will includes a complimentary Lucid beer of your choice, live music featuring local artists, and special pricing for Lucid beers as well as some food items paired specifically with the Lucid beers. For more information go to www.ironbrewermn.com 

 
 

 

 
 

 

For Additional Information or Press Inquiries please contact:

Matthew Dowgwillo – Thrifty Hipster – matt@livelocally.com | 612-803-1022

Mark Opdahl – Chop Liver Beer Events – mark@chopliverllc.com |

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Steel Toe Brewery Taproom Approved

After working with St. Louis Park City Council for half a year Steel Toe Brewing is approved for a Taproom.

UPDATE: 
From the council report: “State Statute allows taprooms at brewers that produce up to 250,000 barrels annually, however State Statutes only allow growler sales at breweries that produce up to 3,500 barrels annually. Staff chose to be consistent with the treatment of growler sales and taprooms and therefore set a 3,500 annual barrel production limit for both items.” 
 

City Council on Monday unanimously approved changes to its zoning and liquor codes that will allow the year-old brewery to sell its own beer on the premises. If other breweries open in St. Louis Park, they too will be allowed to have “taprooms.”