Third Street Brewhouse celebrates their 2-year anniversary today with music, food, games, and tours of the facility.

Music performances from Shadow Driver, Justin + Jason Ploof of The Throwbacks, and The Honey Badgers.

Beers will include Bitter Neighbor, Rise to the Top, Lost Trout, Hunny Do, Three Way, and the new Spotlight IPA.

The bags tournament starts at 4pm, and there will be tours from 12-4pm.

The good people at Third Street have a lot to celebrate. In two years they have built an incredibly large and sophisticated facility, launched successful brand, and expanded at an impressive rate. In 2013 Third Street Brewhouse produced 86,000 barrels of craft beer. That puts them at #3 in the state (coincidence?) behind big guys Summit and Schells. This year Third Street began packaging in cans, and debuted their Spotlight IPA.

“This weekend is our second anniversary. We have been elated to be able to be a relevant participant in the vibrant craft brewing scene in Minnesota,” said Doug DeGeest VP and General Manager. “Though we have been in business for 140 years, the last 2 years have been special. Building a new state-of-art brewhouse and assembling a dream team of brewers has allowed us to brew satisfying and creative products for people who appreciate great beers.”

Surly Brewing is partnering with Chipotle Mexican Grill to create ‘Surly Cultivate Farmhouse Ale,’ a Saison-style beer that will be initially exclusive to Chipotle’s Cultivate Minneapolis Festival later this summer.

Every Minnesota craft beer fan knows that Surly brewmaster Todd Haug likes to do things a bit differently than most. Hell, Surly has built their brand around it. The Cultivate Farmhouse Ale Todd is brewing for this forward thinking festival will definitely be different.

Different how? For starters the beer will be a gruit. Gruit is a historical style of beer that was prevalent for many centuries before the use of hops was popularized. Gruits don’t use hops, instead botanicals like spices, roots and herbs flavor and preserve the beer. Rosemary, Spruce, and Juniper can be found in many modern gruit recipes.

Some flavor and all of the bittering for Surly’s newest beer will come from the late addition of 400 pounds of fresh dandelion greens, bitter orange peels and lemon peels. The greens and citrus peels will steep in the wort (after flameout) for about 10-15 minutes. Once flavors and essential oils are imparted the greens and peels will be removed via centrifuge. “You don’t want them in there for longer than that,” said Haug. “Too long and they will leave a vegetal flavor”

“We didn’t pick the dandelions in the backyard,” said Haug. “We called some some restaurant contacts and ordered them. They are used in salads all the time.”

The malt bill will be comprised of Franco-Belges Pilsen and a small amount of Wayermann Rye. The small amount of rye won’t won’t be competing with hops for a spot on flavor palate. Even a minimal amount rye should impart some dry, spicy, or peppery flavors.

The wort will ferment on a combination of Surly’s house Belgian yeast and Brettanomyces. This is similar to the way Misanthrope is fermented. “Lots of gruits can have a “worty” or unfinished taste. We hope to avoid that with this fermentation, said Haug. The beer should finish fermenting at 1°P or a specific gravity of about 1.004, giving it a light body.

Surly Cultivate Farmhouse Ale will come in around 5% ABV with a bitterness of around 33 IBU. Lower abv, slight bitternes, and effervescent carbonation will make this beer ideal for a warm summer day, just as a Saison was intended.

To find out more about Chipotle Cultivate Minneapolis follow the link.

Republic Uptown has announced the opening of bocce courts inside their 2nd floor Calhoun Square location.

“Bocce is an ancient game, with origins dating back to at least 264 B.C. when Roman soldiers played between battles, but we prefer our version – in the comfort of Minnesota’s finest craft beer bar,” said Republic co-owner Matty O’Reilly. “Playing bocce requires skill, fitness, strategy and cunning, all characteristics we frequently see in Republic’s customers, so this is a natural match.”

Bocce courts Republic Uptown are open to customers daily. The courts are also available for reservations by organizations, companies and anyone else that can be pulled off their barstool. Those interested in more information or to reserve a bocce court may call 612-886-2309

Father’s Day is quickly approaching. Here are a few Father’s Day gift ideas for the dad that enjoys beer. So, pretty much every Dad.

Odds are good that Dad likes to escape to “Beer Island” once in a while. This map from local artist Jeff Nelson will make he never gets lost, or at least he will hit all the landmarks on his next journey. (Link)

Cologne? Na, that is played out. Get Dad a puck of beer soap from Swag Brewery. Pro-tip, get him the soap that smells like mom’s favorite beer. (Link)

Does Dad like to fill get his growler filled at his favorite brewery? Or, perhaps he fills it at home with his home brew and shares with friends and neighbors? Growler tablets from Craft Meister are exactly what he wants this Father’s Day. No brushes, no scrubbing, just 1 tablet and 10 minutes yields a clean growler ready for filling. (Link)

Show Dad you really love him, get him a customized flight paddle from Vino Brew with something cheesy like World’s Best Dad. A personalized flight paddle is way better than a new tie. (Link)

Treat your him to a beer, or a few. Bring dear old Dad to Enki Brewing this Sunday. The Enki Brewing taproom will be regularly enjoying recently loosened legal restrictions, beginning this Sunday from 12-6pm.

Give Dad the gift of The Duluth Experience. The Duluth Experience is a local Duluth business focusing on the north shore tours. The Duluth Experience gives great brewery tours, but they have recently expanded to history and adventure tours as well! (Link)

Does Dad like beer fests? Get him tickets to Pride Beer Dabbler at June 27 from 5:30–9:30pm in Loring Park. He can go nuts with craft beer samples from 27 Minnesota breweries, and see how many of the 27 local food trucks he can pair with his beer (food not included in ticket price). (Link)