Category Archives: Newsfeed

MN Beer Activists feed of news, events, education, legislation related to beer, wine, and spirits in Minnesota.

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Beer Careers

Yes, we all know you have always wanted to work in a brewery. Here is your chance. The beer industry is growing in Minnesota and across the nation. That growth brings jobs and opportunity. Good luck in your endeavors, just please don’t waste the time of people making delicious beer by applying if you are not qualified.

Omni Brewing is looking for a Taproom Lead
http://www.omnibrewing.com/#!careers/

Upstart Modist Brewing is looking to fill a variety of positions.
http://modistbrewing.com/jobs/

Jackpine Pine Brewery is hiring a Taproom Manager.
http://www.jackpinebrewery.com/#!careers/c22hx

Forthcoming Cedar Island Brewing is looking for a brewer.
https://www.facebook.com/CedarIslandBrewing/posts/165371307165309

Schell’s is filling the position of MN Distribution Manager.
http://schellsbrewery.com/job-openings/

Summit Brewing in St.Paul needs an Inventory Control Assistant
http://www.summitbrewing.com/employment?job=430

Insight Brewing is looking for a Head Brewer
http://www.insightbrewing.com/about/

LynLake Brewery is hiring a General Manager.
http://www.lynlakebrewery.com/contact

Did we miss any beer jobs? Add them to the comments section below.

Newsfeed

Goodbye Lucid, Hello North Loop, Inbound

After four years as Lucid Brewing the Minnetonka-based brewery is rebranding itself. Lucid can now be found under the North Loop BrewCo name.

Along with the new identity, they are constructing a new tap room and brewery in Minneapolis under the name of Inbound BrewCo at 701 N 5th S in the North Loop. There is no exact completion date at this time for the tap room.

While those two share some common roots they will each have their own identity, according to a Spencer Ploessl, the brewery’s brand manager.

Brews such as LUCID, AIR, FOTO, HALUCIDATION can still be found on shelves, at bars and restaurants, but they will exist under the North Loop name.

“All the beers people have come to know and love will still be brewed the same way they always have been,” Ploessl said, “The branding for those beers will remain the same, but will now be distributed under the North Loop BrewCo name.”

The plan for InBound is to create a rotating cast of small-batch beers that can only be found at the taproom.

“We will be opening InBound BrewCo with 12 brand new beers and constantly brewing styles to meet our taproom consumers taste buds demands,” Ploessl said. “Inbound BrewCo beers will be made in small batches, like any brewpub, so there will always be something new for our visitors to try.”

The Inbound BrewCo taproom will also offer multiple cask-beer offerings, growler sales and craft non-alcoholic drinks.

The 12,000 square-foot single-story facility at 5th Street North and 7th Avenue North, which is currently under construction. When complete, it will seat about 100 indoors and have 40 seats outdoors. There will also be a stage for live music, a retail store and an event meeting area.

North Loop BrewCo will continue to operate its Minnetonka facilities that offer growler sales and tours.

This past year has been a busy one for the brewery. Besides the name change and the new tap room/brewery they acquired American Sky Brewing, which is based in Hudson, WI, in June.

Newsfeed

Sisyphus Brewing Mural Defaced

Just days into the new year, the 10×10 mural painted on the building that houses Sisyphus Brewing at the corner of Ontario and Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis was defaced. The artwork was created by local artists Adam Turman and Josh “Jawsh” Lemke just over a year ago and paid for by 186 backers of a successful Kickstarter campaign.

“We wanted to support the local art community and put something cool on a wall for people to look at,” explains Sam Harriman, head brewer and co-owner. “It makes no sense why they painted where they did – there is plenty of space up there for people to do something.”

sisyphus_3Reaction to the news and the defaced image, posted to the brewery’s page on Facebook is a mixture of outrage and sympathy. Comments range from doing something extreme to just letting it be. Others ask where they can make a contribution to repair the one-of-a-kind mural.

“Adam and Jawsh are going to repair the damage once the weather warms up,” Harriman reports. “They can’t paint when it’s this cold out. They also want to paint the whole wall and hope that discourages a repeat vandalism, but that’s pricey and my landlord isn’t exactly on board with that idea (yet).”

Please call Minneapolis Police if you have information about the individual(s) responsible for the graffiti.

Updated – 1/6/2015 at 12:47 from Sam: “We have the name of the individual responsible, but he’s from Cincinnati and just is going around city to city doing this. It is unlikely he’s still in Minneapolis.”

Officer John Elder of the Minneapolis Police Department said they are investigating.

Newsfeed

Pika’s 2016 Minnesota Craft Beer Predictions

Join me in this completely unjustifiable and made-up look ahead at 2016. Let me know in the comments section if you think I’m correct, or I need to get my magic 8-ball calibrated.

open sign1. More breweries, wineries and distilleries will open. This one is a no-brainer. There are a lot of folks out there who think with a lease and a website they can make millions and just as soon as they convince you to help finance them, ready or not, they will open.

And the media writes it up, features it, highlights it, and we all go tracking over to see what they have. We love new experiences and the chance to discover the next must-have beer..

2. More bad beer/wine/spirits. You may have read posts from local beer bloggers about this already. It’s risky for some to write/talk about it.  Nobody wants to make enemies of the folks they depend on for content. The problem with calling out ‘bad beer’ is that most of us are not beer experts and if we like it, we drink it and we don’t spend the time to educate ourselves on what “good” beer is. And maybe, so what? Especially if the price is less than $5 a pint.

lawsuit form with glasses and pen3. While we’re talking about local beer bloggers: One of them is going to get publicly ‘called out’ by a brewery/winery/distillery for something unflattering that they published. There will be words – lots and lots of them – and maybe a lawsuit or two, and we’ll all sit back and ask for more popcorn while it plays out. Who doesn’t like a good drama? This is a good time for me to remind everyone that this is fiction, ok? Don’t come after me just to make this come true!

4. Competition between breweries will heat up and that ‘we are family’ atmosphere will be gone. When the beer biz was smaller, it was a nice little club and everyone helped each other freely. But now, there is a new baby every week and the older kids are getting sick and tired of sharing what little room in the house is left. That NorthEast bedroom is packed! Expect to see some animosity when brewery A steals brewery B’s event ideas. There could also be some ‘incentives’ for bars and taps to carry brewery A and keep the competition out. Wait, can they do that? Only if they don’t get caught.

5. SUNDAY SALES… will be talked up, sound-bited, blogged, but ultimately not put on the omnibus liquor bill by the powerful few legislators, and not passed separately. Again. Despite the majority of the population wanting it, folks don’t want it bad enough. Instead, a proposal to let brewpubs distribute their beer will be the ‘compromise for the beer people’. It’s too bad, really, because I think the grassroots efforts have changed minds, but the average Minnesotan just doesn’t care enough to get involved beyond an electronic signature form.

Sorry-were-closed-sign6. More liquor stores will go out of business. The days of the small store will be history. Consumers want price and convenience, in that order. While it is delightful to encounter a sales person who knows what foods pair with what beer, most don’t find it worth paying for.

It’s not unlike what happened to the small hardware store: Sure, it was closer, and the folks there were nice, but you could save $4 by getting that hammer at the discount warehouse, so that’s where we went.

7. There will be a merger of two Minnesota breweries. The bigger one will ‘save’ the little one, and by save, I mean buy them out, take their equipment and recipes and then close it. Emotions will go from ‘Yay! You saved them’ to ‘Wait, what, you closed them?’ This has already happened except the brewery was in Wisconsin and we didn’t care very much. This time it will hit a little closer to home.

8. Local craft beer will be pushed out of the professional sports venues by big beer and their distributors. They will negotiate the venue to just say NO to the little local brewery that is taking sales from big beer. Or, if they do allow them, will insist the sell price of craft be nearly double what they sell theirs for and they’ll count on the consumer to buy the less expensive. There are dollar signs into the 7 digits here via sales, advertising and branding. Go ahead and apply the David and Goliath analogy here, except David has no stones.

bankruptcy-sign-wide9. A brewery/winery/distillery will open but despite all the professional and slick marketing, will find themselves out of capital in months and have to declare bankruptcy. The investors will lose money, people will get ripped off. The media will be all over it with headlines of ‘Has the Craft Bubble Burst? Good Question’ reports. The biggest consequence to come from it will be that the public will no longer take a risk for the ‘invest in craft brewery’ pitches via Kickstarter/incentives and such.

10. 2016 will be the last (Surly) Darkness Eve. Not the Darkness Day – the eve. I’m not going to tell you why for fear one of you will think ‘that’s a cool idea, I should try that’. Very humbly, I truly hope I’m wrong on this one. You are all free to find me and ridicule me (ha-ha) when you see me at Darkness Eve 2017.

Featured, Newsfeed

The Truth About Glass Rinsers

There has been a lot of talk lately about glass rinsers.1209151615c2They are popping up all over the state in craft beer bars and have gained a lot of interest in the media as of late. I don’t mean to say they are bad or unnecessary. Rather, I would like to lay out the facts about them. The truth is that they should be unnecessary if your bar does everything correctly and that they are crucial of your bar does not.

Before we go any further, be sure to follow me on twitter and follow MN Beer Activists on either twitter or Facebook

TC Beer Dude – https://twitter.com/TCBeerDude

Glass Rinsers

For those who don’t know what these are, they are a small sprayer built into the bar, usually near the tap tower. Glasses are pushed down onto a small, perforated plate, which triggers a blast of water into your glass, giving it one final rinse before filled with your favorite craft beers. The rinser is designed to ensure that every pint of beer is served in the way that it was intended to be served. They accomplish three things:

  • Rinse out any dust particles or residual sanitizer that may leave a trace of soapy flavor in a glass
  • Accomplishes a better pour because the glass is already wet
  • Cooling down a glass that may be warm from the mechanical dishwasher

What your bar should be doing…

The arguments for last-second rinsing of your beer glass are all very compelling. We have all had a beer from a dirty glass at a bar or a beer that tasted funny, but you can’t really tell why. The truth is that all of these can be avoided due to proper 12091516162treatment of your glassware to begin with. I think everyone can agree that the best bars are the ones with a very high attention to detail. There are a lot of moving parts to running a bar and a lot of work that goes into a great craft beer program. There can be high turnover in the restaurant industry and training bartenders and barbacks on every minute detail is a colossal task.

1. Use a Three-Compartment Sink

There are many a bartender who will call this unreasonable. Mechanical dishwashers are fast, they’re easy, and they require very little attention. The problems with them are…they’re fast, they’re easy, and require very little attention.12091516172

In truth, a good bartender or barback can plow through glassware in a triple sink faster than a dishwasher could. With energy, rental, water, and chemical costs, it’s probably cheaper too; I haven’t done the math, though. On a busy night, I would prefer a triple sink when I’m in the figurative “weeds” than a dish machine. For those of you who came out to opening night at Lake Monster Brewing’s new taproom, we estimate we had about 800 people and we handled all glassware by hand. I would have had it no other way.

The triple sink if used properly gets glassware much cleaner than a machine with hot water. You can see the way the soap and the water clings to the glass once scrubbed intensely on the mounted brushes that the glass will be spotless when it comes out. In a triple sink, the rinse basin is room-temperature water and the sanitizer is cold, which prevents the problem with warm glassware.

1209151632a2

Proper use and then proper drying will ensure your glasses are proper temperature and spotless. A truly beer clean glass will show beautiful foamy residue clinging tightly to the side of the glass after it’s been drank, like the photo to the right. #mncleanpint

2. Use Proper Chemical

The chemicals you clean your glasses with are important, especially your sanitizer. Because sanitier is left on glassware as it dries, improper chemicals can make every single glass you use taste like soap. Not surprisingly, it will also transfer into and ruin your beers.

Not to sound like a broken record, but most commercial bar dishwashers use a chemical that leaves an odor and flavor on glassware. Another demerit for the dishwashers…and they’re loud! (Okay — my rant is over)

Beer Clean is a brand with powdered, pre-measured packets for three-compartment sink use, which I trust. I’ve also recently been introduced to a chemical that has dissolved Chlorine Dioxide, which I’m quite impressed with. Both of these leave your glasses without any residual flavors that may ruin beer.

3. Don’t Stack Pint Glasses

Every time I get a beer in a pint glass with a white, etched ring where the glass has been stacked over and over for years, a little piece of my soul cries. It pains me to see this, yet it’s an epidemic. I get that not every bar has enough space to avoid stacking pints 5 or 6 high, but if at all possible, pint glasses should not be stacked. It creates basically a ring of sandpaper on your glass upon which your fresh, delicious beer churns on the rough patch and creates foam, where an otherwise-perfect pour is ruined. Foamy beer causes wasted beer down the drain.

1209151615b2

To Use or Not To Use

Like I said, I’m not against the use of the glass rinser. I just find them unnecessary if your bar is doing everything correctly. The only problem with them is that sometimes they are used to quickly and water is not allowed to drain out of the glass, leaving half ounce to an ounce of water in the bottom of your glass before the beer is poured. This can be easily avoided by shaking the water out of the glass after it’s sprayed. If your bar is doing everything correctly, then they are not needed. However, I would much prefer someone taking the time to rinse my glass again than to drink a soapy beer or have a warm and foamy beer.

Newsfeed

8 Holiday Gifts for the Craft Beer Lover

Trying to find a gift for that one person in your family that is hard to shop for? We have you covered. Here are a few great holiday gifts for everyone who enjoys craft beer:

  1. SmartPhone Case Bottle Opener:
    This iPhone case has a retractable bottle opener attached to make sure that you are never without the means to open a drink!
    http://www.openacase.com/

  2. Pub pass – $25 for 25 beers:
    PubPass is a small book that gets you a free pint of craft beer at 25 pubs for just 25 bucks. And it’s good for the entire year so you can explore at your own pace.
    http://www.getpubpass.com/

  3. Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Kit:
    A Brewery in a Box, the Essential Brewing Starter Kit combines a simplified brewing process with easy-to-use equipment, plus your choice of three great beer recipe kits and a FREE copy of Getting Started in Homebrewing DVD.
    http://www.northernbrewer.com/essential-brewing-starter-kit

  4. VIPer Utepils Brewing MemBEERship
    By joining the Utepils community of craft beer lovers, you not only receive access to exclusive perks unavailable to the general public, you are key to bringing a brewery to the edge of Theodore Wirth Park and the Byrn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis.
    Best of all, your Host of Privileges (HOPs) entitle the holder to the such as free beer for 99 Years, free growler fills, special access to events & limited release beers.
    http://utepilsbrewing.com/join-the-viper-program/

  5. Beer Cap Map of MN:
    State beer cap maps are just what you need to keep track of your local or out of state breweries. . These maps are available for every state in the U.S.! All maps measure 16″ to 22″ across, holding anywhere between 33 and 99 bottle caps.
    http://www.homewetbar.com/beer-cap-map-states-p-4631.html

  6. Bottle cutter makes glasses from bottles:
    Create your own keepsake with these bottle-cutters! Make glasses out of beer bottles to enjoy your favorite beverages anytime!
    http://www.bottlecutting.com/

  7. Spiegelau Craft Beer Tasting Kit – Set of 3 Beer Glasses:
    This set of three beer glasses offers the premium hallmarks of pure Spiegelau quality. Inside the box, you’ll find an IPA glass, a Stout glass, and an American Witbier glass. Each glass is carefully crafted from non-leaded crystal and rigorously engineered to provide a superior taste profile that truly unleashes the full flavor and aroma of your chosen style of beer.
    http://www.kegworks.com/spiegelau-craft-beer-glass-tasting-kit-set-of-3-beer-glasses
    Spiegelau Craft Beer Tasting Kit - Set of 3 Beer Glasses

  8. 2016 Craft Beer Festivals Package
    Check out the Minnesota Craft Brewer Guild’s Craft Beer Festival ticket packages, which give the beer fan access to Winterfest, All Pints North, the Autumn Brew Review, and even Land of 10,000 Beers Craft Beer Hall at the Minnesota State Fair! Some packages also include free craft beer merchandise.
    http://mnbeeractivists.com/newsfeed/minnesota-craft-brewers-guild-announces-2016-festival-line-up-and-ticket-packages
    All Pints North 2015

    Did we miss anything? Leave you suggestion in the comments below! It’s what Santa would want.

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Summit Union 5: Old Blaggard Barleywine

crown

Summit has just released their latest Union Series beer, Old Blaggard English style barleywine.  Head brewer Damian McConn has headed this one up, creating the fifth Union brew in the series.  This series aims to pair classic styles with new techniques and ingredients.  This is the first barleywine that Summit has ever brewed, and they’ve made an homage of the traditional Burton-on-Trent style with new British malt and hops.

pckg

This beer is packaged as a four pack for near enough as makes no difernece to ten dollars.  I feel that needs to be said again.  Ten dollars for 48 ounces of barleywine.  As much as Summit’s always provided a great value for local craft beer, this is a big deal.  So how is this beer?

pour

It’s an experience.  Do yourself a favor, and follow the serving notes Summit provides.  Chill to 55 degrees, and put it in a glass.  Let it sit, and sip slowly.  The invert sugar lends a toffee, brown sugar background to some of the dried fig, stone fruit, and marmalade notes.  My first pour of this was too chilled, and it really opened up as I spent an hour sipping on it.  This is ready to drink off the shelf, but I’m choosing to cellar some (okay, a lot) of this to see how it ages.

This is a limited release, and I suspect it won’t be around long.  I’m stocking a lot into my cellar, and expect I’m not alone.  Again, this is possibly the most reasonably priced barleywine I’ve seen recently, so don’t dawdle.

By the numbers:

  • Style: English Barleywine
  • Original Gravity: 24 degrees Plato
  • ABV: 10.10%
  • IBUs: 50
  • Malts: Odyssey Pale and Torrified Wheat
  • Hops: Endeavour

Links:

From the brewery

Video interview with Damian McConn

 

Newsfeed, Review

Lakes and Legends – Minneapolis’s Newest Brewery

lakeslegendslogo

With Lakes and Legends grand opening celebration this Saturday, I thought I would stop in and see what the new brewery located in Loring Park had to offer. I was more than impressed with this new Minneapolis brewery.

Lakes and Legends' taproom
Lakes and Legends’ taproom

Walking into a large open room, I note lawn games lining one wall, bringing a bit of the outdoors to the indoors. Another wall hosts a clear view of the brewhouse equipment. The heavy dark-wood tables and bar, and floor to ceiling windows are evocative of the farm to bottle attitude that co-owner Ethan Applen says defines Lakes and Legend’s vision. Applen says they plan to focus on brewing Belgian and farmhouse styles, a unique approach that should set them apart from other Minnesota breweries. They also intend to source as many local ingredients as possible. When I asked Applen why they decided to focus on Belgian styles, he responded that these were the styles that got him interested in craft beer because they are approachable and demonstrate different flavors than other popular craft beer styles like IPAs. Applen hopes that Lakes and Legends’ unique takes on Belgian beers can ignite interest in these styles for others as well.

Flights at Lakes and Legends
Flights at Lakes and Legends

 

With their expansive and eclectic taplist, Lakes and Legends is already standing out. I tried four, but the new brewery already has eight different beers on tap. Starting with their Belgian IPA, I was already impressed. This beer has all the esters one should expect of a traditional Belgian ale. The flavor itself is dry and biscuity, with a healthy bitterness to satisfy any hop-head, and a mild fruitiness. The next beer I tried was their raspberry braggot. A braggot is a style of mead made using malt for a portion of the fermentable sugars. Not many Minnesota breweries serve a braggot, so I knew I had to try this one. This beer is fantastically sweet, a bit tart from the raspberries, and overall a very pleasant, light, easy-drinking brew. Their Belgian Rauch was the next beer I tried, a beer brewed with smoked malt and belgian yeast. This beer had an expectedly strong flavor of smokiness, but notes of clove and pepper shined through as well in this crisp ale.

So much good beer!
The long and eclectic taplist!

The standout beer from my flight however was their seasonal cranberry saison. The cranberries lend the beer a lingering tartness. This complemented the spicy clove notes from the saison yeast very well. The beer finishes crisp and dry, making it a complex but very drinkable choice. Also, the cranberries were all locally sourced from a family cranberry farm in Aiken, Minnesota. In addition to the beers I didn’t try, Also on their menu are several appetizers and craft sodas. Overall, the beer at Lakes and Legends seemed very consistent and refined, and I look forward to trying more from them.

This Saturday, Lakes and Legends is celebrating with a grand opening party, where they will release their newest beer – a Winter Warmer. At the party patrons can donate a new unwrapped childrens toy or book for donation to the Children’s Hospital and receive a free 4 oz. beer! Celebrate the season with the newest member of the Minnesota craft beer community, we’ll see you there!

 

 

 

 

Lakes & Legends: 1368 Lasalle Ave, Minneapolis MN 55403

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Hours:

  • Tuesday – Thursday: 3pm – 10pm
  • Friday: 3pm – 12am
  • Saturday: 12pm – 12am
  • Sunday: 12pm – 9pm