Bob McManus and Lee Egbert are set to throw open the garage doors and introduce 11 Wells Spirits to the world with an open house this Saturday from 12-4pm. Located in the old Hamm’s Brewery complex, the open house will be the first time the Saint Paul distillery will officially be open to the public.
The event will offer have music from Matt Yetter and food from the Sizzling Wagon Food Truck. You can wander through the future sample rooms. Guests will get a chance to taste samples of their white whiskey, Minnesota 13. They will be serving their take on a Moscow Mule.
Sorry, you cannot buy bottle to take home. Where do you think you live, America? Maybe by this time next year Minnesota distilleries will have some of the same rights as wineries and breweries.
11 Wells – Minnesota 13 is a white whiskey. It is unique because it has a grain bill of mostly oat and wheat, barley and corn play minor roles. In many white whiskey corn plays a very forward role, that is not the case with Minnesota 13. However, the name of the spirit does come from the corn. Minnesota 13 was a type of corn grown in Minnesota that made Stearns county moonshine legendary during prohibition.
If you can corner Bob or Lee during the event be sure to ask about their coming Bourbon, Rye, and Single Malt.
Surly Misanthrope, also ferments on Brett and house Belgian yeast.
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.
Weyermann Malt
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
ENKI Brewing Company has announced that the company will celebrate its first year of business by hosting an anniversary party in the ENKI taproom and brewery grounds. The party will start at noon on Saturday, June 21st,and continue through 11:00pm, featuring live music by the Tex Pistols, food by School of the Wise, and games. At 1:00pm ENKI Brewing will tap I ANNO ENKI ALE, a special anniversary ale. Everyone ages 21 and over is invited. No cover charge.
Over the past 12 months we’ve made great headway in our mission to make the world a friendlier place two beers at a time. To date we’ve sold nearly 150,000 pints of ENKI beer. “That’s a whole lot of new friends,” observed John Hayes, co-founder, ENKI Brewing.
In anticipation of this occasion being our biggest and best event ever, ENKI Brewing was granted a special permit, expanding our public space to all of the brewery grounds—comprising the entire city block. “This is going to be a great and continue through 11:00pm, featuring live music by the party. I’m excited to share our newest beer with friends who we’ve met this past year and to a crowd of new friends,” remarked Jason Davis, Brew Master, ENKI Brewing.
“I’ve already made more friends in Minnesota than at any other time or any other place in the previous 35 years. I hope to see all of you at our party so together we will raise a pint in appreciation of friends old and new,” remarked Dan Norton, co-founder, ENKI Brewing.
Several Minnesota homebrewers returned from AHA’s National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan with heads held high and awards held even higher. Over 8,000 brewers across the country took part in the competition last weekend. Seven Minnesotans placed in the top 3 of their entered categories, a remarkable feat. We have a lot of talent here in Minnesota.
Chris Smith, Brett Glenna, Steve Fletty Picture via @EganPatty
Minnesota Home Brewers Association won the Gambrinus Club Award.
Named for King Gambrinus, the (unofficial) Patron Saint of Beer, this award is given to the club having the most Final Round points per the number of entries from the club in the National Homebrew Competition. Matthew Weide, Brett Glenna, and Sean Kampshoff combined to earn the prize for their club, MHBA.
“This year’s National Homebrew Competition fielded the largest group of entrants in the competition’s 36 year history. The level of competition has never been higher, meaning the National Homebrew Competition winners are truly among the most talented brewers in the world.”
-AHA director Gary Glass.
Matthew Weide took home Meadmaker of the year & 1st place for his Melomel (fruit mead). The Meadmaker of the Year award is awarded to the maker of the mead of all gold medal winners in all three mead categories.
Spent Grain – Barley grain that has been germinated to convert energy into starches(malted), and then some combination of kilning, toasting, and drying to specifications needed by brewers to use in their mash, called Malt. For the mash, brewers crush the malt to expose the sugary inside beneath the fibrous barley husk, and add it to water at temperatures carefully controlled to allow enzymes from the malt to convert sugars from the malt into food usable by yeast. The liquid is sent down the line as wort to make beer, leaving the “spent grain“ behind as waste. Spent grain is usually recycled as feed for livestock, compost, or use as a hearty and high fiber ingredient in food.
Wet spent grain
Spent grain in cooking primarily contributes a textural aspect. As a dried garnish atop a beef barley soup, it adds a bit of crunch. It adds a chewiness, a touch of roasty nuttiness, and some nice structural and textural changes to a loaf of bread. It can be used in soup or pancakes, ground into flour, used wet or dry, and even incorporated into cookies and pastries.
But if we’re going to cook with spent grain, it is important to cook with it safely. Many people are aware of how important sanitation is in brewing. Brewing is is essentially the act of creating a medium ideal for microorganisms and yeast to thrive in. And spent grain is just as nourishing to microorganisms as wort, because it still has wort on the outside, and still has plenty of wet food on the inside. Food safety isn’t rocket science, but it is a matter of proper handling — just like with beer or chicken or lettuce.
So, what is safe when cooking with spent grain? The obvious is that you don’t want it to ferment or grow bacteria or mold. But bacteria or fermentation can take hold almost immediately after leaving the hot temperature of the mash tun. So, how much spoilage is safe? Is it okay if you’re going to cook it? Will it contaminate other foods in your home?
The basic answer is to either use it immediately after brewing, or prepare it somehow for storage. Of course, many homebrewers will find it inconvenient to brew a batch of beer and then bake some bread on the same day, so finding a way to safely store it away is the best way to hold spent grain for future use.
There are a number of ways to prepare spent grain for storage. The most common two are freezing or drying it. Tossing it into the freezer is the safest, easiest way to store grain. It takes no effort to put into storage, but it has the drawback of being a frozen solid block when you wish to use it, and when it thaws it’s still sopping wet.
The more labor intensive alternative is to dry the grain. This involves long hours of baking at low temperatures on sheet trays until the grain is dry outside and inside. The drawback here is that it is crispy and dry, and any recipes with an addition of dry grain will need to be adjusted for the water that the grain will — eventually — absorb. This is very undesirable for many styles of bread.
The middleground, my personally peferred method for preparation of spent grain as a professional baker, is to dry just the outside of the individual kernels of grain, leaving the inside moist. Conceptually, this prepared spent grain is water-neutral, in that it neither contributes or absorbs a significant percentage of its own mass in water. It can be stored frozen, and still scooped or poured without thawing, and used on a whim.
Procedure for water-neutral spent grain preparation:
-Drain grain of as much fluid as as you can.
-Spread grain in a half inch deep layer in shallow baking pans.
-Place into a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until you no longer hear sizzling on the bottom of the pan.
-Remove from oven and stir, stirring the corners to the middle, the outside to the inside.
-Return to oven for 7-10 minutes, until the grain no longer feels moist when touched, but still appears to be steaming.
-Immediately transfer the grain to a sheet pan and spread into a 1/4 inch layer. Immediately place the sheet pan under the blower vent in your freezer until frozen. Working quickly will insure that the moisture inside of the grain stays there without steaming out onto the surface.
-Once frozen, brush off of the pan into a storage container and cover tightly to prevent freezer burn. Keep frozen.
The end result can be stored frozen in a bin or bag and used as needed. It should be loose and dry, yet still remain moist inside of individual grains. Frozen shelflife of two to three months.
Note: This preparation of spent grain will increase the volume of the grain by roughly 25%. Use 25% more prepared grain than a wet grain recipe specifies, and for loaf style breads add up to an additional ounce of water per cup of grain to compensate.
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)
The retail giant isn’t jumping into the deep end of liquor retail just yet, more like dipping a toe in the water. The Ostego, MN Target store is the only location has been approved for a liquor license so far. It will serve as a test to see if concept works in Minnesota. It is unknown if other stores will needed for a proof of concept
Target is a retail juggernaut. They have sold alcohol in other parts of the country for almost two decades. It would be odd to see the retail heavyweight get into the liquor game if they didn’t think it made sense.
What do think, would you buy your liquor, wine, or beer at Target?
Bob McManus and Lee Egbert are set to throw open the garage doors and introduce 11 Wells Spirits to the world with an open house this Saturday from 12-4pm. Located in the old Hamm’s Brewery complex, the open house will be the first time the Saint Paul distillery will officially be open to the public.
According to 
