Tickets for the 15th annual Autumn Brew Review — Minnesota’s oldest and one of its largest craft beer festivals — go on sale at noon, Tuesday, July 28. The $45 tickets can be purchased online at http://www.tempotickets.com/abr.
The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild encourages craft beer fans to be prepared to purchase tickets as the event has historically sold out quickly, often in the first hour of the on-sale.
The Autumn Brew Review is 1–5 p.m., Saturday, September 19, at the Historic Grain Belt Brewery at 19 13th Avenue NE, in northeast Minneapolis.
This 21+ outdoor event will feature unlimited beer from more than 120 participating breweries, as well as non-alcoholic samples, a commemorative tasting glass, live music, food vendors, beer educational sessions, and an opportunity to vote for the best beer of the festival.
WHAT:
15th annual Autumn Brew Review hosted by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild
Beer festivals are a plenty these days, and they aren’t all created equal. One beer festival that’s becoming a favorite destination is the All Pints North Summer Brew Fest by The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild in Duluth. Held on the shores of Lake Superior, Bayfront Park is the perfect venue. The spacious park has a large stage and plenty of grassy areas for relaxing and cooling off. Fest goers directly support the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild while enjoying unlimited samples from 85+ Minnesota and regional breweries. There will be food from food trucks/stands, live music, beer education, games and more. This fest is a great excuse to get away and enjoy the North Shore with hundreds of your beer-drinking friends.
*Pro-tip: Book your hotel room when you get your tickets. Rooms fill up fast in Zenith City.
Tickets to the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild All Pints North Beer Fest go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15 at noon CST. While this festival has not sold out in minutes as Autumn Brew Review does, it is gaining in popularity, don’t expect to find tickets at the door.
The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild Seasonal Six Pack Returns! The MN Craft brewers Guild is offering Minnesota craft beer fans a Seasonal Six Pack, a pair of tickets to all three Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild events throughout 2014: Winterfest, All Pints North and Autumn Brew Review. For $300 (+ticketing fees), you score a pair of tickets to each of the Guild’s extremely popular annual beer events before they even go on sale. Seasonal Six Packs go on sale Monday, December 2 at noon CT.
(Ticket purchase link will be available on the guild website – www.mncraftbrew.org) or by clicking the banner above.
The benefits of this pack: no need for multiple ticket site log-ins, no waiting, no fear of missing out on tickets that often sell out in seconds during the general on-sale. There are only a limited amount of these ticket packs, so act fast on December 2. You can plan ahead, line up your entire year of 2014 Guild beer festivals, then sit back and relax. And the Seasonal Six Pack makes a great holiday gift.
If the entire six pack is just too much for your paycheck to handle you can still buy your MN Craft Brewers Guild festival tickets à la carte. You first chance to buy individual tickets will be for Winterfest, on Monday, December 16, at noon. In its 13th year, this Minnesota member breweries-only, upscale event sets the tone for the year. This festival is arguably the best festival in the state of Minnesota. It allows local craft beer lovers to warm up with winter styles and meet the brewers who brew them. Ticket purchase link will be available on the Guild Website.
Winterfest
This annual festival is solely devoted to guild member breweries and brewpubs, it does not include contract brewers. The upscale event showcases the great beers brewed in this state, and a classy crowd mixed with brewer conversations and hearty food balances the seasonal beers that are hallmarks of Winterfest. The crème de la crème festival is changing venues in 2014. Minnesota craft brewers have simply outgrown their old space at the History Center. Winterfest’s new home will be at Union Depot, in St. Paul, MN. The new venue will allow for a better fest experience with everyone still able to rub elbows, but allow for a bit of breathing room. The event will have the intimate setting everyone enjoys, but with more brewers.
Date: Friday, January 31, 2014
Time: 7 – 10 pm
Photo via http://www.stpauluniondepot.com/
All Pints North
Join the brewers of Minnesota and some of their favorite out of state breweries by the sunny shores of Lake Superior at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth for this growing festival and celebrate craft beer 2 oz at a time! All Pints North Summer Brew Fest will feature beer from breweries around the region, live music and tasty food in an iconic setting. This festival is quickly growing and probably the best location for any beer festival, ever.
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2014
Time: 3 – 7 pm
Autumn Brew Review
This annual outdoor fall festival is one of the biggest beer festivals in the state, with 100+ breweries from all over the U.S. entertaining and educating 3,000 attendees on the great craft beer brewed in this state and beyond. ABR also has live music and food trucks to enhance the lively atmosphere brought by attendees at this Minneapolis favorite.
After only 6 months of brewing, Duluth’s Bent Paddle Brewing Co. has begun distributing to the thirsty Twin Cities craft beer market. The beer will initially be limited to just five liquor stores: The Wine Thief & Ale Jail (St. Paul), Elevated Beer + Wine + Spirits (South Minneapolis), North Loop Wine & Spirits (Downtown Minneapolis), Stinson Wine, Beer & Spirits (NE Minneapolis) and The Four Firkins (St. Louis Park).
The beer is available in 12oz can 6-packs, including the current flagship beers: Venture Pils, Bent Hop and Black Ale. Bent Paddle plans to increase production capacity along with the number of liquor store and draft accounts throughout the upcoming year.
You may also be able to find Black Ale at Zipp’s Liquor as part of the VITA.MN Six-Pack. I also recommended a special version of their Black Ale as a “must try” at the most recent Autumn Brew Review. Many of your must have agreed, as Black Ale won “Best Beer” at ABR. Twin Cities, you are in for a treat.
VENTURE PILS – Pilsener Lager
This craft lager harmonizes noble hops and premium malts found in North America and Europe. We did the traveling to save you the paddling. Brewed with pristine Lake Superior water, this straw colored pilsener takes on characteristics of Bohemia, Northern Germany with a touch of American inventiveness. Refreshingly crisp with a gentle floral hop aroma.
ABV: 5.0% | IBU: 38 | Style: Pilsener Style Lager | Availability: Year-Round | Packaging: Draft / 12oz Cans Malts: Pilsener, 2-Row, Carafoam | Hops: Sterling, Saaz, Saphir | Yeast: House Lager Strain
Bent Hop – Golden IPA
An unexpected visual bend to an American India Pale Ale, this style is one that stands out in a crowd, or if you’re more like us – enjoyed at a campsite…with no crowd. This non-traditional IPA is golden in color with an enormous floral/citrus hop aroma and a supporting malt profile.
ABV: 6.2% | IBU: 68 | Style: Golden India Pale Ale | Availability: Year-Round | Packaging: Draft / 12oz Cans
Malts: 2-Row, Pilsenser, C-10, C-20, Carafoam | Hops: CTZ, Centennial, Sovereign, Cascade, El Dorado, Glacier | Yeast: House Ale Strain
Black Ale – Stout / Porter
Brewed to be smooth, chocolatey, semi-roasted ale that bridges the islands of porter and stout. And if you aren’t a fan of bridges, there’s always the canoe. This Black Ale drinks like a porter but is opaque like a stout. Brewed with a generous amount of oats to round out the flavor.
ABV: 6.0% | IBU: 34 | Style: Black Ale | Availability: Year-Round | Packaging: Draft / 12oz Cans
Malts: Pale, 2-Row, Golden Promise, De-husked Black, Flaked + Malted Oats, Golden Naked Oats, C-165, C-20 | Hops: CTZ, Willamette
Yeast: House Ale Strain
Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild events just keep getting better. Autumn Brew Review 2013 looks to continue this upward trend by offering a huge variety of beer from an ever growing list of craft breweries.
Unless your name is Andre the Giant, there is no way you will be able to fit all these beer samples into your afternoon. Nor should you try. When attending a beer festival I usually divide the program into 3 tiers; a must try, really want to try, and all the rest. Below is a few of the brews that will be going into my “Autumn Brew Review 2013 must try beers.”
Bent Paddle Brewery Nitro Cold Press Black with Whole Bean Madagascar
Cold Press Black infused with Madagascar vanilla beans and served on nitro.
Creamy and roasty with coffee and vanilla? Oh, hell yes.
Lucette Brewing Company Hips Don’y Lie – Fruit Bowl
Hips Don’t Lie is a slightly bigger interpretation of a traditional German wheat beer featuring a refreshing light body with a crisp, dry finish. A high proportion of malted wheat lends a round, pasta-like character that is complemented by a delicate balance of clove-like phenolics, banana esters and just a hint of sulfur from the classic German weissbier yeast strain. Rose hips give this beer a subtle floral note while the honey lends to the dryness in the finish. The beer has been infused with bitter and sweet orange peel which along with the banana characteristics gives this beer the ultimate fruit bowl in a glass.
An easy drinking beer with subtle flavor layers you can explore for days. I’m excited to see what the addition of fruit via cask will do to this one.
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Brewed in honor of the 1000th batch at our original Clybourn brewpub. A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer.
This beer is legendary. Ever since the change in ownership I feel uncomfortable drinking it, but that has yet to stop me. It is just too good.
Indeed Brewing Fresh Hop (Mn version)
This Minnesota Fresh Hop ale was brewed with 10-pounds per barrel of Cascade hops from Goat Ridge Farm in New London, Minnesota. Deep amber in colorthis session ale carries the typical citrus and floral hallmarks of the famed Cascade hop but with a juicy fresh twist that drips flavors and aromas of a spicy orange marmalade. Available: September
Tis the season! It is nice to see a session version of a local fresh hop beer. With an ABV of 4.2% and unmistakable fresh hop aroma you can (and will want to) rock this beer all day long.
Green Flash Brewing Double Stout Black Ale
Golden naked oats mashed with dark crystal and robust roasted malts create a luscious black brew with satin smooth finish. An old-world style, done the Green Flash way. Big, bold, flavorful and complex.
Green Flash is new to the market. A quality brewery with lots of street cred, their IPA often overshadows other great beers in their portfolio like this black beauty.
I hope you enjoy my suggestions. Hit the link to the full Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild Autumn Brew Review 2013 program to check out all the beer and make your own “must try” list. Don’t forget to thank the brewers for making events like this special, as well the volunteers that work hard to make these things happen. As always, eat a big breakfast, stay hydrated, and consume responsibly.
Is there glaring omission? Totally off with a suggestion? Leave a comment below and let us know what in your “must try list.”
This year, for the first time, the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild is offering Minnesota craft beer fans a Seasonal Six Pack, a pair of tickets to all three Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild events throughout 2013: Winterfest, All Pints North and Autumn Brew Review. For $290 (+ticketing fees), you score a pair of tickets to each of the Guild’s annual beer events before they even go on sale.
Seasonal Six Packs go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, December 1 at noon. Head to the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild website to get your tickets.
The benefits of this pack are clear: no need for multiple ticket site log-ins, no waiting, no fear of missing out on tickets that often sell out in seconds. In other words, if you want Winterfest tickets this your BEST chance to get them. Only a limited amount of these ticket packs are available, so act fast on December 1. You can plan ahead, line up your entire year of Guild beer festivals, then sit back and relax. Plus the Seasonal Six Pack makes a great holiday gift.
Below is more information about the 2013 Guild events.
Winterfest
This annual festival is solely devoted to member breweries. Showcasing the great beers brewed in this state and celebrated at the Minnesota History Museum overlooking the Capitol. An intimate crowd of 700 allows for more brewer conversations and hearty food to balance the seasonal beers that are hallmarks of this event.
Date: Friday, February 1, 2013
Time: 7 – 10 pm
Location: Minnesota History Center | St. Paul, MN
All Pints North
Join the brewers of Minnesota by the sunny shores of Lake Superior at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth and celebrate craft beer 2 oz at a time! All Pints North Summer Brew Fest will feature beer from breweries around the region, live music and tasty food in an iconic setting.
Date: Saturday, July 13, 2013
Time: TBD
Location: Bayfront Festival Park | Duluth, MN
Autumn Brew Review
This annual festival is held on the grounds of the historic Grain Belt Brewery in NE Minneapolis and is the biggest beer festival in the state, with 100+ breweries from all over the U.S. entertaining and educating over 3,000 attendees on the great craft beer brewed in this state and beyond. This outdoor fall festival also has stellar music and food to enhance the lively atmosphere brought by attendees.
