Tag Archives: Barley John’s

10 Must Try Minnesota Beers This Holiday Season

December 18, 2015 Kevin Swanberg

With the holidays upon us, the liquor store shelves are inundated with winter warmers, Christmas ales, and other seasonal specialties. Choosing the right beers for your gatherings this holiday season can be difficult, so I sat down with RJ White, Beer Manager at The Ale Jail in St. Paul to taste the hottest seasonals coming out of Minnesota right now. In addition to helping with sampling, RJ and The Ale Jail also generously curated this selection of Minnesota winter beers.

holiday beers — Our holiday tasting selection

Barley John’s Boggan Brew Winter Ale

Perhaps the latest brewery to begin producing beer in cans, Barley John’s have started strong with four flagship beers and this seasonal, a winter ale. For a winter ale this had a very welcome and unique spice presence. Instead of the standard cinnamon and nutmeg notes, we tasted a very novel array of flavors including anise, Amaretto, cherries, almonds, and cardamom. The spice flavor was strong but not overpowering, complementing the caramel malt flavor and balanced bitterness.

Bauhaus Brew Labs Tallander Scottish Ale & Winterloper Baltic Porter

Tallander is the newest beer from Bauhaus, a Scottish Ale that just hit the shelves this last week. It starts with an enticing biscuity aroma with light roasty notes. The flavor was surprisingly roasty, with hints of stone fruit from the yeast, and great notes of toffee.

Another seasonal beer from Bauhaus, their Winterloper Baltic Porter, stays true to Bauhaus’s focus on lager styles. With sweet notes of chocolate and caramel, this is a phenomenal beer with the strong, complex flavors of your typical porter, but an easy-drinking, dangerously smooth and crisp finish.

Rush River Nevermore Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Despite not being from Minnesota, Rush River is a beloved brewery in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and we couldn’t resist including this brew in our rundown. Out of all the beers we tried, this definitely had the most pronounced chocolate flavor. Thick, sweet, and smooth, this would make a fantastic dessert beer, great for sipping by the fire this Christmas. I would call this beer the prototypical chocolate oatmeal stout. It tastes exactly how you would expect it to, and that is not a bad thing. Rush River hit the nail on the head with this one.

Bad Weather Brewing Ominous “Midwest” Warmer

A brown ale for the winter season is a great description for Ominous. With great notes of nuts and roast, this beer is very approachable and drinkable, but subdued and complex. The use of dark candi sugar evokes flavors similar to a spiced beer, giving off subtle dark stone fruit, raisin, and chocolate flavors, as well as a mild, balanced sweetness. I would call this a spiced beer for people who don’t like spiced beer. Very mature flavors from a young brewery.

Indeed Stir Crazy Winter Warmer & Old Friend Holiday Ale

If Ominous was spiced beer for people who don’t like spiced beer, then Stir Crazy is spiced beer for people who love spiced beer. Shirking the standard spice offerings, this beer uses vanilla, raisins, and brown sugar. The raisins stand out at the forefront, giving a great fruit flavor without any unwanted syrupy sweetness. The vanilla gives a nice complement to this dark fruit flavor, and behind all that is some great malty caramel and toffee flavor.

Old Friend is a refreshing and novel surprise. The use of ginger gives an incredibly unique flavor, but the beer is very smooth, without any of the “burn” most people associate with ginger. There is also a strong presence of lemon citrus. This ginger/citrus combination pairs surprisingly well with the dark, sweet malt flavor.

Bent Paddle Harness IPA

After so many dark, heavy beers we were ready for something a bit more drinkable. Harness IPA was just the thing to break up this session of stouts, winter ales, and other beers great for sipping. With a bold aroma of simcoe and citra hops, this beer clears your senses. Great citrus hop flavor greets the tastebuds and evokes summertime IPAs, and a mild spiciness from the rye subtly reminds us that it is still cold outside. This will certainly be my go-to beer for New Years. Drinkable enough to enjoy all night, but complex enough not to bore.

Boom Island 2014 Yule

Yes, that year is correct, we’re talking about last year’s Yule from Boom Island. Boom Island cellared this beer for a year themselves because they knew we wouldn’t be patient enough to wait for it. Despite being a year old, there is plenty of this available. And boy was this one worth waiting for. True to Boom Island’s MO, this dark belgian holiday beer gives off light belgian yeast notes of clove. A phenomenal tart flavor complements the black currants used in this beer. The currants themselves give off phenomenally complex fruit notes, and a light spice note subtly complements all of this. This is a great choice for a table beer for any of your holiday parties. And yes – there is also Yule from this year available.

Olvalde Farm & Brewing Company Spiced Ode to a Russian Shipwright

This beer is a spiced version of Olvalde’s Porter, Ode to a Russian Shipwright. The spiced version makes for a great holiday beer, with notes of allspice and nutmeg, and a heavy cinnamon presence to warm you up. Beneath that are notes of wood, caramel and licorice. Similar to its base beer, there is a great spruce presence in this beer as well. This is an incredibly complex and well crafted beer. Perhaps most exciting about Olvalde is their incredible commitment to using ingredients grown on their farm, creating a true farm-to-bottle experience.

Among these ten beers are some of the most unique and exciting offerings available this holiday season in Minnesota. Any on this list will make the bar at your holiday party stand out, or just make you relish the cold winter season. Hopefully this will make your holiday buying just a little bit easier.

All of these beers and many more are available at The Ale Jail, located on St. Clair Avenue in St. Paul. Their commitment to craft beer is admirable – you would be hard pressed to find a can of macro beer in the entire store. In addition to a great selection of Minnesota beers, they have a strong selection of foreign and international beers including beers from traditional Belgian and German breweries. On top of this, their staff are some of the most knowledgeable in the metro area. Check The Ale Jail out on Facebook or Twitter.

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Award winning Barley John’s Brewpub to open production brewery in Wisconsin

February 3, 2014 Andrew Schmitt

This is why we can’t have nice things.

Rumors have been swirling around for a while now about Barley John’s brew pub opening a brewery across the state the border in Wisconsin. It seems the rumors are finally becoming a reality. John Moore confirmed the rumor with Nick Halter of the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal.

“I would rather have done it here, two minutes away, but that’s not the way it is,” Moore said. “The law is not in favor of brewpubs. It’s in favor of breweries.”

It is a sad fact that Minnesota laws have left brew pubs behind. When the “Surly Bill” was passed in mid-2011 it enabled Minnesota breweries to open taprooms and function like a pub that sells their own beer. Sadly, a bill that was heard in commerce committee directly after the “Surly Bill” could have given brew pubs the option to enter into distribution, making breweries and brew pubs close equals under the law. The bill was not nearly as popular as Surly’s taproom legislation, and many people (including myself) walked out of the committee hearing after the taproom bill was approved, leaving brew pubs with little support and a bill that did not pass the committee.

Elliot Ginsburg & Erin Conway from W. Michael Garner, P.A. wrote a great article on MnBeer.com about why the regulatory concerns of brew pub distribution are unfounded and misguided. It is a great article. It sure makes me regret walking out of that committee hearing early. Now that Barley John’s new brewery is being built in Wisconsin, I’m probably not the only one with regrets.

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Antici-pation – Winterfest 2013

February 10, 2013 aaron

I had my ticket for Winterfest printed and in hand about 48 seconds after they went on sale. It’s an understatement that I was excited for last Friday (Feb. 1^st) waiting on the first floor of The MN History Center with all the other rabid beer fans. This would be my first one. I’ve known that Winterfest was the premiere Minnesota beer tasting event for the past two years but could never get a ticket. Now I had one and second 49 started the wait.

There was much chagrin over the price of the Winterfest tickets this year; a little over $80 with internet fees. With the notion that the ticket was a Christmas present to myself I bought one; one of 750 sold. It was a brilliant marketing idea to offer the “6 Pack” of tickets (2 tix to each of the 3 MN Craft Brewer’s Guild events; Winterfest, All Pint’s North, Autumn Brew Review). It was a really good deal (a little over $50 a ticket, $290 plus fees for the six pack). Last summers All Pints North had a less than stellar attendance (but a really great line up!) and the 6 pack really help the Duluth beer scene. After Winterfest I’m a huge fan of what is going on in Duluth. One idea: is it such a bad thing to have all the major beer fests in one place? Maybe my idea of comparing the Minnesota Twins to the MN Craft Brews Guild is too far. The idea of a destination brewing town is appealing to me but I live here and can see the other side of the argument wanting craft beer to be inclusive. I’m torn but not like Natalie Imbruglia I still have faith.

It was Wednesday of the week of Winterfest when the program for was available. As far as event planning goes I’m sure this was right on time, I’d been looking for it for two weeks before, however. I was a little excited. I know you couldn’t tell. I poured over the program, made a list, checked it twice. Even went so far as to make sure I could drink everything that I wanted to. Let’s face it, not only is it a beer fest but most of my must haves were barrel aged (a Winterfest specialty) that can lead to waking up in the US-Dakota War exhibit, or jail if you’re belligerent.

To celebrate my first Winterfest I went on a quest to support the local beer community every night leading up to the Fest starting on Monday. This took me to Grumpy’s NE, Butcher and Boar, Nomad, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, of all places. It was an absolutely fantastic week and Winterfest was a brilliant end to it. All I had to hold on as 7 o’clock rolled around. My excitement was match by the 200 or so other people I was crowded into the 1^st floor hallway of the Minnesota History Center. As the bag pipes started to play there was a collective sigh, not only because Winterfest was now here but we could begin to move without bumping into four other people by breathing. It was a happy squeeze.

It was the first hundred or so of us that were able to make out the toast the guild president gave; a hard to hear address to the few that were listening. Before this we were gathered in a tent just off the History Center. A stage in there would have been a great area to provide a little more pomp and circumstance to the event and let’s face it, everybody loves a show.

So, I was off to the third floor first, beating the crowd. I wanted to make sure I had Barley John’s Dark Knight Returns. Not only did I have it, I think I was the first, but it won the Snowshoe for best of fest (Congrats to Barley John’s by the way). I’m glad to say of all the things that I wanted to try I did. All told I had 30 beers on the night. That number’s a little inflated due to poor record keeping. I tried to mark off as I went, that didn’t happen. Then, I tried to remember and failed. Chalk it up to what you will (it was the booze).

Of all the breweries I had the most consistent, and new to me, was Fitger’s. I don’t know if that makes me ignorant or inspired; regardless I’m better for it. Here are my top five beers of Winterfest. Besides number one there is in no particular order.

5. Dawn Juan – Steel Toe – I beg you not to bottle this. You have enough of my money already.

4. Silhouette – Lift Bridge – Can’t wait for this to be bottled. It’s been too long since my last Stillwater trip.

3. Gaelic – Castle Danger – Not only do you have a bad ass name but a good showing of all the beers I tasted.

2. Manhattan Barrel – Townhall – Although I did love the Twisted Trace, this brew was unlike any beer I’ve ever tasted.

1. Mango Trial IPA – Fitger’s – I’ve never had fruit sing through and yet compliment the hops in beer in quiet the same way. A mouth revelation. Town Hall’s Mango Momma can’t hold a candle to it.

Of all the things I tried at the fest I was most impressed by the Mango IPA from Fitger’s. From second hand internet posts and bathroom walls I’ve heard disparaging words against this brewery, mainly in connection with Town Hall. I was thinking this through; if a brewery (or brewer) would be compared to Town Hall and thought of as good but not as good I’d like to think that would be huge compliment with all the great things I’ve had from Town Hall and all the national love, not to mention awards, it has received. Safe to say I’ll be road tripping to Duluth this summer and the only reason is for Fitger’s. Not only did they impress me with the best new beer, but the range of the other brews I enjoyed from them was of a brewery that has everything under control and wants to show off.

Winterfest was unlike any other fest I’ve been to. The limited tickets made for a smaller crowd. The atmosphere was great, and no wait longer than 30 seconds for any beer; the ultimate American experience. In fact the only thing I waited for was the food they had. It was solid and a welcomed interruption to the huge beers I was downing. The small lines and limited amounts of people that I was surrounded by provided an atmosphere of pure beer love that I haven’t experienced at other fests I’ve gone to. A combination of just enough people and easy access to beers I would normally wait in line for created a world of bliss for the beer lover that wants to try it all.

Despite all this I don’t know if I’ll go again. Don’t get me wrong I had a blast. Winterfest is Wonka’s chocolate factory. You can meet the candy makers (if they’re not slinging beer too fast), try all their best confections, and all with an exclusive crowd. Although no one grew purple from too much drink (not that I saw but I’m sure it happened). What I discovered was I missed the lines. In line is where all the real magic has happened for me at fests. Where I’ve met people and connected with others that have the same passion I do. Maybe this is an unfair bias. I like to meet new people at these events. Go in with nothing but excitement and come out richer for the experience. I’m glad to have gone. I’m also glad to know how I operate at beer fests little more. I love the wait. I love the people I meet and the experience that the line brings. Maybe ABR will be more my speed…

Minnesota Beer Activists