It has been 50 years since Superior, Wis. has had a brewery producing beer for the regional market, when Northern Brewing Company shuttered its doors in 1967. Continuing with their mission to support the re-localization of brewing, Tim Nelson and his company Bev-Craft have announced plans to build Earth Rider Brewing Company to service the Twin Ports, and the South and North Shores of Lake Superior.
The brewery will reside on the north end of Tower Ave., nestled between monolithic grain elevators of Superior’s working harbor, and restaurants and bars of the entertainment district. The location at the foot of the High Bridge (1617 N 3rd Street, formerly the Leamon Mercantile Co) offers easy access from anywhere in the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior.
Nelson expects redevelopment of the structure to begin in the spring with the first batch of beer brewed in late summer. Earth Rider’s brewing operations will occupy a 16,300-square-foot facility, with a project budget to exceed $2.5 million in private investment with support from the City of Superior, Superior Choice Credit Union, Wisconsin Business Development, Douglas County Development Association, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Northland Foundation, Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, and APEX.
Earth Rider is the second brewery to be announced by Bev-Craft, with Hoops Brewing in Duluth being the first. Bev-Craft is a brewery-incubator consultancy. Their team includes 22-year industry veteran Nelson along with some of the region’s most decorated brewers, including Frank Kaszuba and Dave Hoops.
The brewery taproom will be the historic Cedar Lounge, which was originally built by the Northern Brewing Company as a tied house in 1912. Renovations to the Cedar were completed in August and it is currently operating as a beer-centric tavern. An outdoor beer garden and event space will provide a lively connection between the brewhouse and the taproom.
Nelson co-founded Minnesota’s fifth craft brewery, Fitger’s Brewhouse, in 1995 and has remained an instrumental figure in the industry ever since. He says the Twin Ports have numerous benefits for brewers including a strong workforce, pristine Lake Superior water, and a growing number of craft beer drinkers.
“The head of the Great Lakes have a strong and growing indie beer culture, the best brewing water anywhere, and several outstanding breweries,” said Nelson. “We’re excited to produce a local product that bolsters the economy and culture.”
We’ve got to admit… the Blacklist expansion announced today has got us very excited. Not only do we get to see our good friends expand their business but we also get to see another important example of Duluth’s craft beer scene solidifying its status as a serious beer town… some even call it Duluth Beer City.
With Blacklist Expansion Comes Expanding Excitement for Duluth Beer
Early Duluth Experience tour at Blacklist’s warehouse space. Far left is co-founder Jon Loss.
We’ve been introducing our guests to Blacklist’s Belgian-inspired beers since our first tours in 2013 and they’ve always been one of the most exciting locations for us to visit. Founded in 2012 and situated in a modest warehouse space located in Duluth’s Central Hillside, the brewery has expanded their operations at a modest pace… until now. An epic Blacklist expansion has begun!
Today the Team at Blacklist – including co-founders Brian Schanzenbach and Jon Loss and parter TJ Estabrook – announced that they’ve solidified plans to expand their operations… substantially. They’ll be leaving behind their warehouse space for a bigger and more ideal location in Duluth’s Historic Arts and Theater District. With an expanded production capacity and a Superior St. taproom in Duluth’s Downtown, this small artesian brewery has truly set the stage for an amazing craft beer experience.
And you can bet that The Duluth Experience will be there to bring you behind-the-scenes once the new space is operational! Check out Blacklist’s press release below for more info.
Visit the Blacklist website to learn more about this exciting Duluth brewery.
PRESS RELEASE: Blacklist Expands into Iconic Building on Superior Street
Co-founder and head brewer Brian Schanzenbach busy mashing in.
DULUTH, MN – The New Year rings in new growth in Duluth’s craft brewing community, as construction begins on a fresh brewery and taproom for Blacklist Artisan Ales at 120 East Superior Street. The fully-remodeled 5,700 square foot space represents a major expansion for Blacklist, which has enjoyed growing notoriety for high-quality artisan ales.
“This move allows us to expand production while continuing to experiment with new ales, in a setting that leaves us more accessible and better connected to our customers,” said Brian Schanzenbach, founding partner and head brewer.
Jon Loss, founding partner and marketing director stated, “We are thrilled to be securing a space in Duluth’s Historic Arts and Theater District, a HART District location aligns with our goal to further solidify our place in Duluth’s dynamic craft brewing and arts community”.
Originally built as the Delray Hotel in 1908, this historic building in downtown Duluth suffered a period of neglect after becoming the home of the notorious Last Place on Earth. The building was forfeited to federal authorities in 2013 after its owner was sentenced to prison. Titanium Partners has since purchased and invested heavily in returning the building to its former glory, salvaging and showcasing the building’s unique and historic architectural features. Blacklist Artisan Ales will serve as the flagship tenant in the newly remodeled building.
“We couldn’t be more proud to welcome Blacklist to this revitalized part of our vibrant downtown,” said the newly elected Mayor Emily Larson, “Blacklist embodies the spirit of Duluth’s craft culture. Whether we’re talking about better beers or better neighborhoods, we come together to make things better.”
Blacklist expects to be fully moved into its new space by summer 2016 with a grand opening to be announced.
If you’re interested in learning more about Blacklist and the other great breweries that comprise The North Shore Craft Beer Scene, please visit our Brewery Tour Page and book a brewery tour with The Duluth Experience!
This post first appeared on The Duluth Experience and has been republished here with permission.
It is that time of year. Time for a delightful afternoon on the shore of Lake Superior enjoying beer, jamming to music, consuming a Nate Dog or two, and letting the good times roll at All Pints North in Duluth, MN.
All Pints North summer beer festival grows every year. The festival has 95+ breweries occupying Bayfront Park for 2015, most of them Minnesota breweries.
At any beer festival you will see brewers showcasing some big beers, some barrel-aged, and some over-the-top hoppy. But, Minnesota is enjoying the sweet spot of summer right now. Brewers are aware of that and they are bringing offerings that reflect the season. You’ll see a good amount of of fruit, wheat, and sour beers at All Pints North. That doesn’t mean you won’t find me sneaking a taste of Sommelier George Hunter Stout from Castle Danger, a first sip of Surly NEIN, or a wee dram of Bourbon County Brand Stout. But like most people, I drink with the season/weather. This weekend in Duluth will be no different.
Drinking every beer from every brewer at All Pints North is truly an impossibility. If you are drinking with the weather like me, here are a few beers you may want put near the top of your list to try before palate fatigue takes over.
Follow this link for the full program and beer lists.
Schell’s Too Many Peaches
Starkbier Berliner Weisse aged on Peaches. Just like
the name says, this was meant to be Starkeller Peach,
but with a little too much peach. Extremely hazy and
bursting with tart peach flavor and aroma. For those
who like their OJ with a little extra pulp! 3.66 pH, 1.14
Total acidty
ABV: 7.3 IBU: 5
Sociable Cider Werks Habenero Cucumber Freewheeler
A firkin of Freewheeler infused with freshly sliced habanero
peppers and cucumbers. The cucumber cools
as the habanero scratches its way across your palette
ABV: 6.2 IBU:
Bemidji Brewing Flanders Sour Red Ale aged oncBlackberries and Raspberries
Mid-Festival Release! We aged this year’s entire batch
of Flanders Sour Red Ale on blackberries and raspberries
for an additional 3 months. Huge fruit and berry
aromas and flavors are backed by sturdy malts and a
snappy, tart finish.
ABV: 6 IBU: 10
Bent Paddle Brewing
Nitro Vanilla Cold Press Black Bent Paddle Black infused with Duluth Coffee Co. cold
press coffee and infused with Madagascar vanilla on
nitro. This beer is brewed to be a smooth, chocolatey,
semi-roasted ale that bridges the islands of porter and
stout, with a generous amount of oats to round out
the flavor.
ABV: 6 IBU: 35
Castle Danger Brewery Summer Crush
Light, refreshing and tart. Our take on a summer
shandy without being one. Brewed with Sorachi Ace
hops and acidulated malt lends a nice burst of lemon
flavor and aroma with a dry tartness throughout. Its
the un-shandy.
ABV: 4.5 IBU: 22
Fitger’s Brewhouse Framboise
This beer is our version of a very unique Belgian beer style
brewed only in the Lambic region outside Brussels. Our version is
fermented in wine barrels with a blend of Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces,
Lactobacillus and Pediococcus. After 2 years or more,
the beer is racked onto regionally grown raspberries and allowed
to referment for 6 months. Fitger’s Framboise presents strong
notes of lactic, sour aroma with a tart and well balanced flavor.
ABV: 6.5 IBU: 0
Jack Pine Brewery Vengeance!
Dead Branch Cream Ale infused with fresh-cut jalapenos.
Bright pepper flavor and aroma with just enough
lingering heat to make you want more. (4.6% ABV)
ABV:4.6% IBU:
Lift Bridge Brewing Citra Kellerbier
Building on tradition, we have used the lemony Citra
hops to elevate the classice Germanic style Kellerbier
to a refreshing summer treat. A natural haze welcomes
you to quaff the citurs hop nose and then dive
into the straw malt character, finishing ultra clean and
crisp thanks to the lager yeast.
ABV: 4.5 IBU: 35
Friday, June 26th at exactly 4pm, Wander North Distillery (NE Minneapolis), Du Nord Craft Spirits (South Minneapolis), and Vikre Distillery (Duluth) will become the first distilleries since prohibition to sell craft spirits directly to Minnesota consumers. The coordinated sale by Minnesota craft distilleries comes in the wake of state legislative changes, and actions taken by their respective municipalities, to allow Minnesota micro distilleries to sell bottles of their spirits directly to consumers.
Vikre Distillery
Progress made during the 2015 legislative session resulted in Governor Dayton signing a law allowing micro distilleries to sell one 375ml bottle per person per day directly to the public. The law removed a prohibition on direct sales that had been on the books since the mid-1930s. The Minnesota Distillers Guild sent members to St. Paul to explain the need for the law change.
“People were shocked when they came to our distilleries and learned that they couldn’t buy what we made,” said Shanelle Montana, co-owner of Du Nord and president of the Distillers Guild, “thankfully, state leaders agreed that this outdated law needed to change.”
The law change will move Minnesota craft distillers closer to parity with small breweries and farm wineries in the state. Larger bottle sizes and expanded days of sale are a few of the inequities that will need to be addressed in coming legislative sessions.
The idea for the coordinated sale was the brain-child of Wander North’s owner, Brian Winter, and Du Nord’s co-owner, Chris Montana. “This is a big step for micro-distilleries,” said Winter “this will allow the small craft guys to grow, create jobs, and give the people what they want.”
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.
Amicable Arrangement ends Action and Benefits Trails
This is quite possibly the classiest resolution to any trademark action ever filed… ever! Hats off to both breweries for coming to an agreement and devising an amazing arrangement that benefits two world class hiking routes – the Long Trail & the Superior Hiking Trail. We’ll drink to that!
From Bent Paddle:
DULUTH, MINN. – DECEMBER 11, 2014 – Long Trail Brewing (Bridgewater Corners, Vermont) –and Bent Paddle Brewing Co. (Duluth, Minnesota) are pleased to announce to their collective beer fans that the disagreement over trademark use raised in late August has been amicably resolved.
Bent Paddle introduced a hiker logo on its recent series of seasonal brand offerings that closely resembled the “Hiker” logo that is a federally registered trademark of the Long Trail Brewing Co. When legal action was filed to protect Long Trail’s trademark, Bent Paddle immediately took steps to remove the “Hiker” logo from any more beer releases.
Jed Nelson, Director of Marketing at Long Trail indicated that with the explosion of craft brewers nationally, these types of issues have come up before and are likely to continue in the near term. “Bent Paddle contacted us right away when we brought the ‘Hiker’ logo registration to their attention. They were as eager as we were to resolve the situation as fellow craft brewers” said Nelson.
As a way to punctuate the amicable ending, Bent Paddle is making a donation to the Green Mountain Club, care takers of the Long Trail hiking route, and Long Trail is making a donation to the Superior Hiking Trail Association in Minnesota.
“We thank the Long Trail Brewing Co. leadership for being amenable to work with on this dispute” said Laura Mullen, Bent Paddle Co-Founder and VP of Outreach & Events. “We all learned a lot from this process and truly hope that this type of brewery to brewery communication sets an example in future disputes across our industry. We also hope to all enjoy a beer together in the future!”
For more information contact Laura Mullen, 218-279-2722 ext. 303, laura@bentpaddlebrewing.com
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The citizens of Duluth and the folks at VisitDuluth.com must be ecstatic that another tourism and recreation business has made a home just north of their landmark Lift Bridge in the popular Canal Park district. Is it another brewery? Nope. Another brewpub, perhaps? Nope.
Duluth’s newest economic engine is a micro-distillery. And, not just any distillery – an award-winning one. Vikre Distillery.
Joel and Emily Vikre (pronounced veek-ruh) have turned what was once a cluttered storage space into a warm, inviting, two-level cocktail room and distillery. As I entered from the street, the first thing that caught my attention was all the glass walls – there are no opaque walls anywhere to obscure the sight lines to the distillery.
I am the first to admit, I’m a beer guy – my knowledge of the art of distilling is limited to what I learned watching a documentary about prohibition and what I read on the internet. Joel was a gracious host and offered me a quick tour of the distillery to start my education.
It was interesting to learn how Vikre came to be located in their little corner of Duluth. As it turns out, their zone of Canal Park is the only place a distillery could locate… because they’re deemed “hazardous”. I have an active imagination, so immediately I took a step backwards. My guide smiled as he assured me that there was absolutely no danger or hazard to guests.
“We’re a hazardous occupancy tenant to the city,” explained Joel, “and so we needed a building in an area that was zoned that way. This part of Canal Park is the only place around that is still zoned for hazardous and manufacturing… which is what we are in their eyes.”
Photo Credit: Kevin Lemke
Joel shared a few interesting stories as we walked around – like how the small still found its way here from Washington State, and how any distiller worth their salt is also a good plumber, the radical building modifications they made to installing equipment, and how even with the full support of the mayor, it still took months to circumnavigate the readings and hearings and ordinances and permits. I was only partially listening – rude, I know – but my full attention was captured by the delicate web of copper tubes weaved between the stills with their glass-plated viewing ports which aroused the steam punk lover in me.
“… and we get our wort through an arrangement with Bent Paddle Brewing,” Joel finished.
“What?” I thought I misheard him as I looked around. Sure enough: no tell-tale bags of grain stacked on pallets that I’ve seen in every brewery tour I’ve ever taken. No milling room with a white PVC-encased augers to haul ground product into a brew kettle. Instead, half a dozen square, steel tubs about 4′ x 4′ x 2′ lay open and empty, their large round lids askew on top.
L to R: Emily Vikre (owner), Caleb Wendell (sales manager), Chelsy Whittington (tasking/cocktail room manager) and Joel Vikre (owner)
During our tour another dozen or so people escaped the cold and entered the cocktail room. It was getting busy again, so we ended the tour and went back down to the guest area where we came in. The area has a 15′ counter that can serve about 8. The counter rests below a series of small blackboards covered in information about the small batch spirits, and the cocktails that could be made. A few feet above and behind this area, and sharing the same level as the distillery, was a large cocktail room with a long, wooden table that could seat another 20 thirsty guests.
My education about tasting spirits continued with a flight of four spirits with tonic and water. Joel and staff demonstrated the different ways to taste spirits, including lessons in doing the “Kentucky chew“. I stuck my nose into the glass and inhaled deeply like I do with beer. Based on the amused expressions of those around me, I think I did it wrong.
As I worked through the flight, I overheard a customer ask if they could buy some of the two-dozen Vikre Distilling gin bottles prominently displayed on iilluminated wooden shelves built into the wall behind the bar.
“Sorry,” the staff explained, “You can only buy our products at a liquor store. Unlike breweries, we can’t self-distribute. Unlike wineries, we can’t even sell our own bottles directly to consumers. We have to sell to a distributor, who then sells to the liquor stores.” The customer furrowed his brow, asked for the location of the nearest store, and left empty-handed.
I sipped the three gins and the aquavit with and without tonic & water in my tasting flight. I also noted that they would make you cocktails with their spirits for even more variety. If we sampled beer I’d go a lot further into a review, but as my spirits knowledge is limited, I’ll defer to the American Craft Spirits Association. The ACSA awarded Vikre two silver and a gold for their gin in 2014 (I told you they were award winning). I’m a realist: my experience is limited, so what I can say honestly is that I liked them. If a busy venue is a measurement of success, than I can share that the place was indeed busy, even for a soft open! Word was out and the locals were all smiles.
The official grand opening date has yet to be determined, but keep your eyes open for this newest star of the north to make a grand appearance.
To celebrate Minnesota’s nationally recognized craft beer community, from May 5-11, the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild presents 10,000 Minutes of Minnesota Craft Beer, a week packed with more than 80 member events, from Minnesota tap takeovers on the North Shore to special firkin tappings in Southern Minnesota.
10,000 Minutes events include: tap takeovers, special releases, firkin tappings, cask tappings, block parties, beer art, and all-day happy hours. It’s the most Minnesota-specific craft beer events in one week ever. Events are being added every day, so for the latest, visit Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaCraftBrewersGuild
The brewery will reside on the north end of Tower Ave., nestled between monolithic grain elevators of Superior’s working harbor, and restaurants and bars of the entertainment district. The location at the foot of the High Bridge (1617 N 3rd Street, formerly the Leamon Mercantile Co) offers easy access from anywhere in the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior.
