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Duluth Beer Scene Grows with Blacklist Expansion Announced

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

Blacklist Brewing Tour Group

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

Blacklist Brewing

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Review

Montgomery Brewing’s Secret Ingredient: Friendliness

A blistering wind attacked my exposed face from the north just as soon as I got out of my well-heated minivan. I carefully but quickly shuffled over patches of ice in the street, aiming for promised shelter just ahead, declared by an illuminated sign. Fumbling with my smartphone, I looked again as it reported a temperature of -9, windchill of -19 below zero.

Brad Ashton and I had unintentionally picked one of the coldest days of the year to drive an hour to check out another brewery/taproom in southern Minnesota: Montgomery Brewing in, not coincidentally, Montgomery, Minnesota, population about 3000, “Kolacky Capital of the World”.

montgomery_sign
A beacon of hope on a harsh frozen evening

As my tennis shoes found more reliable footing on the ramp leading up to the entry, I saw Brad up ahead, holding the door wide open for me. While I appreciated Brad’s courtesy, my immediate thought was, “if there is anyone in there and they are sitting by that door, they are gonna be so angry at us out-of-towners.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

As my glasses defogged and my cheeks thawed, we found ourselves in a warm, cozy taproom that was full to the brim. Of the wooden tables and chairs I could see, they were all full of groups of people. I looked, but did not see or hear anyone cursing our arctic-blast entry. Instead, the room was warm and full of laughter from everyone I could hear. Nobody was giving Brad and I that ‘oh look strangers!’ glare that you get when you enter a place always populated by the regulars. Of the people who were curious, they were all admiring Brad’s custom brewery-patch jacket.

A lot of interesting beer history all over the place. That's Brad in the center.
A lot of interesting beer history all over the place. That’s Brad in the center.

The taproom was front-sectioned off from a larger interior which boasted the popular creamery-brick/industrial steel siding style. Behind a service counter made from stainless steel worktables were custom-built, white coolers with clear doors showcasing seven 5-barrel stainless fermenters inside. Over it all, a green chalkboard held information about the beers on tap and for sale.

Just as soon as my glasses cleared enough to read, I searched the chalkboard and found the word that I wanted to see: flights. Nothing makes me happier than finding out I can try one of everything available in affordable, small portions. The flights were served on a thick wooden tray with counter-sunk holes to hold the sampling glasses. Brad was already ahead of me, ordering his.

A flight of 8 on a tray built for 7 means you carry it carefully.
A flight of 8 on a tray built for 7 means you carry it carefully.

My second, now in more-in-focus look around the taproom revealed framed pictures containing some of the building history, beer culture, and even a large print of Sisyphus Brewing’s mural. Everyone seemed happy, and eruptions of laughter were common from several larger groups. However, the room had no place left to sit. I started getting concerned that we’d have to stand and balance our flight trays in one hand and drink with the other: not ideal.

Just then, a group stood up and made preparations to go. Brad made an instinctive bee-line for the just opening table. In fairness, Brad is a frequent patron of Dangerous Man, and his skills at finding a place to sit in that always bustling taproom are finely honed. I saw beer left on the tables they’d just stood up from as the taproom staff quickly bustled over to clear it. I got this odd vibe that these folks just decided to call it a night to give us a place to sit. As they pulled on their coats and we took ours off, we thanked them for the space and they in turn encouraged us to enjoy our beers.

It was a very Minnesotan-nice moment.

While we worked through our 8 beers, people came over and asked how we were, where we’d come from, and what our favorite beers were. To some end, I thought that maybe my reputation as a blogger was gathering us additional attention, but in reflection I think people were very friendly and really wanted to talk to us… and ask Brad about his brewery-patch jacket.

The little sign at the bottom says, "Don't judge folks by their relatives"
The little sign at the bottom says, “Don’t judge folks by their relatives”

This is a beer blog, so I suppose we should get into that. I found all the beers very drinkable. I am not a beer sommelier, nor certified cicerone, never been a BJCP beer judge. I know what I like, and with my preference for porters and stouts, I found The General (an American Imperial Stout) to be my favorite (see image for the tap list). They also had some wax-dipped 750ml bottles of this beer that had been bourbon-barrel aged and, from the sales I observed and the man-that’s-good-beer sounds Brad made, very good and in high demand. I had noted the crowler machine as we came in, and had I to do it over would have asked for a crowler of The General to go.

The Saturday closing time of 9:00 PM arrived quicker than I would have liked. The taproom started clearing out about 8:45 PM and Brad had just about finished his tray while mine looked largely untouched. I guess I spent too much time talking to folks and not drinking beer. As we made preparations to leave, two local fellas we’d been talking to suggested an ‘interesting’ pizza place in town if we were hungry before braving the below-zero drive back home. We took their advice and, well, the experience we had there would fill another blog. I will say that the staff at Pizzeria 201 were obviously hoping to clean up early when we arrived close to their closing time, but they found the pizza oven was still hot and they served us happily

Maybe the whole town of Montgomery is full of friendly people.

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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.

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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.

Featured, Review

10 Must Try Minnesota Beers This Holiday Season

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

Boggan Brew
Barley John’s Boggan Brew

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

Winterloper
Bauhaus Winterloper

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

Nevermore
Rush River Nevermore

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

Ominous
Bad Weather Ominous

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

Old Friend
Indeed Old Friend

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

Harness IPA
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

2014 Yule
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

Ode
Olvalde Spiced Ode

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.

 

Beer Consumers in Minnesota

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