In late April, Samantha and I were at a birthday party for my nephew. The night before our friends informed us they would be at Bauhaus Brew Labs that evening and that we should stop by. Conveniently, my sister lives in Northeast Minneapolis and it was a quick drive to their taproom.
Bauhaus Brew Labs is named after an art school in Germany that existed in the early 1900s. Their focus was combining crafts and the fine arts. They also adopted the slogan “Art into Industry” which embodies the spirit of the current craft beer scene in Minnesota. The brewery itself opened in the spring of 2014 and has found its home among many excellent breweries in the Northeast area of Minneapolis.
The most striking aspect I noticed during our visit was the building. The brewery and taproom are located within the old Crown Iron Works building. This fully renovated building includes a glass ceiling on one side that bathes the interior in full natural light. The tap list is hung from a vintage crane painted in Bauhaus’ yellow. Sandblasted brick, new windows, concrete floors, and wooden tables and bar round out the decor creating a warm industrial space. A large glass garage door separates the interior from the patio where the food trucks can pull up to. You also get a chance to see (and hear) trains roll past which provides some awesome ambience to the space you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere.
Their focus is German style beer with an inventive twist. Three of their four flagship beers are lagers which is a true departure from the ale heavy craft beer scene. I had their color coded flagship flight which consisted of the Wonderstuff Neü Bohemian Pilsner, Stargrazer German Style Schwarzbier, Wagon Party West Coast Style Lager, and Sky-Five! Midwest Coast IPA. I was also able to try one of their seasonal beers: a hoppy red lager called Copperpop. Wonderstuff was my favorite. Its got that great pilsner taste with crisp citrus hop notes on top. I’d mowed the lawn earlier in the day, and this would’ve hit the spot afterwards. Each of the lagers on top has a unique flavor and aroma, and if you’re used to just a pilsner style lager you’ll be in for a treat.
The crowd seemed to skew a little younger here. This is normal for a brewery in Northeast, but it seemed particularly true that night. It was one of the first warm nights of the year so the patio was absolutely packed. I really enjoyed the modern design and bold colors. You can spot their cans in the store from a mile away! Counteracting this modern design is graffiti both inside and out of the building as well as a bank of arcade games near the bar. It’s this combination of new and old that is so great about this resurgence of craft beer and it’s something that Bauhaus excels at. Oh, and the beer is good too!
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