With fall waning in early November we were seeking some indoor entertainment. Our friends had suggested visiting some newer breweries that had opened in nearby Lakeville, Minnesota. This is a more central location for our usual companions. So after filling our bellies with food from nearby Lakeville Brewing Company we made the (very) short walk to Angry Inch Brewing.
I distinctly remember the first time I tried Angry Inch Brewing. It was in 2014 at a tasting offered by Lakeville Liquors through our Premier Club membership. Sidenote: For anyone looking to try a wide variety of wines and beers for an extremely reasonable price ($45 dollars for two people for six tastings throughout the year), I highly suggest it. They had a very unique setup and were offering their Samoan Kisses milk stout on one of their taps. Since that’s my favorite girl scout cookie I couldn’t pass it up, and I’m glad I didn’t. It was at that point I inquired whether they’d be opening a taproom and they mentioned they were a few months away. Fast forward two years and I heard they were finally open! Delays are a common theme when opening breweries and I’m just happy that it finally worked out.
For most new brewery’s the origin is from homebrewing, and Angry Inch Brewing is no different. You can even see their original tasting table from their garage days inside their taproom. It’s has a Minnesota Wild and North Stars logo designed from bottle caps. Angry Inch Brewing has a slogan “angry beer for happy people” which is reflective of the styles of beer they brew. They lean towards more aggressive styles with higher gravity which is sort of the opposite strategy of their neighbors. This creates a nice dichotomy between the two breweries that I think will benefit them both. I hope to see them do some collaborations in the future.
I ordered a flight of six 5oz beers. The six were the Angry Inch Pale Ale, What’s Your Weiss, Lies in Lederhosen Oktoberfest, Daddy’s Honey Pot, Naked Hop Party, and Four Horseman IPA. The Weiss and Oktoberfest were my two favorites. The former was very wheaty with a great aroma, and the latter had a nice smoked malt flavor with notes of spice and apples. All the beers were brewed well and I’m hoping to return to try some of their others.
The taproom is fairly standard. There is a long bar, brewing equipment visible at the back, and the usual wood and metal decor. One feature that stood out to us was their growler chandelier. Each shroud around the bulb was a growler from a different local brewery. This is a nice change from the usual way in which these growlers are displayed.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I think both breweries will benefit from being so close to each other. When there is a cluster of places they tend to become more of a destination than they would normally be. I also think they will balance each other well which is something I experienced first hand. Of the two Angry Inch Brewing has the more authentic brewery/taproom vibe. At the end of the day that is my preference, but I think you should try them both out and make up your mind on your own. Enjoy!
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