New taprooms continue to open every month, and the summer is high season. When my brother-in-law mentioned he wanted to visit a taproom that “nobody had been to yet” I knew there were several to choose from. I told him that Pryes Brewing Company had just opened their new riverside taproom. A day later we were working up a thirst and cruising along the river road.
Continue Reading…Wild Mind Artisan Ales
May 9, 2017
Flipping through my Instagram feed on a late March day I happened upon a post from Wild Mind Artisan Ales. It described their first bottle release event for their Golden Ho/rye/zon American Wild Ale. I made a mental note but promptly forgot about it. The day of the event I was grumbling at work about being cooped up during the unseasonably warm weather and searching for any excuse to get outside. Just like that the event popped back into my head and, after a quick call to my wife, we were off.
Continue Reading…Goat Ridge Brewing Company
March 10, 2017
On a Saturday morning in early December, Samantha and I were sitting at a small table in New London’s Middle Fork Cafe. We were enjoying a small brunch in preparation for our the next taproom on our list and trading stories about our travels from the night before. The food was good but once I finished my sandwich the mind switched gears to beer. We paid and then took to the cold streets to arrive at our next stop, Goat Ridge Brewing Company, just as they opened at noon.
Continue Reading…Forager Brewery
February 22, 2017
During our effort last year to complete our Northern Ale Guide we knew we’d have to make a trip or two to knock a bunch off the list. We set aside a weekend with our friends Megan and Mitch to hit the southeastern Minnesota breweries. So on an early October evening we started our journey at Rochester’s Forager Brewery.
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We’re experiencing a renaissance of craft beer across the country and in 2016 Minnesota really hit its stride. With a new brewery opening weekly there were a glut of new breweries to visit and a many others establishing themselves within the community. Since it was my first full year blogging and after visiting over fifty breweries, I figured it would be worthwhile to do a recap of my year in Minnesota craft beer and hand out some awards for my own personal favorites. Read on to see the winners!
Continue Reading…Insight Brewing
August 14, 2016
After some food and a couple of drinks at Fulton Brewing we made our way to the second and final stop of the night: Insight Brewing. It wasn’t our first visit to their taproom but it was one we had anxiously been waiting to try again; this time with a free beer courtesy of the Northern Ale Guide.
Continue Reading…Bauhaus Brew Labs
May 13, 2016
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.
Continue Reading…Bad Weather Brewing Company
March 25, 2016
In an ongoing effort to nurture our relationships with people that, like us, lack children we called our newlywed friends Mattie and Sara up for a night out. They were looking for a night to unwind so we decided to visit a brewery in the cities. We had initially planned on using one of our Groupons but during the drive Samantha identified that it wasn’t good for that day! After some quick pivoting we decided to venture into St. Paul to the relatively new Bad Weather Brewing Company.
Continue Reading…Castle Danger Brewery
January 8, 2016
The next stop on our trip was the Castle Danger Brewery. We made our approach after a quick turn off the highway. Just like Voyageur this taproom faces Lake Superior and provides some excellent scenery.
Continue Reading…Voyageur Brewing Company
January 7, 2016
After a short night of drinking we woke up early and hit the road. The plan was to get in as many breweries as we could and we were to start at the furthest one north and work our way down. Before we knew it we had rolled into Grand Marais to our first stop: Voyageur Brewing Company.
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