minneapolis

Awards

Minnesota Craft Beer: Best of 2017

January 6, 2018

It’s that time of year again. Time to reflect upon the breweries that I visited in the past year and identify some of my favorites. Since this is the second time I’m doing these awards I added some ground rules. I’m only assigning an award to somewhere that I visited in 2017. If you don’t see one of your favorites then let please let me know. Rest assured that with the amount of breweries now in Minnesota there is a great chance I didn’t make it there. In an effort to shake things up, I decided to ensure there were no repeats from last year. Lastly, to recognize the best of the breweries that opened in 2017, there is a new category called Best New Brewery. Let’s get started!

Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative

December 12, 2017

I’ve got a bad habit about buying a Groupon and forgetting to use it. There is even a brewery that closed after I bought one and I was unable to redeem it. On a brisk Autumn evening my loving wife informed me that we were down to the last day of my latest purchase and I was bound and determined not to let it expire. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to join me as she was preparing for a dinner party the following evening. So I called my father, never one to turn down a free beer, and we headed to Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative.

Pryes Brewing Company

August 6, 2017

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.

LynLake Brewery

August 5, 2017

Summer was well under way when our friends contacted us about their desire to visit a brewery in the metro area. They’d made it through the first few months of raising a newborn and finally felt like they earned a night off. Before we knew it we were halfway through our yum yum rice bowls from World Street Kitchen discussing our next stop: LynLake Brewery.

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.

Harriet Brewing

August 15, 2016

Hoping once again to use our Northern Ale Guide and an expired Groupon we joined up with our friends Mitch and Megan to make a trip into Minneapolis for yet another weeknight brewery trip. This time we were headed to Harriet Brewing which is located in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis.

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.

Fulton Brewing

August 13, 2016

In an ongoing effort to complete our Northern Ale Guide, Samantha and I joined our friends Mitch and Megan for a trip to Minneapolis. Our aim was to hit two spots on a weeknight and the first of those was Fulton Brewing.

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.

612Brew

March 3, 2016

Last Friday evening Samantha and I were looking for something to do and decided to head down to 612Brew. On our way there we stopped by one of our favorite food trucks turned restaurant; Cafe Racer Kitchen. This was particularly fitting because the last time we were at 612 it was to evaluate them for our wedding. After filling our stomachs with some delicious Latin American cuisine (try the pulled chicken) we made the short drive to Northeast, Minneapolis.

Older Posts

Newer Posts

Minnesota Craft Beer: Best of 2017

Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative

Pryes Brewing Company

LynLake Brewery

Wild Mind Artisan Ales

Harriet Brewing

Insight Brewing

Fulton Brewing

Bauhaus Brew Labs

612Brew

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