Weekly Duluth Beer Roundup for July 20, 2014

The countdown is officially on. In exactly 13 days, I will be a married man so I'm trying to enjoy my last days of bachelorhood by having some good beer........but that's not going to change either even after I am married. Since I have been busy working, writing and planning the wedding amongst other things, I have not been doing my Weekly Beer Roundups as much as I would like so imagine my surprise when I found out I had time this weekend.

Thursday Evening, I met up with my old man at Fitger's Brewhouse for some dinner and discussion about my upcoming wedding. Since it was a fairly hot day outside I opted for something a bit lighter when it came time to order....

Fitger's Yellow Jersey Ale (5% ABV) - Brewed every year (with a different style each year) to commemorate the Tour de France. This year it's a Cream Ale style of beer. The flavor is fairly reminiscent of New Glarus' Spotted Cow; You've got some pale malts, flaked corn, barley and even a bit of sweetness thrown in for good measure. The Brewhouse also is offering to pour this beer with 25% lemonade (thus making it into a pseudo-Radler) so I had it with that for my second pint and it certainly hits the spot. Whether or not you choose to get it with lemonade, it tastes refreshing either way.

Yesterday evening, I paid a visit to Canal Park Brewing for a pint after a long day. Despite the hockey tourney that was in town this weekend, I was able to find a parking spot right next to the brewery. Amidst all the breweries in town, I was in the mood for something a bit darker so I settled on the Nut Hatchet Brown, which had been out of rotation for a few months and it was the darkest thing they had.

Canal Park Nut Hatchet Brown (5.7% ABV) - A bit of roastiness and a good serving of chocolate malts on the front of the flavor, the maltiness stays throughout while the roasty flavor opens up to more of a nutty taste. The aftertaste is surprisingly dry for what it is with only a very slight roastiness and chocolate sweetness. Maybe it was the weather, but this also had a suspiciously crisp and refreshing taste to it. Overall, it's a very solid Brown Ale.

Earlier this afternoon, I decided to pay a visit to Burrito Union, which serves as a tied-house for Fitger's Brewhouse. Sometimes they will have a limited release beer that the Brewhouse doesn't have and that makes it worth visiting. Plus it's just a few blocks from my new humble abode.

Fitger's White Knight Wit Noir (6.2% ABV) - A dark witbier that hasn't been made by the brewhouse for a while now. It's got a nice malted wheat flavor with some chocolate and roastiness. There's also a bit of fruitiness to it as well as a touch of spice. In my search for a good darker beer, I think I found my outlet for the time being.

Hopefully these next 2 weeks go smoothly and I will try to go another Round up post if my schedule permits. Even though we are still very much in the midst of summer, I'm looking forward to the fall seasonals as those tend to have some real gems. Until next week....

- Nick