Blacklist Golden Review

Name: Blacklist Golden
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4%
IBUs: 15

Blacklist might be known mostly for their Belgian/Euro-style ales but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t willing to branch out into something more mainstream. Which brings us to Golden: A session blonde ale meant for those who aren’t necessarily ready to jump into the proverbial deep end as far as craft beer is concerned. Let’s take a look shall we?

Appearance – Hazy bright yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is nice and foamy and the lacing left behind is abundant.

Aroma – Pale malts and biscuits paired with a light touch of floral hops and earthiness.

Taste – Pretty similar to the nose with nice biscuit/yeast notes followed by some light earthiness. On the back end of the palate, I’m picking up on some pale malts and a light floral/herbal hops with a dry finish.

If you’re looking for a way to support local breweries, yet don’t want to be punched in the face with hops, this is the beer for you! With its simple yet delightful flavor, this one is definitely a crowd pleaser in my book and you owe it to yourself to try this one out.

The Duluth Experience Saturday Evening Brewery Tour Review

For this post, I'm not looking at any sort of beer (sort of.) Instead I'm doing a review of my Saturday Evening Brewery I did with The Duluth Experience a couple of weeks ago. You'd think that will all the contact I've had with these guys that I would've been on a tour of theirs. In reality, I had been meaning to go on a tour for some time but obligations kept getting in the way. Finally a couple of weeks ago, I found myself free for a Saturday night and signed up for a brewery tour.


Our tour group met at Fitger's Brewhouse where Tim, our tour guide and all-around awesome guy, discussed our itinerary for the evening:

• Vikre Distillery - A distillery that recently opened in Duluth
• Bent Paddle Brewing - Duluth's newest production brewery that has experienced exceptional growth since opening last year
• Fitger's Brewhouse - Synonymous with the term "Duluth Beer", it is considered to be the benchmark of brewpubs in the State of Minnesota 
• Lake Ave Cafe - Restaurant located in Canal Park for dinner

Our first stop for the evening was Vikre Distillery, which opened it's doors in Canal Park earlier this year. I did find it a bit funny that we started a brewery tour by touring a distillery, but what better place to see yet another emerging growth in the Minnesota distilling industry than here?

During the tour, we were shown the equipment used to make their gin & aquavit and I have to say, I was surprised as to how much work had to go into making it. We also got a whiff of the heads, heart and tails of distilling and man, that was strong! We were even told that drinking the "heads" could cause us to go blind if consumed. They also showed off the barrels they were using to age their single malt whiskey and I cannot wait to try it out when they bottle it 10 years from now.

Afterwards, we got to sample some of the gin and aquavit in the tasting room and by far, my favorite was the Cedar Gin; It was nice, smooth and the best way to describe the flavor is that it tasted like Christmas!

I know I run a blog about beer, but the tour of Vikre really gave me a great appreciation of Minnesota's growing distilling industry. I will definitely be paying more attention to our state's distilling industry in future, I think it's the next big thing honestly.

After leaving Vikre, we drove up to the Enger Park Skyline where we learned more about the history of Duluth and we were able to catch a gorgeous view of the Twin Ports. Nothing like a little education in-between drinks!

After taking in the sights, we made our way down to Bent Paddle Brewing (which you can actually see from the skyline) to take a tour of the brewery.  Before walking in, we each received a nice souvenir glass that we would using for the remainder of the tour. Now I've been to the Bent Paddle taproom many times before but I have never  been beyond the giant door on the north side of the taproom so I was very eager to see what the actual set up looked like.

While the Bent Paddle tour guide was giving us a tour and telling us a detailed story about Bent Paddle's history, I was absolutely floored with how big the set-up looked. From the kettles to the fermentation tanks; From the canning line to the wall of cans and stacks of Jack Daniels barrels, I felt really small compared to everything else. The best part was when I ran out of beer to drink, one of the Duluth Experience guys was quick and prompt to refill our glasses.

After we concluded our tour, we made our way to what I consider to be ground zero of the Duluth Craft Beer Scene: Fitger's Brewhouse. Now considering the fact that I live literally a few blocks from the Brewhouse and consider myself a frequent patron, I wasn't expecting too much; I was wrong. From the get-go, we learned about history of the August Fitger Brewing Company, it's closure in 1971, and it's revival in 1994.

Just by looking at the set-up, you could see all of the organic growth the Brewhouse had experienced over the past 20 years and it was really awesome to see where my favorite brewhouse beers were made. It really made me proud to have such a great brewery just a short walk from my place of residence. And of course, the tour guides were prompt with refills as well.

Finishing up at Fitger's, we made out way to the Lake Avenue Cafe for a wonderful dinner paired with Blacklist Brewing's Or De Belgique Verte where we talked amongst ourselves amidst the evening storm raging outside. After dinner, we went back to Fitger's to conclude our evening tour.

I knew Duluth was a great city for beer before, but this tour was an absolutely wonderful insight into just how passionate this city is about their beer. In fact, tours like these are one of the reasons why I am proud to call Duluth my home!

If you are a beer geek or have a passing interest in craft beer in general, then you absolutely owe it to yourself to go on a Duluth Experience tour. You will learn so much and gain a much greater appreciation of all the hard work that goes into a wonderful beer that you drink. As such, I would highly recommend The Duluth Experience Brewery Tour to anyone who either lives in Duluth or anyone who is just visiting. 

If you'd like to book a tour, simply visit www.theduluthexperience.com to set up a brewery tour. If brewery tours aren't your thing, they also offer history and kayaking tours just to name a few. The guys at The Duluth Experience are proud of what this great city has to offer and it really showed throughout the entire tour.

The Duluth Experience Craft Beer Roundtable - Crafting the North Shore Craft Beer Scene

Last week, I attended the second event of the Craft Beer Roundtable hosted by The Duluth Experience. The Craft Beer Roundtable focuses on the vibrant craft brewing scene in Northeastern Minnesota and the surrounding area.

While the last event focused on the people who owned the breweries, this event featured the brewmasters from each of their respective breweries:

• Dave Hoops - Fitger’s Brewhouse 
• Dale Kleinschmidt - Lake Superior Brewing Company
• Jason Baumgarth - Carmody Irish Pub and Brewing
• Jeremy King - Canal Park Brewing Company 
• Brian Schanzenbach - Blacklist Brewing

The event kicked off with a bit of a Q & A about what was the draw that brought these individuals to the area. Amongst the responses were the long history of brewing that the area is known for, the open-minded, receptive audience, location and most importantly: The water.

Perhaps one question that I thought is important to those who wish to become brewers themselves was what can one do to get into brewing. The big answers were to educate oneself, do homebrew yourself or even just volunteering at a local brewery by getting your foot in the door and getting to know the brewers as well. One thing that did stick out for me as a question pitched by Canal Park Brewmaster Jeremy King: Do you even want to brew? It may seem like a silly question to ask but a lot of people don't know that being brewmaster is actually very hard work.

Another question which was asked was regarding upcoming trends. Amongst the trends discussed were the growing demand for barrel-aged beers and the potential market for companies that provide barrels to breweries. Another one that was agreed upon are the rise in Sessionable Ales, Sour/Wild Ales, and collaboration ales.  A couple of interesting ideas provided by Fitger's Brewmaster Dave Hoops included Hybrid Beers (American/Belgian Styles) and what the brewers are drinking in general.

When it came to talking about the challenges about being a small brewery, marketing seemed to be the primary one as well as brand recognition. Some other challenges included navigating Minnesota State liquor & distribution laws as well as the lack of market access for certain breweries.

This led to the next topic regarding social media and the general consensus was that it's not only good for small business and helps keep people updated but it's also free in many instances. During that topic, Dave Hoops even brought up how their marketing department utilizes text messaging to keep people updated.

As the forum started to wrap up, the topic of females in the craft brewing industry was brought up. It was agreed that women should have a bigger role in the craft brewing industry; After all, they do make up about 30% of overall craft beer sales. A point was even brought up that women used to play a crucial role in brewing; For example from the early days of Sumerian culture all the way up until the end of the 18th Century. I personally have to agree and I've pointed out before that I think women are painfully underrepresented in the craft brewing industry.

Like the first event, I found this one to be extremely informative and I noticed a much higher turnout this time around than the previous event. Not to mention too that there was considerably more media attention at this event compared to the last one. I also had the opportunity to have a pint with Ed & Liz Gleason of Carmody's afterwards, who helped give my fiancé her first ever craft beer; Thanks guys!

If you weren't able to make it before, now is the time to do so as there are still 2 events left in the Craft Beer Roundtable event:

May 18th: “Riding the Wave of Beer” – Craft Beer Related Business
Moderated by: James Sanders – The Duluth Experience

• Marissa Sauer – Northlandbeer.com
• Paul Riordan – Brule River Hill Top Hops
• Brad Nelson – Star Creative
• Carolyn Jones – CMT Farm
• Paul Helstrom – The Duluth Experience

June 22nd: “Women of the North Shore Craft Beer Scene” – A Candid Discussion on the State of Women in Brewing
Moderated by: Elissa Hansen – Barley’s Angels Duluth/Superior Chapter

• Allyson Rolph – Thirsty Pagan Brewing
• Jamie MacFarlane – Castle Danger Brewing
• Liz Gleason – Carmody Irish Pub & Brewery
• Laura Mullen – Bent Paddle Brewing Co.
• Melissa Rainville – Fitger’s Brewhouse

All the events will be held at Teatro Zuccone in the Zeitgeist Arts Building at 222 East Superior Street in Duluth, Minnesota. Tickets for each event are only $5 and all proceeds from the event will be donated to a local charity. For more information about the North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable call (218) 464-6337 or visit The Duluth Experience website at: www.theduluthexperience.com/special-events/craft-beer-roundtable/

I hope to see you all there.

Cheers!

- Nick

The Duluth Experience Presents: The North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable Part 2 – Crafting the North Shore Beer Scene

On April 13th The Duluth Experience will host the second of its four live panel discussions covering the business and art of craft brewing and the rise of the North Shore Craft Beer Scene. The second panel – Crafting the North Shore Beer Scene – will focus on the craftsmen and women creating delicious concoctions of water, malt, hops and yeast that give the local craft beer scene its unique flavor.

The event will bring together five prominent local brewers for a candid discussion on the art of craft brewing:

• Dave Hoops - Fitger’s Brewhouse 
• Dale Kleinschmidt - Lake Superior Brewing Company
• Jason Baumgarth - Carmody Irish Pub and Brewing
• Jeremy King - Canal Park Brewing Company 
• Brian Schanzenbach - Blacklist Brewing

Moderated by The Duluth Experience’s Tim Wilson, the discussion will cover the key elements that make the North Shore Scene unique, future trends in craft brewing, the collaborative and cooperative community of brewers elevating the region’s prominence in the industry, and the challenges and opportunities that make the scene’s past, present, and future so exciting. The events are designed to provide behind-the-scenes perspectives on the regional craft beer community and showcase the great people involved in pushing the North Shore Craft Beer Scene to the forefront of the expanding craft beer industry in Minnesota.

The event will be held from 1-2pm at Duluth’s Teatro Zuccone in the Zeitgeist Arts Building at 222 East Superior Street on April 13th. Tickets for each event are only $5 and all proceeds from the event will be donated to a local charity. For more information about the North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable call (218) 464-6337 or visit The Duluth Experience website at: www.theduluthexperience.com/special-
events/craft-beer-roundtable/

If you happen to be in town next Sunday or have nothing else better to do, I encourage you to come on down, learn about one of the fastest growing industries in our area, and there will be free beer too!

I hope to see you all there, Cheers!

- Nick

Blacklist Spruce Tipped Imperial IPA Review

Name: Blacklist Spruce Tipped Imperial India Pale Ale
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 9.5%

Today I have another beer from Duluth's very own Blacklist Brewing, and this time it's their Spruce Tipped Imperial IPA. I'll admit that that I was sold solely on the fact it's an Imperial IPA with Spruce in it, though they aren't the first Minnesota Brewery to do a strong spruced beer as that honor goes to Olvalde Brewing with their Ode to a Russian Shipwright.

This time around, I didn't make the same mistake of using my hands in an attempt to open this up. Instead I used a corkscrew and after about 20 seconds, it popped off. So when you have this have a corkscrew handy, I mean it...

Spruce Tipped pours a very hazy dark orange color. The head is pretty creamy & filmy in appearance which leaves behind no lacing and there also isn't any visible carbonation here.

The nose is pretty citrusy and sprucey upfront, with caramel malts, oak, and raisin/dark fruity notes. Both citrus and spruce notes in particular are both equally strong and almost overshadow everything else.

The flavor is a bit more caramel malt forward with citrus/piney hops, spruce, oak and rum raisins. Not too different from the flavor except with more of a malty backbone. If I could sum up the flavor in one way, it would be that it tastes like Christmas.

The body is fairly moderate in weight but feels pretty thick at the same time. The carbonation is also very mild and creamy, so it's pretty easy to drink for an Imperial IPA.

It's a different take on the Imperial IPA style and I think Blacklist has pulled it off rather well. It's more of an "off-the-beaten-path" style of beer so it isn't for everyone. However those looking for something a little different yet tasty will find this to be an enjoyable beer.

Blacklist Spruce Tipped Imperial IPA - 9/10

Blacklist Or De Belgique Review

Name: Blacklist Or De Belgique
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 9.5%

Blacklist Brewing Company is a relatively new brewery here in Duluth....well not quite a brewery. Right now they rent out space at other breweries to brew their own beer; Or as they call it "Gypsy Brewing" according to their website. While this beer was brewed BY Blacklist, it was brewed AT Dubrue Brewing which is another microbrewery here in Duluth. They plan on setting up shop permanently in the future in either Northern Minnesota or Wisconsin, but for right now it's strictly rental.

Right now, I have only seen their Belgian Strong Ale: Or De Belgique, which means Gold of Belgium in Dutch(?). According to their website, they have a rotating lineup for each month of the year.

The beer pours a hazy dark yellow color with a fizzy head that becomes permanently filmy once it settles down but the lacing retention is surprisingly good. The carbonation activity visible is pretty high according to what I can see.

The aroma takes on a lemon zest, clove and pepper character upfront, followed by some bananas and pale malt sweetness.

Yeasts, cracked pepper, cloves and lemon zest start off the flavor before settling into a sweeter banana, bubblegum, and malt sweetness.

The body has a moderate weight to it but the carbonation is actually quite light and allows one to savor the flavors that this beer has to offer.

It's worth noting that while getting this beer open was like trying to pull a sword of a stone, the sword in this case is Excalibur. This is my way of saying that even though it's incredibly difficult to open, the great tasting beer that is contained within is well worth the effort to get it open.

Blacklist Or De Belgique - 9/10