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

Weekly Duluth Beer Roundup for June 22, 2014

Since the reception to my weekly round-up posts have been very positive these past couple of weeks, I've decided to make these posts a regular addition to my blog. That and I think this will be a good resource to those looking to try out something new in terms of craft beer.

This week certainly has been a busy one in terms of doing my weekly survey of Duluth/Superior's craft beer, thanks in part to my mom and stepdad visiting for Grandma's Marathon this past weekend, for which my mom was running. Before I get to that, I'll be going over a couple of beers that I had the chance to check out prior to this weekend.

Since I moved into my new place, my proximity to the brewpubs located in Duluth is close enough to the point where I don't have to drive 20-25 minutes to get to where I want to be, let alone drive at all. So that's why I decided to walk to Fitger's Brewhouse after getting off of work to check out a couple of new offerings which they added to their tap lineup.

Fitger's Finn's Finest (6.3% ABV) - This beer has a very nicely balanced citrus & piney hop profile with some very mild bitterness and a rather sweet malty finish. I'm honestly not 100% sure what exactly this beer is. Beer Advocate calls it an American IPA whereas the Fitger's website suggests that it's an American Pale Ale. I can see characteristics of both present in here but either way, it's quite delicious!

Fitger's El Diablo (9% ABV) - Fitger's Belgian Strong Ale. Despite it's rather pale yellow appearance, El Diablo possesses a good Belgian yeast, banana and clove flavor profile that comes together perfectly with a solid malty backbone. I'm not sure how long this will be on tap for, so be sure to check it out!

Now earlier, I mentioned that my mom and stepdad were in town for Grandma's Marathon. Since they both happen to be fans of craft beer, we decided to goto Thirsty Pagan Brewing after the race to load up on some carbs and to drink some beer. After running 26.2 miles, I'd want a beer and some pizza too! While we were there, I recommended a couple of beers to my mom and step-dad from my previous recap post and sure enough, they enjoyed them! As for me, I decided to have something new.

Thirsty Pagan Troublemaker Tripel (9.1% ABV) - The second locally brewed Belgian Tripel that I have ever had with the first being from Canal Park Brewing. This beer has some nice Belgian yeasts, candied caramel malty sweetness, clove and subtle dark fruit flavors with just a hint of spice. When I was there, I noticed they had added the Tripel to their regular lineup list as opposed to their seasonal list. If this is indeed going to be part of their year-round lineup, I think it would be a very welcome addition.

Thirsty Pagan Angela Merkel Chocolate Dunkel (5.5%) - A Dunkelweizen which is named after the German Head of State. This possess a fairly roasty and almost chocolate-like flavor with some dark fruitiness, wheat malts and a mildly bitter hop finish; All of which are nicely balanced and come together quite well. It's not too often that I see a Dunkelweizen on tap anywhere and it's nice to see a traditional German beer style being showcase locally.

After our meal, we decided we would meet up later that evening for dinner so I headed home and I did something I haven't done since I was 8 years old: I took an afternoon nap. I had been walking and running around since 7am that morning and I can only imagine how the runners must've felt.

A few hours after I had gotten home, I received word that we were going to Canal Park Brewing to have some dinner and, of course, more local beer. While I made my recommendations to my mom and step-dad, I took this opportunities to try out some offerings which I had previously neglected to take a real close look at.

Canal Park Mindblock Double Honey Maibock (7.5% ABV) - A spring/summer seasonal Maibock offering. Being that this is a Maibock, it's very malt forward with a pale malt, toffee and honey sweetness before ending with a mild floral hoppiness. Maibocks are always a seasonal favorite for myself and this is no exception.

Canal Park Ankle Deep Pilsner (5% ABV) - I actually had this because the menu said it paired well with their Beer Cheese n' Mac entreé, which is what I was having. For the most part, it's pilsner malts with a light earthy/grassy flavor with just a touch of bitter hoppiness at the end. It's pretty light and possesses a nice crisp feeling. Not overly complex by any means, but it did pair wonderfully with my dinner and I could see myself drinking a couple of these after a long day doing yardwork.

After dinner, we bid our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Overall, it was a very fun weekend. Stay tuned in the near future for my post regarding the final Craft Beer Roundtable Event from The Duluth Experience. That in and of itself was a lot of fun to attend and I cannot wait to share with everyone what was discussed.

Cheers!

- Nick

Weekly Duluth Beer Roundup for June 9, 2014

About a week ago, I talked about wanting to do a weekly post dedicated to the craft beer/brewpub scene here in Duluth/Superior/North Shore Area. Well, consider this to be the first post of (hopefully) many depending on the response that I get. With these posts, I hope I can raise awareness of the craft beer scene here along the North Shore and convince some of you to come up here and try our beer.

They will typically be in lieu of my Minnesota Craft Beer Week posts in terms of formatting. Expect to see mini-reviews of the beers I've had because let's face it, there is no way possible I could review every beer made by every brewery here in-depth because it is literally changing everyday. As such, some beers which I look at may not be available at times because it's either a seasonal, rotating, or a one time only beer.

This week, I have 3 beers from two different breweries: Canal Park Brewing and Fitger's Brewhouse. Next time, I will be sure to take pictures!

Canal Park 40 Acre Saison - Canal Park's Spring Seasonal Saison. This golden colored beer has a very nice Belgian yeast profile with some cracked peppers and pale malts, along with a some floral hop flavors. A bit on the stronger side (7.6% ABV) as far as Saisons go but quite good!

Canal Park Resonation #1 Belgian IPA - One of the newest selections to be added to the Canal Park lineup. The Belgian yeasts profile here is a lot stronger than 40 Acre in terms of intensity. It's also got some fairly strong heavy floral/resin hoppiness to boot. I've been craving some good Belgian IPAs for a while and this fits the bill.

Fitger's Brewhouse Timmy's Edelstoff - The Brewhouse's seasonal Munich Helles Lager and the first Fitger's beer that I've ever had when I first visited my Dad a couple years back when I still lived in Chicago. I've had this beer every year for the past couple of years and it's a lot more hop-forward this year than I recall, almost taking on some EPA-like characteristics. It's got some strong floral hoppiness with a solid pale malt base and a solid yeast and biscuit flavor. With all of that said, I still enjoyed this beer quite a alot and it's always fun to revisit this beer every year!

That's it for the weekly round-up. I promise that next week I will take more photos because I don't like drab looking posts with no visuals to speak of. To anyone reading this, I sincerely hope you get to try these beers out!

Cheers!

- Nick

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

Canal Park Dawn Treader Review

Name: Canal Park Dawn Treader
Style: Tripel
ABV: 9.2%

Around a year ago, a new brewpub opened it's doors here in Duluth much to the delight of beer geeks, locals and tourists alike. It's name is Canal Park Brewing Company and it gets it's name from the Canal Park area of Duluth which is where it's located. It's also a frequent tourist destination year round here in Duluth so it's usually packed whenever there's something going on here in town, which is almost every weekend.

To celebrate their 1 year in business, I've decided to honor this occasion by reviewing the first beer that I ever had from this brewpub: Dawn Treader Tripel. It's not too often you see a brewpub with a year round Tripel offering, but Canal Park has just that.

Dawn Treader pours a clear golden color with a foamy head and a good amount of lacing. The carbonation visible is moderate in appearance.

The nose has some strong spicy, clove, banana and fruity notes paired with some pale malts and mild citrus hops.

Flavor-wise, the maltiness has a bit more of an obvious presence with caramel, cloves, bananas, citrus hops and yeast/biscuits. The aftertaste is a mixture of banana-cloves and spiciness.

It's got a medium weighted feel to it and the carbonation is just a notch below moderate, which is perfect for allowing the flavors to settle in.

This is the perfect beer to try out if you're a seasoned beer aficionado looking to get acquainted with Canal Park for the first time. It's rich, robust and it's available all-year round!

Canal Park Dawn Treader - 9.25/10