A visit to Pryes Brewing

I recall about 5 years ago when I was at The Nook in St. Paul, I had miraculum from pryes brewing on tap.  By that point I had seen this beer on tap at many watering holes but I had never seen anything else from the brewery itself aside from this one beer. Me being the inquisitive individual i am, I made a remark on Untappd/Twitter asking if this was indeed the only beer that pryes brewing had made.  Much to my surprise, they replied that indeed it was and that they were working on perfecting Miraculum before moving onto the next one.

Fair enough!

Well almost five years later, they have opened up a swanky taproom in Minneapolis on West River Road overlooking the Mississippi River and the number of beers they make instead of just one has increased to.....a lot. From their flagship Miraculum IPA, to more varied styles like Sours & Pastry Imperial Stouts.

Coming off of my recent vaccination and having been stuck at home for the past year, I figured now is a perfect time to start visiting tap rooms again and to commerate this, I visited Pryes Brewing on Easter Sunday; Mask in hand of course!

Now when I was there, all of the seating was outdoors but from what I saw inside, it's a fairly large space with tables and such and the fixtures were a mix of rustic I'm not sure if this is due to city ordinance but it this is not one of those days where one sits inside. This was 70 degree patio weather, and at the start of April in Minnesota nonetheless. Usually at this time of the year, we're contending with 30-40 degree weather and the occasional blizzard that Old Man Winter likes to dump on us one last time as a reminder that it's an ever lingering presence in our fine state.

But enough about the weather, we’re here to talk beer! Followers of my Instagram account will know that I’ve taken quite a liking to Pryes’ offerings, in lieu of my regular beer reviews that I used to write extensively about before switching up the format. That said, I tried out a few of their offerings and here is what I have to say about them:

 

Outside The Grid – A Pastry Imperial Stout made with Stroopwafel. This delectable beer sports a nice and roasty dark chocolate malt flavor with a very nice caramel and brown sugar sweetness with just a hint of honey and a light hoppy finish. Overall, a delicious desert beer that I could see myself pairing with a stroopwafel or a slice of tiramisu. Haven’t seen this in cans yet but you bet I’d grab this if I saw this in stores!

Stratacaster – A New England/Hazy style IPA. In this day and age, most breweries have their own interpretation of a Hazy IPA and Pryes is no exception to this rule. Made with, what else, Strata Hops; This bundle of goodness comes loaded with citrus and melon flavors with just a touch of cantaloupe. It’s a fine beer and I can’t find anything wrong with it. Shame it’s a limited release because this would be a hit if it were in cans (assuming it already isn’t)!

Lost Moon (2021) – Rounding my visit off, I decided to once again embrace the darkness again with their annual Imperial Stout release. Nice & rich chocolate malt and toffee sweetness here, with an ever so slight coffee roastiness. According to what I read, it’s supposed to be inspired by Belgian Candy. I’m not sure what that means but I’d be lying if I said that this wasn’t a tasty beer; Far from it. It’s not overly roasty and the toffee aspect here does the flavor justice.

Before visiting Pryes Brewing, my opinion of them was already quite high but it's even more-so now after paying a visit. The beer selection is great, the taproom and space itself are nice and the food served is also top notch; Like the Spicy BBQ Pizza pictured above. So if you find yourself in Minneapolis and are looking for good food and beer, Pryes Brewing is where you need to be at!

A visit to Summit Brewing

I’ve covered Summit Brewing extensively since I started this blog up. From their classic Extra Pale Ale to their more limited releases, it has been a constant staple on this website for quite a while. I mean, they are one of the biggest and oldest craft breweries in Minnesota after all. And yet, I’ve never really covered the brewery itself. Like where it all comes from and the story behind it. Sure I’ve touched upon few tidbits in the various Summit reviews but never anything that I would consider to be in-depth.

Since I had a few days off after Christmas, I came to the conclusion that it was time to change that. I decided to make myself useful and take a deeper look into this seasoned brewery. I mean, after all, you can’t go into any bar or liquor store in Minnesota swinging a stick without hitting at least a bottle, can or tap handle that doesn’t brandish the “Summit” name on it. (Note: Please don’t actually try this.)

Summit Brewing is located off of West 7th Street, just a couple blocks east of Interstate 35-E in St. Paul in an office park. When they first opened their doors in 1986, they were located off of University Ave, which is on the other side of St. Paul. It wasn’t until 1995 that they moved from their old location to their current one, which was once home to a Texaco Oil Refinery and they got the land at a fairly good price since St. Paul was looking to expand its business appeal. Since then, it has continuously grown into the behemoth-sized building that it has become today.

The Ratskeller of Summit is one that I have visited a few times since it first opened a couple years ago and it has undergone some fairly changes. Gone are the wooden benches and tables, which I actually didn’t mind since they actually looked like the tables you’d see in an authentic German bierhall. In place of that are some rather fancy chairs and tables, which fit the overall feel of the Ratskeller. The other thing that is gon-…er……changed is that now there’s a jumbo screen over the entrance displaying pretty much the entire history of Summit. Also, the pictures on walls do an awesome job of improving the atmosphere. Oh and that beautiful oak bar that was tucked away is now front-and-center. Because, let’s be real here, no one puts baby in the corner.

Now I learned quite a bit about the history of Summit during my tour, so I’ll do my best to tell you, the reader, what I found out. So let’s begin with the name. Originally the founder, Mark Stutrud wanted to name the brewery Stutrud Brewing, but it slowly became apparent that, from a naming perspective, the word “Stutrud” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue (At least, according to our brave tour guide, Phil). So they decided on the name Summit Brewing for a couple different reasons. The first being that it represents the pinnacle, the apex, the…..you get the idea. The other reason being that Summit Avenue is a prominent street in St. Paul.

The other thing you’ll notice too are the copper kettles that flank the right side of the Ratskeller as well as a sign above it that says “Hürnerbräu Ansbach.” This is because those kettles were purchased from the Hürnerbräu Brewery in Bavaria, Germany. Copper Kettles are somewhat or a rarity now as a lot of new brewing equipment is now stainless steel. The copper kettles that I’ve seen in my travels are used for display purposes but not Summit’s. They still utilize them for brewing purposes in all of their batches.

Earlier, I mentioned that the building itself is absolutely ginormous. It looks big on the outside but seeing all of the equipment from the inside makes you feel even smaller in comparison. The pictures themselves do not do this view justice, which is why I strongly suggest seeing this in person. Up until the tour, the biggest fermentation tanks I had seen were at the Yuengling Brewery in Tampa, FL; The views in here give them a run for their money.

The scale of how big Summit is isn’t just limited to their fermentation tanks, the bottling and canning line is also a sight to behold; Which makes sense seeing as how it once belonged to Sierra Nevada. Hearing the story as to how it was shipped halfway across the country (in pieces, mind you) and how it was assembled is a story in and of itself.

Then there’s the storage room, where all the beer is kept before being sent out this includes kegs, bottles and cans. At one point, I saw there was a few cases of the Warpigs Foggy Geezer standing out amongst the crowd. Curious, I asked brave leader Phil what that was doing amongst all the Summit. He pointed out that since Warpigs doesn’t have a physical brewery, they use Summit’s brewing equipment as one of their facilities. In fact, if you look on any Warpigs can (at least in Minnesota) you’ll see in tiny letters on the back that it was indeed brewed at the Summit Facility. After all these delightful sights, we went back to the taproom for some beers.

Brave Leader Phil showing us one of the tools used by professional brewers

One of the key highlights for myself personally was the topic of distribution. Right now they are currently in five states and at one point they were in seventeen before having to pull back, and that was something I knew of prior to coming on this tour. The reason for this? Growth. It turns out that since the country has been undergoing a craft brewing growth these past few years, the demand for more local beer has increased ten-fold. Many breweries have felt this and Summit is no exception to that rule. Basically the demand for Summit in their former areas was either not sufficient or the demand for more local beer became too great to keep up with.

Still, with all that in mind, Summit still plays a pivotal role in providing the Midwest with their offerings and libations. Being on this tour makes one (or at least myself) appreciate all they have done for craft brewing in Minnesota and the role they will continue to play going forward. Whether you’re there for a tour or just to chill out in their Ratskeller, you really get the sense that you’re standing in a place of great significance. If you’re a seasoned Summit drinker, it goes without saying that you owe it to yourself to check this place out.

For tours, you can either book a tour online, like yours truly. Or you can buy a ticket in the gift shop.

However, if you just want to sit back in the Ratskeller and have a few beers, that’s alright too. Either way, they can be found at:



910 Montreal Circle
St. Paul, MN 55102

Shakopee Brewhall Double Prairieville Review

Name: Shakopee Brewhall Double Prairieville
Style: Imperial IPL (India Pale Lager)
ABV: 9.2%
IBUs: 56

It’s certainly been a busy couple weeks for myself with this move, but I’m pleased to say that I’m now moved in. Now that everything has settled down, it’s time to get back to what I enjoy: writing about beer. For my first post-move beer, we’ve got an offering from Shakopee Brewhall. Located in Shakopee, MN; Shakopee Brewhall is one of those places that set up shop during my absence.

I’ve seen their crowler offerings in a variety of stores in my area but crowlers weren’t exactly my thing when I wasn’t posting on this website since I opted more for the 4 or 6 packs during that time. With that said, I’ve got their Double Prairieville Imperial IPL. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good IPL so I figured this beer would be a great way to get back into the style.

Appearance – Hazy dark yellow color with a light amount of visible carbonation. The head is fairly foamy and the lacing left behind is decent.

Aroma – I’m picking up on some pale maltiness and barley notes, along with some fairly potent bitter hoppiness. There’s also a very light orange peel smell in here as well.

Taste – Upfront I’m getting a mix of pale malts and bitter hoppiness, while the back end of the palate opens up to a surprisingly potent citrus hoppiness and light barley flavor. In the aftertaste is where that bitter hoppiness makes an appearance, albeit a fairly light one at that, which lingers for a couple of moments.

I liked this. It’s an easy drinker yet the hoppy aspect of the flavor goes along with it perfectly. On top of that, there’s really no booziness to speak of, which is something I see all too often in Imperial Lagers. If you see this, I’d definitely recommend checking this out!

A Visit to LocAle Brewing

After spending a couple hours recuperating from hiking, beer & food in our hotel room in downtown Mankato,  I was getting antsy and wanted to stretch my legs. I recalled my conversation with the bartender at Mankato Brewery in which she mentioned that a new brewery had recently opened up Mankato but I didn’t recall where exactly it was located other then that she referred to the place as “the local brewery.”

With curiosity getting the better of me, I looked it up on my phone and the top search result was: LocAle Brewing Company. Upon closer inspection, I saw that LocAle was a mere 2 blocks away from my hotel room, which meant that I didn’t have to rely on my phone or car to get there from where I was at.

LocAle Brewing is actually located in a pretty busy part of Mankato, right off of South Riverfront Drive, which runs along the Minnesota River, and a block from South Front Street, which is the main hub of Restaurants and Shops in downtown Mankato. Which means there’s plenty of food options for you to bring in should it be warranted.

The brewery & taproom itself are pretty brand new having been set up during the last part of 2018; No idea if the building is brand new. The taproom is pretty roomy, with plenty of seating options as well as a nice bar space, complete with a big screen TV to watch your favorite local sports on. Patio seating is also plentiful as well but I preferred the colder temperatures of the indoors. After all, I had spend a good portion of that day outside.

Then there’s the beer. Since I had pretty much lighter beers of similar styles that day, I decided to switch it up. Yet I had to keep in mind that I had to take Mrs. Nick’s Beer Blog out for our 5th Wedding Anniversary Dinner after I was done, so I knew that couldn’t get too crazy at that point. It’s also at this time I wanted to give a shout out to LocAle for having both regular pint glasswear as well as half-pint glasses; More breweries need to do this….seriously

Name: Helles
Style: German Helles
ABV: 4.5%
IBUs: 13

My first beer after walking through the sweltering head. Plus this beer (at the time of having this) has been released the prior day. This beer has a nice pale malt profile & some mild floral hoppiness with a reasonably dry aftertaste; Oh did I mention the body was very smooth and light. Perfect beer for a 90 degree day like it was that day.

Name: Saintson
Style: Saison
ABV: 5.3%
IBUs: 20

I’m all about locally made beers, but I know that there are some instances that craft breweries will often source their ingredients from outside of their local area/state. That is not the case with Saintson as all the ingredients are sourced from Minnesota. To save myself the time of listing the ingredients and origins, I’ll just show it in the picture below.

Saintson has a nice Belgian Yeast & Clove foundation while the malted wheat and mild citra/bitter hoppiness builds upon that and lingers throughout the palate. The aftertaste is on the dryer side, save for a mild earthiness, which I didn’t expect. Overall, it’s a solid beer and a nice change of pace from the lighter beers I had earlier in the day.

Name: Norselander 2.0
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8%
IBUs: 70

My last beer while I was there. If you assumed that a beer named “Norselander” would have some Scandinavian ingredients in it…..you’d be right. This is a beer made with Norwegian Farmhouse Yeast with very non-Norwegian Wai-Ti, Pacifica, & Motueka hops. This beer has a nice bright flavor profile of citrus, mango & kiwi with some toffee maltiness and light bittersweet orange peel on the back end of the palate. All and all, a great beer to close out with.

Overall, I was pleased with the offerings from LocAle. The taproom itself has plenty of room, there’s ample seating, it’s in a great location and there’s a good variety of beers to choose from. Plus there’s plenty of places close by to grab some food from should the occasion warrant it. If you’re ever in the area, check them out; It’ll be worth your time!

They are located at:
LocAle Brewing Company
228 Poplar St
Mankato, MN 56001

Omni FAD Review

Name: Omni FAD

Style: Imperial India Pale Ale (New England Style)

ABV: 8%

IBUs: 45

One of the styles has come into prominence over the past couple years is the Hazy/New England Style IPA. Normally I’d go into a discussion about it, but I’ll save it for a later article. For the time being, I will say that, love it or hate it, the Hazy IPA isn’t going away any time soon.

The beer we’re looking at today has become a real favorite amongst beer drinkers in these neck of the woods and it would be Omni Brewing’s FAD, which is an acronym for “Friggin’ Awesome Delicious.” I’ve actually had this beer before and did a brief write-up on it for my Summer Beer Dabbler article that I did on my old travel website last year. However it’s time to give this beer a proper review, so let’s have at it!

Appearance – Bright and cloudy orange color with no visible carbonation. The head itself is very thin and the lacing is very spotty to say the least.

Aroma – Orange slice and citrus hops dominate the nose with some light pale/toffee malts that remain underneath these aromas. It smells like orange juice, to say the least.

Taste – Much like the nose, that orange slice and citrus hop profile are out in full force and dominate pretty much the entire palate. There is, however, a light hop bitterness in here but it doesn’t really show up until the very end, and even then it’s still secondary to the citrus flavors.

Still as delicious as I remember it! Yeah, it’s not the most complex IPA out there but the flavor is extremely vibrant. Plus for them to give it a name proclaiming it to be Friggin’ Awesome Delicious and actually be so is really comething. This is definitely worth checking out should you get the chance to try it!

Schell's IPA Review

Name: Schell’s IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: 40

Much has changed in the two years I was absent. For example: new exciting breweries have entered the market, Sunday Sales in Minnesota is FINALLY a thing now and Minnesota Beer Culture is flourishing like never before. However, there is one other change that even I never would’ve seen coming: Schell’s Brewing has made an IPA.

“Big deal!” one might say. “Every brewery has their own interpretation of an IPA!”

Except Schell’s isn’t one of those breweries. You see, as the second oldest brewery in the country, Schell’s has been extremely dedicated to brewing exclusively German/European-style beers and it’s a dedication I have come to admire. In fact, when I went on a tour of the brewery a couple years ago, you could see all the German influences throughout the facility. Even our tour guide told us “When you have a town full of thirsty Germans, you’ve better be making good beer.” By the way, the tour is totally worth it if you’ve got a day to kill.

Then about a week ago, I was looking at my regular haunt for something new to try out when this caught my eye. Perplexed, I asked one of the owners if this was some sort of elaborate prank, to which he told me it was 100% genuine. He even told me that there was a rumor going around that when Schell’s went to register the name with the State of Minnesota, they “jokingly” submitted it with the name “Okay, fine. Here’s your f***ing IPA.” Whether or not it’s true remains to be seen; Again, just a rumor so take that as you will.

Up until now, the closest thing that Schell’s had made to an IPA was Arminius: their Hoppy Pale Lager and it’s still one of my favorite beers by them to date.

Anyways, Schell’s IPA, here we go!


Appearance – Mildly Hazy dark yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation. The head itself is fairly thin but there's abundant amounts of lacing left behind.


Aroma – Big citrus and light piney hop notes are front and center in the nose. Behind that are some moderate toffee malts and I'm even getting some lemongrass in here too, though I suspect that might just be the hops.


Taste – Citra hops and toffee malts take up the most of the palate though there is some bitter/piney hops the pop up in the back to keep things from getting too sweet.

I was expecting an IPA on the maltier side, reminiscent of an English-Style IPA. However, Imagine my surprise when I instead got a nice citrus-centric beer. I enjoy my bitter hop-bomb IPAs but having this is a nice change of pace from some those said IPAs and is definitely an easy drinker. If you see this, you owe it to yourself to try this out.

Badger Hill White IPA Review

Name: Badger Hill White IPA
Style: White IPA
ABV: 5.6%

It's been a long while since I've had a White IPA so what better time to break that spell than with a beer from Badger Hill Brewing? Originally part of the brewery's Wanderlust Series, their White IPA is now a regular offering from the brewery. Looking back on my older posts, I had also talked about this briefly in my Chocolate Cherry Dunkel review from last year.

The beer pours a hazy yellow color with no visible no carbonation. The head is quite foamy and the lacing is pretty good.

The aroma possesses some malted wheat notes, orange peel sweetness, a bit of coriander with some citrus hops in the back.

Flavor-wise, it's got everything that was present in the nose. You've got some malted wheat notes upfront followed by some orange peels & coriander before settling for a sweet citrus hop aftertaste. The only difference here is that there are some light floral hops present that make an appearance in the middle of the flavor and some light toffee sweetness that lingers throughout.

Before having this, my favorite White IPA was from New Belgium but I think this beer may be new favorite in terms of the style. The flavor is nice and robust without being too overwhelming and it's got all the workings of a great White IPA and then some. Should you ever find yourself in Minnesota, this is definitely worth checking out!

Badger Hill White IPA - 9/10

Angry Inch Brewing Company - An Introspective

It's hard to believe all that has happened to me since starting this blog early last year. All the people I've met, the places I've gone, the events I have attended and so forth; But what I'm about to tell you is something so unexpected (in a good way) that even I am still trying to comprehend that it's even happening.

It all started back in January of this year when I connected with Angry Inch Brewing, based out of Rosemount, MN. We started to hit it off right away when I was asking about the name and the close proximity of the brewery to where I used to live. It was mainly batting around ideas of where their future brewery would be located and during that time, we rattled off about half of the streets in the South Metro area.

A few months later during Minnesota Craft Beer Week, I stopped in for a private tasting with Jon & Josh from Angry Inch to see what they were planning on offering, which included their Beer Dabbler Award winning Saison & Dubbel. What was supposed to be an hour long tasting event turned into 3 hour discussion about our experiences in the craft beer industry, hearing the story behind each of the beers they had on tap as well as their plans to one day open a brewery.

As I drove back to Duluth that afternoon, I remember thinking to myself how excellent the beer was and how much love and care they put into each batch which they brew. I also thought to myself that once their brewery opens up, which I thought at the time would be in a few years, that it would be a welcome addition to the South Metro, which lacks the number of breweries as say.....Minneapolis.

During Labor Day Weekend, I was given some samples to review in depth and I enjoyed each and every one given to me. There were some minor changes to a couple of the beers I had tried before but for the better. Again I was still holding onto the belief that a production brewery for Angry Inch was still a few years out.

Now imagine my surprise when, a few weeks back, this exchange happened....

Upon finishing my double-take, my first reaction was that it was an auto-correct typo, as you can see from our conversation above. Of course, I was informed almost immediately that it was, in fact, NOT a typo. It was at this time I had a startling realization:

I was witnessing the birth of a new commercial brewery in Minnesota and I had a front row seat to all the action.

Last week I published my Angry Inch Opening Press Release on Northland Beer, the other website I write for (which you should totally check out.) For those who don't feel like doing more reading, I'll give you the Sparknotes of the Press Release:

• Angry Inch is planning on opening their brewery sometime in Spring/Summer 2015
• They will be located at 20730 Holyoak Ave, Suite 160, Lakeville, MN.
• They plan on having nine draft lines in their taproom. They will consist of six year round offerings, one 6 month rotating seasonal, one 2 month rotating seasonal, and one tapline for an experimental brew.

It has been such a privilege to see how much Angry Inch Brewing has grown this past year and I cannot wait to see how much they will grow in the upcoming year. I also wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to Jon from Angry Inch for giving me the honor of writing & publishing the press release for their grand opening; It is something I am truly grateful for. 

While you wait to try out some of their fantastic beers, for the time being you can do your part by following Angry Inch on social media. You can find them at:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/AngryInchBrew

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angry-Inch-Brewing/632502360094820

 

I am truly looking forward to writing more about Angry Inch Brewing in the near future, and I cannot wait for the day when beer drinkers everywhere will be able to try out some of their fantastic beers.

Cheers!

- Nick

Summit Herkulean Woods Review

Name: Summit Herkulean Woods
Style: California Common
ABV: 8.2% 

Happy Birthday to me! Today I celebrate another year of being alive. To mark this momentous occasion, I've decided to have a beer!

That's right, it's time to look at one of newest releases in Summit Brewing's Unchained Series. This time around it's Herkulean Woods, an Imperial California Common Lager that is brewed with Maple Syrup and Spruce Tips. I have mixed emotions about trying this out; On one hand, I have never had a bad beer in the Unchained Series (let alone from Summit). On the flipside, the very first Imperial California Common I had did not exactly go over well with me so I'm mildly apprehensive as to how this will be.

Herkulean Woods pours a very clear copper color with a foamy khaki colored head. There's nothing here in terms of carbonation save for a couple of bubbles and the lacing retention is solid.

In the nose, I'm picking up on some lager yeasts with some mildly roasty malts. To go along with that is some mild maple sweetness, mild floral hoppiness and some very faint spruce notes.

The flavor is fairly lager yeast forward with the maple syrup playing a much more active role in the center of the palate. The spruce notes and roasted malts come into play on the back end of the flavor and helps finish it off appropriately. There's also a mild hoppiness that encompasses the flavor and gives it a nice dimension.

The palate possesses a moderately weighted body but light carbonation. Despite the presence of maple syrup, I'm surprised to see there is no thickness in here. Regardless, this is pretty easy to drink.

For a while, I didn't think that an Imperial California Common could work, but Summit managed to pull it off quite well. While I think the maple aspect was just right, I think it could've used a little more spruce in the taste but it's a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things. Be sure to grab this up before it's gone forever because a Fresh Hop IPA from them is coming!

Summit Herkulean Woods - 8.5/10

Nick of the Northland

When I first started this blog last year, my intention was to make it an outlet for my thoughts about the different craft beers I tried out and nothing else. To me, there was nothing better than coming home from work, sitting down at my desk, cracking open a beer, and writing my thoughts about it.

A few months after my blog started, my job brought me to Duluth. It was when I moved here that I discovered that the craft beer scene in this area had a lot to offer and I tried covering it to the best of my abilities. However with all the writing that I was doing, I still considered it to be a hobby, went about my daily routine and gave it no second thought.

Then earlier this year, Dave Grandmaison from The Duluth Experience contacted me to help promote the North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable, to which I was more than happy to help with since I knew just how vibrant the craft beer scene in Duluth-Superior was. After the first Roundtable event, I drove home with my notebook full of notes sitting in the passenger's seat and was thinking of ways I was going to present my notes in a blog post. It was during this time I was hit with a realization that came out of nowhere: I wanted to make a living in the craft brewing industry.

Back in 2012, during my last semester in Augsburg College, I along with other seniors had to take a Keystone course prior to graduating and the purpose of the class was meant to make us reflect on our college experience as well as our respective career paths we had carved out for ourselves. Now when you take a bunch of graduating seniors and put them in a room once a week for 2-3 hours to talk about their college experience, chances are that their attention span will be like that of a five year old who just drank a can of Mountain Dew.

For all the times we brushed off the lectures, one of the professors talked about finding our personal vocation and how some of us will realize our calling when we least expect it. It took me two years after taking that course to figure out what exactly he meant by that, so perhaps he knew what he was talking about after all.

After this actualization, I began to take myself as a writer seriously. Suddenly my writing was no longer about beer reviews. As I continued to do more promotions for The Duluth Experience, I started conducting interviews with figures in the craft brewing industry. I was even taking time to attend craft beer-related events as well as visiting different breweries that were either well-established or that were just starting out.

Then this past June, I met a gentleman by the name of Lee Witte, who runs NorthlandBeer.com along with his partner, Marissa Sauer. I told him about my blog and offered to help promote events that Northland Beer was organizing, of which you have probably seen posts on this past summer.

Recently I was given the opportunity to become a major contributor for Northland Beer as a columnist called Nick of the Northland. It is a position that I am very honored to have and I'm excited to bring my knowledge and expertise to a wider audience. My duties will be mainly covering the craft beer and events in the Upper Midwest, as well as doing special interest posts (i.e. Seasonal recommendations, Q&As, etc.) as well as highlighted beers that I feel should be shared with readers.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that when I first started this blog that it would've taken me here! From all the awesome people I've met to all the fun times that I've had (as well as many more I'll have down the road), I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me.

Now before you start getting any ideas, I'm going to get this out of the way right now. This blog isn't going anywhere. I will still be posting on here as usual. After all, it has been good to me and I still feel there is tons of ground to cover both on the local and national level.

Thank you all for your support & remember.....

"Good people drink good beer."

- Hunter S. Thompson

Cheers!

- Nick

Angry Inch Menage a Trois Review

Name: Angry Inch Menage a Trois
Style: Tripel
ABV: N/A

I'm on the second half of my beers from Angry Inch Brewing, whom are based out of Rosemount, MN. The next beer up that I received from Angry Inch Brewing is yet another offering which I have not had before. Switching it back over to the Belgian Style, I give to you Menage a Trois, Angry Inch's Tripel-style ale. To my understanding, this is one of the newest beers that they have brewed.

Also, if I have to tell you what Menage a Trois means, then you're probably not old enough to drink (And probably shouldn't even be reading this blog.)

Menage a Trois pours a very hazy yet bright orange color with a very thin and filmy. The visible carbonation is surprisngly active for the style; Not really getting anything in terms of lacing though.

The nose starts out very Belgian Yeast forward with some candied caramel malts, tropical fruitiness, mild cloves and citrus hops.

Likewise, the flavor is Belgian Yeast strong upfront with the cloves taking on a more active role. There's also some mango fruitiness, citrus hop and candied caramel malt notes on the back end of the taste. There is some booziness in the flavor itself, which doesn't interfere too much with the overall flavor but it is noticeable.

The body is really heavy with a fair amount of thickness to it, but not enough to be chewy. The carbonation is on the lighter side, contrary to my early observations which helps bring some balance.

Menage a Trois is a solid offering from Angry Inch. With that said, it isn't the best Tripel I've ever had but to be fair, the kinks still need to be ironed out with the flavor but it is still pretty good. My advice would be have a glass and decide for yourself.

Angry Inch Menage a Trois - 8.5/10

Angry Inch 42 Short & Portly Review

Name: Angry Inch 42 Short & Portly 
Style: Porter
ABV: 8.3%

It's time to take a look at the second beer given to me courtesy of Angry Inch Brewing. For this review, I'm taking a look at one of their newest offerings which happens to be their 42 Short & Portly Porter. What makes this porter unique is that it's aged on cocoa nibs and it's also the first porter I've had from Angry Inch.

42 Short & Portly pours a pitch black color with a thin khaki colored head with some mild carbonation and lacing along the sides of the glass.

The nose is roasty yet malty at the same time. I'm picking up on roasted barley & chocolate malts at first. However the further in I go, I start to pick up on some vanilla sweetness and the cocoa nibs used in the brewing process. It smells almost like a cross between a porter and an imperial stout...almost!

The flavor very roasty upfront, but once you get passed that, it starts to taste surprisingly sweet! At first, it's roasted barley which transitions into a chocolate maltiness with cocoa nibs and that distinct vanilla sweetness that was in the aroma manages to make it into the flavor as well. The aftertaste is fairly roasty with some bitter hoppiness.

The palate is pretty heavily weighted and has a good amount of thickness to it. The carbonation is pretty light and it makes for a reasonably easy drinker.

42 Short & Portly is a very well put together porter. The cocoa nib and vanilla flavors in particular make me absolutely enjoy what this beer has to offer. Another excellent offering by the guys from Angry Inch Brewing and definitely one of the better porters I've had!

Angry Inch 42 Short & Portly - 9.25/10

Angry Inch Daddy's Honey Pot Review

Name: Angry Inch Daddy's Honey Pot

Style: Saison

ABV: 8.6%

For these next few reviews as I will be looking at some beers from breweries that are currently in the works. While they are technically still considered "homebrews," I will be treating these beers the same way I would from any brewery in terms of scoring.

Also, new logo!

My first review comes courtesy of Angry Inch Brewing based out of Rosemount, Minnesota. I've been talking with the guys from Angry Inch for about a year now and even did a write-up on them a few months back where I sampled their beers. This time around, I'm able to sit down and take a more in-depth look into their offerings. The first beer I will be taking a look at is their Daddy's Honey Pot Saison, which is a Saison brewed with honey. 

The monkier of this beer comes from a nickname that a friend brewer/co-owner Jon's goes by. This beer also won them 1st Place at last year's Beer Dabbler in the Belgian Homebrew Category and is a crowd favorite at tasting events.

Daddy's Honey Pot pours a very hazy yellow color with little in terms of visible carbonation. The head pours a thin white color before fading away, although it does leave behind some soapy lacing.

The nose is fairly Belgian Yeast forward with some sweet honey notes, cloves, and toffee-like malts. There's a bit of mild hoppiness in here too but it's tucked away in the back.

The flavor strikes more of a balance with prominent Belgian Yeasts & Honey notes upfront followed by some floral hoppiness and cloves. The back end of the flavor and aftertaste is a cross between honey and caramel maltiness with a hint of hop bitterness.

The palate possess a reasonably heavy body but has some mild carbonation. It's the type of mouthfeel you'd expect if you want to experience the flavors that this beer has to offer.

I mentioned a few paragraphs up that this was a big hit at the Beer Dabbler and the reasons are apparent: It's a flavorful saison with a sweet and unique spin to it. Should you find yourself at one of their tasting events, I would highly recommend checking this out.

Angry Inch Daddy's Honey Pot - 9/10

Flat Earth Hep Cat Review

Name: Flat Earth Hep Cat
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.5%

It's been just about a year since I've had anything from Flat Earth Brewing, which is based out of St. Paul, Minnesota. Since I've reviewed a good amount of their products, I decided to grab a new product of theirs that I spotted while I was down in the Cities for the State Fair a couple weeks ago.

I give you Hep Cat, Flat Earth's Session Blonde Ale. The term Hep Cat comes from the slang term used to describe Hipsters back in the 1960's & 70's. I also shouldn't be calling this "new" since it was first brewed for the St. Paul Jazz Festival a few years back. Since this is the first time I've seen it in bottles, I'm guessing it was popular enough to bring it into the form of a bottle.

Hep Cat pours a fairly dark yellow color with a bit of clarity to it but is otherwise pretty hazy. There's a fair amount of active carbonation inside of the glass. The head is pretty thin and white in appearance and there's a fair amount of lacing in here too.

The nose has a prominent pale maltiness to it, some yeastiness, flaked corn sweetness and a very light floral hoppiness. It smells pleasant to say the least!

The flavor starts out with notes of flaked corn, barley and mild yeastiness. On the back end of the flavor is a hoppy bitterness and pale malt sweetness. As expected though, the aftertaste is very dry.

The palate is light both in terms of body and carbonation. I feel pretty confident when I say that virtually no beer drinker should have trouble drinking this.

Hep Cat tells you upfront about being a good sessionable Blonde Ale and it delivers on that promise. I have to admit I wasn't expecting too much in terms of flavor but this was actually quite tasty. It's safe to say that even those who aren't into craft beer or even session ales will find something to love about Hep Cat.

Flat Earth Hep Cat - 8.5/10

A visit to the Minnesota State Fair - Beer Edition 2014

Well, another Minnesota State Fair has come and gone. Like many of us here in Minnesota, our hearts are empty but our stomachs are uncomfortably full due to the delicious yet unhealthy, heart attack-inducing food that one eats while there.

In recent years, thanks to the the explosion of craft beer in Minnesota, beer has played an ever increasing role at the State Fair.  Of course there is the Land of 10,000 Beers exhibit, put on by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, which does an extraordinary job on highlighting Minnesota's brewing past, present, future and even offers flights (more on that later.)

However, I want to talk about the beer at the State Fair....but not in a way you might expect. You see, there are people (and brewers) out there that have, in State Fair tradition, taken their product and make it special in some way. Some even make beers & products exclusively for the State Fair. As a "writer" and seeker of all things craft beer, I feel it is my duty to inform those about what goes on here at the Great Minnesota Get-together.

Flat Earth Giggle's S'more Beer - Located at Giggle's Campfire Grill, this is an offering from Flat Earth Brewing. It's basically their Cygnus X-1 Porter with a cup rimmed with graham cracker sprinkles & melted chocolate along with a marshmallow thrown into the beer itself. The X-1 Porter actually makes for the S'mores beer. It's just got the right amount of roastiness and chocolate maltiness that makes this a good match for such an idea. At the same time, it is, admittedly, something best meant for the State Fair. Speaking of which.....

Lift Bridge Mini Donut Beer - How could I forget a beer that I stood an hour and a half in line for last year? Thankfully I only had to wait a couple minutes in line at The Ball Park Cafe as opposed last time. Unlike the S'more beer, this is a beer that was brewed by Lift Bridge Brewing exclusively for the State Fair and not based on any existing beer that's already in the brewery's lineup. It's very yeasty tasting on it's own and not much else, which explains the sugar and cinnamon that lines the rim of the glass. Like an actual bag of mini donuts, it's a very filling beer and when consumed with the cinnamon and sugar, it does taste like an actual mini donut in liquid form. A novelty beer to say the least, but worth trying out.

Land of 10,000 Beers Exhibit - I could spend hours talking about everything on display there. From the special events to the history behind Minnesota's brewing past along with the flights offered. Each flight ranged from Light and Pilsner to Dark and Hoppy, along with a mixed bag flight.

Each flight accurately represented it's respective style and was carefully picked. My only wish would be to see an Imperial Stout Flight, I would gladly pay an extra couple extra bucks for that. In the meantime, I'll stick with my IPA Flight.

Summit Oatmeal Stout Gelato - Believe it or not, I actually came upon this by accident as me and my brother-in-law were on our way to stock up on Sweet Martha's Cookies. However, I stumbled upon the Summit Brewing Oatmeal Stout Gelato at the Mancini's Booth. On the surface it doesn't look like too much. Upon first trying it out, it tastes a lot like Vanilla Ice Cream. However on the back of the palate is where the oatmeal stout starts to make itself known with it's roasty, oaty(?) and chocolate-like profile. My only suggestion would be to make the Oatmeal Stout flavor just a bit more prominent in the front, but I would still recommend checking this out!

Summit The Villain - It appears Summit is going to make their State Fair-exclusive beer offerings an annual tradition. Last year it was the State Fair IPA and now this year, it's The Villain: A sessionable Black Lager with an ABV of around 4.5%. Despite it's roasty flavor yet light berry fruitiness, it finishes rather clean. Given the atmosphere, it's a surprisingly good sessionable ale much like the ones I'll sometimes have at Thirsty Pagan.

Much to my disappointment, I was unable to check out the Grain Belt Blu due to the schedule we had set. My only hope is that it's available next year for me to try out. Overall though, it's nice to see the creativity at work when it comes to craft beer at the State Fair and I look forward to seeing what comes forth next year.

Interview with Dave Okar: Director of Crafted to Last - Minnesota Beer Blossoms

For those of you who regularly follow my blog, from time to time, I like to sit down and meet with people who play a role in the craft beer industry. Last week, I got in touch with Dave Okar through a mutual acquaintance. Dave is the director of the upcoming film Crafted to Last - Minnesota Beer Blossoms. 

Crafted to Last chronicles the growth in the Minnesota Craft Brewing industry from January 2012 through August 2013 thanks the changes in legislation which took effect when production first began. The film is scheduled to premiere this Saturday, July 19th at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, MN. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dave for an interview to discuss the film and all the work that was put into it. Dave was also featured on WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and more KUMD right here in Duluth to help promote his film.

Dave, thanks for joining me today. First tell me a bit about yourself, what is your background?

Well I have a Ph.D in Chemistry and I ran a medical research lab at the University of Minnesota at the VA Medical Center here in Minneapolis for about 15-20 years. Then the bottom fell out of that boat so we decided that we'd pick up on my hobby of video making that I did back when I made videos for Public Access and after doing some searching around, we decided that I would pick up on that for the second half of my career.

Before starting this documentary, what was your background as far as film-making goes? Like, what subjects did you cover prior?

I hadn't really made a film in the past. I was on Public Access TV down in Minneapolis and I covered a lot of absurdist, political satire at the time I guess you could call it and we did some vacation footage and things like that and we'd go on a trip that I would make up and pretend that I was a vacation host and do a video about where we were.

When you first decided to make a documentary about Minnesota Craft Beer, where did you get that spark that you think to yourself "This is something I really want to do a production on?"

Well it was Thanksgiving of 2011 and I had been hearing a lot about the upcoming Surly Bill coming into effect on January 2012 and my wife and I spent a lot of time talking because we were driving to Michigan to visit my family so we had a lot of time together in the car. I was talking about how someone should be out documenting what will be happening on the beer scene in Minnesota and she said "Well...why don't you go document it?"

So I got my camera together and went out and started doing it. Mostly just to document what was happening, to make sure someone captured this moment in craft beer and then I decided that "Yeah, this is something worthy of a film."

When you started doing production on this film, what was the biggest hurdle that you faced?

The biggest hurdle was in the beginning when getting people to go along, to let me come in and sit down and talk to them on camera. I guess everyone was very busy and they just really didn't have the time to do it so it took me a little while to convince people to get it. But once that started going, then it switched to have a hurdle of too breweries to talk to.

So what was the first brewery that was willing to say "Yeah, I'll sit down and talk with you?"

The first two to sign on were Joe Pond at Olvalde Farm and Brewery and Jason Sowards and Jesse Brodd from Harriet Brewing. Then there was (Dustin) Brau from Brau Brothers and Greg Smith from Leech Lake Brewing.

What was that like sitting down with these guys who would go on to be leaders on the forefront as far as Minnesota Craft Beer goes?

It was pretty exciting because I heard a lot of interesting information from them in the way that I structured it to get two people from a brewery to sit down and talk to each other. I was also able to capture some of the excitement and the passion between the two of them and in most cases, it was people whose business was working very well at the time so there was a lot of positive energy when I go out and talk to brewer's and that was a really nice thing for me.

During the year and a half you were filming it, what moment stood out to you the most as you were putting this documentary together?

The most interesting thing to me was how many different ways people went about building a brewery. I kind of thought there would be....alot of people went to the same brewing school or the Siebel Academy so I thought "OK, there will be 5-6 different ways to build a brewery and there'll be some version of that." But there is so many different business plans and so many different focuses and passions. For some people, it's about branding, some it's about beer, some it's about the community. So it was amazing to me how many different way there were to build a brewery.

With this legislative session over, how do you see legislation changing the craft beer scene in Minnesota in the next couple of years?

Well unfortunately, I don't see it changing very much based on what happened this last session but I really think that if the politicians and the legislators were serious about building economies and creating jobs, they would look to see what is happening in the craft brewing sector and see what's actually happening there; It is stimulating the economy and it is putting people to work. So they would need to reform the laws to help them: Let us buy beer on Sunday, equalize distribution laws between brewpubs and breweries. I think they could do a lot to help the industry continue to grow to create jobs.

Something I noticed about this documentary is that it has all original music and I noticed there was an IndieGoGo campaign for the music. Could you go into detail about that?

Well my thought with the campaign for music was to try to create a mechanism where the money that I generate from the beer community or people who are interested in a film about beer would get directed right back into another local community of musicians and that's based on those tight economic cycles that you get with local economies. It was the reasoning behind the campaign for music rather than just giving me money to make the film, I thought I could be explicit about that I am just a forum for another community. The campaign for music was designed as that force-multiplier, something to take the money that came in and direct it right back into our community in a way that we can continue to stimulate.

A little off-topic here, what's your favorite style of beer?

Style-wise, I'm at the dark end of the spectrum. I really like stouts and porters. I've learned over the past couple of months to really appreciate Black IPAs; The one from Indeed, their Haywire is still one of my favorite beers and I really like the Olvalde Ode to a Russian Shipwright. I just found some 2012 the other day on sale in the liquor store.

If there is one thing you want people to take away from this film, what would that be?

Just one thing....would be about how small breweries are local businesses. It's not only about a bunch of people who like to get together and drink beer, it's also about your local economies; It's stimulating what's happening in your state. That's part of the title: Crafted to Last. It's so integrated into the local economy now with hop farms and other things like that are being stimulated that it can't really go away, that's why it's crafted to last.

I've noticed that one of the places you interviewed up here was Carmody (Irish Pub & Brewery) and Fitger's (Brewhouse.) What do you think of the Duluth Craft Beer scene? What is your impression of what we have up here in our fair city?

I think that Duluth is really really doing a good job. I mean Duluth kind of had it own culture even before the beer scene came on, so it's natural that they kind of have their own take on craft beer too.

Of all the things you've seen in the Minnesota Craft Beer Scene, which direction do you see that going?

Well we have alot of room to grow when we look at the demographics and the numbers so there is still a lot of room for growth in the craft beer scene in how many people are consuming craft beer regularly. One niche that I think that Minnesota and the Midwest in general moving forward can do is to get into specialty in craft malting in a much bigger way. That's an advantage that we have in this part of the country and those cold, dry winters that really help us out when malting.

What is one trend you see growing in the craft beer industry? Not just in Minnesota, but in general?

I think experimenting with styles in a way that hasn't been done....I don't know...ever in beer. Taking a basic standard traditional recipe and tweaking it this way. The latest trend is Imperializing every style and making it bigger and bigger and then there is a hop trend: Let's put hops into styles that aren't typically hoppy and things like that. So really it's just experimentation and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight for what kind of new beers beer makers can create.

So let's talk about the premiere of the film....

It's at the Parkway Theater on Chicago Ave in South Minneapolis on July 19th. We have the film, you'll get one free beer; We've helped the venue to expand in their range of Minnesota beers available for that night. There will be a beer list coming out soon, we're still putting that together.  Then the film will have some free food at the event, some tapas snacks and then some really powerful music for the afterparty. A lot of people I know from my earlier artistic days are working the lights, so it's going to be a bash.

And the Duluth premiere is more straight forward? It's just tickets and beer?

It's pretty straighforward. Tickets and beer. You can get tickets online or at the theater.

A big thanks to Dave Okar for sitting down to talk with me. I am very excited to see how this film turned out and I'm really excited to see it. 

You can see the premiere in 2 locations:
July 19, 2014
Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, MN
Tickets: $30 (click here to buy tickets)
The show will include the film, 1 free beer, all night tapas snacks, 3 local bands and a liquid light show.

July 25, 2014
Zinema 2 in Duluth, MN
Tickets: $10 (click here to buy tickets)

Beer and will be available for purchase at the theater

You can check out the Official Crafted to Last on either their official website: www.craftedtolast.org or by checking them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CraftedToLast

I hope that everyone who has an appriciation for Minnesota Craft Beer will check this film out. I hope to see you all there!

Cheers!

Nick

CDDF Productions Presents: Crafted to Last - Minnesota Beer Blossoms

Over the past few years, the craft beer scene here in Minnesota has experienced tremendous growth that is unlike anything else we have ever seen before. That is why it is my pleasure to announce the premiere of Crafted to Last - Minnesota Beer Blossoms directed by Dave Okar of CDDF Productions.

Crafted to Last will feature 16 different Minnesota breweries, each one with their own story to tell. From Carmody Irish Pub in Duluth to Harriet Brewing in Minneapolis; From Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center to the Historic August Schell Brewing Company in New Ulm.

This one-of-a-kind documentary chronicles the growth of the Minnesota Craft Beer Industry from February 2012, when the craft beer boom began thanks to changes in legislation, all the way to August 2013.

The film will have 2 premieres:

July 19, 2014
Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, MN
Tickets: $30 (click here to buy tickets)
The show will include the film, 1 free beer, all night tapas snacks, 3 local bands and a liquid light show.

July 25, 2014
Zinema 2 in Duluth, MN
Tickets: $10 (click here to buy tickets)
Beer and will be available for purchase at the theater

You can also check out Crafted to Last on Facebook or their official website, www.craftedtolast.org, for more information.

Come see the growth of the Minnesota Craft Beer industry firsthand and get a more detailed look at what has become one of the fastest growing industries in the State of Minnesota. If you enjoy drinking Minnesota craft beer, then you owe it to yourself to come check this out!

Cheers!

- Nick

Minnesota Craft Beer Week 2014 - Day 3 (A personal account)

Day 3 started out on a rather low key note: Me and my fiance had woken up a little later than usual after sleeping in a bit longer than we would have liked and ended up just making it to make the payment for our wedding venue. After our appointment, we were presented with an interesting conundrum. It was too late in the day for breakfast food, but not early enough to start lunch.

Looking at our itinerary for the day, we noticed that The Herkimer Pub & Brewery had a breakfast menu, so I opted to have lunch there while my fiance decided to wait until after we were done there to go to lunch. So with our decision made and we made our way over to The Herkimer.

When we arrived, I was presented with a very interesting question: Do I want beer with my breakfast? It had been something which I had never done before. After scanning the tap selection, I decided to get their lightest beer available: Jeffery Kream Ale along with a platter of pancakes. It's about as close as one can get to having a true "Breakfast of Champions."

Jeffrey Kream Ale - Wow, this has got to be one of the creamiest beers I've ever had! I'm tempted to say that I had this on nitro but even if I didn't, it's still an incredibly smooth beer! It's got a relatively simply flavor, consisting mainly of pale malts, flaked corn and barley and tastes pretty similar to Spotted Cow. However the overall texture and body is just so creamy and easy on the palate that I say that alone is worth checking this beer out. And yes, it went very well with the pancakes.

After I finished up breakfast, me and the future Mrs. Nick's Beer Blog headed to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. While we were there, we debated amongst ourselves where we would go next amongst the denizens of lunch hour patrons eyeballing the upcoming NFL Draft.

During our conversation we plotted our next course of action when "Hudson, Wisconsin" came up in our conversation. It was at this point that we came to a sobering realization: Decisions had to be made. Do we stay in Minnesota and check out some of the other various breweries around the Twin Cities area? Or do we break our vow of drinking nothing but Minnesota-based beer, commit the ultimate act of betrayal, make the journey across St. Croix River and sample some Wisconsin beers DURING Minnesota Craft Beer Week?

We thought long and hard while the Twins struggled to keep up with the Cleveland Indians before we decided that we would make the 15 minute drive from Maplewood to Hudson. However, Mother Nature was a bit tempermental that afternoon and proceeded to give us a whooping of the thunderstorm. Our 15 minute leisurely cruise turned into a 30 minute game of "Don't hit the poor soul who decided to ride his motorcycle during a severe storm."

Before we decided which brewery to visit, I paid a visit to Casanova Liquor which has become a favorite destination of mine when passing through Wisconsin. It's a great place to visit for those beers that aren't available in Minnesota or pretty much anywhere in the Midwest.

After I was finished, I made the choice to visit Pitchfork Brewing, going off of the recommendation of a friend of mine to try out their Maple Maibock.

Picture courtesy of Ratebeer

As you can see in the photo above, it doesn't look like much, just a sign that says "Pitchfork Brewing." The interesting thing about this place is that it's located in a strip mall, which is probably the last place where you'd expect to find a brewery. In fact the strip mall itself is pretty new but it's surrounded by a grassy field and the road leading up to building is a dirt road. I was wondering if I had gotten lost but my trusty GPS assured me I was going in the right direction and sure enough we arrived safe and sound.

Once we did arrive, we were treated to a very roomy taproom. Mike Fredricksen, who I believe is the brewmaster there, was manning the taps that day. I'll throw this out there right now that Mike was an incredibly awesome guy to talk to! He talked about experience in brewing and how each beer is made with care. That alone made it worth the journey to the brewery.

For this trip, I decided to start out with a flight as you will see in the photo above. I figured that since I was there, I might as well try a few of their offerings. So we grabbed some popcorn, pulled up a stoll and sampled some beers.

Pitchfork Porch Swing German Alt - An Altbier style ale. The flavor consisted mainly of offee, pils malts, a hop/spicy bitterness with a sweet malty finish. It was also a fairly smooth beer in terms of drinkability and texture.

Pitchfork Munich Dunkel - Very Clove & Banana flavor forward flavor with a strong caramel malty backbone. Like the Porch Swing, this was also a very smooth beer to drink!

Pitchfork Barndoor Brown Ale - Very strong chocolate malt character, but the light hoppiness & roasted barley flavors really helped even things out overall.

Pitchfork Outwitted - A Witbier style beer. Strong malted wheat notes with some fruity sweetness & light floral hoppiness. The texture is also very light, creamy, and very easy to drink!

Pitchfork Pale Ale - An APA style beer. Fairly potent citrus hop flavors mixed in with notes of rum raisin and maltiness. Very tasty beer to drink.

Pitchfork Maple Maibock (Not Pictured) - The beer which drew me to Pitchfork in the first place. Nice maltiness and a robust maple profile. Much like Tommyknocker Legend, this is an example of maple being used correctly in a beer. This is a good beer that pairs wonderfully with a raging spring severe thunderstorm.

All and all, I had a great time at Pitchfork Brewing. Anyone who is passing through the area and has even a slight interest in craft beer should check this place out!

After we were done, we made our way back to Minnesota through the pouring rain and back to my fiancé's place where we feasted on Carbone's Pizza and Surly Hell for dinner. Despite the severe weather, it was a good day!