Weekly Duluth Beer Roundup for 7/27/2014

This will be my last roundup post for the next couple of weeks as I will be at my wedding next weekend. Before I head off to tie the knot, I figured I would sample some beers from around the Twin Ports area. This week was a special one because the new Fitger's Tide House called Endion Station opened in Canal Park this weekend.

Of course, the big event that was held in Duluth this weekend was the All Pints North festival, which is a beer festival held at in Duluth every year at the end of July. Now I was not able to go due to other obligations but I did meet up with a few friends from down in the Twin Cities whom were up for the festival itself at Thirsty Pagan Brewing in Superior before making the rounds around Duluth.

Thirsty Pagan Cracked Pepper Pils (5.5% ABV) - A very interesting specimen of a Pilsner. It's got a nice lemon zest, grassiness and Pilsner malts but it also has an encompassing pepperness (as implied by the name.) A nice and crisp beer to say the least.

Thirsty Pagan Voyageurs Black Ale (5.5% ABV) - This starts out with a typical roasted barley and a smoke chocolate maltiness but it has a very prominent sweet spruce finish. That's because this beer is brewed with spruce tips, a theme that I hope catches on up here. It's not often I see Black Ales do anything different so this is a nice change of pace.

After we finished at the Pagan and visited Funkytown, we stopped by the Fitger's Brewhouse for a beer before making our way to the Rathskeller at Tycoon's Alehouse, which serves as a tide-house for Fitger's. Usually they'll have something different (and tasty) on tap and that night they had two very high profile IPAs from the Brewhouse that I decided to try out.

Fitger's Hoppelujah IPA (6.5% ABV) - This IPA is pretty much a mixed bag of an assortment of hops, but definitely not in a bad way. You've got citrus hops with notes of oranges, grapefruit and mango and some bitter hops that linger throughout the taste and it ends with a dry bitter hop finish with some caramel malts. With it's robust flavor, it's easy to see why Dave Hoops, the brewmaster of Fitger's, brought this with to a beer festival in Oregon.

Fitger's The Mayor (8% ABV) - A beer brewed in honor of Duluth's mayor Don Ness, who declared Duluth to be Minnesota's Craft Beer Capital and has been extremely supportive of the craft beer scene here in Duluth. It starts off with a very robust citrus hop and grapefruit notes with a solid caramel malt backbone. Interestingly enough, it finishes with a rather piney/resin hop bitterness that lingers on the palate for quite a while. I would definitely take this home with me in a growler if only I could find one but I'll settle for just walking to the brewpub to have this for the time being.

The following day, I decided to make my way down to Canal Park to visit the Endion Station Public House, the newest Fitger's Tide House that just opened this past Friday. The building itself is actually over 100 years old and was actually an old passenger train station that was used during the first half of the 20th Century. I really love what they've done with the place and I like that it's one of those bars that you can just walk in and sit down or opt to sit on the patio overlooking Lake Superior.

Now I'm going to break my rule of reviewing just beer because Endion Station has been touted as Duluth's first cider house in addition to serving craft beer. We're not talking mass produced ciders from the likes of BMC but craft ciders.  Since I had arrived just before the end of All Pints North (i.e. The calm before the storm), I decided to try out one of their offerings.

Julian Cherry Bomb (7% ABV) - This is the first cider I've had that isn't made solely with apples. Maybe it's just me not being used to ciders, but WOW, this tastes great! While the apple flavor is still there, it takes a backseat to the rich cherry flavor. If this were to be available in bottles in my area, I would most certainly buy this on a regular basis.

Fitger's Back End Wee Heavy (9% ABV) - A beer that I actually had back in February when it was featured as part of Fitger's Sochi Series to commemorate the Sochi Olympics; Frankly I was shocked to even see it there! It possess a very strong roasted barley flavor upfront with some lightly smoked malts and a nice peated scotch finish. I remember this being a little more maltier and having a strong peated scotch taste but I'm guessing that having it age has evened things out a bit more. Either way, it still tastes very good.

It's kind of weird knowing that the next time I do a write-up post that I will be a married man. I guess it's moments like these that you truly savor......or some meaningful saying like that. In any case, here's to my last days as living as a bachelor.

Cheers!


- Nick

Weekly Duluth Beer Roundup for July 7, 2014

These past couple of weeks have been a busy one for myself between work, wedding planning and the 4th of July Weekend. As such I was unable to get out until this last Thursday when I made my way over to Fitger's Brewhouse which is conveniently located just a few blocks from my place of residence.

When I made my way there, I ran into an acquaintance of mine, Ellipsis, from The North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable event along with a couple of her friends. While we were out on the patio, I sampled a to a couple of beers that had just been added to the Brewhouse line up.

Fitger's 1100 Wheat Wine (10% ABV) -  It's a barleywine but brewed with wheat. It's a good thing that I was given this in a 10 oz. snifter because this is a powerful beer. The flavor starts out with some strong toffee sweetness and malted wheat. From that point on, it opens up to a rather strong hoppiness along with some vanilla bourbon booziness and just a bit of heat on the back end of the tongue. Despite the intense flavor, the overall palate is surprisingly mellow. The last time I had this was in the fall of last year so be sure to check it out while it's still on tap.

Fitger's Highland Fling Scottish Ale (5.8% ABV) - A clear brown color upon pouring, the flavor has a nice caramel maltiness to it along with some roasted barley and a light hoppiness. For a Scottish Ale, it's quite lighter than what I am used to in terms of appearance (brown) and overall flavor.

Later that evening, my future brother-in-law and his girlfriend made their way into town to spend the 4th of July here where we feasted on dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, whose local selection I still find a bit lacking sadly. If they were to feature more local beers on tap (Bent Paddle, 612, etc.) I would be visiting there more often.

The following day we made our way to Canal Park Brewing where I had the Resonation Belgian IPA while my fiance had the Ankle Deep Pilsner and my future brother-in-law's girlfriend had the 40 Acre Saison, to which she found quite enjoyable. I was a bit shocked she enjoyed it since she later told me that it was not only her first craft beer but her first Belgian-style ale ever.

After having lunch, we made our way back to Fitger's specifically to try out their Red, Wheat and Blue beer, which was brewed specifically to commemorate our nation's birthday. It was not on tap the day before yet I wanted to try it out to see how it was since it was one of the reasons why we decided to pay a visit to the Brewhouse for the second day in a row.

Fitger's Red, Wheat and Blue (5.7% ABV) - The first thing that popped into my head was how much it reminded me of New Glarus' Raspberry Tart. Pouring a bright ruby red color, you've got a very strong raspberry flavor with some wheat notes. Not overly complex but extremely vibrant in terms of flavor. If you're a fan of fruit beers, this is a love letter made specifically for you. It makes wish the Brewhouse did fruit beers more often.

While I would've liked to have sampled more beers this past week, time constraints left my hands somewhat tied. Hopefully this week I'll be able to get out more and sample some more local beers. Until next week!

Cheers!

- 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 15, 2014

Since the my last post regarding the Duluth Craft Beer Scene received was mostly positive, I will continue doing these Roundup posts every week if I'm able to do so. This week was a busy one for me and I'm still in the process of getting everything unpacked and set up from my move a couple weeks back. Between work and all of that, I was only able to venture out to one brewpub this week and that was Thirsty Pagan Brewing over in Superior, WI.

Since I was last there they have added a ton of seasonal beers to their lineup. Around September of last year it was around maybe 3-4 seasonals but this time around I counted 9 and a couple of which caught my eye to the point where I just had to try it out.

Thirsty Pagan Rauchbier (5.5% ABV) - Finally, a Rauchbier (smoked beer) that is locally made and it has been a long time since I've had a good Rauchbier. It starts out with a solid smoked malt flavor followed up with some mild but nice hoppiness before ending with some lightly toasted barley. Definitely lighter in terms of appearance, body and even a little bit in the flavor than what I'm used to seeing in Rauchbiers but I would still highly recommend checking this out!

Thirsty Pagan India Pale Lager (6.7% ABV) - It's nice to see that the IPL-style is starting to gain traction amongst the craft beer crowd. This starts out with a nice citrus and piney hop profile with a solid pale malt base and a bitter resiny aftertaste. I usually see IPLs come out around the springtime so this makes for a very nice seasonal.

Thirsty Pagan The Patriot (4.8% ABV) - A Pilsner made with All-American malts and hops, hence it's name. This has a nice floral hop profile backed up by a Pilsner malt base with a hint of oakiness thanks to the hops used in this beer. The light body and relatively mild carbonation give this a nice crisp and clean finish.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Hopefully I will have inspired some of you to go out and try these beers out if you get the chance.

Cheers!

- Nick

Couple of upcoming changes

Hello fellow readers,

As some of you may already know, I moved this weekend into my brand new place. Right now, I am currently without internet until tomorrow evening at the very earliest and I'm writing this post from my phone.

Anyways, there's going to be some changes made in terms of posts. About a year ago when I moved to Duluth, I mentioned that I would focus more of my posts on the craft beer scene here.
Well, I feel that almost a year later, I have not been holding up my end of the bargin enough. Drawing inspiration from my Minnesota Craft Beer Week posts, I've decided that I'm going to do a ”weekly roundup” post of sorts every week.

The idea is this: Every week, I do a weekly recap of various beers I try at the breweries/brewpubs in the Duluth/Superior area. I'm looking to do 1-2 beers a week, permitting that I'm not too busy with other things going on in my life. These posts would be in addition to my beer reviews, of course!

Thanks once again to all my readers for your patience! With any luck, I'll be back at it tomorrow night.

Cheers!

- Nick