Twin Cities Beer About Town: Q1-Q2 2017

Originally posted by islay
I share your lack of enthusiasm for Fagerberg’s beer writing. Barley John’s (New Brighton) The Dark Knight (along with its "... Returns" sibling) is the 5th highest rated imperial porter on this site, which I’m betting is where Fagerberg got the "top 5." I also bet it ranks in the top 5 among beers brewed in the state of Minnesota (I can’t figure out how to confirm that on the mobile site), but of course the New Richmond version isn’t brewed in the state of Minnesota. July 2016 sounds like a plausible debut month for Barley John’s (New Richmond, WI) Dark Knight, but then again that’s not really the beer that ranks so highly here. It’s definitely sloppy and inaccurate reporting.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it’s a different recipe from the New Brighton version, as I know that the New Richmond location has tweaked some of the brewpub’s recipes, but I think the fact that the two brewing sites are different companies alone justifies the split entries (much as Surly, Three Floyds, and Real Ale each received its own entry for the Blakkr brewed at each site, just one of many such examples). I think "Barley John’s / Barley John’s Dark Knight (Barley John’s Brewing Company (New Richmond, Wisconsin) Version)" has a nice ring to it. In all seriousness (since, as I demonstrated, people often can’t pick up on sarcasm in writing), I’d list all of the brewpub beers as "Barley John’s (New Brighton, MN)..." and all of the production brewery’s beers as "Barley John’s (New Richmond, WI)..." (or something similar) and put an explanation at the top of both of the brewery pages. I think most reviews would end up in the right spot.

By the way, Joel, I’m now seeing prices as low as $9.99 per can posted on the other site.

Town Hall has released Barrel Aged Week details:

http://www.townhallbrewery.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/BarrelAgedWeekCustomerLetter2017_170206.pdf

Winterfest on Friday at Target Field this year. Who else is going? There is a festival app with brewers and beers that is being updated regularly. I counted 6 garbage cream ales so far. Surly; Town Hall; Fair State; and Bent Paddle are putting in good effort. Spilled Grain has some things I want to try. Fitgers is noticeably absent from the list of breweries, have they left the CBG?

I picked up a new Petrus Beer at Trader Joes, bottled specifically for them. The guy in the store said it is a new beer, not a relabel, and very sour. I entered it into the database here:

https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/trader-joes-petrus-aged-pale-ale-foeder-no-222/488928/

They also have a Green Flash saison brewed for them; passed by that one.

I’ll be there. The lack of solid Northern breweries (Junkyard, Disgruntled and Fitgers) is quite disappointing. Solid list otherwise!

Originally posted by deyholla
I’ll be there. The lack of solid Northern breweries (Junkyard, Disgruntled and Fitgers) is quite disappointing. Solid list otherwise!

I’ll be there wandering around with portableparty. Haven’t been in 5 years and am looking forward to it.

HopCat’s planning on opening a branch in downtown Minneapolis:
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2017/03/02/craft-beer-galore-nic-on-fifth-lands-100-tap.html

I’ve heard pretty good things about the HopCat family of bars, so I’m looking forward to this.

Originally posted by jackl
HopCat’s planning on opening a branch in downtown Minneapolis:
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2017/03/02/craft-beer-galore-nic-on-fifth-lands-100-tap.html

I’ve heard pretty good things about the HopCat family of bars, so I’m looking forward to this.

A couple of interesting new things on @ Steel Toe:
- ASB (what I gather is their hoppy spin on a premium bitter)
- Before The Dawn w/ Tart Cherries

Barrel Aged Encore this week at Town Hall Tap and Town Hall Lanes March 20-25:

Miss something during Barrel Aged Week at Town Hall Brewery? This year, we released twelve unique barrel-aged beers over six days. Now, we’re releasing a small amount of several of those beers at the Town Hall Tap and Town Hall Lanes for a second round of fun -- an encore, if you will. Four barrel-aged beers at the Tap, and four different releases at the Lanes. See you on the South Side!

At the Tap:
Manhattan Reserve Cherry Grand Cru Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Twisted Trace Barleywine Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Eye Wine Red Minnesota Strong Honey Ale Aged in Red Wine Barrels
Project 3106 Belgian Style Strong Bruin with Kumquat & Belgian Chocolate Aged in Bourbon Barrels

At the Lanes:
Le Baltique Baltic Porter Aged in Red Wine Barrels
Foolish Angel Belgian Style Quadrupel Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Buffalo Bock German Style Weizenbock Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Czar Jack Russian Imperial Stout Aged in Tennessee Whiskey Barrels