Breweries opening in Minnesota 2013/2014

I'll probably be there!

 

Apparently some of the officials of the city of Robbinsdale really, really want a taproom: http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2014/11/robbinsdale_plans_for_their_first_microbrewery.php

If it happens, it definitely will be in Robbinsdale, it may be called The Wicked Wort, and it won't open until April 2015 at the earliest.

 

I heard of talk of a brewery in Watertown opening 1st half of 2015. Sorry but forgot the name. Has the talk of Excelsior Brewing opening a production facility in St. Bonifacius dead?

 

The Watertown plan has been listed (as a member/BIP) at Brewers Association for over a year, but without a name, and it makes me wonder if there aren't another couple of plans out that way!

 

Insight Brewing on East Hennepin opens Friday. Here's the owner/master brewer talking about his history. Here's hoping the beer's as good as the rhetoric! I look forward to this one because it's very close to me.

 

I passed by last Saturday on the way downtown, and they seemed to have a full house in their taproom area -- makes me wonder if they haven't been having a series of soft openings.

 

Yeah, they had their soft opening this past Saturday. They had their Saison de Blanc (a saison brewed with Sauvignon Blanc grapes) and Chiswick Porter on tap, with a couple more expected on tap this Friday when they officially open.

 

So what makes him a Master Brewer other than all the pictures they post of him holding hops, stainless, pints, grain bags and more? I understand from the bio he apprenticed at various places, but is he calling himself a 'master brewer'? Or has he been certified?

 

Maybe they are starting to use the terms 'Head Brewer' and 'Master Brewer' interchangeably? Otherwise I am not sure either.

 

The music in that video was....depressing. yeesh.

Anyways, Insight comes across weird to me, and I am just speaking for myself. The brewer guy sure likes to see pictures of himself and in their public statements they seem to come across as all knowing, we'll show them. They have talked about how they are "the biggest startup brewery in MN history", which if you have any business or strategy background really means nothing. It sounds like a tag line of a financial planner or something that doesn't understand operations. And speaking of strategy....Insight falls into a common trap that new breweries often deal with in regards to the question of "What makes you different?". "We make world beers" is the same strategy, with different words, as every other brewer. Every brewery says they are going to make different/better/world class/higher quality beers. Just change the words around. I guess Summit, Surly, Northgate, Fulton, Town Hall, Bent Paddle and others don't make beers influenced by styles around the globe?

What is really going to set these guys apart and ensure they are here 5 years from now?

 

Maybe their marketing? I know I've seen so many advertisements about them before they were even open it got tiring.

 

What else are they going to say really though? We're at the point where any of the current fads in brewing (sours, hoppy lagers, british style, american twist on x style, etc) are being done by other local breweries. I think they're differentiating their beers enough. They've done a good job getting the word out too, even if they could stand to put a bit more money into their branding and logos.

I'm at the point where I'll give any new brewery a shot but if the beers aren't there to back it up, I'm not likely to go back.

So they're a little cocky and brash? Seems to have worked just fine for Surly.

 

In fairness, the claim that Insight is the biggest startup (craft) brewery in Minnesota history doesn't mean nothing. It's referring either to Insight's initial production capacity with its current equipment (5,400 barrels per year) or the production capacity based on the space in the brewery (40,000 barrels per year) or both (I'm a little unclear from the articles about Insight). I can't personally verify those figures or confirm that they're higher than those of any other Minnesota craft brewery at its beginning, but that's the source of the claim. That seems to me to be a specific, measurable, and reasonable way (albeit not the only way) to define "biggest startup." Clearly Insight intends to be a significant volume producer along the lines of, say, Indeed, which does set Insight apart from most of the other recent brewery openings in the state, for better or for worse. I certainly hope Insight is good, and the "Master Brewer" seems to have an impressive and varied resume, even if some think he's leaning on it too heavily. As an aside, I see the potential for brand confusion between Indeed and Insight among casual Minnesota beer drinkers.

http://blogs.citypages.com/food/201...up_brewery_in_the_state_opening_this_fall.php

 

I hope they don't take too much issue when I show up and bring in my dinner from Northgate Smokehouse.

 

Why, can't you tell just by looking at his grin and Luke Perry good looks? I'm surprised at you, Bravak!

In all seriousness, why does it even matter if he merely apprenticed or earned his Master Brewer's stripes at Davis, Doemens, Siebel, or Weihenstephan? After all, this is CRAFT BEER we're talking about, and any claim made whether or not it can be substantiated MUST be accepted at face value~! After all, how else is this miraculous niche of the overall beer market supposed to keep growing at double-digit margins and padding Uncle Charlie's pockletbook if we refuse to support these upstarts through their "learning curve", buying their off-style and infected barrel aged lagers without question, and buying-up all of their hot, HOT Swag?!? I mean. . . what kinda hobbyist ARE YOU, anyway?!?!?!

In all seriousness (seriously, this time) I'll wait to judge IKM's beers before I judge him or whatever credentials he may or may not have acquired while being a Trustafarian globetrotter and accomplished Playwright (or musician... I forget.)

I feel the same way about all of the new Minnesota breweries: judge them by their brands, their successes -and- their failures, before worrying much about their past experiences or accredited achievements in the brewing field.

That's a question that you might need to ask them when you show up at their taproom to interview them for your award-winning Podcast, eh? And again, the very same can be asked of any brewery that has started up within the "Surly Era": Did Todd Haug and Omar have a clear-cut 5 Year Plan? Hmmm....


*The inevitable "can't tell if serious" macro was dancing in my head like sugarplums as I typed this -- and I'm still sober!

 

Chaz....you rock. Love it!

I agree that I will judge by what gets produced. I just get a little amazed by the idealist nature of some of the start up breweries....but of course I sit here and ponder on BA, so I'm not much better!

Cheers

 

Nice write-up in the STrib today about Roets' Jordan Brewery. They're on track to open in 2015.

www.startribune.com/entertainment/dining/283077021.html

 

No doubt! I have watched this "beer scene" grow and grow and grow... it's unprecedented in any indutry (niche-market or no) at any time in recent history -- only the history of the automotive* industry shows such an uptick in "innovation" and growth trajectory vis-a-vis the overall market

As to this idealism you speak of? Yeah, let me just add this much:

A few years ago I exchanged "beermails" here with a guy by the name of Eric Biermann - if his name is as unfamiliar to you as Toppling Goliath is familiar, well, there may be a reason: he and his partners took the slow and measured path, got his brand and brewery up and off the ground --sweat equity, the whole shebang-- and it's taken years to gather a head of steam. But in the meantime there's been a Badger Hill and a Bad Weather.. all because a little bit of idealism went a long way.

I on the other hand had a much broader business plan or two and NO money for immediate capitalization. Just a plan to market canned beers, the profits of which (a portion, anyway) would benefit local animal shelters - because I'm an animal lover, doncha know? Idealism is all well and good, but a solid business plan is essential, which is why there's an Indeed and an Insight, but "Chaz's Special Select Poor Man's Pilsner for Make Benefit Kitty Kats!" is nowhere to be found.

So when it comes to boyish good looks accentuated by piano flourishes on your promo reel, I'm sure there's something in terms of an actual business plan, and here's an update** I just received via Chaz-O-Gram from the man himself:

Party-on, folks!

* I'm purposely leaving out military-industrial industry, for obvious reasons.

** Selectively-edited for the sake of brevity.

 

Looking forward to Roets and U4ic. Will make a nice beer tour of Enki, Waconia, U4ic, and Roets.

 

Anyone else planning to hit the Insight Grand Opening today? I plan to be there right at 4. Not sure if friends are joining me yet or not. If I'm alone and it's a zoo, as seems likely, I probably won't stay long.