Breweries opening in Minnesota 2015/2016

Nothing specific, I just hadn't heard of them until today. I'm mostly looking for confirmation that they're contract brewed and, if so, where? Also, any idea if they ever plan to open their own brew house?

I will say, I like their website. Lots of pictures of old St Paul Bars that used to sell their beers.

 

Sorry, Seamus. I intended to answer your question directly, but had to save a document which I was editing.

I contacted the people behind this plan as soon as I learned of it, and it is being brought to life by a team of Minnesota businesspeople with considerable experience in the beverage industry.

The plan has been in the works for much longer than some of the other recent, local start-ups and BIP, and as I'd originally understood, the beer may or may not include pre-Prohibition recipes. This is owing mostly to the fact that the original brewer's logs and original recipes are not yet in their possession. Likewise, the original brewery site has been re-purposed since the many years since the brewery closed, and is currently occupied by an existing business. In other words, there are presently no taproom plans for an affiliated taproom on the West Side.

As to whether or not the brand will be contract brewed, the answer is yes, and as the plan is still in development I'll add that it is part of a more ambitious plan which is still in the development stages (building-out, presently.)

I will also add that I'm happy to see that the plan has come this far. It's gonna be fun.

 

maple island has a great tap room interior, but man do their beers need some work.

 

Was also at Lupulin on Saturday and agree with what's been said.

Fantastic news!

 

Let me know when you're opening a brewery, too -- it'll save me the effort of hunting and pecking for clues.

30 for the Metro Loop and as many as 70 for the state -- The status of a couple of which is "opening any day!"

My basic take on all of this growth? Compare the number of plans for the state with the number of plans at the national level (which is +/- 1,000 plans), and you'll see that the "beer scene" overall is primed for a very interesting ride.

 

Below is a "Big List" which might be worth comparing to a similar list from May 2, 2014.

----BIP/unnamed listed alphabetically by city; Based on Brewers Association and other data----
Minneapolis and St. Paul are listed first due to the fact that there are so many plans for these two cities.

Notes:
- I did not link to or add other contact information for each plan (I was feeling lazy) but check Post #33.
- Any opening date predictions or commentary which is not made by the brewery is courtesy me.
- Errata / Other follow the Big List.

Minneapolis -- 11 plans including 3 unnamed
- 56 Brewing. Plan is to roll-out on tap on May 1, 2015.
- Bryn Mawr Brewing Co. I predict a soft opening in early spring of 2016.
- Gray Fox Beer Co. A BA member for years, yet there is no information on this that I have found.
- Lakes & Legends. I predict a February 2016 grand opening with an appearance by The Polyphonic Spree.
- PUBLIQ Brewing. Very little information at present. E.t.a. mid-2017.
- Venn Brewing. Scouting for location -- E.t.a. mid-2016.
- Zambaldi Brothers. I'm guessing there's a 30-day supply of Vitamin C in those mugs they're drinking (2016.)
- Zurbey Brewing. I'm estimating a 2017 opening just as sure as I'm guessing I'mma crack a Carling tonight.

St. Paul -- 9 plans including 1 unnamed
- Amity Brewing. No updates in a year. Hmm. Too early to call, but I predict a full line of canned beer by January, 2018.
X (Existing Brewery) Bad Weather -- Is their brewery/taproom fully built-out? I've lost track of their progress.
- Black Stack. I predict a late August 2015 opening with "Can Can Wonderland" hosting a Bugaloos reunion.
- Character Brewing. I predict a mid-2019 opening complete with an appearance by Billy Carter.
- Fytenburg. Tod's planned to open a brewery in those old stables for thirty years. 2018 will be the year!
- Grillen Brewing. This plan appears to be quite a ways off, maybe 2017.
- Mr. McGeasil. One recent update. Prediction: May 2016 opening complete with an appearance by DJ Alex Patterson
- Sidhe Brewing. Tap-takeover the next two weekends at Señor Sol, which is in the same building.
- Stone Saloon. Prediction: April 2020 opening complete with an unplugged performance by Lamont Cranston.

- Albert Lea - Unnamed plan. No further information.
- Alexandria - Unnamed plan. No further information.
- Anandale - Spilled Grain Brewhouse. Building out, looks like an early 2016'er to me.
- Anoka - 10K Brewing. Kickstartering, nearly at their goal. Late summer / early fall 2015 opening is my best guess.
- Anoka - Anoka Brewing Company. Brewery / taproom plan. I predict a Halloween 2018 opening.
- Anoka - Dumass Brewing. No information at present.
- Biwabik - Unnamed plan (referenced in April 2015 issue of: "The Growler.")
- Blakely - u4ic. I predict a June 2015 opening complete with jugglers and clowns.
- Blue Earth - Oswald Brewing Co. Still building-out, but I predict an early 2016 grand opening.
- Burnsville - India Palace. A late 2015 -to- early 2016 opening date is my best guess.
- Cannon Falls - The Brew Loft. No updates... NO! Wait: He's working on his website. So, another slow-cooker...
- Champlin - Blue Wolf. Prediction: A June 2016 grand opening complete with store-bough hot dogs.
- Champlin/Anoka - Cow Shoes. "a homebrewing operation with intentions to open a business"
- Clear Lake - Unanamed BIP. BA lists it and I have no clue about it (other than that there's a homebrewer's group.)
- Cloquet - "St. Louis River Brewing Company" is a paid Brewers Association member, so it's a real plan. Right?
- Collegeville - Flynntown. No updates since June 2013? They must be on the Seven Year plan... heh, heh.
- Delano - South Fork Brewing Company. Appears to be very close to opening.
- Duluth - Unnamed plan. No further information (c.f. Biwabik, Cloquet, Hermantown.)
X (Existing Brewery) Duluth - Blacklist has a very long-term plan to operate either a taproom or a restaurant.
- Dundas - Meetinghouse. I'm predicting a late 2016 opening -- close to Nikolaustag.
- Eagan - Cedar Grove Brewery & Tap. Prediction: Grand opening January of 2525, complete with Zager & Evans reunion.
- Eagan - Unnamed Plan. Different to the Ken Koch plan (Cedar Grove.) I predict shenanigans.
- Eden Prairie - Able Seed House. Prediction: Opening in time for summer solstice, 2016, complete with a drum circle.
- Faribault - F-Town. Prediction: January 2017 opening complete with clowns and fire-eaters.
- Fisher - Wagner Malting & Brewing Co. I predict a December 2016 opening complete with a gummi bear-infused stout.
- Fountain - Karst Brewing. No information on this one. I predict it will open in time for the Tokyo Olympics.
- Granite Falls - Bluenose Gopher. Prediction: February 2016 opening complete with polka music and a poetry-slam.
- Ham Lake - Bengal Brewing, LLC. "Coming Soon to the Northern Suburbs" http://www.bengalbrewingllc.com/
- Hanover - Fishbone. Prediction: January 2017 opening, with "Tapeheads" playing on the T.V. in the garage...
- Hermantown - Unknown plan.
- Hutchinson - Unnamed BIP (Dan Hart plan)
- Jordan - Roets. I predict a late August 2015 opening -- as long as mother nature cooperates.
- Lakeville - Angry Inch Brewing. Late summer 2015 opening.
- Lakeville - Lakeville Brewing Company. (Don Seiler plan) Very little information at present.
- Maple Grove - Omni Brewing. Prediction: August 2015 opening complete with Hula dancers; The Grove needs culture.
- Minnetonka - Unmapped. "Spring 2016" they say, "C'mon! It's easy to open a brewery~!" they say...
- Newport - Opinion. Brewing to commence as soon as they raise the funds to get their lead singer out of jail...
- New Prague - Hotel Broz. The hotel is now for sale and the brewpub plan is presumably scuttled.
- Northfield - Imminent Brewing. I predict an August 2016 opening -- just in time for orientation at Carlton.
- Otsego - Reckless Twins. I predict a May 2017 opening complete with mimes and fire-ants.
- Robbinsdale - The Wicked Wort. Plan is rather far from opening -- maybe mid to 2016 at earliest.
- Rochester - Forager Brewing Company. Opening "Summer 2015" they say, "Everyone is doing it!" they say.
- Rochester - Grand Rounds Brewpub. Opening late spring 2015. Seriously -- checkout their Facebook page.
- St. Louis Park - Twelve Down Brewing. Another paid Brewers Association member, so it's a real plan. Right... RIGHT?
- St. Michael - Pondscum Brewing. No updates since September? Does pondscum go into hibernation or what?
- Sauk Rapids - Urban Moose. No updates since August, 2014.
- Shakopee - Howling Dog. Space acquired (build-out will takes months), a September 2015 opening is my best guess.
- Stewartville - Unnamed BIP. I do know that some equipment from Leech Lake went down that way...
- Waseca - Half Pint. I predict a May 2018 opening complete with firetrucks, mimes, jugglers, and local punk rock band.
- Wayzata - Wayzata Brew Werks. City council approved them a few months ago, so "any day now" = early 2016.
- Wilmar - Foxhole. Building out... I predict an October 2015 opening complete with an imperial pumpkin-peach porter.
- Woodbury - Unnamed BIP. I predict that nobody can predict everything with absolute precision.

--Potential plans: Unnamed and/or no firm verification that a plan is actually underway--

Andover - "Helgeson Heights Brewery." Pretty sure that this is a homebrewer-only, but Facebook thinks otherwise.
Eyota - N/A. City of Eyota was the first Minnesota city hoping to a lure a brewery, but not the last one.
Hamel - N/A. Brewers Association listed Hamel as having a BIP at the beginning of 2015, now does not list it. (?)
Minneapolis - Origin Brewing. No updates.
Savage - N/A. Has recently looked into attracting a tenant taproom in their historic, city-owned train depot.
Watertown - N/A. Brewers Association had a BIP listed beginning at 2015, now does not.

--Older plans which seem unlikely to move forward (but ya never know.)--

St. Paul:
- Schmidt Rathskeller plan. There is no such plan at present, and as to why that is is a topic for another post.
- Schwietz Saloon and Eatery. Any brewpub plan here seems to be on a very, very long-term backburner.
- Steiner Brewing. Has been listed without updates for many years, and seems unlikely to happen.

Waconia - Soggyswamp. Listed for years with no verification it's moving forward, I declare it to be bogus, man!

 

Regarding Fytenburg. I'm sure Tod will open a brewery in those stables, but it doesn't look like there will ever be a taproom. As I recall, his St. Croix brewing is opening in the Brunswick House in Stillwater complete with taproom. As I recall, one owner can only have one taproom.

 

Now that growler sales on Sunday is (basically) a "go", I'm sure that there will be a push by the MNBeer Activists and the Craft Brewers Guild (and others) to change this. They'll probably have a go at lifting the barrelage restriction on sales of growlers, too. After all, they need to focus on initiatives which have less resistance than Sunday liquor sales.

 

I haven't heard much, does it sound like Sunday growler sales is set to go through this year? It was supposed to last year and it got yanked for whatever reason at the last second.

 

For the past few weeks it's filtered-down through the teamsters, legislators, and lobbyists that there is less opposition to Sunday growlers than in past years. If it actually doesn't go through, I predict major gnashing of teeth.

Here's a report from a local network media affiliate:
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/...ht-sunday-beer-growler-sales-lifts-objection/

 

Great work as usual, Chaz. I compared your list against mine for the Twin Cities area. I have a few small additions: Flat Earth eventually supposedly will open its taproom at its existing brewery in St. Paul, Lake Monster (currently contract brewing at Sand Creek) is coming to St. Paul, Lucid is looking for a taproom front possibly but not definitely in Minnetonka (i.e., it will retain its current brewery and place its taproom elsewhere), and Life's Too Short is coming soon to Rochester.

Added: I almost forgot the strange Devil's Advocate / Crazy Mountain plan for Minneapolis.

I'd love for brewery owners to be permitted multiple taprooms, although I think that may be a more radical change than people realize. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the local heavy hitters open up secondary taprooms in prime locations (such as downtown Minneapolis) if such a law were to pass. That sounds great to me, but I'm sure it would perturb the usual suspects (as well as brewpub owners, who would face more competition and experience a dilution of the advantages of their business model). Then again, I've predicted taprooms in prime locations separated from the major operations as the future of the Minnesota taproom scene even under current law, and only Fulton has backed into such an arrangement thus far (with Bad Weather coming soon, since my understanding is that the bulk of its brewing will continue to occur at Lucid).

Re: Fytenburg and St. Croix: Where are these brewing companies' beers brewed now? Tod Fyten's stable of operations has long been mysterious to me.

 

I intended to focus more on BIP than operational breweries with taproom plans which are still in the works.
Likewise, several BIP which have been mentioned and commented on in the past march to the "open any day now" beat:

- LTS
- Sidhe
- Some other BIP I'm forgetting
- Some other BIP I'm forgetting (etc.)

There may even be another ''Rochester" plan, or it could be Stewartville -- it's as with the plans in the Duluth area. I compare any possible plans I find outside of a Brewers Association listing, and frankly, BA can't keep track of them all. This is complicated by the fact that a BIP's principle/brewer/owner may live in one city (and file paperwork from there) and intend to open in another city -- I first noticed that BA was having trouble ascertaining all of this before Junkyard opened, and there are now WAY more plans than there were back then.

As for those operational breweries with taproom plans still in the works:
- Lake Monster. I'm sure it's just a matter of dialing-in that space -- it's big, and they started out pretty small.
- Lucid. I'd contacted them just before Pryes signed-on, and their plan is still evolving.
- Bad Weather. I touched on them briefly, and the Facebook photos indicate progress. It's a big space.
- Flat Earth. Challenges beyond their canning line (previously Surly's) and taproom build-out. 'Nuff said.
- Blacklist. Their plan is as ambitious as buying the old Wolf Brewery complex in Stillwater, only focused on Duluth.

Mainly Sand Creek, but Tod had Lake Superior brew a couple of runs of Fytenburg brands in recent years, as well. In years past I recall having seen COLAs for other Wisconsin breweries and even Cold Spring (!), but I tend to mix Tod's companies and contracts with the other smaller client breweries in MN; @jesskidden has a similar experience on the East Coast.

 

Are you predicting that after all these years someone will finally bring back Billy Beer?

 

If only! Of course, a vintage can tasting is easy to arrange:

 

Toss another in the ring, apparently. Based on what they're saying on their FB wall (looking to hire a head brewer, looking to add a sweat equity manager of brewing ops), I'll crystal ball this as next year at earliest. But hey, they have a logo and an LLC. That counts as something in my book and on my tracker. Not sure what it counts as exactly, but it counts as something.

They are: Jive Turkey Brewing

 

Don't see it on the most recent "big list" -- construction has begun on a brewpub in Long Lake with ownership split between the guy who owns Birch's (also in Long Lake) and a brewer who had previously worked at Schlafly. Signs at this location suggest that they will be opening this year.

 

Yeah, I forgot about that plan even though it's been mentioned a few times, now.

And here's another to add:
Broken Seal ("Twin Cities area") http://brokensealbrewing.blogspot.com/

And now, a note to Brewers Association and their flying monkeys: Homebrew clubs spawn BIP, but don't get 'em confused!

For homebrewing clubs there's this one:
Subzero Brewing

For random pages on Facebook named after neighborhoods and lakes:
Nokomis Brewery

And for homebrewers in neighborhoods near Nokomis with a Facebook presence, there's this one:
Lake Amelia Brewing Company

Also: Chef Greg at NOSH in Lake City had a Nano-plan at one time, but it's been years since I've emailed him.

 

I posted about Yoerg Brewing to the Old St, Paul Facebook group and got this response from Thomas Keim:

"Thank you so much for posting this Jim! The website is just rolling out this week, lots of work still to do on it, but it's going to have one of the most complete historical summaries on Minnesota's first breweries, as well as anything and everything we can find about the legendary Yoerg Brewery. We have gone into partnership with a new brewery that has taken over the old American Can Company on Prior in St Paul called BLACK STACK BREWING COMPANY, and we are sharing a master brewer with 20+ years on the local brewing scene. Big, hearty Bavarian styled lagers will be our focus, and we hope to have kegs out by June, with cans to follow this summer."

 

After digging around -hattip @rpcarlsen- it's Able Seedhouse + Brewery. They'll have a preview during Art-A-Whirl in May.

 

Grand Rounds Brewpub in Rochester opens this Wednesday Apr 15. I'm hoping to get there after work, it'll most likely be packed.