Breweries opening in Minnesota 2015/2016

Nice, another place I will most likely visit when seeing family and friends in Rochester. Right next to the Tap House too!

 

Someone should start a brewery named Kickstarter.

The number of new breweries is astounding. It seems like, and I could be very wrong, that many of the newer ones are thinking that if they get a decent amount of space and buy some equipment that they can simply launch. It doesn't seem like many have commercial experience, meaning, they do not and cannot understand all that goes into launching a brewery and what it takes to run one month to month. Brew house equipment is about 1/3 of the cost of startup, and that does not cover the ever increasing costs of sales and marketing. I know of a few breweries in the past who overshot budgets because they didnt realize what they needed from an infrastructure and support standpoint. Things like chemicals, spare parts, storage and working capital. I recently ran into an employee of a newer brewery here in town, and this person said (3rd person here, so take with a grain of salt) that they are barely staying afloat because they underestimated monthly costs by 20k!!! An example this person used was the amount of kegs they had to buy and the cost to manage them monthly. They wanted to do cans, but he said it would have been $80k just to order cans. Also, you better have your quality control play book in hand day one these days. And with all due respect, home brewing does not at all prepare one for what is needed at the commercial level. Not even close. Especially when packaging. And some family still in the business back put West said newer breweries often dont realize that they need to get futures contracts in place on things like hops. Many new breweries can't get consistent hops, or they are paying 25% more for them.

I think it will be an interesting couple of years.

 

I believe the plans for a nano brewery at NOSH were put on hold to pursue installing a bakery on site? I could be wrong. I do know that Austin, the brewer who was going to spearhead the NOSH project, is hard at work on his new project, Forager Brewery in Rochester, focusing on brews (including sour and Belgian styles beers) made with local and/or foraged ingredients. www.foragerbrewery.com

 

That sounds right. Thanks for the update and reminder!

 

Didn't see this one listed:

http://www.valhalla.biz/home

 

In the place where the highly-acclaimed Hangar Room once stood -- Big shoes to fill, all around.

 

Funny I'm watching Thor as I just read this. Coincidence?

 

So this is not to be confused with Urban Forage?

 

None. Immigrant Song is playing as I type this and guzzle my John Carling's Finest.

 

Correct.

 

Why does Flat Earth still not have It's tap room open yet? Sure seems like a while ago that they moved into that new space, and I thought that was a goal. They do seem to take or have a low profile around here, at least compared to all other local breweries.

 

If Flat Earth doesn't have a functional tap room yet, then it's caught up in a technicality of the definition of the word "tap". I distinctly remember handing over money for beer on a Saturday last December in the old Hamm's building but the beer didn't flow out of a tap but rather a slew of growlers kept behind the counter. They have plenty of the trappings that other tap rooms have including board games and plenty of outdoor space to enjoy now with the warmer weather.

If it's the lack of "taps" that's preventing anyone from visiting the place then you're more of a purist than I am!

 

Taprooms in Minnesota have a certain legal status, and Flat Earth's beer-serving area does not yet have that status. Flat Earth sells growlers at the brewery (presumably you handed over money to purchase a growler) and offers free samples for on-site consumption (which may well be poured from growlers; I haven't been there so I don't know), but Flat Earth is not allowed to sell beer by the glass for on-site consumption as it could do if it had an official taproom. Everything Flat Earth does in this respect was legal prior to the passage of the Surly Bill that legalized taprooms in the state. Several other breweries in the area, including Lucid and Vine Park as well as the soon to open 56, operate in the same way (on-site growler sales and free samples only).

I just called Flat Earth to confirm, and the person to whom I spoke (seemingly the owner; I failed to ask) said that he expects to open as an official taproom "very soon." He should get Ag Department approval next week and then has a week or two of plumbing to do before the taproom can open. He says there will be a social media announcement prior to opening. He has no estimated opening date at this time.

Added: I agree with @Bravak regarding Flat Earth's unnecessarily low profile. Hopefully a true taproom and the upcoming cans that @Chaz mentioned will change that. Flat Earth did have a lot of buzz in its first couple of years (debuted in 2007) and seems to maintain a fan base from that era, especially in its old West Seventh Street neighborhood, but it sure seems like it could use an influx of interest.

 

Flat Earth blows me away in how they stay competitive just even in the Twin Cities.

 

OK, now you've got me second guessing myself on whether I paid for a beer or not. The more I think about it, the more I believe it was pours from a growler in to small-er plastic cups, a-la generous sample pours. I do remember getting a tour of the space on the second floor and seeing a very cool view of the downtown St. Paul skyline from one room in particular but it was no where even close to being ready any time soon - as in nothing but graffiti on the walls and wide empty spaces with various debris on the ground. If I can figure out where to host a picture properly I'll put a pic or two from the tour on here.

Also pretty sure it was the owner who gave us the tour too but whoever it was was a very nice guy. He also seemed to be a bit jaded towards every thing and every one else in his way. All throughout the tour it seemed it was the construction contractor's fault something wasn't done or the city and the zoning commission why something else couldn't move forward on something. I distinctly got the impression he's dreaming big but maybe too big. All in all though, I wish him well and hope I'm pleasantly proven wrong because it's a wonderful space.

 

If you were at Flat Earth, you definitely did not pay for anything unless you took home a growler, bottle, or merch. They pour unlimited free samples right from growlers.

 

Not everyone is like 'us'.

I could say the same thing about multiple taprooms in the Twin Cities from a beer geek perspective, but the regular plain folk seem to like the swill just fine.

 

I was at Flat Earth on Saturday for the Get Knit Brews and Buses event and I remember (hazily) (it was the 6th brewery of the day) paying $3 for a beer which I also hazily remember it coming from a tap. Now I am so confused.

 

Flat Earth did get the official house beer contract for Gavin Kaysen's Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis (the beer is The Mercantile). Spoon and Stable is nominated in the national category of Best New Restaurant by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. Kaysen may have the best national reputation of any chef working in the Twin Cities. That doesn't mean he knows beer (as anyone who has read David Chang's pro-swill rants can attest), but that's still quite a coup for Flat Earth.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/twinciti...ng-facility-to-open-in-northeast.html?ana=fbk