How do you rank Duluth area breweries right now?

Pretty sure they don't actually brew their own beer........someone in friggin' Wisconsin does I believe.

 

You'll get no flaming from me, sir, and I actually rather envy your proximity to those newer breweries*.

I would say that you're the first person to say anything along those lines regarding the Brewhouse at Fitger's. I know that for many Minnesota beergeeks, they have been neck-and-neck with Minneapolis Town Hall for a very long time.

I've been impressed with those cans from Castle Danger, and the Bent Paddle beers have been great since the beginning.

Just my humble observations, of course, and I don't get up that way anywhere near as often as I would like to.

*I have long been able to find Lake Superior Brewing (package and tap) in the Twin Cities, but the newer breweries are only "easy" to find at bars and restaurants which are the most dedicated to the Craft Beer segment.

 

I've only had beers from Bent Paddle, Castle Danger, and Lake Superior.
Here is my personal ranking of the beers I've tried:
1. Bent Paddle 14º ESB
2. Bent Paddle Cold Press
3. Lake Superior Sir Duluth
4. Lake Superior Special Ale
5. Castle Danger Danger Ale
6. Castle Danger 17-7
7. Bent Paddle Lollygagger
8. Lake Superior Kayak Kölsch

There are plenty more that I have not tried (yet)... So, I guess on average it would be Bent Paddle, Lake Superior, then Castle Danger for me.

All this is based on bottles/cans available in the Twin Cities.

 

Lots of great brew up on the North Shore, always love to visit, the brew that i drink the most from is Bent Paddle and Castle danger followed by Fitgers , in the end there is great brew to be had

 

Much of Fitger's appeal and enduring legacy stems from the historic location, of course, and the brewing heritage which preceded it. But much must be attributed to the fact that they were the only game in town (LSBC notwithstanding) in terms of brewpubs, and they have stood the test of time where more than a dozen Minnesota brewpubs have fallen by the wayside.

 

Lake Superior Old Man Winter Warmer is my go-to barleywine during the winter months. I usually cellar a couple bottles as well. Nice take on English barleywine, if you are in to that style

 

I'll rank the ones I have the most familiarity with:

1. Fitger's
2. Thirsty Pagan
3. Bent Paddle
4. Lake Superior
5. Castle Danger
6. Canal Park

 

I really like Thirsty Pagan. As a matter of fact, I like all the Duluth area breweries. Even Carmmody, though, their beer isn't very good, the bar itself is fun.

 

I was really impressed with Fitger's last time I was there. I had their Barrel 21 golden sour and and cask MN Nice Mosaic. Both were outstanding. Also the Framboise they had for sale in bottles was pretty good too.

 

I appreciate your thoughts but will disagree on a few things.

-Fitgers still kicks ass. The quality and variety of beers is only matched by Town Hall. And while I did not eat there the last time in town I was drooling over the plates coming out of the kitchen.

-I've always thought Canal Park was overlooked and shunned by beer geeks, afficianados...whatever///. My most recent trip was memorable with a really nice Hefe and Hopped up IPL..

-You are right on with Thirsty Pagean.....before I'd go for the pizza and the beers were ok.....nothing more...now the beer really is almost as good as the pizza....they had an awesome coconut stout when I was there...also a tequilla barrel aged lager....solid stuff...a wild rice ale....very impressed and definitely much improved..

-Bent Paddle is great. Unlike Fitger's they keep their growler prices reasonable. And while they do not fill any growler they only charge I think $3 or $4 for the glass and fill for $10 so the grand total is about the same as some places that fill any growlers but for $14

-I've enjoyed Castle Danger cans but have not encountered their tap room only offerings so I can't really add much there or on the rest of the area places...

 

I would rank them:
Bent Paddle
Fitgers
Castle Danger
Canal Park
Thirsty Pagan
Lake Superior

It has been many years since my last visit to Thirsty Pagan and I understand they deserve a ticket up my ladder. I ate at Fitger's once, and never again. I always have a good night there however. At this point I think Bent Paddle could do no wrong.

 

As someone who lived in Duluth for many years, and is a frequent visitor, it's cool to see the number of breweries popping there. I'm drinking a Bent Paddle, Paddle Break as I type, but as good as BP is, Fitger's is still bringing it at a national level IMHO...so:

Fitgers
Fitgers
Fitgers
Bent Paddle
Castle Danger
Borealis
Thirsty Pagan
Canal Park...awhile ago they brewed a double Saison that was as good as anything I've ever had, wish it'd come back.

I haven't tried enough of Lake Superior or Blacklist or DuBrew (sp?) to include them.

I'd have enough Thirsty Pagan to kinda include, very nice Saison a couple week ago, and their pizza is fantastic.

 

Dubrue was taken over by one of the other joints. Blacklist I believe. They no longer exist.

 

Do you know any more about this new system? I saw some tweets from Borealis that made it look like they were going from a 1 barrel to a 2 barrel brewing system, but both seem ridiculously small.

My rankings:

Fitgers
Bent Paddle
Thirsty Pagan (probably most unique variety of beers, which is a plus for me)
Castle Danger
Borealis
Blacklist (Lower b/c I don't normally go for Belgians, but they have some fun variety too)
Canal Park (Heard they've greatly improved since opening, have tried some cool offerings and casks at All Pints North and ABR)
Carmody

 

Correct.

What was interesting to learn at the time is that the Dubrue equipment was sold on down the line. I wonder whether it ended up in a warehouse space, or maybe is getting primed for another Duluth area start-up instead?

 

I will say that Fitger's french fries are different the last few times I've been there, for the worse. Fitger's french fries were my can't miss food item every time I was in Duluth.

I think their beer is still very much on point though. I've always preferred the rotating beers to the flagships (though I do enjoy Starfire), but I feel the same way about Town Hall. Everyone keeps saying Thirsty Pagan has improved so one of these days I do have to try it again. It was so awful when I was in there about 5 years ago that I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. (Beer, that is. The pizza is great.)