Minneapolis Trip Help

We made it a point to go there this weekend. It wasn't great. I'd call it average. I was recommended that Mama Masala was the beer I had to try by the guy sitting next to me at the bar at Surly. I didn't even like the Mama Masala. All I got from it was hops, no balance. I'm not a "wimpy" anti-IPA guy either. Surly and Dangerous Man were much better IMO. We went to Indeed as well but it was the last stop and I couldn't possibly give a decent account of what I had there except for Potters Pasties, the food truck that was there, that was real good.

 

I have to say anyone bashing the new Surly facility is crazy. Damn good food, cool atmosphere for all different groups of people. Oh yeah and then there is the beer. Abrasive/Todd/Darkness come on, lets get real. Not to mention the brewery tours. Do yourself a favor, get there at noon on a Saturday get setup on a tour and appreciate Surly for what they have done for the MN craft beer scene for the last 10 years.

 

We did the tour. It was pretty boring IMO. It was probably the worst tour I have been on honestly, I've been to New Belgium, Boulevard, Capital, Ale Asylum, Deschutes, New Glarus (self tour) off the top of my head. That said if you haven't been on any/many tours it is certainly worth it as you get three 4 oz samples of their choice on the tour (you keep the sampling glass) and a coupon for a full sized pour of your choice in the tap room for $5. Like all it is nice to hear the back story and history of the brewery as well.

 

Thought I'd provide a little feedback since I just visited last week.

Stayed downtown and used Uber for nearly every trip.

Friday
The Happy Gnome-Excellent selection, good bartenders, and fantastic food. The star of the show for me was Lift Bridge 1300 DIPA and few Clown Shoes that they had on tap from the night before. Spent a couple hours at the bar and then an hour or so eating. I had the Blackened Salmon and my wife had the Short Ribs. I would probably do the short ribs if I had to do it over. $15 Uber from downtown

Saturday
Had breakfast at Hells Kitchen because it was only a couple of blocks away. We've been there before and they always have good breakfast.
Dangerous Man-Got there at 11:55 and people were waiting at the door. Small cool place with a friendly/helpful staff. I tried the Chocolate Milk Stout and the PB Porter. Both were good but not as good as expected.

Indeed-Only about a mile away from Dangerous Man so I thought I would check it out. A lot larger than Dangerous Man and a lot more choices on tap. Their IPA's were decent with Let it Roll being the best. The beer I really liked was a sour called Wooden Soul #2. Unfortunately after about 1/2 hour a whole bus came in and the place became pretty crowded. Crowded was a theme for the whole weekend.

Smack Shack-About 3pm on a Saturday and it was swamped with 1/2 hour wait. I came here to try my first lobster roll and wasn't worried about beer but surprisingly they have a pretty strong tap list. Had a 300 from Fulton which was a really good IPA.

Surly-I knew this was going to be busy but my god it was packed both inside and out. Went upstairs where they had additional seating/bar. You can tell they built it so it could handle this volume. The lines were sometimes long but they went pretty fast. Really cool place they've built. Had 5 or so great beers that I've had before. MSP, Cacao, Todd, Pentagram. $13 Uber down and $7 back.

On a side note, we stopped at Lake Wine and Spirits. They have a really good selection but it really is packed in and saw some questionable dates on some of the Indeed 6 packs.

 

Awesome write up, thanks for sharing your experience as an out-of-towner.

I went to Surly yesterday, it was awesome that they had one and two on tap. Really nice also that they are doing some brewery only options. Makes the trip a little more special, IMO. I definitely recommend eating to anyone checking out Surly for the first time. I've yet to have a bad meal there. Had the duck confit yesterday for lunch and it was absolutely spectacular.

 

I couldn't agree with this any more! Wife and I were saying the exact same thing while having some dinner there and a couple beers Friday night. We've YET to have a bad food experience there. I had the Surly Special "Todd In A Hole" and she had the Chilaquiles. Both excellent! I give them the highest compliment for their long list of drink as well. Something for anyone/everyone. Believe I've been told by everyone I've ever brought to Surly that they were satisfied with the food, drink, and atmosphere. Guess they really hit a homerun with the new "destination" brewery!

 

I also like how they some how manage to play metal with out it being abrasive.