Brewery Updates in Minnesota (2019)

TBF, I don't live in the twin cities and haven't been to the brewery, so all I see from them are what they sell in crowlers in stores.

 

The Growler covers 22 Northmen in Alexandria, which has its grand opening on Saturday (6-15-19).

According to its Facebook page, Oldenburg Brewing Company in Belle Plaine opened yesterday (6-12-19).

An update on the expanded Revelation Ale Works in Hallock. "'The community got behind us way more than I ever thought they would,' Ryan said. 'I thought it would be way more difficult to convince them that this beer we make is pretty good.'" I'll take that as, "We're pleasantly surprised that the locals are able to appreciate good beer," and not, "Wow, these hicks are so dumb that they actually like our crap." Never tried any Revelation beers myself.

 

To be honest I think it's a little bit of both. Their stuff is on tap all over by me and I've had their beer many many times.

I've had beers of theirs that I thought were very good and they probably are surprised the Busch Light drinking locals up in that northwest corner have responded as enthusiastically as they have.

They also have shown some inconsistencies from batch to batch including diacetyl showing up more than once in their IPA and my guess is most of their clients don't pick up on it.

I think when they hit it right they are pretty good. Hoping the inconsistencies smooth out as they gain more experience.

 

Portage Brewing Company in Walker is pushing for an October 1 reopening, according to its Facebook page. Portage's original brewery and taproom were destroyed by a fire in January. Linked is its Indiegogo campaign.

 

Ran into my friend last night and he told me Flat Earth......er Saint Paul Brewing may be on the chopping block. But I asked where he heard that rumor and he said it was one of the employees at 12welve brewery.....so I dont know if thats true since they didnt even know that they were closing haha

 

Sounds legit.

 

I better go grab a couple of pints in their post apocalyptic beer garden soon. Just in case your rumor is true.

 

Drove by there yesterday. They have a lot of work to do. Just finishing up the foundation right now.

 

This seems strangely plausible . I live in Saint Paul and think I’ve had one of the beers in the past 8 years and have never visited their taproom , aren’t they part owned by Warner Stallion Appliance family? I could see if that investment drops out they could cease to exist, also takes some nerve to rebrand as Saint Paul Brewing !

 

I agree. I haven't purchased their beer in 10 +years, never visited their taproom either. Their beer just never stood out and they never killed a style. Infact, I don't even remember seeing their beers at many of the liquor stores I frequent....

 

Saint Paul Brewing's taproom is well worth visiting if only for the chance to see the historic Hamm's building/ruins. It also has an enjoyably unique patio. Flat Earth / Saint Paul Brewing has had an interesting rollercoaster of a history of its own. I can't say I'm particularly a fan of its beer, but I've had many worse. Last official word from a few months ago was that it was adding an event space on the second floor (mentioned earlier in this thread). I've heard that rumor too, but I don't put much credence in it. Flat Earth always has traveled to the beat of its own drum in terms of business decisions, and that long has led to as yet misguided speculation about its future as a going concern.

 

If you are hinting that some businesses won't do business with Flat Earth again since they sometimes won't pay their bills, I agree.

 

Trying to keep it generic so as not to cast aspersions. I hear stories, but I rarely hear both sides of them and rarely can verify them, so I try not to take sides.

Perhaps the overarching story of Flat Earth (now Saint Paul) is that of missed opportunity. It was the first new commercial brewery in the state to open after Surly, and it briefly enjoyed a rabid following (especially in its original West 7th Street neighborhood where it filled quite a few growlers) and a fair amount of acclaim (including wins over what are now much bigger names for beer and brewery of the event at local beer festivals), taking advantage of a dearth of competition. Then it ran into some issues that I won't rehash here but were public knowledge at the time, faded into the background, and never recovered critically or commercially. A few different decisions and better practices in the past, and it may well have become a Fulton- or Lift Bridge-sized force in Minnesota beer.

 

But it didn't. The end.

 

LynLake Brewery in Minneapolis has opened its kitchen. The purveyors will rotate, starting with DOMO.

The Growler covers the newly opened Oldenburg Brewing Company, a brewpub in Belle Plaine.

 

I'll agree with that I have never seen any of their offerings in liquor stores either. Maybe Im just not looking hard enough. I will say the new font of the name is not eye catching at all so that could be part of it. And also if they want to represent St Paul as a great brewery maybe they could start making beers people will care about?

 

To give some follow up on Schram Hause and Schram Vineyard since I am in their backyard. All beer is brewed in the Chaska location, and kegs are transported to Waconia and to outside accounts. Wine can be sold in the Waconia but not Chaska locations. Beer can be brought in and sold in Waconia because the Waconia location has a liquor license. I guess not considered a taproom.

 

I don't think the Waconia site has a liquor license. I believe that wineries in Minnesota are allowed to sell external beer, but not hard liquor, in their tasting rooms (whereas breweries cannot serve any external alcoholic beverages in their taprooms). I know I've seen fridges full of beer for sale at other winery tasting rooms in the state. Schram technically self-distributes its beer to its winery's tasting room, and that was the case even when brewing took place at the Waconia site. Yes, technically the Waconia site isn't and never was a taproom.

The fact that brewing operations have ceased at the Waconia* site is news to me. Do you know what Schram is doing with the old equipment?

* Since we're being technical here, I believe it's actually in an unincorporated area near Waconia.

In other news involving new breweries with unique behind-the-scenes arrangements, The Growler covers the new-to-the-USA Lake of the Woods Brewing Company ("LOWBrewCo") in Warroad. "... [R]ather than reinvent the wheel, Eric Nerland and [Brittney] Peterson pitched a potential partnership with the owners of the Canadian brewery: the Kenora brewery would contribute industry know-how while the Minnesota-owned Warroad brewery would extend the Lake of the Woods Brewing brand to the south shore of the lake in the U.S."

 

i talked to one of the beer tenders at Schram Hause when I was there and he told me that they start all the beers at the Chaska location but some of the beers sold at Waconia are finished there. It had something to do with the terms of the Waconia license.

 

Frontier Brewing Company has purchased a building from the city of Chanhassen. "The only disappointment is that Rosati learned in looking at trademarks and names, he couldn’t obtain rights to the name 'Frontier Brewing.' He’d initially chosen the name Frontier Brewing as a nod to the city’s history. 'It appears there's lots of Frontiers,' Rosati said. Instead, he’s looking at naming the brewery 'something like Chanhassen Brewing.'" But you know everyone's going to call it TBFKAF.