Brewery Updates in Minnesota (2019)

I tried the first Pig Ate My Pizza Spotlight Series Pale Ale, and it was pretty darn good. At $9.32 for a pint of pale ale in Robbinsdale after the "Fair Wage & Wellness" nonsense (which the bill falsely lumps into "Total Tax") and actual tax (and before many people inevitably unwillfully double-tip), it better have been. I also tried ONE And We'll See You Tomorrow Night Bohemian Pilsener, and it was great, in the running for best lager I've ever had from a new brewery at its opening. At $7 for a pint in the Minneapolis North Loop ($6 cash plus $1 voluntary tip with the bar covering the tax), it was priced in line with expectations and metro area standards. I visited the new Forgotten Star in Fridley, which was packed despite its large space, and I found the beer in my flight unflawed though uninspired and merely adequate for a new brewery. Among those three new spots, I'd rank the venues 1. Forgotten Star (cavernous yet welcoming), 2. ONE (pleasant though lighting needs work), 3. Pig Ate My Pizza (way too bright and chaotic, like a commercial kitchen).

 

That sounds dangerously close to damning with faint praise!

 

Touche, but it was legitimately very good, one of the best pilsners that was made in this state that I've tried. I hate to make a call off of just one beer, and the unfortunate lack of flights at ONE limited me to trying a single beer so far, but I have very high hopes for ONE. Everyone I know who has visited ONE already (just a few people) has come away raving.

 

Respected local restaurateur Kim Bartmann is seeking investors for a heritage-grain brewpub in the Mill District of Minneapolis. "Guest brewers from local breweries will be invited in to play with heritage grains and brew heritage-grain beers, there will be an attached bakery called Flour Power showcasing heritage grain breads made from flour created by local milling pioneers like Sunrise, and of course a food program featuring local farmers that creates heritage-grain showcasing treats, like heritage grain pizza. So what's the hold-up? She hasn't been able to find enough local investors to bankroll the launch."

 

MinnPost has an article about how brewpubs are on the rise relative to taprooms in Minnesota. The article rightly notes that, in a saturated market for shelf space and tap lines, breweries' advantage of being allowed to distribute is worth less than it used to be. Nonetheless, there are brewpubs like Barley John's,* Yoerg, and Forager that have set up complex workarounds to distribute, along with places like Birch's Lowertown where ownership believes the ability to distribute could reverse the brewpub's poor financial performance. Forager in particular, which has only one location and doesn't seem to emphasize liquor sales at its bar, surely would've been established as a brewery with taproom if ownership had known how much demand there would be for its beer well outside of Rochester. Then it wouldn't have to mess around with this Humble Forager client brewing company spinoff.

* I do suspect Barley John's ownership regrets its decision to build a large-capacity production brewery in Wisconsin given the apparent lack of interest in its offerings in stores.

The article focuses on brewpubs' advantage of being allowed full bars, but I'll add that the ability to serve beer at multiple locations under the same ownership also is a huge potential plus for brewpubs, although only a few have taken advantage of it. I'm sure there are at least several and possibly many breweries-with-taprooms that would open multiple taprooms in the state if allowed by law. We've seen Indeed recently open a taproom in Wisconsin and Lupulin open one in South Dakota in part because they're not allowed to open additional taprooms here.

An important note is that, unlike most taprooms, most brewpubs compete at least as much in the restaurant space as they do in the craft beer space, and the former industry is even more competitive and, arguably, complex than the latter. Running a brewpub involves running two complicated small businesses in one, and that brings additional risks and definitely is not for everybody.

I'll end with a plea to the state legislature to tear down the wall between these two business types: Remove the production cap on brewpubs and let them distribute, and allow taprooms to obtain liquor licenses and have guest taps and to open multiple locations. These artificial and archaic limitations don't exist in many other states. Stop making small Minnesota businesses choose in their planning stages which path they must walk for the rest of their existence.

 

100 % yes,Also the ability to sell 6 & 4 Packs to go from the taproom.

 

I agree with this, but I wonder... what is the difference between this and tied houses?

 

Tied houses don't necessarily share ownership with the breweries to which they're tied. But, yes, there's a similarity, and I myself have called taprooms a form of tied houses, perhaps even in older editions of this thread. I don't think tied houses are some great evil against which we need government protection; I think the aversion to tied houses is just one of many examples of silly post-Prohibition fearmongering with both the intent and effect of producing cumbersome regulations on alcohol producers and sellers. I'll reiterate that the distinction between brewpubs and breweries already is weaker or nonexistent, and breweries already are allowed to have multiple taprooms and associated bars ("tied houses" of a sort), in many states.

 

I was in San Diego recently for vacation with family and it was really convenient that the bigger breweries had multiple tap rooms around the city. I think modern times has 3-4 as well as stone.

Never felt like we had to go out of our way for me to stop in and pick up a few beers. Also nice they can sell any format at their tap rooms. The locations we're the size of coffee shops.

If the laws we're similar in Minnesota, I could see surly, summit etc opening small tap rooms around the twin cities or even Duluth/Rochester.

 

Hell yeah, good Bohemian pilsners are hard to find, I need to check it out ASAP.

 

The problem I found in SF this past summer is that you can’t go to a beer/liquor store and find most of the local offerings. The smaller really good breweries only sell bottles/cans on premise. If you want offerings from multiple breweries, you have to make multiple stops.

 

Holy shit. I agree with you on this. I think the polarity of the Earth is going to shift any moment.

 

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

In other news, Fat Pants encourages you to lounge around in your Keds and gym socks. And feel free to kick off the Keds:

http://www.citypages.com/restaurants/first-look-fat-pants-brewing-is-built-for-comfort/565409141

 

The existence of some tied houses isn't "evil" but it would be nice to avoid the situation in some parts of the world where just about every pub is exclusive to some brewery or another. One possibility that would be much less restrictive than what we have now, would be to allow any brewery (or group of related breweries) to sell up to <PICK_A_NUMBER> barrels per year outside the three-tier-system (by any combination of on-sale/off-sale, no special restrictions on package size, guest beers, etc), regardless of how many barrels they sell to distributors. If Anheuser-Busch wants to open a brewpub or two let them, as long as the volume sold in the state through those channels is under the limit.

 

According to its Facebook page, Outstate Brewing Company in Fergus Falls opened its taproom to the public on Wednesday, November 27. Its grand opening is on Saturday, November 30.

Inver Grove Brewing Co. in Inver Grove Heights, which is a second location of Lakeville Brewing Co. (a brewpub) and had been serving Lakeville-brewed beer, released the first beer brewed at the Inver Grove Heights location on Tuesday, November 26.

 

Found Lake Of The Woods IPA on tap in my neck of the woods. Impressed. Definitely more old school with pine and floral characteristics. I taste so many beers from new breweries that miss the mark but this one was very good and makes me interested in their other offerings if I can find them.

 

Agreed. I had it on tap when I was at the brewery back at the end of June. It was damn good, and more old school. I'll have it again for sure.

 

Crickey!

 

Does anyone know anything about Fytenburg Brewing Company, 363 Webster St, St Paul, MN? It is practically next to the Growler office, yet it isn’t on their map. It doesn’t look like they have a tap room but they have had some events sampling their beers at liquor stores & festivals.

 

hey thanks