All Pints North

BA asstoy, kettle sour, equinox pale, and West coast. Nothing too crazy this time around, didn't plan super well for this festival...ABR though, maybe we will get our shit together by then

 

Here it is: http://www.mncraftbrew.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ALL-PINTS-NORTH-2016-FINAL-PROGRAM.pdf

 

I'll be making a path between Schell's and Bent Paddle. Both are taking this game seriously.

 

Anyone need an extra ticket? BM me if you do.

J

 

Would love to hear some reviews!

 

This event just gets better every year. Well-represented with a lot of one-offs and special beers. Surly ran out of a lot of their anniversary re-releases, but these are available in the tap room.
IMO, Schells, Bent Paddle and Town Hall were the best. (Bent Paddle won best brewery with Fair State winning best beer and best booth display...I did not stop over at Fair State, so I must assume they did an awesome job).
Schells brought 4 of their Noble Star beers, including 3 not yet released. Also included was the Apricot Vista, which still remains my 2nd favorite of the series after Starkeller Peach.
Bent Paddle had about 6 infusions and the Cubano (simply their outstanding Black Ale infused with cinnamon) was perhaps my favorite beer of the day.
Town Hall brought their 3-Hour Tour, which makes my wife very happy.
New Belgium had some sours that they rotated throughout the afternoon. The golden sour was really good.
We tasted some that were really off and cannot understand why a brewery would showcase these at a festival full of so many beer lovers.
Overall, most of the beers we tasted were fantastic (we whittled down the program to a short list, so I wasn't expecting too much disappointment).
While ABR has more breweries/beer and Winterfest has awesome food in a nice setting, APN is my favorite of the big 3.

 

I would be interested to hear more about the off beers. I find that equally as important as discussing the stellar ones.

 

The lines were very short or non-existent. Didn't wait more than a minute at any booth.

Tidal Disruption from Schell's was awesome. The sour from Junkyard was fantastic, don't remember the name of it. Watermelon Sour Bomb from Bank was very good as well.

I was really going for the sours for some reason.

Also..... the weather.

The last 2 years were VERY hot about (92-93* both years). Thursday and Friday in Duluth were like that as well. But Saturday....? almost perfect for me. The was a ton of rain coming our way at about 3:30-4pm. And it never showed up. I felt a few drops, but that's it. Cloudy, breezy and about maybe 74* or so. I'll take that every year for APN.

The lines for bathrooms were insane. Probably due to the lack of heat and not everyone sweating I would think? I don't know. It was a good time. I plan on going next year for sure.

 

Screw the beers... 4onthfloor absolutely destroyed!

 

I'll echo all of these points.
Slight gripe about the sour from Junkyard - I got over there about 35 minutes into the fest and it was already gone. Was bummed since I was looking forward to trying it - running out in a half hour seems insane. Was also hoping that they'd have one of their IPAs there since I had heard good things about them. Was happy with the 3 offerings from them that I got to sample, their PB porter was really good, better than Dangerous Man IMO.

 

Ooof, that stinks. Their sours are gathering a lot of attention statewide so I'm not surprised to hear they blew through it fast like that. Just sucks for those that missed out. The good thing is they have one of them on in the taproom more often than not so if you ever venture up to Moorhead, keep an eye on their social media and you can snag some pours.

 

I think the awesome thing about so many local breweries being featured at this fest is that I can try so many I hadn't had a chance to yet. Junkyard is a great example of that - while they are "only" 3.5ish hours away, I likely won't make that trip for something I've never tried or would only make it once in a great while.

 

I definitely hear ya. Bummer all around. Was it the Blackberry Sour they had at APN?

 

Junkyard was my 3rd stop, probably the first 10 minutes or so.

 

I believe it was.

 

Dan here from Junkyard. We wanted to bring more of the blackberry sour to APN, but due to our unprecedented extremely busy summer we haven't been able to keep up and could only sneak 1/6th bbl kegs and none of our hoppy beers (hoppy beers were almost all sold out at taproom the week before APN) we'll bring some good ones down to winter fest. But if you do get up to Moorhead, stop by! that's the best way to experience our brewery. Cheers, and sorry to disappoint at APN.

 

Are crowlers always available at your place? If/when I ever get up there, I really don't want to come back empty handed.

 

We like to keep some fresh cans stocked at all time, but this summer has been a bit sparse. We usually try to fill cans weekly and keep 2-3 of our beers stocked fresh. The best way to know availability would be Facebook/Twitter. Or just call/email if your planning a trip. As we grow we hope to can more regularly and more varieties.

 

I see you have a Kolsch on tap right now........ mmmmmmm.

 

you guys didn't disappoint. If you run out of beer, then that means the beers were above par and everyone wanted some. there were many beer friends and new people i met and sent them to Junkyard's booth because you make good beer.