Ranking MN Breweries (Sep. Update)

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by ZAP, Sep 6, 2016.

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  1. poetpowr

    poetpowr Initiate (0) Dec 21, 2014 Minnesota

     
    #21 poetpowr, Sep 22, 2016
  2. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for the thoughts. Always interesting to hear what a new BA has to say. I’ll give some follow up thoughts here on what you expressed and why I feel the way I do.

    Town Hall: If you consider Masala Mama their beer of note you really owe it to yourself to try a lot more from there. I would say they do the best job in the state of brewing excellent beer over a wide variety of styles. Mama is a decent beer but not a favorite of mine when compared to their vast always changing lineup. They have made many other great IPA’s and Pale Ale’s better than Mama. They can definitely brew those styles as well as anyone. But they also excel at barrel aged beers, high gravity beers (Old Ales, Barley Wines, etc), stouts, porters, hefe weizens, Belgian beers, scotch ales, fruit beers (great pumpkin), kolschs, alts, as well as many different variations of lagers. Really the only category they I can think of where some might feel they lack is sour beers which doesn’t bother me one bit. I looked back at my ratings for Town Hall over the years. I’ve reviewed 92 of their beers. 73 of them I rated 4.0 or better (79%). 28 of them I rated 4.5 or better (30%!!!). No question in my mind this is in the best of the best. Much more so than newbies Dangerous Man and Bent Paddle.

    Schells: I’ve yet to have any of their sour beers you noted but that is not what puts them in this level for me anyhow. This is a longtime German brewery that does lagers with the best of them. Vienna (Firebrick), Oktoberfest, Bock, Maibock (Maifest) you name it.

    Plus, their stag series has really shown off their expertise in a wide variety of styles. To me a brewery that shows mastery of lager styles is rare these days and Schells does just that.

    Fair State: A relatively new brewery that has excelled in many styles not just the sours they are becoming known for. Great hefe, Excellent IPA’s. Another place that can handle and excel at lagers with a nice Vienna to name one. Legit Impy Stout. I think their excellence in such a wide variety of styles puts them ahead of Dangerous Man and Bent Paddle (nothing against those two. I have them rated high too)

    Steel Toe: Excellent IPA and Wee Heavy. Their barrel aged beers are tremendous. I like them better than Dangerous Man but you could argue the other way. They are pretty close. I think both belong in the best of the best.

    Liftbridge: What I like about doing this is it makes me look at things closer and Liftbridge should probably be on my list below Dangerous Man and maybe Bent Paddle. They do some great things but maybe not enough. IPA and Pils are both top notch and ther Barrel aged stuff is excellent too although I would take Steel Toes and Town Halls ahead of this.

    **As for the ones you mention. I like Surly a lot but would take Town Hall any day over them. Indeed it comes down to I really like their Let It Ride and Let It Roll IPA’s and Rum King. Day Tripper is a good APA if not a bit catty. Midnight Rider is nice enough. Shenanigans is a great summer beer. The rest haven’t done much for me but they do a lot of sours too which you seem to like which may explain the differing opinions. I value quality lagers much, much more than sour brews. I’m not enough of a brewing expert to know which is harder to make right but I know great lager brewers don’t grow on trees.

    I can’t put Barley John’s that high for one beer. I’ve been to their pub probably 15 times and have had some less than stellar offerings there. I’ve never a less than stellar offering from Schells or Town Hall.

    I agree on Bad Weather and Lake Monster being risers. Good to hear Flat Earth and Tin Whiskers are ironing things out and improving. I have been planning a revisit to Tin Whiskers now that they are filling any growlers and not just their own. I have a buddy who says they have improved as well. Flat Earth I’ve only had off sale but they are on my list of taprooms to hit.

    Thanks again for the thoughts. Always good to hear different opinions. That’s all this is really is opinions.

    Except that it is fact that Town Hall and Schell’s deserve to be at the top :slight_smile:

     
    #22 ZAP, Sep 23, 2016
    HammsMeASAP, JMN44, Pug and 1 other person like this.
  3. TonyBaloney

    TonyBaloney Initiate (0) Sep 18, 2008 Minnesota

    Schell's? I've never had anything from them that would make me proclaim their excellence.
     
    #23 TonyBaloney, Sep 23, 2016
    bergbrew likes this.
  4. HammsMeASAP

    HammsMeASAP Pundit (931) Jun 14, 2012 Minnesota

    Noble Star Series..........?
     
    #24 HammsMeASAP, Sep 24, 2016
    Victory_Sabre1973 likes this.
  5. SudsSavant

    SudsSavant Savant (1,038) Jan 9, 2007 Minnesota
    Trader

    Your second post in a year and this is your contribution?
     
    #25 SudsSavant, Sep 24, 2016
    Ish1, JMN44, maximum12 and 2 others like this.
  6. HammsMeASAP

    HammsMeASAP Pundit (931) Jun 14, 2012 Minnesota

    But, but lagers are such a boring style.......

    :rolling_eyes:
     
    #26 HammsMeASAP, Sep 24, 2016
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  7. psychotia

    psychotia Pundit (857) Jun 27, 2009 Wisconsin

    Cut the Bologna, Tony.
     
    #27 psychotia, Sep 24, 2016
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  8. CLevar

    CLevar Initiate (0) Aug 10, 2009 Minnesota

    I'm hard pressed to think of another brewery in the state that I would put in the same tier as Schells. Quality and consistency across a range of brands.

    No, they don't make ridiculous imperial stouts aged on unicorn horn or ipas with all that juicyhazebro, but they brew some of the best beer in the state, and they do it year, after year, after year, after year....
     
    #28 CLevar, Sep 24, 2016
    Minnebrew, mjryan, HoppyHawk and 11 others like this.
  9. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I agree. Their beers are pretty damn solid. The only one that has ever let me down was their Lock and Dam beer.

    Their Stag Series has been a big hit. Their #3 exposed me to the awsomeness of the Rauchbier. Their Noble Stars are so delicious, and easy drinking. I can finish off a bottle, easily, in one sitting. Their Snowstorm beers are always a hit.

    Yeah, Schell's deserves to be in the Best of the Best.
     
    #29 Victory_Sabre1973, Sep 26, 2016
    VABA likes this.
  10. cmannes

    cmannes Pundit (967) Mar 15, 2009 Minnesota

    I just want to say that I think Omni in Maple Grove is improving. In fact, their wet hop beer Soaked 2016 is pretty solid. (IMHO of course.) I'm not sure I'd move them up on the list any. But I hoping their improvement continues. (Particularly due to my half price growlers club card... )
     
    #30 cmannes, Sep 26, 2016
    ZAP, ECOBOOSTINST and Victory_Sabre1973 like this.
  11. mkhartnett

    mkhartnett Savant (1,160) Oct 27, 2010 Minnesota
    Trader

    South Fork is the worst beer I've had from a MN brewery I think. How they stay open is surprising.
     
    #31 mkhartnett, Sep 29, 2016
    ZAP likes this.
  12. Minnesota_beer_guy

    Minnesota_beer_guy Savant (1,124) Feb 15, 2014 Minnesota
    Trader

    Tried the newly canned Able seedhouse IPA this week. It's garbage,the taste is really off. I'm really surprised they thought that this would be the winning formula to break into the competitive local IPA market and expect to win over Surly or Indeed drinkers...
     
    #32 Minnesota_beer_guy, Sep 29, 2016
    MNBeerGeek likes this.
  13. JakeJohnson

    JakeJohnson Pundit (897) Jan 30, 2015 Minnesota
    Trader

    Y'all need to try Wayzata Brew Works before you start making claims about the worst brewery in Minnesota. It is impressively terrible. I do hope they can turn things around because I was impressed by the taproom, location, and staff.
     
    #33 JakeJohnson, Sep 30, 2016
  14. rarapacz

    rarapacz Zealot (638) Mar 2, 2011 Minnesota
    Trader

    I'm planning on heading to either Angry Inch or Lakeville Brewing after work today. Unfortunately, I don't have time for both. Any suggestions on which is the better option at this point?
     
    #34 rarapacz, Sep 30, 2016
  15. SudsSavant

    SudsSavant Savant (1,038) Jan 9, 2007 Minnesota
    Trader

    Are you aware it's just a parking lot that separates the two of them? They're literally under 300 feet apart from each other.
     
    #35 SudsSavant, Sep 30, 2016
  16. rarapacz

    rarapacz Zealot (638) Mar 2, 2011 Minnesota
    Trader

    Absolutely aware. Unfortunately, I have time for a beer and that is all.
     
    #36 rarapacz, Sep 30, 2016
  17. dougofthefuture

    dougofthefuture Pundit (837) Oct 15, 2009 Minnesota

    Someone really needs to make a beer named juicyhazebro...
     
    #37 dougofthefuture, Oct 1, 2016
  18. MNBeerGeek

    MNBeerGeek Initiate (0) Jun 25, 2013 Minnesota

    BEST OF THE BEST:
    Surly
    Town Hall
    Junkyard
    Schell’s
    Steel Toe
    Bent Paddle

    EXCELLENT:
    Summit
    Sisyphus
    Indeed
    Fair State
    Liftbridge
    Fitger’s
    Disgruntled
    Birch's on the Lake

    VERY GOOD:
    Castle Danger
    Insight
    Fulton (depending on the beer they can span Poor to Excellent)
    Lakes & Legends

    GOOD:
    Hammerheart
    Dangerous Man
    Bad Weather
    Bauhaus
    Northgate
    Harriet

    FAIR:
    The Freehouse
    Northbound
    LynLake
    Lupulin
    Day Block
    Barley John’s (never had the BA stuff)
    Bad Habit
    Brau Bros
    Urban Growler

    MEDIOCRE:
    Great Waters
    Canal Park
    Lucid
    Bang
    Enki
    LTD
    Red Wing (the pizza, though…)
    Mankato Brewing

    POOR:
    Able Seedhouse
    East Lake
    Herkimer
    Waconia

    I just like doing this as it is fun to track. New places I've tried include adding Disgruntled to the Excellent category (too young to be the best of the best, yet... damn great beer). Waconia gets added to the poor category (again, my own rankings). They may have taken over as the worst beer I've paid money for. Able gets moved back to the poor category.. Idk why I moved them up. Tried for a 4th time at ABR and it is just horrific. Every time I go to Dangerous Man, I like their beer less. They have been moved to the "good" category, but are toeing the line of Fair except for their two main stouts. Added Birch's to the list in Excellent. The top two categories keep cranking out high quality beers across a variety of styles. I can easily see Disgruntled rising to the top if they keep up what they are doing. I also loved a beer from Spilled Grain at ABR, but need to try more.
     
    #38 MNBeerGeek, Oct 1, 2016
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