Minneapolis Visit

Which Marriott? there are 3 downtown.

 

Wild Mind, which is near the airport is a must in my book.
Surly is an experience.
If you want to cross over to St. Paul, Barrel Theory, 12Welve Eyes, and Blackstack are great. Flat Earth is ok, but the history of the building makes it a must for me.

 

Within walking distance for taps are HopCat (for the quantity of taps) and Butcher and the Boar (for serious selection of taps). Mackenzie Pub on Hennepin is also a cool drop in. Haskell's on S 9th is walkable for a liquor store, in the other direction is 1010 Washington. If you get a ride you can get over to the North Loop neighborhood, where you can go to the tap rooms of Modist, Fulton, and Inbound. Also slightly west just off Hennepin is the Sisyphus tap room. A lot of recommendations will say to take light rail or a paid ride to Surly. If you go that direction, check out Town Hall Brewing and the Republic bar.

 

The following are what I consider the top four breweries in the state, and, lucky for you, they all happen to be in Minneapolis proper:

1. Surly (cheap and quick train ride from downtown): Huge facility, great selection, good food, brewing as good and innovative beer as ever despite claims to the contrary. Surly is my top recommendation to visitors who aren't particularly into craft beer, let alone those who are.
2. Sisyphus (basically downtown and a mile from your hotel): A vastly underrated and versatile little hidden gem that blows away most of its better-known competitors.
3. Fair State (Northeast Minneapolis): Strong across the board, most notably in sours and lagers
4. Wild Mind (South Minneapolis): Best sour and wild ale brewery in Minnesota, but most of its other offerings are nothing special.

Local favorite Town Hall (adjacent to downtown) is good although better for locals than out-of-towners. Its strength is in variety, the kind of place that will impress over repeated visits but may underwhelm in a single visit. Go there with that caveat in mind, and you'll be less likely to be disappointed. Republic (across the street from Town Hall) is the only beer bar in the city that I would call special.

 

Maybe it’s my having lived down there in the past, but it’s easy enough to walk to North Loop from City Center. Using the skyway will avoid all the pesky traffic and dump you right at Target Field, and from there Modist is...2 blocks away? Or walk two blocks from CC, pay 50 cents for the train and let that dump you in the same spot.

 

What @MonDak_Joe1953 said, ^^^^ ill add to his post. Within walking distance from CC Marriott is 8th Street Grill (8th & Marquette)usually has a very nice tap list, and Target now has a Liquor store at 900 Nicolett both are 2 blocks away.

 

If you have access to personal transportation or want to take the light rail, Barrel Theory is a can't miss. They usually have a lot of crowlers to go as well. They keep their website up to date with taps and crowlers. Plus, you'd get to see the best city in Minnesota.
barreltheory.com

 

Just to be clear -- North Loop is a neighborhood, not a bar/brewery. Lots of great places in the North Loop.

 

... and to make things unclear again, "North Loop" in fact is a brewery as well, although, confusingly, it has branded its taproom, which is in the North Loop neighborhood, as "Inbound." Fulton probably is the best brewery in that area, but Modist has some fans. There's also a brewpub called The Freehouse. All of them, however, very much are "can miss," in my opinion.

 

Def check out the area though...it has some of the best restaurants and cocktail bars in MPLS. Spoon and Stable, Bachelor Farmer (restaurant, cafe, speakeasy), 112 Eatery, Bar La Grassa, Parlour Bar, Red Cow, Black Sheep Pizza...

 

This is where you lose a whole bunch of credibility. Sorry. World class.

 

The guy's allowed his opinion, and it's consistent with the assessment that I hear from most visitors w/r/t Town Hall, which is why I've stopped recommending it to out-of-towners. Regardless of whether people want to acknowledge it, in the last few years, Town Hall has churned out a lot of mediocre product along with some truly great stuff. It's very easy to be underwhelmed by any given flight.

@Schultz, good on you for calling out the all-too-many Minneapolis breweries that fail to sell small pours. There's no legal issue; they're just not friendly to variety-seeking customers.

 

Wrong.

People are, of course, entitled to their own opinions, but this is just silly. Town Hall continues to pump out some of the best beers in Minnesota, & in a far wider variety of styles that almost anyone else. Opinions vary. Facts do not.

 

Yeah no you are objectively wrong. There’s no opinion involved here. Everything is true to style with zero off flavors. At the very least everything is good. Many things are excellent. Some are fabulous.

 

I was at Town Hall Last week, had one beer, a full pour. it's was terrible ......

 

Town Hall barrel aged beers are world class and worth seeking out, the rest of their stuff ranges from boring but well made to excellent. I don't think I've ever had a bad beer from TH but I've had forgettable beer from them. It's not a knock, it's just what it is.