Breweries Opening/Closing in Minnesota 2018

The Nordic was first mentioned here on June 5, but the additional info is appreciated. "Caribbean Stout" may refer to the Foreign / Export Stout style that is popular in parts of the Caribbean or to a Tropical Stout that uses Caribbean grain adjuncts and sugars and often lager yeast. Or, because it's 2018, it probably means a regular stout with some mango or papaya tossed in.

 

Fruited beers?! What?!!!!

 

I'm happy to report that Birch's STP has definitely started brewing! Nothing like fermentation on a humid day to make the building more, uh, "fragrant"...

 

Add one more new 2018 brewery opening to the MN landscape , these guys are finally opening in Rochester - and posted hrs :

 

I've found yet another new BIP for Rochester: Thesis Beer Project: "We are excited to join the Minnesota beer scene in 2019, with a new brewery and taproom located on 2nd St. SW in Rochester."

Some updates:

Clutch, St. Paul, Facebook, 8-18-18: "Mark your calendar folks! September 14th we're open to the public!!!"

Brett Doebbeling of the upcoming Drastic Measures Brewing in Wadena and formerly of Disgruntled Brewing in Perham recently did a collaboration brew with Portage Brewing Company in Walker, according to a Facebook post on 8-8-18.

Pantown, St. Cloud, Facebook, 8-6-18: "Copper is shined up, lights and fans are in, cooler is almost complete. Soon we will be making beer!"

Recent Facebook posts from Prime Stein in Rochester imply that it's brewing and bottling beer.

Yoerg Saloon, St. Paul, Facebook, 8-13-18: "[W]e still hope for an early October opening."

 

Was able to check Little Thistle out on Friday, very cool space, nice and spacious. They had 3 beers on tap, a Scotch ale, a session Ipa, and a lager. A nice patio, and very close to the bike path. Should be a pretty cool spot.

 

Let's see; that would be roughly 2020 for Thesis,* October 11 for Clutch, and early December or so for Yoerg. In seriousness, re: Clutch, most breweries do hit their announced official opening dates (as opposed to merely target opening dates), not that delays are unheard of even after an announcement. On the other hand, December may be ambitious given Yoerg's track record.

* That puts it on the PUBLIQ schedule.

Was I the only one surprised to learn that Birch's Lowertown was brewing on site? I had just assumed it was going to be a Town Hall Tap / Lanes / Station / Sweet Pea's kind of place, in that all of the beer would be brewed at the primary location and then trucked across town. If the full brewing process is taking place in Lowertown, I believe that Birch's would be the only brewpub in the state to brew at multiple locations. Recall that all of Granite City's wort is brewed in Ellsworth, Iowa and then trucked to the individual restaurants, where it's merely fermented on site in a process Granite City calls "Fermentus Interruptus." I assume that Birch's would be subject to the same 3,500 barrel and 750 barrel off-sale annual caps in total across both locations, unless it's employing a split ownership model. Given that Town Hall sells only about half of that limit across five locations, I doubt that will cause Birch's problems with only two locations.

Alright, Stacked Deck; it's time to pick up the pace to keep up with your St. Paul BIP brethren.

 

I heard some talk of Thesis at Little Thistle over the weekend, and it sounds like they are targeting a Feb/March '19 opening. I havent really heard anything about prime stien other than they are a thing, and plan to open in roch, not sure where or when though.

 

Not quite a Brewery but deserves to be mentioned .

Allianz Field the new awesome stadium by pro soccer team MN United FC been built in Midway just off 94 & Snelling will have 96 beers on tap in a newly designed beer hall/brewpub. Every tap will be dedicated to craft beers from what I’ve heard so expect the entire Surly lineup on tap .

 

This is correct! Our brewing operation in Lowertown is slightly larger capacity than in Long Lake. The idea is that they will be self sufficient and mostly independant of each other. Even running both at max capacity we will not be nearing the barrelage limits.

We will be brewing our year round mainstays at both locations. You will also see some seasonals / one-offs that are unique to each location.

 

Torg is brewing

 

BeerClub Brewing (Mora)

It’s not in the database, I couldn’t find it using a forum search, and apparently it opened on the 18th of this month. How does that happen?

 

I mean come on @Chaz.... seriously.

 

According to my "Double It" rule, BeerClub actually opened on the 13th.

It's on the way to Mille Lacs from the Twin Cities (if you take 65) and about 70 miles north of Minneapolis.

"BeerClub Brewing is a microbrewery and taproom, specializing in brewing small-batch classic European Lagers and Ales. We offer, Czech Pils, Imperial IPA, Oktoberfest, Belgian Triple, along with other American, seasonal and experimental varieties. We are located in Mora, MN in a refurbished former metal fabrication shop, with an industrial vibe. Open Fri-Sat., 4-10 pm."

"You will enjoy the industrial vibe of our Taproom." I guess it's settled then.

 

Birch's Lowertown (St. Paul) is scheduled to open on Wednesday, September 5. There's a VIP Club Member Party on Wednesday, August 29 if you purchase a $50 Lowertown Crowler Card (for 12 crowlers, presumably one per month over the course of a year plus other discounts).

 

According to what I have read each Birch's location will be serving beer made on site. I see that a Place listing has been added for Birch's Lowertown. When adding beer ratings/reviews, please add them to the applicable Birch's location.
I have had most of the beer offerings from Birch's On The Lake, and have never had a bad beer. All have been solid and very fresh. It will be interesting to see how much divergence there will be from what beers are offered from each location.
The VIP Member offering seems like a good deal, but I would have to be sure that different beers would be offered from Birch's Lowertown from what I have had at Birch's On The Lake.
I was a Growler Club member during 2017 at Birch's On The Lake, and this was a tremendous deal for an annual fee of $25.00. I did not renew because the fee went up to $100.00.

 

I wonder if the Lowertown location will not have to rely on adjuncts as much as the Long Lake location. I seldom go to Birch's anymore as everything is fruited or with other added flavors..

 

Sounds like they'll do quite well.