Best Bottle Shop in Minneapolis / St. Paul Area

Are you going to be in Mpls, or the surrounding area?

Indeed and Bent Paddle are definitely worth bringing home!

 

what type of beer are you hunting?

thomas liquor can be good. have something in mind. they cellar things and you can generally get it if you ask.
liquor barrel in golden valley generally has a good selection.
france44 is noteable, and if you make friends, you can snag some stuff from the cellar.

cant say there is much in minnetonka. haskells and big top can be good, depends what you are hunting. ace spirits in hopkins has a good single bottle selection.

 

When in the St. Paul area, check out Heritage in Maplewood, or Haskells in White Bear Lake (off 35E & 96)

 

cant really help you on the pale ale or IPA end. i might suggest, if you have the time, head over hudson wisconsin and pick up some toppling goliath.

as for stouts... central waters brewers reserve stout, central waters satin solitude, great lakes blackout stout, and bent paddle's cold press. those are a few that come to mind.

 

Depending on where you are in Minneapolis, I would check Zipps (near DT), Elevated (Hiawatha), and/or France 44 (Calhoun, Southwest). There isn't much locally that wouldn't be available at either of these places.
Besides Bent Paddle and Indeed, Steel Toe (Size 7 and Wee Heavy) and Bauhaus (Sky-Five and Stargrazer) are putting out some really great stuff.

 

A nice sour I would suggest is Bancreagie sour peated ale from Brau bros. in Marshal MN. I have seen it lately around town. Very nice beer- the peat and smokey flavors are a nice balance to the sour. You might also try Moo Joos oatmeal stout of theirs as well.

 

Really you liked the Bancreagie? I thought it was one of the most disappointing sours I've ever had, and I'm a sour beer nerd!

As an out of towner that visits MN semi frequently because my girlfriends family lives there I've found that lots of the Northgate Liquors have good selections but the best thing to do is to chat up whoever is working, tell them you are from out of town, show some knowledge about beer, and they usually have some cool stuff in the back they will bring out. I've had it explained to me as, we get limited amounts of this stuff and don't want someone picking it up that doesn't know what it is. Also +1 on the heritage recommendation, one of my favorite stops as they have a great cellaring program and have always been super generous to me when I stop in

 

you might also try snagging indeed's day tripper and double day tripper.

 

you can probably still find three most recent schell noble star releases around.test positive is another sour from brau bros, lucid goslar seems to find it's way into my fridge quite frequently,

 

We really do lack any quality in the sour area! Hopefully that will change someday soon!

 

I'd go Elevated or Zipp's if in Minneapolis or Four Firkins on your way back to Minnetonka. Liquor Boy in SLP has great prices also. Be sure to check out Steel Toe if you get a chance. They are really doing something special there and IMO they are a bit underrated. I get the feeling that once their name gets out there a little more it's going to become harder and harder to get in that taproom.

 

also, if you plan on hitting ace spirits, check out their groupon. looks like its live again. $24 for $48 in beer/spirits.

http://www.groupon.com/deals/ace-spirits

 

South Lyndale Liquors is decent.

 

All the Schell's Noble Star releases are great...

You may still be able to find Surly Pentagram too.