Breweries Opening/Closing in Minnesota 2018

My favorite pork rinds are also made in Perham. Win/win.

 

Well TH bought Adrian’s next to town hall tap last year and Adrian’s closed in January. No sign of construction as of today, asked about it earlier this year and was told TH works on one project at a time, owner keeps changing mind on what to do with the space. Well 11 months later and TH station is open, still nothing.

 

F-town relocating really sucks for those of us well south of the Cities! Hope they do well up there.....

 

Were they not doing well down in Faribault?

 

I'm not sure. I know one of the owners and will have to ask about this.... Love their beers though.

 

F-Town Brewing co-founder eyes St. Paul fire house for new brewery and restaurant

Sounds like they won’t be called by that name now as it’s basically a whole new concept . So they will now be joining Bad Weather , Clutch and Waldmann in West 7th area.

https://growlermag.com/new-brewery-restaurant-st-paul-firehouse/

 

I happened to stop by there for a flight a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon. For the first half hour, there was only one other patron in the taproom. I think that number had increased to five by the time I left. Just an anecdote but not a propitious one. My only other visit was during its grand opening in July 2015, and the community packed the place, but of course those were very different circumstances. I've also heard that F-Town was struggling to maintain shelf space in Twin Cities area liquor stores after a fleetingly successful initial push. One takeaway from The Growler article: "Though Temke is working on the venture as M.O.E. Craft Co., the new establishment will be branded with a different name." This move to the Twin Cities (well, the owner is calling it a new venture) has been in the plans for a long time and less out-of-the-blue than it seems, by the way.

 

If I owned F-Town Brewing Co. I would have focused distribution and tap handles in the Mankato, Rochester, Owatonna, Albert Lee and Winona areas and not worry about the Twin Cities. I think small out-state breweries can do fine if they have good beer and focus locally. There is so much competition in the Twins Cities with Metro and national breweries so you better be really special.

 

Northgate is for sale
https://growlermag.com/northgate-brewing-selling-new-owners/

 

It was for sale. At some point the Fytens need to consolidate their brands. I’m not sure how they plan to have more than 2 taprooms.

 

I would dump the Northgate brand and start with a new one . That location was really atrocious and their quality control was downhill for a long time.

 

I never noticed a quality problem in a NorthGate beer since it moved to its current location. I think it brews solid, slightly to moderately above average, straightforward examples of traditional styles. I enjoy its subtle, quiet charm, and its location is easy to access even if it's outside of the heart of the Nordeast brewing district. It isn't the flashiest or most innovative brewery, but the Twin Cities brewing scene will be a little poorer without it (assuming Fyten does ditch the brand). I guess Northbound Smokehouse gets the last laugh.

So, was NorthGate the mystery brewery with the short-lived BizQuest "for sale" posting that was the subject of so much speculation in the previous thread?

 

Tod Fyten has long had a hand in brokering (e.g) equipment to other business entities, so there's a chance he might sell the equipment but keep the name -- no taproom -- while having the beer brewed on-contract. It might be as simple as that, but it might be even more involved.

 

He will likely transfer another one of his breweries to a family member.

 

Correct. He has a large family.

 

I was surprised that the article listed the Mantorville brewery as the location where all the Fyten beers are brewed. That place is tiny, I do not think even 5 bbl type size, and no taproom. I would think he would move operations to the Northgate location to get a bigger brewhouse and capacity and shutter or sell the Mantorville brewery.

 

Surely Alton and Kaufenberg know that the Fyten empire is run from their own neighborhood? Although one or more distinct P.O. boxes may be involved, the Fytenburg address is a stone's throw from their actual day-to-day base of operations -- mere minutes' walk from the Growler.

The Mantorville facility is in no way capable of supplying the market with the 1,500 barrels per year that each of the Fyten breweries releases to the market. In recent years it's been Lake Superior (and I wonder how the new ownership there affects that contract?), with Sand Creek being the contract facility for many years prior.

 

How does each brand sell 1,500 BBL/yr? I know of like 5 liquor stores that carry their product and everything on the shelf is at least 6 months old because it doesn’t sell.

 

That's on paper; What is actually brewed and Sales are two separate columns on the ledger.