Brewery Updates in Minnesota (2019)

Have you considered being less of a dick head?

Yeah. Those are the ingredients that make beer. Unmalted cereals are another common ingredient. I know of one local MSP outfit that fucked around with using unconventional ingredients to haze up a beer, and it backfired on them, but really who cares? We aren’t feudal Europeans trying to fuck with the wheat market.

 

Islay has certainly contributed a lot of information, but when he goes away from the opening information much of what he adds is just not true, I.e. anything he writes about Blackstack above and their reasons for hiring Matt (wrong) along with their so called heavy distribution plan (laughable) and this so called “softening” of the NEIPA market (embarrassingly laughable). If he’s proven anything, it’s that he has no idea about the market dynamics of the current craft beer consumer. For some reason he still equates nearly all the popularity in this style to new drinkers with palettes that haven’t been cut on older styles.

 

Some information on Pig Ate My Pizza to stop any misinformation that Islay related earlier. They are ready to brew, just waiting on the license to come in (should be very soon based on when they submitted) and then a final inspection from the state.

 

Well, this is an internet board! I take everything I read on my screens with a solid dose of salt. I have no reason to think what he says is any more sacred truth than what anyone else says.

Totally agree with this. He has a theory & will take any & all information he gets that agrees with that theory, or kind of agrees with that theory, & will run with it. Best just to roll your eyes at him, through the screen or in person, when he goes on a screed.

OK, enough of the islay thread. Back to your regularly scheduled brewery updates of varying levels of accuracy.

 

Quite true that I am not an active poster in these forums. I am a fairly active observer, reading on the site regularly hanging out in the background. This is the second time that I have chimed in on Islay rants because once in a while I get sick of reading his “holier than thou” approach to everyone else’s opinions. I think I’ve just been willing to say what quite a few other people think.

Does he contribute to the site positively as well? Yes he certainly has provided plenty of posts with good information. I just wish he wouldn’t act like he is the only one whose opinions on matters are fact. I think there is room for everyone to be able to like what they like without people suggesting they are inferior or not true craft beer enthusiasts or they are just fad chasers if something tastes good to them. I mean, we go on a site like this to learn about beer and the industry, see what other people are trying, and generally associate with people that are also interested in stuff we are interested in. Hearing people bash the same topics and groups of people just gets a little tiresome to me once in a while.

And for the record, I don’t love all the trends out there at all. I think many double IPAs these days are cloying these days and they aren’t my thing. That can be NE specific or non-NE beers as well. I don’t like most of the over the top pastry stouts either. I hate certain types of sours as well. But I love certain traditional styles, so give me a good Hefeweizen or a well made Pilsner etc. and I’m a happy guy. I just don’t think it’s a requirement that people prove their worth as a craft beer drinker by loving and becoming an expert on beers like those before they are allowed to try the trendy beers of the day or have an opinion that isn’t ridiculed.

Do I post often? Nope as noted above. Do I know beer? Yeah. I’ve been drinking craft beer for 20+ years. I’ve done a lot of homebrewing. I’ve been to hundreds of breweries across the country including most of the breweries in MN. I’ve been to the festivals. I’ve got a stupid amount of beer in my house at all times. I read lots of stuff about beer here and elsewhere. But, I’m not going to tell another person, or a group of people, that they are wrong/stupid/rookies/etc. if they don’t like what I like, and I just think it would be a lot nicer if other people wouldn’t act that way either.

So yeah, @islay contribute great information to the beer community. Just do me a favor and lay off some of the judgmental superiority stuff and I’ll lay off the calling it like I see it.

Cheers!

 

For the record, that "misinformation" I supposedly conveyed that you're "stop[ping]" is completely consistent with what you wrote, but I appreciate the additional detail.

In other news, it's not a brewery, but Minneapolis Cider Co., f.k.a., Lionheart, has opened its cidery and tasting room. Articles are saying it's in Northeast Minneapolis, but technically it's in the University area albeit very close to HeadFlyer.

 

Like that time I informed him that Toppling Goliath makes hazy IPA, and he had no fucking clue what I was talking about. Or, when he refers to “hops” varieties.

 

You guys need to give it a rest.

 

I agree

 

Why? This person is no Beer Advocate. This person is a straight troll.

 

There is an ignore option with forum posters. Click on their avatar or screen name, select ignore, done.

 

And who is the dick head? Yes, I made an account just to say this. I've been lurking in here to get info on new breweries, but it's now just degenerating into a playground fight. I get it, you don't like Islay, but you are only making yourself look just as bad. Time to drop it.

 

Name checks out.

 

Linked is an article about Frontier Brewing and Big Bear Brewco, both of which seek to open in Chanhassen. The article refers to them as "brewpubs," but I believe that Frontier plans to be a distribution-capable brewery with a taproom while Big Bear plans to be an actual brewpub that will be allowed to serve externally produced alcoholic beverages in addition to its house-made beer. I had previously mentioned the latter as an Eden Prairie plan. Frontier is not to be confused with a Wyoming brewery of the same name, and Big Bear is not to be confused with a Florida brewery of the same name.

 

The Growler covers Pig Ate My Pizza in Robbinsdale. The Pioneer Press gets in on the action as well. Again, the establishment is open now in its new location as a bar and restaurant with house-brewed beer still to come, but it is currently featuring some collaboration beers it produced at various local breweries.

 

Confirmed.

Two breweries enter, one brewery leaves!

ProTip: Search out your ideal entity name before you open. But when it comes to the Craft Beer Industry™, go crazy and sort it out afterwards.

 

I'm told Ursa Minor Brewing in Duluth, which opened in September 2018, already is planning an expansion. It's looking to take over additional space in the same or an adjacent building and to add a 15-barrel system and canning line. It currently has a 5-barrel system. I checked out Ursa Minor recently and was very impressed across the board by its versatile lineup (as well as its taproom venue), to the point that I'm tempted to call it already the best brewery in Duluth.

 

Drop it? Look bad? No thanks. I’m not industry, I don’t give a flying fuck. I’m a Beer Advocate. Have been for some time now. It’s ok to counter another’s assertions. People are entitled to their opinions, and others are entitled to disagree with them. D’accord?

 

Word is Minneapolis' Day Block Brewing Company, a brewpub, is considering opening a distribution-oriented brewery in Wisconsin. Minnesota law prevents brewpubs from distributing.