Brewery Updates in Minnesota (2019)

I assume you meant "medieval", rather than "middle evil"!

(Although with craft breweries, with all the gargoyles, skulls, and occult images, I can't be sure...)

Cheers!

 

You are correct sir! I knew that didn’t look right!

 

Prior to LynLake, Nick was a brewer at Waconia Brewing and previous to that Enki Brewing.

 

I heard that the 2 main founders of Badger Hill Brewing recently left the company they founded. (I was told this from 2 separate industry people who are very credible). From what I was told it was a very amicable thing and something they initiated. It sounds like they have already left? The reason, I was told, was that they have a family, and that the industry has changed to a point where they decided it wasn’t for them anymore.

Kind of surprised since they just partnered with Finnegans. However, I can very much understand that statement if it is true.

I haven’t been shy at times in calling out the fact that Badger Hill produces some damn fine beer and has some of the best quality product in the state. They might not be as trendy as others, but within the industry, they are very, very well respected for their product, and I hope that doesn’t change.

Does anyone have more info?

 

Not a very good track record there

 

I can tell you that they are brewing solid products.

 

"Co-owner Marty Czech ..."

And, yet, no Czech Pilsener on tap!

 

Yoerg in St. Paul, which has been open since late 2018 as a bar but has yet to serve house-brewed beer as a brewpub, will be pouring its house-brewed Hefeweizen and Roggenbier starting Friday, March 1st, "if all goes well." Note that never before has all gone well for Yoerg.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2097972910297092

 

No? I would argue Waconia and Enki both made/make solidly above average beer. LynLake was always forgettable, but the other two were solid at worst.

 

Waconia is decent. My wife and I thought Enki was terrible. Everything had a metallic taste. But hey, to each their own. Hopefully Pantown becomes a solid brewery for those in the area.

 

Wasn’t he part of the Defender Brewing effort that was going into Chaska? Did that BIP completely die out? I know Schram is moving into the facility that once was targeted by Defender.

With the brewery going into Eden Praire, it is amazing how many breweries are or will be in Eden Prarie and then south through Scott County.

There used to be basically 1 brewery south of 494- Badger Hill. Now there are 2 in Shakopee alone, others in Jordan, Prior Lake, Blakely, Montgomery, New Prague, Chaska (2019), Belle Plaine (coming I think) and I’m probably missing some.

It does make me wonder how many can survive. I do think it is hard to understand just how much volume is needed in tap rooms to make it work. It really is. It’s not just covering basic costs, it’s leaving enough left over to make it “worth it”, let alone invest back into your business. And that usually requires fairly packed rooms on many days of the week. There is a huge difference, in my many years of experience, between what a tap room takes in and what people THINK they take in. It’s just human nature. Manny years ago, I think, I posted some info on what it takes to run an average tap room. I’m too lazy to look up, but basically it’s about $400k per year. Some more, some less. The average tap room in the US sells about 380 bbls year of product @ $1000/bbl.

I have driven by a number of the above breweries I listed on weekend nights. There is 1 that always seems to be very busy. What’s sad is how many of the others listed above were not even half-full during prime time on weekend nights. I feel for the owners, it’s got to be hard.

I think the next few years will be interesting times.

 

New Ulm???

 

Lol, so true! And speaking of Schell, they might be one of the most under appreciated breweries around. Love what they do, and they do it so amazingly well.

Years ago when I lived out West and was working heavily in the industry, they were always held up to a high standard. Not many consumers out there knew who they were, but damn near all the brewers and brewery owners sure did. A real Midwest gem.

 

Lakeville.

 

Faribault.


Oh, wait ...

 

Hold on Eagan

 

Let's not forget Burnsville....

 

I saw a bunch of words and a Facebook link, with an embedded photo of Jever Pils. Damn, that beer is fine.

 

I do not know the inner workings of the Defender Brewing effort, but I do not think Nick was ever officially associated with that effort. I think his Facebook posts might even be very critical of that effort(I don't do Facebook, just what I heard). I think Defender Brewing is dead. Not sure when the Schram establishment is to open. I do not think any of the sewer/water improvements have been done yet and that was one of the many obstacles to overcome with that property.

 

The Growler features an interesting article in which the owners and brewers of 612Brew in Minneapolis confess their past sins of making bad beer and assure us that they've seen the light and righted the ship (apologies for the mixed metaphor). 612Brew certainly made a splash in 2013, and its taproom was for a time as hopping as any in town despite the poor product it was producing. A cynical observer might argue that 612Brew was ahead of the curve in 2013 in terms of generating buzz and fleeting success by brewing under-attenuated beer with major batch inconsistencies and relying on hipness and marketing to distract from its substandard output and to appeal to an unsophisticated clientele.

612Brew will be undergoing a taproom revamping. According to one of the owners, "... it’s going to be something completely different that nobody’s ever seen."