Help a new guy out. What are the best MN brews?

No need to branch out man. Anyone on this forum will tell you Saga is number 1 in the state, if not the country.

 

I dug the Pils from Bent Paddle, loved the Mon Cherries from Borealis, am generally lliking Indeed, Third Street's line... and that's just scratching the surface, of course.

Nowadays we have so much more to choose from than we did when I got started in the late 1980s (when I got hog-tied into reviewin', brewin', and can-collectin') that there's almost no comparison. The routine, almost weekly presence of beer tasting events and festivals, The Growler magazine, and even that 'Beer Show' on sportstalk radio, it's just an entirely different landscape in terms of promotion and awareness. So in other words, it's a great time to cut your teeth!

 

As mentioned, there is no shortage of great options. It could help those replying to know what styles/brewers you already know you like.

 

It's really hard to get an bad craft beer from Minnesota, IMO. Indeed is probably the next best beyond Surly and Summit. Then there's Bent, Bent Paddle, Lucid, Bad Weather, Badger Hill, Flat Earth, Steel Toe... It goes on and on. We have a really thriving craft beer industry here. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with it all.

 

Indeed Day Tripper Pale Ale floats my boat this time of year. Many bars carry it on tap
Town Hall is a local favorite.
Barley John's has done killer stouts and Old Ales (when available).
Steel Toe is solid.
If you can make it out to Lino Lakes, I suggest you try HammerHeart. Their doing some pretty original stuff that is very good.

Have fun exploring!

 

I really like everything I've had from Steel Toe. After Surly, they're probably my favorite bottling MSP brewer. Rainmaker is one hell of a hoppy red.

Schell's specialty beers and seasonals are often really, really good and their "flagship" offerings are generally well-made to their styles, but they're not necessarily the kind of styles that really move the needle. Any good Minnesotan (and upper Midwestern, really) beer drinker needs to get acquainted with Schell's.

 

Here's the best 5 to start with:
Town Hall
Indeed
Steel Toe
Bent Paddle
Schell's

 

Hell yes, do this. But.....do yourself a favor and also go to Dangerous Man.

 

Make a night of it (or a whole day) hit Boom Island, Dangerous Man, Indeed, 612 Bauhaus & Sociable Cider Werks.

 

Another chime in for Steel Toe. I wish they packaged in 12/16oz formats but otherwise they make solid beer, have no designs on being the next huge brewery and like it that way. Their taproom is on the smaller side but it's pretty nice and they generally have 1 or two special things on tap there. Worth a visit if you're over in the west metro. Size 4 has been one of my go-to's this summer.

 

Surly darkness
Any BA beer from town hall
Indeed rum king
BA silhouette
Steel toe before the dawn and wee heavy
Kinney creek abyss

 

My list will be only those you can buy in liquor stores (i.e. I'm not listing any brewpub-only beers).

Twin Cities:
Summit
Indeed
Surly
Lucid
Badger Hill
Third Street
Fulton's

Out a bit:
Lake Superior
Lift Bridge
Schell's

And, if you consider WI to be "local", Central Waters.

As I said, you can get all of these in well-stocked Twin Cities liquor stores.

Which you like best will depend a lot on what style of beer you like best. The above are not all equally strong across all styles. Some are obvious: Schells focuses on German styles, so if you want a DIPA, they won't have one for you. While, if you DON'T like American-style hyper-hopped IPAs, most of Surly's line will be waaaay to hopped up for you. JMO, of course.

 

Yes, central waters!!!

 

Forgot about Dangerous Man. Very good beer to be found there.

 

Others have mentioned some of these, but I will throw my vote behind these great MN options as well, in no particular order.

Indeed
Fulton
Schell's
Steel Toe
Town Hall
Bent Paddle
Summit
Surly

 

Awesome beer

 

You already mentioned Surly and Summit in your original post, so I don't need to tell you how awesome both of those breweries are. Expanding on my top 5...definitely go to Dangerous Man like so many other righteous dudes have mentioned. Solid beers! I've also had a few decent beers at Northbound. Beyond that, I'm not so sure. I've had beers from a lot of the other breweries mentioned above, but they're fairly mediocre overall. Some have a good beer here and there, but they don't crush like THB, Summit, Surly, Indeed, Steel Toe, Bent Paddle, Dangerous Man, and Schell's!