Minneapolis Help-Crowlers

I can't think of any breweries near MOA, seems like a dead spot. In the 20-30 minute range, Sisyphus, and Dangerous Man come to mind, for breweries that offer crowlers.

 

I don't know if they do Crowlers, but Bald Man Brewing in Eagan would be a close and easy drive from MOA. I can't comment on beer quality as I haven't been there.

http://www.baldmanbrewing.com/

 

Like @Cfred371 said, MOA is kind of a dead zone for breweries. Unfortunately you'll have to drive a bit, but it can be worth it.

If you bring a growler with you, you would be able to stop by Wild Mind, which is the closest. They only occasionally provide their own growlers, so you can't count on that, and they don't provide crowlers. But most of their offerings are solid. I've heard the Triple IPA is a good attempt at a NE Style IPA.

Sisyphus is within 20 minutes of MOA usually (when traffic cooperates), and they usually have some really good IPAs you could get in crowlers. Modist and Dangerous Man are only a little farther and also have good offerings you could get in crowlers to go. Day Block is in that general area as well, but their offerings are hit or miss, and if you have a good haul from Sisyphus, Modist and Dangerous Man you could safely skip it.

If you're looking for sours Dangerous Man usually has a Sour Delores version in the growler shop next door (in crowlers), or you could head a little farther than Dangerous Man to Fair State and get a growlette to go - same size as a crowler just a smaller glass container. They also have bottles to go.

 

For sours I'd go to Fair State (bottles sold there) and Indeed (growlers).

IPA's I would definitely go to to Sisyphus (crowler), but also Steel Toe which is on the south side of the cities. Steel Toe has growlers and I believe right now they have bottles of Size 11 (IIIPA), Before the Dawn (BA Imperial Stout/Barleywine), and Lunker (BA Barleywine). Another IPA you can't go wrong with is Masala Mama (growlers) at Town Hall, which is straight up 35W from you.

I agree that Wild Mind Artisan Ales is a good stop, but be sure to bring not only your own growler but a cap for it as well.

If you just wanted a fun place to eat and drink without getting beer to go, Town Hall Tap is between you and downtown.

 

Forgot this, but yes, be sure to bring a cap. If you don't have any (I throw mine away like your supposed to...) Northern Brewer is only a few blocks away and they sell caps.

 

Per Fair State, they are currently selling bottles of their Bricoleur #3 for like $14. It is a really tasty beer. I tend to find most of their sours overrated (for what its worth), but if you make it there I think that is worth picking up.

Otherwise solid suggestions above. Sisyphus has some of the better beer available in crowlers *usually* but their inventory changes a lot and they are not good at keeping their website updated on things that run out over the weekend. Just a heads up that it might be worth a call by like Sunday since they run out of the popular stuff.

 

Bald Man Brewing, in Eagan, is a 5 minute drive from the mall. Growlers are counter pressure filled on a machine, not filled from the taps, so they will stay fresh for alot longer than most. Also have 750ml bottles of our Imperial IPA for sale as well right now. Cheers!

 

Just a point of clarity, Minnesota isn't like Iowa when it comes to growlers. The only place that can fill a growler of beer is from the brewery itself. Minnesota can't have a setup like Iowa's where you can go to a Hy-Vee or Kum & Go and have multiple options from several breweries to fill up with.

 

Since your request was for Crowlers and not Growlers, here is a list of breweries within 20 miles of the MOA that sell Crowlers.

Dangerous Man
Modist
Sisyphus
The Freehouse
Dayblock Brewing

Oliphant Brewing out of WI can now be found in retail stores.

 

Northbound is very close to MOA, and right off the light rail from MOA. Beers are hit and miss, they have growlers and really good food.

 

I can comment on their beer quality, but I won't because my mother always told me if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

 

It's pedestrian, but not bad IMO. Many local breweries have had far worse starts.

 

This is absolutely true, and to be completely fair I have only had a couple from there. New breweries are always a crap shoot, they could be completely different in a year.

 

It's the best brewery in Eagan.

 

LOL... just narrowly edging out granite city.

 

There is a Total Wine in both Bloomington and Eagan which are pretty darn close to the MOA. I would recommend stopping by there for easiest access to local beers- cans and bottles though. If you need recommendations just PM me! Otherwise Dangerous Man brewery has a very popular Peanutbutter porter that is only available through them in MPLS. Cheers!

 

Total Wine always has really good sales on Sunday, so I would wait until then to go.

 

You can add Lakeville Brewing to this list, although I recommend heading north to the others on the list.