Minneapolis Trip

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...have-one-night-one-day-in-minneapolis.462764/

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/ranking-mn-breweries-2017-update-1.489533/

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...polis-st-paul-march-2016.399740/#post-4862145

These should help - cheers!

 

Skip George and the Dragon. It's very small and loud, pretty small beer selection, and the food is a serious meh. Oh and everyone but me got sick, we were there last week.

 

Skip Dangerous Man. It is one of most pretentious places in town, and their beer is only on the higher end of mediocre. Here is my review if you care to hear more: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30349/?view=ratings&ba=KarlHungus#review

If you are looking to hit more breweries I'd suggest checking out Fair State, and Wild Mind.

Cocktail room wise, I think you are right on going to Lawless. Their spirits alone are pretty bad, but the cocktails they make are the best I've had had any of our local cocktail rooms. Tattersall Distillery is the most popular one in town, but I would recommend skipping it. Their spirits alone are really good, but the cocktails they make need a lot of work.

Another place I'd highly recommend for food, cocktails, and beer is Hi-Lo Diner.

 

From your list Red Cow is worth a stop for brew and food . Eat Street Social has great food(pricey side) and cocktails.If your in St Paul cocktails at The Lexington or The Commodore.are great.

 

And this is where the expression "different strokes for different folks" came from. I disagree with most of this. All opinions to follow (not saying KarlHungus is wrong):

DM ranges from mediocre to very good and is perhaps the most opposite of pretentious I can think of. The PLANTS man.. the PLANTS! To be fair, the crowd can get douchey on busy nights, that's for sure. For some reason it seems to attract the suburban-bro crowd. The stouts and porters are very well made. It helps to sample beers before committing since their quality does range quite a bit.

Tattersall easily makes the best cocktails at a local distillery (IMO) and has the best locally made spirits, overall. There are few places that I care to spend $ on cocktails since I like to make them at home (unlike brewing beer, I'm good at making cocktails hah). Tattersall is one exception.

Finally, I find Hi-Lo painfully mediocre (east Lake street resident here and I really want all of the businesses in my hood to succeed, but Hi Lo straight up sucked when we were there last). Sub-par food, some of the worst service I've had in the city. Decent cocktails (though not worth the $).

 

'Different stroke for different folks' between you and I on Tattersall and Hi-Lo, and that's okay. There is enough good food and drink in Minneapolis that we can all get what we like.

However, if you read my review of Dangerous Man (which I linked to in my original post) you'll see we are saying a lot of the same things about the brewery. I'm just unwilling to put up with Dangerous Man's short comings. I often want something to drink other than a stout/porter or IPA, and I never want to be in a place that is full of suburban-bros being served by NE Minneapolis cyclists (that's a powder keg full of animosity that has not gone unnoticed on my visits).

 

And from either of those it's only a skip and a jump to Muddy Pig, Happy Gnome . . . and surely there are bars in St. Paul serving locally made spirits? Might also need a designated driver.

P.S. @tyrsis, I believe Tiki Tim's Grill updates regularly on FB.

 

My advice for Dangerous Man is just go to the growler shop. It's usually not too crowded and they have $7 Crowlers.

 

Definitely skip Hell's Kitchen, Pyscho Suzi's and Tiki Tim's. They are novelties with shitty food and annoying crowds targeting tourists.

For real beer bars with great food and beer prioritize Happy Gnome, Buster's on 28th, Republic, and Butcher and the Boar. Top tap rooms to visit are Surly, Indeed, Fair State, Wild Minds, Town Hall, Summit, and Fulton. George and the Dragon is decent, but there are many better options.

 

Skip Psycho Suzi's? That place is fucking rad!

 

I would add steel toe as a must visit brewery

 

I'd also recommend Wild Mind. Top notch beer, for sure. Even though I've only been there once, Pizza Lola has amazing pizza.

 

Agreed. My favorite breakfast in the Twin Cities. Nice Bloody Mary bar, too.

It's not a "craft beer" destination, but it's a place I always look forward to when visiting that area.

 

I agree on skipping Hell's Kitchen and agree with the other poster's assessment of that place. I definitely wouldn't extend it to Psycho Suzi's though.

That said, I've only eaten breakfast there.

 

For cocktails, I'd add the speakeasies Volstead's Emporium and Marvel Bar.

For breweries, you should also check out Sisyphus (especially if you can get there for a comedy show).

I second Pizzeria Lola and also recommend Pig Ate My Pizza for excellent pizza places with a good beer selection.

 

Red Wagon pizza is also solid for pizza and beer.

 

I second the motion for a stop at Happy Gnome. Great food and 70+ beers on tap.

Pizzeria Lola is really good too, but the clientele can be very self absorbed and stuffy. I had a very interesting experience the last time I was there, to say the least.