MN Wedding Beer

I did Stone Go To. I wanted something with lots of flavor but low ABV. Other options were All Day IPA and I'd throw Pinner in there now. We had a group that I thought would gravitate more towards the Miller Lite and Coors Lite but they absolutely drained the Go To kegs in record time.

 

1. A light lager (Schell's Pils) for your BMC crowd;
2. A pale ale (Summit ESB) for those willing, and to be good as well for the craft drinkers.

Both local, both good, both will be enjoyed by your guests.

 

I'm getting married next fall and we're going to go the two options route. Kegs of whatever is cheapest for the light beer drinkers (my mom is a Bud Light drinker and she's paying for the beer so I assume Bud Light will be on tap, if any of you fine folks want to swing by for a pint) and then a small keg or two of whatever I can get from our caterer. This year they have Hop Dish and I'd love to have that, so I hope that stays on the menu.

 

We did something similar for our wedding. We had BMC stuff available in cans/bottles for folks that prefer that. Really, quite a lot of it was consumed. We also had a couple summit offerings (EPA, Saga) and I think another easy-drinking IPA (Sierra nevada, perhaps?). Then a small keg of an APA. Even the BMC drinkers drank a lot of the craft beer. Just have some options if you can. Folks will be happy with it, regardless. Particularly with a pig roast for dinner!

 

I struggled with this question as well. I ended up with three 5 gallon kegs of homebrew at my wedding and it was a huge hit. Two of the three kegs kicked within an hour (before dinner) and the third kicked shortly after. I had these styles; Kiwi Pale Ale (NZ hops), Cascade Citra IIPA, and a Double Chocolate Milk Stout. Another huge hit was a case of cellar beers at the bar w/short pours.

My backup keg was Summit EPA. If I had to change anything, i would have replaced the summit with something cheap and agreeable for folks who like stuff like miller lite, coors, etc...

If you need something to hold the kegs, i built a trashcan/tap tower that I'd love to see someone get some use out of. Message me if you are interested in it.

 

For my wedding back in November I ambitiously brewed four different five gallon homebrew batches. I did an all citra IPA, cream ale (for the BMC folks), a coffee stout and a hibiscus saison. The IPA blew early in the night. There was a little bit of coffee stout left at the end of the night and slightly more of the other two. If it's free, people will drink it, no matter what it is!

 

Not Minnesota, but I went to a wedding a few years ago that had a number of New Glarus offerings on tap. They brought in a mobile bar with 4-5 choices, including spotted cow, 2 women, and moon man. It was awesome, and had something to offer for all tastes pretty much.

EDIT: To clarify, this wedding was indeed IN Minnesota.

 

I did Surly Furious, Lift Bridge Chestnut Hill and....Mich Golden Light (not by choice).

 

If we had a different reception venue (as in, not at a restaurant), we'd have gone with Farm Girl. But it's one of our favorite beers and is also overall accessible to the non craft crowd (or it should be).

 

I second this choice of beer.

 

Fyi, some Surly kegs will start hitting the retail market very soon. Hell, Mild, Cynic, Bender and Coffee to start out. Furious to follow later.

 

That's pretty cool, but seems odd you can purchase a keg of mild when they don't even put it in cans.

 

Haven't you heard? Cans are a crap shoot when it comes to carbonation.

Surly retail kegs is a great update though, let me know when Cacao Bender kegs hit the shelves!

 

Went to two weddings this year that had Fulton Sweet Child of Vine, and it was the first keg to kick at both of them.

 

There is something either terribly wrong or darkly humorous about supplying a beer named "Hell" at your own wedding...

 

Went to a wedding this summer with a keg of Bells Two Hearted. It was gone in an hour.

 

Summit EPA. In my opinion it's the best local gateway beer that both crowds will enjoy. We get kegs of it every Memorial Day weekend and it pleases craft beer and BMC drinkers.