Ranking MN Breweries (2017 Update #1)

Some friends and many coworkers tell me they "LOVE" 612, but I have never had the energy or drive to try their beer or visit their taproom since my bad experiences about 1-2 years ago (I can't remember the timing).

Regardless, I'm curious if anyone has been there lately to provide an assessment beyond, per a colleague, "I dunno I just liked it"

 

I don't know how accurate the information was, but I had a conversation with someone who frequents NE and they said 612 isn't seeing the crowds they had previously seen, while other spots in the area are consistently full. I don't go out in NE much these days, and personally I don't care to find out if those statements where true. I've never been a fan of 612.

 

I always enjoy these.

My thoughts are that Inbound wishes they could make beer half as good as Bauhaus does. Maybe I should check them out again.

Also, I think we all kinda take Fulton for granted. Of the old-ish guard they were never as sexy as some of the others but they've never brewed bad or flawed beer.

Since they owe much of their success to Target Field I'll use a baseball simile. They're kinda like the slick fielding singles hitter that no one ever appreciated until one day they started hitting a bunch of dingers.

 

I felt they had inconsistency issues in the early days. I remember Sweet Child of Vine ranging from solid to terrible, sadly in the lower side of that scale more often than not. I had heard that was due to them using a contract brewer for the core beers and did hear that people thought it got when they brought it back in house.

I have not revisited Sweet Child of Vine in a long time, but 300 is and when you can get it on the fresher side, still is a great beer.

300 makes me wish Lift Bridge could/would bring back and make Batch 800 at least a seasonal. That was a super good beer.

 

@ZAP I assume you haven't tried Wild Mind yet but I would like to see your impressions of them. off topic I had Fulton's Culture Project from a friend. Smells great but missed the mark on taste a little thin. Not worth 20 he paid for it. The bottle label fooled me, I thought it was an offering by "Off Color Brewery"

 

Alway fun. I was less impressed with Inboind when I was there. Just too many beers. Was at 10k last week and was rather impressed. I think I had low expectations. The pale ale was a miss but the maple black was solid if you like that kind of stuff. Seemed well made.

 

Anyone else been to Wicked Wort recently? I thought they had some inconsistencies when they opened but some of the newer stuff they've been putting out has been really good.

 

I'll second this opinion. I went for my first time last weekend and only to kill some time before hitting up Pig Ate My Pizza across the street. Can't say I had a bad pour between my flight and my cousin's. I was really impressed with the Ol Bessie Double Chocolate Milk Stout and the Tsar Bomba. The taproom itself is also cool looking and lit very well, just the right mix of being able to see everything but also keeping the dark pub-like ambiance.

My only complaint (and it's really more of an observation) was the big open space in the middle to look down to the basement and see all the brewing equipment. I'm sure that sounded good when planning the place out but it really divides up the taproom. It almost feels like two separate places sharing an atrium, especially having two different bar serving stations, one for each side.

Other than that, any place that's serving good solid beer choices and is the only place to get Pig Ate My Pizza "delivered" without having to wait over an hour for a table will steer me to recommending it to anyone that will listen.

 

Day Block has impressed me as above average the last 6 month or so, have had some nice crowlers of Citra PA, Mosaic PA and Kill me Kare Bare peach PA, all have been tasty plus the in-house food is very good.

 

Agreed, I feel since the beginning they have had some really nice one-offs and the pizza is delicious. There are a few times they don't have anything too exciting, but I don't recall ever being served a bad or flawed beer.

 

I agree as well- went last week and was definitely pleased with everything I had including a white IPA, imperial Baltic porter and an excellent chocolate stout. Big improvement since I was there shortly after opening. The place does seem divided by the basement brewery but I really like being able to look down on things- pretty unusual!

 

I'm surprised that you rated Beaver Island so high, @ZAP. It's the closest to me, but I think the other area places produce better beer. That being said - their Rev 2 was good, so maybe their core beers have gotten better.

 

Second what @gatornation said about Dayblock, they've been churning out some solid beers, they put out a stout awhile ago for an anniversary that was very very good.

Additionally, curious when the last time you were at insight was @ZAP ? That brewery has jumped up into my personal top 5 within the last year, I think they are making some phenomenal brews.

 

Interesting notes on Day Block. I was only there once, soon after they opened, & while the food was very good, the beer veered between mediocre to poor.

One more data point for breweries not to open until they're truly ready. It's really tough for me to give them another shot after one bad experience with Town Hall right down the block!

 

ZAP, you never been to Carmody? You have to almost every place north, so I am surprised you have not visited this place. I would rate the beer average but it is worth checking out just for the characters hanging out there.

Edit: Have you always rated LTD that high or has something changed your opinion?