Ranking MN Breweries (July Update)

I just visited Junkyard for the second time this summer and holy cow, they are in my top 5 I think now. They are cranking out some great stuff.

 

No surprise on Schells to me @bergbrew and congrats to them on the Hefe, just on outstanding offering to the style and one i look forward to every year.

 

Waconia and Schram are my locals so I try not to talk them up as it would be biased. But Waconia Brewing has very good beer if I do say so myself. Cans will start hitting stores in August. Carver County Kolsch and 90K IPA to start with 255 Amber and WacTown Wheat a few months further out.

 

REALLY want to try some stuff from Junkyard. I have had them before at some beer fests. But you know, sometimes you don't remember things.

They'll be at APN, and might be the first booth I hit up.

 

I like Waconia. Their Paradise DIPA was very tasty. Didn't find it under attenuated at all.

 

I just attended the Rare Beer Picnic in Moorhead last weekend and Junkyard was head and shoulders above almost everyone else there. Their sours are absolutely stunning, so I hope they bring at least one of those to APN for you guys to try!

 

I just tried my first beer from Barley John's a couple of days ago... the Little Barley Session Ale (canned from my local liquor store).

It was pretty good, I thought. More of a British pub ale style than the typical hop-water-ish American session IPA. In that regard, it was better than most session ales.

 

I've been thoroughly imprested with Forager in Rochester... They are cranking out some solid sours, IPAs, and every variant of Sherpa I've had has been awesome.

 

I stopped in at Union Pizza and Brewery in Fergus Falls last night. I thouroughly enjoyed it. The wood fired pizza was amazing. They had 2 of their beers on tap, and enjoyed both. I had thier Jeff Davis Porter, and thier

Here's my review of the place.

4.15/5 rDev n/a
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5

First time here. They have plenty of seating. They also have a bar. They only have around 3 of their beers on tap at a time, so they do have other beers from Minnesota and North Dakota on tap. The people are friendly. They also bring up and coming brewers in to expand their selection. Their pizza is killer. I am not a sourdough fan, but the pizza crust is awesome. Good place. Good atmosphere. I do recommend a stop here if you're in the area.

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Jeff Davis Porter
4.01/5 rDev n/a
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer pours very dark. Minimal head, and minimal carbonation. The nose is chocolatey. The taste has some boldness. There are chocolate notes to it. It is a bit watery feeling. Not bad over all.

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Major Chatham Wheat
3.72/5 rDev n/a
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours a lighter golden color. Minimal head, but some lacing. The nose has that banana aroma associated with a wheat beer. The taste is really nice. It has that banana taste. There's also a hint of sweetness to it. Not a bad wheat beer.

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If you're in the Fergus Falls area, I'd say it does warrent a stop to enjoy thier brews, and the guest taps.

 

Had the Porter the other day and was very impressed! A very nice in between (Abv) beer.

 

Nice to hear about Disgruntled. I had a chance to try their Stupid Good IPA, their Cherry Berlinner, and a Breakfast Brunch Stout at an event a couple weeks ago and they were all really, really good. The short chat I had with the guys running the place was nice too, they seem like genuinely nice guys. I'm looking forward to hearing what your blind taste test yields!

 

I happen to have just went to the Brainerd area for a golf outing last weekend for the first time.
I totally agree most of the Gull dam beers were Not well made. Several tasted very stressed and underattenuated. We went to jack pine after, and we went to Big Axe where I was loving the Matty's mosaic. Beautifully pale and Dry making it very drinkable with loads of mosaic, at the time I thought it was the best Brainerd area beer I had.

 

The owner was pouring samples at my local store last week. I tried the Wild Brunette brown ale and the 6 Knot IPA.

The brown was really good ... lots of caramel malty goodness... (but the store was sold out of the brown ... brilliant; have the brewer in to pour samples with inadequate inventory... ) (BTW, the "wild" in the name refers to the wild rice used in the recipe; this is NOT a wild ale style; it is a brown ale brewed with MN wild rice.)

The 6 Knot is an English-style IPA, quite good in its own right, but if you're looking for an IPA in the American-style (either coast...), this beer is not that. I bought a 4 pack of the IPA for a more relaxed taste at home. Review in a day or two...

Of their current offerings, that just leaves the porter and the brown (the sample was so good I hope I'm not setting myself up when I finally buy a 4-pack...)

I admit I have a weakness for English-style ales, which seems to be Barley John's focus. I expect I'll be putting Barley John's into my regular purchase list.