Visiting Minneapolis

This exactly. 612 makes awful beers. I don't want to see any brewery fail, but I do want every brewery to brew good beer. I sincerely hope that 612 gets their act together, because they are currently doing a great disservice to the local beer scene.

 

Thanks for the tips.

I didn't realize how much of our weekend was already spoken for with wedding "events" but hopefully we can squeeze in a place or two. Is Casanova in Wisconsin worth the drive early Sunday?

 

If you like (or would like to try) New Glarus or Toppling Goliath, absolutely.

 

If you're going to the Nova on Sunday, you should go a little further east to Dave's Brewfarm. It's totally and completely worth it.

Sorry @BeerBoy, had to beat you to it!

 

It is, but be advised that it's a good 45-50 minute drive one way from Eden Prairie to Hudson.

 

I'm going to jump on this thread too to ask for recommendations, as I will be staying at the Millenium Hotel Minneapolis from August 18-22. It doesn't seem like I'll be walking distance to any breweries, so I'm hoping for some bar recommendations.

I intend to hit Town Hall and will most likely try to cab it to a few other breweries. Surly was high on my list, but it seems that would be an expensive cab ride there and back. Any other suggestions?

Also, anybody interested in an IP trade? I have access to Marble, La Cumbre, Santa Fe Brewing, Duel, etc.

 

I would recommend hitting the NE Minneapolis breweries. Dangerous Man. Indeed, Bauhaus, and Sociable Ciderwerks are all in close proximity. Most aren't open early in the week, so Friday would be your best day. Also, close to downtown are Fulton, Sisyphus, and Boom Island.

 

If your hotel room has a fridge, take a cab ride to Zipp's Liquors. It's near campus and has the biggest "mix-a-six" selection in the area.

 

Actually, Dangerous Man is open Tue - Sat, Indeed and Bauhaus are Wed - Sat and Sociable is Thu - Sat with them opening from 3 or 4 on the weekdays.

 

Every time I see them included among a top ranking of local breweries, I have to pause and wonder how seriously we should take that writer.

 

Indiana? Bring Zombie Dust and many on this site will trade.

 

I don't hit downtown area too often, but Mackenzie and Butcher and the Boar both have good taplists and should be less than an 10 minute walk from where you are staying. Highly recommend B&B for a meal as well, even if it's only sausages on the patio.

 

Butcher and Boar is amazing.

 

As for bars in that area, I'd rank it:
1) Butcher & Boar
2) Devil's Advocate
3) Mackenzie

With all three having solid to very good beer lists. Butcher & Boar is definitely the best, and has awesome food at a fairly wide range of price points (for the food). Keep in mind that the restaurant and the beer garden in the back have the exact same tap list but different food menus. Mackenzie will tends to have one beer on their list that I like better than anything Devil's Advocate has, but Devil's Advocate tends to have a more solid list top to bottom.

Also, from where you'll be at, buses up to the NE breweries (Boom Island, Dangerous Man, Indeed, Sociable Cider) and the 7 corners area (Town Hall, Republic, Acadia) are all easy to get to (or of course, cabs aren't that expensive either).

 

Thanks for the tips, sir. So I could conceivably bus to the breweries you mentioned? About how long of a bus ride are we talking?

 

There are buses going from near your hotel to all of the NE breweries mentioned above (which are also easy to walk between) as well as 7 Corners. Time is going to be 20-35 minutes, whereas drive time would be 10-20. Up to you whether you consider that 'worth' it. I take the bus between downtown and the breweries all the time since it's often enough that the cab rides would really add up

 

I used a car service (instead of a taxi) when I was out there and the fares weren't that bad. Cheers!