Is there anyone in here? Hello? I live in Williston and the beer scene here is bruuuuuutal. Any tips?
Move. But really, I feel bad for you. I think the most telling thing on the ND beer scene is when you compare MN and ND on Seekabrew, the ND only column comes up empty.
Just wanna give this a little bump. The beer scene has increased dramatically. Bell's is available as well as some Southern Tier. If anyone is around Williston and would like to enjoy some beer talk/consumption BM me.
Drive to Bismarck and enjoy some Laughing Sun. Really liked that place on a recent visit. The Walrus was great too.
North Dakota's beer scene has drastically improved in the last 12 months alone. Fargo gets everything quite awhile before the rest of the state, but the amount of new breweries available in ND distribution this past year is awesome. Seems there's a new brewery on the shelves every week or two on the east side of the state. I've also heard rumors of Stone hitting Fargo sometime in the future, which means they'd probably be moving to the rest of the state soon after.
I'm sure they will, can't get into specifics but it appears they are going to be in all 50 states within a few years. I know of 2 Midwest states they are adding this year for sure.
Williston Brewing Co. is supposedly opening this fall, but as far as I know they won't be doing any brewing. Boasting 50 taps I think. Meadowlark Brewing is coming to Sidney, still under construction.
Yeah, this WBC sounds like a taphouse to me. Really hoping someone there knows what's going on as far as craft beer, but I don't have real high expectations. I'll keep my eyes/ears open for Meadowlark. Thanks, @jake65. Are you around here?
Beaver creek in wibaux isn't to far away. Have had their beer handfuls of times. Decent nothing outrageous.
WBC opened this week, sounds like they've been packed. Haven't had a chance to check it out, but I can't imagine them having a taplist much different than Buffalo Wild Wings. And yes, I live in Williston.
I've been through Wibaux a few times, but never managed to do it during business hours. Same thing for Missouri River Breaks up in Wolf Pointe. The one Beaver Creek brew I have had was OK.
North Dakota is torture when you get into craft. Perhaps Fargo-Moorehead is a decent area for selection (haven't taken a trip for beer recently) but Central ND (i.e. Bismarck) drives me nuts. Good news is that it seems to be getting better. It seems like every time I go to the liquor store I find a new brewery. Granted these are microbrews from MN or MT typically, but it is nice to have new beer to try. Give it time and the beer will come, but where are we going to put it? Captain Jacks is already so cluttered...
I had dinner at the WBC last week. Our food was pretty good(sweet chile glazed salmon and mushroom ragout ravioli), service wasn't great, but that's expected with a new restaurant. The taplist was only slightly better than Buffalo Wild Wings, mostly due to the inclusion of Two Hearted and Oberon. They had 2 beers on the list that held the WBC handle, a 1280 ale, which I had and it was average at best, and the other hadn't arrived yet(because they don't actually brew anything there). Some Samuel Smith, Chimay Red, White, and Blue on the bottle list long with Orval; good to see. Although the Orval was priced at $14.50 for a 330ml(I think). Also Lindeman's Framboise and one other. I don't know if they were big or small bottles. The facility is top notch though. Unlike anything in Williston. F-M is a pretty good area for beer. I always stop at Bridgeview Liquors(just off the interstate) in Moorhead and I occasionally stop at one of the Happy Harry's in Fargo. Bridgeview always has Surly which alone makes it worth going. Nice selection of sours(DesJacobins, Rodenbach, etc.). Pretty routine to find some Boulevard Smokestack line along with Dark Horse Brewing and Deschutes. I'm trying to picture their coolers in my head, but its not working too well. The employees there are very cool guys who know their shit. Strike conversation, these guys love talking beer as much as the rest of us. I stopped at Captain Jack's in Bismarck once and, you're right, cluttered. Although I was pleasantly surprised to have found Old Rasputin XV.
