The new year is a time for reflection on the past year and for forward thinking about the future. 2013 was a good year for me overall. As a beer geek, many of the things I did were beer related, and most were chronicled here in the JABlog. For those who missed out, read my old entries to catch up!
Brewing: I didn't brew nearly as much beer this past year as I would have liked. Usually I brew a ton of big beers in the fall to keep me busy over the winter months, but that just didn't happen before this deadly cold streak we have been having here in Minnesota. It is now difficult for me to bundle up to brew in my garage when the outside temps are hitting negative 8 degrees F. Call me a wimp. I hope to brew a lot more for the coming year and to keep all 6 of my tap lines rotating frequently. I did get to take part in the Jack Of All Brews club yeast experiment and our first barrel aging project resulting in a fantastic and award winning JAB de Garde.
Fame: My brushes with fame this year include being featured in a few more fun episodes of Limited Release. Probably their top viewed episode was on their trip to Russian River Brewery for the Pliny the Younger release and their subsequent punking by handing me doctored Mickey's malt liquor and watching me squirm on camera. JABlog and Jack Of All Brews were nominated for The Growler's Kind Of A Big Deal Awards this year--alas neither placed in the finals!
Travel: This was a year of many short trips, mainly for a slew of weddings. Amongst the nuptials I was able to fit in fun brewery visits in Tennessee, Kansas City, Portland and Bend. In Bend, we visited 10 different breweries in 2 days! I also had quick visits to Alabama, Illinois (Champaign and Chicago), and Duluth (for All Pints North). For 2014, I look forward to a big trip to Belgium next May, another Duluth trip, and hopefully NHC in Michigan if I can get in.
Breweries: The Minnesota craft beer scene continues to blossom with new local breweries and better access to national brands that we have been denied previously. I was fortunate this year to be able to break the news of two new breweries in this very Blog: Enki and the Roets Jordan Brewery! Enki is now up and running, putting out very solid beers in the close-by town of Victoria. Tim Roets is currently working with the folks from Minnesota Harvest Orchard to open a hard cider and apple wine store, as well as working on renovations for the old Jordan Brewery. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does in the coming year. Bent Paddle from Duluth has opened and is putting out fantastic beers (that we can now get here in the cities.) The folks on the West Coast (Green Flash, Ballast Point) have finally noticed us here in the Great White North...now where is that Russian River beer? I'm excited to try all the up and coming local breweries in 2014--please don't disappoint me Minnesota!
I think I'll now do a couple of my personal Top 10 lists for 2013.
Top 10 Breweries I've Visited in 2013 (Based on beers, service, and vibe)
1) Steel Toe: The new tap room is too dark and too small, but always full and serving up Steel Toe's amazing line up of beers. A high point this year was getting to taste barrel aged Wee Heavy, Lunker, and Dissent all at once.
2) Deschutes: This place was massive and I had a great time at the brewery and its sister brewpub in Bend Oregon.
3) Bent Paddle: A shining beacon of well-balanced but interesting beer in Duluth. I'm glad that Bryon, Colin and Peter are doing so well right out of the chute. Now please can the Cold Press for us!
4) Boulevard: An epic trip to Boulevard Brewery while in Kansas City, Missouri was a high point of that trip. I've got my fingers crossed that things will only prosper under the new ownership of Duvel.
5) Town Hall: Always a favorite, Hoops and the TH gang continue to put out some of the best beers in the State of Minnesota. I'm looking forward to seeing the place once their renovation is done.
6) Enki Brewing: New and small, this is my local brewery. Located in an old 1900 creamery building, it is a fun place to stop in for a pint. Many of my friends volunteer here and every time I visit, I find someone to talk to. I also was able to have my 40th birthday bash at the brewery. I wish these guys more good luck for the coming year!
7) Dangerous Man: I love the look of the place and the beers are stellar. My only complaint is how crowded this place is. Waiting in a line for 25 minutes to get served a beer is extreme. They have rapidly outgrown their demand.
8) Revolution: One of the coolest newer breweries in Chicago, these guys have a Surly-esqe vibe and a huge selection of amazing beers.
9) Avondale Brewing: A hidden treasure of amazing beers located in Birmingham, Alabama. Proof that this craft beer thing is spreading even to less conventional areas.
10) Pfreim: A small new brewpub in Hood River, Oregon that knocked my socks off with traditional style brews and amazing food.
I went to a lot of good (and some not so good) breweries in the past year, but these stood out for me. I still haven't been to the new Surly tap room, so that explains the suspicious absence from my list. Honorable mention would go to Northbound Smokehouse, for the excellent sandwiches. Oh and Cascade Barrel House was amazing too.
Top 10 Beers (that I can remember)
1) Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue--Keith Brady brought a growler of this to our last JAB meeting and it jumped to the top of my list.
2) Surly Abrasive--a yearly favorite of mine with such a tropical fruit flavor!
3) The Bruery Chocolate Rain--Crazy good and crazy sweet.
4) Cigar City Jai Alai--Just tried this on tap in Florida, finding a new favorite IPA that I can't actually buy and drink where I live.
5) Goose Island Bourbon County Stout--Always amazing.
6) Sam Adams Utopias--Tried this just a few minutes before 2014. I have a wonderful wife.
7) Surly Darkness--Yup always makes my list.
8) Heady Topper--Brought back just days off the canning line by Jason. Thanks man!
9) Russian River Pliny the Younger (for reals)--It was better than a Mickey's
10) Enki Citric Journey--A great regular pint. Hoppy but malty, a good mix between English and American pale ales.
Yup lots of hoppy ones in this year. This is a tough list to make since I had so many great beers this year...a bunch of Cascade sour beers just missed making this list.
For 2014 I'm looking forward to a lot more beer related fun. The way things are going, it will be hard to keep up but I'll do my best. I will continue to chase the beers, the places and the experiences that really make me want to write. Thanks for reading and offering me a venue to discuss the beer scene. I'd love to hear more about what you, the reader think! What are your hopes for 2014? Are there any great breweries or beers that I should have put on my list? What do you want more of in the blog? Interviews, homebrewing, beer reviews, brewery reviews, random musings, food, competitions?
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Friday, July 26, 2013
Duluth Beer Scene: All Pints North 2013
This year Sj and I managed to get the six-pack of tickets from the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild which included two tickets to Winterfest, ABR and All Pints North. Since last year we were forced to buy scalped tickets to Winterfest at the last minute, we wanted to make sure we were prepared this year, and were willing pay the price. The bonus tickets to All Pints North just gave us the excuse we needed to schedule our first summer trip to Duluth!
Last year was the inaugural festival and apparently they had low attendance. Being the first year I think people didn't know what to expect and were less likely to take a trip all the way up to Duluth and take the risk. It may also have been scheduled against another big beer event. This year, between better PR, word of mouth from the previous year, and the six-pack tickets, the festival sold out. Many folks from the Twin Cities were in attendance, including my friends Shawn, Randy, Andrea, and many more. The whole weekend most of the breweries and pubs we visited were especially busy with the hoard of city-folk in town for the festival. Very smart move for a tourist destination! The night prior to the festival Surly did a tap take-over at 7 West (a local beer bar with lots of taps) and we caught wind of it before most of the other invaders. We were able to get samplers of Surly Seviin, Syx, Darkness 2012, Smoke 2012, and Hell before the festival had even begun!
The festival was held at the large Bayfront Festival Park, walkable from the Fitgers Hotel we were staying at. Though I admit we had the free shuttle service drop us off. The weather was hot and muggy, with a deeply overcast and ominous sky above us. Despite the threat of rain we only received a few cooling sprinkles during the festival itself. A cluster of festival goers were already in line when we arrived, many preparing pretzel, cheese, and beef-stick necklaces for wearable sustenance during the fest. In line we happily ran into Thad and Elise, folks we have met at other fests and at Happy Gnome beer dinners. It was nice getting to hang out with some people we knew already. Some other people I know were in town for this and we never actually ran into them during the festival! At the sound of the bagpipes (traditional for starting Minnesota beer events) we all calmly moved forward to receive our booklets and taster glass and get into the festival grounds.
There were four big tents with all the breweries situated underneath. A large bandstand hosted some mediocre music once the festival got going. There were smaller booths hosting MNBeer.com, Northern Brewer and some more sponsors. A special tent had educational programming throughout the fest: like a Better Beer Society blind sensory tasting; a talk by beer historian Doug Hoverson; and Michael Agnew of A Perfect Pint. One big gripe I have about this and most beer fests we have been to in Minnesota is the lack of dump buckets and rinse stations. There was only one trough with running water for the entire festival to use. I like these events so I can taste as many new beers as possible, and don't want to get hammered by drinking the whole 2 oz pour from each brewery--I like to taste, dump the rest and move on. Being outside, we could dump on the ground, but the area soon ended up muddy and sloppy. More buckets people!
On to the beers! I'm not going to lie, we tasted a lot of beers that day and I stopped keeping track about an hour into it. As a result my memory may be vague on some details, but I'll post some high and low lights of the beers we tried. Since I had tried other local beers in the previous days I will talk more about those beers in my other blog posts. Hence the absence of Bent Paddle on this list...
1) Because we had tried most of the Surly beers the previous night, the only one I had to try was their collaboration with Three Floyds called Urine Trouble. "For that cat peed on the Christmas tree aroma." Yup, as an owner of three cats, I think this is well named. I did not really like the brett mixed with the strong hops though, and am in the minority by not loving this beer.
2) Schell Imperial Grain Belt Premium in cask and dry hopped. I wanted to like this. I really did. But it was nasty and bitter and forced me to go all across the fest to find that one rinse station.
3) Blacklist Beer: A new one in Duluth, featuring Bob McKenzie on the brew staff. All Belgian styles but needing a little refinement I think. The Or De Belgique was very tasty, but a bit under attenuated and sweet for my tastes. The Imperial wit with Kaffir line had a lot of flavor, but maybe too much lime flavor. I will certainly be watching for more from these guys over time.
4) Borealis Fermentery: A tiny brewery from Knife River (just north of Duluth) that also puts out Belgian styles in 750 ML bottles only. The Mon Cherries Belgian dubbel is my favorite from them, very well balanced. The Raisin Liason Saison was more than just a cool name, mixing unusual yeast and fruit flavors.
5) Dangerous Man: Chocolate and Coconut milk stouts were both fantastic, with the coconut being one of top three from the entire festival. These guys are bringing it strong.
6) Fitgers Brewhouse: More on them in my upcoming Fitgers blog post. I had tried many of the beers at the brewery but they still had several new ones to try here. Both Sj and I thought the Gooseberry Gose was one of the best of the festival, only being beat by our favorite from Town Hall--Hoops brothers smack down! Red Wheat and Blue was a pretty tasty concoction as well.
7) Fulton: War and Peace is one of my favorite coffee beers and I was happy to try it again. Maybe twice. They also brought a version of their Libertine Imperial red aged in 2 Gingers Whiskey barrels that is even boozier and tastier than I remember. These two beers have really increased Fulton in my estimation. Keep them coming!
8) Hammerheart: A new brewery opening in Lino Lakes and focused on Celtic and Nordic culture. These guys had a great display featuring a Nordic wooden shield, excellent artwork and tattooed servers. All of the beers were very interesting, featuring oak aging, smoke, habeneros, etc. They had an impressively long line throughout the festival. I tried them all and was intrigued by the ideas, but feel that they maybe should get their base recipe styles a bit more refined before adding all the crazy stuff. I had this issue when I first started homebrewing, wanting to add all sorts of fruit and spices and things to my beers. Watch them though--and they have a cool aesthetic.
9) Jack Pine: Brewmaster Patrick Sundberg has really started making some great beers in his small Baxter, MN brewery over the last year. Disclaimer: I contributed a small amount to his successful Kickstarter campaign, and this was the second time I have been able to try his beers. All the beers he is putting out are incredibly clean and well balanced, perfect for his location and main clientele. The Dead Branch is probably the best cream ale I've had in years, and the Duck Pond is easily better than Newcastle. Check them out but don't expect Uber beers.
10) Pour Decisions: Contining their tradition of making rare and extinct styles of beers to appeal to the beer geek in all of us, we sampled a great Gose (Salinity) and Verity (a tart and refreshing ale aged in a wine barrel.) Always something cool to try here.
11) Rock Bottom: Another day another brewer. Pio has apparently moved on and Larry Skellenger from the Iowa Rock Bottom has taken his place as brewer. His Evergreen Red IPA was a very nice and subtle spruce ale, and a good start to a new career move.
12) Town Hall: Always one of my favorites, these guys continually impress me. The mango IPA was probably the first IPA my wife has ever tasted that caused her to go back for her own sample! And Russian Roulette (Belgian chocolate Imperial stout anyone?) was my favorite beer of the day. They tied for best beer with Bent Paddle for it!
Sj and I actually finished a bit before the fest was over, cutting ourselves off long before we got sloppy. Restraint is good. We headed over to Tycoons, the new upscale restaurant by the folks who own Fitgers Brewhouse. They had some good Fitgers beers on tap, a few that were only at the restaurant, and very good food. The smoked fish appetizer platter was a huge hit at our table and we ended up splitting two. The place is very large and takes up much of the historic city hall building. There is a large upstairs the was taken up by a post-beer-festival party for the brewers when we were there. They have a small downstairs bar (located in the old jail area) that is worth just checking out if you can: exposed brick, dark corners, and a creepy/cool speakeasy feel.
Overall, All Pints North was an amazing festival in a cool outdoor venue. I would love to come back to it again in a year or two. Other than not enough BIFs and dump/rinse stations I think this was one of the best festivals I've been to.
Last year was the inaugural festival and apparently they had low attendance. Being the first year I think people didn't know what to expect and were less likely to take a trip all the way up to Duluth and take the risk. It may also have been scheduled against another big beer event. This year, between better PR, word of mouth from the previous year, and the six-pack tickets, the festival sold out. Many folks from the Twin Cities were in attendance, including my friends Shawn, Randy, Andrea, and many more. The whole weekend most of the breweries and pubs we visited were especially busy with the hoard of city-folk in town for the festival. Very smart move for a tourist destination! The night prior to the festival Surly did a tap take-over at 7 West (a local beer bar with lots of taps) and we caught wind of it before most of the other invaders. We were able to get samplers of Surly Seviin, Syx, Darkness 2012, Smoke 2012, and Hell before the festival had even begun!
The festival was held at the large Bayfront Festival Park, walkable from the Fitgers Hotel we were staying at. Though I admit we had the free shuttle service drop us off. The weather was hot and muggy, with a deeply overcast and ominous sky above us. Despite the threat of rain we only received a few cooling sprinkles during the festival itself. A cluster of festival goers were already in line when we arrived, many preparing pretzel, cheese, and beef-stick necklaces for wearable sustenance during the fest. In line we happily ran into Thad and Elise, folks we have met at other fests and at Happy Gnome beer dinners. It was nice getting to hang out with some people we knew already. Some other people I know were in town for this and we never actually ran into them during the festival! At the sound of the bagpipes (traditional for starting Minnesota beer events) we all calmly moved forward to receive our booklets and taster glass and get into the festival grounds.
There were four big tents with all the breweries situated underneath. A large bandstand hosted some mediocre music once the festival got going. There were smaller booths hosting MNBeer.com, Northern Brewer and some more sponsors. A special tent had educational programming throughout the fest: like a Better Beer Society blind sensory tasting; a talk by beer historian Doug Hoverson; and Michael Agnew of A Perfect Pint. One big gripe I have about this and most beer fests we have been to in Minnesota is the lack of dump buckets and rinse stations. There was only one trough with running water for the entire festival to use. I like these events so I can taste as many new beers as possible, and don't want to get hammered by drinking the whole 2 oz pour from each brewery--I like to taste, dump the rest and move on. Being outside, we could dump on the ground, but the area soon ended up muddy and sloppy. More buckets people!
On to the beers! I'm not going to lie, we tasted a lot of beers that day and I stopped keeping track about an hour into it. As a result my memory may be vague on some details, but I'll post some high and low lights of the beers we tried. Since I had tried other local beers in the previous days I will talk more about those beers in my other blog posts. Hence the absence of Bent Paddle on this list...
1) Because we had tried most of the Surly beers the previous night, the only one I had to try was their collaboration with Three Floyds called Urine Trouble. "For that cat peed on the Christmas tree aroma." Yup, as an owner of three cats, I think this is well named. I did not really like the brett mixed with the strong hops though, and am in the minority by not loving this beer.
2) Schell Imperial Grain Belt Premium in cask and dry hopped. I wanted to like this. I really did. But it was nasty and bitter and forced me to go all across the fest to find that one rinse station.
3) Blacklist Beer: A new one in Duluth, featuring Bob McKenzie on the brew staff. All Belgian styles but needing a little refinement I think. The Or De Belgique was very tasty, but a bit under attenuated and sweet for my tastes. The Imperial wit with Kaffir line had a lot of flavor, but maybe too much lime flavor. I will certainly be watching for more from these guys over time.
4) Borealis Fermentery: A tiny brewery from Knife River (just north of Duluth) that also puts out Belgian styles in 750 ML bottles only. The Mon Cherries Belgian dubbel is my favorite from them, very well balanced. The Raisin Liason Saison was more than just a cool name, mixing unusual yeast and fruit flavors.
5) Dangerous Man: Chocolate and Coconut milk stouts were both fantastic, with the coconut being one of top three from the entire festival. These guys are bringing it strong.
6) Fitgers Brewhouse: More on them in my upcoming Fitgers blog post. I had tried many of the beers at the brewery but they still had several new ones to try here. Both Sj and I thought the Gooseberry Gose was one of the best of the festival, only being beat by our favorite from Town Hall--Hoops brothers smack down! Red Wheat and Blue was a pretty tasty concoction as well.
7) Fulton: War and Peace is one of my favorite coffee beers and I was happy to try it again. Maybe twice. They also brought a version of their Libertine Imperial red aged in 2 Gingers Whiskey barrels that is even boozier and tastier than I remember. These two beers have really increased Fulton in my estimation. Keep them coming!
8) Hammerheart: A new brewery opening in Lino Lakes and focused on Celtic and Nordic culture. These guys had a great display featuring a Nordic wooden shield, excellent artwork and tattooed servers. All of the beers were very interesting, featuring oak aging, smoke, habeneros, etc. They had an impressively long line throughout the festival. I tried them all and was intrigued by the ideas, but feel that they maybe should get their base recipe styles a bit more refined before adding all the crazy stuff. I had this issue when I first started homebrewing, wanting to add all sorts of fruit and spices and things to my beers. Watch them though--and they have a cool aesthetic.
 |
| Celt-Punk Hammerheart! |
9) Jack Pine: Brewmaster Patrick Sundberg has really started making some great beers in his small Baxter, MN brewery over the last year. Disclaimer: I contributed a small amount to his successful Kickstarter campaign, and this was the second time I have been able to try his beers. All the beers he is putting out are incredibly clean and well balanced, perfect for his location and main clientele. The Dead Branch is probably the best cream ale I've had in years, and the Duck Pond is easily better than Newcastle. Check them out but don't expect Uber beers.
10) Pour Decisions: Contining their tradition of making rare and extinct styles of beers to appeal to the beer geek in all of us, we sampled a great Gose (Salinity) and Verity (a tart and refreshing ale aged in a wine barrel.) Always something cool to try here.
11) Rock Bottom: Another day another brewer. Pio has apparently moved on and Larry Skellenger from the Iowa Rock Bottom has taken his place as brewer. His Evergreen Red IPA was a very nice and subtle spruce ale, and a good start to a new career move.
12) Town Hall: Always one of my favorites, these guys continually impress me. The mango IPA was probably the first IPA my wife has ever tasted that caused her to go back for her own sample! And Russian Roulette (Belgian chocolate Imperial stout anyone?) was my favorite beer of the day. They tied for best beer with Bent Paddle for it!
Sj and I actually finished a bit before the fest was over, cutting ourselves off long before we got sloppy. Restraint is good. We headed over to Tycoons, the new upscale restaurant by the folks who own Fitgers Brewhouse. They had some good Fitgers beers on tap, a few that were only at the restaurant, and very good food. The smoked fish appetizer platter was a huge hit at our table and we ended up splitting two. The place is very large and takes up much of the historic city hall building. There is a large upstairs the was taken up by a post-beer-festival party for the brewers when we were there. They have a small downstairs bar (located in the old jail area) that is worth just checking out if you can: exposed brick, dark corners, and a creepy/cool speakeasy feel.
Overall, All Pints North was an amazing festival in a cool outdoor venue. I would love to come back to it again in a year or two. Other than not enough BIFs and dump/rinse stations I think this was one of the best festivals I've been to.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Winterfest 2013
Winterfest is one of my favorite beer festivals, taking place appropriately in the dead of icy winter in Minnesota. The idea behind this festival is to have a smaller venue and crowd to keep it a bit more intimate. It is put on by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild and showcases only Minnesota breweries and brewpubs. This was my fourth year at the festival and it has changed a lot in the last few years. The first year I went was also the first time they used the Minnesota History Center in Saint Paul for a venue. The organization and placement at that time was a little suspect, but we had a great time. The amount of breweries this year compared to that first time about 5 years ago has about tripled...and the space hasn't increased in the venue at all! The tickets sell out in seconds when they go on sale, and with the increased popularity of craft beer locally this has sparked some anger at Winterfest from those who can't get in. Last year Sj and I had to get scalped tickets, but this year invested in the six-pack of Winterfest, All Pints North, and ABR tickets.
This year Sj and I took off work a bit early so we could beat the rush hour traffic and make the one hour drive to Saint Paul without issues. Ha! A blustery wind and 5 degree temperature was not enough--it had to start snowing as well. Welcome to Winterfest! Passing multiple spin-outs and multi-car pile-ups we inched our way from Waconia to Saint Paul. About two hours later we landed at our hotel, with just enough time to drop our bag in the room and snag a cab to the nearby History Center. Our cab driver was very nice but managed to get lost and the subsequent white-knuckle death-ride through the ice and slush was a bit harrowing. Brown trousers time folks. After throwing some cash at our driver and kissing the frozen ground we headed for a large tent that was plastered with Cargill signs. This was a different set up from previous years, where the line was inside the entry to the building. It turns out that the entry space was taken up by new brewery pouring stations, so they had us wait outside. Did I mention the 5 degree weather? At least we were out of the wind and snow. Earlier this week I had somehow injured my left foot and have been hobbling around with crutches for the last two days. Standing in this line, and losing sensation in my feet for 45 minutes was not a great idea.
As the tent filled up they shoved the head of the line into a small area of the building foyer, and kept cramming us in like sardines to try to get the poor back of the line people from suffering hypothermia outside. Luckily we were near the front and got inside for the first wave. I'm glad I do not have a fear of crowds. Soon the bagpipers arrived--the traditional start to MN beer festivals. At the sound of the pipes we were off! Gather up your glass, check for cracks, and plunge headlong into the fray--there is beer to be sampled! Speaking of glasses--this year's were very nice 8-10 oz stemware with the MCBG and Republic logos etched into them. The larger glasses were a bit dangerous, as we kept getting pours that were filling at least half the glass...too much for some of these wickedly strong beers! It hurts me to have to dump a great beer, but it hurts less than seeing that beer again the following morning.
The event is spread in the halls of all three levels of the History Center, a very cool backdrop. I loved the signs up in the restrooms reminding people to wash hands and cover coughs with old turn of the century pictures of flu epidemics on them. With my bum foot I staggered about before I'd had a drop to drink...not a good start. Often Sj had to go rinse my glass for me or get refills while I propped up my weary carcass against a wall or railing somewhere. We began with Town Hall Brewery and had one of the best beers I've had from them: the Manhattan--Belgian Grand Cru aged in bourbon barrels with cherries. Yum! They also had a carving station for sandwiches because you WILL need food during this event.
It is difficult to put the experience into words, but I'll do my best. The place is crowded, but with limited tickets sold, it isn't uncomfortably close. There were 38 breweries here to try, each offering between two to eight beers. A lot of the beers at Winterfest are big winter beers like bourbon barrel barleywines and Imperial stouts, with the occasional IPA or session beer thrown in for good measure. Most of the stands had the brewers serving their beers so we were able to ask questions of them directly. That is one of my favorite aspects of this festival as opposed to the larger ones with more volunteer pourers. The pouring stations/jockey-boxes for the breweries are very cool to look at as well: Indeed's rustic wood bar and Excelsior's impressive dock were my favorites. I was blown away by the number of new or recent breweries and many were showing off some really good beers. Several were just debuting their beers here, and I'm excited to seek them out when they open for business.
Stand outs of the new breweries were 612's Winter IPA, Dangerous Man Coffee Porter, Pour Decisions Blackberry Acerbity Berliner Weisse. The collaboration beer between Indeed and Northbound Smokehouse was very good but bordering on too smoky--Sj described it as a "campfire in the mouth." An accurate description, but I liked it anyway.
The second wave breweries brought it strong as well, showing some maturity and improved craft from previous festivals. Fulton had a wonderful passion fruit/mango bomb double IPA and a version of Libertine aged on local 2 Gingers Whiskey barrels. Excelsior's Mr. Jimmy's Baltic Porter was quite tasty and appropriate to this cold evening. My favorite beer of the night was Steel Toe Brewing's Dawn Juan--a one year old black barleywine infused with coffee. Hands down the best coffee beer I've ever had, with sweet toffee, firm bitterness and so much complexity. That was the only beer we tried to get seconds on, but they had already emptied the keg.
There are always old standbys that we know to seek out. Those breweries who have been putting out amazing beers for years and form the backbone of the Minnesota craft beer community: Town Hall, Fitgers, Barley John's, Summit and Surly. These guys showed their seasoned brewing chops and brought a lot of fantastic beers. Town Hall brought the Manhattan as well as Czar Jack, and Twisted Trace (barleywine aged in Buffalo Trace barrels.) Fitgers had Evil Rabbit (made with lychee puree and orange rind,) Edmund bourbon Imperial Stout, Mango Trail IPA, and the Spanish Fly (with peppers!) Surly brought all sorts of cool beers and I got to talk to brewers Derek and Todd briefly about them. Surly stand outs were: The new batch of Pentagram; Damien (the Darkness' second-runnings beer); and the aptly named Fiery Hell.
Looking at my list of beers, I didn't even get close to trying a quarter of the available libations. I didn't try any beers that I thought were awful, though there were some I didn't love. The overall quality was great and I can honestly say that Minnesota has come of age as a great beer state. Look out Oregon and Colorado, we are nipping at your heels here!
As with any beer event for me, a lot of what makes it enjoyable is the people. The beer is great, but I consider it more of a social lubricant and a common ground for discussion than an end in itself. Beside my wonderful wife, I got to talk to friends Chris and Hassan, as well as running into Scott and Emily Brink, Chris German, Doug Hoverson (of Land of Amber Waters fame,) and many people I judged beers with at the Upper Mississippi Mash Out last week. I also got to spend a bit time talking with brewers Kristen England, Jason Schoneman, Pio from Rock Bottom, as well as Peter Mack and Mike Hoops.
The end of the fest came too soon, with my last (full) pour being the cedar aged IPA from Fitgers. Parting is such sweet sorrow my, dear friend Winterfest. The end always comes too quickly to these events, but that is probably for the best. Usually finding your way home from the History Center is a trial. In the past (before Sj really got into beer) she would drive, but those times are gone. We would often see very drunk people peeling out of the parking lot, so I'm fine with staying away from that area. Cabs should be lined up for this event, but are usually as hard to find as an honest politician. A few years back Sj just about started a fistfight with someone who tried to snake the cab we had called for. This year, with not a cab in sight and hordes of drunken patrons milling about, we opted for braving the now sub-zero weather and snow and trying to walk the mile to the hotel. Imperial stouts and barleywines help folks to make good decisions. Remember my gimpy foot? I was worried that someone would find our freezer-burned and dessicated bodies hunched over at the side of the road come the Spring melt-off. But lurching like some demented peg-legged pirate, with Sj navigating on her iPhone using her nose to avoid taking off gloves, we successfully hobbled our way back to the hotel.
I hope to make it to next year's iteration of Winterfest...if the stars align and I get tickets.
Next Up on JABlog: Interview with Rock Bottom's new brewer Pio!
This year Sj and I took off work a bit early so we could beat the rush hour traffic and make the one hour drive to Saint Paul without issues. Ha! A blustery wind and 5 degree temperature was not enough--it had to start snowing as well. Welcome to Winterfest! Passing multiple spin-outs and multi-car pile-ups we inched our way from Waconia to Saint Paul. About two hours later we landed at our hotel, with just enough time to drop our bag in the room and snag a cab to the nearby History Center. Our cab driver was very nice but managed to get lost and the subsequent white-knuckle death-ride through the ice and slush was a bit harrowing. Brown trousers time folks. After throwing some cash at our driver and kissing the frozen ground we headed for a large tent that was plastered with Cargill signs. This was a different set up from previous years, where the line was inside the entry to the building. It turns out that the entry space was taken up by new brewery pouring stations, so they had us wait outside. Did I mention the 5 degree weather? At least we were out of the wind and snow. Earlier this week I had somehow injured my left foot and have been hobbling around with crutches for the last two days. Standing in this line, and losing sensation in my feet for 45 minutes was not a great idea.
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| Hardy Nordic Minnesotan Beer Geeks |
The event is spread in the halls of all three levels of the History Center, a very cool backdrop. I loved the signs up in the restrooms reminding people to wash hands and cover coughs with old turn of the century pictures of flu epidemics on them. With my bum foot I staggered about before I'd had a drop to drink...not a good start. Often Sj had to go rinse my glass for me or get refills while I propped up my weary carcass against a wall or railing somewhere. We began with Town Hall Brewery and had one of the best beers I've had from them: the Manhattan--Belgian Grand Cru aged in bourbon barrels with cherries. Yum! They also had a carving station for sandwiches because you WILL need food during this event.
It is difficult to put the experience into words, but I'll do my best. The place is crowded, but with limited tickets sold, it isn't uncomfortably close. There were 38 breweries here to try, each offering between two to eight beers. A lot of the beers at Winterfest are big winter beers like bourbon barrel barleywines and Imperial stouts, with the occasional IPA or session beer thrown in for good measure. Most of the stands had the brewers serving their beers so we were able to ask questions of them directly. That is one of my favorite aspects of this festival as opposed to the larger ones with more volunteer pourers. The pouring stations/jockey-boxes for the breweries are very cool to look at as well: Indeed's rustic wood bar and Excelsior's impressive dock were my favorites. I was blown away by the number of new or recent breweries and many were showing off some really good beers. Several were just debuting their beers here, and I'm excited to seek them out when they open for business.
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| Ben pouring a cask beer from his dock! |
Stand outs of the new breweries were 612's Winter IPA, Dangerous Man Coffee Porter, Pour Decisions Blackberry Acerbity Berliner Weisse. The collaboration beer between Indeed and Northbound Smokehouse was very good but bordering on too smoky--Sj described it as a "campfire in the mouth." An accurate description, but I liked it anyway.
The second wave breweries brought it strong as well, showing some maturity and improved craft from previous festivals. Fulton had a wonderful passion fruit/mango bomb double IPA and a version of Libertine aged on local 2 Gingers Whiskey barrels. Excelsior's Mr. Jimmy's Baltic Porter was quite tasty and appropriate to this cold evening. My favorite beer of the night was Steel Toe Brewing's Dawn Juan--a one year old black barleywine infused with coffee. Hands down the best coffee beer I've ever had, with sweet toffee, firm bitterness and so much complexity. That was the only beer we tried to get seconds on, but they had already emptied the keg.
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| Jason pays the Piper! |
There are always old standbys that we know to seek out. Those breweries who have been putting out amazing beers for years and form the backbone of the Minnesota craft beer community: Town Hall, Fitgers, Barley John's, Summit and Surly. These guys showed their seasoned brewing chops and brought a lot of fantastic beers. Town Hall brought the Manhattan as well as Czar Jack, and Twisted Trace (barleywine aged in Buffalo Trace barrels.) Fitgers had Evil Rabbit (made with lychee puree and orange rind,) Edmund bourbon Imperial Stout, Mango Trail IPA, and the Spanish Fly (with peppers!) Surly brought all sorts of cool beers and I got to talk to brewers Derek and Todd briefly about them. Surly stand outs were: The new batch of Pentagram; Damien (the Darkness' second-runnings beer); and the aptly named Fiery Hell.
Looking at my list of beers, I didn't even get close to trying a quarter of the available libations. I didn't try any beers that I thought were awful, though there were some I didn't love. The overall quality was great and I can honestly say that Minnesota has come of age as a great beer state. Look out Oregon and Colorado, we are nipping at your heels here!
As with any beer event for me, a lot of what makes it enjoyable is the people. The beer is great, but I consider it more of a social lubricant and a common ground for discussion than an end in itself. Beside my wonderful wife, I got to talk to friends Chris and Hassan, as well as running into Scott and Emily Brink, Chris German, Doug Hoverson (of Land of Amber Waters fame,) and many people I judged beers with at the Upper Mississippi Mash Out last week. I also got to spend a bit time talking with brewers Kristen England, Jason Schoneman, Pio from Rock Bottom, as well as Peter Mack and Mike Hoops.
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| Sj is the victim of a vicious drive-by gnoming |
The end of the fest came too soon, with my last (full) pour being the cedar aged IPA from Fitgers. Parting is such sweet sorrow my, dear friend Winterfest. The end always comes too quickly to these events, but that is probably for the best. Usually finding your way home from the History Center is a trial. In the past (before Sj really got into beer) she would drive, but those times are gone. We would often see very drunk people peeling out of the parking lot, so I'm fine with staying away from that area. Cabs should be lined up for this event, but are usually as hard to find as an honest politician. A few years back Sj just about started a fistfight with someone who tried to snake the cab we had called for. This year, with not a cab in sight and hordes of drunken patrons milling about, we opted for braving the now sub-zero weather and snow and trying to walk the mile to the hotel. Imperial stouts and barleywines help folks to make good decisions. Remember my gimpy foot? I was worried that someone would find our freezer-burned and dessicated bodies hunched over at the side of the road come the Spring melt-off. But lurching like some demented peg-legged pirate, with Sj navigating on her iPhone using her nose to avoid taking off gloves, we successfully hobbled our way back to the hotel.
I hope to make it to next year's iteration of Winterfest...if the stars align and I get tickets.
Next Up on JABlog: Interview with Rock Bottom's new brewer Pio!
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