Oliphant Brewing: Not Just for Hobbits Anymore...

Recently my wife (Sarajo) and I took a little day trip to Stillwater, MN.  We stayed at the Rivertown Inn for our first anniversary (14 years ago!!!) and haven't been back to the Stillwater since.  With our 15th anniversary looming we decided to take a little jaunt and stay the night back at the B&B!  And of course there is beer nearby...

"Mr. Frodo, look!  It's an Oliphant, no one at home would believe this."  --Samwise Gamgee

We had heard great things from several friends about Oliphant Brewing, just across the border in Somerset, WI.  With under a 20 minute drive from Stillwater this seemed like a no-brainer.  It was spitting a bit of rain when we arrived, so didn't take my real camera along--hence the below par iPhone photography of this particular post.

Awesome mural by Taylor (server and artist!)

The brewery itself is in a small warehouse right behind the Liquor Depot (convenient?)  and is decorated by a colorful mural on an outside wall.  The outside and inside of the place is painted a somewhat hideous shade of faded smurf-flesh blue.  Some outdoor seating is available out front, and then inside is a small utilitarian taproom.  The place was pretty crowded when we arrived, but we were able to snag two seats at the end of the wood-topped bar.

Mr. F!

The walls are lined with an eclectic array of artwork, ranging from strange child-like scrawlings to more professional work, much of it sci-fi themed.  A large blackboard by the bar hosts a bewildering plethora of oddly named beers, many with corresponding amazing chalk art.  Many of the beer names and artwork nod to geekery with a bit of Arrested Development thrown in for good measure.  This odd mix of comic book, science fiction, and comedy gives this place a bizarre but pleasing comfortable feel.

Our main server (Josh I believe) reminded us quite a bit of Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and was incredibly jovial, funny and helpful.  We were able to taste all of the beers by getting and sharing two samplers.  Apparently there was some sort of Groupon for a beer sampler going on so they were running low of tiny glasses, but we got 'em eventually!

These beers deserve a write up!  I'm going back over my brief notes and 0-5 scores from Untappd as a reference here.  For me a 3 is an average beer that I'd be OK drinking, a 4 is a very good example of the style, and a 5 involves angelic choruses.

1) Pizza Demon: Light English mild ale.  Fruity.  Well...mild.  Pleasant English malt character.  A good start to a sampler!  3.75

2) Anutart:  A solid Berliner kettle sour with red wine grapes.  Nice tannic bite adds complexity.  4

3) PlumBob Chamomillionaire: A lager with plums and chamomile.  I felt like the fruit esters from the plum cut the crisp lager character.  Chamomile not very apparent.  3.5

4) Turtle Lord:  Hefe.  This one was not good.  I get enteric in the aroma (fancy term for poop smell).  Flavor OK initially, with some German Hefe esters, but end is bitter and soapy.  This one is infected with something unpleasant.  2.25

5) EnniPA with TNT hops:  A bit of sulfur in the aroma.  Taste is lager crisp.  Bitter orange rind finish is astringent. 3


6) Wislard - The Lizard Wizard:  Seriously where do they get these names???  I like the Wizlard!  Aroma of white wine and citrus.  Flavor similar to that.  Bitter but pleasant IPA.  4

7) Hunk Boy: A porter.  Roasty with a hint of dark fruit.  Slightly thin on body.  Coffee finish.  3.75

8) Also-Bort: Belgian strong ale.  A bit sulfury.  Good Belgian ester character to the flavor though.  End is nice and dry like they should be.  3.5

9) Gobias Variant Cover Issue #1:  Combining Arrested Development with comics...  This was a Stout with coffee and vanilla.  Aroma bursting with those.  Flavor roasty, dark chocolate, coffee, hint of vanilla on the end.  Balance is great.  4.25

10) Teenage Muten Ninja Roshi: Double IPA.  Well balanced.  Sweet but dry finish.  3.75

11) Mothra Vs. Mothra: A decent hoppy lager.  Not my favorite style, but well done.  3.75

We also took home a crowler (can-growler) of Groot, a non-hopped gruit style ale for later.  This was a very malty and pleasant beer but could have used a bit more bittering as it got sweeter once warmed up a bit.  3.75

I can geek with the best of them...

Overall, the beers were well above average with only one having significant problems.  Out of 12 beers from a tiny (3 barrel) system, that's pretty impressive!  They're really able to brew a lot of experimental batches and seem to take great pleasure in trying new things.  Living close by would be a treat.  In fact we ended up sitting next to a semi-local member of their of version of a mug club, Matt, who extolled the virtues of getting to try all their cool new variants.

This place was a pleasant surprise for us.  I loved the geek imagery, and the fact that these guys don't take themselves too seriously.  The beers were very good and the service was stellar despite the place being very crowded at the time.

Wabasha Brewing: Get Out Of Your Cave And Try It!

On our recent weekend field trip to St. Paul for the two day Winterfest beer festival at the Union Depot, my wife and I stayed downtown and explored the surrounding environs.  Coming from Waconia, we don't get to the St. Paul side of things very often, so this was a great excuse to check out a few of the newer taprooms in the area.  On the Sunday after the second night of Winterfest--we were feeling good--we went for another great breakfast at The Buttered Tin, followed by a trip to Wabasha Brewing Company.  We had tried two of their beers for the first time at the festival and been intrigued.  Our hotel was on Wabasha Avenue, so getting there was pretty simple--even for a directionally challenged guy like myself.

This was a Sunday, and the brewery opened at noon.  We were about the first ones inside and the place stayed pretty quiet while we were there.  The brewery is on the outside edge of town in an older neighborhood that borders between residential and light industrial--near the Wabasha Caves.  The building itself is pretty nondescript with small signs directing one into the parking lot--but hey, there was a parking lot!  A small picnic table patio area takes up a bit of space in the parking lot near the entrance to the brewery taproom, but it was snowing this morning and not looking like a great option!

Stepping into the very small taproom you walk down a small flight of stairs into a sunken area.  For those with mobility issues, they have a small lift (also used for moving kegs in and out of the brewery).  A few high tables and chairs fill the bright yellow painted room, as well as a tiny alcove with a couple of couches.  A twelve foot bar separates the taproom tasting area from the actual brewing space, but you can see all the equipment easily.  The brew system is 15 barrel (small but pretty big for this space) and the fermenters are 7 barrels each.  This is the opposite of most breweries I know of, who brew twice on a smaller system to fill a larger fermenter.  I'd hate to be the brewer for Wabasha since there is very little space between equipment and it looks like some mad contortionist skills might be needed for the job!

A very helpful and outgoing young lady named April was busy flushing taplines and getting everything ready for the day's festivities when we arrived.  She's been with the company since nearly the start of the taproom about a year ago and really seems to like her work.  I had her pour me a sampler of everything so I could get to work tasting and reviewing the beers.

A little background on me before we begin.  I'm a BJCP National ranked judge, homebrewer for over 25 years, and a serious beer geek.  I rate beers on a 1-5 scale with 3 being my default decent drinking beer, 4 being amazing, and 5 being my favorite beer of all time.  Sarajo tastes along with me but doesn't like to grade things with anything other than a smile or a bitter-beer-face.  April was happy to answer questions on the beers as we tasted through them.

1) Son of Eric Cream Ale--If I had a son, this would probably not be my spawn.  I get a nice maltiness up front.  Hint of corn.  Hopping is on the high end for the style, but adds some bitterness and keeps it in balance.  The description on this beer is "Nordic cream ale".  When I asked Sarajo what she figured that might mean, she thought for a second and responded, "It's repressed and won't admit how it really feels?"  Well done wife, well done!  3.75

2) West Side Popper--This takes the base beer of the previously mentioned cream ale and adds jalapenos that they smoke right outside the brewery.  Don't they know that the Nordic folk think that black pepper is too spicy?  Are they Mad??  I get a smoky, charred corn, green pepper aroma up front.  The flavor is pretty much the same.  Nice balance of malt, hops and spice dries this one out a bit.  Spicy but not overly so.  Solid beer.  4

3) Red Bonnet Amber--I'm not usually a fan of ambers, but this one is pretty good.  Not a ton of aroma to it--just a mild generic hop.  Flavor has light caramel notes, but not sweet.  Crisp more like a Vienna lager than an American amber.  Mild cherry notes.  Hint of smoke?  Asking about the cherry flavor April told me that they do add 13# of cherries to the batch--a small amount, but enough to explain it!  4

4) Snowblower Vanilla Porter--Aroma has roast, hint of smoke, dark chocolate, and vanilla.  Flavor is  quite malty. The vanilla accentuates the sweetness, but doesn't get to cloying territory.  Complex. For a 4.1% ABV beer, the mouthfeel is pretty good!  4.25

5) Implosion IPA--I get Sweet-Tarts on aroma.  Flavor pretty subtle with not much hop character.  Plenty of bitterness with a very dry to almost astringent finish. 3

6) Red Desert Red IPA--Plenty of citrus and malt in the aroma.  Flavor is malty but not sweet.  Orange flavors are strong.  Finish quite dry but pleasant.  Good beer.  4

7) Oak Aged Cave Stout--This is the brewery's strong stout.  It is aged in the cellar temperature of the brewery (not really in a cave, but at similar temps).  The version we had on this visit was in a firkin and had oak added.  Aroma sweet, mild roast, hint of oak tannin.  Flavors of malt, including plenty of roasted grains, and tannins.  Mouthfeel is a bit thin--probably accentuated by the oakiness.  Interesting beer and made smoother by the firkin.  3.5

Overall, I was pretty impressed with beers.  All were well above average to my palate and better than expected from a relatively small and new brewery.  I like the interesting things they are doing.  Other than the IPA, I think the balance and drinkability of these beers was stellar, and the use of adjuncts just added character rather than overwhelmed those beers.  The brewer has a subtle hand and knows his fermentation process.

I enjoyed our visit to Wabasha and they are hereby on my Beer Radar!  The taproom is pretty tiny and bare-bones, but does the job.  It looks like they are planning to move the taproom to a place with seating for 100+ people, so that may change soon.  For now, it's more about the beers.  Solid and interesting beers overall.  Both of our favorites were the Snowblower and the West Side Popper.

Got Wood? Big Wood Brewery Review

Recently, my wife Sarajo and I spent a weekend in St. Paul for the epic two day Winterfest event at the Union Depot.  On that Saturday, after a wonderful breakfast at The Buttered Tin, we decided to try out Big Wood Brewery.  Located in White Bear Lake, this place has been on my radar but far enough from my Waconia home to make it less enticing to visit.  However, from downtown St. Paul the brewery is just a 20 minute drive!  Possibly the best part of our field trip was that temperatures (Feb in Minnesota!) were upwards of 55 degrees out and a beautiful bright sun shone in the crazy blue skies.  Driving into the center of town, I was surprised at how cute the area is, and with the sheer number of people out and about.  Like the white bear that emblazons road signs and nearly everything else in town, locals had crawled out of their caves, shaken the hibernation grogginess from their heads, and inundated the streets and shops of White Bear Lake!  Frankly, White Bear Lake surprised me with how quaint and active it was.  Olive oil shops, boutiques, independent book and toy stores, bakeries, all vie for one's attention.  And now a brewery!

Big Wood Brewery was founded by Steve Merila (Founder), Jason Medvec (President) and Ty McBee (Head Brewer).  They started out brewing at Cold Spring Brewery (along with 21st Amendment, Liftbridge, and more) for about a year and a half in order to build brand name and the capital to open their own brewery.   In February of 2014 they were able to open their own taproom.  We accessed the brewery via a cool little alleyway decorated with a strange and eclectic mix of outdoor furniture and lawn decorations from the next door shop.  Coming out of this fantastical alley, we discovered that there was a large (but full) parking lot right next to the tap room itself.  The building is big and brick, with a somewhat large but still understated "Big Wood" painted up near the top of the building wall.  Some big hunks of wood carved with the logo sit up against the building.  The outdoor patio area was full of people on this strangely warm day so we went inside.

Sarajo "Vogues" it up outside Big Wood

Stepping down into the ground-floor/basement of the building, I was struck by the rustic and woodsy feel of the place.  Bright sun filtered though the windows and open door, throwing lines of shadow and light through the whole place and accentuating the wood grain of nearly every surface within.  Heavy wooden chairs cluster around several high wood tables.  The bar top is made of a beautiful polished piece of solid wood (probably ash) that came from a windfall tree on WBL's own Manitou Island.  The place was busy, but we were able to find a table for 4 easily.  Two servers behind the bar were happy to take our drink orders and were great about coming around to deliver beers and refill water glasses for us during our stay.  Great service!

Taking a field trip around the place, I discovered a bench made of a half-log with a cribbage board incised into it (I didn't tell my wife about this for fear that she'd make me lose to her again.)  A second seating area (with ping pong table) that blended into the brewery itself was located down a short hall and through a cool round hobbit-hole door.  On the other side of the taproom is another solid dark wood door decorated with a sturdy weathered metal Green Man knocker.  Through this ominous doorway lies the copper and stainless steel brewery itself, along with the small Sabco 10 gallon brew system that started the whole thing off.  While I was sneaking around back there and taking pictures for this blog, I ran into the head brewer Ty McBee.  Ty was very passionate about brewing and was happy to talk brewing nuts and bolts with me for a while (despite being busy at the brewery that day).  I asked him the toughest question--which of his babies (beers) he likes the best.  His response: "That's just mean to ask!  If I'm still brewing, it will be something pretty light.  But all in all Morning Wood still surprises me.  I love it!"

The copper brewery lording it over the tiny Sabco pilot system...

Back in the taproom, my wife and I met up with some local friends Ron and Denise, whom we had met at NHC in Michigan a few years back.  Big Wood is their nearest taproom and they frequent the place regularly.  It was great hanging out with them while enjoying this beautiful day and sipping on a wide variety of beers!

You want me to talk about the beers?  But of course!

I've had Big Wood beers in the past, mainly at beer festivals and have not been a fan.  I found most to have astringency that was out of balance.  I've heard that things have improved, and our friends like the place, so why not give them another try in their own environment?  I'll give my brief impressions of the beers below.  I grade on a 5 point scale with 3 being an average drinkable beer, 4 being stellar, and 5 being something I'd hoard or drink every day if possible.  For my credentials: I'm a BJCP judge and homebrewer for over 25 years.  At Big Wood they had two samplers--one with the regular rotation beers and one with the taproom exclusive and seasonals.  I ordered both and made my friends and wife watch me sip, sniff, and tap into my phone!

1) Amigo Grande: Mexican Lager--I get a hint of sulfur, but acceptable in the style and fades after first whiff.  Crisp finish.  Very easy to drink on a 50+ degree day!  4

2) Thrice Shy: Belgian golden strong ale--Doesn't hide its high alcohol content well, comes off a bit hot.  Plenty of pilsner malt character and fruity esters to add complexity though.  Fairly sweet but not cloying.  Not a bad American version of Belgian ale.  3.5

3) Bark Bite IPA--This has a pleasant citrus aroma to it.  Flavor has plenty of hop citrus character as well.  The body is pretty thin and the finish is pretty astringent.  3

4) Jack Savage Pale Ale--Not a ton of hop aroma to it.  Flavor has caramel notes, but not overly sweet.  Some bitterness present, mild orange flavors.  Well balanced pale ale.  3.5

5) Bad Axe Double IPA--Better than last time I had this.  Malty notes at first, but very bitter finish.  Lots of pine hop character.  Some alcohol to it.  3.5

6) Big Black Wolf: Black IPA--I'm not a fan of black IPA's in general.  This one is very bitter with strong roast and smoke.  Roast malt adds astringency to an already hop bitter beer. 3

7) Udder Stout: Milk Stout on Nitro--Pretty sweet (as it should be). Coconut flavors.  Thick mouthfeel and very creamy.  Mild milk chocolate as warms.  This was Sarajo's favorite.  3.5

8) Morning Wood: Coffee Ale--Better than in the past (used to be unbearably astringent).  Light coffee and chocolate aroma.  Flavor similar to aroma and more mellow than remembered.  Possible hint of diacetyl, but OK in this beer.  3.5

9) Yule Wood: Holiday/Winter Ale--Strong allspice, orange peel and clove in aroma.  Sweet flavor and lots of spices present. Brown sugar.  Allspice is strong in this one!  Luckily I like that flavor!  3.75

10) Forest Fire: Smoked Rye--Sweet malt present.  I can pick up the spicy rye.  Phenols from the smoked malt come off a bit band-aid rather than bacon.  I tend to like smoked beers, but this one isn't quite right for me.  3

I frankly had not been overly impressed with Big Wood beers in the past, finding most to be very thin and astringent for my liking.  I had also been a little turned off by the Dude-Bro style marketing (Morning Wood anyone?).  However, having been to the taproom and partaken of the glorious wooden ambiance, extensive mix of beer styles, and great customer service, I've been pleasantly surprised.  I'm always impressed when one of my favorite beers in a place is their lager--that takes some skill!  I still find that many of the beers border on thin body and astringent finish, but this has improved (I bumped up previous scores of 2-3 on a few to above average) since my last tasting.  When I get a similar effect in many beers at one brewery I start to think about water treatment.  Big Wood does filter and treat their water for different styles but don't do reverse osmosis.  Knowing how hard most of the water is in the Twin Cities area, I think that may be accentuating the bitterness in the hoppier beers here.  From talking with Ty, it sounds like he's always tweaking recipes and trying to improve the finished beer, and I can tell this is the case.  I think the beers here are pretty good, but the overall experience we had during this visit has elevated it to more than the sum of its parts.

I'd easily be tempted to go back to explore White Bear Lake and make Big Wood a stop on my tour in the future.  I'd love to check out some of the cute shops and even a steam-punk looking cocktail bar in town (Alchemist!).  Oh, and Ty says that they'll be coming out with a new FINE IPA in 750 bottles at the brewery very soon, so keep an eye out for it!

Get Bent! Bent Brewstillery

While in Roseville for the Minnesota Mashout homebrew competition this past January, I got a chance to visit Bent Brewstillery.  After two straight days clustered around a bunch of beer geeks judging beers in the basement of Grumpy's, where could I find a change of pace?  Yep, just a short walk through melting snow to a nondescript office park to hang out with even more beer geeks!

Bent has a bit of a storied past.  The building originally housed the Pour Decisions Brewery headed by brewer and scientist Kristen England.  The beers tended to focus on obscure/extinct/unusual styles that really appealed to the beer geek in me, but maybe made for a tougher sell on the average drinker.  They did some contract brewing for Bent Brewstillery at that time, using the owner of that company's homebrew recipes.  A couple of years into the endeavor, there were apparently some money troubles (I think mainly because one of the partners no longer wanted to have a part in things).  With the need for an infusion of money to keep things going, Pour Decisions merged with Bent Brewstillery in 2013.  England stayed on as head brewer, but the latter name was chosen and the running of the business side went to Bartley and Brenda Blume.  They kept this name because they wanted to create something new in Minnesota--the first brewery/distillery combination facility.  They have a sizeable 20 barrel brew system with 40 barrel fermentors, as well as a 5 barrel "experimental" system that England uses mainly for his continued passion of sour beers!  With the large brew system they also create the wash for distilling in their 500 gallon still.

The building has changed a bit since the early days, but still hides out in a quiet and seemingly deserted office park.  I used to laugh at the tiny little sign in the window of Pour Decisions, but the new brewery isn't marked much better--just a small vinyl banner over the door.  A food truck was parked outside next to the small patio area on the day I visited, providing vittles for hungry drinkers.  Inside the place is fairly dark, with a scattering of high tables and some up-ended barrels around the main floor space.  Thick and imposing spiky metal fencing bars one entry to the brewery and the distillery but you can see the stainless steel in the darkened space beyond.  Frankly I find this feature to distract from the otherwise warm and comfortable feel of the place.  The bathrooms deserve mention--fancy sinks in both, and a European style bidet in the women's room--much swankier than most taprooms!  And no, I did not infiltrate the ladies room...

A fairly small bar sits in the far corner, manned by two servers on this day.  There was often a long line to get beers but these two were quick and friendly, even when having to fill tons of sampler trays.
In the past I've had mixed feelings on the beers at Bent.  One would be amazing (sours for instance) and another would be flawed in some fundamental recipe formulation way.  I've been to the brewery twice previously and decided to hold off on my review until I could give it one last shot.  That time was now, and I was happy to discover that things are much improved from my previous visits.  I ended up getting a sampler of the entire line-up and tasting through them as we played dice games on the larger high-top table in the taproom.  I rate beers on a 0-5 scale, 3 is average for me, 4 I'll search out, and 5 I'll hoard.  I was already being anti social with my friends by taking notes, so these are pretty quick impressions not BJCP scoresheets!

1) Hil Yis!  ExperimentALE #7:  Made with New Zealand hops, this has a light gold color and strong tropical fruit notes of apricot and mango.  A somewhat bitter finish but a good and flavorful beer.  3.75

2) Nordic Blonde:  I still don't get this beer.  Amber blonde?  Oxy-moronic as a jumbo shrimp, this is one of the flagship beers from Bent and is in cans all over the place.  I have actively despised this beer in the past, but this time it wasn't as bad.  Amber in color with some hoppiness in aroma and flavor.  Somewhat bready and crisp which reminds me more of a Vienna lager than a blonde.  Still not a blonde. 3

3) Moar: A light Scottish ale but with American hopping.  Hoppier than any Scottish ale has a right to be, but the malty body of this is pleasant. Citrus hops are bright in aroma and flavor.  Very easy to drink. 3.5

4) Brother Vesper: A Belgian quad.  Complex, woody, dark fruit, caramel.  Dark cherry as it warms.  Warming and boozy.  Very nice beer.  4

5) Fest Hop ExperimentALE #8: Strong tea-like tannins.  Hoppy and fruity.  Mellow but well balanced and different.  3.75

Tyrone hams it up while testing out the hop infuser! 

6) Maroon & Bold: This is a hold-over from Pour Decisions and features all Minnesota grown ingredients including the hops.  Slightly sweet with mellow hopping.  More of a pale ale in flavor than an IPA.  3.75

7) Funked Up Series #6 Berried Gose: A German style gose (light, tart wheat beer with salt and coriander usually added).  Mixed berry aromas and flavors--blueberry, raspberry seem dominant to me.  Pretty pink color with some haziness.  Light saltiness adds complexity and balances the acid bite.  4

8) Malvasia Pyment: This is a honey wine with Malvasia grape juice added before fermentation.  Served in a wine glass.  Excellent clarity, light golden color.  Tons of tangerine, pear and honey flavors.  I like this a lot!  4.25

9) White IPA with fruit:  This is a batch that they were experimenting with--each day this week had a different fruit addition to the base beer.  Today's version was spruce.  I've had lots of sahti beers, as well as other spruce beers, but this was outrageously like drinking Pine Sol cleanser.  No thank you.  Would be interested to try the base beer or other versions. 1

This brewery still seems to have a little multiple personality disorder to me.  I get some beers that seem out of style just to make a point (Dark Fatha, Nordic Blonde) while others are aiming to be true to classic and rare styles like gose, Belgian quad, and pyment.  I love the fact that the place usually has a mead of some type on tap since they are so hard to find anywhere.  They also have cold press coffee available on tap if you need a pick-me-up after a hard day's drinking.

While I was wrapping up my tasting, a small group of brewers and distillers was getting a short tour of the distilling side of things with Bartley Blume himself and I was invited along for the ride. Bartley is a somewhat intense guy that really seems to be passionate about his distillery projects.  He pointed out the large still and a tiny little experimental one they use for small batch trials.  We got to sample the Gunner Ghost navy strength (114 proof!) gin--fairly bursting with flowery botanical aromas like lavender, rose, and coriander.  They actually use Cascade hops in the mixture which is a nice nod to the fact they are also a brewery.  This was a strong one, but very flavorful!  We also tried the Bent Anchor Poitin--an Irish style moonshine made mainly from the cast-off potato peels from Minneapolis hipster haven Anchor Fish & Chips.  This was surprisingly smooth and reminded me a lot of vodka but with a bit more character and body to it.  I was sporting my J. Carver Distillery shirt this particular day and mentioned their experiments with grappa, and within seconds Bartley had given me a taste of their test batch--not bad for a first effort!

I would say that based on this recent visit, I would recommend Bent as a taproom to visit, especially if you live on the St. Paul side of things.  I respect Kristen England's beer and brewing knowledge to the utmost, and now having met Bartley Blume I feel that he has a lot of passion for the distilling side of things.  I think that with these two each focusing on their areas of expertise Bent Brewstillery is finally becoming what what it was destined to be.

Since I've recently widened my boozy pursuits to include cocktails, I went ahead and bought a 375 ML bottle of the Gunner Ghost to try out at home.  I made a fairly classic martini with it to showcase the gin.

2 oz Gunner Ghost Navy Strength Gin
1 oz Ransom Dry Vermouth
3 dashes Dashfire Number 1 Orange Bitters
Shake with ice
Garnish with lemon twist

This turned out pretty tasty, but very strong and very dry!  The vermouth I used actually had botanicals in it already and in retrospect I'd choose something more mellow to pair with this beast of a gin.  The Dashfire bourbon barrel bitters (another local company by the way) adds a bit of fruity complexity and accentuates the citrus hops in the gin.  It took me a while to drink all of this due to it's powerful flavors and alcohol.

Bad Weather Brewing...Get Your Umbrellas!

On a recent trip this past fall/early winter to St. Paul, my wife (Sj) and I finally got to stop into Bad Weather Brewing's new Taproom and brewery.  Bad Weather got their start brewing in Lucid's facility along with Badger Hill and finally had enough money and popularity to move into their own space.  I've been attracted to Bad Weather's label art since the beginning, but have had a couple of less than stellar experiences with the beers early on in their career.  This was a great time to give them a second chance.

Sj posing front of the brewery and food truck

Located in St. Paul, the brewery is in a very large warehouse-type space.  They have a big patio for outdoor seating, serviced frequently by food trucks.  Inside is a very long bar across from the main entrance, with plenty of seating and a large helpful Star Wars clone trooper on watch from behind.  The space is wide open and filled with tables, getting very loud even on this Sunday afternoon, but they did have some sound damping material up on the ceiling to help alleviate that.  Colorful murals line the walls bringing a jab of vibrant colors to the otherwise industrial place.  Sj and I found an isolated table in a back corner nestled in behind one of the vintage video game consoles (TMNT Turtles in Time how I miss plugging endless rows of quarters into you...)  They had a section of bar set up as an ordering station so we didn't have to wade through people to get our beers--something I appreciate in a busy taproom.

We ended up getting two samplers so we could try a larger number of their beers, but even then we didn't get all of them!  Samplers came out on branded wooden boards in pretty chalice taster glasses, giving us a rainbow of beers to choose from.  Here is a quick rundown on my tasters with my scores.  My personal scale is 3 I'll drink, 4 I'll search out, 5 I'll hoard.

1) Windvane--this is the flagship Red IPA.  I've hated this beer in the past.  Today I noted a good hop bite to it, but with a malty sweet taste and body.  I'd consider this a West Coast hoppy amber.  Pretty good. 3.5

2) The Hopcromancer--IPA.  More hop aroma than the Windvane.  Not bad.  Mid-range for the style and well balanced.  3.5

3) S.M.A.S.H Ale--this is likely a single malt single hop beer, but I'm not sure what hop was showcased.  I got some buttered toffee in it that threw me off.  2.75

4) Browncoat--India Brown Ale.  Who knew these guys were such geeks?  Love the Firefly reference and the beer!  Borders on a porter but more American hops.  Again good balance. 4

5) Blonde Belle--Belgian Blonde.  Light, lots of Belgian fruity esters.  A bit sweet on the finish. Better than Boom Island's. Very drinkable.  3.75

6) Galactic Tide--Rye Porter.  Decent beer.  Spicy rye malt zip.  Malty, but a balance comes from the roast.  3.75

7) Cauld Weather--Scottish Wee Heavy.  One of my favorite styles that I am frequently disappointed in. This one is no disappointment!  Darker than most, but malty, balanced, mild alcohol warming.  Sublime.  Steel Toe has competition now.  4.5

8) Scarecrow's Friend--Harvest ale with pumpkin, wild rice, maize, and spices.  Perfume-like, reminds me of lavender.  A somewhat muddled mix of spices, but still decent overall.  3.5

9) Tippin' It Down--ESB with Earl Grey Tea.  Very much like Summit's recent Make It So, but not quite as well balanced.  I get a hint of butter, soap, and then ends fairly bitter.  This is still better than when I tried it at ABR (I dumped it quick there and couldn't get the taste off my tongue fast enough).  3

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with several of the beers. They still had a few that fell short for me, but the majority were above average and many were unique.  I give extra credit for quick service and lots of beers to choose from.  The core line-up seems to have improved greatly and the brewers are experimenting with lots of different styles and specialty ingredients.  Based on this visit, I would go back to Bad Weather often if I didn't live so far away!  I also love the art style of the brewery (and beers), placing them in my top two for branding.  I would have liked more time to hang out here--and play some video games--but we had dinner plans in St. Paul with friends and had to go.

Love the geeky sci-fi art!

Trouble Finding Beer in Rochester, MN? Forage For It!

Recently I've made it to nearly 20 breweries and distilleries!  I'm going to chip away at them in the order we visited.  Keep in mind that I'm reviewing based purely on my (and my wife's) experience on a certain day and that your results may vary.  I tend to wait until a brewery has been open for 6-12 months before reviewing, unless my visit is above par and deserves a write up.  I try not to be a jerk but pride myself in being honest.  I've been a homebrewer for nearly 26 years, a BJCP National ranked judge, and have been to many hundreds of breweries over the years.

While recently down in Rochester to visit a good friend during his treatment at Mayo Clinic, we took the opportunity to visit some of the new taprooms that have popped up over the past summer.  I already posted a review of the medically named Grand Rounds Brewpub HERE.  Our second visit was to the strangely named Forager Brewery.  They take this name due to the ideals of foraging wild ingredients and supporting local farms for things that can't be foraged.  The brewery also gets small spirits barrels that already lived a second life aging honey from Turkey Hill Apiary, given a third use by aging sour beers!  

The brewery is located in the Kutzky Neighborhood, a revitalizing area rich in artists, and other bohemian types.  The building itself is a large one, fitting in well with the quasi-industrial surroundings.  Upon entering the front door, I was struck by how different this seemed from any brewery I'd ever been in before.  And that is saying something!  The building houses a sweet little coffee shop focused on locally sourced items, a combination art gallery and antique shop, and the brewery itself.  All of these places meld into one another a bit and gives the impression of a large and comfortable home.  The coffee shop near the entrance feels like grandma's foyer--bright, cheerful, aromas of fresh coffee and teas wafting about.  The gallery is across from the main entrance and houses cool antiques, local paintings, and various bric-a-brac that gave us several minutes of pleasure while perusing after our meal and beers.  There's also a library filled with old and new books, antiques, and overflow seating options between the coffee shop and the brewery.

The brewery is a thing of beauty.  Reclaimed woods, old threadbare animal busts, funky light fixtures (dragons yo!), mosaics, and more all vie for attention.  Long tables with copper pennies embedded in epoxy provide some dinner seating in the center of the space, with another alcove to the side hosting a fireplace and more individual seating.  A wooden bar sits to the right as you enter, with several taps and signage displaying the current beer line-up.  You can see the very small brewery through what looks like an exterior window behind the bar.  A wood-fired pizza oven takes up a distal corner as well.  Looking outside on this rainy and overcast day you can see a large outdoor patio area complete with edible gardens.  I fell in love with the ambiance immediately.

Our server was attentive and walked us through our drink and food options with ease.  There were not a ton of beers on tap, but enough to keep us busy!  My wife, Sarajo, and I started with the Forager Box--this was thick wooden platter filled with three beer samples, each paired with a small bite appetizer.  The bites were amazing and upscale, pairing well with the beers we were served.   I also ordered an order of Jamon Iberico (thin shavings from the leg of rare black footed pigs of Spain fed on only acorns) that was nutty and wonderful.  For my main course (big and late lunch!) I had the very pleasing Cuban sandwich.  The food here is honestly great and I would recommend the place even if it wasn't a brewery.

Oh, you want to know about the beer?  Here are my brief musings on the batches we tried along with a rating from 0-5.  Forager makes small batches and are likely to have other options on when you visit.  Looking at the website and the walls of the hallway in the brewery, I love some of the artwork for these beers, but think they might have trouble getting a few through official TTB labeling channels.  

1) Broken Compass--Hefeweizen. A bit sweet for my tastes, but plenty of classic German style banana aroma and flavors.  3.5

2) Johnny C's--Belgian dubbel.  I didn't get much in the aroma on this one.  Flavors ripe with Belgian yeast funky phenols.  Sweet but finishing off-dry and not cloying.  Not too shabby for a difficult style. 4

3) Forager IPA--Red IPA.  Lots of malt to this one.  Very piney with hints of bitter orange peel.  A well balanced and flavorful version of the style. I'd call it a West Coast Amber in the old BJCP style guidelines.  3.75

4) Sherpa's Survival Kit--American double stout.  Strong coffee in aroma and flavor.  Dry cocoa. Could use a bit more body since the finish is pretty dry and bitter.  Still pretty good overall.  3.75

5) Gathering In The Woods--Sour.  This is a Flanders Red style Belgian sour ale.  Aged in barrels, this is the first batch of sour Forager has done.  A blend of different barrels, this one is full of red fruit (red grape, tart cherry, hint of raspberry.)  Tart, but not overly sour. Complexity and body could be a bit more kicked up, but still a wonderful example of a tough style.  This is one of the best Minnesota sours I've had.  4.5

So I liked all the beers!  I'm always happy (and often shocked) when that happens at a new place.  I'm excited to see them continue to work on the sours--the complexity of their very young Gathering In The Woods hints at even more complex and wonderful sour offerings in the future.  Just wait until they have multiple vintages to blend together!  I'm not a kettle sour (gose, Berliner weisse) hater overall, but find those now trendy local offerings often lack complexity and character.  The fact that fresh out of the gate, these guys are trying for the harder styles is a good omen!  Our server saw me running around the place with my camera and gave us a quick impromptu tour of the small brewery and answered some questions for us as well.  Good hospitality!  

With Forager being open under 6 months I was going to hold off on my review, but we had such a great experience here that I had to shout it out over the now snow-covered rooftops of the Twin Cities.   The venue is unique, the food excellent, the concept a pleasing one, and the beers well above average.

2015: The Beer In Review!

The Beer In Review

This is my yearly wrap-up for my beer-tastic blogging exploits!  I started doing this blog in 2012, initially with the intent of posting Jack Of All Brews club events.  I discovered that I enjoyed writing things up but wanted to expand into more beer and brewery reviews as well.  About 2 years ago I started to get into photography and added a few non-beer related photography and book-club posts as well--hey variety is the spice of life!  My goal has been to have at least one post a week, since blogs that update only once a month or so quickly fall to the bottom of my check-in list.  I think I've been doing fairly well on that front, averaging about 2 posts a week over the past year.

In January of this year I started a series of beer reviews called A Whale A Week.  This mainly began as a way of guaranteeing at least one blog entry a week and to make a dent in my expanding cellar of rare beers.  This has been an amazing experiment.  By inviting different friends over to share, I've not only tasted amazing beers, but have enjoyed the social aspect of the process far more than I expected.  I've had old friends, neighbors, and even had a few new friends I've met on local beer forums (Beer People on Facebook mainly) over for this series.  I still have a fairly sizeable chunk of rare beers, as well as some vertical tastings of somewhat less rare beers that I'd like to get through so I plan on continuing A Whale A Week into 2015.  Upcoming beers?  Three Floyds Dark Lord, Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise, Cascade Figaro, Big Foot vertical from 1995-2015, and many more!  If you are local and want to join me for a tasting some time, touch base!

This year we didn't take any international trips, but did get to several areas for shorter excursions.  Our biggest trip was to Asheville, NC for a week and that was a wonderful beery place to visit!  We got to plenty of breweries there for sure!  Sj and I also went to San Diego for the National Homebrewer's Conference and of course made sure to visit lots of places there.  We took a road trip for the Hoppy Halloween homebrew competition in Fargo and got to try out a slew of new places along the way. A trip to Duluth for All Pints North and another quick jaunt to Rochester rounded out the beer-visits for the year.

I started out the year making up my own weekly photography challenges, and incorporated some of these techniques into my Whale A Week posts--making sure to use a special photo for most of them. More recently I joined up with the PhotoChallenge.org weekly photo challenge to force myself to try new things. I haven't had very much comment on any of my photo's but, hey, I'm mostly doing it for myself. I'm particularly proud of some of the photos I did for my Surly Darkness series.

Now is the time I reflect and decide what some of my favorites of the year have been.  I do this a bit differently every year.  I'll post a few here, but will do a couple other lists over the next few days to spread the wealth!

Top 10 New Beers I Tried in 2015

I decided to stick with new ones since otherwise my lists would be very similar year to year.  I gave all of these beers 5's.

1) Surly Brewing Todd The Axe Man.  I have not been as happy with Abrasive the past two years, but this beer has taken it's place in my top tier!  Strong hop aroma, balanced bitterness, tropical and catty at once.  Well done!

2) Waconia Brewing Pair-A-Dice DIPA.  This is a new limited release at our local taproom, made with all New Zealand hops and boasts a tropical fruit and balanced malt character that is simply stellar.  The first time I tried this I was blown away and have had goblet after goblet of it since.

3) Pelican Mother Of All Storms.  An amazingly complex barrel aged English style barleywine.

4) Wicked Weed Red Angel.  A blended raspberry lambic from the Funkatorium.  We went back multiple times for this when in Asheville.

5) The Rare Barrel Ensorcelled.  One of the best barreled sours I've had from America.

6) Goose Island Nuthulhu.  Vanilla, hazelnuts, RIS!

7) Freehouse Infinity.  An early contender, tasted in January of 2015.  This was a perfectly balanced barrel aged RIS--the brewery's first anniversary beer.

8) Keith Brady's Chester Hopperpot.  The only homebrew on the list, this incredible IPA has won first place at MN State Fair, Best In Show at Hoppy Halloween, and just keeps getting better.  I want more commercial beers to taste this good.

9) Lift Bridge Barrel Aged Silhouette.  First tasted at The Happy Gnome Lift Bridge beer dinner, this one put the brewery back on the map for me.

10) Spring House Blood Lust Aged in Pappy Van Winkle Barrels.  Tasted at a Surly Darkness vertical, this was one of the best RIS I've had all year.

Top 10 Breweries I Visited in 2015

1) Surly Brewing (MPLS, MN)  This one is just a treat.  Say what you will about Surly, they remain one of the most challenging and unique breweries in the state.  Their new brewhouse is a thing of beauty and has some of the best food I've ever had at a brewery.

2) Wicked Weed Funkatorium (Asheville, NC) Wicked Weed's sour facility is making a huge range of American sours that is incredible.  We went back 4 times in 7 days.

3) Junkyard Brewing (Moorhead, MN) A surprise contender.  Comfortable taproom, fabulous beers.  I want to live closer.

4) Burial Brewing (Asheville, NC) Somewhat ghetto taproom, but full of character and had some of the best beers we tried in Asheville.  Skillet Doughnut Stout!

5) Ballast Point (San Diego) I've really loved most of the beers from Ballast Point since they arrived in MN, and the visit to the brewery was not a let-down.  Fantastic up-scale food (seafood focused) and a huge variety of beers to choose from.

6) Modern Times (San Diego) We enjoyed both the FlavorDome and the regular brewery.  80's and 90's retro style, house roasted coffee, and a mix of sours and regular beers.

7) Waconia Brewing (Waconia, MN) My local, so I spend more time here than many other places.  This family run business has embraced our small community, putting out stellar beers very close to home.  Their Octoberfest placed second among about 10 we tried at a homebrew club event recently (only losing to Ayinger).

8) Prairie Rose Meadery (Fargo, ND) Not my first meadery visit, but certainly my favorite.  Susan Ruud has crafted something wonderful here.

9) Castle Danger (Two Harbors, MN) This summer we visited the new taproom and I was happy to find excellent beers, with a wide open and well-lit taproom space.

10) Green Flash Cellar 3 (San Diego) Green Flash's new cellar/barrel aging facility that had opened just days prior to our visit.  Plenty of sours available and a food truck serving house (truck?) made jerky that was amazing.

For 2016 I plan to continue A Whale A Week.  We've already scheduled a week trip to Portland (oh I'll get to some good breweries there!) as well as a Disneyworld 15th anniversary trip.  I hope to continue visiting all the new taprooms in the Twin Cities area and supporting our burgeoning local beer scene.

Time For Grand Rounds! Grand Rounds Brew Pub

I never thought I'd be so excited to go to Grand Rounds.  As a Medical Doctor, I look back at much of my schooling with a thankfully distant sleep-deprived haze of ambiguity.  While I value the experiences and the things I learned during those years, it was punishing on the body and mind.  Nearly every week (depending on what rotation you were on) you were expected to go to Grand Rounds--usually a complicated learning case study presented in front of the other doctors.  These were usually open to the entire medical staff and required you to get in to the hospital even earlier (4-5AM) to see all those patients on the floor before making your way to the lecture hall.  On at least one occasion I had to personally present a case in front of all my resident peers, attending physicians, and more.  I'm a bit of a social-phobe, so this was quite upsetting to me.  Long story short (to late!) when I heard that Rochester, MN--the home of Mayo Clinic--had a brewery called Grand Rounds I had to try it out!

On this rainy fall day we drove into town and went straight to Grand Rounds Brewpub for an early day tasting.  The brewpub is located right downtown near a couple of other pubs and speakeasys, and across from part of the medical center.  The huge old solid building was built in 1866 (one of the oldest in Rochester) as a bank, and still retains some of its early trappings.  Entering the front door there's a host stand (empty this time of day) directly in front of you.  Entry to Tessa's Office (a super cute little upscale wine shop next door with wine on tap) is directly to the right, but was closed at this early hour.  To the left you enter into the very spacious pub area, filled with tables and chairs as well as plenty of seating along the bar.  An attractive stainless steel tap set-up behind the bar provides many different beers for tasting, and eclectic frames above the bar display the current tap-list.

Some of the fancy light fixtures are actually from the old Mayo building!  Our server on this day (Tap Room Manager Kelly Griffin) was kind enough to take us and another interested couple on a quick tour of the place as well.  The brewery itself is a 7 barrel affair using tall skinny wine fermenters nestled just behind the bar and visible through glass. Past the bar is a another large sectioned-off room for special events.  Then down some stairs into a darker low-ceilinged accessory lounge.  Beyond that was a veritable catacomb of hallways, storage, refrigeration, and even closed-off old tunnels that once led to Mayo!  This was one of the most interesting brewery tours I've been on, so thanks much for making the time for us!

Being a brewpub, Grand Rounds has food, and quite an impressive looking menu.  We got a big order of duck nachos to go with our beers and it was very good.  I imagine the rest of the food is good as well.  While sipping beers and eating our food, we also got to meet the very pleasant Tessa Leung, the Chief Operations Manager for the pub (and I'm assuming the brains behind Tessa's Office next door!)

How about the beers?  Well, I took copious notes for your reading pleasure!  We tried all the beers, 11 in all, including one infusion and one cask offering.  A huge variety for such a young brewery, and arranged with care by Kelly in best tasting order.  I'll give my quick notes and rating of 0-5.  I'll happily drink a 3, I'll search out a 4, and hoard a 5 beer.

1) KA Minnesota Kolsch--made with local honey from The Bee Shed.  I get light pear esters, honey sweetness, light sulfur nose.  Crisp with a light hopping (don't believe it is 72 IBU!)  3.5

2) 10,000 Lakes Sommerweiss--Very bright lemon, hint of esters like mild banana.  No clove phenols.  A bit of spicy wheat malt.  Hops present but in the background.  Well done. 3.75

3) CSI--Citra Session IPA--Aroma is crazy Citra cat box mixed with tropical fruit.  Fruity.  Dry.  Slightly astringent finish.  Tasty and easy to drink.  3.75

4) Grapefruit Rind Infused CSI--This has serious grapefruit aroma!  Bite-y and brisk flavor.  Actually overall a bit more mellow than the regular CSI.  Tastes like a Radler.  Still a hint of astringency on finish.  Body seems increased.  Head fades quick.  Tart.  3.5

5) Hop Bollocks Session IPA--Not much aroma.  Better body than CSI.  Pine and lemon flavors. Finish a bit astringent.  Nice overall.  3.5

6) Nelson IPA--Made with New Zealand Nelson hops 7.3% ABV, 75 IBU.  Strong aroma of grapefruit and white wine grapes.  Malty but not sweet.  Lingering grapefruit zest, muscat grape, and lemon.  4

7) VMO--Vienna, Marzen, Octoberfest.  Malt character in this is unreal!  Bisquit, bread, toastiness, with a grainy finish.  No hops.  Middle is very smooth.  Not crisp as some lagers are, but not overly sweet.   Malt more complex, flavorful, and dark than most Octoberfest beers, but this one hits right in my preferred heavier end of the style guidelines!  4.25

8) Freedom Scotch Ale--Makes me want to paint my face blue and wave around a Claymore.  Lots of dark fruit (possibly Special B malt) leading to raisin and prune flavors.  A hint of smoke, but not overwhelming.  A bit on the sweet side, but OK for style.  3.75

9) Coffee Stout--Light roast and coffee aroma, but mild.  Tastes like a dry Irish stout and is very roasty.  Pretty dry, but not astringent.  I get more coffee flavor and aroma as it warms up.  4

10) Hawii 507 Coconut Stout--on Nitro.  Very subtle coconut and vanilla in aroma, as well as flavor.  Very sweet up front.  Body creamy and mouth coating.  Vanilla accentuates the sweetness.  Yum.  4

11) Cask Coconut--More coconut aroma that regular version.  Smooth and medium body.  Less sweet than the regular as well.  Coconut flavor up.  4.5

I liked the cask coconut and the VMO the most. Sj liked the VMO and Scotch the best.  But honestly all of these beers were good to great in my book.  I'm impressed with the overall quality, especially knowing that these guys have only been open for a few months.  This was a really polished brewpub, with great customer service, very good beers, and a comfortable cool old building.  This one is highly recommended if you are in the Rochester area.  In fact, make a day trip of it and visit Forager Brewing as well!

"Hey, Nice Beaver!"-- A Beaver Island Brewing Review

A short one for today, this was our last stop on the epic Fargo road trip.  We stopped in St. Cloud on the way home for a late lunch and discovered that they had a new brewery right near where Tyrone used to live while going to school.  We just had to check it out!

Beaver Island Brewing: Dam Fine Beer

Beaver Island started up in 2015, so the paint is figuratively still wet on the place. The building has been many things over the years including an old Chrysler dealership.  The place (not surprisingly) has a northwoods theme with pine trim and even a canoe hanging down from the ceiling.  The long bar is made of reclaimed bowling alley wood and shines with a well-used luster. Behind the bar is an amazing serving station created using some old automobile parts and chrome, built around the original lubrication station from the auto dealership.  This is a fine centerpoint to the bar and seems to work great!

We arrived on Sunday, when they have limited hours mainly for growler fills from the locals before watching weekend sports.  Fabulously bearded Co-Founder Nick Barth (with a history 10 years of hospitality service and Sommelier training) was tending bar when we arrived.  A few other people were just leaving and we were happy to be able to talk with Nick about the brewery a bit.  The other Co-Founder is Matt Studer, a homebrewer for over 8 years.  Being smart about it, they decided to hire a head brewer with legitimate professional experience and found Chris Laumb for the spot. Chris was at O'Hara Brothers, McCann's, and most recently Cold Spring.  They have a 15 barrel system with 30 barrel fermenters requiring strenuous double batches to fill them.  Instead of stainless steel from China, they tapped local St. Cloud company DCI to make their custom brew system and fermenters.  It sounds like they all had a little learning curve on this, but the partnerships seems to be a good one!  They also don't stock any base malt and are doing everything with 55# sacks of grain--allowing them to do more specialty malts.  That can be more expensive, but allows them more freedom to experiment and get more character into the beers--a lot like homebrewers can do!



So while we were talking, Nick was serving us up some of the beers from the beautiful chrome plated serving station.  What did I think?  Here you go based on my Untappd notes from that time.  My personal grading scale is a 3 I'll drink, a 4 I'll seek out, and a 5 I'll hoard.

1) Ripple--a German inspired ale with German grains and Spalter hops, 4.8%:  Crisp and malty at the same time.  3.75


2) 39 Red IPA:  A good balance of continental malts and American hops.  3.75


3) Union Suit: Very strong roast and dry finish.  Very drinkable, and I can't believe it has 8.9% ABV hidden in there! 4


4) Tip-Up--brewed with Minnesota grown hops and then spruce tips late in the kettle: By far the best spruce beer I've ever had (and I've tried a few!) Well done!  Beachwood smoke up front, followed by a mellow complex malt bill, ending with a strong but balanced pine/spruce flavor that is pleasant. The overall impression is one of drinking a liquid (and alcoholic) pine campfire.  This would go really well with strongly flavored game like duck or venison. I bought a growler of it.  4.75



Frankly my expectations going into Beaver Island were a bit on the low side.  But after talking with Nick and really enjoying all of the beers they had to offer I was rather happy with our impromptu stop!  It looks like Tip-Up was their 11th beer, so these guys are really just starting out.  I like that they appear to be working smart, and seem to be doing things the right way from the start.  I also appreciate how they've re-used small and larger touches from the previous incarnations of the building to maintain some continuity.  Well worth a stop in St. Cloud!



Oh, and Nick steered us to The Pickled Loon for lunch.  The place looks like an old borderline-shady bar, but they had plenty of craft beers on tap including Tip-Up and Stone Coffee Milk Stout.  They had some fantastic food including pork belly tacos that I'd put against some of the finer restaurants in Minneapolis.  The bathrooms were a bit freaky though and might warrant an update on your vaccinations.  A fun place to stop for some tacos and beer!

Look At My Junk! A Junkyard Brewing Review

Recently I've made it to nearly 20 breweries and distilleries!  I'm going to chip away at them in the order we visited.  Keep in mind that I'm reviewing based purely on my (and my wife's) experience on a certain day and that your results may vary.  I tend to wait until a brewery has been open for 6-12 months before reviewing, unless my visit is above par and deserves a write up.  I try not to be a jerk but pride myself in being honest.  I've been a homebrewer for nearly 26 years, a BJCP National ranked judge, and have been to many hundreds of breweries over the years.

Junkyard Brewing Company

The winner of best brewery we visited on our recent trip from the Twin Cities to Fargo was Junkyard Brewing Company.  Hands Down.  No contest.

I had never tried a beer from Junkyard, nor had I really heard much about them prior to this trip.  Located just across the river from Fargo, ND, this little brewery is still just barely in Minnesota!  The brewery was started by Aaron and Dan Juhnke in 2012--at least on paper.  They built their own nano brewery--a 50 gallon system that was laughably small by comparison to most commercial breweries these days.  By August of 2013 they were able to put their first kegs on tap for the beer drinking public.  Then in the summer of 2014 they moved into a larger brew space and upgraded to a (still relatively small) 3 barrel brew system.  They also added a taproom to the new brewery, serving 10 taps of their beers.  They are currently having a hard time brewing enough beer to fill growlers!  Time to upgrade again?

Our visit here was on a fine fall afternoon, sun warming us as we walked from the car to the little red and white painted building.  The Junkyard dog logo was emblazoned on a small sign out front, as well as painted on the side of the building itself to the side.  Entering the door, we discovered a small and comfortable space, filled with happy and thirsty folks.  Our friend Mark Glennon, who abandoned us for Fargo about a year ago, had already arrived and was holding us a larger table.  Junkyard is one of his favorite breweries and he was eager to share it with us!

The bar is fairly small, but two servers were working hard and fast to keep everyone filled up.  The place seemed a bit like a rough timbered wood and steel NE MPLS brewery, but with a retro 80's and '90's vibe to it.  Fun versions of their beer labels were painted on the walls, giving a lighter touch to the scene.  A picture of The Terminator on the bathroom door warns "You'll be back!"  So true!

The beers were good.  Really good.  Shockingly good.  Here are my notes from Untappd and ratings from 0-5.  I'll drink a 3, seek out a 4, and hoard a 5 beer.  While they didn't have samplers, they did sell beers in half-pints and we all shared a bit so we got to try nearly all the beers between our group.  My battery was going so I didn't take notes on all of them...

1) Coachgun--IPA.  Really well balanced with some classic American hop character.  Not overly bitter or overly hoppy.  Well done! 4.25

2) Key Lime Gose--Sour with salt and Key Limes.  Wow, this beer was crazy.  Like a very tart margarita.  One of the best kettle sours I've had this year.  Or ever.  4.25

3) Skunk Ape--Pale Ale.  A good American pale ale.  Had some pine notes and wasn't too sweet.  3.75

4) Coal Miner's Daughter--Imperial Stout.  A very roasty and less viscous/sticky RIS than many recent examples.  Reminds me more of classic Old Rasputin.  Almost a smoky hint to it.  Solid.  4

5) Peanut Butter Bandit--Peanut butter stout.  The only thing I wrote was "Holy Crap!"  This is probably the best peanut butter beer I've had.  I've brewed my own.  Better than Dangerous Man.  Better than Rocket Republic.  Better than Terrapin.  4.75

6) Free Candy--Belgian Quad.  Pretty sweet but very easy to drink. This one was aged in booze barrels and had added complexity.  3.75

7) Whistle Wetter--Double IPA.  Really well balanced for the style.  4.25

So overall, every beer I had was well above average to great.  None of our group of 5 had a beer they didn't like.  With bright afternoon sun shining in through the window through our glistening beer glasses, we all talked, sipped, and relaxed in the warm glow of fantastic beer and a comfortable taproom.  This place is my personal break-out hit from our trip, and will certainly make it into the top breweries I've been too this year.  I am a bit annoyed that one can only find their beer at the taproom or in a few bars/restaurants in the Fargo area.  I think they're having a hard time brewing enough to keep even those limited accounts full, and I now know why.  These are complex, well balanced beers, made to appease the palates of the brewers--not the common denominator.  I'll be first in line at upcoming beer festivals to try their newest batches!

Things To Do In Fargo When You Drink Part 2

Continuing the epic story of Tyrone, Annette, Sarajo, and myself on our weekend roadtrip from Waconia, MN to Fargo, ND--and back again!  Check out Part 1 HERE.  At this point in the trip we were taking Uber around to let poor Sj stop sober-driving us all over creation. We left off with Prairie Rose Meadery...

From there we were meeting some of Annette's cool family (she's almost a local) at Rhombus Guys Pizza.  Apparently this place started as a smoothie stand in the early 2000's, changing into a pizza place in Grand Forks, spreading a pseudopod into Fargo, and now they even have a small brewery!  The brewery itself is in Grand Forks, but the Fargo site just started serving the beer prior to our arrival.  Like they knew were coming!  They had a lot of cool and unusual pizzas to offer and all of us were happy with our choices.  The brewery itself hasn't been open long and the beers still need a bit of time in my opinion.  I tried the Into The Darkness porter which I gave a 3 and an "OK", as well as the Octoberfest which I gave a 3.5 and noted that it tasted more like an ale.  Still, cool to try another brewery's beers that we can't get in Minnesota!

Next up after taking our leave of Annette's family was the nearby Viking themed Drekker Brewing.  Located very close to Wurst Bier Hall, this place has a great location in the center of the city.  The space is long and narrow with a fair amount of seating and a decent sized brewery set-up in the back.  This is a fairly young brewery and feels a bit like the paint just dried.  They had a lot of beers to choose from for such a new place--even splitting a couple of samplers our group didn't try everything.  Looking at my Untappd notes (which were getting spotty by this time of night) I gave most of their beers between 3-3.5 stars.  My favorite of theirs was the Coffee Broken Rudder, an Irish red ale that was very well done and unusual (4 star).  My least favorite was the Azacca Attacka pale ale with plastic phenols (2.75).  Overall, a cool space with a fair amount of money behind it, but it seems a little too nice, like they haven't really found their own vibe yet.  The beers still need a little work to make me search them out, but not bad.  Drekker is still young so I'll let them practice a bit!

Ty showing off his inner Viking!

At this point in our long day we were feeling a bit like Hunter S. Thompson on his addled journey through the Nevada desert.  The night was dark, but we were shiny.  We tramped around downtown Fargo.  We spent time ogling the theater with thousands of colorful bra's dangling from it.  We molested a couple of large painted bison to the disgust and dismay of NDSU fans everywhere.  In a bison-tinged haze, we kept moving to avoid crowds of pitchfork wielding peasants.



We next found ourselves as if by magic in front of Fargo's only distillery--Proof!  This is a craft distillery specializing in Vodka and Gin.  Unusual (compared to Minnesota) is the fact that they can actually serve food at this distillery.  They had a tapas type menu from a small restaurant on one side of the large open building, but we were too full on sausages and pizza for any more sustenance.  The place is big with high ceilings, but separated into areas by a strangely oriented bar and some other oddly angled seating.  The bizarre angles and height differences made for an weird vibe and a feng shui would offend the ancestor spirits and nature spirits alike.  Lovecraft would be proud.  There was a very strong monkey-cages-at-the-zoo aroma permeating the place that I found very distracting. This rotting and fermenting silage smell hints at poor cleaning and grain removal in the distillery itself since I didn't see any poo-flinging monkeys around.  We asked our server for a sample of the vodka to decide which type of drink we wanted and our server was very obliging.  However, the vodka had a very strong aroma reminiscent of nail-polish remover or rubbing alcohol.  Avoiding the vile vodka, we all ordered some Minions Gin based cocktails and all were decent but didn't knock our socks off.

Just down the block was a place known for their cocktails, and we were almost in the doors when strangely we looked about ourselves at the graying dawn's light and decided that perhaps we should call this a day and rest up for the following day's planned debauchery.  And so we made at least one good decision this fine day.  The rest of the bison herd would rest easy...for now...

Oh, and then in a Cold War game of "I can stay up drinking longer than you!" we all ended up at Ty and Annette's nicer-than-ours suite room for some 18% ABV Bruery beers and Cards Against Humanity.  Luckily our room was a close stagger down the hall...

The next morning I was up and judging beers at 9 AM.  Turn down those dim basement lights please!  The Hoppy Halloween challenge continued and I tried many good beers and meads while trying to provide good feedback.  Once the afternoon judging session was over, our group took a quick field trip to the only brewery we didn't get to visit the previous action-packed day: Fargo Brewing Company.

Fargo Brewing Company was the first brewery in Fargo, starting out contract brewing at Sand Creek in Wisconsin fall of 2011, then moving to their own large warehouse facility in 2013.  When I first tried their Wood Chipper IPA in can I chuckled over the name, then spat it out in disgust since strong movie theater butter popcorn aromas and flavors abounded.  I've avoided them since. But now these guys have their own place and are selling a lot of cans out of their production brewery.  They have a lot of room to grow in the current building!  The taproom itself was just a small area of warehouse floor near the entrance, cordoned off from the main production floor.  They had a small corrugated metal and wood serving bar with about 11 different beers pouring, and a couple of busy bar-tenders serving the small but thirsty crowd.  A few etched and scarred picnic tables provided seating for us, and a bunch of games by the door provided additional entertainment options.  This is a no-frills working kind of place that reminds me a bit of Lucid's current brewery space--but bigger.

The beers at Fargo Brewing were better than the first time I tried them for sure!  Strangely, my favorite was the Fargo Original--a good example of a crisp but malty Helles--which I gave a 4.25.  Second favorite was the sweeter Stone's Throw Scottish ale which I gave a 3.75.  All the other beers we tried were average to slightly above.  I think perhaps they're playing it a bit safe and appealing to the large market of novice craft beer drinkers in North Dakota and don't fault them for it.  They are certainly putting out a lot of decent beers!

Returning to our hotel, we finished up the evening with a long and crazy Hoppy Halloween dinner and award ceremony, complete with costume contests (Ty and Annette won that!), homebrews galore, Prairie Rose meads, medals, and more!  This is hands down the most fun I've ever had at a homebrew competition and I'm glad we made the drive up for it.  And on the way home the next day we stopped at one more brewery--Beaver Island--with another write-up to follow!