A Spirited Trip: Tattersall Distilling

In my ever expanding quest to visit and document new (and old) craft breweries, I occasionally get a chance to visit a distillery. With craft beer booming, one of big new rising trends is in craft distilling.  I usually look at distilled products as being fairly homogeneous these days: an example is Ireland, where nearly all their major Irish whiskeys are distilled at one place.  Much like the sad state beer was in in the 1980's to 1990's, there's now plenty of room for small, local, craft places to find a foothold.

One new-ish Twin Cities distillery is Tattersall Distilling in Northeast Minneapolis (Nordeast to his friends) located in the historic Thorp Building.  The building used to be the production facility for large fire doors, and had a period of use in WWII as a secret military equipment manufactory.  Now the aged building hosts a distillery, several artist studios, and soon Strike Theater!

The distillery is located around the back of the building, somewhat hidden unless you're looking for it.  There is some parking in a dirt lot behind the place, but it may get crowded on a Saturday afternoon.  The place is pretty massive, with a large old-looking wooden bar taking up a good portion of the indoor tasting room.  Large glass panes separate the distilling area and barrel storage from the tasting room, but everything is easily visible from within.  There's plenty of seating inside, but also a large patio area with some umbrella'd tables for shade in the hot sun.  Food trucks are often present to take the edge off!

Arty shot of the view from the patio

The first time we stopped at Tattersall was during Art-A-Whirl, a crazy neighborhood wide "block" party, art show, and festival that is simply amazing to take part in.  At that time Tattersall was teaming with people and was SRO.  Normally Sj and I would have probably just taken off, but very quickly a waitress found us in the crowd and took an order, not forcing me to wade into the press of humanity at the bar.  Bonus points for having an active and large enough staff to properly handle such an event!
More recently we took a couple of cocktail loving friends from Colorado (Heather and Lorelei) to visit on a Saturday afternoon.  Again, the place was very busy, but not as extreme as during the festival.  The back half of the taproom seemed to be set up for a party, but it was winding down by the time we got there.  We did wait a while at the bar for our drinks, but it was worth the wait!



Our server this time was Dan Oskey, co-founder and Twin Cities celebrity bartender.  A little known fact of distillery tasting rooms in Minnesota is the fact that they can't serve any liquor not distilled on site.  Sounds fair right?  Sure, until you realize that a huge proportion of mixed drinks involve accessory mixers like vermouth, flavored liqueurs, etc.  This pretty much limits bartenders to fruit juices, simple syrups, and bitters.  J. Carver Distillery in Waconia (my town) makes up for this a bit by making their own infused simple syrups, but are still unable to make a classic Manhattan!  Tattersall has really taken this to the next level by making their own versions of Creme de Cacao, Triple Sec, and more for mixing.  They also make digestive bitters like Amaro and Fernet that can be sipped on their own or mixed into drinks for an added herbal kick.

I had a bourbon-based cocktail which was quite good and surprisingly refreshing on this warm but overcast day.  We each got something different and shared a bit to get to try them all.  I've only recently begun to experiment with cocktails, so I'm no expert on this field!  I do know that all of these drinks were well balanced, smooth, and complex.  Not rocket-fuel like a few places we've been to!

Overall, we were all very impressed with the service, the vibe, and especially the drinks.  I will highly recommend it as a stop in Nordeast...on your way to the Indeed taproom perhaps?  I also look forward to having a cocktail here before a show at Strike Theater once that gets going.

A Whale A Week: Jester King Nocturn Chrysalis

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  I've been kind of bad about keeping up on this the past few months--maybe I should rename this to A Whale Every Other Week...

Jester King Nocturn Chrysalis Blend 2

Jester King Brewery is a wonderful brewery out of Austin, Texas specializing in sour beers.  Their beers eschew classic Belgian styles and really chart their own course, but still have the quality and complexity that good sours should have.  I've reviewed their Atrial Rubicite HERE for a previous Whale A Week.  

Nocturn Chrysalis starts as a sour red ale, and is then barrel aged with a large amount of fresh blackberries.  For this second batch (April 2014) they used Marionberries from Oregon.  ABV is 5.9%, Final Gravity 1.000, pH 3.3. The beer has a score of 93 on Beer Advocate and 99 on Rate Beer. 



Cast of characters: Me (homebrewer for over 25 years, lover and brewer of sour beers); Sarajo (my wife and fan of sours); and fellow Jack Of All Brews member and award winning brewer Josh Welch. 

Nocturn Chrysalis 

Aroma: 

Eric: Mellow blackberry aroma.  Light tartness.  Hint of sweet berry.  Light sulfur notes.  Brett--funky leather as it warms up.

Josh: Strong smells of wet hay, slight solvent, light jammy fruit.  

Appearance:

Eric: Deep red to nearly magenta.  Persistent wispy off-pink froth.  Excellent clarity and ruby sparkles.

Josh: Slight white head.  Good clarity.  Nice purple color from the fruit.  No legs, rolls easily in the glass.

Flavor:

Eric: Ooh!  Up front very dry and tannic--almost leathery.  Middle of taste coats the tongue with dry berry and cherry pit flavors.  Finish lingers with distinct blackberry, funk, and oak tannins.  Spritzy and has a very light mouthfeel.  Dry but not astringent.  Fruit still shows through nicely despite age and dryness.  Not overly acidic.

Josh: Less aggressive than the aroma.  Dry, light acidity, effervescent.  Modest apparent sweetness.

Overall:

Eric: Wow!  I really love this use of blackberry!  Dry but mellow and the fruit is really present.  compared to last week's Beatification which was all acid and little brett, this one is mostly brett and mild acid.  Refreshing, palate cleansing--makes me want to keep drinking it.  4.75

Josh: 4.5

Sarajo: Tart and refreshing.  4.5

Overall Score: 4.67

A Whale A Week: Russian River Beatification 2013

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  I've been kind of bad about keeping up on this the past few months--maybe I should rename this to A Whale Every Other Week...

Russian River Beatification 2013

Russian River Brewing has been putting out some amazing beers over the years (Pliny the Elder and Blind Pig IPA's) but have really been one of the first American breweries to put out sour Belgian style beers.  Not content to do everything by the book, the the brewers certainly put their own spin on things.  Not available here in Minnesota, I managed to get my hands on some vintage bottles and figured this would be a good time to break one out!

Beatification is a golden ale that is based loosely on old school Belgian wild fermention like that seen at Cantillon.  The hot wort is left in a wide, open, coolship overnight to cool and become inoculated with wild yeast and bacteria from the brewhouse.  It is then transferred to oak wine barrels and fermented several months.  It comes out about 6% ABV and of variable tartness/funkiness. Beer Advocate gives this a score of 99 and Rate Beer a 100.  

The word beatification is used by the Roman Catholic Church as a papal declaration that a dead person is enjoying the pleasure of heaven and is worthy of religious honor.  This is the first step toward becoming canonized or sainted.  Interesting!

Cast of characters for this tasting: Me (homebrewer for over 25 years, lover and brewer of sour beers); Sarajo (my wife and fan of sours); and fellow Jack Of All Brews member and award winning brewer Josh Welch. 

Beatification

Aroma:

Eric: Bright.  Pineapple is very strong.  Tartness is powerful.  Tangerines or Mandarin oranges.  Light plastic notes as warms.  Wax--honeycomb.  Thai basil.
Josh: Strong phenolic funk aroma.  Fresh leather.  Light solvent.

Appearance:

Eric: Straw in color, very light.  Crystal clear.  Small white head with tiny tight bubbles.  Head fades to edge of glass quickly.
Josh: Very good looking beer.  Crystal clear, pale golden.  No head.

Flavor:

Eric:  Very tart up front.  Fades to a tart middle.  Ends with a tart finish.  So...tart.  Puckering.  Unripe pineapple and green apple skin.  Very mild wheat malt.  Acetic acid is very strong in this beer.  Some mild brett funk, but mostly acetobacter.
Josh: Acidic tangy, lemon, salty.  Slick on the mouth.  Light.  Acidity lingers for some time.

Overall:

Eric: A very zippy and interesting beer but somewhat one dimensional.  All acid all the time!  I want more brett character in the flavor like I get in the aroma.  Not quite refreshing since I feel the need to wash my palate with water after this.  And a Zantac.  I have had another version of this that I gave a 5 to, but this one is a 4.
Josh: 4.25
Sarajo: Acid-O-Licious!  4

Overall Score: 4.08

We'll Cross That Bridge When We Come To It: Lift Bridge Brewing Review

Not long ago my wife (Sarajo) and I took a day trip out to Stillwater, Minnesota for a little visit of the sites and breweries in the area.  It's actually been 14 years since we last stayed in Stillwater for our first anniversary...wow does time fly!  I've been meaning to get to Lift Bridge Brewing for years, ever since they built their own brewery.  Not too long ago one of my friends--Randy Ust--formerly of Midwest/Northern Brewer and then Herkimer, started working for Lift Bridge and was willing to give us a tour of the place.

We showed up fairly early in the morning, before the taproom opened, and entertained ourselves for a bit playing cornhole (hey I didn't invent the name) outside until Randy arrived.  The day was beautiful and sunny with a slight hint of chill that was burning off rapidly.

Led by our bearded friendly giant (BFG), we got an awesome up-close and personal tour of the facility, located in a large but attractive warehouse building on the outskirts of town.  The facility is one of the bigger breweries in the state, but not as massive in scale as say Surly or Summit.  The brew system is a 15 barrel affair which they use to fill 11 30 barrel fermenters and 4 60 barrel fermenters.  Do the math there--they have to brew 4 times to fill one of those 60's!  I sense a bigger brewhouse or 24-7 brewing in their future!  Lift Bridge began around 2007/2008 and have been steadily growing ever since, perhaps being more cautious in their expansion plans than some, but still ever enlarging their production and distribution.  Randy showed off a new yeast propagator that was the most recent addition to the equipment as an example of a new area of growth.

They have a bottling line, a somewhat "experienced" kegging line (and Randy to lift those heavy kegs), and now a new canning line for packaging up the beers.  We also got to peek into an accessory warehouse where all the bourbon barrels filled with precious beer lie maturing and waiting to become one of the best barrel aged beers in the state--Barrel Aged Silhouette!

Home of future Barrel Aged Silhouette...

Lift Bridge was one of the early additions to the  Minnesota Craft Beer Renaissance (I should trademark that) and led with Farm Girl Saison as their flagship beer.  Back in early 2007/2008 putting out a spicy, estery Belgian style beer as your flagship in Minnesota was pretty bold.  Many of the early recipes for the brewery had additions of spices or flavors to accentuate the flavors and nod to the experimentation oriented homebrewing roots of the founders.  The current Head Brewer for Lift Bridge is Matt Hall, a storied brewer previously of Firestone Walker in California, and things have only improved since he came on board.  I've met Matt a few times at Happy Gnome beer dinners and he's not only a stellar brewer, but also a wonderful guy.

Awesome old wooden fermenter on display in the brewery.

Once we were done with our tour of the grounds (plenty of room for more fermentors!) we headed to the tasting room.  In 2011, after the "Surly Bill" allowed for brewery taprooms, Lift Bridge was the first in the state to take advantage of it.  The taproom is open and comfortable with mainly bench seating at varnished wooden tables.  A jukebox sits in the corner, and a small bar lines the back wall.  Plenty of merchandise fills some cubbys in the back corner for your swag needs.

The taproom has a lot of the standard Lift Bridge beers on tap but also hosts some small-batch taproom only beers that are worth a check.  Randy took us through the then current line up of beers and here are my pencil sketches of some of them from this visit.  I've given the beers a score between 0-5, with 3 being my average drinkable beer.

1) Shadow Effect: Taproom only German style schwazbier.  This was very roasty and dry--much more in line with a dry Irish stout than a malty lager. Still decent though.  3.25

2) The Warden: A sweet/milk stout.  I get lots of coffee, cream, and roastiness.  Very nice. Can't drink much of this since I'm lactose intolerant!  3.75

3) Mango Blonde:  The base beer for this a very respectable blonde--better stylistically than most of the big selling Minnesota examples (I'm talking to you Fulton and Excelsior!)  The addition of mango is subtle but makes this pop with some juicy tropical flavors.  I had an aunt and uncle who raised mangoes in Florida so I grew up loving this fruit, but most mangoes in Minnesota are hard little bitter things compared to those.  This beer gets the balance right!  4

4) Cowboy Jack's IPA: A session IPA brewed for Cowboy Jacks, and available there or in the taproom.  Very strong citrus hop up front on aroma.  Crisp.  Lemon and orange flavors.  Dry finish.  Quite nice.  I like this a lot more than the Crosscut and would drink it regularly if I could.  4

5) Irish Coffee Stout 2016:  A blend of barrel aged Russian Imperial stout and milk stout finished with cold press coffee.  This beer is actually one of my favorite Minnesota coffee beers and is often underrated.  Aroma of roasted grain and fresh brewed dark coffee.  I get a thick and creamy mouthfeel out of this. Flavors of coffee, malted milk, hints of vanilla and toasted oak.  I like this beer best aged one year. 4.25

Overall, Lift Bridge is putting out some very good beers.  I'd still like to see them drop or minimize the spiced beers, but think that some of the newer offerings are hitting the mark well for me.  These guys are doing some amazing things with barrels and I want more!  This trip I didn't get to try the Commander Barleywine, nor the BA Silhouette, but I'll be posting separate reviews of those beers in the coming weeks since Randy was kind enough to donate a few personal bottles of his own to my cause.

Magnetic cribbage boards build into the tables!

By the time we finished sampling beers and buying merchandise the place had filled up for a busy noon crowd of thirsty drinkers.  This was fun mix of locals and other beer tourists like us--everyone seemed to be having a good time.  Thanks go out to Randy, Sarah, and all the staff at Lift Bridge for a great experience.  I'd highly recommend visiting the taproom.  In fact, make a trip of it:  check out the cool downtown area, have dinner or lunch at LoLo, check out Oliphant in nearby Sommerset, WI across the historic lift bridge, and stay the night in one of the many B&B's (I like the Rivertown Inn).

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.

Things To Do In Fargo If You Drink Part 1

Recently, my wife Sarajo, as well as Tyrone and Annette Babione (both BJCP judges) all took a road trip up to Fargo for the Prairie Homebrewing Compainions' Hoppy Halloween competition.  This was a fantastic trip and we stopped in at a ton of breweries, beer bars, distilleries, and even a meadery!  So I'm going to do my best to remember details and write it all up.  Keep in mind that enjoyment of craft beer can be subjective, and also that these visits were a snapshot in time and may not reflect the day-to-day quality of a place.  I'm always curious what others think, so feel free to comment if you have had a similar (or different) experience at any of these places.

In my previous post HERE I mentioned stopping at Hayes' Public House on the Thursday evening on our way out of Waconia.  After that brief but fun stop, we kept driving up north and west until we reached the bustling (OK, not really) town of Fergus Falls.  My family has a cottage on Ottertail Lake fairly near Fergus and growing up, this was the closest city to us during summer trips.  I'm sure the town has changed since I was younger, but we didn't see much in the dark just driving through.  Our destination was Union Pizza and Brewing Company, where we had plans to stop for dinner.

Union opened in early 2015 and is the first brewery in Fergus Falls since well, probably Prohibition!  The place used to be a Dominoes Pizza, but has been upgraded to serve woodfired pizzas and craft beers.  Recently they've begun serving their own house-made beers in addition to a good mix of local Minnesota craft beers and ciders.  Hence our trip there!  When we arrived the place was pretty packed but we didn't have to wait for a booth, which was nice.  There was a lady performing live music in the corner of the main seating area--she was decent but the volume was way too loud for such a small place.  I believe one of the owners took a break from running the bar part way through and played guitar for a short stint as well.  We had a fun server in a wonderfully terrible Christmas sweater who walked us through the food and drink options like a pro.  They had a lot of pizzas to choose from, including a fantastic Reuben pizza with saurkraut, pickles, and spicy sauce drizzle.  We tried all three of their beers between the three of us who were drinking: Traveller is an IPA that had good citrus-orange hop aroma and flavors up front, but had a rough and astringent finish (2.5/5).  The Jeff Davis is a porter with deep dark color, but some tart/sour aromas and flavors that indicate sanitation issues (2.75).  The UPBC Cincinnati is a pale ale and was the best of the bunch, but still not quite to my liking (3).  These guys have only been open a short time and brewing even less, so I'd give them a little slack on the beers for now.  The pizza was great and the service good.  I'd go back if I was in town for sure!

From there we drove (in the dark now) the final hour or so to Fargo, and to our final destination--the Country Inn and Suites, where the Hoppy Halloween event was held.  We ended up hanging out in the world's saddest hotel bar (tiny and understocked) until it closed and then walked around the corner of the building to Green Mill...and shut it down too!  Heck of a start to the weekend!

On our next day (this would be Friday) I judged beer in the basement of the hotel with a bunch of locals and some other visitors.  They run a well-oiled and fun show at this competition!  After judging was finished for the afternoon (we split early) we were ready to go explore what Fargo had to offer.  I was suitably impressed.

1000's of colorful bras adorn this building...

 Our first stop was Wurst Bier Hall for some food.  This place is something that would be right at home in Nordeast or Uptown Minneapolis--full of metal and woods, funky murals, and wacky jackalopes.  While the name of the place sounds like it should be a classic German oompa band, lederhosen, and spetzel kinda joint, it's really more of an upscale sausage and meat emporium.  Sausages of all kinds with a plethora of toppings share the menu with burgers, porketta, and more.  They also have a very large beer (or bier) list boasting several German offerings, but mainly American craft beers from all over.  Oh, and a bacon sampler that came paired with beer samples!  Yum!  We could have stayed here eating and drinking longer but didn't want to fill up too much before more Fargo debauchery!

From Wurst we drove to an industrial warehouse area at the edge of town to try out Kilstone Brewery, who were open before all the other breweries in town.  This place is brand new.  Brand-brand new.  The website isn't up yet and even the Facebook page is pretty bare, so we were a little unsure of where we were going and if they were really open.  But we had nothing else to do so we persevered and were rewarded for our troubles.  We discovered the small brewery hidden deep among the tall metal-sided buildings at the far end of a parking lot (yes parking is easy!)  There's a large garage door that opens up to let some sun and air into the tiny taproom in nice weather, and we lucked out in getting there during a beautiful fall afternoon.  The L-shaped bar and a few small tables provide a spot to sit and sample, but the place is tiny.  A big happy labrador lolled about in the sun, and came to investigate the new visitors.  A pocket sized brew system and a few conical fermenters sit in the back of the place, nestled in with bags of malt and other brewing tools.  A mural of trees and running water provides some color behind the bar, but the place is very utilitarian overall.

While we were trying to decide on our sampler beers from a fairly sizeable collection, a lady that we initially took to be a regular started to give us some pointers.  Her name was Jan Wigen and it turns out that she was one of the owners of the brewery, (along with her husband Randy), and she introduced us to one of her two sons (Brock) who are the brewers there!  Apparently Randy was the homebrewer and has turned his sons into pro brewers to help out the family business!  Brock took us on an impromptu tour of the site and talked shop with us, and seemed very eager for feedback on the beers.  Where the basic appearance of the place was not outstanding, we all had such a great experience with the hospitality of the Wigen family that this ended up being one of our favorite stops on our whole Fargo trip!

Our sampler's were served on platters and in small jelly jars for a fun effect.  While we tasted through the entire line-up Brock explained that almost all of these beers were probably only the first or second batches of the beers and that they would be working hard to tweak recipes over time and get used to the brew system.  I'll zip through a couple of my notes from tasting here:  My favorite of the lot was between the Apple Cinnamon Brown (served with cinnamon sugar on the rim at request) and the Pac's Porter--I gave both a 4 which is pretty high praise from me!  They also had a respectable Citra IPA, and a slightly (but still good) diacetyl-ridden Ironstone Irish Red.  My least favorite was the pale ale which seemed to have a bit of plastic phenol to me, but Ty and Annette liked that one the most.  Overall the beer quality was well above all of our expectations, and if these are the first batches I think Kilstone has a good start.   Thanks for the time and hospitality Wigens!

After a favorable trip to Kilstone, we headed back across the border to Moorhead where we visited Junkyard Brewing.  I loved that place and am affording them their own blog entry to come.

Moving back across the river into Fargo we next stopped at Prairie Rose Meadery. This place is the long-time dream of world famous mead-maker Susan Ruud.  I've judged mead with her at homebrew competitions, and have had her judge my own meads--she knows what she's doing!  Sarajo and I got to try a couple of her first commercial meads at NHC in California this summer and were both very excited to see what she had planned for the meadery.  Oh, and for those who don't know meads--it's wine made of fermented honey.  Like wine, mead can be dry, semi, or sweet.  One can also add spices, fruits, juices, and more to them.  Prairie Rose is located in a small office park (like most brewing facilities) and is a little tough to find at first.  Once you enter the somewhat non-descript entrance you find yourself in a cozy little space that reminds you of an elderly family member's parlor.  I mean this in an entirely good way!  A couple of comfy couches and a small tasting bar with honeycomb shaped back-bar complete the picture.  Susan's wonderful husband Bob was tending bar and gave us the star treatment, serving us samples of all the meads and even a couple of fun mead cocktails that they've concocted.  I believe we tasted about 6 different meads (and maybe a sneak peak of a a few more) while we were there!  The Mint and the Anise were very well done--especially amazing that I liked them since I'm not a fan of either flavor.  The Cherry and the Blackberry were both very drinkable--too drinkable for safety!  My favorites were the Traditional (such a well balanced sweet honey character) and the Ginger mead (of which only Steve Piatz can give Susan a run for her money!)  We bought quite a few bottles and Bob was kind enough to bring them over to us the next day.  These are some of the best commercially available meads I've ever had.

Think this is enough for two days?  Not a chance!  Up next: Drekker, Proof, Rhombus Guys, Fargo Brewing, bison molestation, and more!  Stay tuned for Part 2!


Too much to write about!  I'll split this travelogue into two parts...

I'd Push This Stone Uphill--Sisyphus Brewing Review

In the past 3 weeks 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 hundreds of breweries over the years.  Here is the second in the series...

Sisyphus Brewing

Named for the Greek myth of Sisyphus who had to roll a huge rock up a hill for all eternity, the owners seem to understand what a never-ending process running a brewery will be!  They have a remarkable description HERE that is well worth reading...when you're done reading my blog of course!  The owners aim to brew a ton of different small batch beers so that you'll find something completely different every time you come in.

Located in the Dunwoody neighborhood near the Walker and The Basilica in Minneapolis, this small (2 barrels!) brewery was easy to park near on a Sunday afternoon.  The building is a bit older and nondescript from the outside, and the taproom has a tiny chalkboard sign outside and a decal on the glass door to lure you inside.  Stealth brewery!

There is a long bar along one wall with a barrel and hop mosaic on the wall behind it.  The current tap list is on a monitor behind the bar as well.  A sizable seating area and two shuffleboard tables take up the rest of the taproom. Despite somewhat low ceilings and being on the ground floor, the place seemed light and airy.  You can't really see the brewery from the taproom, but that's OK.  Unusual artwork hangs on some of the walls and a cool huge mural made of bottle caps occupies a wall near the restrooms at the back of the place.

As per my usual routine I ordered the sampler so that my wife (Sj) and I could try most of the beers they had on tap.  They came out in fancy logo'd chalice glasses in a sturdy wooden tray--A for presentation guys!  I'll just give a quick recap of the beers taken from my Untappd notes.  You may not be able to find them on your visit...

1) Belgian Blonde--After coming from Boom Island and tasting their whole line-up, this was the best Belgian ale of the day!  Crisp pilsner malt, bright European hops, and restrained Belgian yeast esters all combined to transport me back to the fresh blonde ales of Belgium!  This is a style that isn't exported to us in America because it doesn't age well, and I can't think of many American examples that get it right. Solid 4.25 of 5.

2) Kentucky Common--An obscure and nearly extinct style that I've only had a few times.  This hits the right notes of a dark cream ale with some corn flavors present.  3.5


3) West Coast IPA--Very nice hop aroma.  A bit too bitter and astringent, which makes me wonder about the water chemistry they are doing.  3.5

4) The First Beer We Named--All Citra!  My favorite combo of tropical fruit and catbox! 4

5) Imperial Brown--A bit harsh and bitter at the end, but the front is very nice.  3.75

6) Coffee Stout--Very bitter and astringent. Coffee tends to accentuate those characters, I might work on increasing the malt presence in the base beer.  3

Overall, many of the beers were a bit on the astringent side but all were clean and fresh tasting.  No infections or crazy fermentation temperature flaws that I often see in new breweries.  I would compare them favorably to Insight Brewing, as they have some similar flavor profiles to their beers.  I'm impressed with the quality for a small brewery and felt they deserved some free press!  I'd love to go back in a while and see what new things are on tap, and to check out their consistency.  The taproom was well lit, comfortable, and relaxed. Our server was quick and efficient.  A great taproom experience!

Has anyone else been to Sisyphus?  Tell me what you think!

Beer Goes Boom! Boom Island Brewery Review

It's been a while since I've reviewed a brewery, but in the past 3 weeks 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 hundreds of breweries over the years.  Here goes!

The first of my reviews is Boom Island Brewing in Minneapolis.  Boom Island was founded by Kevin Welch, who tried his first Belgian Tripel in 2001 and obviously fell in love with Belgian beers.  Before opening the brewery he traveled to several breweries in Belgium and even brought some yeast strains back with him.  Their beers are packaged in pretty caged and corked 750 ML bottles and naturally carbonated.  I'm not sure if they do natural carbonation in the kegged beers.

The taproom opened at 11 and we arrived at 11:30.   I wanted to get an early start so I could visit a couple more breweries in the limited time before our first Twin Cities Horror Festival show of the day.  The brewery is located in a fairly rough area, previously home to a couple of cheep hooch liquor stores.  The area has improved in the past few years, but I still wouldn't park my car there at night.  I'm sure the building was more affordable for all that.  The brewery entrance is actually down an alley and is difficult to spot right away.  They have a small parking lot that is somewhat difficult to navigate.  Getting out next to a big overflowing dumpster under the looming boarded up windows of another building, my wife commented: "You take me to all the sketchiest places in search of beer."

There is a small outdoor seating area in front of the brewery that I'm guessing gets more action in the summer months.  We ran into the tap room manager out there on a bench before we entered.  The building itself is pretty much an open warehouse floor plan with stainless fermenters and brewing equipment packed into the space.  The taproom itself (The Boom Room) is nothing fancy, a brushed metal topped bar located off to the side of the brewery itself.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of seeing the brewery equipment and knowing I'm actually sitting where the beer is brewed!  The place was pretty dark, so all of my photos turned out less stellar than I wanted.  My wife (Sj) and I sat at the sticky and unwashed bar to order the entire sampler and taste our way through these Belgian style ales.  We've been to Belgium twice for about 4 weeks total in the past few years and were very excited to try out the full range of Boom Island beers.

 I'm going to admit something up front here.  I've tried some of the flagship Boom Island beers over the past few years and have not been overly impressed.  Friends of mine are huge fans though and keep talking the brewery up to me.  Now that the brewery has been in their own space and had a few years to grow, I was wanting to give them a good shot.  Here's a quick rundown on our sampler:

Our favorite of the bunch was the Witness Wit--a decent example of the Belgian Wit style that was certainly better than that imitator Blue Moon.  This is the only Belgian style I don't particularly love, but appreciated the balance in this one and gave it a 3.75 out of 5.  All of the other beers had flaws that detracted from my enjoyment of them  The next highest score I gave was 3.5 for the Gravity Number 9 dark strong.  That one had some dark fruit and plum rind flavors that were pleasing but there was a definite Flanders sourness that I don't think was supposed to be there.  I'd like this one either clean or even with increased sourness to make it stand out.  The Limited Action Harvest Ale was interesting--a mix of Belgian ale with apple cider.  The apple came through and lent some sweetness to the beer, a bit phenolic though.

Moving on the the mid-range--Silvius pale ale was a bit too sweet and lacked the hopping for the BJPC style, but did come close to tasting like the mellow DeKoninck from Antwerp.  Saison was OK.  Thoprock Belgian IPA was tolerable but the combination of American hops and Belgian yeast esters clashed and didn't do justice to either ingredient.

Moving on to the ones I actively disliked--The Brimstone Tripel was well named as it had a mix of yeast derived fruity esters with a sulfur note that was distracting.  The Yule holiday beer from 2014 was actively infected with flavors of beet/earth and phenols reminding us of burning plastic and bandaids.  Drain-pour for sure.

During our tasting of this sampler, the manager came around to the bar on either side of us spraying it down with lemon and vinegar scented cleanser which certainly didn't help with my ability to taste or smell these beers.  He was very nice and knowledgeable about the beers though.

I feel a bit bad that I don't have much good to say about Boom Island's beers.  I really do want to like them.  I'm very happy Minnesota has a brewery specializing in Belgian styles.  I just want so much more from them!  These beers are locally made and don't have to get shipped across the ocean to get here.  They should be fresh and wonderful, complex and nuanced.  Instead most of them have common fermentation or sanitation flaws that need to be addressed if this brewery is to survive in the increasingly crowded brewery marketplace.  This is the reason I feel obligated to publish this less than glowing blog post.  I want the folks from Boom Island to take a critical look at their quality control, sanitation, and fermentation practices.  After discussing with some friends, they wondered if maybe the taplines hadn't been cleared or cleaned prior to our visit--this is a possibility but still not a great excuse for poor quality beers.

Tell me what you think of my review and of this brewery!  Have I wronged your favorite beer?  Tell me why I'm incorrect.  Do you agree with my thoughts?  I'm always open to feedback.

A Whale A Week: Side Project Saison du Fermier

Side Project Brewing's Saison du Fermier

This week we take a step into territory we haven't really covered in this series of beer reviews--Saison!  First a little history of Side Project Brewing.  Brewer/owner Cory King is the head brewer at the amazing Perennial Brewing in St. Louis--not only one of the best breweries in the city, but in the state and even the country.  As a side project he started investing time and money into his own small brewing project focusing entirely on barrel aged and funky beers in small quantities.  He brews these beers at Perennial on his days off and both businesses are entirely separate.  I got to meet with and interview Cory and the Perennial staff almost two years ago and they are a fine bunch of passionate people!  We were there on the day that Cory released this Side Project Saison fermented in Chardonnay barrels with wild yeast that he gathered/ranched from his family farm.  Not knowing what to expect I tried a sample and loved it.  I promptly bought my three bottle limit and dragged them back to Minnesota with me.  Cory told me that he expected them to get better by at least 6 months of age.  Here we are at over a year and I'm excited to taste what lurks in this large bottle... The beer has a 97 rating on Beer Advocate and 99 on RateBeer.

Our cast of characters for this tasting includes: Eric Wentling (me!)--BJCP judge, sour lover, Belgian beer fan, Cory King fan-boy.  Andrew Gieseke--amazing homebrewer specializing in sour and brett beers, brewer of the best grape lambic I've had other than Cantillion.  Janelle Gieseke--Andrew's tolerant wife, beer lover.  Sarajo--my wife who refuses to write out her impressions on my whale tastings to spite me, oh, and sour beer lover...  We had this beer as an appertif after Andrew and Janelle fixed us the best brunch I've ever had.  A fine way to finish an epic coursed meal!

Aroma:
Eric: Mild funk and pineapple.  Earthy, musty, but in a good way.  Complex.  Not sweet smelling but I get some malt.  No hop aroma.  Light tart orange peel.  Elderflowers.  Brighter aroma's as it warms, more mango tropical fruit.
Andrew: Hay, lemon, old wood/oak tannin.  Some dandelion stem and flower petals.  Touch of leather and little fresh cut grass.  Some hops.  Touch of pilsner malt, cracker/biscuit.  Some cellar must.
Janelle: Floral--daisies.

Appearance:
Eric: Bright golden color some haze present.  A huge and persistent head the brilliant white color of a unicorn's hide.  Bubbles super fine and meringue-like.
Andrew: Rocky head.  Hazy and cloudy straw color.  Lots of fizzy carbonation.
Janelle: The color of persimmons (deep yellow.) Cloudy.  Light frothy head.

Flavor:
Eric: Tart and incredibly refreshing right off the bat.  Orange peel mixed with partially unripe pineapple.  Malt present (pilsner?) but not a sweet beer at all.  Body light to medium with high zippy champagne carbonation.  There is some hop bitterness but not much flavor.  No alcohol.  Complex, bright, with a tart acidity.
Andrew: Honey, lemon-lime with floral cuts and dandelion.  A little cracker/biscuit.  Some hop bitterness and a sharp carbonation bite intensified by acidity.  Tons of lemon (lemonhead candy) and pineapple/mango.
Janelle: Light, citrus.  Medium carbonation.  Fresh.  Does not stick to mouth, good palate cleanser.  Slight tartness (brett).  Mainly front of tongue flavor points.

Overall:
Eric: Wonderfully complex.  More sour and tart than typical saisons, but near perfect in my estimation.  Refreshing and crisp.  Much funkier than when I had this fresh at the release.  This has a lambic bent to it.  This is by far the best saison I've ever had the pleasure to drink. 5
Andrew: Super dry, lemon bomb with hints of malt and touch of hop bitterness.  Refreshing crisp thirst-quencher.  Lovely balance of bitterness, floral aromas, and citrus acidity.  Lovely beer. 5
Janelle: Reminds me of spring, refreshing and light. 5
Sarajo: It should be hotter and we should be outside.  We want the funk! 4.75

Overall rating: 4.94

Seriously Cory King is a freaking wizard.  That is all.


Photo info: For those who notice my photo stuff.  This week I took a close up of the bottle label.  Then I superimposed the shadow of a light bulb taken at Iron Tap in Waconia.  I had to do a little tweaking in Photoshop Elements to get the transparency right so the bulb would pop a bit and mirror the bulb on the actual label.

A Whale A Week: Dark Horse Barrel Aged Plead The Fifth

This week's entry into A Whale A Week is a rare little gem that has been hiding in my cellar for a while:

Dark Horse Barrel Aged Plead The Fifth

Dark Horse Brewing Company is a cool little brewery in Marshall, Michigan, that has been putting out unique beers since 1997.  They have a style all their own and are one of the more unusually breweries you'll ever see.  They have a tiny little brewpub on site that serves some killer chili.  Out back they run a motorcycle repair shop, a skate-shop, and a homebrew supply store.  Not to mention the somewhat MacGuyver-esqe brewery itself!  Last year's National Homebrew Conference was in Grand Rapids and my wife (Sj) and I went on a couple of organized bus tours of local breweries before the conference began.  We ended up on a bus with Ron and Denise, a very cool couple also from Minnesota, that we hung out for the rest of the conference.  Our visit to Dark Horse was a high point for all of us so I broke this beer out when they were finally able to make it out to my bar in Waconia.

Cast of Characters:

Eric: Me!  BJCP judge, homebrewer, fan of barrel aged beers.
Ron: Accomplished homebrewer and winner of medals/ribbons in the IPA category.
Denise: Big fan of IPA!
Sj: My wife who refuses to write out her tasting notes to spite me...

This beer was a 12 oz bottle, dipped in silver wax.  Served into small snifter glasses to make it go around 4 ways.  This has a rating of 99 on Beer Advocate and 100 on Rate Beer.  It is brewed with a "top secret root."

Aroma: 
Eric: Aromas are more subtle than expected.  Vanilla, bourbon, tannin.  Some roasted grain.  A hint of smoke.  Sweet burnt sugar.
Ron: Roasty.  Slight vanilla.  Fleeting aroma.
Denise: Soft nose.

Appearance:
Eric: Near black and completely opaque.  Very fine tan head that almost instantly disappears.  Some legs on the glass that Ron pointed out.
Ron: Black.  Little to no head.  Little bit of legs on glass.  Smooth an silky.
Denise: Dark, rich in color.  Soft head.

Flavor:
Eric: Sweetness up front with aged dark fruit like prune and raisin notes.  Mild vanilla and bourbon notes.  Dark chocolate or cocoa nib.  The finish is dry and roasty/malty.  Body medium--lighter than expected from appearance.  Carbonation is appropriate.  Slight umami as it warms up.  Vanilla and sweetness more apparent later on as well. Some alcohol warming but not hot.
Ron: A bit boozy, but not overpowering.  Chocolate and vanilla in the background.  Thick and creamy on the tongue.  Bourbon comes through nicely after warming.
Denise: Soft, creamy feel on tongue.  Sweet aftertaste.  Vanilla, bourbon.

Overall:
Eric: This is one of the more well balanced big bourbon barrel aged beers I've had recently.  The aroma and flavor is pleasant but not powerful.  Deceptively easy to drink, accentuated by that drying finish.  Very tasty.  4.5
Ron: Very intense flavors without being too much. Score cut down for lack of head and aroma: 4.5
Denise: I like the overall flavor.  Not in-your-face.  Sitting by a fire sipping this beer is my idea of a perfect night.  4.5
Sj: It's nummy!  4.5

This may be the first time we've had 4 people independently get the exact same score on a beer.  This was a great beer and it was fun sharing with our friends.  Funny how we had to travel to another state to visit breweries to meet friends from here in Minnesota!

Photo info:  This was a composite of one picture of Dark Horse tap handles from their small upstairs tasting area after the tour of their Michigan facility and a shot of the bottle we polished off.  I added a sketch effect filter just to make this more monochrome and funky...why not, Dark Horse is off the wall....

A Whale A Week: Firestone Walker 16th Anniversary

This time on A Whale A Week, we break out a special Anniversary beer from California's Firestone Walker Brewery.  I've been a huge fan of this brewery for years, but alas, distribution into Minnesota is still a no-go.  I've really liked every beer I've tried from the brewery.

In 2006 the brewery put out their 10th anniversary beer, a strong ale aged in barrels.  Since then, taking a cue from the local wine makers, they've started a program of blending several different batches of their strong ales into a special anniversary release.  The bottle I had was from their 16th anniversary and was brought back for me by Rob Wengler when he went to the release event.  For this batch they blended 226 barrels of 8 different beers into the final blend.  The brewery hosts a small group of local winemakers in to help them out with the beer blending!  The final product for this year is 13% ABV.  It has a rating of 95 on Beer Advocate and 100 on Rate Beer.  Here is the very complete info from the website:

The following are descriptions of key components with their original code names:

Velvet Merkin (8.7% ABV)  - Aged in Bourbon barrels 

 -Traditional Oatmeal Stout (23% of final blend)

 OG= 15P FG=5.5 IBU=32.5 Color= Black / 15% Oats / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggles

Stickee Monkee (12.5% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon and Brandy barrels

 -English Barley Wine (22.5% of final blend)

OG=27P FG=5.4P IBU=45  Color=28 / Brewed with Mexican Turbinado (Brown) sugar

Double Double Barrel Ale (14.2% ABV) - Aged 100% in retired Firestone Union barrels

-Double strength English Pale Ale (20.3% of final blend)

OG=25.0P FG=5.1P IBU=30 Color=16 / A Double version of our flagship created by Ali Razi

Parabola (13% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon barrels

-Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout (10.8% of final blend)                                                                                                

OG=31P FG=8.5P IBU=80  Color=Black / Hopped with Simcoe, Bravo, Styrian Golding and East Kent Golding

PNC (13.0% ABV) - Aged in Tequila barrels 

-American Strong Buckwheat Stout (8.1% of final blend)

OG = 25P FG = 5.0P IBU = 80 Color = 100 / Brewed with Buckwheat

Helldorado (11.5% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon Barrels and Brandy barrels

-Blonde Barley Wine (5.4% of final blend)

 OG=24.7P FG=4.5P IBU=24 Color = 8 / Brewed with buckwheat honey & 100% El Dorado hops

Bravo (13.4% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon and Brandy barrels

-Imperial Brown Ale (5.4% of final blend)

OG=26.5 FG=7.7 IBU=35 Color=32 / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggles

Wookey Jack (8.3% ABV)- 100% Fresh, Dank & Hoppy 100% Stainless Steel 

-Black Rye India Pale Ale (4.5% of final blend)

OG= 18P FG = 3.0P IBU = 80 Color =black  / Extremely hoppy double dry hopped BIPA

For this tasting I had over Toby Schneider, a local craft beer enthusiast previously of the beer-crazy Pacific Northwest.  He is also the owner of LocalBrewSwag, a new company aimed at partnering with local breweries to produce brand-related swag using a co-op model, as well as social media marketing.  As always, my wife Sj was in the background making jewelry, drinking the beer, and making salty comments.

Firestone Walker 16th Anniversary

Aroma: (In which Toby tries his hand at describing beer aroma.)

Eric: Deep toffee and caramelized sugars (dark brown, demerara, molasses).  Sweet alcohol leading to a nasal tingle.  Mild oxidation (paper/wood).  Very little hop aroma.
Toby: Coffee.  High alcohol.

Appearance: (In which Toby sees a disturbing vision of Jason's mask in his bubbles...)

Eric: Deep brown in color--darker than copper.  Very fine off-white head that fades rapidly to almost nothing.  Slightly murky.
Toby: Iced coffee.  Hazy, clearer at top.  Looks dense.  Mahogany color.  Looks like Jason...


Flavor: (In which Toby gets more stout and I get more barleywine.)

Eric: Much like aroma--sweet toffee and crust from a nice creme brulee.  Vanilla is strong at first as well.  Has some bitterness and roast to balance the sweetness though.  Hint of licorice root.  Mouthfeel medium--not as thick as expected.  Mild oxidation flavors as it warms up of oak, paper, raisins.  Alcohol warming is pleasant.  Has a dry, almost chalky finish.  Minimal hop flavors.
Toby: Stout.  Chocolate, coffee.  Sweet.  Chalky.

Overall:

Eric: Very different from previous tasting over a year ago.  At that time this reminded me more of a complex DIPA and now much more like an aged English Barleywine. Very complex and tasty! 4.5
Toby: 4
Sj: Licorice flavors don't belong in beer.  3.75

Overall Rating: 4.083


It was interesting looking at the blend information after tasting the beer.  I got much more of the Barleywine (Stickee Monkee, Helldorado) when I was tasting this, while Toby picked up much more stout character (Merkin, Parabola, PNC.)

Photo details: For this picture I took a shot of the empty bottle label, then cropped most of the rest of the shot out.  I struggled with what to do in this photo since anniversary numbers weren't very exciting to me, then I realized I could play off the lion and bear Firestone Walker seal.  I superimposed a picture of a stone lion to the upper left.  Next step I took a macro shot of a toy bear and superimposed that on the right upper side.  Done!