JABlog 2015 Top 20 Minnesota Breweries!

This one should spark some conversations!  Everyone has their own opinions on what makes a great brewery: taproom experience, beer quality, beer availability, cost, location, brewer, etc.  Each year I do a top 10 Minnesota brewery list based on my own experiences that year.  My results may differ from yours.  Maybe I had a bad experience at your favorite brewery and gave it a poor grade.  Maybe you came to one of my favorites and had a bad experience with service and can't figure out why I rated it so high.  Maybe I've had a non-intentional funky beer from an otherwise good brewery but it soured my thoughts about them.  I've been to a ton of breweries this year--in fact I've been to most in the state (as of this moment) and think I can give a pretty good list.  I've increased the list to 20 since we've had such a jump in number of breweries recently. I'd love to see other folk's listings to see how close we are.

1) Surly Brewing (Minneapolis) As I've said before--Surly puts out high quality beers in a plethora of styles (not just hoppy ones!)  I don't love every beer they do (Devil's Work) but find some enjoyment in most of them.  The new brewhouse with its wonderful beerhall and even more impressive upstairs Brewer's Table restaurant is a wonder to experience.

2) Junkyard (Moorhead)  A cute and comfy retro-styled taproom just across the river from Fargo.  The beers were all excellent, well balanced, and unique.  Key Lime Gose, people!  This was the break-out hit for me this year and I hope they keep it up.
3) Steel Toe (St. Louis Park)  A revamped taproom with more space has only improved the Steel Toe experience.  These are some of the most solid and reliable beers in the state (other than the Sommer Vice I love all of the beers in the line up.)  My only gripe would be a lack of new recipes to try.
4) Bent Paddle (Duluth) These folks simply don't put out a bad beer.  They may not be your personal favorite style, but all their beers are balanced and clean, very reproducible.  I would venture that their Pils is the best Minnesota lager by far.
5) Town Hall (Minneapolis) An old favorite that continues to put out some of the most under-rated and amazing beers in the state.
6) Indeed (Minneapolis) These guys are putting out one of the best barrel aged beers in Minnesota (Rum King) as well as tons of other fine beers.  The taproom is fun and hipster friendly, but often crowded.
7) Waconia Brewing (Waconia) This is my local taproom.  I know most of the staff and end up here more than any other brewery so I may be biased.  But frankly, despite just being close, these guys are putting out some very well balanced beers.  Their Pair-A-Dice DIPA is one of my favorite beers of the year. 
8) Summit (St. Paul) Always a favorite, Summit is still the go-to craft beer option at most bars and restaurants.  Almost under the radar, they have been putting out unusual smaller batch things like barleywines and ESB with earl grey tea for us beer geeks.  I want their taproom to be open more hours.

9) Castle Danger (Two Harbors) Open and well-lit, with northwoods theme, the new taproom is fun and the beers are exponentially better than a year ago.  The Fresh Hop Mosaic DIPA was incredible.
10) Grand Rounds (Rochester) Located across from Mayo, this medically named place is serving a huge selection of good beers at their large brewpub.
11) Schell's (New Ulm) The venerable MN brewery is starting to return to its German lager roots, but is also making headlines with its sour Berliner weisse series of beers.  Moving with the times!
12) Urban Growler (St. Paul) The beers are solid here.  The small food menu puts this one higher on my list and I find that my wife and I frequent this one the most of the St. Paul side breweries.
13) Fair State (Minneapolis) Coming into their own with new takes on sour beers.  I like the Co-Op scheme, and would love to take part if I lived closer.
14) Sociable Cider Werks (Minneapolis) Doing some cool stuff with ciders and beers.  I wasn't a huge fan when they started, but the quality has improved greatly and this place is well worth a visit.
15) Hammerheart (Lino Lakes) This place is cool and very different from most of the other taprooms.  The beers are challenging and unusual, featuring smoke, spice, and barrels prominently.
16) Fulton (Minneapolis) With increased production in the past year, we can get more of Fulton's beer around town.  They are still trying out some cool things, and make me want to keep following them.
17) Forager (Rochester) This upscale eatery and brewery is worth a trip for sure.  Good beers and fantastic food in a very eclectic and unusual building.
18) Insight (Minneapolis) Not sure about the re-branding, but the taproom is really nice and the beers have been solid from the beginning. 
19) Dangerous Man (Minneapolis)  Still putting out very good beers, but also still difficult to get in the door.  I've had to wait in lines to get in, and then up to 20 minutes in line to get a beer.  Several times. 
20) Lupine (Delano)  This one is a last minute addition based on my visit there just yesterday.  An excellent taproom, solid beers in a variety of styles, and great service.  (Sorry Bad Weather, you got bumped!)


This was a tough list to come up with.  I struggled with leaving some off the list that I still enjoy...and tossed around the idea of expanding to 25.  Honorable mentions go to Bad Weather, Tin Whiskers,
Sisyphus, and Enki. 


Coming up soon: reviews of Bad Weather, Forager, South Fork, Lupine, and Brau Brothers!

A Whale A Week: Eclipse Masterpiece

This week we take a walk to the dark side...of the moon!  OK, sad, but it had to be done.  At a recent get-together my friend Rob Wengler (of Limited Release fame) shared this very rare beer with our panel of experts. For this tasting we have a few characters:  Myself (Eric Wentling)--a BJCP judge, lover of all things barrel aged.  Rob--Homebrewer, beer video journalist.  Heather--She's from Denver, need I say more?  Jess--fairly new to the judging thing, but ready to try it out!  Sarajo--my wife and lover of stouts.  This is the last A Whale A Week for 2015…but there are more to come!

5050 Eclipse Masterpiece

Fifty Fifty in Truckee, California is known for their once a year release of Eclipse--a strong Russian Imperial stout.  They put some of the batch into different spirits barrels, including rye whiskey, bourbon, rum, and more.  I did a Whale A Week review of the Old Fitzgerald 2012 version HERE.  In 2013 the brewery obtained some 1991 Pappy Van Winkle barrels (the old distillery shut down in 1992).  Pappy is a savagely hoarded and sought-after whiskey these days.  The special batch of Eclipse was aged in these freshly emptied barrels for 18 months and clocks in at 12.8% ABV.  I hadn't even heard of this variation when Rob pulled it out of his cellar.  In true Mr. Burns fashion, I rubbed my hands together and tittered to myself in excitement!

A Masterpiece!

Aroma:
Eric: Very strong bourbon-booziness.  Vanilla notes are strong.  Hot alcohol--like sniffing directly into a bourbon barrel.  Slightly tart and zingy--maybe alcohol effect. Sweet and candy-like.  Coffee and milk chocolate.  No hops noted.  Aroma is fairly restrained overall.
Rob: Rock candy, bourbon, vanilla.  Smooth.
Heather: High alcohol.  Oaky.  Vanilla.
Jess: Alcohol-y.  Cocoa.

Appearance:
Deep black.  Like Mexican vanilla.  Medium tan head with larger bubbles.  Head persistent (except in Sj's glass).  Thick appearing with legs on glass edge.

Flavor:
Eric: Wow!  Sweet and tasty straight bourbon.  Raisins and prunes as it warms.  Vanilla finish.  Strong boozy warming effect--almost hot.  Mouth coating and creamy.  Dry cocoa and coffee beans on the end.
Rob: Sweet, bourbon, raisins.  Balsamic without the vinegar?  No chocolate.
Heather: Marshmallow.  Pecan pie.  Mexican vanilla.
Jess: Plum.  Thick, malty, bourbon-y.

Overall:
Eric: Wonderful.  Like well aged bourbon, but softer and more drinkable.  Balance is better than expected from the aroma.  End is fairly dry all things considered. 5
Rob: 5
Heather: Good as an apertif. 4
Jess: 3.75
Sarajo: It is a masterpiece! 4.75

Overall Score: 4.5

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.

A Whale A Week: Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate

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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!

A Whale A Week: Drinking With Cthulhu!

The story begins last year with a visit from my oldest colleague, the famed international explorer and dilettante Bryan Keehl.  Having recently returned from Tunisia via a combination of tramp steamer, rail, and motor-car, he ended up back in the States.  From a small brewery in the heart of the mob-run, flapper-ridden, cesspool of depravity that is Chicago, my good old friend brought me a rare and precious gift.  Secreting it upon his person, he risked the Untouchables and other federal excise men, as well as rival gangs, to bring me a strange and extraordinary bottle.  The brewery (now unable to legally brew during these prohibition dry years) was the first I ever frequented, back in my younger, more adventuresome days.  These days the place is run by an evil and monolithic shadow corporation intent on taking over the entire world's production of beer from its not-so-secret home in Belgium.  For years the brewery has been infiltrated by cultists following the dark arts and subverting the very fabric of the beer world from within.  Oh, but the beer is still tasty--perhaps too tasty to let a little thing like that interfere with my enjoyment of their most select brews!

Goose Island Nuthulhu

The base black and oily liquor for this is a Russian Imperial Stout called Cthulhu after H.P. Lovecraft's ancient and forgotten evil alien god that sleeps fitfully in the ocean depths.

From The Necronomicon in the words of the mad prophet Abdul Alhazred:

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die."

This particular noxious concoction is brewed by the shadowy Cthulhu cultists at the Chicago Goose Island Brewpub with hazelnuts, vanilla, and presumably shoggoth ichor extract.  Released in just a tiny batch (400 white wax dipped and unlabeled bottles) it is much sought after by collectors of beer antiquities such as myself.

For this special tasting I took a jaunt deep into the cellar.  With flickering torch in hand I wiped away the cobwebs of ages, half-seen skitterings at the corner of my vision, chitters of unspeakable things echoing in the distance.  Past the recently bricked up portion of the darkest depths of the passage (did I hear a subtle sob and scratching from behind?) I continued to make my way.  Past a rare wine cask, at last, upon a nitre encrusted stone slab, there rested my prize.  Brushing the dusty accumulations and excretions from the bottle, I could see the white crook-necked goose emblazoned upon the solid glass.  Stoppered with thick white wax to prevent decay, the bottle felt heavy in my now somewhat shaky hands.  Moving swiftly I left behind the empty reliquary and made my way back out of the dripping and lime encrusted cellar.

At a heavy scarred wooden table, surrounded by our cabal of adventurous drinkers, I set down the precious bottle.  Brother Rob, cloaked in his customary brown robes, brandished an aged but sharp dagger to cut the protective seal.  Sir Martin provided a hand-forged and weighty iron opener suitable for releasing the liquid from it's long slumber.  Heather, Jess and Sarajo, three fine ladies, bold for their fairer sex, pushed their chalices forward to partake of this potentially dangerous tasting.  Master Hutch loomed over us, keeping guard for any untoward effects released from this mystery.

Appearance: The ancient flagon is opened and eldritch horrors are released into the world of man!

Popped like the seal on a long-closed grave, the hiss of exhalations moan from the bottle--hinting at untold riches or dangers to be had.  Decanted into our waiting cluster of bejeweled goblets and chalices, the vile and viscous inebriant slowly drains from the bottle, black as the pits, with just hints of bloody highlights at the edge of the glass.  Only a slight foam of head rises, but then slowly sinks back down into the cimmerian murk, like a submerging crocodile into the benighted and roiling Nile.

Aroma: A cautious sniff of this liquid leads to outbursts and utterations.

Eric: Strong alcohol wafts from the clear glass goblet.  Earthy coffee from the Dark Continent melds with the aroma of raw cocoa nibs.  The scent of the filbert drifts upon the nose following the sooty melange.  From the darkest jungles of South America, the seed pod of the rare vanilla orchid blossoms as this warms from the heat of my trembling and sweaty hand.
Brother Rob: Smell the hazelnut and tremble my brothers!  Roast and chocolate are strong in this.
Heather: Vanilla bean, nutmeg, and madness!
Jess: More balanced than the other beers we've sampled my friends...

Flavor: The syrupy nectar of Cthulhu tempts us with its untold ancient secrets.

Eric: Refined sugary sweetness.  Hazelnut fairly drips off the tongue, leaving a slick mouthfeel, as if an enormous slug has left behind its trail upon it. Vanilla bean accentuates the sweet taste, lingering long after the sip has finished.  Some warming of the throat hints at strong alcohol hiding behind the sweetened flavors, lurking out of sight but ready to cause dementia and chaos in the incautious drinker.  The finish continues honeyed and toothsome but not quite cloying.
Brother Rob: Lotsa, lotsa vanilla!  A bit of aspartame, this leaves a spicy feeling.  Like a creme brulee from distant France.  Not sure if I get egg yolk, or if the vanilla association leads to these notes.
Heather: Creme brulee.  And Grainnnnnnnnnnsssssss!!
Jess: Smooth...but in the the way that Nutella is smooth.  Full mouth feel.

Overall: The (quite literally) final words on this singular brew.

Eric: The sweetness of this concoction is near overwhelming, but the wild and powerful hazelnut and vanilla flavors make this stand out in my mind as one of the more unique rare beers I've tasted this year.  Better than most of its brethren.  Suitable for warming one on an interstellar journey through long aeons and the cold remoteness of space. A 5 out of 5 I say!  As I sip my final dram, I feel the world shimmer, the fragile veil between our world and...others...gives an audible rip and a vision hits me--an island in the Pacific, rising from the sea, a great octopus headed creature crouched upon its shuddering shores, fish-like eyes seeing into my shattering soul.  Ai, Cthulhu ftagn!!
Brother Rob: (Silent, in demented reverie, he scrawls out a 4.75 in thick ruby ink that can only be his own blood.)
Heather: (Heather is gone, just a number 5 left incised into the wood of the table.)
Jess: (Gibbering madly from the corner where she rocks on her heels, repeating the numerals 4.5 over and over mixed with maniacal laughter and titters.)
Sarajo: (Brandishing Sir Martin's solid opener like a mace, clutching the last few drops of Nuthulu in her glass to her chest.  She eyes my still partially full goblet with an avaricious gleam in her crazed eyes.) "My precious dessert! A 5 for me oh yes! Mine, all mine!"
Sir Martin: (Lies silently upon the floor in a shadowy pool of blood.)
Master Hutch: (Laughs with deep ringing tones, the bloody dagger clutched in one gore-spattered hand.  The one who was to watch over us has betrayed us all...this is why he did not partake of the madness inducing brew!)

Overall Score: Madness!  And a 4.85

Seriously, this was a great beer.  Thanks to Bryan for bringing this back for me.  And thanks to my bold beer adventurers for helping out with the tasting!

Eastlake Tsothoggua!

As an added bonus and to continue the Lovecraftian action, we also tasted the recently released Tsothoggua (also a Cthulhu Mythos creature out of time and space).  I had picked up this bomber bottle at Eastlake Brewery in Minneapolis the previous week.  The beer is also a Russian Imperial and aged with oak and Spanish brandy.

The beer is dark and has a smoky overly roasted (nearly burnt coffee) aroma and flavor.  Hints of dark bitter chocolate are present.  A bit astringent and thin (especially compared with the almost unbearable sweetness of Nuthulhu) but still a solid beer.  Hints of brandy are present, but the oak perhaps takes this too woody and dry.  This is my favorite beer from the brewery.

Eric: 4
Rob: 4
Sj: 3.5
Heather: 3

Overall Score:  Not as much madness!  3.625

If for some strange reason you have come to this point in your life without reading any H.P. Lovecraft prose, you should be ashamed!  I suggest Shadows Over Innsmouth, The Call of Cthulhu, The Rats in the Walls, The Outsider, and The Whisperer in Darkness as some of his best stories.  A local playwright and actor named Tim Uren has done a one man show of The Rats in the Walls for Fringe Festival in the past that was perhaps the finest horror play I've ever seen in live theater.  He hopes to remount it one more time this coming year so keep your ear out for the scratching and skitterings from between the walls...

"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!