Beer and Breweries Posts

Moose Lake brewery opening soon

Jul 02, 2016 No Comments

MooseLakeBrewery4

According to the Brewers Association, Minnesota had 105 craft breweries in 2015. This number continues to rise, but the majority of breweries are still heavily concentrated in bigger cities, and particularly around the Twin Cities. But the founders of Moose Lake Brewing Company are bucking this trend; they believe every small town deserves its own brewery.

The opening of Moose Lake Brewing at 244 Lakeshore Drive in Moose Lake is planned for the end of July. Moose Lake has a population of 2,787. It supports a handful of restaurants and a municipal liquor store/bar.

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Restaurants ,

Thirsty Pagan opens new beer garden

Apr 30, 2016 No Comments
Kelsey Picek and Allyson Rolph at the Thirsty Pagan beer garden

Kelsey Picek and Allyson Rolph in the Thirsty Pagan beer garden

Beginning this weekend, Twin Ports beer lovers have another option for outdoor imbibing. Thirsty Pagan Brewing’s new beer garden held its soft opening on Friday. The brewpub at 1623 Broadway in Superior is known for its tasty brews and delectable deep-dish pizzas.

The beer garden occupies a space behind the building that is fully fenced and can be accessed via the parking lot. It features several oversized picnic tables and can seat about 25 people with standing room for about 25 more.

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Price Check: Pint of Bent Hop

Apr 22, 2016 3 Comments

Frigidaire Dishwasher

Bent Hop is a golden India pale ale brewed in Duluth’s friendly West End by Bent Paddle Brewing, a 30-barrel production brewery and taproom that uses water from Lake Superior. Bent Hop has a big citrus bitterness with a medium malt support. The alcohol by volume is 6.2 percent. Compare that to the domestics with an average ABV of 4.2%, and you have yourself a craft beer that’ll bend you over during hoppy hour.

For the purposes of this price check, we compared prices of Bent Hop on tap rather than in a can.

Here lies the sixth feature for the Price Check series where we compare prices of products — from bars and restaurants in this case — in Duluth and Superior. The prices below reflect the rate the establishment charges with tax included. For the most part, bars factor the tax into a flat, rounded off price. Many restaurants, however, don’t mind picking up pocket change. Duluth establishments charge 13.125 percent tax on alcoholic beverages; Superior establishments charge 5.5 percent tax. Since the taxes are extra complicated on this Price Check, we break them down at the end of the list.

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Seasonal restaurants reopening in and around Duluth for 2016

Apr 14, 2016 No Comments

IMG_8288Nothing signifies the emergence of spring quite like the reappearance of malts on the Duluth Lakewalk and the wafting scent of fried fare from seasonal burger joints. For those ready to indulge, here’s a rundown on seasonal restaurant re-openings.

Gordy’s Hi-Hat in Cloquet reopened on March 20, the first day of spring. The classic hamburger stand is a favorite among locals and a popular stop for Twin Cities travelers headed to cabins up north. The restaurant, now in it’s 56th season, is known for its hand-pattied burgers and onion rings, and was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. A&Dubs

A & Dubs, another nostalgic burger joint in Duluth’s West End, will reopen on Mother’s Day, May 8. The seasonal, family-run business at 3131 W. Third St. was founded in 1948 as Duluth’s first drive-in restaurant. A & Dubs holds a special place in the hearts of residents of western Duluth. It’s a remarkable relic; nowhere else in Duluth has ice-cold root beer and burger baskets delivered by carhops for in-vehicle consumption.

Ice cream aficionados will be pleased to know the Denfeld Dairy Queen and the PortLand Malt Shoppe are already serving up decadent desserts.

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News and Current Affairs, Restaurants ,

Craft brewers rolling out variety of vessels

Mar 22, 2016 No Comments

Lake Supbeerior

Duluth beer drinkers have more choices than ever — not just in terms of brands and styles, but also in packaging. A variety of new bottle and can styles have entered the local market, and more are on the way.

Two prominent examples are the 750ml bottles Fitger’s Brewhouse used to package its late-winter series, and the 16 oz. cans Castle Danger Brewery will soon release for its seasonal offerings.

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2016 Duluth-area Beer Festival Primer

Feb 25, 2016 No Comments

Beer-FestAs craft beer continues to explode in popularity in the Twin Ports and beyond, local beer tastings and beer-centered festivals proliferate. Below are some highlights of beery upcoming events in the region. The name of each event links to the PDD Calendar entry for that event; the links in the event descriptions link to the official event webpages.

gcbrewfestSMFebruary 27 – Grand Minnesota Taste-Together
Grand Casino, Hinckley

The sixth annual Grand Minnesota Taste-Together features over 160 different craft beers from local, regional and national breweries. The event culminates with a concert featuring The Voice’s Madi Davis and English folk-punk group Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls. Twin Ports Nightlife organizes the festival.

bockfestMarch 10-12 – Bockfest
Fitger’s Courtyard, Duluth

Bockfest is an annual German celebration of spring that has been taking place at the Fitger’s Complex since 1995. This family-friendly, outdoor event runs from Thursday evening through Saturday night and includes fun games and traditions like the black forest torte-eating contest and the big dip into Lake Superior. There will be music, food, a campfire and Split Rock Bock, a seasonal beer made by Lake Superior Brewing.

GGBBrewfest2016LogoApril 16 – Gitchee Gumee Brewfest
Wessman Arena, Superior

Sample over 100 beers from 25 different breweries from the Midwest and beyond at the area’s longest running beer-tasting event, the Gitchee Gumee Brewfest. VIP and regular admission tickets are available. The event is in its 19th year and typically sells out.

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Bent Paddle launches new seasonal: Hop Forest Double IPA

Feb 15, 2016 No Comments

Bent Paddle Hop ForestBent Paddle Brewing adds another seasonal beer to its rotation this week. Hop Forest Double India Pale Ale, weighing it at 8.9 percent alcohol-by-volume, will be on tap at Bent Paddle on Wednesday, available in 750-milliliter bottles on Friday and later find its way into liquor stores in 4-pack cans.

Hop Harvest will also be available at Beaner’s Central in time for Friday’s first-of-three CD release parties for the latest One Week Live compilation.

The text on the can reads: “Standing in a hop field brings forth a sense of solitude and wonder one can find in a forest. Hop Forest Double IPA provides full hop coverage with a tremendous load of tropical citrus and piney hop aromatics. Malt sweetness intertwines with the American hop varieties to create a balanced shade of flavor that invites one to sit down and enjoy the view.”


News and Current Affairs ,

Blacklist brewery expanding to downtown Duluth

Feb 03, 2016 18 Comments
Blacklist Artisan Ales partners

Jon Loss, Brian Schanzenbach and TJ Estabrook, the partners behind Blacklist Artisan Ales

One of the smaller Twin Ports breweries, Blacklist Artisan Ales, is earning big media attention this week after its announced expansion into the building that previously housed the infamous Last Place on Earth head shop.

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Bent Paddle Double Black 750s will hit liquor stores soon

Jan 29, 2016 1 Comment

Double Shot Double Black

Bent Paddle Brewing announced Wednesday its Barrel-Aged Double Shot Double Black Ale will be released in 750-milliliter bottles “in a couple weeks.” The beer is a stronger version of the brewery’s Cold Press Black Ale, “aged in bourbon oak for nearly 15 months … with a ‘double shot’ of cold-press coffee and whole-bean Madagascar vanilla.”


News and Current Affairs ,

New owner takes over Superior’s Cedar Lounge

Jan 04, 2016 4 Comments
The Cedar Lounge is located just off Tower Avenue at Third Street in Superior's north end.

The Cedar Lounge is located just off Tower Avenue at Third Street in Superior’s North End. The new owner has not announced plans for the property.

The wife of former Fitger’s Brewhouse co-owner Tim Nelson has her name on the recently transferred liquor license of a decades-old Superior tavern.

The Superior City Council granted Cedar Forest LLC a Class B liquor and beer license for the Cedar Lounge, 1715 N. Third St., at its Dec. 15 meeting. The license application lists the sole member of Cedar Forest as Naomi C. Nelson, wife of Duluth micro-brew trailblazer Tim Nelson.

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Know Your Duluth Liquor Laws!

Oct 02, 2015 5 Comments

DuluthPint

Over the next week or so, Zenith City Online is publishing five separate stories on the history of Duluth’s liquor laws so that voters and elected officials can better understand the historic context of the issue they face in this November’s citywide referendum. I have included links to all five stories below so you can read them now. This issue is embedded in misinformation and myth. In fact, former Mayor Herb Bergson recently told Zenith City Online he vetoed a 2007 City Council resolution to request the repeal of the 1891 law because he believes that all of Lakeside and Lester Park was a gift to Duluth from the philanthropic Marshall sisters (Julia and Caroline) and that Myrtle Marshall, who fought to keep the law in place in 1973, was one of those sisters—none of which is true. So here’s a chance to catch up on Duluth liquor history so you can make a well-informed decision on this issue.


History, News and Current Affairs, Politics , ,

#notsaintpaul

Sep 30, 2015 3 Comments

So I’m finishing work tonight and my friend says, “meet me at the Brewhouse.” I tasted a flight of three and ordered the dopplebock. The drink coaster just made it too easy for me.

St. Paul Beer Fail

Great American Beer Festival Awards Winners 2015

Don’t get me wrong, I love St Paul, but it appears as though the judges have spoken.

From the Great American Beer Festival, Duluth takes two awards!

To me, it’s gotta be extra special bitter. (How often can a drink coaster be mightier than the billboard)?

  • Silver – Double Porter | Bemidji Brewing Co., Bemidji (Baltic-style porter)
  • Bronze – Lonely Blonde | Fulton Beer, Minneapolis (English-style summer ale)
  • Silver – 14° ESB | Bent Paddle Brewing Co., Duluth (extra special bitter)
  • Silver – Procrastinator Doppelbock | Fitger’s Brewhouse, Duluth (German-style doppelbock or eisbock)
  • Silver – Pumpkin Grinder | Mankato Brewery, Mankato (pumpkin)
  • Silver – Size 4 | Steel Toe Brewing, St. Louis Park (session India pale ale)
  • Bronze – Firebrick | August Schell Brewing Co., New Ulm (Vienna-style lager)

News and Current Affairs, Recommendations , , ,

Crafted to Last Movie Trailer

Jul 24, 2015 No Comments

craftedCrafted To Last: Minnesota Beer Blossums screens tonight at the Redstar Club in the Fitger’s Brewery Complex.


Videos ,

Lollygagger Pale Ale: Bent Paddle and Loll Designs collaborate on new beer to support local bikers

Jun 26, 2015 3 Comments

Bent Paddle Lollygagger Pale AleLoll Designs and Bent Paddle Brewing Company are teaming up to release Lollygagger Pale Ale in the coming weeks. It states on the can that 5 percent of sales will be donated to Cyclists of the Gitchee Gumee Shores, a group with the mission to improve cycling opportunities in the Twin Ports. The contribution will be split between Loll and Bent Paddle. The new can design was a collaboration between Bent Paddle owners and Loll graphic designers. Cheers to drinking beer for a great cause. The beer should hit liquor stores by mid July.

Bent Paddle Lollygagger Pale Ale


News and Current Affairs , ,

St. Paul gets all up in Duluth’s craft-beer capital-proclaiming face

Jun 21, 2015 11 Comments

Better beer is in Duluth

A new billboard has popped up on Grand Avenue in West Duluth with fighting words issued from St. Paul. Duluth, many will recall, claimed the title of “Craft Beer Capital of Minnesota” back in February 2013.

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