Anytime Tim Pelton visited the Minnesota State Fair, he would always feel disappointed when looking at the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild map. “On the big Minnesota brewers map, there was a big hole right where US 14 and I-35 intersect,” he says. “There wasn’t a brewery [in Owatonna].” After several years of fun, planning, and … [ Read more]
Now Open: Inver Grove Brewing Company in Inver Grove Heights
October 3, 2019 by
A brewpub isn’t just a brewery with a restaurant or restaurant with a brewery. It’s an agent of change, according to Megan Seiler and Glen Bruestle of Inver Grove Brewing Company, which opened on September 21. Bruestle and his wife Kate and Seiler and her husband Don, who own the brewpub with head brewer Taylor … [ Read more]
Now Open: White Bear Meadery in White Bear Lake
July 31, 2019 by
From our professional football team to cultural lore, Vikings play a leading role in Minnesota. But Josh and Dana Eckton believed it wasn’t easy enough to find the seafaring Scandinavians’ drink of choice—mead. To help change this, the Ecktons opened White Bear Meadery on June 29 in Gem Lake, Minnesota, with the goal of helping … [ Read more]
Now Open: Pig Ate My Pizza Kitchen + Brewery in Robbinsdale
May 21, 2019 by
Andy Goettsch cut his teeth in Italian fine dining. Each dish he prepared required time-consuming techniques and attention to detail, and any missteps were easy to taste. After 15 years in kitchens, including five as chef de cuisine for Travail, his passion shifted to an equally time-intensive craft: brewing. Now, as head brewer for the … [ Read more]
Now Open: Royal Foundry Craft Spirits in Minneapolis’ Harrison neighborhood
March 8, 2019 by
For years, Andy McLain didn’t know what to do with his “British experience.” Though he was born in the United States, McLain spent many of his early years abroad—first in England, his parents’ home country, and then in Belgium. Even after returning to the States, he visited family in the U.K. once or twice each … [ Read more]
Art of Survival: Minnesota artists must get creative to make a living
February 25, 2019 by
Creativity has always been a part of life for writer Michael Torres. Growing up in Pomona, California, his older siblings would take him to museums and make him read everything from Disney Magazine to “Beowulf.” As a teenager, his creative outlet was graffiti; when he turned 18, he turned his focus to poetry. Torres earned … [ Read more]
25 Years of Craft Beer at Rock Bottom Brewery in Minneapolis: Q&A with head brewer Larry Skellenger
November 5, 2018 by
Minnesota continued to see a steady rise in its number of craft breweries in 2018, but the state’s oldest brewpub still in operation is celebrating a major milestone. Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery in Minneapolis opened 25 years ago as the second location of the brewpub chain, which began in Denver in 1991 and now … [ Read more]
Now Open (or Damn Close): LocAle Brewing Company in Mankato
October 24, 2018 by
Jim and Lauren Parejko want LocAle Brewing Company to be infused with all-things Minnesota—Blue Earth County in particular. The logo for their Mankato brewery features a hop-shaped bison (a nod to nearby Minneopa State Park, where herds of the giant mammals are free to roam 331 acres), and they try to use at least one … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Ursa Minor Brewing in Duluth
September 25, 2018 by
Mark and Ben Hugus brewed their first batch of Big Bad John Double IPA five years ago, the day after their father’s funeral. “The first batch was brewed with the whole family,” Ben says. “Mark, myself, uncles, aunts, our sister—everyone was there and had a hand in it.” What they knew then held true as … [ Read more]
Now Open (or Damn Close): BeerClub Brewing in Mora
September 7, 2018 by
Riding motorcycles across the peaks and valleys of the Alps provides an incredible thrill each year for Jon Gorham, Pat Gorham, and Fred Holm. But one of the most exciting moments of their journey waits at the end: savoring stein after stein of German beer at Oktoberfest in Munich. The friends’ love of beer extends … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Torg Brewing in Spring Lake Park
August 15, 2018 by
For Dave and Debbie Torgersen, brewing was simply supposed to provide a fun activity to do together. Something they could dabble in as Dave approached retirement from the U.S. Army, something they could get more serious about once his 30-year military career was officially finished. “We went overboard very quickly. It became an obsession,” Debbie … [ Read more]
State of Indianapolis Beer: Race in to try the Circle City’s best breweries
July 12, 2018 by
If there’s one thing Indianapolis likes to brag about—besides basketball and the Indy 500—it’s Hoosier hospitality. But the Circle City has created a new point of pride in its vibrant craft beer scene, which has grown exponentially over the last decade. Indianapolis boasts about 50 of the state’s 170 breweries and brewpubs, and visitors can … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Lost Sanity Brewing in Madelia
March 23, 2018 by
Doug and Caleb Fenske admit that opening a brewery in Madelia, Minnesota—a community of just over 2,200, and half an hour southwest of Mankato—must seem crazy. But the father-son team have gone all in to open Lost Sanity Brewing. “It’s very, very aptly named for us,” says Caleb, 38, who grew up in the town. … [ Read more]
5 Minnesota brewers proving root beer is craft, too
March 2, 2018 by
Brewers across the state take pride in crafting drinks that are innovative and refreshing—and that includes root beer. Root beer not only provides a non-alcoholic option at local taprooms, but it also allows brewers to experiment with flavors through handcrafted sodas. “Much like the craft beer scene, it’s been fun to watch and sample and … [ Read more]
Drinking Songs of Yore: The stories behind the music of Beer Choir
October 17, 2017 by
Centuries before karaoke bars, drinking beer and singing went hand in hand. In fact, the first drinking songs date back to as far as the 13th or 14th century in the “Carmina Burana,” a collection of love poems and light-hearted, irreverent verses. Since then, drinking songs have become embedded in different cultures around Europe, and … [ Read more]
