Dan Redpath once sold jet fuel for a living. But, just a month before his 50th birthday, he made a serious career change. “Now I sell a different kind of fuel!” he laughs. After 13 years of homebrewing and building a passion for craft beer, he is now the proud managing partner of Eagan’s newest … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): The Dampfwerk Distillery Company
July 11, 2017 by
Dampf-werk. Say it. It’s fun. And if you’re curious, that’s “steam works” in German. It’s also the name of a new distillery nestled behind a garage door in St. Louis Park. The Dampfwerk Distillery Company is owned and operated by the Loeffelholz family and—just like its owners—has a bit of dual citizenship. On the one … [ Read more]
Now Open: Alloy Brewing in Coon Rapids
June 28, 2017 by
When two or more of the right metallic elements are combined into one, the alloy can be greater in strength or more resistant to corrosion. Coon Rapids’ new brewery, Alloy Brewing, is built on the premise of collaboration that creates a whole greater than the sum of its parts—from brewing, to the taproom, to the team … [ Read more]
Now Open: Karst Brewing Co.
June 27, 2017 by
When Eric Luoma and his wife Sandra Seha-Luoma heard about a building for sale in Fountain, Minnesota, halfway between Rochester and Decorah, Iowa, the couple thought the sleepy town would be a good place to finally retire. However, with Eric’s love of science and people and Sandra’s knack for hosting, the Luomas couldn’t resist the … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Hoops Brewing
June 22, 2017 by
It’s been over one-and-a-half years in the works, and is the culmination of a highly-successful career in the craft beer industry, but master brewer Dave Hoops is set to open the eponymous Hoops Brewing brewery and beer hall, in Duluth’s Canal Park, in late June. It’s the first foray into brewery ownership for Hoops, a six-time Great … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Barrel Theory Beer Company
June 20, 2017 by
At Barrel Theory Beer Company, Lowertown St. Paul’s new brewery, it’s all about the wood. Hardwood floors, a long, woodburned bench seat stretching along the wall, weathered wooden tap handles, and exposed wooden ceiling joists dominate the taproom, located next door to Dark Horse Bar & Eatery. Perhaps it’s fitting that the long wood bar … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Imminent Brewing Co.
June 15, 2017 by
As Imminent Brewing Co. works on constructing tables from reclaimed wood, hanging decorations, and tidying up, Northfield locals show up every half-hour or so to help out, or hand something over like the World War I lithographs they thought would go well in the old National Guard armory building. This is what Randy Clay, head … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Unmapped Brewing Co.
June 12, 2017 by
The story of Unmapped Brewing Co., Minnetonka’s first taproom and only current brewery, is one of venturing into the unknown. Thematically, the outdoors is at the heart of Unmapped, where a mural of an unsettled Twin Cities geography will decorate the west wall of the brewery. Outside, bike racks and a bit of green space … [ Read more]
RockFilter Distillery opens in June poised to make Minnesota’s best whiskey
May 30, 2017 by
The floodgates open and water rushes in. The entire building starts to tremble—cobwebs shake, beams shudder, a haze of flour shoots into the air. Turbines and belts from the 1870s are whirring just like they have for over a century. This is Schech’s Mill, the oldest water-powered mill with its original equipment in the state. … [ Read more]
Now Open: Flying Dutchman Spirits
May 19, 2017 by
The world travels of three pilots are about to make their way into your cocktail. Brandon Thornton, Scott Kaldenberg, and Jim Kaldenberg are celebrating the liftoff of a longtime dream—owning their own distillery and cocktail room. Flying Dutchman Spirits, now open in Eden Prairie, is named for its co-owners’ affinity for flying and their mutual … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative
May 16, 2017 by
Like most beer fans and homebrewers with big dreams, the collective behind Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative always thought it would be great to have their own brewery. They just didn’t know how to raise the capital while keeping community spirit at the forefront of their business. Then, one day it hit them: a co-op brewery … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Portage Brewing Company
April 26, 2017 by
Surrounded by the Chippewa National Forest, the small town of Walker, Minnesota, is a port to Walker Bay on the western edge of Leech Lake, and is a thoroughfare for bicycles, canoes, kayaks, motorized boats, and all kinds of nature lovers. Most buildings in downtown slope toward the lake: the local economy literally rising from … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Loony’s Brew
April 21, 2017 by
It’s not the northernmost brewery in Minnesota, but Loony’s Brew, which started pouring its own beer last week just over a year after opening as a pub, is certainly in the running for the most eccentric—and musically inclined—brewery in the North Star State. Located in Ranier, Minnesota, a town of 600 year-round inhabitants a few … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Tanzenwald Brewing
April 13, 2017 by
While the owners and staff at Tanzenwald Brewing Company met through serendipitous paths, for the past five years every step to opening their brewery has been the result of methodical planning. Fate nearly brought Jenaveve Bell Pittman and Steve Pittman together at several points in their lives. Both are natives of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): HeadFlyer Brewing
April 11, 2017 by
Owning a brewery feels natural to Amy and Neil Miller, majority owners at the latest Northeast Minneapolis brewery, HeadFlyer. Amy grew up in an entrepreneurial family and was inspired by the connections small businesses can make with their local communities. As Amy and Neil began dating and later got married, she continued to dream of … [ Read more]
