Welcome back to What We’re Drinking, wherein The Growler editorial staff look back on recent remarkable beverages. What are you drinking, Growler Nation? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Txopinondo Sagarnoa Brian Kaufenberg, Editor-in-Chief The Basque region is one of the most legendary when it comes to cider and though the naturally fermented style is most … [ Read more]
Variety is the Spice of Whiskey
October 28, 2019 by
Whiskey aficionados know which grains they like in their spirit. They can distinguish between the sweet softness of corn, the mellow creaminess of wheat, and the sharp grassiness of rye. But do they know which kind of corn or rye they like best? Probably not. But this might be the direction that craft whiskey is … [ Read more]
Craft Whiskey: It Changes
October 28, 2019 by
Whiskey seems like a constant. You imagine that the bottle of Four Roses in your hands tastes the same as the one you bought last year, and will taste the same as the one you’ll buy next year. And for bourbons produced by the gigantic whiskey houses like Beam Suntory and Brown-Forman, that’s mostly the … [ Read more]
Jace Marti and Nate Gieseke opening Black Frost Distilling Company in New Ulm
April 4, 2019 by
Few people know more about fermentation than Jace Marti. The 35-year-old assistant brewmaster and sixth-generation brewer officially started working at his family’s brewery, August Schell Brewing Company in New Ulm, Minnesota, when he was 18 years old, but had been doing odd jobs around the brewery long before that. In 2017, he opened Starkeller Brewing Company, the Schell’s … [ Read more]
The Twin Cities’ newest Scotch whisky bar is a Viking ship
September 11, 2018 by
Minnesotans interested in fine Scotch whisky have an unlikely, new bar to visit: a 30-foot viking longship in front of U.S. Bank Stadium. Throughout the 2018–19 Vikings football season, Highland Park—which hails from an island at the intersection of the Atlantic and the North Sea—will be doling out samples of its single-malt Scotch whisky in … [ Read more]
A Pocket Full of Rye: How a lowly, northern grain is mounting a comeback through whiskey
July 31, 2018 by
Stalks of rye bob in the summer breeze in a field near Cambridge, Minnesota. It is a cereal grass in the wheat family—seeded in the fall, it stays green and patient throughout the winter, then skyrockets in the early spring. It shoots up from the gray, powdery soil, gets a deep tan, and then grows … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): Brother Justus Whiskey Company
June 8, 2018 by
In the never-ending debate on how long a whiskey needs to age, Phil Steger of Brother Justus Whiskey Company offers a fresh take. While many consider the job of an oak barrel to be “smoothing out” a spirit—giving the liquid time to breath, mellow, and evolve—Steger thinks that may be asking too much. “We want to show … [ Read more]
Bob Dylan to release his own line of whiskey, Heaven’s Door
April 30, 2018 by
In addition to being a folk music god and winning a Nobel Prize, Bob Dylan can now add a whiskey brand to his extensive repertoire. Having crooned about whiskey many times throughout his storied career, next month the Americana icon will release a collection of three whiskeys under the brand Heaven’s Door Spirits. The idea … [ Read more]
Fooling Father Time: ‘Rapid-aging’ and the future of craft whiskey
June 20, 2017 by
The standard formula for whiskey, the way it’s always been done, is this: you fill up an oak barrel with a clear spirit and then you wait. And wait. And wait. Inside that barrel, things slowly unfold. Alcohol seeps into the toasted oak, degrading the polymers that make up its structure. The lignin and hemicellulose in … [ 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]
Craft Cocktail: Branch Water at Norseman Distillery
April 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment
On the first beautiful day of spring, I was admiring the Wüsthofs at Eversharp when I noticed the patio at Norseman Distillery. A single table was bathed in golden sunlight, as if the heavens had sent down a reservation placard for me and my girlfriend. We skipped across the parking lot to that table and, … [ Read more]
Spirits Close-Up: Water
April 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This month’s Craft Cocktail is the Branch Water at Norseman Distillery, a remarkably uncomplicated whiskey and water. So, for this month’s Spirits Close-Up we decided to take a look at how water can enhance the whiskey-drinking experience. Are you telling us to water down our cocktails? You’re doing it already. Water is an important ingredient … [ Read more]
Wander North to release second Uncharted Whiskey on October 7
October 6, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The liquid distillers use to make spirits is often referred to as distiller’s beer. It makes sense since the process of mashing and fermenting the distiller’s beer is essentially the same as that of your favorite craft brewery. Wander North‘s Uncharted series, though, is a literal take on the term as it uses the malted barley mash … [ Read more]
Wander North debuts whiskey series made from Northeast craft beers
June 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Wander North Distillery, maker of Outpost Vodka, is debuting a series of whiskies made from the beers of Northeast Minneapolis. Their Uncharted whiskies are made in collaboration with several breweries, and distilled from the distinctive malt bills of some iconic Northeast beers. “After the release of the Applejack we did in collaboration with Sociable Cider … [ Read more]
U.S. craft distillery count now up to 1,825 (and counting)
April 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The number of current Distilled Spirits Permits—the federal permit required to lawfully operate a distillery—has grown from 560 in 2010 to 1,865 in 2016, reports The Whiskey Wash. In 2015 alone, almost 400 permits were issued. As of this year, more than 1,000 craft distilleries are now operating in the United States, an exponential growth … [ Read more]
