The Mash-Up: Anniversaries, Parties, Picnics and Festivals to Fill Your Summer Weekends

With over 175 breweries now pouring their beer in Minnesota, there’s always something new to try. To keep you up to date, we present The Mash-Up—our weekly rundown of new beers and seasonal releases in Minnesota from your favorite local and national breweries. Visit growlermag.com every Friday for the latest or sign up for a weekly email.

It’s mid-summer and the celebrations are in full swing. Sisyphus and Talking Waters have anniversary parties this week, Wild Mind and Venn are planning August parties, and Junkyard hosts the Rare Beer Picnic in Moorhead on Saturday. Meanwhile, breweries are leaking lineups for the annual All Pints North festival in Duluth later this month, with some of those beers hitting tap lines now.

Clown Shoes has a new Minnesota-exclusive to get beer fans worked up, while Bell’s, HeadFlyer, and Urban Growler have each launched their own new series. And although it’s been a hot July so far, there are signs of what’s to come as many breweries have begun fermentation on their Oktoberfest lagers.

 

 

Each week, The Growler’s editorial team highlights five of the most tantalizing new beers hitting taps and store shelves that we’re most excited to try.

Earth Rider Hazy ‘Bout You

A collaboration with Ursa Minor for All Pints North, it features Bravo and Cashmere hops, plus cranberries. It goes on tap at the brewery today at 5pm and will also be featured at the upcoming beer festival.

Fair State Fruity Booms

With summer in full force, Fair State has added fruit puree, including blackberry, ginger, and mango, to make a slushie using their 5.3% ABV hard seltzer as a base.

HeadFlyer Cash SMaSH

A pale ale with fruit hop character and a soft, smooth body, the brewery says. It features Maris Otter malt and Cashmere hops.

Imminent Summer S(Q)ualls

“This malt-focused ale lends aromatic notes of dark chocolate, molasses, and coffee. A light touch of dried fruit sweetness is followed by mild roast overtones, finishing fairly dry,” Imminent says.

Town Hall Brewery Wheat Shine

A new India pale lager that pours at 5.3% ABV with notes of orange marmalade, tangerine, papaya, and hints of pepper and grass. The brewery used rolled oats for a velvety texture.

New beers available this week (July 15–July 21)

Bad Weather Brewing Company

• Clouds of Chaos – A Hazy IPA with orange, lemon, and mango flavors.

Bald Man Brewing

• Dunkel Feelgood – A 4.5% German-style dunkelweizen with notes of caramel, clove, and subtle banana.

Bell’s Brewery

• The Prairie-Grass Dividing – The latest in a series inspired by the work of Walt Whitman, the latest is a 4.5% ABV gose with plum, salt, and coriander. Sold in 6-packs of 12-ounce bottles and on draft.

BlackStack Brewing

• Corporate Jargon – A soft and smooth strawberry and mango Berliner weisse, the brewery says. 4.8% ABV.

Clown Shoes Beer

• Don’t Fear The Blender #2 – A nationally distributed fruit smoothie IPA with strawberry and raspberry.
• Minnesota Mean – “We brewed this state-exclusive hazy New England Style IPA for our friends in the North Star State. Wheat and oats contribute to a full-bodied experience and robust mouthfeel, while dry hop additions of Citra and Amarillo produce bold, juicy flavors of citrus,” the brewery says. 6.75% ABV, and available in 16-ounce cans and on draft.

Clutch Brewing Company

• TwoStroke Pale Ale

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

• Mango HefShake – A juicy hefeweizen with fresh mango puree and lactose.
• Pineapple Passionfruit Milkshake IPA

Earth Rider Brewery

• Hazy ‘Bout You – Top Flight pick

Excelsior Brewing Company

• Helios Hefeweizen – A German-style hefeweizen that pours a pale golden color and carries notes of banana, clove, and orange, the brewery says. 5.1% ABV, 18 IBU.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

• Fruity Booms – Top Flight pick
• Double Spirit Foul – “This is the DDH Double IPA version of our Hazy IPA collaboration with Modern Times Beer (in California). It’s dank, tropical, and very juicy,” Fair State says. It will be released on Friday and Saturday in limited supply. It’s also on tap at the brewery beginning today.

Founders Brewing Co.

• Pilsner – Formerly PC Pils, Pilsner is now available nationally.

Foxhole Brewhouse

• Black IPA – The brewery tapped a limited batch of this experimental recipe last week.
• Raspberry Dreamsicle – Tapped last Wednesday at the Willmar brewery.

Giesenbräu Bier Co.

• Pineapple Lemmiwinks – A Berliner weiss with pineapple.

Goat Ridge Brewing Co.

• Anticlass Kolsch

Grand Rounds Brewing Company

• Commerce Wheat – A 5.7% ABV, 14 IBU hefeweizen.
• Raspberry E. Nigma – A juicy 6.8% ABV, 55 IBU IPA with added raspberry, lactose, and vanilla.

HeadFlyer Brewing

• Cash SMaSH – Top Flight pick

Hoops Brewing Company

• #1120 Peach n Pear Wheat – This is a light wheat ale with “tart peach and sweet pear juicy notes,” the brewery says. 5% ABV, 12 IBU.
• #218 SPA – A 7% ABV, 70 IBU strong pale ale with Minnesota-grown hops and Canadian malts.

Imminent Brewing

• Summer S(Q)ualls – Top Flight pick

Jack Pine Brewery

• Neon Pink Cotton Candy Cream Ale – Tapped last Friday and also for sale in cans in the Brainerd lakes area, St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities metro area in limited supply.

Junkyard Brewing Co.        

• Dirty Pete and the Dungeon Chiefs – A New England–style IPA featuring Mosaic and Ekuanot hops.
• Tropical Savana – A key lime gose available in Crowlers.
• Wicked Awesome Slurry – A New England–style double IPA.

Junkyard hosts the Rare Beer Picnic in Moorhead this Saturday, July 20, including several guest breweries. Their taps include:

• Barrel Aged Rocky Road – A 12.3% ABV imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels and conditioned with toasted walnut, cocoa nibs, and marshmallow.
• Barrel Aged King Size – A 12.3% ABV imperial stout aged in rye whiskey barrels.
• Big Kahuna – A 10.4% ABV imperial coconut dark ale.
• Barrel Aged Free Candy – A 10.7% ABV Belgian quad with brettanomyces, aged in pinot noir and whiskey barrels.
• Secret Beach Sour DIPA – An 8.6% ABV double IPA brewed in collaboration with Back Channel and conditioned on plum and raspberry.
• Double Dry Hopped Ariana Fonzie Experimental IPA – 6.8% ABV
• Key Lime Gose – 4.7% ABV
• Mixed Culture Foudre Sour – 7.2% ABV
• Portage Brewing Company & Junkyard Brewing Company Collaboration – A table beer with fresh apricot, aged in wine barrels.
• Zappa Experimental IPA – A 6.8% ABV New England–style IPA.
• Experimental Session Ale with Conan Yeast – 4.3% ABV.
• Barrel Aged Vladmir’s Pegasus – A 10.7% ABV Russian imperial stout.
• Barrel Aged Estonia – A 10% ABV barrel-aged smoked Baltic porter.

Kinney Creek Brewery

• Miss Agatha – A Belgian ale with subtle banana flavors and mild bitterness, the brewery says. 7.7% ABV, 24 IBU.

LocAle Brewing Company

• MN SMaSH – A golden ale made with Minnesota ingredients that is “a light, easy-drinking ale with grain and floral berry notes,” LocAle says.

Modist Brewing Co.

• Demons on the Weekend – On tap this Saturday and in cans next week, this is a double dry-hopped IPA with mango, tangerine, honey, and milk sugar that Modist brewed in collaboration with 18th Street Brewery (in Indiana).

Pantown Brewing Company

• Hackamore Strawberry Rhubarb Kettle Sour

Sisyphus Brewing

Sisyphus celebrates their five year anniversary all week long, including a comedy show this weekend and a new beer released each day:

• 2019 Cake Beer – Made with 24 chocolate cakes, this beer taps today, Friday, July 19, and is a 9.5% ABV, 51 IBU imperial stout.
• Brandy Barrel-Aged Weeliam Wallace – A 9% ABV, 22 IBU barrel-aged scotch ale.
• Cam Cam Wonderland – A 7.4% ABV, 45 IBU double milkshake IPA with guava, mango, and cherry.
• Is that A Cucumber In Your Pils? – The first of the special releases, a cucumber pilsner. 4.5% ABV, 25 IBU.
• Jack & Coconut Stout – A 10% ABV, 60 IBU imperial stout aged in Jack Daniels barrels. Available on Saturday.
• Super Jackpot! – A 10% ABV, 30 IBU imperial peanut butter stout.

Summit Brewing Company

• Working Class Hero ESB – On tap in the Ratskeller now, this is an ESB with notes of English toffee, orange marmalade, and fresh berries.

Talking Waters Brewing Co.

The Montevideo brewery celebrates its third anniversary this weekend.

• Making Waves – A tiki cocktail-inspired sour ale taps today. Available as a slushie on Saturday.
• Suntan – Tapping at 3pm today, this in a lime and sea salt infusion beer.
• What’s Shakin’ Milkshake IPA – Made with pineapple, lulu, and strawberry. Available on Saturday, both on draft and in slushie form.

Tanzenwald Brewing Company

• Um Yah Yah – “Lightly kettle and dry-hopped with Citra,” this is a new 5.1% ABV, 5 IBU brut IPA that Tanzenwald describes as “dry, effervescent, [with] hints of grapefruit rind, orange, [and] white grape.”

The Lab

• New England IPA 0102 – Newly tapped, this is a 5.7% ABV, 45 IBU Hazy IPA with floral and pine aromas to complement tropical and mango flavors.
• Nitro Coconut Porter 0101 – Now on tap, this is a robust porter with dark malt character along with a smooth body and notes of chocolate and subtle coffee. Limited in supply, it was aged on toasted coconut. 6% ABV, 40 IBU.
• Watermelon Gose 0101 – “A tart summer refresher with notes of watermelon rind and made with Himalayan sea salt,” The Lab says. 5.3% ABV, 19 IBU.

Town Hall Brewery

• Wheat Shine – Top Flight pick

Urban Growler Brewing Company

• Cloudy Sunshine – A 7% ABV, 30 IBU New England–style IPA.

Wild Mind Artisan Ales

• Carbonite Han – This is a Hazy IPA defined by passionfruit and grapefruit flavors with a pillowy body, the brewery says.
• Gooey Globs – A collaboration with Mikkeller, this is a juicy IPA inspired by mango sticky rice, Wild Mind says. On tap at Ansari’s in Eagan.

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

• Skipper – A nitrogenated English mild that the brewery describes as “light and creamy.”

Yeorg Brewing Company

• Dunkelweizen – “Initial scents of banana bread dough and roasted malt on the full-bodied palate. Creamy and dense, silky in texture, with attractive flavors of toasted bread, clove, caramel, brown sugar, and a touch of citrus peel,” the brewery says. 5.5% ABV.

Beers just announced

Avery Brewing Company

• Rocky Mountain Rosé – Made with wine grapes, this is a bright pink beer alternative to the canned wine movement. To release in 12-ounce cans on July 26, it’s 4.4% ABV and is described as bright, crisp, and low calorie.

BlackStack Brewing

• TBD – An unnamed collaboration with Barrel Theory is in the works.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

• 3 Cups of Lemongrass Ale – This collaboration with Witchhunt will be available at All Pints North on July 27 and in the Dangerous Man taproom on August 1.

Forager Brewery

• Modist Collaboration – Last week, Forager partnered with Modist for an upcoming beer that will contain buckwheat.

Founders Brewing Co.

• Mosaic Promise – On tap at both Michigan taprooms now and coming to liquor stores soon.

Foxhole Brewhouse

• Foxtoberfest – In the works for a late summer or fall release.

Pantown Brewing Company

• Oktoberfest – St. Cloud’s newest brewery has started work on this year’s Oktoberfest, scheduled to release in September.

Urban Growler Brewing Company

• Blueberry Wheat – “An elemental, crisp wheat beer transformed into blueberry deliciousness topped by a gorgeous, frothy, lavender head,” Urban Growler says of this Plow To Pint series release, set to tap next Tuesday, July 23. 5.6% ABV, 10 IBU.

Utepils Brewing Co.

• Receptional – The seasonal festbier will return later this month. Utepils hosts their Oktoberfest + Vow Renewal event on the weekend of September 21‒22.
• Skolsch – Copacetic kolsch gets a football season rebrand with new cans hitting the market later this month.

Venn Brewing Company

On August 10, Venn will throw Cosmosis: Sour Fest with eight featured beers served in two different flight-of-four arrangements:

• Pomegranate Guava Sour
• Mango Sour
• Pineapple Sour
• Triple Berry Sour
• Tart Cherry Sour
• Black Cherry Sour
• Raspberry Sour
• Black Currant Sour

Waconia Brewing Company

• Bob’s Pale Ale – Set to tap on July 22.

Wild Mind Artisan Ales

• Passion Noix De Coco – The featured beer for their third-anniversary party on August 3.

Yeorg Brewing Company

• Festbier – “Notes of fresh-baked bread, roasted malt, peanut shell, and a touch of soft caramel” define this beer, Yeorg says, along with earthy flavors and a smooth, clean, and creamy body.

 

Curious about recent releases? Peruse our Mash-Up archives. Did we miss a beer release or announcement? Email us at [email protected] to let us know about new beers from this week and beyond. Or let us know what new beer you’re enjoying by using #TheMashUp on Twitter and Instagram.