Brews and Reviews: Drinking the In-Laws

It's that time of year again.  My father in law is in town!  The good news is that we didn't have to buy one case of Bud, it's all Schell's from here an out!  That being said he has undertaken redoing our entire deck.  This of course has led me to drink more then a fare share of new beers.  So to kill two beers with one gulp I decided to post about my sanity saving friends....

I don't know if this is the first year that Summit has made this beer, but I hope it is not the last [Summit contacted me after posting this and say that it was first introduced in 2012].  In a world filled with Summer Lagers this beer is a great edition to anyone's lawn mower beer line up.  This hazy straw gold beer gives off a clean white grape aroma.  It has a nice gentle biscuity malt taste, with mild hop bittering.  Almost like a lingering pilsner.  It has a very thin mouthfeel, it actually feels lighter then water.  I really enjoyed this beer and good easily take down a few of these after a hard day's work in the yard.  Rating:  "Good"

This is not the first year Third Street brought out Hunny Do, but last year it sold out so fast I am not even sure if it made it to the cities.  But luckily they made it a second year!  this hazy pale gold pours with a tight foamy head.  It has an ample floral bouquet in the aroma.  Soft mouthfeel, ample Saaz like bitterness.  It has a dry finish.  Another beer to enjoy after the yard work is done!  Just make sure your Hunny Do list is done as well before cracking into this summer delight.  Rating:  "Good".

 I am a sucker for a good pilsner, so when the make of one of my favorite stouts had a pilsner offering on the shelf of my local liquor establishment, I had to partake.  Left Handed Polestar pilsner is a great offering, again pair well with the muggy days of the Minnesota Craft Beer drinking season.  This pale straw yellow poured with a short white head.  It had a soft hops presence, and gave of hints of cinnamon in the aroma.  The pilsner was softer then they strong German pilsners I am used to, but I think that might make it easier for your average American drinker, so I am overlooking that for this rating.  It has a harp bitter aftertaste reminding me of the noble hops.  It has a very mellow biscuity malt taste with a nuttiness to it, which was my favorite part.  Rating:  "Good"

So there you have three solid beers to try for this summer season.  What are your favorite "lawnmower beers".  Leave us a comment!

Confessions of a Sober Cab: Walk This Way



In the wilds of Wisconsin, eating the native food.

Sometimes getting to the party in a car just isn’t an option. In my drinking history there have been times where nobody had a working car (college) or the logistics of parking and driving just didn’t work out (downtown events). Sometimes it simply boils downs to the fact that nobody wants to be the driver (often). That’s the way it went down at the New Glarus Bacon, Beer, and Cheese Festival. There were only two of us out in the wilds of WI for the festival and neither of us wanted to be the sober cab. Hey, it happens! In this case we both wanted to SAMPLE ALL THE BEER!  Plus, we had taken the SUV for the trip, which is a manual transmission. I can’t drive a stick. This is a vehicle decision that the husband has regretted from time to time, usually on a sunny hung over drive home in the AM. Oh he could teach me, but then I’d be the one steering my throbbing head through the bright sunlight. I’m in no hurry to learn. 
So where exactly did that leave us? Since we’d already invested a fair amount into gas to get to the other side of Wisconsin, we didn’t feel like paying for a cab ride. Don’t worry though beer lovers! There are options besides motorized ones, so don’t cancel your plans out for the night! Among them we have biking (we had no bikes), travel by beast (there were no available beasts to ride), or the most awesome of all sober car-less methods - the piggy back ride. (The piggy back ride method should be used only in extreme cases of drinking fun however, as it is likely to lead to the loss of the knees in your jeans and a very sexy case of forehead scrape.) Surprisingly,Andy didn’t want to partake in the most awesome method, so we were stuck with something more mundane – walking. 

Hear me out. First off, walking your intoxicated self home can be quite fun. In this case, we were walking from our campground to the festival, and back again, and we happened to pass the New Glarus brewery on the way.  We decided get a head start on the festival with a couple of Serendipity’s on the gorgeous patio outside their tap room. If you’re walking to some place to drink beer, in which you’ll pass other places to drink beer, there are simply more options to drink beer. It’s very simple reasoning really.  When you’re walking you have the ease of stopping in someplace for a quick patio beer that all parties involved can partake in. 

Hello, it's nature, was it me you're looking for?



There’s also nature, if you’re into that sort of thing. And why wouldn’t you be? There’s nothing better than taking a stroll through a shaded forest path and hearing the birds sing. As our hiking path led us through the woods and straight into downtown New Glarus, I was reminded that the destination wasn’t the only thing to look forward to enjoying. The journey can be just as fun, especially if you like your companions. (This is key to any beer event or night out really.) Part of the appeal to walking to and from an event is the ability to enjoy your surroundings and your company at your pace, without the worrisome distractions of traffic lights and…pedestrians.  Plus, exercise, right? Hey, take it where you can get it, especially if you plan on consuming massive quantities of bacon and cheese with your beer. 

The walk back to campsite, sweet campsite, was even more fun because beer. We drank our fill at the festival and began our summery stumbles home, stopping at Ruef’s Meat
Market for a campsite dinner. We grabbed a package of their beer and onion brats, made with Spotted Cow beer. Hitting the local grocer up the street, we added a smoked cheddar cheese and a bottle of New Glarus Strawberry Rhubarb to our evening picnic. Once we got back to our site, Andy set about grilling the most fabulous brats I’d had to that point in the summer. I set about drunkenly scavenging things to finish our picnic, such as this wonderful New Glarus cutting board I discovered.  We dined to our hearts content and fell asleep well exercised under the stars.



Cutting board  - patent pending. 

But don't forget to be safe my fellow walkers! Don’t fall prey to dangers that can come with a drunken walk home, mostly dangers due to being drunk and walking home. Be smart about it – don’t walk in places you shouldn’t (like a freeway), don’t stumble in and out of traffic (like…a freeway), obey any signs you see (stay off the damn freeway!), and for beers sake look both ways before crossing a street. Finally, you should follow the buddy system whenever you can. Your buddy will help you stay on track to make sure you get home, and the right home at that. They also can provide a landing mat in the event of a fall, which may occur when you’re walking and drinking. I myself had to use my buddy as a landing mat during a memorable walk home with my college roommate. While supporting ourselves in a manner similar to that of a three legged race, we somehow managed to trip ourselves. With our dexterity compromised, we rolled around on the sidewalk on top of each other, vainly trying to get up. It was just enough of an effort to cause us to struggle for a few minutes, a heap of giggling hair and limbs. As a passing truck full of frat boys hooted their enjoyment at watching two drunken twenty something’s play invisible twister on a WI sidewalk, we managed to pull ourselves up. We stumbled and giggled the next 15 feet to our dorm without further incident. Inside…well was another matter.  But we followed the rules to drunken walking and made it home safe, minus a few bits of denim on our knees and some elbow skin. 

We need this to help recover from the exercise.
That is medicinal cheese.



So don’t forget my fellow beer drinkers, that walking home is an option. Trust me, it’ll be a blast and the buzz will make your forget that you’re exerting yourself physically. Luckily Andy and I managed to stay upright during our walk. But had I fallen, I would have pushed him first. Remember, your drinking buddy is your friend and companion, but they make a great landing mat as well.

Beers - Doggy Style!



Hola beer peeps! I’m Moe Pug. I hijacked Beerploma to let all you dog lovers out there know that we pups like to go out for beers too! Well, obviously we are too young to drink (evidently you humans refuse to acknowledge dog years at bars!), but we love getting all cleaned up and going out on the town with our beer lovin’ humans. So, my big brother Maverick and I hit the streets to check out some pawesome dog friendly patios where our mom and pop can get a tasty craft beer.

(Maverick and I hitting the streets!)

First we hit up 612Brew. They have a really pawesome patio with all sorts of different tables, a fountain thingy, and of course great beer! The patio is big enough so we were able to find our own table out of the way a bit from the other peeps. My humans each had a flight of beers. I didn’t know beers could fly! He-he... ok, back to it... All were great beers, but the one problem was that by the time they got to the last beer it was pretty warm. That ain’t the breweries fault though, it was like a gazillion degrees out! Next time, maybe a pint at a time. Or, papa could quit being a sissy and drink faster. Either way this is a great patio to bring us furbuddies to and they have great beers!

(612 Patio)

(612 Flight)

(Maverick on 612's Patio)

(Maverick and Papa at 612)



Next I decided to lead my pack over to Indeed Brewing Co. It was less than a mile walk from 612 with plenty of things for me to pee on along the way. When we got to Indeed’s patio this nice lady brought my brother and I each a bowl of tasty cold water. The bowls even had Indeed’s logo all over them, just like the pint glasses. Nice touch!

(Maverick having a drink at Indeed)



Papa and moms had a special beer at Indeed. It was a Mojito Shenanigans. They infuse Shenanigans, which is their summer ale, with lime juice, pineapple juice, and mint. Pretty refreshing on a hot summer day and a perfect patio beer! This stuff must have been pretty dang good cuz mama wouldn’t shut up about it!

(Mojito Shenanigans at Indeed)

On the way home Pops wouldn’t stop complaining about how hungry he was. So, I took him to The Happy Gnome in Saint Paul to shut him up... He can get a bit cranky if you don’t feed him when he is hungry. They have a really nice patio. In fact this patio was Maverick’s fav of the day, probably cuz papa gave him a french fry for being a good dog all day. The nice lady here gave us a bowl of water too, which was good cuz I did a lot of walking... Aaaand as you can see, I am a bit... well... let’s say plump.

(I needed a little drink in the shade)

The Happy Gnome has 76 craft beers on tap and a bunch in bottles as well! That is freakin huge! The food was tasty as well. Papa ordered poutine with wild game gravy and sweet and sour pork wings to go along with his Hell or High Water Mellon beer. I had one of the fries from the poutine... Dude, they are dang tasty!

(My brother kickin it at the Happy Gnome)

At this point I think we were all ready for a couch and some AC, so we hit Dennis Brothers Liquors in Cottage Grove for some beers to bring back home. The peeps here were really nice to me and Maverick. They gave us head scratches and we each got a cookie! This place has a boat load of top notch beers too. They are a member of Sidewalk Dogs, which is a great site to discover places to bring us pups. Papa made his selections with help from the pawesome staff and we headed home. 

(I wish I had thumbs so I could open the door to Dennis Bros!)

All and all a pretty durn good day for a pug like me! My brother and I got some exercise, some belly rubs, plenty of water, got to pee on all sorts of stuffs, and even got a french fry! And of course ma and pa got some fine craft beers. So next time you decide to go have some beers on a patio on a nice sunny day, don’t forget your furbuddy cuz we love doing that stuffs too!

Moe Pug OUT!!!

http://www.612brew.com/

http://www.indeedbrewing.com/

http://thehappygnome.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DBLINC

http://www.sidewalkdog.com/



Acclivity, the REAL Champagne of Beers!

I am a sucker for sour beers. The acidity, the tartness, the sour... I know they aren’t for everyone, but they sure are for me! So, a group of friends and I headed to Ward 6 for the release of Bent Brewstillery’s new sour beer, Acclivity.

Sours may not show you exactly what beer SHOULD be, but they do show you what beer CAN be. Because of this it made perfect sense for Bent Brewstillery to make a sour. The folks at Bent don’t seem to feel the need to stick to what the “rulebook” says beer should be. Instead they tend to do their own thing to create really good approachable original beers. They did their own thing again with Acclivity, and the results are awesome!

Acclivity is a Rosé Berliner Weisse. It has a pinkish hue to it, which can probably be attributed to the use of beets in this beer. It has a great sour citrus fruit taste along with a great acidity from the Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus used. This beer is very effervescent. It’s not a normal beer type of carbonation, rather much more bubbly. This, along with the use of Gewurztraminer must, gives Acclivity a great almost champagney taste and feel. Absent was the overly funkiness of some sours, which for this beer just increased the drinkability.

We tried Acclivity on its own and with Ward 6’s house made rhubarb and triple berry syrups. It was a nice touch by Ward 6 to make some fruit syrups to allow customers the choice to drink Acclivity in a fairly traditional Berliner Weisse manner. All were very tasty, but in my opinion straight up on its own was the best way to drink this beer.

In short, Acclivity is great! It is very refreshing, crisp, drinkable, and approachable. If you haven’t had a sour yet, start here. If you love sours you should give this one a try. And if you don’t like sours because the ones you tried were all funky, give sours one last try with the REAL champagne of beers, Acclivity!



www.bentbrewstillery.com
www.ward6stpaul.com
www.beerploma.com

Confessions of a Sober Cab

You’ve got your phone, wallet, and I.D. – everything needed for a great night out drinking beer. Whether it’s at a taproom, beer event, or bar, you’re set to have an awesome night out with friends, new and old. Hopefully you’ve also thought about your way home for the night (or early morning as it usually happens in my situation). Of course I’m talking about a sober cab!

Sober cabs, or designated drivers, serve an important role in every drinking situation. The main goal of a sober cab is of course to get everyone home safe and free of shackles. Believe me, nothing kills a good craft beer buzz faster than seeing red and blue lights in the rearview mirror. If that doesn’t sober you up, spending a night with a stranger in a cell will clear your head right up. Did you know that those things don’t have any privacy? None at all! Have you ever had to use a toilet in front of what is essentially a room full of strangers? I guess it would be the quickest way to break down any barriers between you and your new roommate. Nothing says “Hey roomie, nice to meet you!” more efficiently than taking care of business in front of your new friend. Although it’s best to get that hurdle out of the way since you’re probably sharing the scratchiest blanket on Earth for the rest of the night. Hmmm….are you a little spoon or a big spoon?

But I digress. We’re all adults here and know the importance of sober cabs and the consequences of drunk driving. The purpose of this series – Confessions of a Sober Cab – isn’t to preach to you or reprimand anyone for their actions. I’m neither your mom nor Officer Friendly. Instead I want to help you enjoy your nights (days?) out and encourage you to be the best sober cab or peanut gallery member that you can be. And let’s not forget the fun parts that come along with the end of the night. Some of my best nights out haven’t ended at the bar. They’ve ended in laughter in a cab ride home, or with the occasional house after party. Just because you’re heading home for the night doesn’t mean your night is over. Unless of course you’re the peanut snoring in the back seat. Then it’s probably best that your night end soon with a soft blanket and private toilet facility.

In this series I’ll share my tales from the driver’s seat and the peanut gallery with you. This friends, is where the confessions come in. I love a good story and am happy to share my hijinks with you. We’ll look at the unspoken rules sober cabs and peanut gallery members should abide by. We’ll also look at options for sober cabs and ways to get safely home. And while I may touch on serious points at times, I intend to get down to the funny side of drinking life and expose what happens when the lights go off downtown.  So hop in. My name is Vicky and I’ll be your driver. See you soon!

Chocolate and Beer – A Love Story

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, you may feel overwhelmed by red and white decorations, flower ads, and expectations of how you should demonstrate your love. It can be hard to navigate through the landscape of pink hearts and fluffy bears, but here at Beerploma we’ve done the hard work for you. This year we’re helping you break out of the box of chocolates! Instead, check out an underrated pairing – chocolate and beer! Wine and chocolate are out for 2014, but beer and chocolate? Now that’s a love story! Along with my husband, I’ve crossed the Twin Cities for samplings from local chocolate shops and great liquor stores to bring you some pairings you’ll want to try yourself. We invited a couple friends along for a tasting and I’m sure we’ll inspire you to track down some special treats for your love as well!

We started the night out with a Berlin Style Weisse from local Joseph Wolf Brewing, Co. and champagne truffles from Candyland in Stillwater, MN. While we were familiar with some of the local breweries in the area, we weren’t as sure where to find a great craft beer in the local liquor stores. Doing a little research we found Stillwater Liquor. I was intrigued by what I saw on their website – locally owned, operated, and giving to charity? All great things I could support. Although the craft beer selection was a little small, the customer service was great and they seemed eager to grow in the craft beer area. We selected the sour wheat ale by the Stillwater brewery and headed over to Candyland in downtown Stillwater. With their homemade truffles, fresh popcorn, and old fashioned candies, this shop (with 3 Twin Cities locations) is a favorite of many locals and for good reason.

 

If you’re looking for a pairing to match closely to traditional bubbly, this is the pairing for you. The sour wheat ale brings to mind the effervescence of champagne as it tickles the back of your throat. The brewery is currently being operated by the great granddaughters of original proprietor Joseph Wolf in collaboration with Dubrue of Duluth, MN.  The label states that they are working on a series of artisanal beers and I for one can’t wait to see what else they have to bring to the table. The beer brought out the sweetness of the champagne in the chocolate, with the chocolate in turn mellowing the sourness of the beer. The flavors complimented each other and left a sweet bubbly feel on your palate. This pairing ended up being the favorite of our friend Elise and was a bargain at under $15. (Alternate Pairing: add raspberry syrup to this beer and pair it with a raspberry truffle.)

For our second pairing of the evening we hopped over the river to Hudson, WI. For this stop we hit up historic Casanova Liquors and Knoke’s Chocolates, both located downtown. If you haven’t been to Casanova’s in a while, you might be surprised by their growing selection of craft beers. The back area if filled with craft brews to the point of almost being claustrophobic, and while their selection isn’t as big as some, it’s has more than enough offerings for any beer lover. They also fill growlers! Further into downtown Hudson you’ll find Knoke’s Chocolates and you’ll never want to leave. Knoke’s is known in the area for the quality of their chocolates and it’s easy to see why. Not only do these candies taste great, they are gorgeous. Your Valentine will be thrilled to receive a box of truffles from this downtown staple.

 

 

We decided on a bottle of Serendipity from New Glarus. The brewery created this fruit ale after a drought left them short on cherries for their cherry sour. Thinking outside of the box, the brewers gathered what cherries they could get and combined them with apples and cranberries to create this ale, and it’s been a hit ever since. We decided on dark chocolate merlot truffles to pair with this deep red ale. The result worked better than we could have imagined. The deep, dry merlot flavor of the truffle made the sweet fruit flavors in the beer pop. The fruit flavors came out crisp and clean and in turn tamed the bitterness of the dark chocolate. Coming in around $18 for 4 truffles and the bottle, this pairing did not disappoint my palate or wallet. It’s easy to see why this was our friend Mark’s favorite. (Alternate Pairing: try a milk chocolate option or the blueberry balsamic truffle from Knoke’s.)

Coming back across the river we headed out to Minneapolis for our third selection of the night. I love the selection and people at South Lyndale Liquors so that’s where we headed!  If you haven’t stepped into this south side staple you’re missing out. South Lyndale Liquors has a wide selection of craft beers at great prices, although I would like to see a greater offering of MN beers on their shelves. We decided on the Genghis Pecan from Clown Shoes of Ipswich, MA.  This 2013 pecan pie porter uses real brown sugar and roasted pecans in the brew – which would be perfect with a nut cluster! (Big thanks to Al at South Lyndale for this suggestion!) So off we headed to the Candy Jar, a Minneapolis candy and gift shop. At the Candy Jar you’ll find friendly staff and a great selection of treats and gifts sure to thrill any Valentine on your list. They even have a variety of sugar free chocolates in their case, so be sure to check them out if you have someone in your life that can’t have sugar, or is watching their intake. We selected 4 pecan clusters, which were a steal for a dollar!

 

 

I won’t lie to you – this pairing was spot on. The nuts and chocolate in the candy amplified the roasted pecan flavor in the beer and brought the brown sugar flavor to the forefront. My biggest regret of this pairing was that we didn’t buy more pecan clusters. I could have honestly spent all night enjoying this combo. This pairing would please anyone and everyone who is a nut fan. This was also our cheapest pick of the night coming in around $9 for the candy and beer. (Alternate Pairing: a turtle or any nut caramel cluster.)

Our final pairing of the evening was from St. Paul. We stopped first at Just Truffles on Grand to check out their offerings. If you haven’t stopped into this local shop you’re missing out. We were greeted right away and offered a sample – how can you not love that customer service!  These candies are free of waxes and preservatives so you’ll want to make sure to keep them refrigerated. I was surprised by the price of $4/truffle, but these are huge truffles! At any other candy shop this amount would make 2-3 standard size truffles easily, so the pricing really does balance out. We decided on café au lait truffles and went on our way to the Ale Jail where the friendly and knowledgeable staff was waiting to assist us in both the Ale Jail and the connected Wine Thief.  You won’t find your mass produced beers here – no Budweiser or Miller on these shelves. Instead you’ll find many local offerings and craft brews from around the country. Here we selected an Espresso Oak Aged Yeti from Great Divide Brewing Co. out of Denver Co.

 

 

Both Andy and I picked this pairing as our favorite of the evening. The Yeti is an imperial stout aged on oak chips with coffee added, which served as the perfect mate to our café au lait truffles. Both the beer and truffles worked together and enhanced the overall coffee flavor that they each brought. If you’re looking for the perfect end to a great Valentine’s Day dinner, this pairing is worth every penny. It was the best of everything an after dinner cocktail or dessert should be. Our St. Paul stop was the steepest cost of the evening at $29 but trust me, these two were worth the price. And if you really want to pull out the stops next Friday, this duo is sure to impress. (Alternative Pairing: we’ve got nothing! None of us had any reason to switch this team up!)

So next weekend, check out these local shops and see what pairings you’ll come up with. And let us know in the comments if you’ve checked out any of our suggestions, or have some of your own! Chocolate and beer…who knew they loved each other as much as you love your sweetheart!


http://www.stillwaterliquor.com/
http://www.candylandstore.com/
http://thenovaofhudson.com/
http://knokeschocolates.com/
http://www.southlyndale.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Candy-Jar/100294666696745
http://winethief.net/#/the-ale-jail
http://www.justtruffles.com/
 

Winterfest: Top Notch Minnesota Beers

 

(In the crowd at Winterfest) 

My wife and I were lucky enough to score a couple last minute tickets to The MN Brewers Guild’s Winterfest 2014 (thanks, Lynn!), what we didn’t know was that the tickets were actually to Beer Nirvana!

Winterfest 2014 was held at the newly renovated Union Depot in Down Town Saint Paul. The venue was beautiful and really added some class to a beer event. The price point of 75 bucks may seem a bit steep at first, but with the historic venue, catered food with carving stations, and phenomenal beer the cost seems fairly on point.  And although the crowd sometimes felt like it had outpaced capacity, it was still surprisingly easy to get around and get a beer.

 

(Winterfest 2014 at the Union Depot)

The beer was ridiculous! It really felt like the brewers, 41 in total, brought their A-games to this one. The specialty beers they brought were inventive and threw around some awesome flavors. There were way too many good beers to be able to list here, but I’ll touch on a few that stood out to us.

Bent Brewstillery’s Winterfest Sour was one that we really enjoyed. Lots of beer drinkers don’t enjoy sours, Vicky and I love em! I have been wanting to try this one for a while. It tasted great and lived up to what I hoped it would be.



(Getting some Winterfest Sour from Bent Brewstillery)

Brau Brothers had a cask conditioned Spiced Sheephead. This version of their Sheephead had just the right spiced taste to add some interesting, but not overpowering, flavors. They nailed what a lot of spice beers miss with this one. They also have a great sour you gotta try in the Bancreagie Sour 26!



(Having fun pouring myself a Bancreagie Sour 26 at the Brau Brother's Booth)

 



A one-off beer we wished would be around all the time was the peaches and cream version of Farm Girl Saison by Lift Bridge Brewing Co. Farm Girl is a beer Vicky and I have liked for a long time. For this version they added organic peaches and sweet milk sugar. It was sweet, fruity, smooth, and refreshing. I would love some of this in the summertime.

 

(Mmmmm... Beer....)

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery (the Raspberry Coconut Jack Frost was delicious!) won Best Brewery of the fest, while Barley John’s Brew Pub won Best Beer for Rosie’s Old Ale, made with champagne yeast and coming in at a whooping alcohol content of 18%. Congrats to them! That is a big accomplishment with the stiff competition at this fest. Unfortunately with tons of beers to try, we never got around to try Rosie’s Old Ale.

For both of us though, the beer of the night was Snownami by Northbound Smokehouse and Brewpub. This beer, a double chocolate raspberry stout, was finished with Belgium dark chocolate, cocoa nibs, and raspberries. It was chocolaty from the scent all the way to the finish with raspberry flavor that waved in and out on your palate. Liquid greatness!



(Vicky enjoying some Snownami)

Some beer fests might seem like a bit more of a party. Some beer fests might be a lot bigger with more breweries. But with all the quality Minnesota breweries bringing so many top notch beers, Winterfest is definitely the top notch BEER fest.

Minnesota, Land of Ten Thousand Beers... Or is it 4?

I was reading an article on Vita.mn that had "Beer Experts" pick a MN 6 pack of fame. I have a bone to pick with these "Beer Experts."

 

Every week there seems to be another list like this. The silly part is that they are all the same! Sometimes I wonder if these "experts" are going to the same bars and beer stores in MN that I am.

 

MN has so many great craft breweries and beers. We have such an awesome diversity of beers. MN as a state is at the forefront of the craft beer movement, but yet these types of lists never change.

 

We have a Surly beer, check! We have a Summit beer, check! We have a Schells beer, check! Throw on Grainbelt for the hipsters, Check! And throw on maybe one lesser known MN beer to make it seem like we have cred, Check!

 

I LOVE beer! Heck, even more I LOVE MN beer! I drink a fair amount of it weekly.... let's just call it blog research...He-he!... But I haven't had a Surly or Summit in a long time. I tried Schell's Star of the North and Goose Town, but other than that haven't had Schell's in forever.

 

Grainbelt? Uhhh.... couldn't tell you the last time I had one of those... Probably a night when I had already had a few good beers at a friends house and maybe accidentally grabbed the wrong bottle out of the fridge or something.

 

I do want to be clear, I am not trying to bash any of the breweries, or their beers, on these types of lists. More what I am doing is questioning why these "Beer Experts" can't get off a kick that started many years ago, and for most of us ended years ago too. 

 

Surly and Summit are not the only game in town anymore. They haven't been for a while now. By only making readers aware (again and again and again and again) of these few beers the "Beer Experts" are selling our craft beer scene short. It takes something that is really awesome about our area and makes it seem so small, dull, and old.

 

So, I am going to make a pledge. This weekend I am going to drink nothing but MN beers. I am going to open my eyes to some new MN beers and I am NOT going to drink a Surly, a Summit, a Schell's, or a Grainbelt... although I wasn't going to be hitting up that last one anyways.... All I want to know is, who's coming with me, man?

 

 

(Here is the article if you want to take a look:  http://www.vita.mn/best-of/230914481.html)

Take Me Out to the Beer Game

 

 

 

I will just come out and admit it… I am not a baseball guy. It just isn’t my sport. I need a sport that has violent collisions on a regular basis, like football, hockey, heck even NASCAR. I probably catch a combined total of one inning of baseball a year.

 

That said, recently I had a chance to go to Target Field to see the MN Twins try to play baseball for a work outing… Let’s see; sit at my office all afternoon or go drink some beer on a sunny afternoon at the ol’ ball park…. Easy decision!

 

Baseball aside, I was actually really excited to go. I had heard great things about the ballpark; the beer, the food, the views, and it didn’t disappoint.

 

Target Field itself is a beautiful ball park! It’s new, clean, and easily accessible. Even though we had the cheap seats the view of the field was great, and we didn’t need a Sherpa to get to them!

 

 

 

 

Blah, blah, baseball, ballpark… Whatever, lets get to the beer side of things! This place is a beer drinker’s paradise. It was great to finally go to a stadium and have options other than beers that start with the word Miller or end with the word Light.

 

My first stop was right inside the gate I entered, Twin’s Pub. Just a normal average looking hot dog, nachos, and beer type stand that is at every stadium I have ever been to except this one had tasty beers! I went for a bomber of Summit Extra Pale Ale. Nothing too adventurous obviously, but I have always liked this beer and never have ordered a bomber of it, so why not?

 

 

 

 

I walked through the concourses searching out other fun beer stuff and found Hrbek’s. Hrbek’s is a full service sports bar inside the ballpark named after former Twin’s first baseman Kent Hrbek… He played back when the Twins were good. Anybody remember that? I didn’t get a drink there because I was still working on my Summit, but the place looked nice and at least had leinie’s on tap.
 

 

After watching a couple innings of baseball with my coworkers I headed back out for another beer. I came across a small beer counter the size of a large walk in closet built into the wall called Twin’s Brews, Beers of Twin’s Territory. This little place was awesome! They had countless local craft beers. It was a cool touch to see the hometown team promoting hometown beers. We need more of that type of stuff if you ask me. I had a Lost Trout by Third Street Brewhouse. It was a little on the chilly side that day, so a good brown ale went down great!
 

 

The Twins lost, but I was really impressed with the wide selection of craft beer available at Target Field. The beer combined with some great food stands, like Foods of the State Fair and a variety of sausage vendors among other things, makes for a great fan experience, even if you are not a fan in the first place.
 

On a quick side note, Beerploma was nominated for Best Beer Blog in the Growler’s Kind-of-a-Big-Deal awards. Thanks to those who nominated us! If you like what you read here, please take a second to go to www.growlermag.com/vote and vote for beerploma.blogspot.com for best beer blog (category number 18). 

Rise of the Beer Baron Pt. 4: Cheese Please!

First off, before we begin if you haven't taken some time to fill out a nomination yet for "Kind-of-a-big-deal" awards please take a minute to do so.   These are Minnesota's very own Beer Awards.  Also if you like our blog please consider nominating us (beerploma.blogspot.com) for best Beer Blog!  We would really appreciate it!  Just click the link provided above.  Thank you.

   That is my Dad, William Matthews Sr. (yes I am a Jr.).  He went by Bill (actually so did I until 2006 when I changed to Will to end the suffering of being called "Little Bill" despite the fact I was a good 6 inches taller). My Dad passed away June 2011.  He didn't leave me empty handed.  I learned to cook from him, how to speak in public, how to camp, how not to hold a hammer, but I never had that "Clark and Rusty" moment with my Father.

You see I never saw my Dad drink, except for twice in his entire life, and one of those was on his death bed.  Not that my Dad had anything against alcohol.  Some say his sobriety stemmed from his chronic ill health, others say it was a lesson learned from his reckless youth.  Who knows it was probably a little of both, or it was neither.  It was one of those secrets that died with him.

But he did play a major role in my passion for craft beer.  It all started with the high prices of cheese back in 2005.  Our favorite cheese shop was Bass Lake Cheese factory:

Now my Dad and I could easily drop a hundred dollars in cheese factories, but the problem was we were noticing that we were getting less and less cheese for that money, and the shop was getting a little too trinkety.  So we started to venture out to look for new places.  One place we discovered was a little cheese shop in Pine Island.  Their cheese was great, and reasonably priced.  But there was something else about this shop.  It doubled as a homebrew, and winemaking shop.  My Dad and I looked at the equipment and we toyed around with the idea of homebrewing.  We talked about it, but it didn't go much further than that.  The idea stuck to the back of my mind, and I guess it did my Dad's too because for Christmas...

 My very own Mr. Beer Kit!  From here on out I was a homebrewer....

To Be Continued!