Scott and I arrived to the Historic Grain Belt Complex in NE Minneapolis around 12:45 PM for the 1:00 PM event start time. The line was 3 blocks long and snaking around the corner. Let the people watching begin!
Note the t-shirt in the above photo: "I love my wife" which Scott asked to be added to his Christmas list.
The first brewer we visited was South Shore Brewing Company out of Ashland, WI. I had the Nut Brown Ale (5.0% ABV) and Scott had the Honey Pils (5.5% ABV).
With beer in hand, Scott found his first tchotchke; a bottle opener dog tag necklace.
Next we hit Barley John's because Scott and I met the owner at a MN Craft Brewers Guild event. At that event Scott and I tried a triple fermented wild rice brown ale aged in a bourbon cask for 8 months and it was called Rosies Old Ale. They had it available at the Autumn Brew Review and Scott tried it again but it didn't live up to what he remembered. I tried the Triple Oat Stout (5.5% ABV) and it was quite tasty. Though in hindsight I should have also tried "wild brunette".
Rock Bottom Brewery was the next stop and Scott tried Catcher in the Rye (5.9% ABV) with 25% Rye Malt and hopped with 4 hop varieities. I had Hop Bom Double IPA (9.5% ABV) and it was a bit too much for me. Scott stayed for a second beer at Rock Bottom and tried the Smoked Porter which used cherry wood. He loved the first few sips but couldn't drink the entire 2 oz serving!
Colorado brewer, Left Hand Brewing Company offered me the Milk Stout (5.9% ABV) which had roasted malt and coffee flavors the name stems from the use of milk sugar. Scott had Imperial Stout (10.2% ABV) which he did not like at all. See the below photos for proof.
Scott chose Victory for our next tasting. I opted out while he tasted Wild Devil (6.7% ABV) which is described as "bold, spicy, menacingly delicious HopDevil" which "takes on an entirely new dimension when subjected to a wild yeast fermentation." Next, Scott tried Lagunitas's IPA (5.7% ABV) which has 43 different hops and 65 various malts. Note: When Scott read this blog post, he said "no way did that beer have 43 different hops and 65 different malts, that's impossible". So, I guess Lagunita's lied.
I joined back in when we visited Furthermore Beer which in my opinion wins for best design as I would like to put all of their posters up in my home. I also enjoyed Oscura (4.5% ABV) which is warm-fermented, cold-lagered made with whole coffee beans. Scott tried Three Feet Deep (5.5% ABV) which is a stout with "a wee hint of peated malt". Turns out they are having an event on the 26th of September and I am going to try to talk Scott into going!
Michigan Brewery, Founders Brewing Co., served us Centennial IPA (7.2% ABV) and Cerise (6.5% ABV). Cerise uses fresh Michigan tart cherries which made the beer sour, delicious and pretty in color.
Around 2:30 PM we decided it would be a good idea to grab some lunch. Thankfully, Pizza Luce was serving piping hot slices. Scott waited in the Luce line while I waited in the Surly line for Hell and Darkness (only avaiable at ABR and it is cask conditioned) and met at a high top table for our break. The great thing about beer events is everyone is so friendly and interested in talking beer. A nice guy talked up Vine Park Brewing Company so we went there after our lunch.
For dessert, I had Vine Park's River City Root Beer and Scott had English Premium Bitter which defining characteristic is its malty aroma.
The Town Hall signs caught our attention because of the creative names of the beers. Visit their website- it is quite unique even though it is a bit difficult to navigate. It defintely makes me want to go back for a visit when their expansion is done. Scott had the coconut milk stout (5.9% ABV) in which raw coconut was added into the secondary fermentation. Both of us really liked this beer and Scott plans on using coconut in the future. I had LSD (7.2% ABV) which was an American honey ale brewed with Lavendar, Sunflower honey and dates. LSD was delicious and calming since it had a strong lavendar aroma.
Another Wisconsin brewer, Tyranena made the cut because of Scott's interest in trying Scurvy IPA. The name would have prevented me from trying it so I guess Scott is more adventurous. Scurvy is an India Pale Ale (IPA) brewed with Orange Peel which Scott said he couldn't taste then he dumped the rest of the beer. I tried Paradise By The Dash Board Lights Doubly Blessed (AKA Imperial) Cherry Porter which is probably the longest name for a beer at ABR. When Scott took a sip he was equally unimpressed with this one. That being said, Tyranena did inspire him to use orange peel in one of his future brews so all is not lost.
To avoid getting a nasty headache from the combination of beer and sun, we decided to take a break from both by heading to the music tent. We enjoyed the sounds of Roe Family Singers who describe themselves as "good-time, old-time, hillbilly band". Scott and I both enjoyed them and I hope to buy some of their music and see them live again. I was super impressed with Kim Roe as she had her baby, Elspeth on her back while washboarding. So cool! They reminded me of many of the bands who played in the bars in Flagtaff, AZ when I lived there.
At this point in the afternoon my notetaking abilities started lapsing so I am not too sure which brewery we visited next. I know we went back to Surly so that I could have more Hell and Scott could try another beer but I am not even sure what he got. We did meet up with Scott's co-worker, Jason Purtle and his friend, Peter Bulk. We also chatted up a nice University of Minnesota Pre-Med Senior who was "tailgating" for their first game in the new stadium.
Before leaving, Scott tried the Raspberry Ale from Dark Horse Brewing Company.
I enjoyed tasting so many great beers but the people watching was subpurb. Here are some of the highlights...
German Heritage
Irish Heritage
Beer Enthusiasm
Tattoo Enthusiasm
Note: I really liked the flowers on this woman's back.
Crazy Costume
Just Crazy
Looks I Like But Couldn't Pull Off if I Tried
Baby Beer Bjorn
Note to all my new parent friends: There were a lot of babies and toddlers at this event.
Pipe Smokin
All that beer drinking and people watching in the sun made us tired! We left around 4:00 PM to keep in line with my mom's advice which I've been living by lately: Leave while you're still having fun. Fun indeed. To top it off, we went to Izzy's Ice Cream Parlor for "dinner".
No comments:
Post a Comment