Heading to minnesota

Not sure the best spot for this post is. Im heading to minnesota next week and would love to find some surly seviin or pentagram. Will be near the cities the whole time. If anyone knows of some shops that have either of these that would be super helpful. Thanks

Four Firkins or Liquor Barrel. Pentagram is long gone, but there is plenty of Seviin. Liquor Barrel had it for $22.

I will be traveling to Minnesota this upcoming weekend and staying at the Mall of America. I have never been to Minnesota as an adult and do not know much about their beer distribution and local beers.

What are some good beers available in Minnesota that are not available in Wisconsin that I should pick up? For example: Stone and Dogfish head are no longer available in WI, are they in MN?


What are some recommended distributors to buy from near the Mall of America?

Finally, what are some recommended pubs or local breweries to check out while I am in the area?

Thanks!

When I went i found some nice new breweries, Indeed Brewing makes a really good pale ale, I also managed to find steel toe brewing in st louis park, Size 7 is a really solid IPA, Bombers only $5. Distribution is small however and you may need to check the website to find a shop that has them. Town Hall is really nice but that's in Minneapolis. Nothing is really that far in the twin cities area given it's size, i want to say town hall is maybe 20-30 minutes from the mall. Of course there is surly which is very good. MN has stone but I don't remember if Dogfish head is still there.

Head over to the Ale Jail. It's an easy 20min drive from the MofA. If it's distrubuted in MN they'll have it.

+1 to the above mentioned as well.

If you are venturing to near downtown Mpls., there are a bunch of good ones close to one another. Fulton is downtown (close to Target Field), and if you cross the river, there are three more: Dangerous Man, Indeed, 612 Brew. Just to the SE of downtown is Harriet Brewing, off Hiawatha Ave., and Northbound Smokehouse Brewpub is also nearby.

In St. Paul, there's Flat Earth and Summit, and probably a few others that don't come to mind right now.

And if you're looking for gear, Northern has 2 locations in Mpls. & St. Paul, and Midwest is close by, in St. Louis Park. If you go to Midwest, you're just a stone's throw from Four Firkins, a craft beer-only liquor store with a very good selection, and Steel Toe Brewing is just a few blocks away.

This map might help you organize where you want to go.

Have a fun trip!

The largest 3 of the "craft" breweries are Schell, Summit, and Third Street. Schell makes a decent Alt and their Snowstorm beers are usually pretty interesting, otherwise more of a mainstream brand. Summit is also pretty large and makes a good IPA called Saga. Their Maibock is good, and the Extra Pale Ale (semi Macro) has been a favorite for decades here. Third Street has a couple of good ones, but stay away from their Bitter Neighbor Black IPA. Its like bottled up ashes IMO. Their Lost Trout Brown is pretty good.

As far as the smaller breweries go, there are some good ones. Surly of course is well known. The Furious is their flagship and puts an interesting spin on the IPA with their Golden Promise malt and Simcoe hops. I like their coffee Bender and their wet hopped IPA is awesome too when in season. Darkness is another limited release beer, but difficult to find. Fulton makes a decent IPA and a couple of other respectable brews. Brau Brothers, Lift Bridge, Town Hall, Big Wood, Leech Lake, and Lake Superior are some other small ones that I've tried.

If you like hand pumped cask ales and find yourself in St. Paul visit Great Waters. They usually have 4 or 5 at a time.

Thanks for your tips guys. I have setup a brew tour at summit for Saturday, will head to downtown Minneapolis another day for some pub stops and will definitely stop by the Ale Jail on my wait out to purchase a few cases!

mpm262 said:

Thanks for your tips guys. I have setup a brew tour at summit for Saturday, will head to downtown Minneapolis another day for some pub stops and will definitely stop by the Ale Jail on my wait out to purchase a few cases!

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Make sure you stop at Town Hall and across the street from there is Republic. Town Hall is a fun brewpub with good food and great beers, and Republic is a place with a good tap list. There is a fun Irish pub downtown (can't remember the name!) that has pretty good beer, good food, and lawn bowling on the roof.

Make sure you grab some Surly beers, either in the cans or on tap somewhere. They are really great.

Yooper said:

There is a fun Irish pub downtown (can't remember the name!) that has pretty good beer, good food, and lawn bowling on the roof.

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Brit's Pub, on Nicollet.
Get there early, as it will be packed by 5:00 or 5:30. Also check out MacKenzie pub on Hennepin Ave. - good selection of craft beer and decent pub grub. Their homemade pizzas are excellent.

Town hall is a must. I just had their calypso hopped beer and it was delish. The food was a pleasant surprise. Lots of irish bars in my guess is that your talking about Kieran's. Fun place. Psycho suzies in the nordeast neighborhood is a fun place, it's a cross between an tiki and biker bar, great patio on the mississippi, lots of tiki drinks and a decent amount of local beers, great pizza's.

MaxStout said:

Brit's Pub, on Nicollet.
Get there early, as it will be packed by 5:00 or 5:30. Also check out MacKenzie pub on Hennepin Ave. - good selection of craft beer and decent pub grub. Their homemade pizzas are excellent.

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Yep! Brit's Pub. That's it!

I thought Barley John's was "ok" but the outside atmosphere was great. The Muddy Pig is awesome, and I loved the Happy Gnome also.

Wish I could remember the name of the bar, but they had what were basically crab rangoon (angels), but they were stuffed with reuben makings instead of crab. Absolutely fantastic.

I've been to Minneapolis a few times on business and must say it is a pretty happening city. Now that I'm more aware of the breweries in the area I wish my company would send me back there.

Yooper said:

Yep! Brit's Pub. That's it!

I thought Barley John's was "ok" but the outside atmosphere was great. The Muddy Pig is awesome, and I loved the Happy Gnome also.

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Did you check out Republic or Grumpys?

Brits pub is a British pub, who would have thought?

ThatOneGuy said:

Brits pub is a British pub, who would have thought?

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Yooper said:

There is a fun Irish pub downtown (can't remember the name!) that has pretty good beer, good food, and lawn bowling on the roof.

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MaxStout said:

Brit's Pub, on Nicollet.
Get there early, as it will be packed by 5:00 or 5:30. Also check out MacKenzie pub on Hennepin Ave. - good selection of craft beer and decent pub grub. Their homemade pizzas are excellent.

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Yooper said:

Yep! Brit's Pub. That's it!

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This.

Though I appreciate the time you took to look up the clip art.

MaxStout said:

Brit's Pub, on Nicollet.
Get there early, as it will be packed by 5:00 or 5:30. Also check out MacKenzie pub on Hennepin Ave. - good selection of craft beer and decent pub grub. Their homemade pizzas are excellent.

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I think the pub he's referring to is The Local as that is the Irish pub across from brits. Brits is.. well.. a british pub but also very good.

Colbizle said:

I think the pub he's referring to is The Local as that is the Irish pub across from brits. Brits is.. well.. a british pub but also very good.

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The Local is actually across and a couple blocks up the street from Brit's, but yes, it's pretty decent, for food anyway. Their beer selection is rather limited--BMC, Guinness, Harp...the usual macro imports. Only a few micros, as of the last time I stopped in. They have a decent selection of Irish whiskey.

Avoid Kelly's in DT Mpls. Horrible food and a real lackluster selection of brew. Don't let the "Irish" name fool you.