Rochester, MN beer stores / brew pubs?

I am going to visit for sisters wedding and was wondering if there is anything worth checking out. Someone I know from Twin Cities says Surly might not even be distributed to Rochester. Can someone confirm? Surly and Town Hall are the only breweries I know in MN (thanks to NB of course).

I will have very limited amount of free time and hoping to tasting some Surly and taking a few bottles home. I would want to know what else is available in MN that I can pickup that is not available in NY.

Thanks in advance!

Check out their website for liquor store or bar locations. Surly only comes in a 4 pack of pint cans or kegs, sorry no bottles. It does say on their can tho "Beer for a glass, from a can."

Flat Earth Brewery can be purchased at Apollo Best Buy 4040 Hwy 52 North Rochester, MN

Brau Brothers

Lift Bridge Brewery can also be found all around Minnesota.

Augusta Shells Brew co and Summit and the biggest breweries in the state.

Town Hall, Rock Bottom, Barley John's, etc. are brewpubs and only sell growlers on location and not in liquor stores.

DangerRoss said:

Check out their website for liquor store or bar locations.

Surly only comes in a 4 pack of pint cans or kegs, sorry no bottles. It does say on their can tho "Beer for a glass, from a can."

Flat Earth Brewery can be purchased at Apollo Best Buy 4040 Hwy 52 North Rochester, MN

Brau Brothers

Lift Bridge Brewery can also be found all around Minnesota.

Augusta Shells Brew co and Summit and the biggest breweries in the state.

Town Hall, Rock Bottom, Barley John's, etc. are brewpubs and only sell growlers on location and not in liquor stores.

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Thanks for the info. I will make my sister buy me some Surly before I get there. She is only there for a few months, still a newb.

Do you recommend anything specific from Augusta or Summit?

Pivzavod said:

Thanks for the info. I will make my sister buy me some Surly before I get there. She is only there for a few months, still a newb.

Do you recommend anything specific from Augusta or Summit?

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Well it depends on what your preferences are. If you looking for a nice summer beer that's easy to drink, I am a fan of the Hefeweizen. Both Shells and Summit make a dang fine hefe.

Notables from Shells are the Firebrick and Deer Brand. The Deer brand is an American lager that dates back to before prohibition, made from barley and corn. Firebrick is a Vienna-style amber lager that won 3rd at the 2002 GABF. I like Firebrick because of its reddish-amber color and they drink themselves if you know what I mean.

Summit has a Honeymoon Saison in their Unchained series that is pretty tasty and also says on their website "Makes a better wedding gift then a salad shooter." Summit's most common beer is their EPA. I also find myself purchasing a 6-pack (when bottle supplies are low) of their IPA and the Horizon Red Ale.

Honeymoon Saison def looks like something I would like. I <3 Saisons.

Is the hefe's from Shells & Summit American or German style?

They are both German style Hefe's.

Shells won Gold Medal in 1988 and Silver in 1993 at the GABF for German Wheat Beer Category.

Summit won 3rd at the 2008 World Expo of Beer for German Wheat & Rye Beer category, and 2nd at the World Beer Championships in 2003.

Anything from Summit is pretty tasty, I enjoy their pale ale and IPA.

If you pick up some Honeymoon Saison here is a Conversation Starter:

The term &#8220;Honeymoon&#8221; comes from the custom of drinking mead (made from honey) the month after a wedding because it was thought to make the couple more likely to conceive a son.

DangerRoss said:

If you pick up some Honeymoon Saison here is a Conversation Starter:

The term “Honeymoon” comes from the custom of drinking mead (made from honey) the month after a wedding because it was thought to make the couple more likely to conceive a son.

Click to expand...

I actually knew that

DangerRoss said:

They are both German style Hefe's.

Shells won Gold Medal in 1988 and Silver in 1993 at the GABF for German Wheat Beer Category.

Summit won 3rd at the 2008 World Expo of Beer for German Wheat & Rye Beer category, and 2nd at the World Beer Championships in 2003.

Click to expand...

Haha. Back in 1988 I was still behind the Iron Curtain and certainly behind the Berlin Wall Not to mention that I was way beyond legal drinking age. That didnt stop me from buying beer in a store for my parents at age 7-8