Best of Minnesota 2015: Drink
The best beer, taprooms, winery, wine shops, cocktails and more.
Best taproom in St. Paul - Bang Brewing
The corrugated steel corn crib looks out of place among the warehouses in an industrial district north of University Avenue, but the only grain in…
Best taproom in Minneapolis - Surly Brewing Company
It’s hard to argue that there is a more monumental cathedral of beer and brewing in the Twin Cities than the new, $40-million Surly facility.…
Best Belgian-inspired beer - The Auroch's Horn
What does it mean to call a beer “Belgian?” Is it a particular style? To Olvalde brewer Joe Pond it’s something else. “To me a…
Best Minnesota winery - Chankaska Creek
Minnesota’s wineries have basically followed that old Vaudeville routine, “Slowly I turned; step by step, inch by inch.” But slow and steady is winning the…
Best IPA - Size 7
Minnesotans love the hops. The state is chock-a-block with great IPAs. But the best local IPA rides in on a cool breeze from the Pacific…
Best lager - Schell's Pils
August Schell Brewing Company brews lager beer — and they do it really well. They should. The brewery has been making German-style lagers in New…
Best cocktails - Du Nord Craft Spirits
Now that craft beer taprooms have reached saturation, drinkers are turning their attention to spirits. In January, Du Nord — a Minneapolis-based, small-batch craft distillery…
Best diurnal transformation - Dunn Brothers
In recent years, several of the locally based coffeehouse chain’s outlets have put on a different face as daylight grows dimmer, adding “wine/beer bar” to…
Best local wine blogger - Jon Thorsen
Working under the rubric “Thumbing Your Nose at Bottles Over $20,” for years, Shakopee’s Jon Thorsen has tirelessly touted inexpensive wines that provide good value,…
Best new wine shop in the west metro - Wine Republic
This Excelsior outlet is like a cozy, vinous version of Whole Foods, with a heavy focus on “green” wines. No, not vinho verde, but bottles…
Best new wine shop in the east metro - Revival
No place in the seven-county metro area has needed a swell wine, beer and spirits store more than Lowertown. Enter Revival Wine Beer & Spirits,…