The local craft brew scene is, at first glance, a dizzying one. With seven breweries and seven brewpubs right here in the Twin Cities (and another six breweries and eight brewpubs elsewhere in the region), the casual beer drinker can choose from more than 100 Minnesota-made beers any day of the week.
But where does the casual beer drinker begin? All those varieties mean many different flavor profiles, and finding your favorite combination of barley and hops can be a lengthy, disorienting process. Without proper guidance, one could easily wind up lost in a sea of suds, bewildered, perhaps a little soused, wondering, "Is there a difference between porter and stout? What does 'cask-conditioned' mean? Isn't gluten-free beer just a little sacrilegious?"
One place to start getting some answers is the Autumn Brew Review, the annual outdoor beer festival presented this Saturday by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild. Colin Mullen, brewmaster at Barley John's Brew Pub in New Brighton and co-organizer of the event, says attendees will be able to sample offerings from 49 beer vendors this year, 21 of them from our great state. If you scored tickets to the Review (sold out since the day they went on sale), you'll be able to chat up the brewers and learn about brewing methods, ingredient characteristics and what makes their beers exceptional. If you didn't get tickets, mark your calendar for Winterfest on Feb. 6. This annual festival features only members of the Brewers Guild, so expect local favorites such as Brau Brothers, Summit and Surly, as well as newcomers such as Flat Earth and Lift Bridge. (Sign up for ticket sales alerts at www.mncraftbrew.org.) An even better option? Head to one of the metro's great brewpubs, beer bars or craft brew-friendly liquor stores, where Brewmasters, bartenders and employees enthusiastically educate on all the local beers they make and sell.
By the way, brewmaster Mullen fills us in: "A porter is generally sweeter and favors the chocolate flavors of the roasted malts; a stout is more akin to coffee and celebrates the roasted notes of the barley. 'Cask-conditioned' means that the beer was packaged in a closed 'bunged' vessel and allowed to carbonate naturally. And gluten-free beer isn't so much sacrilegious as innovative. Granted, it's substituting one of the four main ingredients in beer [usually sorghum for barley] but the net effect brings a quaffable beverage to someone who is not otherwise able to imbibe."
Thanks for clearing that up. Now strap on your beer goggles and let's find out more about local beers.
Autumn Brew Review highlights
Here's the inside scoop on where to start at the Review. For 12 years, the Vine Park Brewing Co. has been a brewery that doesn't sell beer, instead renting out its facilities to anyone who wants to make and bottle their own. Until this year, that is, when the brewery began selling growlers (64-ounce glass jugs) of its rotating small batches. Sample Vine Park's Oktoberfest and Rabid Penguin Porter, then swing by the brewery next week for a growler or two.
In preparation for its 150th birthday in 2010, the August Schell Brewing Co. has started brewing an Anniversary Draft Series. The easy-drinking Bavarian Forest Dampfbier is a unique, all-barley beer with banana notes, a definite sweetness and, of course, a lingering maltiness.
In a town with a population of 220 (it says so right on the bottle) lives a family making some of the state's most popular craft beer. Brau Brothers Brewing Co. of Lucan, Minn., brews a Ring Neck Double Nut Brown Ale that's fruity and nutty with a clean finish. A must-try for nut brown ale fans.
