Pumpkin beer? No thanks. The hop lover's fall seasonal is made with hops picked just hours before they are tossed in the kettle with no time to dry out. Mpls. St. Paul Magazine is hosting their second annual Fresh Hop Beer Festival at Bachman's on Lyndale from 2 pm until 5 pm.

Steph March and Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl will again be hosting the popular event which was the first fresh hop beer competition in the area last year. The vibe at this event though is different as women make up the majority of the attendees which leads to a more palatable vibe consisting of more conversation, and less of that testosterone driven edginess.

The brewery lineup is pretty awesome consisting of 56 Brewing, Fair State, Brau Brothers, Excelsior, NorthGate , Bang, Voyager, Sweetland Orchard, 612 Brew, Bauhaus, Badger Hill, Surly, Tin Whiskers, Lift Bridge, Lake Monster, Lucid, Pryes, Castle Danger, Insight, Sidhe and more. The critic's and the attendees will both be voting for their favorite beers which will then be awarded trophies. Last year Fair State took Gold winning over both critic's and the attendees in the Fresh Hop category. Miraculum took Gold for the overall audience favorite.

Some highlights to seek out are Wet from Surly, Harvestör from Lift Bridge, and Untoberfest from Badger Hill Brewing.

Wet as you may know was not brewed last year, so you'll really want to seek this one out. Todd brewed it with 100% Simcoe hops this year which lend a nice piney layer of flavor to this West Coast IPA. Harvestör from Lift Bridge is a product of the community where the hops were picked fresh by attendees of Pickin' and Grinnin' back in September, and tossed into the kettle in celebration of 7 years of Lift Bridge Brewing. Untoberfest showcases more hops than a typical Oktoberfest and was also fermented with an ale yeast strain rather than a lager (which is what an Oktoberfest is normally fermented with) strain.

Tickets are very reasonable at $30 for general admission, and $50 for VIP which gives you an extra hour—plus a t-shirt and a complimentary Brew Pub pizza. Tickets can be purchased here.

Photo by Eliesa Johnson

If you go:

Bachman's on Lyndale

6010 Lyndale Ave. S

Minneapolis, MN 55419

General Admission from 2 pm to 5 pm

VIP from 1 pm to 5 PM

Also, don't forget to dress for the weather!

Cheers!