Minnesota State Fair’s best new beers, ciders and seltzers (and a few to avoid)

Hazy IPAs are in, and there are several other clear trends in the new adult beverages at the Minnesota State Fair this year.

Those unfiltered, ultra-hoppy pale ales with yellowy hues are abundant, some of them with fruity twists. Fruity twists are big in general, with lots of beers infused with strawberry or limes and many ciders featuring more than just apple juice.

Ciders overall seem to be having a moment among fairgoers. Our favorite new drink trend, though, aligns with a flavor that’s also big in new foods at the fair: hot honey. More on that later.

As has long been the case with food vendors, there’s now a promotional payoff in offering unique, trendy or just plain weird new beverages. Minnesota brewers and other fermented beverage makers at the State Fair (which does not allow distilled alcohol sales) are taking advantage. Thus, the list for new adult beverages — or “specialty sips,” as the fair bills them — rose to 70 different concoctions in 2025. And that’s not counting the many fair-exclusive beers still on the menus from last year.

With so much to choose from, we dutifully offer you some pointers. Of course, we did not sample all 70. Not with the Star Tribune refusing to reimburse for overnight stays in the local drunk tank. But we took in a lot.

We intentionally avoided the many smoothies and other frozen drinks being offered this year; look for a separate roundup of those soon. We also steered clear of the rising number of mocktails and other nonalcoholic options on the fair’s bar menus, but saw a lot of people enjoying them.

Here are the standouts from the new beverages we did try, plus a few that were disappointing enough we thought we should advise against them.

Churro Cream Ale (HeadFlyer Brewing): The best knockoff yet of Lift Bridge Brewing’s Mini-Donut Beer — which helped ignite the exclusive-beer craze at the fair in 2013 — this reddish-brown ale from one of Minneapolis’ most unsung breweries boasts a similar pastry-style breadiness with faint Mexican spice. Is it a breakfast beer? Afternoon sipper? Dessert brew? Yes. At Tejas Express in the Garden

Shandyland Cider (Minneapolis Cider Co.): Pucker up for this one! Where too many shandy beers taste like watery Crystal Light lemonade, this cider has a legit hoppy base and crispness that comes on thick. The lemons in it taste ultra-fresh, too. At the Ball Park Café

Bad Apple Honeycrisp Lager (Bad Weather Brewing): You probably weren’t looking for a beer with undertones of sour apples, but you should have been. Another fine offering with a perfect, summery tartness. At the Hangar

Huckleberry Haze (Lift Bridge Brewing): This is an excellent example of huckleberry beers common in more mountainous states, with a fruitiness more subtle and less sweet than a lot of other berry beers. It was also just a great hazy IPA. At the Frontier Bar

A-Okay Hazy IPA (Venn Brewing): Making its State Fair debut after six years of brewing off Hiawatha Avenue in south Minneapolis, Venn didn’t go for anything too cute or unique to make a strong introduction. It simply made an excellent beer loaded with fresh hops. We’ll take it! At the Blue Barn

Mexican Fruit Cup Sour Ale (Pryes Brewing): This one’s sweet and sour and spicy. The Tajin spice around the rim nicely balances out the other bold flavors, with surprisingly refreshing results. Available at the Ball Park Café

Pineapple Peach Hazy IPA (Castle Danger Brewing): The fruitiness is understated, perhaps to a fault, but it was one of the more solid IPAs we had. At O’Gara’s

Caramel Corn Cream Ale (Lift Bridge): What sounds like a very, ahem, corny concept works surprisingly well. Like the cult-loved Salted Nut Roll Golden Ale — now brewed by Invictus and available at the fair at Dino’s Gyros — the light saltiness nicely offsets the sweetness. At Coasters

Grand Stand Lime Up (Summit Brewing): Like a lot of the beers made by St. Paul’s pioneering craft brewery, this lime-infused lager is a good, crisp, highly drinkable beer first and foremost. The fruity twist is a nice bonus, good for hot-day refreshment. At Summit-on-a-Stick and Shanghai Harry’s in the International Bazaar

Hot Honey Play Grade Cream Ale (Bauhaus Brew Labs): Another example of the hot-honey craze, this one is lighter and not as heated on the spice front as the aforementioned mead. It had us wondering if peppers should actually be classified as a fruit. At LuLu’s Public House

Strawberry Rhubarb Runway (Pryes): One of our favorite beers last year was Pryes’ Strawberry Guava Miraculum IPA, but this year’s strawberry-patched offering from the Minneapolis brewer lacked freshness and berriness. Available at O’Gara’s

Strawberry Blaze (Iowa’s Millstream Brewing): Was there a lot of bland strawberry puree making its way around breweries this year? This Iowa brewery’s tart offering also had us wondering where the fruit was. At Giggles Campfire Grill