For the second year in a row, Minnesota craft beer will be on display in the Agriculture Building. You can learn everything about our local suds; from where the ingredients come from to how it is made and who produces it. The exhibit will feature local examples from some of the 40 breweries represented at the fair.
The response to this exhibit could not have been better during last year's Great Minnesota Get Together, where flocks of people came to learn about and sample various local brews. "We had people knocking the door down at 9 AM last year," said Clint Roberts, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild.
That success prompted the Brewers Guild to double the space for this year, which will include a wall dedicated to brewery art and two additional flights of beer bringing the total to six. "We don't want people to just come in for a beer, we want them to take in the entire cultural aspect," said Roberts. This year they are also introducing Firkin Friday. That means on Fridays they will switch out one of the typical beers in your flight with a special beer drawn from a firkin (basically a small keg). These are usually limited or rare varieties that the brewers don't brew every day.
Once again the exhibit will feature speakers from all corners of the craft beer scene from brewers to educators. If you happen to be at the fair on Sunday, August 25th you won't want to miss Doug Hoverson, author of Land of Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota. Doug is well-versed in the history of brewing in Minnesota and is extremely interesting to listen to.
One of the best presentations last year involved both Mike and Dave Hoops—two brothers brewing at two different brewpubs here in Minnesota. Mike brews at Town Hall Brewery at Seven Corners in Minneapolis and Dave brews up at Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth. They will be presenting again this year on Tuesday, August 27th at 6 PM.
Another promising presentation in the lineup is Artifacts and Agriculture, which will cover a variety of topics such as old brewery memorabilia (Dave Wendl of Breweriana Collectors Club of America), the growing of hops (Charlie "Hop Star" Rohwher Ph.D.) and the malting/barley industry (Cargill's Mark Ruark).
Here is the full presentation schedule:
Thursday, August 22
