Stone Brewing enters the Minnesota market

"When you can't get it, you really want it," Mark van Wie told me. The Muddy Pig bar owner could have been talking about any number of vices -- but here his focus was on beer.

In the Twin Cities, those sentiments ring true for just about every hard-core beer fan when it comes to Stone Brewing, the über-acclaimed brewery out of Escondido, Calif.

For years, Minnesota fans clamoring for its West Coast-style of hoppy, in-your-face suds have resorted to trading for Stone beers over the Internet. Others have simply flooded the brewery with e-mails and phone calls demanding that it come here.

Stone CEO and co-founder Greg Koch said he's heard the noise and is finally ready to enter the Minnesota market in a big way. On Tuesday, the brewery will kick off a round of events planned for "Stone Week," with dozens of bars and liquor stores rolling out the red carpet.

Since opening in 1996, Stone has been at the forefront of the extreme beer movement, ranked among the nation's best breweries on websites like RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com. The latter named Stone the No. 1 "All-time Top Brewery on Planet Earth" in 2008. Today, it's the 15th-largest craft brewery, producing 115,000 barrels a year. (Summit makes just under 100,000 barrels.)

In addition to its penchant for adventurous, high-alcohol brews, Stone is famous for its attitude. One of its more popular beers, Arrogant Bastard Ale, has a label that says, "This is an aggressive ale. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth."

On the phone, Koch was as humble as a ladybug when talking about this tastier-than-thou beer. But he also had this to say: "We have strong opinions about what we think makes great beer, and we haven't been shy about expressing them."

"From the get-go, they've always put out products that are different but consistently great," said Jeff Werthmann-Radnich, co-owner of Acadia Cafe. "It reminds me a lot of Surly," he said, referring to beer brewed right here in Brooklyn Center. "I can see Surly being another Stone five years from now."

Koch was quick to chime in on the controversy surrounding Surly's ambitious expansion plans, which include an onsite restaurant where it could sell its own beer. State liquor laws do not permit such a setup. Koch supports Surly's efforts to change the law. "Free my people," he said. "You might think I would view them as competition, but I view them as compatriots." In California, his brewery features a massive restaurant called the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens.

"There are some very compelling local breweries in your region," Koch said. "We're all in this together."

DANCE NIGHTS GALORE The Twin Cities dance scene gets its fair share of touring acts (Tiesto is at Roy Wilkins next Friday), but it's also turned into a hotbed for local DJs. Case in point: this weekend's perfect storm of cutting-edge dance-a-thons. Friday is Bomp, the anything-goes dance party that takes over Nick and Eddie once a month (10 p.m. 1612 Harmon Place, Mpls. $5-$10. 18 and older).

Also on Friday: Mike 2600 is turning Honey into his own playground for a night of funk, hip-hop and disco that he's calling Lezzgo! (10 p.m. 205 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls. $3. 21 and older).

Then on Sunday, Nick LeMere's new monthly night, Sweat Shop (also at Honey), invites clubbers to don spandex, leotards and sweatbands for a hot night with DJ Jonathan Ackerman (10 p.m. 205 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls. $3-$5. 21 and older).

And lastly, DJs Shannon Blowtorch and Wezz Wnshp have created a new Monday night at Bar Abilene dedicated to service industry workers, dubbed Freaks of the Industry. Blowtorch described the music as "if it's bumpin' we'll play it." Soviet Panda plays this Monday (10 p.m. 1300 Lagoon Av. S., Mpls., free).

D-WADE AT AQUAApparently, the Timberwolves are so bad that other teams think they can beat us even with a hangover. Such is the case with Dwyane Wade in the Miami Heat. The NBA superstar will host a party at Aqua on Thursday, the night before the Heat are scheduled to play our dreary T'Wolves.

10 p.m. Thu. 400 1st Av. N., Mpls. $10 before midnight, $15 after 12. 612-232-3232.