A quick crawl through a fraction of the breweries in Minneapolis-St. Paul

As anyone that follows us on social media knows, I just spent a long weekend up in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, attending a couple baseball games, a metal show, and of course hitting up many, many breweries.

Since I don’t have anything else to write about until later in the week, how about a recap of the places that I visited? You never know, one of you reading this might end up there some day. I just picked it for a vacation because it was a city I had never been to before. Sometimes it’s just fun to go somewhere completely new to you and just go exploring.

A few quick notes off the top:

Between the light rail and the sheer number of Lyft/Uber drivers, it’s pretty easy to get around the two downtowns and the brewery-packed area north of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. It’s also very walkable in parts, but most of the breweries are about 1.5 to 2 miles apart. There are no significant clusters that I could find (e.g. Wells Park or the Brewery District) save for by the Twins’ ballpark.
The weather mostly cooperated, save for the one day it was about 93 with 70-percent humidity (which of course was the day of the Twins game).
Most of the beers (and food) were more expensive than in Albuquerque. With one notable exception.
There are lots of hotels, so you have many choices. I recommend finding something affordable in downtown Minneapolis.
Most of the breweries do not have food, so plot out your meals at nearby restaurants.

Minneapolis breweries, day one

My first stop was Finnegans, a classy joint across the street from my hotel. There was a big work party downstairs, so I headed up to the second floor, which was an upscale lounge area with a bar and windows that overlooked the production space.

The Pixie was a pale ale, the D.I.P. stands for Dirty Irish Poet, a roasty little stout.

None of the beers knocked my socks off. They were mostly Irish-influenced beers like a dry stout and an amber/red ale. The Buckwheat Honey Brown was probably the most unique brew that I sampled. Everything was drinkable, nothing tasted off, and the space was fairly quiet and relaxing. For a centrally-located brewery, it was a good place to start.

A cool, spacious spot on the east end of downtown, before you cross the river to the U of Minnesota campus.

Next up was Town Hall Brewing, one of the few with a food menu. I ordered a flight and a chicken cordon bleu panini. The beers were solid, with a mix of styles. I stuck to the malty (big shock, I know) and ordered a couple lagers, a “sweet brown” on nitro, a relatively light Scottish ale, and an oatmeal stout.

I was impressed that this glass was holding up six years later.

They also do barrel-aged flights, but of what was available (the website was out of date) only the ET Wee (Heavy) called out. It was quite good, with the barrel flavors balanced against a fairly robust Scotch ale that was quite the big brother to the non-BA Scottish on the flight.

I definitely needed a Lyft to get to the opposite end of downtown to visit Sisyphus Brewing. Upon entry, I realized it was kind of hipster, and I was definitely the only person there with any gray hair in my beard. After enjoying a lager, I started talking to the bartender about the beers, and ended up enjoying their BA imperial stout and a couple variants that he pulled from tanks in the back. The lesson is if the crowd is not your type of people, befriend the staff. Oh, and there was Iron Maiden pinball, but once I played badly a few times, I realized it was time to call it a night.

Minneapolis breweries, day two

Downtown is big. The tallest is there in the center.

My first order of the day Friday was to check out the highly recommended breakfast/brunch joint, The Hen House. I ended up sitting at the bar, and realized after I sat down that two Pittsburgh Pirates players, Andrew McCutchen and Colin Holderman, were sitting on my left. That was kinda cool, and I did my best to play it cool. Anyway, after that and joining some Bayern Munich fans at a pub to watch the Bundesliga opener (4-0 win), I finally hopped on the light rail to visit the biggest brewery in Minneapolis.

Surly Brewing is massive compared to the other places I visited. The outdoor space is at least as big as Ex Novo’s The Corral, and the main building is on par size-wise with Santa Fe Brewing HQ. Overall, it’s the second biggest in the state in terms of barrel production, trailing only Summit Brewing in St. Paul (which I did not have time to visit, though Summit beers are available everywhere).

I grabbed an open bar seat at Surly, as the tables were overflowing. I went all lagers at first, trying everything from a German pils to a couple Italian pils variants, an Oktoberfest, and then a few more lagers after that. All were good, though none really knocked my socks off on the level of a Bierstadt, Cohesion, Wayfinder, or Chuckanut. Surly does have a kitchen, though my efforts to avoid another burger/hot sandwich led me down a path of disappointment. Next time, stick with the pub food, Jackson. Anyway, it was finally time to enjoy the 2023 Barrel-Aged Surly Darkness Imperial Stout. It was exceptional, as their BA stouts tend to be, and a great cap to the night.

Oh, except I did not finish there. I got a Lyft to the quaint Falling Knife, which goes all-in on its name. It captures the hipster dive vibe nicely, and I ended up chatting with a couple of old-school metalheads. I downed my Freischütz German Pils, sampled a West Coast IPA, and moved along as the clock was ticking towards 11. That’s when Dangerous Man Brewing closes, an hour earlier than its compatriots. It was mostly cleared out when I arrived, but the bartender was kind enough to pour me a Lucky 13 (Czech Pils) for last call.

From there it was another short Lyft ride to Fair State, a brewing co-op, much like Bathtub Row. I ordered a Superclear (German Pils) and watched as the crowd filtered out before midnight. That was enough of a sign for me, and I headed back to the hotel via a final Lyft.

Ballpark breweries

The only really walkable cluster of breweries are those in the former industrial area just north of Target Field. I met up with my college friend Joel for the first time in 22 years (yes, we’re old) at Brit’s Pub, where every Premier League fan in town apparently gathers. Once Newcastle finished its meh loss to Man City, we drove over to the stadium to park, and then walked to the brewery zone.

It was a long, hot walk, so I think we almost appreciated the water more than the beer (at first) at Bricksworth. We picked that joint because it was the only one with a small kitchen, and we needed some more grub before the ballgame. I went with a Czechs Over Stripes, a quality dark lager, followed by an Eavesdropping Pale Ale. We could have easily stayed for another, but the game beckoned.

The Pirates won 7-4. I was happy. Joel grumbled a lot.

After the game, we walked back up the same street and went left instead of right, finding ourselves at the spacious Modist Brewing. This was definitely a top brewery, with a wide selection of beers, though they trended more hipster with lots of hazy IPAs and fruited sours. I picked The Time is Night, an oak-aged festbier, just to be contrary. Again, I could have stayed longer, but Joel had to get home to his wife and kids in the burbs, and I didn’t want to pass up a free ride to the hotel.

Other breweries in this area included Fulton and Inbound. Perhaps next time.

St. Paul breweries

Building your brewery next to a ballpark is smart.

For Sunday, I stumbled upon the fact that one of my favorite bands, Swallow the Sun, was playing downtown at Amsterdam Bar. Thus, I elected to make a day out of exploring the state capital. Unfortunately, I got a late start (the hotel restaurant was slooooow) and only had time for one beer at MetroNOME Brewing, which was located across the street from the St. Paul Saints Triple-A stadium. I grabbed a kolsch on the recommendation of the owner, who was sitting at the bar. It was a good start to the day.

Even their parent Twins didn’t have a beer selection this good.

As for why anyone would go to a Triple-A after a Major League game, well, I just figured why not? There was a cool little museum inside the park, and a beer garden with a huge selection nearby above left field. It surprised me that the beers were cheaper than Isotopes Park, whereas all the breweries in town charge more than their New Mexico counterparts.

Beer hipsters, your home away from home is Barrel Theory.

Following the game, I walked a few blocks to Barrel Theory Brewing, which was basically the Gravity Bound of Minnesota. They had six hazy IPAs on tap, a hazy pale, a milkshake IPA, two fruited sours, a lager, and one dark beer. You can guess the two that I ordered.

After grabbing some food at the bar next door, I walked over to the concert. The metals were good, my neck really hurt the following day, and overall, it was a heck of a trip. If you want to go somewhere new, I highly recommend Minneapolis-St. Paul for breweries, scenery, food, and more.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister