The Great Taste Caper 2018 - Day 5: Twinning (Part I)

Driving into the Twin Cities, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I'd been wanting to visit Minneapolis (and its twin brother, St. Paul) for close to a decade after first being introduced to Surly by Deuane and later having Town Hall's excellent Masala Mama IPA back in my Growlin' at the Moon days (a cool growler exchange program started by a long-time user of BeerAdvocate.com). So, it was a "bucket list" kind of day for me. I knew I'd get there some day. Well, that "some day" was today.

Rolling into Minneapolis on a Tuesday morning has its share of setbacks... at least from a beer traveler's point of view. Case in point being that the majority of breweries have extremely limited hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and in some cases Thursdays). Many are only open for four or five hours. Lucky for us, I planned in advance. There's nothing worse than being in a city for the first time and sitting in the car or your hotel trying to figure out what to do. I might not be good at planning for my future, or my retirement, but I can plan the shit out of a beer trip!

Outside Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery.

Thankfully, Town Hall isn't one of those breweries that are open only a handful of hours per week. Since they operate as a brewpub (i.e. they have a real food menu), they are open 7 days a week. So it was a no-brainer to start the day at a place that opens at 11 a.m. It was either that, or check out two or three record stores and a coffee shop, and I knew Brewslut wanted nothing to do with that alternate agenda (save for the coffee, of course).

When we arrived, I was excited to see the aforementioned Masala Mama on the beer engine. As soon as I saw that, I didn't even look at the rest of the menu. I needed to get some in my gullet STAT! I even ordered a full 20-ounce imperial pint pour, much to the surprise of my traveling partner. Brewslut too. I hadn't had this beer in such a long time, so I wasn't even sure exactly how good or bad it would be. Memories can play tricks on you like that.

Pleeps savoring his first whiff of Masala Mama.

A decade ago, this beer was the shit. Since then, it has dropped significantly down the latter of trendy "must-have" beers in lieu of huge hop bombs and later those damn newfangled New England-style IPAs to the point that nobody really talks about it much anymore save for some homers. But you know what? This beer still delivers! Quite frankly, I'd take this beer over 95% of the hazy juice bombs out there on the market today. This beer is like a blueprint of everything I love about the IPA style: sticky citrus and resiny hop flavors, a fragrant aroma, balanced malt support, and a wave of hop bitterness in the finish. And since it was cask conditioned, the body was pitch perfect with a silky, smooth texture. I mean, I crushed all 20 ounces pretty quickly, although I tried not to, as I wanted to savor the moment.

They have plenty of other beers besides Masala Mama. See?

Meanwhile, Brewslut was working on a small pour of Pitstop Cherry Lager, which was nicely done. Lakefront also makes a cherry lager, so perhaps Wisconsinites love cherries in their lager. The cherry flavor (courtesy of Michigan-grown Balaton cherries) was pretty dominant and authentic. Balatons are excellent for achieving that sweet-tart cherry pie character in beer. We used them at Tröegs in our Mad Elf Grand Cru, and I must say that it was an improvement over the standard version. I just like that nice, round tartness Balatons bring to the table.

I got a meeting at Town Hall at 12:30.

So, what do you order after polishing off a tasty 20-ounce IPA first thing in the morning? A barrel-aged Barleywine, of course. Enter Barley Vine, an American-style Barleywine aged in red wine barrels. Sadly, I couldn't find any additional information about this one on-line. Apparently, I was so enthralled that I forgot to check it in on Untappd. Hey, I'd been waiting many years to get here, so I was enjoying our visit sans iPhone. Our bartender was also friendly and chatty, and happily answered all of my questions.

Pleeps is more than familiar with vines.

After the barleywine, it was time to pack it in. We got Brewslut a patch for her ever-expanding beer satchel-turned-backpack. She's way behind on sewing on her patches, and it became kind of a joke while we were on the trip. I tried to find a patch at every brewery, and would often buy her one when she balked just because I believe that if you're going to collect patches, then you should get one everywhere you visit. Before we said goodbye to Town Hall, in what was becoming commonplace for this trip, our bartender at Town Hall tipped us off to a new brewery that had opened recently called Pryes (pronounced "prize"). Turns out they were close by and opened an hour earlier than the next place on our agenda. So, after a quick coffee and record store detour, we were off.

Exterior of Pryes' modern taproom.

We arrived at Pryes to find a garage-style brewery similar to ones we've encountered on the West Coast. This one was quite a bit more modern and inviting than your typical garage-turned-taproom, though. Handcrafted details can be found everywhere throughout the space. The wooden bar, tables and benches are constructed of black walnut and maple inlaid with brass. Aesthetically, the place comes across as a small airport hangar. Hanging from the ceiling glow dozens of caged Edison bulbs and two industrial-style chandeliers. It's a pretty sweet space, to say the least.

The beer menu looked promising and weighed heavily on hoppy and sour offerings, so we opted to share a sampler flight to test the waters. Here's the skinny:

• Summer IPA - New England style Session IPA hopped with El Dorado, Eureka and Mosaic for waves of tropical notes.
• Miraculum - Citrus-forward IPA dry-hopped with more than 50 pounds of hops.
• Pineapple Sour - Sweet and sour ale brewed with lactobacillus and pineapple with mango added to bolster the juiciness.
• Imperial IPA - Grapefruit and citrus-forward DIPA with a hint of pine and alcohol warmth.

There's a Pryes every time for Pleeps!

Nothing bowled us over, but the flight inspired us to stay a while and get a half pour of something else. We agreed that the pineapple sour was our favorite of the lot. This led to Brewslut ordering a pour of the Raspberry Sour Ale. Similar to the pineapple sour, the beer opens with lots of sweet-tart flavor (this time, it's berry at the forefront) and a hint of tannins. Overall, we enjoyed the pineapple sour more than this one. I went with the Northern Pale Ale, brewed with malts from three different continents. It was a tad too sweet and non-descript overall, but not bad by any means. 

Tap handles at Pryes.

While we were enjoying our beers, I glanced beyond where Brewslut was sitting and noticed a curved, narrow lane covered with AstroTurf towards the back of the room. It was reminiscent of a bowling alley. Turns out it is one of only a handful of "feather bowling" lanes in the United States (one of three, according to the bartender). The game is apparently a cross between Bocce ball, curling, and bowling. Sadly, I didn't get to play, but Pryes hosts a league at the brewery where feather bowling aficionados from Minnesota congregate to compete against one another in this obscure game. The wooden balls used in the sport closely resemble wheels of cheese, which were likely used in Belgium, where the sport originated. Below are some pics I snapped of the feather bowling lane:

Pryes was pretty solid for being one of the new kids in town, but we had to split and head over to our next stop. We were off to Steel Toe, where we met up with a pair of beer friends, James and Dean, both of whom live in Minneapolis. We originally met them through a mutual friend (thanks Dick Doc) way back during our Brass Rail Deli days when Brewslut worked there, and we'd gather twice a week to share beers. They'd also been to a few previous Ffej of Julys (my annual epic backyard bash), so it was cool to hang with some familiar peeps so far away from home. We arrived first, followed by James, and finally Dean about half an hour later. Dean even brought us a "welcome package" as it was our first time visiting his city. Gotta love that Minnesota hospitality!

Exterior of Steel Toe's Taproom.

I started off small, with a half pour of Size 4, session IPA with notes of candied citrus and tropical fruit. Right off the bat, I could tell this place was legit. Turns out that Steel Toe (according to James and Dean) is the place where all the brewers and brewery industry peeps in town gather to drink. It has the reputation as being the "brewers' brewery." High praise, indeed. Once I had a few beers, I could see why this place is so revered by the local brewing community. Brewslut opted for the Peach Mango Tart. Released under Steel Toe's "Brewer's Evolution" series (a journey through new interpretations of classic beer styles), this ever-changing lineup primarily features limited taproom exclusive releases. Tart with plenty of peach aroma, this also boasted a zesty lemon note with some tropical sweetness and a fair bit of pucker in the finish.

Since we were joined by our friends, I wasn't too camera happy here, so sorry for the lack of pictures. Up next was Dawn Juan, a strong dark ale infused with Dogwood Coffee. I'll always reach for a coffee beer when visiting a brewery, and seldom leave without at least trying it. Listed as an "occasional release," this coffee-infused strong black ale touts a dominant coffee aroma with traces of dark chocolate, black cherry, and roasted malt. This was very well done, and I enjoyed the dark fruit note of the strong ale that usually isn't present in a stout or porter.

After that enjoyable jolt of roasty, malty goodness, I reverted back to hops and upgraded from Size 4 to Size 7, Steel Toe's core IPA offering. This Pacific Northwest-style IPA offers a huge smack of zesty orange peel and a dry but clean bitter finish. With the first sip, I was transported back to Hood River, Oregon, and I knew that Steel Toe was legit. On the way out, I met one of the brewers and made sure to share a can of Nimble Giant with him. This place was definitely one of the stand-out breweries of these two days, and that's saying a lot!

Outside Modist Brewing Co.

Our quartet continued onward to Modist, a hip brewery with a modern flair that, while it didn't scream hipster, was definitely very SOHO in its presentation. James and Dean promised us great beer would be had, and they were correct. One of the bartenders heard that we were visiting from PA, and he was quick to profess his love for Tired Hands, one of our suburban Philly faves. As a matter of fact, he went on to inform us that the new brewery's modus operandi was modeled after Tired Hands forward-thinking beers, soft yet flavorful IPAs, and delicately complex flavor profiles.

Beer aside, perhaps the most curious (and praise-worthy) aspect of the brewery is its mission of drastically reducing its water use. Modist's brewery utilizes the region's first mash filter, a device which allows the brewery to brew using a fraction of the water and energy of a traditional brewing system. Pretty cool, eh? You can read more about this on their blog if you feel so inclined.

I kicked things off with Shook Mango, an IPA brewed with milk sugar, vanilla bean, tons of mango, and lots of Citra and Azacca hops. To say this beer was tropical fruit-forward would be an understatement. It was like a tidal wave hit Hawaii and swept Carmen Miranda off her surfboard. This beer looks like something you'd drink for breakfast or after a yoga session. I think there might have even been some mango pulp. This was a thick-ass beer for sure! It tasted pretty damn good too.

I dig the subway tile at Modist.

Brewslut enjoyed her pour of Foeder Sour 2, a sour ale brewed with a combination of wheat and malted barley, then fermented in an American oak foeder with pineapple, mango, and passionfruit. I concurred. This was indeed a nicely done sour. Plus it's always cool to see breweries embracing wood. Heh heh... wood.

Another beer I tried that would be suitable for breakfast was First Call, a cold press coffee lager.
Inspired by cafe con leche (Spanish for "coffee with milk"), this light-bodied lager is infused with Two Cousins Espresso from Wesley Andrews and bursting with coffee flavor and aroma.

By this time, we were pretty famished (drinking can do that to you), so I decided to take a stroll outside and check out the food truck. Then, this:

Thankfully, The Curious Goat didn't actually serve goat.

I know, right? A few minutes later, I was scarfing down some amazing potato and corn tacos from The Curious Goat food truck. Hot damn, these were tasty! Brewslut was equally impressed and even exclaimed her chicken nachos were the greatest thing ever. High praise indeed, as she loves her nachos.

Before we left, our server brought us a pour of the then-unreleased Lemongrab, a pink lemonade IPA brewed in collaboration with Dangerous Man (more on them next). This was given to us straight off the fermenter! To mimic the flavors found in pink lemonade, the brewers utilized lemons, raspberries, and Citra hops. This was really tasty and it was cool to get to try a beer that hadn't been officially released yet. It was also a nice way for us to end our visit at Modist. Overall, I really liked the vibe of this place. It reminded me of Modern Times with a hint of Tired Hands. It seems like they have their finger on the pulse of the Minnesota beer community, so I suppose the city is their oyster. I'd love to try some of their canned releases (wink wink, nudge nudge, guys).

Group photo! (l to r) me, Brewslut, James, & Dean. Photo by Pleeps.

James and Dean had to get back to their regular lives, so we regressed to our usual trio formation (don't forget about Pleeps) and headed to our next destination. If Modist was slightly hipster, then the walls of Dangerous Man were dripping with Moroccan beard oil. When we arrived, it was pretty much elbow to asshole (or perhaps suspenders to handlebar moustache would be more appropriate). The bar was a few people deep, and we quickly realized that this was the trendy brewery of Minneapolis. (Turns out the brewery's reputation stretches outside Minnesota, but more on that when we get to the actual festival in a few days.) We scoped out the medium-sized tasting room for open seating, and found a little alcove with an 8-person table tucked in the back of the room. A lone young lady and older couple were occupying the table when we approached. The single woman mentioned she was waiting for friends, so we grabbed two unoccupied seats and said we'd move if her friends arrived while we were still there. After a minute or two, the older couple skedaddled and we assumed control their seats. The young lady's party never grew beyond four people, so we had plenty of room to enjoy our beers.

This is a dangerous place...

Speaking of which, the beer list was packed with sours and hazy IPAs. I'd been getting hazed out, so we both opted for a sour this time. I spotted the word "peach" on the board, so I ordered the Peach Citra Sour. Although I couldn't find any details about this beer, I assume it's a sour ale brewed with peaches and dry-hopped with Citra. Mission accomplished. This beer was well-done and hit the spot, although I must admit I was a bit distracted by the boomy crowd noise and people watching.

At Dangerous Man, your name is PEACHES!

Brewslut went with something called Sour Delores #7 - Righteous Babe, which sounded like an experimental one-off beer. After doing a bit of research, it seems like this may have been re-released under the name Watermelon sour, as the notes for this beer are identical to Sour Delores: "sweet candy-like watermelon with a sour twist."

This was a whirlwind of a stop and we decided it was too hectic to stay for seconds. Since we had some extra time and were in the vicinity, we decided to swing by Surly just to scope it out before our "actual" scheduled visit the following day. (We would end up visiting Surly three times in a 48-hour span, but more on those visits later.) This would be a quick one-and-done visit just to survey the lay of the land. Besides, why wouldn't we want to visit multiple times? It's not like Minneapolis is two towns over from Annville. The proverbial "when in Rome" syndrome at work, indeed.

Rock sculpture outside Surly.

For my first beer from the source, I decided to explore uncharted terrain. Enter Rocket Surgery, a juicy, hazy IPA brimming with Citra and Denali hops for a blast of tropical fruit flavor. I was saving my pour of Furious (Surly's famous IPA) for tomorrow. The name of this beer struck me as a "Rickyism" (rocket appliances, anyone?) and seemed like a fun amalgamation of "rocket science" and "brain surgery." This was a solid stab at a NE-style IPA, although I'd take Furious or Abrasive over this any day. Still, it was great to finally be sitting at the bar at Surly. See?

Surly from the source + me = happy face!

I felt like I had reached a new plateau in my craft beer fandom. Minneapolis as a destination is the farthest we have driven to acquire beer from the source (at least with me in the driver's seat) so I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment as we sat and savored our beers. I'd often agree with my buddy the Professor that "the point of a journey is not to arrive," but in this case, I'd felt we did, in fact, "arrive." So, cross Surly off the ol' bucket list, folks!

See you tomorrow, Surly. I'm comin' for YOU, Furious!

We had time for one final stop, so we headed over to Fair State, where we closed out our first day in Minnesota in style. Fair State defines itself as a "Brewing Cooperative" rather than just a brewery. Check out this cool little bio:

We started a brewery because we love great beer. We made it a cooperative because we believe that when people come together, amazing things can happen. We share stories, come up with new ideas, and start to see the world a little differently. At Fair State Co-op, we’re brewing community.

Cooperation is key at Fair State Brewing.

Similar to MobCraft in its community-driven business model, Fair State differs in that it actually encourages fans to "buy in" to the brewery and become member-owners. That's a concept any would-be brewery owner should be able to embrace. And aside from this cool angle, the beer is pretty freakin' awesome too!

We settled in for what we thought would be one, maybe two beers each. Yeah, that didn't happen. We plopped down at the bar and in no time we were immersed in conversation with our jovial young bartender who'd only been working there for a very short time. He mentioned how Fair State was his favorite local brewery, which drove him to want to work there. I could relate, as the same thing happened with me and Tröegs.

Entrance of Fair State Brewing Cooperative.

The tap list was varied and forward-thinking, with plenty of interesting-sounding beers. The first one to garner my attention was the Smoked Apricot Sour. Smokey and sour might not sound like a winning combination, but trust me, it works. Throw in some fruit (in this case, apricots) and you've got a nice little complex beer. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with Fair State's house mixed culture, this slightly tart ale features moderate wood smoke and a hint of apricot.

Pahlay'Ahlay, a tropical fruit-forward pale ale, was up next. Brewed with flaked oats and wheat, and hopped with Citra, Simcoe, and Denali, this one definitely brought the tropics to the palate. Think lots of citrus with some juicy mango and pineapple notes and you get a pretty good picture of what this beer brings to the table. At only 5% ABV, this sucker is pretty sessionable to boot!

I had to try the Pils, and this one was a pretty solid interpretation of a German-style pilsner; dry and crisp with a grassy hop aroma courtesy of generous additions of Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops. This is THE classic pilsner hop, folks. I love when a pilsner has a notable sulfur component, which is typically the result of the lager yeast. This one delivered and did not disappoint.

View from our bar seats at Fair State.

The bartender said the Hefeweizen was a winner, so he gave us a sample. I usually don't gravitate to this particular style, but since he plunked one down in front of me, who am I to turn it away? This is a pretty traditional Bavarian-style wheat beer. Pale and spritzy with hints of banana, clove, and vanilla from the yeast. According to the beer's description, "No bananas were harmed in the brewing of this beer." Pleeps was happy to hear that!

I also couldn't leave without trying the Lichtenhainer. You don't come across this beer style very often. If you hate smoked beers, stay away. Don't care for sours? This may not be your cup of tea either. Me? I love 'em both so sign me up! I first stumbled across this antiquated hybrid of a beer back during our Drinksgiving trip to Charleston, SC, when we visited Westbrook. Oddly enough, it was also the first time I'd heard of another long-lost beer style called Gose that, since then, has spread like wildfire through the beer scene. Much like the American IPA before it, every brewery has to include a Gose in its portfolio these days. While the Lichtenhainer hasn't gained even a small percentage of the traction as Gose has, it is an interesting style that packs a lot of flavor for a small beer. This particular one is 100% barrel-fermented and brewed with 100% beechwood and oak smoked malt. I always appreciate seeing this style get some love from small breweries. It's an acquired taste, but next time you're out and about and see one on tap, get at least a small 4 or 5-ounce pour and give it a shot. The style is pretty rare, kind of like finding a dinosaur bone in your backyard.

Whatchu lookin' at, Pleeps?

We finished up our visit with Duluth Coffee Co. Vienna Lager. I seldom see lagers with coffee, but coffee is a flavor from which any beer style could likely benefit. The standard Vienna Lager is Free State's flagship malty beer, featuring Vienna, Munich, and Black malt. The coffee, a Mexican Finca Santa Marta cold press, comes courtesy of, as the name implies, Duluth Coffee Company.

All in all, this was an enjoyable visit and end to a pretty full day of brewery hopping. By this time, we were pretty beat and needed some rest, as we had another full day ahead of us. Since I'm into music, somebody told us we should visit Prince's studio while we were in Minneapolis. Sorry. Way too many breweries to hit.

Back at the hotel, we cracked a can of Citronic Pale Ale gifted to us by the fine folks at Bare Hands Brewing. As the name implies, this is a Citra-drenched pale ale with lots of orange and grapefruit character. It was a fine way to cap off our inaugural visit to Minneapolis. Stay tuned for Day 6 (part 2 of "Twinning") as we infiltrate the "other" city... St. Paul. Until then...