Minneapolis, Spring 2015, Part 3: Bauhaus Brew Labs

We visited Bauhaus Brew Labs on a very cold Saturday afternoon in February. It was a bit hard to find, since the building is actually inside the block, in a courtyard area rather than directly on Tyler St.

A spacious warehouse taproom and brewery with an industrial sort of feel: cinder block walls, iron beams, ventilation tubes, huge glass overhead garage doors. A small stage for music acts; when I was there, it was full of kids playing and running around. Brewery equipment was visible in the back of the building.

The place was half full when we arrived, but it got crowded and very noisy within an hour. The group I was with said that the place was "very Minneapolis." No food was available, but a food truck was parked outside, and the food truck staff was inside taking orders.

Bahaus focuses primarily on German styles. Seven beers were on tap: four regulars and three seasonals /specials, including a schwarzbier which was run through a Randall filled with coffee. Flights of the four regulars for $7; pints for $5; growlers for $16. Pours were not really the best. Beers were all good to very good -- and their pilsner is exceptional.

Bauhaus Brew Labs was selected as the 2014 RateBeer New Brewery of the Year for Minnesota. It is a definite must-visit when in Minneapolis.

Bauhaus Brew Labs Wonderstuff Neü Bohemian Pilsner  (Czech Pilsner – 5.4%)     4 out of 5.0

Sweetish pale malt nose with a lot of grassiness and moderate pleasant hops. Clear bright straw color. Clean and very smooth grassy initial; the hoping enters and intensifies slightly through mid palate and final. Thin-medium. Mild and very flavorful stuff. As clean as they come; one of the better pils made in the US.

Bauhaus Brew Labs Stargrazer Schwarzbier  (Schwarzbier – 5%)     3.3

Delicate roast malt nose, a touch of sweet chocolate. Thin translucent brown. Mild sweet roast initial, light brown sugar, some cola notes. Thin-medium body. Okay. Very mild-mannered stuff.11

Bauhaus Brew Labs Sky-Five Midwest Cöast IPA  (India Pale Ale – 6.7%)     3.6

Good caramel aroma, with light nose-tingling hops. Copper/amber color. Chewy malt, bittersweet notes in mid, smooth hopping. Very good balance. Medium body. Pleasant and not over-the-top.

Bauhaus Brew Labs Über Düber Hoppy Bock  (Heller Bock – 7%)     3.5

Fairly malty nose, with some farty yeast and hopping and cola. Copper amber, filmy head. Solid malty initial, good roast notes, and some yeast bite. Medium body. Nice and smooth. Very rich malt. Tasty, but they need to dial down the yeastiness.

Bauhaus Brew Labs Jingle Fever  (Baltic Porter – 8%)     3.7

Toasty malt nose, marshmallow and some spiciness. Dark brown color. A creamy thick tan head, which fell and formed changing star constellation shapes. Rich dark caramel maltiness, dark sugar, lactic notes, some soy sauce (umami), and very sweet dark fruit. Medium-heavy body. Very rich.

Bauhaus Brew Labs Coffee Stargrazer Schwarzbier  (Schwarzbier – 5%)     3.5

This is the regular Stargrazer run through a Randall filled with coffee from Spyhouse Coffee (located just around the corner). Very rich sweet coffee aroma, streamed with hops. Dark brown color, good tan lace. Light roast malt, dark sugar initial. The coffee slips in smoothly. Nice rounded malt/coffee finish. Medium body. Very interesting little variant. The coffee notes give it more body and a better mouthfeel than the regular Stargrazer.

Bauhaus Brew Labs

1315 Tyler St NE

Minneapolis, Minnesota United States 55413

612 387 1407

Hours:

Wed - Fri 3:00-11:00pm

Sat: 12:00-11:00pm

Minneapolis, Spring 2015, Part 2: Surly Brewing Company

The new Surly Beer Hall is quite a different experience.

The old one, a reappointed former abrasives factory, was outside of the city, at the end of a dusty road. The taproom was fairly small, with low ceilings, painted cinder block walls, and a linoleum floor. It had all the appeal of a high school cafeteria. There were not really enough tables or places to sit, and many people lined up along the walls, which had narrow metal shelf-like counters.

The new location, which opened late last year in Prospect Park, near the University of Minnesota football stadium, is a large open space, with a modern clean industrial chic look. The big brewing area is visible at one end of the building, behind massive floor to ceiling windows.

I visited on a Friday at lunch time, and it was starting to fill up quickly and was already quite noisy. I was seated at a long table with a group that was finishing up.

14 taps were on. Most brews are priced at $3 for 8oz. and $5 for 16oz. glasses. No sampler sets available. Beers are all Surly house brews, regulars and seasonals (some available only here) and, of course, all good to very good.

Service was great, but the food menu is a bit overpriced. I had the Surly Burger and was not disappointed.

I recommend visiting during the daytime on weekdays, and most definitely avoiding week nights and week nights. I’ve heard that there is often a one- or even two-hour wait in the evenings. But it certainly is a must-stop for all beer geeks when in MSP.

Surly Doomtree  (Premium Bitter/ESB - 5.7%)     3.8 out of 5.0

Heavy caramel and roasty nose, resin, something moldy or overripe, and somehow it all balances well. Bright, dark copper color, thick off-white head, clumpy lace. Very chewy maltiness, nice mix of bittering hops, some dark fruit, and piney tracks in finish. Medium body. Very tasty. Bittering creeps in slowly in increments and doesn’t take over.

Surly Devil’s Work  (Porter – 6.7%)     3.6

Dark roast nose, with burnt pine, anise, and some molasses. Near black, thick tan head, sticky lace. Sweetish strained dark fruit, some spiciness, with a good, slightly heavy finish. Medium body. Fruit and spice emerge well but do not really develop much beyond that. Kind of a clean porter with a bit of good spice.

Surly Fiery Hell  (Dortmunder/Helles – 4.5%)     3.7

“Cask conditioned Helles Lager aged on Hickory wood and Puya Chilies.” Clean malty nose, rich, with some good pushes of fruitiness. Brilliant dark straw color, thin filmy head. Sweet light tropical fruit, and the peppery heat jumps in after a second or two. Fruit reemerges, and then there are long peppery tracks. Thin-medium body. Nicely fruity, and the heat is just right. On the edge of too hot. Interesting, how the chiles wait politely for the fruit to show off first.

Surly Witch’s Tower  (Brown Ale – 4.5%)     3.2

Roasty nose, herbal and medicinal. Very dark brown, thin tan head, good lace. Smooth dark roast initial, thinly spiced up with the cardamom, touches of dark fruits, including raisins, prunes. Thin, with a tiny astringency. Okay. Kind of understated, possibly intentionally.

Surly Mild  (Mild Ale – 4%)     3.4

Light chocolate nose. Dark translucent brown color, thin tan head, great lacing. Light chocolate initial, very pleasant, toasty sweetness. Basically just thin chocolate throughout the palate, without much development. Okay. Smooth and moderate all the way. "Mild" is an understatement.

Surly / Amager Todd - The Axe Man (Surly Version)  (India Pale Ale – 7.2%)    3.7

“…a one-off keg of the Amager/Surly Todd - The Axe Man, brewed at the Surly brewery…” Shots of citrus in the nose, dank with the Mosaic hopping, tropical fruit. Hazy straw color, finely-beaded 2cm. white head, good lace. Thin fruity initial, pale malts, nice blend of hops, a bit of alcohol warmth, and a good, balanced finish. Medium body, and very smooth. Nice development of the fruit flavors, a touch rude in spots. Very good -- but Surly’s regular IPA, Furious, is better.

Surly Brewing Company

520 Malcolm Avenue SE

Minneapolis, Minnesota United States 55414

763 535 3330

Hours:

Sun-Thu: 11am-11pm

Fri- Sat: 11am-12am

Minneapolis, Spring 2015, Part 1: Fair State Brewing Cooperative

Since (or perhaps even before) opening in September last year, Fair State Brewing Cooperative has been getting a lot of buzz from Minneapolis beer geeks. Certainly, the progressive co-op model is somewhat rare among breweries and offers some cachet, but it’s the beer made here that has locals crowing.

We visited just around opening time on a Friday afternoon. A long narrow room, with high ceilings that give it an open feel, and a sort of a clean, bare bones, and understated décor of scrubbed bricks and an old wooden floor. A large section of one wall is filled with large photos of the many co-op owners (who will get a hand in the brewing process); on the other side, there is a space for darts and also a selection of board games. There are bar seats for around 15 people; tables and long benches for maybe 40-50.

A very cool set of three electronic tap list menu boards sit above the bar, offering rotating descriptions of the beers on tap, as well as upcoming events and even Twitter feeds. 

Weirdly, there was classic rock, soul, and disco on the sound system; this seemed out of character for the place. Ten taps going, and a good variety of styles were represented. Half-pints for $3; pints for $5. No sampler sets available, unfortunately.

To be honest, I find the coop/crowd source brewing plan a bit worrisome. I’m not sure if it really means that all members will be able to influence the brewing, but it does not seem like the way you want to have your beer made -- the brewing design and production should probably be left to the experts.  However, I recently read an interview with the head brewer, in which he said that it would be limited to one brew twice a year or perhaps quarterly.

Fair State India Pale Ale (IPA - 6.4%)     3.4 out of 5.0

Mildly dank hop nose, citrus/pine mix. Light medium straw color, some lace. Chewy malt initial, good hop blend emerges, and it goes to balance slowly, with some good hop tracks in the finish. Medium-heavy body. A clean, flavorful, and fairly well-mannered IPA.

Fair State LÄCTOBÄC: One (Sour/Wild Ale - 5.9%)     3.3

A sourish floral aroma, crushed weeds, cat piss, and some nutty notes. Hazy light straw color with good lace. Very small sour initial flavor, apples, yogurt. Thin body, with a tiny bit of astringency. Not too bad, but rather thin and understated.

Fair State The Winkelman (Imperial/Double IPA - 8.4%)     3.4

A decent grapefruit nose, in front of the caramel base. Light hazy peachy straw color. Tangy initial, moderate bittering, rough ripe dates. Lightly vegetal in mid palate. Moderate hop tracks in the finish. Medium body. Nice enough. Doesn’t really bomb off in any one direction. It seems less of an imperial than a simple regular IPA.

Fair State Vienna  (Amber Lager/Vienna 5.2%)     3.5

Creamy malt nose, light roast, and some mild grassiness. Clear copper/straw color. Solid malty initial, rich caramel, a bit fizzy. Medium body. Well-balanced and well-constructed Vienna.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

2506A Central Ave NE

Minneapolis, Minnesota United States 55418

612 444 3209

Hours:

M/W/Th: 4-11pm

Fri: 4-Midnight

Sat: Noon-Midnight

Sun: Noon-9pm

Three (fairly new) Minneapolis Breweries

I visited Minneapolis last week. Lots of recent additions to the burgeoning craft beer scene there.

Here are three in the NE section of the city, all within a few minutes of each other.

612 Brew

612 Brew's brewery and tasting room is in a renovated industrial park building. Apparently, the space above the brewery used to be a sort of alternative theater, with puppet dramas and the like -- but gentrification/beerification have taken over. The tasting room offers seven beer on tap. Flights of four generous (7oz.) pours cost $11, and pints cost $5. Growlers also available. The tasting room and brewery share the same space. It was crowded on a Saturday afternoon, and the crowd was decidely older (40s - 60s) than at other places I’ve been to in Miineapolis -- they had The Golf Channel on one TV (if that’s any indication) and women’s college basketball on the other. The beer is okay here. Not the best that the Twin Cities have to offer but not bad at all. Here are the ones we tried:

Gateway Park (Pale Lager – 5.6%)

This little lager had a smooth grassy aroma and a deep gold color. It more or less resembled a pils, but was just a bit too sweet.

Brew Six (American Pale Ale – 5.1%)

Smooth mild fruity nose and a dark amber color. The flavors were peach and light caramel with minimal bittering. The finish seemed like the sweet milk leftover in a cereal bowl after the Cheerios are gone.

Zero Hour (Black IPA – 5.4%)

The aromas were of candyish tootsie rolls with some air freshener floating around. The light sweet malt had some berries notes in it. Fairly decent hopping in a medium body.

Rated R (IPA – 6.6%)

This IPA had a flowery nose and a slight peppery tang. The solid malty initial (caramel or toffee) gave way to peppery mid palate. It featured deep resinous hops that lingered long into the finish. This was the best one we had at 612 Brew.

612 Brew

945 Broadway St NE

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 55413

Tel: 612-217-0437

Hours: W - Th: 4 - 10 pm / F: 2:30pm – midnight / Sat: noon - midnight

Indeed Brewing Company

Indeed has a pleasant taproom in an old renovated brick building, and it's a popular place Lines of people outside waited to get in and there was a bit of a crush at the bar. Artwork by the same person who designs Indeed's labels hang on the walls. No TVs here (thank you)! The service was a bit slow and unsmiling, with only two people working the bar and lots of people buying growlers. Beer here is good to very good. Nine tap pouring, including two casks. No sampler flights were available. Prices are normal: 10oz pours for $3.75; 16oz for $5; and 20oz for $5.50. An enjoyable place with a real sense of identity.

Day Tripper Pale Ale (Simcoe – 5.4%)

This one was on cask, and it’s among a series of limited Day Tripper releases featuring a single hop or a fruit. It had a smooth deep Simcoe nose. Flavors of light peaches with steady hop bittering.

Let It Ride IPA (Mosaic – 6.8%)

A limited cask version of Let Ride IPA. It had a deep fruity hoppy nose, with rich cake. Peaches and toffee, with berries, as the Mosaic hops meld nicely into the malt. The Mosaic works so well in this one.

Indeed / Northbound Hot Box Imperial Smoked Pepper Porter (9.5%)

A collaboration brew, with smoked peppers and cold-smoked malt. A very full aroma of pepper, smoky BBQ sauce, and soy sauce. The initial flavor had sharp peppers, and moved into smooth smoky roast malt, coffee, and then even more smoke. The peppers dominated the lingering aftertaste. They weren’t overwhelming, but rather pleasant and complemented the smoky malt well.

Indeed Brewing Company

711 15th Avenue

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 55413

Tel: 612-643-1226

Hours: Th - Fri: 3 - 11 pm / Sat noon - 11 pm

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

Dangerous Man has been open just over a year now, taking over the space of a former bank building Although it was very crowded, the atmosphere was pleasant and really welcoming. I asked the doorman about the origin of the name: he told me that the heavily-bearded owner's appearance once scared a friend's young child -- and the tyke was reassured that he wasn't a "dangerous man". Fun music on the sound system -- and the bar servers were bouncing to the beat. Very mixed group of customers, but mostly young to middle-aged and hipsterish. Also, the service was fast, with five or six bar servers busy as can be. Six taps, all quite varied. No sampler flights are available. Beers cost $3 for a 10oz glass and $5 for 16oz. The beers were all good to great. If I lived in the area, I’d come back to this place often, just to check out what new brews they have made.

Dangerous Man brewery has been getting a lot a press these day, including this recent article on the CNN web site. It was also voted RateBeer's Best New Minnesota Brewery in 2013. Go there and see why.

Chocolate Milk Stout (6.3%)

A light smooth cocoa nose. Wonderful sweetish dark roast maltiness with coffee, chocolate, and Ovaltine. Like a slightly boozy breakfast drink.

Vienna IPA (6.6%)

Solid roast malt, with a decidedly IPA nose. Good hopping and sweet caramel. The bittering went on and on. Much more body than a typical Vienna and less than an IPA. An interesting hybrid.

Batch 100 IIIPA (12.4%)

A real monster, with aromas of roses, tropical fruit, massive citrus hopping, and severe alcohol fumes. Thick rich caramel flavor, with peaches and some toffee – the alcohol warmth was also considerable – and it had an endless tongue-scraping hoppy finish. This one goes way beyond any normal imperial IPA. Thick and bit sticky, but very good.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

1300 2nd St NE

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 55413

Tel: 612-209-2626

Hours: T-Th: 4 - 10 pm / F: 3pm - midnight / Sat: noon - midnight