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The Happy Gnome Firkin Fest 03-21-09 - 03/21/2009

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:17:00 CST

On Saturday March 21st, The Happy Gnome will be hosting the 2nd annual Firkin Fest.

This fest will be outdoors in an enormous tent featuring The event will begin at 2pm and will go until the casks run dry. Entry is $5 and drink tickets need to be purchased.

More details to follow...

Abbey of Maredsous event at The Muddy Pig - 12/17/2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:23:00 CST

At 5pm The Muddy Pig will have all three Maredsous ales on tap; the Blonde 6, Dubbel 8 and Triple 10. Buy a Maredsous and keep the glass (limit one glass per customer).

Flat Earth tapping at The Muddy Pig - 12/29/2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:19:00 CST

The Muddy Pig will be tapping up kegs of Flat Earth's Black Helicopter coffee stout and their Winter Warlock English barley wine. Jeff Williamson, Mr. Flat Earth himself, will be here to answer all your questions about St. Paul's newest brewery.

Muddy Pig Festival of Hops - 01/22/2009

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:15:00 CST

The Muddy Pig's Belgian Beer Festival in September was so successful they decided to organize another beer event, this one devoted to hop forward beers.

For four days, The Muddy Pig will have 40+ hopped up beers (pale ales and up) on tap throughout the weekend and they hope to rotate through 55 or more different beers.

WHERE THE WILD BEERS ARE - 08/17/2008

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:25:00 CST

Wild/Sour Ale collaborative tasting this Sunday in Minneapolis.

Beer lovers, this Sunday August 17th beginning at 4pm Twin Cities Imbiber magazine presents WHERE THE WILD BEERS ARE, hosted by Stub & Herb's bar.This isn't your typical beer tasting/festival, it is a collaborative effort to celebrate the rare and wild, by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. All fans of the funk are invited to dig through their cellars and bring wild brews for all to share. Many great wild beers have already been registered, plus Cantillon Iris lambic and limited amounts of Oud Beersel Oude Lambic will be pouring on draft. Participants will also have a chance to win Boon and Cantillon glassware. There is no cost to participate, just register online and bring something to share.

Online registration is required, visit http://www.tcimbiber.com/wild for complete information.

2008 US Barista Championship (USBC) winners announced

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:02:00 CST

59 competitors were reduced to 6. After four days of intense competition at the Minneapolis Convention Center, the winners have just been annouced at 4:15pm today (May 5th, 2008).

#1 Kyle Glanville (Intelligentsia, Los Angeles CA)

#2 Pete Licata (PT’s Coffee, Overland Park KS)

#3 Heather Perry (Coffee Klatch, San Dimas CA)

#4 Chris Baca (Ritual Roasters, San Francisco CA)

#5 Nick Griffith (Intelligentsia, Los Angeles CA)

#6 Drew Cattlin (Ritual Roasters, San Francisco CA)

1867 Munich Dunkel, Schell's next 150th Anniversary Draft-only beer coming May 4th

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:37:00 CST

The next beer in Schell's special draft-only releases is set to be released May 4th. It is named 1867 Munich Dunkel and according to Schell's brewer Dave Berg, it is based on a recipe from 1867 and includes 80% German Munich malt, a touch of 2-row, and some Carafa. It was first wort hopped with Liberty and Perle. It was brewed it in the end of February and weighs in at 13.7 Plato with 25 IBU. Deep copper color with some red hints. Medium bodied, rich and malty with hints of vanilla and cocoa.
(Original image from Schell's website)

Beer Watch: 4/9

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:55:00 CST

Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes: Cuvee Alex La Rouge Jurassian Imperial Stout

This is a very interesting brew out of Switzerland that will wow your palate with a diverse range of flavors. Right out of the gate you will notice heavy hints of cocoa, caramel, dark fruits, a hint of sherry like sweetness, as well as some a pretty heavy raisiny sweet malt. The palate is medium bodied, but screams of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, some green tea and a very good dose of a tannic fruit like sweetness. The finish on this beer is what makes it jump out, as some of the black pepper comes out to pair with a medium level of floral hops to dry out this otherwise sweet stout. Be careful with this brew as the drinkability is very high for a 10% plus beer. Enjoy it with a nice cigar as an after dinner treat or try pairing it up with some venison off the grill.

www.bunitedint.com/portfolios/producers/bfm/alex_la_rouge/overview.php

Brassererie Ellezeloise

This very neat small scale brewery in Belgium was started in 1993, and have been kicking out some amazing brews ever since. Ellezeloise (pronounced EL-ZEL-WOZ) had been absent from the Minnesota market for quite some time, before its return about a year ago. They only produce five beers, two saisons, a blond, an amber ale, and a hardy Belgian stout. The Amber and Blond carry the preface Quintine, referring to a local legendary witch. The stout is named Hercule after detective Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha Christie’s most well known characters in her writings. The saisons are simply called Saisis and Saison 2000, but their names are the only thing simple about these beers. All of these brews come in 33cl swing-top bottles, and are certainly worth a try.

www.brasserie-ellezelloise.be

Furthermore Brewery

This is not even technically a brewery, as it is simply two dudes making and selling beer, but they definitely deserve some mention. Aran Madden and Chris Staples brew down at the Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls Wisconsin, and have been in the Minnesota market for about a year now. They produce three year-round brews, and three seasonals that fulfill any session drinkers fancy. Their first beer is Knot Stock Pale Ale, and it is simply an American Pale Ale with a little cracked black pepper added to spice things up a little. Their second beer is Proper, which is simply an easy drinking English style pub ale that will quench anyones thirst one a hot day far better than a fizzy pale yellow lager. The third year round beer is Three Feet Deep, a Guinness like Irish Dry Stout that would sit alongside a nice steak off the grill any day. Their three seasonal are worth mention as well, they have an apple beer for the fall named Fallen Apple, a Belgian Wit on crack called Fatty Boombalattty, and a Belgian styled IPA called Make Weight.

Now bear in mind this is not your over the top DIPA and Imperial stout style brewery, but if you like a well made beer that you can drink more than 3 ounces of at a time, then these guys are for you.

www.furthermorebeer.com

Surly's New Can - Bitter Brewer

Surly has announced that Bitter Brewer will be their next canned beer. Bitter Brewer is Todd’s pet project beer and is a thirst quenching, palate pleasing, beautifully balanced brew, even for Surly.

www.surlybrewing.com

Two Brothers Brewing of Illinois soon to be available in Minnesota

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:48:00 CST

Hohensteins Distributing is pleased to announce they will be distributing the beers of Two Brothers Brewing in Minnesota. Final label approvals are being completed now, expect beer by late Spring.

Two Brothers Brewing Company, of Warrenville Illinois, was founded by Jim and Jason Ebel in late 1996. Today it is still 100% family owned. They package four beers all year around. A farmhouse ale named Domaine DuPage which took a bronze medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival. The Bitter End, a classic American pale ale. Ebel's Weiss hefeweizen. Lastly Prairie Path Ale, a golden ale made with Belgian malt and noble hops. In addition, they have a variety of seasonal beers and special releases which we hope to see in Minnesota in the future.

Sam Adams Product Recall

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:03:00 CST

The Boston Beer Co., makers of Samuel Adams, have posted a voluntary product recall due to a very small percentage of bottles having manufacturing defects resulting in "random presence of bits of glass, most the size of grains of sand, but some small slivers in some bottles as well."

According to their recall website and FAQ, the affected bottles are embossed with the digits “N35” followed by the letters “OI”. Bottles with this coding should be not be consumed. Consumers can claim a refund for bottles with the “N35” code through their website.

More details about this recall at Sam Adams website http://www.samadams.com/cidefault.htm

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Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT

AIKO - QUALITY BEVERAGES IMPORTER

Sour news for Rodenbach?

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:52:00 CST

UPDATED 12:20 PM. Some bad news for the U.S. fans of Rodenbach, the brewer of the classic Flemish sour beers by the same name. A representative with Duvel USA, Rodenbach's most recent importer, confirms that the beer is no longer being brought into the USA. This decision was handed down from the Belgian-side and was not a decision made by the importer. At this time no new importer has been planned or announced. Rodenbach was the only brewery in Duvel USA's portfolio that was not owned in some fashion by Duvel Moortgat. Also of note, the Rodenbach USA website has been stripped down to a bare shell.

Brouwerij Rodenbach, of Roeselare, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, dates back to the 1700s. In 1998 they were acquired by brewing conglomerate Palm Breweries, who made several changes including halting production of the Rodenbach Alexander label. After a number of years away from the United States (late '90s to early '00s), Rodenbach was relaunched by Duvel USA in mid-2005.

Twin Cities Imbiber will post updates when additional facts are available.

Flat Earth Brewing Co. launches new website

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:14:00 CST

Celebrating their first anniversary, Saint Paul brewer Flat Earth has just launched their brand new website.

Visit it at www.flatearthbrewing.com

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Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Rich, chewy barley wine takes time

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