Minnesota Breweries One by One: #1: Sisyphus Brewing, Minneapolis, with Winter Warmer

It's 2016, everyone! hooray! And it has been for a good, solid week, now. And what did I do? Well, I was under the weather for a bit and down in the dumps for a while, too. But, we shouldn't wallow, should we? We should correct this and soldier on as only we, I mean I, know how. And what am I going to do? Make an effort to hit up all the Minnesota breweries through the year, visiting so many I've never seen before, and revisiting old favorites.

This idea occurred to me last week, and I thought about making at least one post a week from a Minnesota brewery, based on a visit, reviewing a new beer. It could be more than one post a week, and if it wasn't, how could I get to our more than 100 breweries in a year? Is it possible? Of course. Can I do it? I'll try.

So I look back on week one, January 1-7, and where did I go? On Saturday, 1/2, I stepped foot into Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery and had a handful of great ones, then Sisyphus, later that night. I will probably save MTHB, which is one of my most common haunts, until Barrel-aged week in about a month. Last night, Thursday the 7th, I went to Sisyphus again, this time to see owner and brewer Sam Harriman headline a comedy night. I had no idea what I was in for. And I took home a crowler of Winter Warmer, which I missed out on a few weeks ago.


Sisyphus Winter Warmer. 6.7% ABV. 30 IBU. Filled: 1/7.

Mostly hazy, nearly burgundy in color, a reddish-brown to be plain, with a full, cocoa-tinged head. Looking good.

Aroma: nutty, cocoa-y, creamy, smooth malt notes. Very nice.

In the mouth: starts out slightly fierce and hoppy, then all is smooth and malty. Terrific balance, fiery at first, full of flavor, heat, and some spice, then more. Vanilla is here, cherries, too. Rich malt. Slight hops. Terrifically tasty. Medium-bodied, fairly easy-drinking, full of rich malty flavor. Lots of complexity in this one, and it's a true winter warmer in all regards. I am very happy with this one. I'll drink one whenever I see it. Yum, I say. Yum, indeed.

I talked about Sisyphus several times in the past. (Hey, if you don't want to wade though all those posts, just check this one out.) I find myself increasingly happy with their output these days. There's rarely a beer I don't like. With this visit, I took in stand-up in the performance room for the first time, and got to see what Sam's comedy is all about. I had no clue what it would be? Impressions? Props? Scatological humor? I was not disappointed, and maybe a little bit shocked. In truth, I hadn't laughed so hard in quite a long time. I recall some of Sam's jokes at his wife's expense, while she switched duties between both sides of the bar, then, later, while he gotten into even sicker stuff, pulling out the smartphone to record the set. I sort of wished I'd done the same. I never got out the camera device, and just relaxed and enjoyed the show. How do you know I was there, then? How can I illustrate this evening?
 I will borrow a picture that my brother-in-law took that same evening, and posted on Facebook. I'm sure he won't mind. I do wish I'd thought to snap a shot of Sam onstage, but sometimes I just want to live life, and not document or record it. Don't you just want to turn off that modern urge once in a while?

......

So, the year-long project begins. To clarify it one more time: At least once a week, one blog post based on a visit to a local brewery, with a new beer review from that visit, with no brewery to be repeated, (more clarification: of course I will return to breweries and their beers after they're tagged in "minnesota breweries one by one", but they won't return to the series.), urging me to keep getting out there and documenting my visits to the Minnesota brewing scene. Do I stay safe and hit up a local, South Minneapolis brewery next, or get out to St. Paul, or plot a course to get to one of the suburban breweries, or even further out-state? That is the quest. Watch this space.