Sixpoint Tesla IPL

Sixpont Tesla. 7% ABV. 40 IBU. Lager. Six point Brewery, Brooklyn, New York.

Crystal clear, bright golden hued, large white head, leaving luscious lace.

Aroma: big, loud, and hoppy. Vibrant citric fruit notes, some pine, orange zest, grapefruit peel, tangerine. Nice.

In the mouth: Bitter bite at first, crisp bounce on the palate, little bit of honey, then smooth thereafter. Lean, clean, and lively. Tasty stuff, indeed. Quite delicious.

Yes, I'll have another.

Some gobbledygook? Sure, let's: 
TESLA
...It was said Tesla would visualize
fully-functioning inventions in his mind before even setting pen to paper. To start with a realized formulation in the mind's eye— see it, smell it, and taste it, then harness the right materials to create it? Now that's Mad Science.

Think the juicyness of big doses of American Hops, with that clean snappiness of a cold-fermented, meticulously-lagered beer.

Sisyphus Mrs. Sisyphus

Sisyphus Mrs. Sisyphus. Part of the employee designed beer series. We can assume this came from the mind of Catherine, then. No idea what the style might be, so I'll just go ahead and try and find out.

4.5% ABV. 40 IBU.

It's clear and yellow, with a slim, soon-gone head.

Aroma: Sweetness, fruit. Apple and peach. A touch of honey. Tea-like. Lovely stuff.

In the mouth: A cider-y snap at the front, crisp, lively, with little hop bitterness. Lean, and clean, and very smooth. Beautiful, bright, sweet fruit flavors persist on the palate. Now, the ginger kicks in, nicely spicy. Light bodied, easy finish. Quite likable.

This is a very nice beer, but it's not the type I'd pick again and again. That's just me.

Here's a little gobbledygook:
Part of the employee designed beer series. This light ale has notes of apple, peach and a hint of ginger. Honey malt beings or some added sweetness just like the real Mrs Sisyphus.

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest brewed in collaboration with Mahrs Brau. 2016 Oktoberfest Lager.
6 % ABV. 30 IBU.

Clear, golden-hued, slim white head.

Clean aromatics, floral, herbal, a touch grainy. Malt-forward. Low hop bitterness.

In the mouth: clean, crisp, smooth, malty. Well balanced, easy-drinking, downright chuggable. Lighter bodied and less rich than my favorite oktoberfests. But this is firmly in the Festbier style. Good beer and you can drink it.

from the website: We’re exploring the roots of Germany’s famous Oktoberfest beers. Each year, we partner with a different German brewer to explore a different approach to the style. This year we’re working with Bamberg, Germany’s Mahrs Bräu on a new version of the classic style. This authentic version of the festival beer is deep golden in color with a rich malt complexity, but with a noticeable spicy hop character from the use of the nearly forgotten Record hop varietal.

Deschutes Sagefight Imerial IPA

Deschutes Sagefight Imperial IPA. 8% ABV. 75 IBU. Bend, Oregon.

Clouded amber coloring, long lasting white head. Looking great.

Aromatics: very distinct, more lemon and lime than anything else, plus plenty of spice. That's where the sage is coming through. It's an unusual element in a beer, and really stands out. Nice.

In the mouth: Before I imbibe, I want to quote this from the website gobbledygook: Citrusy hops go head to head with resinous sage and juniper in a flavor battle royale.

Why not more? Malt Pale, Crystal, Munich
Hops Millennium, Bravo, Amarillo, Centennial
Other Sage, Juniper Berries Cert.
Alc. 8% IBU. 75
Available September – February.

The main event for hopheads has arrived! In the right corner we have lively botanicals hailing from the high desert; in the left, heavyweight citrus hops are looking for a knockout. Get ready to take a punch and keep on swinging with this bold Imperial IPA brewed with sage and juniper berries that’s best shared with those in your corner.

Huh? What? Okay, I guess. 

Anyway, back to In the Mouth: Sage and spice hits first, with hops following after. Malt lays low, leaving this to be all about the hops and those interesting adjuncts. Piney, resinous notes and super citrusy stuff does battle with the extra, unexpected ingredients. In addition to sage, also juniper berries, so there. It's a weird one, but I like it. Tasty, refreshing, bitter and odd, all at once. I said "tasty", right? Well, it is. 

Abita Peach Lager

Abita Peach Lager. Harvest Series. 4.5 % ABV. 15 IBU. Brewed and packaged by Abita Brewing, Abita Springs, Louisiana.

Hazy/cloudy, with bright yellow, nearly peachy coloring, and a slim white head.

Peach aroma roars out of the glass. Sweet and lovely.

Now, to drink. Sweet and juicy from the start. The flavor is right there, and there's little else beyond the peach. Easily down able. Does it's duty. It's a lager, it's peach. Good beer, you can drink it. Tastes great, actually.
Nothing else to tell you.

wait, here's more: gobbledygook from the website: Fresh Louisiana peaches are handpicked for this smooth lager. Pale malt gives the beer a sweet, crisp taste, with abundant amounts of ripe, juicy peaches added in the brewhouse to capture the flavors and aromas of real, fresh fruit. All our Harvest Series brews are made with the finest Louisiana-grown ingredients.

New Belgium / De Koninck Lips of Faith Flowering Citrus Ale

New Belgium / De Koninck Lips of Faith Flowering Citrus Ale . Brewed and bottled by New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, Colorado. all. 7.4% by Vol.

Clear, bright gold, soft white, lingering head.

Aroma: spice, Belgian yeast, citrus aplenty. Soft spices, very intriguing.

In the mouth: light spices and delicate fruit. Minor hops, lean malt body, ease of drinking apparent. Getting lime-ier as we go. Floral notes in the flavor, too. High citrus through the taste of this, some sourness, but all in all, pretty danged delicious.

Here's some gobbledygook! "A beautiful summer day in Antwerp; the sun pours past the belfry and rooftops and floods into the market center. A ballet of brightly colored shoppers twists and twirls through the commotion, pinwheels of color against the cobblestone square. You find two seats on the café’s patio, ordering beers to pair with the bustling view: De Koninck Flowering Citrus Ale. This Lips of Faith collaboration with Antwerp’s historic De Koninck Brewery is a delightful burst of citrus and flowers, keeping pace with the color and commotion of summer. Sit back and enjoy the pop of key lime and whole lemons; breath in the fragrance of hibiscus, rose petals and strawberry-tinged 'Mistral hops; toast to life’s pleasant surprises. Soak in the summer scene with a Flowering Citrus Ale."

Man, that's some gobbledygook!

Oskar Blues Bayside Black IPA

Oskar Blues Bayside Black IPA. All. 7% by Vol. Brewed and Canned by Oskar Blues Brewery, LLC, Longmont, CO.

Full ebony hue, large, lush cocoa-tinged head, looking great.

Aromatics: piney hops meet dark malts.

In the mouth: coffee, cocoa, anise and other dark malts flavor at play on the palate, bouncing up against hop bitterness, citrus and pine notes. Smooth and tasty. Good beer, and you can drink it.

Read some gobbledygook here.  Something about a band, and a beer, and, you know, gobbledygook.

Indeed Heliotropic

Full confessional: This is a re-review, for I've had this one before when it was called Wooden Soul #1. No matter, it's a new name, a new bottle, and I'm going to re-review it, just for kicks. And away we go....

Bottle conditioned. 7.3% ABV. Belgian-style Brett Saison Ale aged in white wine barrels. Bottled by Indeed Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN. Bottle 539/750. Bottled 06/2016.

Lightly hazy appearance, bright golden hue, slim, but lasting ivory head.

Aroma: Sauvignon Blanc drops in first, followed by slight hints of vinegar, cat pee, all that. Wicked, twisted, sour and beautiful. Beautiful, weird, and wonderful.

In the mouth: slight sweetness at first, lush malt, then comes the bracing tart from the yeast and the wild bugs at play. It's a brettanomyces fermented saison aged in white wine barrels, and it's complex, delicious, and ultimately refreshing. (Wish I had a few more. Wish I could save some for a year or so, but I'm terrible at that.) (Note to self: new project: buy more of these, save them, stash them, keep them for years.)

If you're you're looking for a palate-gripping, tongue-torturing "sour", this might not be sour enough for you. But it's plenty delicious.

By the way, what's "heliotropic"? The movement of an organism, specifically plants, towards the light of the sun. Not sure what that has to do with this beer. Maybe nothing. Just a cool word.

Funkwerks Nelson Sauvin Single Hopped Saison Ale

Funkwerks Nelson Sauvin. 7.9% Alc. byVol. Funkwerks, Inc.,Fort Collins, CO.

Lightly hazed, beautiful, bright yellow coloring, slimmest, ivory head, lasting long.

Aroma pops out pear and apple, bright citrus, lemon and lime. Succulent fruits, forest floor.

In the mouth: big hops up at the top, a blast of bitterness. Then dry. Totally dries out the mouth. Another sip, more hoppiness, then smooth and easy. Continuing bright and citrusy. Rounding out dry. Good stuff here. Good beer and I'm drinking it.

Gobbledygook: "This single hopped Saison is named after the unique New Zealand hope that has a distinct white wine characteristic. The addition of Muscat grape juice plays into the fruity aromas from the hops and contribute to the crisp, dry finish. Notes of gooseberries, honeydew melon, and a hint of spiciness."

Dangerous Man Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Dangerous Man Imperial Pumpkin Ale. 8.2% ABV. 20 IBU.

Dark brown color, slim brownish head.

Aroma: spices come first, all the suspects, the allspice and cinnamon and nutmeg, but not much beyond that.

In the mouth: big, rich malt. Some traces of the pumpkin flavor, and the trickles of the spice. Tasty, with looming alcohol. Pumpkin pie spices are mainly in the aromatics (I peeked at the full description, which I will leave below, no cinnamon, but clove and ginger are in here.)

I like this one, but I'm not in love with it. I'm getting the warmth of the spice and the alcohol now, and it's doing it's job as a nightcap. This'll turn me in, but good. I'm still not getting enough "pumpkin flavor", but it's not that big of a deal. It's an alright beer. Not great, ...alright.

Here's some gobbledygook from the website: Brewed with the mighty gourd, pumpkin, with additions of allspice, ginger, clove, and nutmeg, this Pumpkin ale a seasonal treat. Pumpkin pie is on the nose and the palate with a hint of alcohol on the finish. Notes of vanilla find its way in this beer, which drinks especially smooth with the lactose addition.
MALTS USED
Pale Malt, Pumpkin, Victory, Crystal, Lactose, Brown Candi Sugar
HOPS USED
Chinook, Motueka
YEAST USED
American.

Wait, that's not it, there's more: Well that’s a mighty fine pumpkin there Charlie Brown, a mighty find pumpkin indeed! How about we borrow that for a quick second and throw it in this here mash? No?! Well, I’ll be, Charlie Brown, you are the rudest boy this side of Minneapolis. Look! The Red Baron (quickly swipes pumpkin from the blundering CB and dumps in mash tun with a mischievous smile…)
Dangerous Man is happy to present it’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale.
The pumpkin ales we drink today are mostly a modern invention, though they do have some historical roots. Colonists in America were hard pressed to find enough barley, wheat, or rye to create a mash with enough sugars. Many vegetable and fruit adjuncts were used to bump up sugar content in their beer, this included pumpkin and apples. Due to pumpkins and apples seasonality, and their ease of growth on the coasts, they were added to the mash to create stronger, more robust beers that become embodiment of fall. The spiced pumpkin beers we consume — with vigor — are mostly a product of the 1980′s craft beer boom as barley and hops were plentiful.
Rob and Keigan cooked us up a mean treat. The Imperial Pumpkin Ale contains 2-Row, Victory, Crystal 75L malts, along with Brown Candi, Lactose, and Dextrose sugars, and includes over 100 lbs of pumpkin! This beer is beast! Perfect for the chill that’s been striking the air and the creepiness ambient at the end of October. Additions of Allspice, ginger, clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg were added to the kettle to bring a very aromatic and pleasant spice note that blends in with rich malt and alcohol backbone. The New Zealand Motueka hop was added several times to bring about a very “noble” aroma that blends well with the spices.
Get your spook on with our ghoulish gourd!
Drink local, drink Dangerous!

Sisyphus Flunker Barrel-aged Imperial Brown Ale

Sisyphus Flunker. Barrel-aged Imperial Brown Ale. 8% ABV. Sisyphus Brewing, Mpls., MN.

Deeply dark, impenetrable, with a slim black head of foam.

Aroma: all whiskey, vanilla, dark rum, rich and boozy. Big, beefy, rich and boozy. Slick and delicious.

In the mouth: big time whiskey, big vanilla, cocoa and smoke. Rich, but not too much. Full-ish bodied. Bigness and deliciousness, and very nice. Not the best barrel-aged ale out there, but not a bad parody, either.

"Some of friends at another brewery sold us this templeton rye barrel. It was originally destined to create a different beer, but it failed on that journey, and become the flunker, a barrel aged imperial brown ale."

Alesmith Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout

Alesmith Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout. Alesmith Brewery, San Diego, CA. 12 % ABV. On tap at Acadia Cafe.

Impenetrable blackness. Rich, cocoa brown head, leaving lace and lovely.

Utterly complex aromatics. Vanilla and cream, cocoa and toffee, coffee galore. Hazelnuts and bittersweet hoppiness.
.
Just divine.

In the mouth: Cream and cocoa and coffee hit first, with vanilla notes aplenty. Smooth, sweet, strong, delicious. Massive malt, slowly creeping alcohol. Delicious. Not much more to say. Flat out yummy.

Gobbledygook: This Vietnamese coffee version of Speedway Stout is and continues to be AleSmith's most popular variation of the ever-growing Speedway Stout collection. Since 2012 we have been adding this blend of four Vietnamese coffees, known in Vietnam as cà phê sa đá, to our popular imperial stout. The coffee beans were slowly roasted at low temperatures and then brewed by AleSmith with a traditional phin-style filter that gently percolates water through the ground coffee. The result is an intensely aromatic and bold tasting coffee that complements the notes of chocolate and roast in this massive stout.

Founders PC Pils American Hopped Pilsner

Founders PC Pils American Hopped Pilsner. 5.5% Alc. by Vol. 45 IBUs. 12 fluid ounces can. "Crack it. Pour it. Love it. " Brewed and packaged by Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.


Clear, bright golden hue, beautiful ivory head which lasts for a while, then slips down.

The P is for Pilsner, and the C is for the hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook...all the typical American/West Coast varieties that pop with pine and citrus, and that's what's happening here. Lemon, lime, grapefruit, with a slight tropical twist. Nice.

In the mouth: light bitterness boards the palate, but all else is smooth and easy. Light bodied, sleek and simple finish. Good ol' drinking beer. Lightly sweet, light bitterness, nice balance. It's alright. Good beer, and you can drink it. Nothing wrong with that.

What's the gobbledygook? Here it is: Pleasantly crisp, perfectly clean and profoundly crushable, PC Pils is our take on the classic Pilsner style. While Noble hops have been the preferred choice of Pilsner brewers around the world, we went with some of our favorite American varieties. Piney Chinook, pleasantly citrus Cascade and punchy Centennial make this an easy-drinker with floral hop characteristics. Pretty cool, if you ask us.

Fulton Standard Lager

Fulton Standard Lager. Genuine All-Malt Beer. Extraordinarily uncomplicated. "MINN MADE" (What, not MPLS MADE? Or maybe they don't want to alienate the greater MINN market?) Brewed by Fulton.

Clear, bright amber coloring, high carbonation, big, white, lasting head. Looking good.

Lightly grainy nose, with slight sweetness and floral notes. Good ol' lager-y smells here.

In the mouth: Clean, crisp and ever so light on the palate. Goes down smooth and leaves in a flash. There's flavor here, too, crisp hop presence, lingering bread-y malt, but swift finish, lean as can be. Not quite as dry as I'd like, but it's not "too sweet" either.

Quite a nice lager, and I hope this gets Fulton even further success. I won't be drinking it too much of it myself, since I'm almost always an ale man.

Minnesota Breweries One by One #44: Wayzata Brew Works, Wayzata

Wayzata, Wayzata, Wayzata. Just like to say it. Means "north shore" in the language of the Lakota Sioux, and sure enough it sits along the north shore of mighty Lake Minnetonka. Population, 3, 688 according to the 2010 census (only 92.5% of them white folks). Founded in 1854. And man, do they love their boats!

Wayzata Brew Works (or, WBW, the Brewery on the Bay) was stop #2 of the lake brewery visit of May 22, after Excelsior Brewing, traveling about 20 minutes around the lake to Wayzata Bay.  The brewery had only been open for a few weeks, and we'd heard very little about it, so we were set up for either a sad surprise or pure delights. Or, somewhere in the middle. That's about how it goes.

We pulled into the business complex (and darned if I can't remember what it's called) at 294 Grove Lane East, and found the place. A currently unused distillery sits behind glass as we entered, found some seats at the bar, flagged down a server. There were six beers on tap at the time, with flights of 4 going for $12, or 5 for $15. We went with four: I had the Wayzata Bay IPA, Chocolate Stout, Hoppeweisen, and English Ale, and Jason chose IPA, Kolsch, Stout, and something called Moore Moore Moore Lager, giving us both a taste of everything they had going at the time. (Checking Untappd, I see they've upped their total in the past 5 months to ten beers total, including a wit, a strawberry shandy, a brown ale, and an oktoberfest. Also, the chocolate stout is now being called Starboard.)

L to R: IPA, Stout, Kolsch, English Ale. 

Wayzata Bay IPA was crisp, clean, and hoppy, with a pleasant bitterness, very satisfying. The Kolsch, my notes tell me, was right on. The English Ale was a slightly buttery, earthy, crisp, and malty, with bright hoppiness. I liked it. The Hoppeweisen went down well, and the lager (named after an early Wayzata settler and, surprise, boat builder) was rather simple, but just what you want from the style. Oddly, I took no notes on the Chocolate Stout, but I remember it being passable.

Things were quiet during our stay. Most of the other customers were on the tiny patio, staring out at the boats and the water, taking in Lake Minnetonka. There's a stage around here somewhere, where they also provide live music on the

weekends.


The decor inside is all oars and outboard motors and such maritime stuff, with the beer list chalkboard and TV attached to the bottom of a boat. Anchors are in the logo and all over the place. Boats, boats, boats....they love 'em out there. Hey, I like a boat now and then, too. These folks are all about the boats. And why not, it is a pretty sweet lake they got out there.

The beer's not bad. That's about all I can say. Adequate. Competent. And a little bit pretty good.



Just right for partying by the lake, but not going to blow your mind. It was beer and a brewery, and we could drink them, and we had to go, because we're going to all of them. And the next one we went to: another lake, and another brewpub on that lake!

Minnesota Breweries One by One #88: Urban Growler, St. Paul, with Rhubarb Wit

Entrance to Urban Growler. 

It's Sunday, October 9, and my niece Anna had a coupon for the place, so I guess it's time to visit Urban Growler Brewing Company in St. Paul.

UGBC opened up as "the first woman-owned and -brewed microbrewery in the state of Minnesota" in the summer of 2014, at 2325 Endicott Avenue, a business park area in St. Paul. I didn't get a taste of them until the next spring, when I biked there on a Sunday afternoon, and you can read about that visit here. Did you go back and read it? I'll wait here while you do...

....dum, de dum....
la, de doo...
....doo, de dum...

okay, you back? Good.

Sarah Johnson, left, is the eldest daughter of my sister
Lynn Johnson. Anna Wagner Schliep is the eldest daughter
of my sister Jean Wagner. They grew up thinking Uncle Al
was kind of weird. They must have changed their minds,
because they now hang out and drink beers with me.

As you no doubt read, I only selected the three IPAs they had on tap, and skipped the remaining 7 more of their offerings. Looking back, I should have chosen a flight. I did get to try more of their beers when I started working at Acadia, and we had some on tap. MidWest IPA, Cowbell Cream Ale, City Day Ale, (kentucky common),  and De-Lovely Porter all found their way to our tap tower, but I never took notes on any pints I had. I found them all to be fine examples of their styles, but nothing really knocked me out. Good beer and you can drink it.

So, I decided to make this past Sunday my return visit for this project. Also, joining us is my craft beer-loving niece Sarah, the same age as Anna. I took a different path this time, approaching the place from a different direction, going down the University of Minnesota Transitway bike/bus road, going past Surly Destination Brewery another mile or so, taking Robbins Street and continuing until hitting the big brick building at Endicott St. Anna and Sarah were already there on the patio, Sarah with a flight and Anna with a Big Boot Rye IPA. I had been biking hard for well over an hour, and needed something down my throat fast, and I chose a Mocktoberfest, not quite realizing that I was going to get a 20 ounce stein. No matter, it was good beer, and...you know the rest.

Moctoberfest.

My notes were short. It's hard to take beer geek notes in social situations without coming off a little weird and, you know, anti-social. I guess it's different when I do this with other beer traveling companions, because they know that's what we're there for. But, then so did A & S....or, maybe I just really wanted to catch up with my nieces, and we didn't have hours in the car to take care of that? In any case, I didn't do much beer note scribbling while sitting on the patio on this nice fall Sunday. So, let's take a look at how the brewery's website describes it?

"Our take on a traditional Oktoberfest – Brewed with the finest German Malts and Noble hops, but fermented with our house Ale yeast.  This flavorful seasonal is rich and malty, yet crisp and refreshing – making it the perfect fall fest beer. "  My notes went: "softly spicy nose, yeasty, lightly toasty malt, slightly sweet, low hops, quenchable." I like it. Good enough.

Candy Corn Imperial Cream Ale. What? Yes.

Scanning the list, there were many other interesting options, such as Blueberry Wheat and Honey Double IPA, both in the Plow to Pint series. (The are other This to That Alliteratively Titled series out there, at other places: Garden to Growler, Grain to Glass, .Pumpkin Patch to Pint Glass. (I made that up)..I that that's enough. Just quit it, folks.). I'm still interested in tasting those, but I decided to go out on a limb and do the third P to P brew on the list, the frightening sounding Candy Corn Imperial Cream Ale, and I'll just go ahead and throw their description out there right now: "Some might say that there’s no such thing as an imperial cream ale, but some might say there’s no such thing as monsters but that doesn’t keep you from checking under your bed does it scaredy-cat?  Celebrate Halloween and the rest of the fall with this specialty beer brewed with plenty of candy corn.  This beer is smooth and strong with notes of caramel and a touch of sweetness. 9 oz pour.  Make it a Mad Cow – 1/2 CowBell, 1/2 Candy Corn Imperial Cream Ale (13oz) – Delicious!"

Snapping selfies and sipping in St. Paul

This sounds so unwise and so unappetizing. Candy Corn in a beer? No, no, no. I have enough of a problem with "Imperial Cream Ale", so much so that I tend to scoff at and avoid such things on principle alone. But, candy, not just candy but that horrible candy corn? No, NO, NO!!

So, of course, I had to try it. That's what this project dictates. Do it. And you know what? For what it is, it's not bad. The candy corn didn't destroy what would already be a questionable creation. (Shades of Maple Island Brewing, not a good thing.) Notes were minimal, they went: "Big, sweet, malty, a little odd, but...." and then, back to conversation with my nieces. I didn't mind it one little bit, but I didn't wow me in any way.

There was another Plow to Pint brew I wanted to taste, but I had snoozed and lost. This was the Rhubarb Wit, which had a further iteration, the Bubble Brew, an infusion with Japanese green tea, another head scratcher and chin stroker. Both of them were off the tap, but some growlers remained

Where's Uncle Al? Taking pictures of everyone surrepticiously.

and I decided to drop twenty bucks and take one home. Notes on that at the bottom.

Right about then, our time on Urban Growler's patio had come to a close. We had decided, us three, to give Indeed a visit for the close of their annual Hullabaloo event and that was rapidly approaching. Inside, the taproom was abuzz at 6:30 on a Sunday night. Urban Growler is one of those rare brewery taprooms with a kitchen, and the place was full for families dining. We stepped inside to take care of various business, and as we left I still wondered: why is it called Urban Growler? Are they trying to set themselves apart from all the Suburban Growlers or Rural Growlers? Someday, I'll find out.

Notes on Urban Growler Rhubarb Wit. 5% ABV.

Highly hazed, light orange hue, slim white head.

Rhubarb Witbier.

Aroma: sweet and wheat. Some banana and bubblegum. Nothing particularly rhubarb-y, though.

In the mouth: smooth, effortless drivability, lush malt. Low hops. Minor bitterness. All kinds of smooth. But very low on the rhubarb, and not exhibiting too much of the wit character, either. No orange or coriander really detected. There's some tartness coming through that can be attributed to the rhubarb, but there's not much of the true taste in the end.

Minor flaw, I guess. Certainly doesn't have the intensity of the Blacklist Rhubarb Wit.

Here's their gobbledygook: Wake Up Taste Buds – A Belgian Style wit ale that’s very pale and cloudy in appearance.  The crispness and twang comes from wheat.  The slight tartness in the background comes from Minnesota Rhubarb.  Highly carbonated and lightly spiced with orange peel and coriander, this is a refreshing early summer favorite.

Fulton Barrel-aged Libertine

Fulton Barrel-aged Libertine Imperial Red Ale. 3770 of 4000.  8.5% acl. by vol. 45 IBU. Fulton Beer, Minneapolis, MN.

Dark, plum-like reddish brown coloring, slim coat of foam above.

Aromatics: Dark fruits, rich malts, some cocoa, toffee, a little vanilla. Lots of bourbon barrel aspects masking the original Libertine, which is a big, flavorful one to begin with. Deep and complex.

In the mouth: Big, bold, rich and delicious. Dark fruits, flashes of cherries and plums, deep malts, nicely balanced, staying well away from sweetness, but giving off immense amounts of flavor. All the notes from the nose come and play on the palate. The bourbon barrel enhances the Libertine, and covers, if not smothers, the base elements of the beer. But, it's a great transformation, for sure.

More sensations at play, more sweetness, more chocolate and vanilla against the fruits and the hops. So very nice. One of my favorite beers in a long, long time.

Bell's Roundhouse India Red Ale

Bell's Roundhouse India Red Ale. brewed with honey. All. 7.5% by Vol. Brewed and canned by Bell's Brewery, Inc. Comstock, Michigan.

Deep crimson coloring, slim beige head.

Big, bold, juicy aromatics, brash hops, rich malts. Ripe fruit.

In the mouth: Hop, hop, hoppy, malt, malt, malty. Big on big and rough and ready. Vibrant hop attack on the palate, with massive malt backing it up. Boom, boom, boom. Tasty stuff, indeed. I like this.

From the can: "This IPA features bright, juicy tropical fruit and citrus aromas balanced with a judicious amount of toasted and caramel malts."

Here's more gobbledygook from the website: Substantial amounts of late-kettle hop additions and dry-hopping yields a heady blend of fruity aromas of pineapple, peach and citrus. Those aromas continue into a crisply bitter hop presence across the tongue, but the judicious use of toasted and caramel specialty malts prevents the hop intensity from overwhelming the palate.

Locally sourced Michigan honey creates a smooth, dry finish that pulls everything together.

The India Red Ale style is a variation on the IPA, but with more caramel and toasted malt character and a reddish hue.

Roundhouse was first brewed at our original brewery in downtown Kalamazoo in 2009.

Arcadia Ales Cheap Date Session Ale

Arcadia Ales Cheap Date Session Ale, 4.5% ABV., Handcrafted and canned by Arcadia Brewing, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Clouded, light golden coloring, solid chalk-white head atop.

Aroma: bright, fresh, hoppy, lovely and lively. Citrus and spice, orange and lemon aplenty. Nice.

In the mouth: brisk citrusy sensations jump right off once it drops on the palate. Bright and vibrant and popping' off. Yum, yum. Lightish body, slight finish. Good beer and you can drink it. Again and again.

Here's some gobbledygook for you: If you’re looking for uncomplicated fun, look no further, you’ve got a Cheap Date. Whether you’re relaxing shore-side, hitting the competitive lawn game circuit, or just enjoying the seasons and all their splendor, there’s never a bad time for our refreshingly hoppy session ale. Keep it casual and just enjoy the moment with this standby of high drinkability. Pairs well with grilling out, hanging out, and being out – all the “out”s. Cheap Date is a pale gold ale with a fine white head and a gorgeous aroma mirrored by its flavor, overloaded with tropical Citra hops, citrusy Simcoe hops, and the perfect malty balance.

Minnesota Breweries One by One #79: Summit Brewing, St. Paul

910 Montreal Circle, St. Paul, Minnesota

When planning the visits for this project, an idea occurs that perhaps they could coincide with a special occasion at the brewery. Sometimes that works out, other times the timing isn't right, for some reason or another. Also, you may have noticed that we do a lot of these trips on Sundays or in the middle of the week, rarely on a Friday or Saturday. Those weekend nights are when I need to be behind the bar and making money. The cash I take in on Friday and Saturday helps pay for the beers on Sunday. There are those breweries that aren't open on a Sunday, but they may be open on a Thursday, and we've done some trips on those days off, as well. Then there are those that are only open Friday and Saturday, and they force me to take one of those days off of work.

Summit Brewing Company is one of those. Now, there's another solution to this, as I've been offered tours on weekdays by brewery reps. I could count that as a visit, even though the taproom isn't open to the public. Is that a condition of my journey to breweries in Minnesota? Not really. And they are my rules, I can change them as I wish.

Left: Old BlaGGard Barley-wine in my
fingers, Right: Chip Walton, master of media

Bob Mould takes a nothing day and suddenly makes
it all seem worthwhile.

I had decided, at last, to take a Saturday off and make my visit to Summit on the occasion of their 30th Anniversary Backyard Bash, on the 10th of September. Actually, the taproom itself wasn't open, and all the beers were available outside. I did go inside the brewery for a bit, but before we get into that let's go back and talk about Summit, it's history, and my history with Summit.

When Summit opened in 1986, they were the only craft beer game in town. There wasn't even such a thing, really, for the word at the time was "microbrewery." We don't use that term anymore, it's been tossed to the dustbin of beer history. What was I drinking in 1986? Nothing, I was 18 years old, and I hadn't found beer that I liked yet. (I wasn't old enough to drink, of course, and at those parties where I and my under-aged friends went, there was nothing but crappy beer, which I refused to drink.)

The first beer I ever liked was Bass Ale, and I was inspired to try it because of my studies of art and the cubist still-lifes of Pablo Picasso, some of which featured bottles with "Bass" on the label. I wanted to try the beer Picasso drank, and I liked it because it had hops and flavor and wasn't bland swill like every other beer I encountered. This was in 1992, and all I ever knew was that stuff. Summit hadn't made it out to Anoka, yet, as far as I knew, and I didn't know anything about beer. I started drinking Bass and Guinness exclusively, until I made friends with a girl who would often drink Summit EPA by the pitcher with her crew at the C.C. Club on Lyndale Avenue. I got my first of it there, with them. The EPA reminded me of the hoppy British ale I'd become fond of, and I was an instant convert.

Left: Bagpiper Extraordinaire Dennis Skrade with
his cask Summit Oatmeal Stout with oranges, right: me
still sipping on that barley-wine. 

For the next several years, Summit lead me into other craft beer styles. Their India Pale Ale, now called True Brit, was a big favorite of mine. I was genuinely in love with it. Their Hefe Weizen, missing from their line-up for many years, was the first of that style I ever tried. Winter Ale was a staple of my fridge during the snowy season for many years, and I often stock-piled it when the supply started to dwindle. Great Northern Porter was another staple of my beer diet and was my undisputed favorite for many years.

Once I got into the bar business and had any control over choosing beers for a drinking establishment, way back in 1999, my first decision was picking a Summit seasonal for our rotating draft line (yes, this is back when most of our beers stayed stagnant, and only one faucet would host new brews), instead of whatever the distributor sales rep told my boss we should carry. From then on, I tried to bring each new Summit beer on tap, at least for a little while, keeping EPA as much as possible. I am trying to continue to support them while at Acadia, but with Oatmeal Stout as the stagnant line, rather than EPA (never did nitro at the Nile and have 4 lines of it at Acadia).

Master Brewer Damian "Damo" McConn. I'll never forget
the first time we met. In 2008, was tapping a special firkin of
Great Northern Porter with treacle at the Blue Nile,
and itwas my first time tapping
a firkin without an expert nearby.
Damo walks in as I'm about to hit it, and rushes up to me:
"No, lad, you're doing it wrong!" 

So, there's my long-winded way of saying, yeah, I'm a Summit fan. For a bit they seemed maybe a little stale, never releasing anything fresh and adventurous. That hasn't been true for some time, especially since the beginning of both the Unchained and Union series, as well as this year's special 30th Anniversary beers.

I'd been to the brewery exactly three times before, and the original brewery on University Avenue once, back in the 1990's. My first visit to Montreal Circle was in 2004, for a tour and a taste of the new oatmeal stout (only available on the site, before they sent out kegs), and then a short time after that, again, with some friends from Nebraska. I guess that made me good for the next 11 years, as I didn't return until last summer, when I finally took a bike trip to see the Beer Hall. The Beer Hall is exactly the same space as the area I saw in '04, where tour groups would convene and get a taste afterwards. They've added another tap tower and some faucets, but that's about it. Occasionally, there's a beer you can't find on tap everywhere, so they've got that going for them.

I continue to enjoy taking pics of people taking pics:
Damo, Summit founder Mark Stutrud, and a lovely
lass whose name I don't know.

As for the day of this visit, a few unexpected accidents led me to enjoy the 7-hour party for only one of them. My afternoon was consumed as I got some repairs on my bicycle and a much needed nap after an early morning adventure planting trees in Fridley with the Surly Gives A Damn volunteers. I was finally ready to leave at 6pm, and got to the brewery at 7, with Bob Mould well into his closing set. (Missed a bunch of bands, but I'd never heard of any of them, anyway.)I went into the cask beer area inside the brewery, where my first beer was Saga IPA with Citra hops, and I couldn't ask for more refreshing beer to ease my pain after the long trip up and down the hills of St. Paul. (Having an intersection at the bottom of a hill is a terrible idea, and the experience must have done damage to my brakes!) This was also the only place to get an Old Blaggard Barley-wine, and I took full advantage of this.

Summit Oktoberfest, always a favorite. 

Next up: wandering the grounds, bumping into friends, enjoying the post-Bob Mould DJ set by Brian Engel of HotPants, and just having a good time, soaking up summer before it went away. There were a few more beers squeezed in there, an Oktoberfest and a rare one called Hop Merger, a White IPA. No notes were taken, because, of course. Being that kind of beer geek at that kind of party would be kind of weird. I remember that it was good beer and I could drink it.

So much fun stuffed into an hour, and then time to go. Happy Anniversary, Summit, and here's to many more!

They turned this letter into a poster. They left off the part where it is suggested that
Mark join their organization and pay dues anyway. 

Bossman Mark Stutrud can't resist strutting his stuff.

DJ Brian Engel laying down the groove.