Town Hall Project 3106

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Project 3106. 9.2% ABV. IBU: ?

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN. 

This is a beer that's been released every year for the past five. I've taken home a growler home only once, but those notes never ended up here on the Nib. So, here we go, again, for the first time. Into the glass, from the growler, it goes...

Dark brown coloring, slim whitish head, looking fine. 

In the nose: sweet, creamy, fruity, chocolate-y. Mmm. Bourbon barrel, vanilla, cherry...not sure about kumquats. Where do they come in? Interesting. 

In the mouth: Full bodied, powerfully strong, flush with fruit flavors and chocolate. Dense, rich, malty and delicious. So nice. Big time flavors, big time depth. More and more flavors, maple, molasses, dark fruits. Fig and raisin? Port wine? It's a damned interesting mix, it is. And I can dig it.

Strong Belgian-style Bruin (brown ale) with Belgian dark chocolate & kumquats aged in bourbon barrels. 

56 'ssippi Squeeze IPA

'ssippi Squeeze India Pale Ale. 6% ABV, 23 IBU. 56 Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Light haze, bright golden hue, sizable, lasting creamy white head. Looking nice.

In the nose: Bold, beautiful bouquet. Tropical fruit notes pop out: mango, guava, passion fruit, mixed with mild bitterness and slight citrus.

In the mouth: Clean, crisp, and powerful hop flavors board the palate, bitterness spreads 'round the mouth. Tongue tingler. Palate gripper. Fierce and flavorful. Tropical tones and matched with citrus-y notes, some grapefruit and tangerine complete the bill. Fresh waves of hoppy flavor hit with each new sip.

I like this one. Can you tell?

A golden and hazy New England IPA hopped exclusively with Citra and Mosaic hops. The aromas are of citrus and ripe mango with flavors of tropical fruit. You’re sure to enjoy the hop squeezed flavor! 

Bent Brewstillery Nordic Blonde Amber Blonde Ale

Bent Brewstillery Nordic Blonde Amber Blonde Ale.  5.7% ABV. 27 IBU. Bent Brewstillery, Roseville, MN.

Before we begin: I was going to drink a different Bent Brewstillery beer, but as I went seeking out information on it, I kept seeing various opinions on this one. These were expressed on the internet in the form of photographs of the beer being poured down the drain. I never "drain pour". I drink every beer I pour, straight down my throat. Mostly. If it's very awful, I may mix it with something. Will that happen this time? Let's find out...

Clear, amber hue, slimmish ivory head.

In the nose: light malt, minimal hops, some cereal, some...I don't know what. Eh. Not sure what's up.

In the mouth: huh. um. yeah. Nothing exciting or even pleasing is happening here. It's light-bodied and mostly...amiable? Non-threatening? Not altogether repulsive? Dry, clean, malty, but has no charm or personality. Drinkable, but not especially enjoyable. I don't drink Blonde Ales, but I do appreciate their appeal and this has none of them. What's an "amber blonde"? Has anyone asked for that? Does anyone want it? It's a hybrid without a home.

Okay. Alright. Not bad, but not really very good. It brought little pleasure, and yet, I persisted. Drank it all down, but didn't enjoy it much.

This is a clean, crisp, delicately balanced beer with subdued sweetness and a pleasantly refreshing tang in the finish. Because of the low hop bitterness and dry, light body, this beer is easily mistaken for a lager or light beer. These qualities make it a great summertime beverage. This beer is brewed using our local pure water without any additives.

This beer was our very first recipe. It was our introduction into craft beer. We brewed what we wanted to drink, and this quickly became a favorite among our friends and family who weren’t ready for the more brutal styles on the Bent Brewstillery beer menu. We make this beer our own by using richer Munich malts to give it a more complex and deeper flavor. This beer is best when fresh.

Venn Brewing Batch #15: Modern Sahti

Venn Brewing Sahti. 8.5% ABV, 30 IBU. Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, MN. Growler filled on 2/18/18, consumed one week later.

Personalized growler labels are rare and always
appreciated.

What do we know about "sahti"? It's a scandanavian beer style, Finnish to be exact, where parts of trees, like juniper berries, or spruce tips are used for flavoring, in place of hops. Just check this out. I've only had one Sahti here in the Nib before, and that was Harriet's version, four years ago. Checking that review reveals that I've had two before, one from Dogfish Head and one from Finland, but they are in the distant past.

To the eye: clear, amber hue, slim white head.

In the nose: herbal, vegetal, slightly fruity/malty. Minimal hops. Interesting and inviting.

In the mouth: Sweet and creamy. Herbal, slightly hoppy, mostly malty. Increasingly interesting. Yeah, I'm drinking the forest floor, right? That's it? But it's damned tasty, and wonderfully strong. Delicious is a word I would use. Medium bodied, increasingly alcoholic, and very likable.

(And finished the growler in one evening. Couldn't help
it.)

What's the brewery have to say? Again, with the three word thing: Juniper, Complex, Full Bodied. 
Wait, I found more: Venn’s modern spin on a historical style from Finland. Traditionally brewed with a multigrain malt bill, juniper branches and berries, and fermented with baker’s yeast, we kept the core elements of the diverse malt bill and juniper berries but updated the yeast to a modern lager fermentation resulting in a cleaner finish.

Malts: Two Row, Dark Munich, Rye, Golden Naked Oats, Torrified Wheat, CaraMunich.
Hops: Chinook.
Yeast: American Lager. Other: Juniper Berries.

Sociable Ciderwerks Freewheeler Dry Apple Cider

Sociable Ciderwerks Freewheeler Dry Apple Cider. 6.4% ABV. Sociable Ciderwerks, Minneapolis, MN.

Boy, this is a long time coming. I finally got some samples. That's all it takes. Just give me the beer, or cider, and I'll write about it. Well, I wrote about the first one two weeks ago, and I got the 4-pack some weeks before that. I'll get to the other two soon, but for some reason, in the past two weeks I've opted not to pick one from the fridge. I'm on a mission to close it on out. But we start with Freewheeler:

Clear, bright golden, no head.

In the nose: Sweet, slightly tart, very apple-y.

In the mouth: ah, that's nice. Straight up cider. Dry, a little tart, and fruity. Never too sweet, this one. Light bodied and refreshing. Snappy, scrappy, satisfying. It's good cider, and you can drink it. Mmm, mmm. If I were drinking a cider, I'd be drinking this one.

Freewheeler blends the Midwest’s finest freshly pressed apples with a touch of lightly hopped cane sorghum. The result delivers more mouth feel, more bright acidity and more effervescence than most cider… never too sweet and always a refreshing alternative to great craft beer.

New Belgium Tartastic Raspberry Lime Ale

New Belgium Tartastic Raspberry Lime Ale. Ale brewed with raspberry and lime puree' and raspberry essence. All. 4.2% ABV. Brewed and bottled by New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO, and Asheville, NC.

Lightly hazy, bright crimson/pinkish hue, slim pink head on top.

In the nose: fresh, fruity, tart, and citrusy. Nice.

In the mouth: Fruity, tart. Low to no bitterness. Minimal malt. All fruity and tart. A bit artificial tasting. Maybe it isn't, but it tastes that way. Light bodied. Forgettable. It may please some, but doesn't put a smile on my face, not this time, anyway.

Brewed with raspberry and lime purees for an irresistibly playful sweet-tart sip that’ll put a smile on your face every time.

Inbound Golden Tea

Inbound Golden Tea Belgian Golden Strong brewed with Oolong & Pu'er Tea. 8,5% ABV. 30 IBUs. Bottle #466. Inbound BrewCo, Minneapolis, MN.

Slightly hazy, bright golden, slim white head.

In the nose: There's the Belgian whiff, the bubblegum, the sweet and the funk. Also herbal, a little spicy.

In the mouth: Right from the start, it's damned interesting, this. Light-ish bodied, lush, sweet malt from the start, matched with a modicum of bitter hops, then overwhelmed by the Belgian yeast and more. Along comes the tea, and the fruit, and it's nothing but delightful. Tasty, delicate, sweet and lovely. A tea Belgian Golden Strong? Huh? Really? Yeah.

Thanks to the folks at Running Tap for running this out to me.

A Belgian Gold Strong Ale brewed with Oolong and Pu'er Tea from our friends at Verdant Tea in Minneapolis. Its fruity esters bring out mild spicy notes and low peppery phenols. The tea enhances the pear, orange, and even apple-like flavors that are present throughout the experience of this liquid

Town Hall City Glow Amber Ale

Town Hall just wrapped up their annual Barrel Week yesterday. I made it there three times, and brought home some growlers, which I'll be reviewing shortly. But, first let's have an amber ale. Why that, when so many of you may be anxious to hear how the barrel aged beers were? Because, it's early in the day, and I would rather drink an amber ale than a big ol' barrel aged boozer. That's why. And so:

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery City Glow Amber Ale. 5.9% ABV.

Crystal clear, amber-hued, slim white head above.

In the nose: clean, malt-forward, some sweetness, herbal, moderate to very light hopping.

In the mouth: Little bit of hops up front. After that, crisp, clean, smooth and easy drinking. It's a malty one, but maybe a little too easy. Could use a bit more flavor for me, though I can see what they're going for with this one. And they're ain't nothing wrong with it.


English Amber Ale brewed with English Pale malt, English crystal malts, and American wheat malts. Hopped with Centennial.

Sierra Nevada Flipside Red IPA

Sierra Nevada Flipside Red IPA. 6.2% ABV, 55 IBU. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, CA.

A little hazy-ish, crimson-colored, nice and lasting creamy-toned head. Looking good.

In the nose: Caramel and toffee meets citrus and a little pine. Sweet, plus hoppy, with but a twist of bitter. Nice.

In the mouth: Hops hit first, but the lush malt mouthfeel fills it in right away. Shiny, sparkly, clean, crisp and vibrant hop profile fills the palate, too, and continues to shine. Hops grow and climb over the malt, getting brighter and bolder. Citrus hop notes tower over other flavors, in the end, and I like that. I could drink a few of these with no problem at all,

This was from the 4-Way IPA sampler pack. Three more to go.

Flipside finds the perfect balance between hops and malt in this easy-drinking red IPA. It features just enough smooth and slightly sweet malt body to support huge citrusy and tropical fruit-forward hop flavors from the use of Simcoe, Citra, and Centennial hops.

HeadFlyer Wicked Jump Shot Pale Ale

HeadFlyer Wicked Jump Shot Pale Ale. 5.4 % ABV. 28 IBU. HeadFlyer Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Hey, guess who else has crowlers? HeadFlyer! I went there a few weeks ago, brought my growler, got that filled, and picked up an extra, because, why not? So, let's drink it:

Clear, amber-hued, big, fluffy white head.

In the nose: soft and citrusy. Lightly spicy. Lively hop flavors.

In the mouth: Caramel and cocoa malt flavors flood the palate at first. Smooth stuff. Light-bodied. Clean. Little bit sweet, little bit bitter, and quite drinkable. Not especially interesting, but that's not really what the pale ale is about. Still, this isn't as arresting as we'd like, even for a pale ale. Am I trying hard not to say it's boring? Maybe. May...be...?

But it is nice, and you can drink it. Citrus-y notes continue to play on the palate, and the time passes peaceably. Further into the pint, I like it more and more.

This soft, hazy pale features loads of late addition Mosaic and Amarillo hops to produce plenty of juicy flavor in a more sessionable package.

Notice that they had to hit those "Juicy" and "hazy" points, to drive in those trained to react to them. ....sigh....

Venn German Pale Ale

Venn Brewing German Pale Ale. Batch #17. 5% ABV. 27 IBU. Venn Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN.

Last Sunday, I made my first visit to Venn Brewing in about 5 weeks, mostly due to my efforts to re-visit other breweries I've been neglecting. I really wanted to try the Breakfast Stout that was on after my last visit, but, alas, it was gone, but more new beers replaced it. And what else was new? Crowlers! Cool! Almost every style was available, pre-filled.
So, I got my first crowler there, along with a growler fill, but it's great to know that I don't have to remember to bring one along.

Clear, golden hued, slight, soon-gone head of ivory foam.

In the nose: floral, hoppy, nice and noble. Lightly spicy, and lovely.

In the nose: Cool, clean, calm, and smooth. Light malt flavor, nicely balanced hop bitterness.

In the mouth: More clean, more lean, more hoppy and fruity. Some citrus, a little apple. Maybe melon. Bright, beautiful, and very tasty. Medium bodied. I said tasty already, right?

I like this one aplenty, and admire the creativity going on here. Gonna have to be more regular about checking out their wares.

On the menus, Venn works in the same method as Pryes, Indeed, and others: 3 short words or phrases to give you the message about the beer. Luckily, I found a little more information to go with it.

Mandarin Oranges, orange marmalade, pear. Fruit-forward German pale ale, featuring a new hop: Mandarina Bavaria. 

Malts: German Pilsner, German Pale Wheat, German Crystal 10

Hops: Mandarina Bavaria, Warrior

Yeast: German Kolsch

Forager Impeach Me Sour Ale

Forager Impeach Me. 7.3% ABV. 10 IBU. Date packaged 12-16-17. Brewed and packaged by Forager Brewing, Rochester, MN. American Wild/Sour ale brewed with peaches.

Much thanks to the CityElf Himself for muling this one back from Rochester for me. Once I heard of it, I had to have it. (Even if it did take a year and a second batch.)

 Clouded, orange hued, Cheetos-toned, slim, nearly bald-headed dome on top. (Not at first, though, as you can tell by the pic.)

In the nose: Some sweetness, and fruit, and all kinds of delights, a little bit of sour. Kinda funky, kinda cool.

In the mouth: fresh, zesty, wild, and fruity. Full of peach. Just delicious. Little bit of sour, little bit of sweet, lots of peach. And the sour never quits, either. Damned likable. So happy to get my large hands around it get it down my throat.
Sparkling, effervescent, a true fruity delight. I'd go for one again, and again.

Not him, of course. His ruinous reign could not end any faster.

Apparently, there was some controversy over this beer when it was released last year. I'll share this insightful blog post right here.

Cheeto colored Sour Ale in honor of POTUS 2017.
Vagabond collaboration beer first brewed on Inauguration Day in Berlin, Germany. We wanted this ale to be sour and Cheetos-Colored. Packed with over 3 pounds of peaches per gallon. Aromas of Trolli peach rings complement the big juicy stone fruit flavor.  Reach across the aisle and share this ale with love and friendship. 

Pryes Winter IPA

Pryes Winter I.P.A. 7.1% ABV. Pryes Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

My patience works at separate speeds. I had little of it
to spare in waiting for the head to die down in taking
this pic, but I had to practice some before drinking.

Here we have a growler purchased at the brewery on January 13, and consumed on January 14. So, these notes and photos have been sitting on my laptop for about five weeks for reasons too tedious to mention. Let's waste no more time, before winter leaves and spring is in command of the land.

Clear, amber-tinted hue, voluminous creamy white head. Looking great.

In the nose: nicely spicy, dark fruity, floral, some malt in there, altogether beautiful.

In the mouth: More hops, more spice. Nice and fruity. Delicious malt, easy drinker, high quality. So many flavors. Spruce? Juniper? Various fruits and spices. So many nice hops. Nice meets nice plus nice. Good drinking IPA.

In Pryesian fashion, the beer is described with a trinity of words or phrases: Pine, Hoppy, Black Currant

Eastlake Kirby Pucker #17

Eastlake Kirby Pucker #17. Coconut & Pineapple Sour aged on oak and mescal. "if you like Pina Colada." 5.2% ABV.

Clear, bright golden, slim to none head of foam.

In the nose: funky, fruity, sour. What? Oh, I'm getting the pineapple, it's thick and pungent. Sweet, tart, and wild & weird. Very interesting.

In the mouth: Wow! Intense puckeration. Lively souring. Lean bodied, sleek, tasty and sour. Nice, if you like that. (and I do.) Pineapple is here. Coconut? I'm not getting it. Some citrus at play here, and, hey, wait, here's a touch of the coconut. Thought you'd get away, eh, little guy?

Not great, but not bad, either.

Stepping up to the plate is Kirby Pucker, our rotation of brews that undergo a second fermentation with lactobacillus.
Every iteration in the series is a unique Eastlake take on postmodern American sour beer. Pucker up! After all, Lake Street Is For Lovers. 

Town Hall Pitstop Cherry Lager

Town Hall Pitstop Cherry Lager. 5% ABV. IBU: ?. Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Mpls, Minn.

To the eye: opaque, dense, and murky, thoroughly crimson, and a slim ivory head, gone in a trice.

In the nose: Sweet, tart, fruity, yum. Pulpy, fresh, nice. Good start.

In the mouth: We begin with the fruit, and the tannins, the tart and the sweet. Pulp-Tactic fruitiness. Low bitterness, even malt. Lots of fruit in this one, and much more flavor than you'd think from a beer of this kind. But that's if you're comparing it to the output of other breweries, who would make a beer like this and make it very boring and predictable and less like this one.

Pitstop is tangy and tasty, full-bodied, rich and fruity. I like it more and more.

Pale lager finished with Michigan balaton cherries.

Sisyphus Barrel Room Coffee Stout

Sisyphus Barrel Room Coffee Stout. 7% ABV. 55 IBU.  Sisyphus Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Dense, thick, deep black coloring, with a rich brown head of foam above. Looking fantastic.

In the nose: earthy, semi-sweet, cocoa & espresso. Slightly creamy. Utterly delightful.

In the mouth: Sweet, chocolatey, creamy, rich and delicious. Just that, and also more. And that's just sip one. Let's dive in again. MMMM, mmm, malt-tastic. Lush and luscious. I keep liking this more and more the more I drink it. So good. And I mean that. So, so good.

Read more about tit here: Stout infused with Sisyphus Brewing Barrel Room Coffee.
The beans were aged in an Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel and roasted on 2/2 by Roundtable Coffee Works. This Full City Roast hits you with a bright and chocolatey warmth and finishes with a toach of Oak, Fruit and booze. Is it coffee or beer? Or beer coffee? Who cares.

Dangerous Man Cran Razz Sour

Dangerous Man Cran Razz Sour. 7.3% ABV. 20 IBU. Dangerous Man Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN. 750 ml crowler.

To the eye: pinkish, purplish coloring, slim, whitish head.

In the nose: fruity, tart.

In the mouth: fruity, tart. Berry-licious. Cran-tastic. All those trite advertising cliches. Increasingly sour, ever-lastingly fruity. Fruity, fruity, sour, sour, nice, nice, nice. (I'm channeling something there, not sure what. Maybe you know?)

All in all, not bad at all.

Wild Mind Artisan Ales Northern Bloom

Wild Mind Northern Bloom Pale Ale. 5.8% ABV. 45 IBU. Wild Mind Artisan Ales, Minneapolis, MN.

There's a little trick in reviewing some beers from Wild Mind, these days. Some of the names have changed since their early, unoriginal monikers. Have I had Northern Bloom before? Doesn't show up in the blog. So, I check Untappd. It says I've had it twice, and the first time, I had a picture of it, from August of 2016. That beer was called Wild Pale Ale. But that one was 6.5%  ABV. And 40 IBU, different from this crowler I'm about to open. So, I'm going to re-review as if it's a new beer. Because it probably is. Here we go.

Hazy, dull orange, slim white head, soon gone.

In the nose: light bitterness. small citrus. a whiff of the wild.

In the mouth: more hops, more bitterness, increasing spice. Citrus flavors returns on the palate. Medium bodied, robust mouthfeel, tasty, tasty, tasty. Definitely delicious. I like this one. Good beer and I can drink it.

Postal script: This is the 500th post tagged "Minneapolis". I noticed that this number was being reached when the tag "Minnesota" was around 986. What if Minneapolis hit 500 at the same time as Minnesota hit 1000? How could this happen, do I just stop posting Minneapolis reviews, in favor of Minnesota ones? (Keep in mind, of course, that a Minneapolis tag is also a Minnesota one.)
Too hard. I already had reviews lined up, I didn't want to wait too long to post them, just for this. How many Minnesota/not Minneapolis beers did I have in the fridge waiting for review? Some St. Paul, some Roseville....a Mankato. It wasn't enough. And too many Minneapolis I just had to get to.

Another tactic: go through the reviews and see if there are any where the tags were forgotten. A time-consuming effort that yielded few results. And when I found that place where I'd omitted both "Minneapolis" and "Minnesota", that didn't get me any further along in this mission, for the one number grew along with the other. Before I knew it Minneapolis was at 499, Minnesota at 991, and I didn't have the heart to search for eight more missing Minnesota tags. I'd have to throw in the towel.

Do I go out and get more non-Mpls./MN beers, review those, save the ones I'm sitting one, put off the ones in wait? That's far too complicated for something so silly. You never know, I might have to delete a post or something, then it wouldn't be the 500th anymore. And maybe that's not worth all the worry. Or, is it?

See, that's what the inside of my brain looks like. And if you've read this far, you're proven that you're one of those people who wants to get a peek.

HeadFlyer Heavy D.

Here we have the first appearance of HeadFlyer Brewing in the Nib. I've been there three times, and drank their beers there twice. I'll tell you about that later. I'll certainly be back in the future. And I've got more to say about them, of course, but let's just celebrate their entrance with these notes on a growler I picked up Sunday last.

HeadFlyer Heavy D. 8.5% ABV, 48 IBU. HeadFlyer Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Heavy haze, ultra cloudy, slim white head, murky golden hue.

In the nose: Citrus-y hop flavors, a little pine, a pinch of grapefruit. Nice.

In the mouth: ooh, juicy! Hmmm, lots of bitter hop flavors deployed on the palate. Bold and tasty. It's sweet and malty, then turns to bitter and citric. Tons of tropical tones. Strength rises and rises. Just enough of the flavors and feelings to keep me satisfied. It's my own personal chocolate Jesus. But hoppy and beer. And you don't have to wrap this savior up in cellophane.

Tasty stuff, indeed. Good hazy IPA, and I'm drinking it. Am I turning a corner on this? Maybe it's not the road to ruin. One never knows....

The bigger, heavier cousin to our Juicy IPA. Double dry hopped with a heavy dose of Citra and El Dorado, we added Amarillo to the mix to produce a juicier nose. 

Flat Earth Loyalty & Honor Chocolate Mint Porter

Flat Earth Loyalty & Honor Chocolate Mint Porter. 6% ABV. 45 IBU.

Two thoughts are springing to mind: One, who decided to change the name of Flat Earth Brewing Company to "St. Paul's Flat Earth Brewing Company", and why. Was it meant to differentiate it from another FEBC? Or, to make sure no one forgets they're in St. Paul? And ....it's weird, is all. Never seen it anywhere else.
There's no "Fort Collins's Odell Brewing" or "London's Fuller Beer", or ...something like that.

Two: I'm obsessed with my collections. It's why I collect them. And I use my beer related items in the photos here. After my last post, about another Flat Earth beer, I saw the picture and thought, "dang, why didn't I use my Flat Earth coasters!" I corrected that oversight for this one, and after I this picture I thought, "dang, why didn't I pull out my Flat Earth pint glass?" My head is full of stuff like this.

Now, I'll shut up and tell you about the beer.

Solid blackness, slim brown head, looking good.

In the nose: Mint hits first. Chocolate just behind.  Nice.

In the mouth: Sweet, minty, cocoa, rich malt, smooth. Not bad at all. Everything is in proper order here. Plenty of the appropriate flavors, but not too much.

I like this.