Minneapolis Breweries Day by Day #3 & Wild Mind Artisan Ale Tangy Hugs

Day #3, Thursday, December 28. I bumped Wild Mind Artisan Ales up the list for several reasons. One, the two months since I've been there has been far too long. I've been meaning to get out there every week, but something stops me. No more! Also, my brother Kevin and his wife Laurie were in town and I wanted to show them a few of my favorite breweries that I thought they would enjoy. (Laurie is CFO of Destihl, and has a penchant for the Belgian styles and the sours.) And finally, WMAA is located at 6031 Pillsbury Avenue, a few blocks off of Nicollet Avenue, not very far from the new home of Comic Book College, 4732 Nicollet Avenue, and I just had to get my hands on that Marvel Two-In-One, featuring the Thing!

Lazy Hayz with all that haze.

I took a 21a east toward Nicollet Avenue, then hopped on an 18 to my destination full of four-color fare. Found that book, as well as Mister Miracle, Silver Surfer, Kamandi Challenge, and Bug: The Adventuers of Forager. The astute among you will see clearly that I only buy mainstream comics if they continue the stories of characters created or co-created by Jack Kirby. I almost bought that one issue of Squirrel Girl Vs. Galactus, but I have to draw the line somewhere. Having bought my books and bundled up my coat, hat, & gloves, I got on another 18 heading southward, took it to 61st & Pillsbury and found my way to the brewery.

I had a beer and a half in me by the time K. & L. arrived. First one was Lazy Hayz NE IPA, so-called because, you know, leaving a beer unfiltered is lazy, don't you know? I did not take notes on it, but I did take notes on their notes. Here they are: This haze bomb was brewed with milk sugar and Rakau and Citra hops to create a tropical, smooth IPA with notes of pineapple, citrus, and a hint of bitterness. Milk sugar, huh? Another one of those milk-

Death to paper lists!

shake IPAs. Haze bomb, eh? Well, you know me, I like IPAs, but I'm not on board with all these new-fangled variations. This one went down pretty well, had more than just a hint of bitterness, but not enough for me. I liked it, I drank it, and I went running in the opposite direction.

The next one I went with was Lost Shoreline, an American Porter. As before, I didn't take notes, but I'll share theirs: Wild Mind Artisan Ales specializes in wild, sour, farmhouse, and rustic ales that are created using barrel aging, blending, and our own wild Minnesota yeast. The Lost Shoreline is a robust, complex porter brewed with dry, unsweetened coconut flakes. A heavy malt add rich chocolate flavors to the sweetness of the coconut to provide the delicious, tropical escape you've been looking for — without even leaving Minnesota.

I'm not huge on coconut porters, but this one was nice. Right on the money, there. A good ol' drinking porter, just the way I like them, roasty, robust, without too much of that additional flavors to wreck it up. Along came K. & L.  and I helped them understand the scene there, who they are,

Lost Shoreline.

what they're doing, why I dig them. That that "NE" in the NE-style IPA does not stand for Nebraska. And the aspects of the local taproom structure that may not be apparent to all. No one will wait on you. Yes, you have to get in a line if you're not sitting at the bar. Water is over there, and that doesn't mean they don't like you.

Brother Kevin and sister-in-law Laurie
enjoying their beverages.

I decided to go with a wild, fruity, funky one for my third, the Mirabell Blackberry. Gin barrel-aged wild ale with blackberries. I will bring this home in bottle or crowler eventually, just you wait and see. This brings me to yet another reason I was anxious to revisit WMAA, the new Barrel Take-out Room, as they call. A cooler a full of bottles and crowlers, instead of only being available in limited quantities on special occasions, as well as shelves of merch. Something like Mirabelle would be in a $18 bottle, rather than a $9 crowler. Those are the prices we pay, though, to bring home the glory. I'll be back again for more, once I get another paycheck.

Three beers down and a growler and two crowlers to go. The time started ticking. Brother and sister-in-law also mentioned one of my other favorite places, Sisyphus, and sister Lynn and brother-in-law Pete were brought into the activities for the Thursday Open Mic Comedy, starting at 8pm. I was glad that the beers at Wild Mind found favor with these two. They can be kind of particular.

And after a free-wheeling night of amateur stand-up and more beers at Sisyphus, a good night all-in-all. The next day, I opened up the growler of Tangy Hugs (where do they get these names?) and here are the notes:

Wild Mind Tangy Hugs. 6.8% ABV. Filled December 28, 2017.

Thick haze. No head, Big orange. Tropicana brewing company.

In the nose: Tropical. Citric. Fruity. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Low bitterness, high hops, high fruit. Yeah, they're doing it.

In the mouth: Fresh and fruity. Bright and delightful. Tasty, delicious. Big time citrus, big time yum. yum, again. And with that generous haze comes the orange juicination of the IPA. I mean, come on! If this is what you want, they made it. If it's not....hmmm. Sweet, fruity, ....mmmm.

This Northeast IPA was brewed with a blend of UK Golding, Citra, and Simcoe hops, as well as our wild house yeast blend and milk sugar, to create a complex hazy IPA packed with citrus flavor.

It is all those things, and yet, yet...I could do without the haze, and would like to skip the milk sugar. there's plenty of hop flavor, but it doesn't have to look like a glass or orange juice. Who wants that? Oh, yeah? Everyone, these days. Well, okay....just can't win.