Bad Weather Brewing Company | Tippin’ It Down

The four weeks of mid-September to mid-October represent the greatest weather of the year in Minnesota. It’s often around 68 degrees and sometimes sunny. Everyone is donned in flannel (my personal outfit of choice). Orange-, red- and yellow-leafed maples line the streets as Oktoberfest celebrations begin. Everyone it seems is in a jovial mood.

That’s because this time of year depicts what is often the beginning of the end of favorable weather in the state. After this beautiful window, the temperature plummets, and we often see our first snowfall. Read More

Prairie Artisan Ales | Paradise

As the weather cools off, you may be left dreaming of those warm summer days when you’re lounging out and soaking up the sun. Although we’re not in the worst of the winter just yet, Prairie Artisan Ales‘ Paradise will keep you reminiscent of those summer days, despite being a Stout.

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MadTree Brewing Co. | El Dorado High Imperial IPA

If you’re as much of a beer person as I am, you know that as soon as your friend mentions they’re going out of town, you’re asking them to bring you back some beer! That’s exactly what happened when I heard of an impending Ohio trip. I absolutely had to get my hands on some MadTree beer, and I was so pleased! You’re going to have to read below to learn more about El Dorado High.

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Fulton Beer | Specter

“It’s there and then it’s not.”

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). An alarming public health crisis, the death-by-suicide rate for Americans has grown 30 percent in the last two decades. In 2017 alone, more than 47,000 Americans died by suicide. The tragedy of the suicide epidemic in the last 20 years seems to have touched all of our lives at some point. Three years ago, it touched the family of Minneapolis’ Fulton Beer.

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Summit Brewing Company | Slugfest Juicy IPA

Bombasota. The Land of 10,000 rakes. These represent a couple of examples to describe what’s taking place on the baseball field this season in Minnesota.

The nicknames are warranted. The Minnesota Twins are mashing the baseball this season, hitting home runs at a historic pace. At the beginning of the month, the Twins set a new MLB record hitting their 269th home run of the season. Yes, they broke the record with a full month of games to go.

And they’re not slowing down. The Twins keep slugging with currently 289 home runs as I’m typing. But that’s not all. While building on their record-setting season, the Twins broke another MLB milestone. They became the first team in league history with five players to hit at least 30 long balls in a season.

It’s safe to say it’s been a slugfest in Minnesota this summer.

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Off Color Brewing to Add Cans to its Diverse Packaging Portfolio

Off Color Brewing has built its vibrant niche in the brewing community by doing things differently. Known for experimentation in its wide array of curious beers – and sake – the Chicago brewing destination is also familiar with experiments in packaging. Last year, Off Color brought the small-format 250ml bottle format to Chicago. Now, it’s joining a variety of its Chicago colleagues by announcing that its beer will soon be available in 16oz cans. Here are the details on Off Color’s recent packaging announcement, along with what Chicago beer drinkers should expect. 

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West Side Brewing | Porter

The crisp fall air will be here before we know it and many will begin to indulge in the great seasonal beers of fall. This typically means Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers but there’s a style that may be even more fitting for fall – the porter.

While it may not be bursting with fall spices or be the official beer of a German festival, the porter fits into just about any situation you can imagine. It complements meals of any kind just as well as it would pair with dessert. Then consider drinking it while grilling out or around a bonfire. It is a style that is flavorful, approachable and ties into the fall season as well as any beer style. And just in time for the change in season, the West Side Brewing Porter gets its annual release.

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Ultimate 6er | Summer Adventures in Michigan

Michigan is one of those places that never stops. Despite jokes about two seasons (winter and road construction) the truth is, every season begins and ends and brings with it the sort of activities that seem as if they only happen in movies. There is skiing and snowmobiling in the winter, gardens of wildflowers and baby animals in spring, and hills and landscapes full of red, yellow and orange in the fall. It’s summer, however, when Michigan truly comes alive, mostly because the state is littered with natural and human-made beauties that couldn’t possibly be in one area of the world. It’s with this in mind that for this week’s Ultimate 6er, we have six Michigan summer adventures and the beers that will make them even better.

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Eff Chicago: A Minnesotan’s Impression of the First, Funkiest and Favorite Breweries

It’s been a few weeks now since we made a quick beercation to Chicago and Milwaukee. We thought about compiling all 17 breweries we visited into a single post but decided that wouldn’t be any fun for us to write or you to read. We considered highlighting our top five favorite breweries in each city but thought that would be too cliche.

Instead, in a moment of clever wit, we decided to feature three breweries in two posts each — the first brewery we visited, the funkiest brewery and our favorite brewery in each city. We hope you enjoy “Eff Chicago”!

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Ultimate 6er | Best Beers for Cheering on the Big Ten Conference During March Madness

For those of us who live in the Midwest, it has been a long, bitter winter. However, for Big Ten basketball fans, a competitive regular season has pulled us through to the first signs of spring.

For most people, the Christmas season is their favorite time of year. However, for me, March Madness could be the underdog that upsets this crowd favorite in a battle for the most wonderful time of the year. I love that every game matters, as I have a team to root for in each match-up. I enjoy the high of celebration as teams claim victory, and I feel the heartache for each team as their season comes to an end. The upsets, the Cinderella Team, and the bracket busters elicit excitement in me, and of course, I have my favorite team that I hope is ultimately cutting down the nets at the end of it all. For those of you who will be rooting on a Big Ten team with me this March Madness, this Ultimate 6er will provide you with craft brews that show your loyalty to your team and your conference as you celebrate. Let the madness begin! Cheers (and Go Big Ten!).
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MadTree Brewing | Citra & Galaxy High DIPA

It’s one of those things that’s irresistible: it’s been a long day at work and you want something that brings the ABV and the hops, because you don’t want to work too hard, right? A perfect blend of ABV, IBUs, flavor, maltiness and a crisp clean finish all packed into one amazing pint. Long live the DIPA.

We all know our Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, and Bell’s Hopslam; allow me to introduce two phenomenal DIPAs from MadTree Brewing: Citra High and Galaxy High.

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Event Recap | Chicago Ale Fest Winter Edition

One of the things that can make a beer festival memorable (besides the beer) is the festival’s venue. Chicago Ale Fest changed things up this year to great success; they brought the festival to the Lacuna Artist Lofts in Chicago’s red hot Pilsen neighborhood.

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Wellspent Brewing Co. | Bonanza Theatre

One of the first things you’ll notice about this beer is the sleek jet black bottle. One of the first things you’ll wonder about is the name: Bonanza Theater. So, let’s cover that first. Wellspent Brewing Company, which opened on March 2, 2018, is located in a beautiful, century-old building that was home to a movie theater a hundred years ago. There is still some evidence of the old movie theater at this new brewery. As you walk in, you’ll still find the marquees, fully restored to their former glory.

“It opened in 1907 and was called the Bonanza Theatre,” said Kyle Kohlmorgen, owner of Wellspent Brewing.

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Zipline Brewing | Bourbon Barrel-Aged The Stout

When the chill of winter sets in, in the Midwest, we all pile on the layers. Wool socks, scarves, non-ironic stocking caps. But with the sun still setting before you can make it home from work, there’s one more trick to help warm you up – bourbon. One sip warms you from the inside out and takes away that chill that never seems to subside.

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4 Hands Brewing Company | Single Origin

The latest brew from St. Louis’ 4 Hands Brewing Company comes just in time for a palate switch up. After getting my fill of bourbon barrel stouts the past few weeks, I’m ready for the switch to big coffee stouts.  In the case of St. Louis beer lovers, we have two biggies coming out, both with a common link: St. Louis’ own Sump Coffee Company. One of which being 4 Hands’ Single Origin.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company Releases 2019 Beer Lineup

Born in 1988, the 30-year-old independent and employee-owned brewery, Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) has announced its 2019 lineup. Alongside favorites such as Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Burning River Pale Ale, GLBC unveils its new, year-round Great Lakes IPA, an IPA that honors its employee owners. As well, GLBC has a new cocktail-inspired Buckin’ Mule Moscow Mule Ale, and the Moses Mix Variety Pack, which features Holy Moses White Ale alongside two variants. But, that’s not all. New cans, new branding and new beers highlight the schedule for next year.
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Event Recap | Great Taste of the Midwest 2018

Temperatures stayed in the mid-to-high 80s all afternoon but that didn’t deter over 6,000 craft beer fans from sampling some of the regions finest beers at the Great Taste of the Midwest this past Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Event Preview | Chicago Breweries Preparing for Great Taste of the Midwest

Every second Saturday in August, a large contingent of Midwestern breweries gather on the shores of Lake Monona in Madison, WI for the Great Taste of the Midwest. Believed to be the second longest running craft beer festival in North America, the event features over 190 breweries and around 1,400 different beers for people to try.

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Ultimate 6er | Road Trip: Midwest Breweries You Can’t Miss

A road trip resulted in us visiting more than 40 breweries, brewpubs, taprooms and bottle shops in almost all parts of the Midwest, so I had to share my top six picks for breweries along our journey. You simply should not miss any of these places if you are within 50 miles. Not only did each brewery make stellar beer, but there was something special about each one, whether it was the atmosphere, the food, or the history. Note that these breweries were in the order which we visited them – there’s no way a favorite can be picked! After all, breweries are like snowflakes: all are beautiful, and none are the same! Here’s a look at six breweries that stood out in our tour of the Midwest.
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WarPigs Brewing | Lazurite

In 2015, 3 Floyds Brewing Co. and Mikkeller opened up WarPigs Brewpub in Copenhagen. Now the two have teamed up to open up a location here called WarPigs Brewing in the United States, and now their beers are available throughout the Midwest. Their flagship beer, Lazurite, is a big fruity IPA that is quickly becoming a fan favorite.

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