608 Brewing Company Hop Honey IPA • Photo via 608 Brewing Company

Welcome to Beer Dabbler’s Freshies, our weekly rundown on the newest beers hitting the store shelves and taproom coolers in Minnesota from your favorite local and national breweries. 

Light, crisp, sparkling, and refreshing ales and lagers abound as we celebrate spring-almost-summer with honey IPAs, blackberries, blonde ales, and landbiers.

The flight boards continue to lean lighter in color, with white stouts making their mark (and still more than a few jet black options too). We’re also seeing celebrations: at Alloy this Saturday, then at Tin Whiskers and Angry Inch soon.

There are a lot of exciting new beers available right now, and more to come in future weeks: new hop varietal IPAs and a new Heritage Lager Series, coming soon courtesy of Bad Weather.

 

 

Each week, the Beer Dabbler team highlights five of the most tantalizing new beers that we’re most excited to try.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative I’m Not Cryo, You’re Cryo! – Brewed as a nod to Mixed Culture festival, on hiatus due to COVID-19, “It’s a stainless fermented, mixed fermentation wheat beer that is hopped very heavily with Sabro Cryo, Citra Cryo, and Mosaic Cryo,” Fair State explains, “[With] restrained funk, polite acidity, huge tropical fruit notes, [and] spritzy natural carbonation.”

Junkyard Brewing Co. Werewolves at Luncheon – A Vermont-style IPA with juicy tangerine, tropical fruits, and a hint of cedar, Junkyard says. 6.8% ABV.

Town Hall Brewery Alpha Nimbus – A merger between Belgian-style white ales and American IPAs, this beer offers orange, coriander, and Belgian yeast flavors plus an aggressive cocktail of seven different hop varieties.

Waldmann Brewery Franconian Landbier – A light-bodied, summer dark beer with notes of walnut, caramel, and a hint of toffee in the finish, the brewery says. 4.5% ABV, draft-only, and in limited supply.

Venn Brewing Company Bloody Haze IPA – A collaboration with progressive metal band By The Thousands, Bloody Haze is a blood orange IPA with Strata, Mosaic, and Citra hops. Tapped on Thursday and pouring at 6.0% ABV, 40 IBU.

New beers available this week

10K Brewing

  • Frosted Animal Cracker Blonde Ale – A cookie-inspired beer made with biscuit malt and white chocolate. 5.4% ABV.
  • Norwe-Gin Farmhouse – “This traditional style has bread-like characteristics and juniper flavor to mimic gin. Our own take makes it a raw beer which means we do not bring it to a full boil to leave very little bitterness,” 10K says. 7.1% ABV.

608 Brewing Company

  • Citranado: Supercell Mango – A hazy triple IPA fruited with mango puree. 10.5% ABV and sold on draft and in Crowlers.
  • Grandpa’s Liquor Cabinet: Special Curvee 1 – A blended beer made with barrel-aged stout, Nebulous Void Coconut, Old Ale, and Nevulous Void Vanilla Maple. “All the adjuncts that were used have been subdued in a harmonic sort of way, creating a smoother more rounded beer,” the brewery says, adding, “Rich vanilla plays off the barrel character, with cooling coconut woven throughout and a sweet pop of maple on the finish.” 13.3% ABV. On draft and in Crowlers.
  • Hop Honey – A hazy double IPA with Mosaic hops and honey. “We wanted to make a beer with bright tropical flavor with enough body and sweetness to keep everything in check,” 608 says. “Mosaic hops [drive] our tropical component, while the honey creates an earthy-sweet depth that makes a surprisingly drinkable beer for being almost 9%.” Notes of candied melon, bergamot, dried mango, and Bit-O-Honey candy. 8.7% ABV.
  • Waka – A Kolsch-style beer with a light, refreshing body and notes of berry and lemongrass. 5.5% ABV.

Alloy Brewing Company

  • Neon Mandarin Tangerine Hard Seltzer – Inspired by children’s orange drink. 5.6% ABV.
  • White Noise – The featured beer at this Saturday’s 4th Anniversary Party,a white chocolate stout with chocolate, a touch of vanilla, and conditioned on rye-soaked oak.

Additional variants will tap throughout the day, limited to a single keg of each:

  • 2 pm – 2020 Rum Barrel Aged White Noise
  • 4 pm – 2020 Bourbon Barrel Aged White Noise
  • 6 pm – 2019 White Noise (non-barrel-aged)

More information available on Alloy Brewing’s Facebook event page.

Angry Inch Brewing

  • Resolution Ale – On tap now, this is a gluten-reduced white wine saison made with Pinot Grigio grapes that offer notes of mellow citrus and pear with a sparkling and crisp finish. 10.7% ABV, 31 IBU. More Resolution Ale is currently aging, tentatively planned for release for the brewery’s 5th anniversary in August.

Birch’s On The Lake

  • Bourbon Barrel Baltic Porter – Aged in Wild Turkey barrels, this dark lager is described as smooth, rich, and luscious and pours at 9.5% ABV.

BlackStack Brewing

  • Astroworld – A triple dry-hopped triple IPA made with Comey, Galaxy, and Strata hops. 10.1% ABV.

Blue Wolf Brewing Co.

  • Relaxing Breeze Session IPA – Served on nitro, this session IPA offers less alcohol and fewer carbs than most IPAs today.

Bricksworth Beer

  • Kraftwerk – A 5.5% ABV German-style Pilsner, back on tap now.

Castle Danger Brewery

  • Full Send DIPA – A taproom exclusive.
  • Sweet Cran-o-Lime Saison – A taproom exclusive.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Temp Swings IPA – “Hopped at weird times by weird peeps for weird folks to enjoy. Hopped with Sabro Cryo and experimental USDA 074.  Available on tap and in crowlers,” the brewery says. A collaboration with Modist.

Dual Citizen Brewing Company

  • Essential Industry – A dry-hopped Pilsener-style lager, canned this week.

Duluth Cider

  • Lemon Drop Cider – Named for the Mile 22 climb in Grandma’s Marathon this weekend, this cider includes grapefruit juice and Lemon Drop hops for extra citrus notes. 5% ABV.

Lemon Drop Cider • Photo Via Duluth Cider

Eastlake Craft Brewery

  • Blackberry Hard Seltzer – A 4% ABV gluten-free hard seltzer, on tap at the brewery in the Midtown Global Market now.

Blackberry Hard Seltzer • Photo via EastLake Craft Brewery

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • I’m Not Cryo, You’re Cryo! – Top Flight Selection
  • Oops, All Hops! – Brewed with YCH experimental hops, “Oops, All Hops! is slammed with a special pre-release blend intended to evoke notes of fresh berries. We blended this with some of our hand-selected Mosaic, and the result is a tropical explosion,” the brewery says.

Hoops Brewing

  • No. 85 Mexican Lager – A summer seasonal 5.5% ABV lager with lemon and lime zest.

Junkyard Brewing Co.

  • Bustin’ Surf Boards – A 5.8% ABV Kölsch-style beer with crisp character, biscuit notes, and subtle fruitiness.
  • Choir on the Mountain – “This new sour has a perfect blend of sweet strawberry, juicy pomegranate, and tart passionfruit! The combination of these robust, fruity layers creates a perfectly sweet but tart sour,” the brewery says.
  • Christian Bale Ale – A sessionable and hop-forward offering with fruity and citrusy flavors from the use of Citra, Belma, and El Dorado hops. 4.7% ABV.
  • Werewolves at Luncheon – Top Flight Selection

Lakeside Tavern & Brewery

  • Peachin’ Blonde – A fruit-infused variant of the house blonde ale.

Lupulin Brewing Company

  • West Coast Bias – A dank and resinous West IPA with a balanced malt base, plus Chinook, Simcoe, and Centennial hops. 8.5% ABV, 80 IBU.

Modist Brewing Co.

  • Barrel Aged Black is Beautiful – A charitable imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with hazelnut, coffee, and cacao nibs. Limited bottles are for sale via a raffle, which ends today with bottle distribution next week. 13% ABV.

OMNI Brewing Co.

  • Hop Clop – A New England-style IPA hopped with Mosaic and Rakau. 7.1% ABV.

Pig Ate My Pizza Kitchen + Brewery   

  • Hefeweizen – Brewed with more than 75% wheat malt, this hefeweizen has banana notes on the notes and a crisp finish, the brewpub says. 5.5% ABV.

Hefeweizen • Photo via Pig Ate My Pizza

Stacked Deck Brewing Co.

  • Unraveled – A limited triple IPA made with Nelson Sauvin hops that pours at 10.5% ABV. On tap and in liquor stores.

Surly Brewing Company

  • Impossible Objects – A new IPA made with 100 percent dry-hopping (no hops in the kettle). Surly says the combination of Sabro, El Dorado, Citra, and Amarillo gives it a big hop flavor without the bitterness. Sold in the Hop Pack variety pack.
  • Mean Streets – Sold in the new Hop Pack variety pack, this IPA features the Sultana hop for notes of pineapple, lemony citrus, and pine.
  • Screen Time – “Generously hopped with Simcoe and Centennial hops for a huge hit of citrus pith, floral grapefruit, and piney flavor,” the brewery says of this beer sold in the Hop Pack variety pack.

Take 16 Brewing Company

  • Homerun IPA – A blend of Nelson Sauvin, El Dorado, Azacca, and Cashmere hops form the foundation of this tropically-flavored IPA.

Talking Waters Brewing Co.

  • Tongue Twister – The newest release in Talking Waters’ smoothie sour series goes for an orange creamsicle-like flavor from the use of Cara Cara oranges, lactose, and vanilla. On tap and at liquor stores. 5% ABV.

Tanzenwald Brewing Company

  • Witty Tangent – A Belgian-style witbier with tangerine, and the first collaboration beer made by Northfield’s Tanzenwald. With help from Fair State’s team, this summer crusher offers hints of clove and banana, the brewery says.

The Nordic Brewing Co.

  • Muggsy’s Beans – A new white stout brewed with coffee beans from Muggsy’s Beans in St. Cloud.
  • Prancin’ Round the Pool – A key lime-added gose, also made with coriander and sea salt. 5.5% ABV.
  • Pure Guava IPA – Tapped in early June, The Nordic says, “    The second in our series of ‘Tell Us What You Want Us to Brew and Maybe We’ll Think About It’ beers, this one’s loaded with tropical and papaya hop goodness and delicious pink guava puree.”

Thousand Lakes Brewing Co.

  • Pontoon Putzin Kolsch
  • Sassy Redhead Raspberry Sour

Three Twenty Brewing Co.

  • Working 9% to 5 DIPA – “This fresh, super citrusy double IPA comes in at a whopping 9% ABV and 100 IBU to celebrate Nick’s 3 year anniversary of leaving his cubicle in the corporate world and taking the leap to full time at the brewery,” explains Three Twenty.

Tilion Brewing Company

  • Pachyderm Wild Berry Sour – Named for the nearby recording studio, this sour is made with a light dose of boysenberry, raspberry, and strawberry and is on tap for the summer season.

Town Hall Brewery

  • Alpha Nimbus – Top Flight Selection
  • Bavarian Weizen – “It is a luscious wheat beer filled with fruit, bread, and clove spices from the European yeast with a soft citrus finish,” the brewpub says.
  • European Lager – Currently on tap for the hottest season of the year.
  • Sabro SMASH – A seasonal release, on tap since late May.

Venn Brewing Company

  • Bloody Haze IPA – A collaboration with progressive metal band By The Thousands, Bloody Haze is a blood orange IPA with Strata, Mosaic, and Citra hops. Tapped on Thursday and pouring at 6.0% ABV, 40 IBU.

Waconia Brewing Company   

  • Purple Kolsch – On tap now.

Waldmann Brewery

  • Franconian Landbier – A light-bodied, summer dark beer with notes of walnut, caramel, and a hint of toffee in the finish, the brewery says. 4.5% ABV, draft-only, and in limited supply.

White Claw Hard Seltzer

  • Iced Tea – Four new flavors of iced tea-flavored hard seltzer are now available: Lemon, Mango, Peach, and Raspberry.

Wild Mind Ales

  • Where The Light Pours In – A tart and lively summer wheat ale with chamomile, Sencha tea, calendula flowers, lemon, and honey, which impart both citrus and herbaceous flavors, the brewery says. 5% ABV.

Beers just announced

Bad Habit Brewing

  • Billy Club – A soon-to-tap 5.1% ABV English-style pub ale.
  • Friendship Picnic – On the “coming soon” board, this will be a 7% ABV cherry and pineapple IPA.

Bad Weather Brewing Company

  • Heritage Lager Series – The first in a new series of historic lagers was recently brewed. “These will either be based from older style lager recipes, old-world brewing techniques, historical ingredients, and possibly collaborations with past/present brewers,” says head brewer Andy Ruhland.

Earth Rider Brewery

  • Tap Shack Caribbean Lager – A Caribbean-style lager with a touch of lime zest. First Pour is on Friday, June 25.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Alphabet Squad – A hard seltzer with passion fruit and dragon fruit. To tap next Thursday, June 24.
  • Rock, Flag, & Eagle – A cold IPA brewed in collaboration with Dangerous Man. To tap on Thursday, July 1.
  • Tibanna – A hazy IPA collaboration brewed with the team from Hubbard’s Cave Brewery. To tap on Thursday, July 8.

Schell’s Brewery

  • Moondrift – A Starkeller hazy IPA with notes of tangerine, coconut, pineapple, and stone fruit. 6.3% ABV, 35 IBU.

Surly Brewing Company

  • Beyond the Fog – “Strata, Citra, Talus and experimental hop varietals add a fruity and dank hop flavor to this intense double IPA,” the brewery says of this 7.6% ABV Beer Hall-only recipe, coming June 23.
  • Celestial Doom – Another June 23 Beer Hall exclusive, this is an 11% ABV stout with rich cocoa, roasted malt flavors. Contains lactose.
  • Proving Ground – This June 23 Beer Hall exclusive will initiate a new series of experimentally-hopped IPAs, beginning with a 6% IPA with the not yet named Hopsteiner 09236 variety.
  • Twisted Twilight – Galaxy and Citra hops add tropical and citrus flavor to this smooth and silky IPA,” Surly says. Tapping at the Beer Hall only on June 23. 8% ABV.

Furious Whiskey • Photo via Surly Brewing Company

Tanzenwald Brewing Company

  • Funky Dunk Blackberry Gose – Coming soon, the brewery says.

Tilion Brewing Company

  • Bohemian Red Lager – Recently brewed.
  • Mango Milkshake – Recently brewed.

Tin Whiskers Brewing Company

  • Cordial Invite – A limoncello double hazy IPA brewed to celebrate Tin Whiskers’ 7th anniversary. It taps next Friday, June 25, and will be in liquor stores in early July.

Waconia Brewing Company

  • Lemon Drop Seltzer – To tap on Tuesday, June 22, the brewery says.
  • Pontoon Pale Ale – To tap on Friday, June 25, the brewery says.

Have a new beer we should know about? Send the details to newbeer@beerdabbler.com for inclusion in Freshies.