Photo via Minneapolis Cider Co.

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. 

We have bock (and doppelbock and maibock) events throughout the state, plus new Dortmunders, rice lagers, and a Wisconsin red lager too: even municipal-minded beers in Madelia and locally-sourced at LocAle. Those are just a few of the themes at play as the beers take on crisp, light tones with lots of lagers along the way.

And for those who want a little more fruit component, keep in mind that while apples are harvested in fall, spring is when we start to see the bounty produce new ciders. Read about new lagers, rebranded favorites, new year round offerings and more, in Freshies below.

 

 

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

Bad Weather Brewing Company Maibock – On tap for Saturday’s bock poking party on the Bad Weather patio.

BlackStack Brewing City Pages Best IPA – Cheekily named in honor of the defunct alt-weekly, this 7% IPA features hand selected Mosaic & Mosaic Cryo as well as Nelson Sauvin hops.

Disgruntled Brewing Pour Ol’ Sap – A bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with vanilla, cacao nibs, cinnamon, banana, and pure maple syrup. Sold in 750-milliliter bottles.

Milk & Honey Ciders Blood Orange – A cider made with 1,000 pounds of blood orange (zested, sliced, and juiced. “The ruby citrus imparts its hue and distinct flavor into each glass, creating a fruit-forward cider,” Milk & Honey explains.

Number 12 Cider Champinett – “A rum and rye barrel aged-cider. Made from two apples, the Champagne and Dianette apples,” the cidery explains. 9.4 ABV.

New beers available this week

Alloy Brewing Company

  • Gose Good With Marionberry – A tangy, salted German-style wheat sour with marionberries and coriander. 4.6% ABV, 18 IBU.

Bad Weather Brewing Company

  • Mavenator – On tap this Saturday, Due Date 7 is the first doppelbock in the series, which has previously favored Belgian styles.
  • Maibock – On tap for Saturday’s bock poking party on the Bad Weather patio.

Bell’s Brewery

  • Oberon – How big a deal is the release of this spring seasonal wheat beer? Michigan gave it its own day.

Bemidji Brewing

  • Pils – A spring/summer seasonal German-style Pilsner with a light bready base alongside floral spice and snappy bitterness, the brewery says. 4.8% ABV.

BlackStack Brewing

  • City Pages Best IPA – Top Flight selection
  • Piano Lessons – An 8.1% ABV double IPA featuring Citra Cryo, El Dorado, Mosaic Cryo, and “a sprinkle” of Sabro hops, the brewery says. On draft and in liquor stores.
  • Too Soon – A collaboration with 8th State Brewing (Greenville, SC), this imperial Berliner Weisse is made with pineapple, plum, rhubarb, and passion fruit and pours at 7.2% ABV.

Castle Danger Brewery

  • Aurora Haze – A new year-round New England-style IPA.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Apiary Drop Triple IPA – A triple IPA with spicy citrus notes, brewed with wildflower honey which adds floral notes, and double dry-hopped with Simcoe, Sabro, and Citra hops. 9.6% ABV.

Disgruntled Brewing

Disgruntled hosts Bock and Barrel Fest on Saturday from 1-6pm, with several special releases:

  • Blueberry Cheesecake – A fruited sour available this Saturday.
  • Doppelbock – A collaboration beer made with neighbors to the north, Revelation Ale Works.
  • Pour Ol’ Sap – A bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with vanilla, cacao nibs, cinnamon, banana, and pure maple syrup. SOld in 750-milliliter bottles.
  • Strawberry Cheesecake – A fruited sour available this Saturday.

Duluth Cider

  • Blueberry Maple – “A semi-sweet cider, with cascading juicy notes of blueberry and local maple syrup,” the cidery says. 6.2% ABV and available today.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Invented Traditions – A malt forward altbier with fruity esters, foeder-aged for oak and vanilla notes. 4.9% ABV

High Pines Brewing

  • Hella Hype Seltzer w/ Blood Orange – A red-hued hard seltzer at 5.5% ABV.
  • Little Gigantic – On tap now, this is a 6.7% ABV hazy IPA made with Amarillo and Idaho 7 hops.

Hop & Barrel Brewing Company

  • Redemption Arc – A new hazy IPA on tap at the Hudson brewery, which is hosting DIPA Fest on Saturday, with guest DIPAs available from Oliphant, Rush River, Pitchfork, and others.

Lake Monster Brewing

  • Fruit & Sour Mixed Pack – A new mixed pack of sour ales, previously only available at the taproom, hits stores in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans: Splendid Things Pink Lemonade Ale, Raspberry Sour, Apricot Gose.

LocAle Brewing Company

  • Landbier – “This 5.5% ABV unfiltered pale lager is brewed with 85% Maltwerks Pilsner malt and 15% Lane Ridge Farm Kernza grain grown in Saint Peter. This beer also was hopped with whole cone Triumph hops grown south of Mankato,” LocAle says of its latest locally-sourced beer, which it describes as “Crisp, light, clean and perfect for sunny spring days!”

Lost Sanity Brewing

  • BigDelia Red Ale – An annual March beer which helps raise funds for the Madelia Fire Department.

LTS Brewing Company

  • Coaster Wagon – An Irish-style red ale, tapped last week for St. Patrick’s Day.

Luce Line Brewing Co.

  • End of the Line – “An American brown ale that uses some of the finest crystal and chocolate malts along with some American hops to create a highly drinkable beer with notes of rich chocolate, toasted almonds and toffee,” the brewery says. 6.0% ABV.

Lupine Brewing Company

  • O’Keane’s Irish Stout –Tapped last week at Lupine.

Lupulin Brewing Company

  • ドキドキ “Doki Doki” – An American lager with rice for a light body with crisp, dry character. 4.5% ABV.
  • Dortmunder – A GABF-winning lager with notes of bread crust and caramel, plus floral and citrus notes and a soft resinous bite at the end. 5.5% ABV, 25 IBU.

Mankato Brewery

  • Pacifica Butcher – A single hopped and hazy variant of Mad Butcher IPA, this version features Pacifica hops for notes of orange spice with light floral tones, the brewery says.

Milk & Honey Ciders

  • Blood Orange – A cider made with 1,000 pounds of blood orange (zested, sliced, and juiced. “The ruby citrus imparts its hue and distinct flavor into each glass, creating a fruit-forward cider,” Milk & Honey explains.
  • Flora 2021 – “Uncommon Heirloom apples contribute bold fruity and floral notes,” the cidery says, while “Bittersharps provide bright acidity and tannic body.” Sold in 4-packs.

Mineral Springs Brewery

  • Gorman Irish Ale
  • Shea Stout

Minneapolis Cider Company

  • Dubliner – An irish coffee cider made with cold brew and barrel-aged apple brandy. 7.5% ABV and sold in liquor stores and at select bars and restaurants.

Modist Brewing Co.

  • Teal Label – A new flagship at Modist, this is a “WestCoast-style” IPA made with Columbus Cryo, Simcoe, Strata, and Citra hops. “The lack of space in ‘WestCoast’ may be the first clue, the brewery teases before Teal Label taps on Saturday (and then hits stores next week).

Moose Lake Brewing Company

  • Sunset Paddler – A double dry-hopped hazy IPA with blood orange and pineapple. 8.5% ABV.

Number 12 Cider

  • Champinett – Top Flight selection
  • Homestead – An 8.4% ABV cider blended between early American apple varieties and the French Reine de Pomme. 8.4% ABV.

Oliphant Brewing

  • Animals With Human Lips – A tropical ale fruited with pineapple, passion fruit, and mango. 5% ABV.
  • Ennui’d Talus – A single hopped IPA featuring Talus hops. 7.5% ABV.
  • Rusket Red – The Wisconsin red lager is back.

Outstate Brewing Company

  • Warming House – Vanilla milk stout

Pantown Brewing Company

  • Hackamore Circle – A sour ale with strawberry and raspberry.
  • Lucky’s Lime Green Sour – A sour ale with bright lemon and lime, green in color and tapped last week.
  • Teetotaler – A non-alcoholic milk stout tapped last week.
  • The Hibernator – A spring seasonal boney porter.
  • The Riveter – Tapped this Wednesday, this imperial pastry sour was made with blueberry, lemon, marshmallow, and graham cracker and was brewed by the women of Pantown.

Pryes Brewing Co.

  • Main Squeeze – A lemon-lime blonde ale spring seasonal.

River Siren Brewing Company

  • Apparition – A hazy IPA, tapped at the start of the month.
  • Her Presence – A smooth and easy drinking blonde ale, the Stillwater brewery says.

Shakopee Brewhall

  • Vincent Van Goat – The featured beer at Shakopee’s bock poking event this Saturday.

Summit Brewing Company

  • Twins Pils – Keller Pils gets a new baby blue uniform in this rebrand. For those unfamiliar with the unfilter German-style Pilsner, “[It] features sweet, honey malt notes balanced with citrus hop flavors,” Summit notes, with crisp and clean finish. Sold in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans at stores, and also in 16-ounce cans (and on draft at the Summit Brewing Pub near left field).

Utepils Brewing

  • Tangerine Pontoon – On tap today at the brewery.

Venn Brewing Company

  • Cosmosis Zest Fest

Waconia Brewing Company

  • Hopped Lone Wolf – A limited cask beer, tapped today.
  • Wildberry Sour! – A limited kettle sour with wild strawberry and black currant. 

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

  • 4 – An 11% ABV imperial mocha pastry stout to celebrate four years of business. Sold in 750-milliliter bottles.
  • Project Bru-1 – A juicy IPA with fruit-forward flavors from BRU-1 hops. 5.9% ABV.

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