Hazy IPA Image from Rogue

Photo via Surly Brewing 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. 

T

he end of the year is coming: a time for celebration and reflection. This week, Lakes & Legends is doing both as the brewery announced plans to shut down at the end of the month – while still planning an anniversary celebration this Saturday. 

They aren’t the only brewery marking milestones and change, as anniversary beers and big batch specials are on tap side-by-side with holiday seasonal offerings that range from easy-drinking dark lagers to cookie-inspired beers, lingonberry additions, and smoked malts. Plus there’s a big new beer from Summit and an even bigger (ABV) beer from BlackStack.

Each week, the Beer Dabbler team highlights the most tantalizing new beers available across the state that we’re most excited to try. Check out these Top Flights at Dabbler Depot—Click on each image for stock levels.

Falling Knife Brewing + Portage Brewing Idle Phenomena 4pk 16oz –  We’re calling it a Northwoods Cold IPA because it prominently features Spruce Tips and Juniper layered on top of Mosaic and Idaho 7 hops with some Chinook Terpines to put a bow on it. It’s beautifully complex with piney, floral, and juicy hop characteristics over a resilient body and light bitterness! 7% ABV 

Fulton Snow Emergency Stout 4pk 16oz –  This full-bodied stout was brewed with ingredients from Proximity Malt in Southern Colorado.  Barley malts, including chocolate, black, and dark caramel malts, mixed with chocolate wheat, and malted oats to deliver a smooth mouthfeel with enough complexity to sip and savor.  Layers of dark chocolate on the nose and tongue combine with the healthy addition of Bravo hops to complement the residual sweetness from the specialty malts. 6% ABV 

Phase Three Warmest Wishes Oatmeal Stout 4pk 16oz – Phase Three Brewing created a delicious winter-inspired stout that’s brewed with milk sugar and oats leaving you with that warm cozy feeling! 7.3% ABV 

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier 6pk 11.2oz Btls –  A fruity nuances of banana and cloves intermingle with malt flavors to create a balanced beer with a light, creamy character. This premium, naturally cloudy, pale amber wheat beer is truly a feast for the senses. It is the ideal reward at the end of a long day. 5.4% ABV 

Left Hand Nitro Candy Cane Imperial Stout 4pk – Take a walk down Candy Cane Lane and experience the aromas of rich chocolate, fresh peppermint, and a hint of coffee. This smooth, full-bodied Imperial Peppermint Milk Stout is reminiscent of peppermint bark and will keep you warm and cozy on a cold winter’s night. So snuggle up to the fire, and enjoy the mo-mint. 9.5% ABV 

Shop for the newest beer at Dabbler Depot

The beers in this gallery are now available for purchase at Dabbler Depot, 1545 7th St W, St. Paul, MN 55102

New beers available this week across Minnesota

Looking for a taste of these great new beers? The icon indicates beers available at Dabbler Depot. Keep in mind—stock is limited! Check dabblerdepot.com or text (651)-802-2112 for availability.

10K Brewing

  • Nutty or Nice – A brown ale with extra peanut butter, caramel, vanilla, and graham cracker. 5.4% ABV.

Arbeiter Brewing Co.

  • Batch 201 – A ramped-up version of West Coast Pils, this 8.8% ABV imperial Pils offers clean notes of orange, grapefruit, pine oil, caramel, and sweet bread.
  • Nacht Rider – The schwarzbier returns.

Back Channel Brewing Co.

  • Good Fun – A 5.0% ABV American lager.
  • Tippi – A 5.0% ABV blonde ale.

Barrel Theory Beer Company

  • Double Dry Hopped Rain Drops – 7.5% ABV and made with Citra, Mosaic, and Nectorian hops.
  • Shadows In Time – A cheesecake sour with strawberry, vanilla, marshmallow, and graham cracker. 6% ABV.

Bear Cave Brewing

  • Cozy Corner – A new smoked porter with added dried chili peppers for a hint of heat and smoke. 5.9% ABV, 27.
  • Murphy’s Law – A new pale lager, pouring 4.9% ABV, 20 IBU with floral notes, plus grain and white bread flavors.

BlackStack Brewing

  • Pigs Fly – Batch 1,000, this is a quintuple IPA with “piggish amounts of our hand-selected Mosaic, Mosaic Cryo, Idaho 7, Idaho 7 Cryo, Talus, Talus Cryo, Cryo Pop on a lush, and a nectarous base,” BlackStack says. 14% ABV.

Bricksworth Beer Co.

  • Czechs Over Stripes – A dark lager pouring at 5.1% ABV and available at both locations since November.

  • Howl-O-Meter – On tap for basketball season, this “Wolf Pack Pale Ale” is a 6.0% ABV pale ale, dry-hopped with Mosaic ad HBC 586, and discounted during Wolves games.

  • Star Six Nine – Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Nectaron hops set the tone in this New England-style IPA at 6.9% ABV, available at both locations.

Chanhassen Brewing Company

  • Lingonberry Storm – A sour ale with lingonberry, tapped at the start of the month.

Clausthaler

  • IPA: Dry-Hopped – Another new nonalcoholic German-brewed recipe, this one made with US-grown Cascade hops. Contains less than 0.5% ABV.
  • ISO 0.0 A new nonalcoholic beer from Germany: vegan, crisp, and 0.0% ABV.

Disgruntled Brewing

  • Golden Hour – A peach cobbler sour ale where Graham cracker mellows out the sour and emphasizes the peach, the brewery says.

  • Oak Hearted – A dry porter with vanilla, coffee, and chocolate notes. On draft now and in cans soon.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Bonk City – Available this Thursday, on draft and in stores, this is an extra dank double IPA with a citrus and pine profile. 8.3% ABV.
  • Lobster Stuffed with Tacos – Back on Saturday as a taproom exclusive, this bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout is made with vanilla beans, caramelized cocoa nibs, and toasted coconut. 14% ABV, on draft, and sold in cans.
  • Satsuma – On tap this Thursday, this sour ale pours 6.2% ABV with added vanilla, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit for orange creamsicle-like notes.

Falling Knife Brewing Co.

  • Idle Phenomena – A cold IPA made with Mosaic and Idaho 7 hops, Chinook hop terpenes, plus spruce tips and juniper. A collaboration with Portage “[as] complex with piney, floral and juicy hop flavors as it is crushable with its light body and subtle bitterness,” Falling Knife says.

Fat Pants Brewing Co.

Two beers debuted at Fat Pants’ recent fourth-anniversary party:

  • Influencer – “Unlike ESBs you may be accustomed to, this brew comes through with an extra strong maltiness, to help balance the bitterness the style can be known for,” the brewery says.
  • Space Monkey – A hop-forward double IPA with a sweet, strong body and Mosaic plus Galaxy hop notes.

Fergus Brewing Co.

  • Krumkake Ale – An annual Scandinavian cookie-inspired ale made with cardamom, almond, and vanilla.

FINNEGANS Brew Co.

  • Cluster Truck – The IPA is back on draft at FINNEGANS now.

Fulton Brewing

  • Winter Warmer – “A marriage of tradition and surprise – a subtle malt presence mingles with familiar holiday notes of citrus, cherry, and hints of ginger and juniper to create an iconic 7% ABV beverage that wraps you up like an ageless Frontier wool blanket,” Fulton says of this beer, debuting on Thursday and raising funds for Spread The Warmth, brewed in collaboration with Faribault Mill. Limited.

Insight Brewing

  • Gravity Well – The imperial stout returned in November.
  • Sunken City – Also back in November in limited supply was Sunken City, a saison with sauvignon blanc grapes.

Klockow Brewing Co.

  • Lundr’s Lager – A 5.5% ABV rauchbier (smoked lager).

Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

The Minneapolis brewery just announced that it will shut down at the end of the year, but first Lakes & Legends celebrates eight years with an anniversary party on Saturday. The brewery will pours its barrel-aged imperial stout and a selection of seltzer slushies, plus two new taps:

  • Coffee BA Imperial Stout – Infused with Fawkes Coffee in Loring Park.
  • French Toast – Another barrel-aged imperial stout, this with added cinnamon, vanilla, and local maple syrup.

Lupulin Brewing Company

  • Campfire Munchies – A new s’mores pastry stout made with chocolate, graham cracker, marshmallow, and oak-smoked wheat.

Mineral Springs Brewery

  • Ganser IPA – A West Coast-style IPA at 6.9% ABV, 80 IBU.

Nine Mile Brewing

  • Minnesota Golden Ale – Brewed with a shared Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild recipe, this golden ale is described as simple and crisp. 5.1% ABV.

  • Uplift/Downshift – A crisp and nutty amber ale with coffee. 5.3% ABV.

Oliphant Brewing

  • Extinct – This Wisconsin-only option is a THC lemonade with 25mg per serving.

Reads Landing Brewing Co.

  • Drifter – “Drifter brown ale is brewed using seven different malts and three hop varieties. The coffee and cocoa notes are balanced with a pleasant bitterness,” the brewery notes.
  • Have More Fun – An American blonde ale, light and smooth.

Red Wing Brewery

  • Holiday Special – “This year it’s a dark Belgian brew, spiced with organic sweet oranges, real maple syrup,  and hints of smoke,” pouring at 11.9% on draft and in to-go bombers.

Saint Paul Brewing

  • Pooka – The latest infused porter, part of a weekly series until the end of the year at Saint Paul Brewing.

Snarky Loon Brewing Co.

  • Flaxen Monkey – The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild’s collaborative golden ale recipe with a Snarky Loon touch.

Summit Brewing Co.

  • Sága Imperial IPA – One of Summit’s biggest beers to date, “Our new Sága Imperial is an epic yet perfectly balanced 9% ABV IPA with notes of tangerine, sweet stone fruit, and caramel flavors complimented by a honey malt base,” Summit says. 9.0% ABV, 80 IBU, and debuting at the Ratskeller this week, also hitting stores in 12-ounce cans.

The Freehouse

  • Infinity – A barrel-aged imperial stout with date, plum, chocolate, and light toffee flavors. On tap and available in bottles.

Under Pressure Brewing Company

  • Live Wire – “Dark, but very light, brew with a sweet kiss of coffee. Coming in at 4.5%,” the brewery notes. Limited.

Union 32 Craft House

  • Cryo Pop – A hazy IPA with juicy tropical and citrus flavors.

Urban Growler Brewing Co.

  • Tangled TinsAle – The seasonal amber ale with juniper berries, coriander, and orange peel is back for 2023.

Venn Brewing Company

  • The Groundskeeper The Scottish-style export ale is back on tap. 4.7% ABV.

Wabasha Brewing Co.

  • CDL Required – This Czech-style dark lager is smooth with dark chocolate notes.

  • Poh-Tay-Toes: – A “New Zealand Pils featuring Necatron southern hemisphere hops,” Wabasha says.

Waconia Brewing Company

  • Mo’ Winta Milk Stout – A smooth and creamy milk stout.
  • Spicy Red Fish Kolsch – A five-gallon cask of this spicy lingonberry beer taps at 11 am on Sunday, Dec. 10.

Wild Mind Ales

  • Winter’s Edge 2023 – A 7.8% ABV Czech-style dark lager, “rich and complex,” the brewery notes, and naturally carbonated too.
  • WLD WTR Apex: Tropical Punch – A fruity THC beverage, back in stock.
  • WLD WTR Serenity: Peach Mango – A new flavor of THC beverage with sweet peach and juicy mango flavors.

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

  • Grand – A dry Irish-style stout, pouring 4.5% ABV and on nitro at the brewery.

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