HeadFlyer’s Peppermint Stout • Photo via HeadFlyer Brewing

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. 

Black lagers, Pilsners, porters, and stouts are all on tap this week—plus less common but historical styles that range from sahti to braggot. While the barrel-aged releases, dessert stouts, and dry-hopped specialties get much of the attention every week, there is a wide breadth of flavors to celebrate the newly white ground…and to recharge and a hearty shoveling.

 

 

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

Beaver Island Kernza Saison – “This beer has a soft nutty malt character with slight hints of lemon rind and black pepper,” the brewery says. 4.7% ABV, 26 IBU.

High Pines Best Friends Squad Triple IPA – A rye IPA collaboration between High Pines, St. Paul Brewing, and Dual Citizen. The three breweries came together to brew a triple IPA with three malt and three hop variations.

Inbound Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout – A 12% ABV, 28 IBU big and bold IPA aged in Rabbit Hole Cavehill bourbon barrels, which added vanilla and toast notes to the base imperial stout. On tap and sold in 750-milliliter bottles.

Pryes Idyll Forest Wild Reserve – A raspberry framboise, arriving just ahead of Pryes’ Long Night winter solstice celebration next weekend.

Revelation & Copper Trail ALX to HLK – Brewed in collaboration with Copper Trail (“Alex to Hallock”), this beer is a black lager with dark fruit notes, citrus, pine, and little astringency. Another batch was brewed at Copper Trail and it’s on tap at both locations—and will soon be sold in 16-ounce cans.

New beers available this week

608 Brewing Company

  • Deep Deep Dark – A roasty 7% ABV Baltic-style power with subtle milk chocolate notes.
  • Sick New Kicks – A 5.5% ABV sour IPA made with tangerine, marshmallow, and fruity cereal. Bright, tart, and slightly sweet, Sick New Kicks has notes of key lime pie, limoncello, and pineapple.

608’s Deep Deep Baltic Porter • Photo via 608 Brewing Company

Able Seedhouse + Brewery

  • Aprikos – “Brewed with Kveik yeast and fermented on apricots giving it an expressive, yet restrained farmhouse quality. It pours an orangey sunset color, tastes of sunny sweet fruits, and finishes a little dry,” Able says.

Alloy Brewing Company

  • S’mores Sweet Stout – This new milk stout has a malty base with added marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. 5.9% ABV, 32 IBU.

Arbeiter Brewing

  • Side Hustle – The parti-gyle beer brewed on second runnings of Arbeiter’s imperial stout, this milk stout uses excess wort and delivers sweet milk chocolate flavors mingles with a high percentage of dark chocolate and roast malt, the brewery says. 5.5% ABV, 23 IBU.

Arbeiter’s Side Hustle Milk Stout • Photo via Arbeiter Brewing Company

Bad Weather Brewing Company

  • Pub Ale – Served on nitro, this British-style session ale has biscuit, toffee, and floral flavors with earthy marmalade notes on the nose.

Beaver Island Brewing Company

  • Kernza Saison – Top Flight selection.

Bent Brewstillery

  • Fi Dem – A Jamaican-style stout with notes of dark fruit, cocoa, espresso, and rum.
  • Fruit Stripes – A double dry-hopped and fruited hazy IPA.

Boom Island Brewing Company

  • CinnaBrim Cinnamon Belgian Tripel – To tap on Saturday.
  • Omen Belgian Quad – On tap beginning today

Breckenridge Brewery

  • Christmas Ale – A seasonal, malt-forward winter warmer with subtle spice notes.

Copper Trail Brewing Co.                       

  • Rebellious – “You will be greeted with a rebellious combination of roasty and semi-sweet flavors. It is rounded out with a wicked finish of dark fruits, vanilla, and mild oak on that oh so thick velvety texture,” the brewery says of this newly available 12.5% ABV Russian imperial stout.
  • HLK to ALX – Brewed in collaboration with Revelation Ale Works (“Hallock to Alex”), this beer is a black lager with dark fruit notes, citrus, pine, and little astringency. Another batch was brewed at Revelation and it’s on tap at both locations – and will soon be sold in 16-ounce cans. 7.5% ABV, 65 IBU.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Czech Primo Pils – “A classic Czech Pilsner brewed with floor-malted Bohemian Pilsner malt and hopped with Kazbek hops,” Dangerous Man says. 5.2% ABV, 30 IBU.
  • Triple Double Hazy IPA – A new big IPA at 9.2% ABV, 44 IBU, double dry-hopped with Strata, Bru-1, Cashmere, and Julius hops.

Eastlake Craft Brewery

Several new beers tap this weekend, Thursday-Saturday, as the brewery celebrates seven years.

  • Tsathoggua – The unpronounceable imperial stout is back to celebrate seven years at Eastlake this weekend.
  • Ancho Chile & Fudge-infused Nicollet Mauler Black IPA – One of three limited releases available on Saturday.
  • Freak Out! Zappa IPA – Brewed with Zappa hops, this West Coast-style IPA offers “A huge fruit bouquet, fragrant pine, and a very noticeable purple quantity (sic),” the brewery says..6.6% ABV.
  • Ginger Lemon Beet Sour – A limited offering available on Saturday.
  • Sappy Love Songs Maple Lager – On tap as of Thursday
  • S’mores Almond Milk Stout – A limited beer available on Saturday.

Eastlake’s Tsathoggua • Photo via Eastlake Craft Brewery

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Mister Falcon – A hazy IPA collaboration with Barrel Theory, this creamy, oat-based IPA is creamy in body with fruity flavors and notes of pine.

Fargo Brewing Company

  • Belsnickel – A dunkelweizen available on tap and in 6-packs.

Giesenbräu Bier Co.

  • Speedo Claus Hot Cocoa Stout – Tapped last weekend, this winter-themed stout is a collaboration with HeadFlyer.

Goat Ridge Brewing Co.

  • Bar J Black – A light-bodied and dry black IPA with roast, toffee, citrus, and pine flavors.

HeadFlyer Brewing

  • Peppermint Stout – “It’s chocolatey and minty in all the right places,” the brewery says.
  • Santa’s Little Helper – A holiday ale with pomegranate, cinnamon, and vanilla.

High Pines Brewing Company

  • Best Friends Squad Triple IPA – Top Flight selection.

Hop & Barrel Brewing Spring Valley

  • Corn Drive – The cream ale is back on tap.

Inbound BrewCo

  • Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout – Top Flight selection.

Indeed Brewing Company

  • Cal-ida West Coast IPA – An American IPA made with contemporary hops and throwback West Coast-style IPA notes, offering flavors of orange, grapefruit, citrus, and pine with a dank and bitter presence. 7.0% ABV, 60 IBU.

Lake Monster Brewing

  • Art Shanty Chocolate Porter – Available at the brewery and in area liquor stores. A follow-up Art Shanty collaboration with Wooden Ship is in the works.
  • Bourbon Barrel Aged Black is Beautiful Imperial Stout – A taproom exclusive, served on nitro, and tapped to help the brewery celebrate six years at its Saint Paul taproom.
  • Norwegian Wood – A limited, Pilot Batch series 7% ABV beer inspired by Norwegian farmhouse Kveik beers and Finnish Sahti. “Brewed with rye malt and juniper berries in the mash and aged on a blend of toasted oak and maple, Norwegian Wood brings flavors of pine and citrus with a hint of toasted wine barrel,” the brewery says.
  • Tropical Sour – “This tart wheat ale is brewed with a blend of mango, pineapple and papaya fruit purees and juices,” the brewery explains.

Lakes & Legends Brewing Company   

Following a craft market during the day, Lakes & Legends will introduce its new 1999 imperial stout.

  • 1999 – Tapping at 6 pm, this imperial stout was aged in Heaven Hill barrels.
  • Funky Prince – Tapping at 6 pm, this variant was also aged in Heavy Hill but soured with Brettanomyces.
  • Raisin’ Heck – Tapping at 7 pm, this bourbon barrel-aged variant was also aged on cinnamon sticks and raisins.
  • Fresh Prince – Tapping at 8 pm, vanilla, maple, and cinnamon were aged to this barrel-aged imperial stout.

Lift Bridge Brewing Company   

  • Gingerbread Beer – A seasonal cookie-inspired 4% ABV golden ale brewed in collaboration with Cub Foods and sold at Cub Liquor Stores.
  • Your Car’s Extended Warranty – A new double dry-hopped IPA made with Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy hops. 7% ABV and on draft now.

Modist Brewing Co.

  • MoonGuts – “Our New England double IPA with flaked wheat, malted oats, and barley hopped and double dry hopped with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Cryo Sultana and Cryo El Dorado,” Modist explains. On tap this Saturday and in liquor stores beginning next Tuesday.
  • Oatrich – An oatmeal double stout with flaked oats, malted oats, golden promise, caramel malt, roasted chocolate malts. On tap this Saturday and in stores beginning next week.

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub

  • Barrel-aged Snowmageddon – A barrel-aged imperial honey brown ale, this year’s recipe used less honey, giving it less alcohol heat and more subtle honey, in addition to the earthy and nutty toast flavors with notes of vanilla and oak. 9.7% ABV, 35 IBU. On tap today.
  • Braggot – A beer/mead hybrid, this one-off honey-forward big beer is 40% honey/60% barley, wheat, and oats, Northbound says. “The flavor profile…is sweet with an added fruitiness and nuttiness from the oats and wheat.” 10.3% ABV, 13 IBU.
  • Snownami 2021 – Just in time, now that there’s a layer of snow on the ground, this is a dark, rich stout with dark chocolate, cacao nibs, and raspberries at 8.8% ABV, 24 IBU.

Nordic Brewing Company

  • Yule Ale – Top Flight selection.

Oliphant Brewing

  • Santa Squishy – A cherry and vanilla cola sour ale at 5% ABV.
  • Ultra Tang – A sour ale made with tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, vanilla, and lactose. 5% ABV.

Pig Ate My Pizza Kitchen + Brewery   

  • I Drink, Therefore I Yam – A lager with Minnesota honey and toasted yams, giving it notes of toffee, molasses, and “dry-potatoed” yams. 6.5% ABV.

Pryes Brewing Co.

  • Idyll Forest Wild Reserve – Top Flight selection.
  • No Roads – A pastry stout with chocolate, coconut, and raspberry. The final Cartographer Collection release of 2021.

Revelation Ale Works

  • ALX to HLK – Top Flight selection.

Surly Brewing Company

Darkness 2021 variants are in stores (individual 16-ounce cans) and on tap at the beer hall now:

  • Blueberry Crumble Darkness – A dessert rendition with added blueberry, vanilla, and lemon peel, aged in rum barrels for added depth.
  • Gimme S’More Darkness – Aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla and cinnamon for burnt marshmallow-like flavors that complement the original Darkness base beer.
  • Midnight Manhattan Darkness – This cocktail-inspired Darkness adds cherry and orange peel, along with notes from aging in bourbon barrels. Expect notes of chocolate, molasses, toffee, and oak on the nose.

Torg Brewery

  • Conflicted Krampus – The winter warmer is a dark English-style mild ale served in a cinnamon-sugar rimmed glass.

Wabasha Brewing Company

  • Night Queen – The first-ever barleywine from Wabasha. Available on draft and in 750-milliliter bottles.

Waldmann Brewery

  • Hell(W)es – A German-style Helles ale brewed with the latest Ales for ALS hop blend, “producing a bright, snappy golden-hued lager bursting with subtle notes of citrus, passion fruit and apricot,” Waldmann says.

Wild Mind Ales

  • A Boat At Sea – A blend of barrel-aged rye and oat saisons, the finished product is a 6.0% ABV funky, tart, and very dry beer with assertive tannins, the brewery says.
  • Lonesome Hillside – Brewed with traditional malts and heirloom corn, Lonesome Hillside is an oak-lagered and naturally carbonated lager with rustic notes. 4.9% ABV.

Wooden Hill Brewing Co

  • Double Experimental 586 – A double IPA featuring HBC 586 hops with a complementary dose of Amarillo for added citrus tones. 8.5% ABV. On draft and available in Crowlers.

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