Photo via Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative

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. 

The brewers are coming to town (but not to Target Field). From May 2-5, thousands of industry folk from across the country will gather at the Minneapolis Convention Center for the annual Craft Brewers Conference. While the convention is industry-focused, it also presents ample opportunities for local breweries to showcase their best work, along with some unique one-off collaborations that everybody can enjoy in person. A few have already tapped, and more will be coming throughout the week.

There are also plenty of events to showcase those collaborations, and a few locally-minded parties that precede them, ranging from anniversary parties, Arbor Day downtown, #FreeTheGrowler events and more.

 

 

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

Arbeiter Brewing Southside Dip Hop Project – A collaboration with Venn, Eastlake, LynLake, and Wooden Ship, this roast-heavy, piney black IPA pours at 6.9% ABV, 69 IBU. Available May 3.

Forager Brewery Africazzzzz – One of six vanilla-themed barrel-aged beers that went on sale April 30. A barrel-aged double stout with vanilla beans from Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, and Madagascar. 14.2% ABV.

Indeed Brewing Company Paloma – A new cocktail-inspired grapefruit ale, Floral notes linger from the agave syrup and Cascade hops lend notes of zesty grapefruit, the brewery says, with a hint of smoke. Created in the Milwaukee brewery and now available in liquor stores. 5.1% ABV, 12 IBU.

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub Maibock – “This year, we were able to source all of the malt we wanted to use in this beer. Weyermann’s Barke line of German malts is the top-line and some of the richest flavored malt in the world,” the brewpub says. “The result is a clean, balanced, malty spring lager. Flavor and aroma have notes of fresh baked bread, lightly toasted bread, and caramel.” 7.6% ABV, 26 IBU.

Pryes Brewing Co. Soirée – The first release in a new series of wine hybrid wild ales from the brewery’s Idyll Forest wild ales program.

New beers available this week

Arbeiter Brewing

  • Collaborative Lager Series # 4: Cold IPA – “This Cold IPA bursts with the aroma of lemon and citrus, and rides on a backbone of Rahr North Star Pils,” the brewery says. A collaboration with Marcus Baskerville (Weathered Souls/Black is Beautiful). 7.4% ABV, 69 IBU. Available May 2.
  • Cool Jazz – Another cold IPA, this featuring jasmine rice, Jasper yeast, and hop-derived flavors of mango and grapefruit. A collaboration with Brewing Change Collaborative. 7.3% ABV, 67 IBU. Available May 4.
  • Southside Dip Hop Project – Top Flight selection
  • Solero Haze – “Solero Haze is a crushable hazy that has mango and passion fruit flavors as well as some orange notes,” the brewery says. 5.7% ABV, 27 IBU. Available May 2.

A-Side Public House

  • Red Lager – This special release from A-Side (who are in a former firehouse) is a collaboration with Twin Cities Firefighters to raise money for Operation Warm nonprofit. 5.5% ABV.

Alloy Brewing Company

  • Hard Rapids – A cocktail-inspired hard seltzer made with real pineapple, orange, and nutmeg. 5.4% ABV and on tap now.
  • Strawberry Guava Laser Lips – A new sour ale with sweet and tart fruit flavors. 4.1% ABV, 0 IBU.

Bad Weather Brewing Company

  • Coffee Infused Ominous – Available at the brewery. Released
  • Dortmunder Export Lager
  • Passion Fruit Anomaly – The fruited sour ale is on tap now (and available in 4-packs in liquor stores).

Badger Hill Brewing Company

  • Lemonist – A 4.9% ABV shandy-inspired radler. Infused with lemon peels, “Lemoniest marries the fresh and bright flavors of lemon oils to the subtle grain character of a light ale,” the brewery says.

Big Wood Brewery

  • Kölsch – A light in color German-style Kölsch with a slightly dry, crisp finish, the brewery says. 5.3% ABV, 26 IBU. On tap at the White Bear Lake brewery.

Bricksworth Beer

  • Cheer Up Buttercup – A 12.6% ABV imperial stout conditioned on peanut butter cups.

Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative

  • Co-Op Mule – Wheat Ale – A wheat ale made with lime, ginger, and orange. Brewed in collaboration with Foremost Brewing Cooperative in Owatonna. 5.6% ABV, 26 IBU.
  • No Haze Required – A rye IPA dedicated to Broken Clock’s taproom manager, this beer is 5.9% ABV, 62 IBU and presents “Flavors and aromas of melon and tropical fruit with moderate bitterness. Rye malt lends tangy and spicy flavors and aromas,” the brewery says.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Grungiest Grissette – “Bright, crisp notes of honey, citrus, lemon zest with a  subtle tartness, herbal, and floral presence,” the brewery says of its collaboration with 1840 Brewing.
  • The World is Forever F’ng Upside Down Sour – An upside down cake kettle sour with pineapple, cherries, and cranberries. Available once per year since 2020.

Disgruntled Brewing

  • Toasted Blonde – An American blonde ale, pouring at 4.8% ABV and “Slightly sweet with ever-present toasted grains, delivering a comforting embrace before finishing with a swift citrus pop,” the Perham-based brewery says.

Drekker Brewing

  • Chonk: Peanut Butter & Jelly Supreme – A sundae sour ale made with strawberry, blueberry, plum, banana, lactose, and vanilla.
  • Dangerous Nights Crew – A hazy pale ale collaboration with Oliphant, featuring a blend of Centennial, Mosaic, Talus, Azacca, and Enigma hops.
  • Jolly PRRRTers – A blue raspberry slushie-style sour ale made with blueberry, raspberry, pineapple, blue raspberry candy, and Blue Razz slushy mix.
  • Oregon Braaaaaaaains – Oregon grown marionberry, boysenberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, and plum come together as one.

Dual Citizen Brewing Company

  • Lake State Lager – A Helles-style lager, available in 16-ounce cans.
  • MN Wild Rice Krispi Boi – Made with five different grain varieties, including wild rice and buckwheat.

Eastlake Craft Brewery

  • Dip Hop Project – A collaboration of south Minneapolis breweries came together on this dip-hopped version of Eastlake’s Czech-style Pils, made with saaz hops. The brewery is also part of the 5-destination Southside Brewery Ride this Sunday (along with LynLake, Arbeiter, Northbound, and Venn).

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Hop Water – A bright and crisp non-alcoholic sparkling water infused with hops. Sold in three varieties, described by the brewery as follows: Citra/Centennial (aromas of citrus pith, mountain air, and pine resin; a classic hop flavor), Citra/Mosaic (intensely aromatic with notes of tropical fruits, dankness, and citrus), and Citra/Galaxy (super tropical, notes of peach, guava, orange, and pineapple).
  • Köld Style – A Kölsch-style collaboration with St. Elmo Brewing Company (Austin, TX). “It’s crisp, bright, and probably more hoppy than its European forebears,” the brewery says, with a “a wisp of fruity ester.”

Fair State Köld-Style

Forager Brewery

  • Africazzzzz – Top Flight selection
  • Comoros – This 13.9% ABV barrel-aged stout was made with vanilla beans from the Comoros Islands.
  • Islandzzzzz – Another barrel-aged double stout, this 13.9% ABV beer is made with vanilla beans from the Cook Islands, Comoros, Vanuatu, and Madagascar.
  • Nillerzzzzz Blend #5 – “[A] blend five of our barrel-aged vanilla bean double stout showcases freshly scraped vanilla bean caviar from five unique growing regions. Beans from India, Brazil, Tahiti, Comoros and Vanuatu were scraped for this year’s blend,” Forager says of this 14% ABV barrel-aged stout.
  • Skinzzzzz – “For this variant we used an absurd amount of vanilla skins. Skins from Madagascar, Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Tahiti, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, India, Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Comoros,” Forager says of this 14% ABV barrel-aged stout.
  • Speciezzzzz – Another barrel-aged double stout, this 14.2% ABV recipe features vanilla beans from Brazil, Maya/Mexico, Pompano/Peru, Tahitensis/Tahiti, and Planifolia (Tonga).

Fulton Brewing

  • Beechwood Smoked Munich Gold Lager – On tap at the brewery, this German-style lager is light in body with savory smoke flavor from the use of beechwood smoked malt. 5.2% ABV, 15 IBU. Fulton is hosting a #FreeTheGrowlerDay event this Saturday (as are Indeed and Surly).
  • Strawberry Blonde – A new fruited Lonely Blonde variant on tap at the brewery and sold in a new 12-pack of Lonely Blondes (with original, Grapefruit, and the new Tropical).
  • Tropical Blonde – A new Lonely Blonde variant made with passion fruit, orange, and guava. 

HeadFlyer Brewing

  • Hawaiian Sophie – A pale ale made with BRU-1 and Sultana hops, plus almost 400 pounds of pineapple puree.
  • Joint Forces – A kettle soured IPA made in collaboration with Warrior Brewing Company. On tap this Saturday.

Humble Forager

  • Enchanted Island (v1) – The launch Enchanted Island recipe is back. Inspired by the painkiller cocktail, this 9% ABV ale was made with pineapple and orange, plus coconut and nutmeg.

Inbound BrewCo

  • Fritz – A strawberry lemonade hard seltzer.

Indeed Brewing Company

  • Paloma – Top Flight selection

Lake Monster Brewing

  • Splendid Things Pink Lemonade Ale – 5.2% ABV, 5 IBU.

https://twitter.com/LakeMonsterBrew/status/1515418764497625100?cxt=HHwWmIC9_crV7IcqAAAA

Little Thistle Brewery

  • Thistle Whistle – Brewed in collaboration with Noon Whistle Brewing (Chicago, IL), this is a biere de garde style with caramel and toffee notes, plus fruity notes from the use of Omega yeast. On tap now and available next wee at Ansari’s and NorthStar Tavern in the Twin Cities metro.

Lupulin Brewing Company

  • Weiner Maize – A 5% ABV, 18 IBU Vienna-style lager with corn.

Modist Brewing Co.

  • Into It – A new lager, on tap Saturday, conditioned on lemon juice, lemon crystals, lime juice, and key limes. 4.5% ABV.
  • Lord Humungus – An imperial rye stout, with bottles on sale this Saturday (just in time for the brewery’s anniversary party the same evening). Modist says it’s “Brewed motor oil thick with a grain of over 53% malted rye, caramel rye and chocolate rye. Then conditioned on copious amounts of toasted coconut, macadamia nuts and Madagascar vanilla beans.” 11.5% ABV.
  • Wasteland – “This is the beer that started it all. A beer that stood alone without a style that fit. And the beer that set the tone for what Modist is today,” says the brewery. It’s also back on tap this Saturday (and in stores beginning next Tuesday). As for the beer itself, it’s a double dry-hopped rye IPA at 7.5% ABV.

New Glarus Brewery

  • Kid Kölsch – Open top fermentation imparts lilting fruit notes to softly round out this 100% naturally carbonated live ale, the brewery says. Available exclusively in Wisconsin.

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub

  • Maibock – Top Flight selection

Nouvelle Brewing

  • Tiki Chonka – Passion fruit, pineapple, peach, kiwi, toasted coconut, marshmallow, milk sugar, and vanilla all come together in this pastry sour from the Willy Chonka series. 5.25% ABV.

Oliphant Brewing

  • Awesome Juice Great Job – A witbier collaboration made with G5 Brewing using lemon, Chinese 5 spice, vanilla, clove, and fennel. 5% ABV.
  • Sunkiss’d Squishy – A 5% ABV lemon shandy.

Pryes Brewing Co.

  • Spellbreaker – Top Flight selection

Shakopee Brewhall

  • Cinco Lime – A lime-infused Mexican-style lager small batch at 5.3% ABV, 11 IBU.
  • Daymonzee – A spring seasonal maibock lager with a notable malt base and slight bitterness. Amber in color and 7.4% ABV, 31 IBU.

Stone Brewing

  • RuinTen Triple IPA – The triple retired triple IPA is back for a limited time. 10.8% ABV.

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.

  • Pineapple Papaya Fandango – A new fruited kettle sour hits the market.

Torg Brewery

  • Bower – A honey amber lager brewed to recognize military spouses.

Town Hall Brewery

  • Boreal Hills IPA – A moderately hopped India Pale Ale featuring fresh Colorado Blue spruce tips, tropical and zesty hops and has smooth layered malt flavors, the brewery says. 7.1% ABV and tapped mid-April.

Utepils Brewing

  • Vera Cruz – The lager with lime is back for the season.

Venn Brewing Company

  • Cosmosis: Mango – A 9.0% ABV imperial sour with mango.
  • Vanilla Thrilla Red Ale – A 6.3% ABV red ale with Vanilla Thrilla Rooibos tea.

Waldmann Brewery

  • Lichtenhainer – A tart, tangy and smoky wheat sour ale. On tap and in Crowlers now. 4.7% ABV.

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

  • HoneyComb – A  6% ABV cream ale made with biscuit malt, lactose, and Minnesota wildflower honey.

 

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