Crisp summer beers and Fair-themed flavors for the Great Minnesota Drink-Together

Lift Bridge Mini Donut Beer • Photo via Lift Bridge Brewery

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’ll can the Oktoberfest talk for another week—it’s State Fair time and there are dozens of local one-of-a-kind beers that range from sweet pastry sours to the now-traditional Mini-Donut Beer that seems to have started it all, now on tap as Fair exclusives.

But it’s not all about sweet and clever additions. There’s a wealth of crisp, summer-themed sessional beers and refreshing Pilsners and Kölsch-styles to be found, whether in Falcon Heights or elsewhere, with hearty and rich s’mores-inspired porters and stouts for after dark around the campfire.

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

It’s opening weekend at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair and that means the specialty beers, ciders, and wines are flowing. Check out Top 5 Drinks to Try in our 2021 State Fair Drink Guide.

New beers available this week

608 Brewing Company

• Chit For Brains – A hazy double IPA made with chit malt, plus a big dose of Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops for dank notes of cantaloupe, Aperol, and gummy bears, the brewery says. 9.3% ABV.

Alloy Brewing Company

• All About the Shes – Brewed by the women of Alloy in advance of Women’s Equality Day (August 26), this honey rhubarb wit pours at 5.9% ABV, 15 IBU, and is on tap now.
• Cory’s Kölsch – Brewed by cellerman Cory, this Kölsch-style ale pours at 5.8% ABV, 27 IBU and is back on tap now. It is also on tap at the State Fair, along with Caramel Apple ‘What Happened?!’ Cream Ale (a Fair exclusive).

BlackStack Brewing

• Microdosing: Citra – A “Once-a-Day IPA,” BlackStack added Citra and Citra Cryo to the batch every day of primary fermentation for extra Citra goodness. 7.2% ABV.
• The Great BlackStack Bakeoff: Pineapple Upside Down Cake – A “bakery-inspired Berliner,” using the brewery’s house mixed culture base beer plus caramelized pineapple, cherry, Maraschino cherry juice, brown sugar, vanilla, and milk sugar. 6.7% ABV.
• Fugazi: 2 Fresh – An unfiltered Italian-style Pilsner lager at 4.8% ABV.

Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative

• Low Tops – A new calorie-conscious beer with citrus, melon, tangerine, and grapefruit flavors, dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic. 5.2% ABV, 80 IBU, 117 calories.

ENKI Brewing Co.

Oktoberfest – A Märzen-style festbier and the star of the show at a September 26 brewery party.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

• Back of House – “Dry-hopped with Callista and Hallertau, the herbal and spicy flavors nicely complement the creamy malt flavors,” this new extra-sessionable beer is just 1.5% ABV.
• Watergate Salad – Described as a Midwestern salad sour, this beer has notes of pistachio, pineapple, marshmallow, vanilla, and cool whip, the brewery says, and is on tap at the brewery—including as a Fruityboom slushy this weekend.

Fat Pants Brewing Co.

• Oh!+ – A blood orange-infused hazy IPA featuring Citra hops.

Foremost Brewing Cooperative

• Nothing Is Real – A strawberry milkshake-style IPA.

Goat Ridge Brewing Co.

• The Royal Haze – This hazy IPA features a blend of Mosaic, Sabro, and Cashmere hops. 6.5% ABV.

HammerHeart Brewing Company

• Reva’s IPA – This special version of Reva’s IPA pours at a big 10% ABV and marks batch 400 from the brewery.

High Pines Brewing Co.

• Lemon Coffee Kölsch – Tapped mid-month in Roseville.

Imminent Brewing

• Li’l R & R – Local raspberries and rhubarb give extra depth to this seasonal wheat ale.

Inbound BrewCo

• Four Leaf Cleaver – Back on tap now and coming to liquor stores soon, “This East Coast-style, double dry-hopped IIPA is packed with juicy, citrusy, and piney hops and complemented with a creamy mouthfeel,” the brewery says. 9% ABV, 82 IBU.

Ineffable Brewing Co.

Several new beers tapped this month, including:

• Lemonade Shandy – At 4.9% ABV, this summer shady uses a wheat beer base with added lemon peel and lemonade.
• Norwegian Farmhouse Ale – “The idea behind this brew was to replicate how farmsteads brew in Norway. We infused the brew water with juniper for a slight bitterness and used an authentic Kveik yeast which left behind hints of orange,” the brewery says. 5.6% ABV.
• S’mores Love – A porter with chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows. Brewed for the head brewer’s wedding, hence the name. 7.2% ABV.
• Blood Orange Pale Ale – A fruited pale ale with a refreshing finish and a hefty dose of blood orange. 5.5% ABV.

Jack Pine Brewery

• Bourbon Barrel-Aged Porter – On tap at the brewery now.

Junkyard Brewing Co.   

• Cosmic Roar – An IPA recipe made with Rakau, Cryo Pop, and African Queen hops.
• Mama’s Trip to Jamaica – The latest in this series is a Jamaican rum punch-style sour ale.
• Members Bounce – “Dry-hopped with Denali, Citra, and El Dorado hops, this IPA is filled with ridiculously tasty flavors and aromas of pineapple, pine, and citrus, followed by hints of juicy watermelon and ripe mango,” the brewery says. 6.7% ABV.
• Royale With Cheese – A New England-style IPA made with Citra and Mosaic hops for creamy citrus and white peach-like flavors with berry notes and earthy, dank tones. 7.9% ABV.
• Space Queen – A blueberry and cream oat blonde ale.

Luce Line Brewing Co.

• Truth Twister – A “big, dry, bitter, and aromatic” West Coast-style IPA with fruit hop notes of passion fruit and strawberry in balance with bitter resin and pine flavors. 7.8% ABV, 70 IBU.

Lupulin Brewing Company

• Campfire S’mores – A 9% ABV imperial stout with added cacao, marshmallow, graham cracker, and vanilla.
• Key Lime Hypezig – Available at the State Fair now, this slightly tart gose-style beer was made with key limes, vanilla, sea salt, and coriander. 5% ABV. A Fair exclusive this month, it hits liquor stores in 4-packs in September.

Oliphant Brewing

• Double Fruit Peach Anutart – A sour ale with peach. 5% ABV.
• S’more Talent – An imperial stout made with marshmallow, cacao nibs, graham crackers, and vanilla. 10% ABV.

Pig Ate My Pizza Kitchen + Brewery

• Constellation Prize – “This stellar single-malt, single-hop pilsner showcases North Star Pils malt and Nobility hop blend,” the brewpub says, adding, “It features aromas and flavors of sweet bread, citrus, and lemongrass with a crisp bitterness and herbal finish.” 5% ABV.
• Drop It Like Its Hops – A cold IPA brewed in collaboration with the still-to-open 9 Mile Brewing (Bloomington, MN), this 7.5% ABV IPA was brewed with Citra and Citra Incognito then dry-hopped with a blend of Nelson Sauvin, Mosaic, Chinook, and Columbus Lupomax.
• Gold Dust – A 4.7% ABV pale ale with notes of bright tropical fruits, citrus, watermelon, and a hint of pine, the brewery says.
• Thaibierinha – Inspired by the Caipirinha cocktail, this Kölsch-style ale was brewed with Thai basil and lime, in collaboration with Wrecktangle Pizza. 4.8% ABV.

Shakopee BrewHall

• Duck, Duck… Peach & Passionfruit – A peach and passion fruit sour, available today.

Tin Whiskers Brewing Company

• Grape Dreamstate – Available beginning today.
• Nova IPA – Tapped this Wednesday

Urban Growler Brewing Company

• Golden Hammer IPA – A balanced IPA that blends the varied geographical styles of the West Coast, East Coast, and Northwest for flavors of peach, guava, and tangerine.

Venn Brewing Company

• Old School IPA – A crisp and clear copper-hued IPA at 6.3% ABV.

Waconia Brewing Company

• Key Lime Sour
• Oktoberfest

Wild Mind Ales

• Obscura: Blackberry Plum Salt – A Czech-style foeder-aged sour made with tart blackberry, sweet plums, sea salt, and honey.

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

• HoneyComb – Made with Minnesota-sourced wildflower honey, this cream ale has a natural sweetness to it. 6% ABV.

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