Photo via Fair State 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. 

There’s a cliché going around that craft breweries only make IPAs these days. While hops have made an undeniable impression from the smallest nanobrewery to the mainstream behemoths, a look at what’s new on tap and pouring across the state argues otherwise. The lager revival continues, along with fruited and tart ales, wild ales, stouts, cocktail-style slushies and, yes, a novelty hard soda.

Whether enjoying rare pours at an anniversary party in Duluth, Big Lake or elsewhere, hitting Northeast for the return of Art-A-Whirl, or enjoying a backyard patio and yard work, here’s a look at what’s available right now.

 

 

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

Castle Danger Brewery Lager Royale – On tap at the brewery now, this light and refreshing lager will soon be sold statewide as a year-round offering.

Forager Brewery Enchanted Slushie – The Mai Tai-inspired Enchanted Island (Humble Forager) with pineapple, passion fruit, orange, cherry, almond, and molasses, gets the slushie treatment. 9% ABV.

New Glarus Brewery Nectar Ale – “Sparkling notes of honeyed apricot and candied lemon create illusions of summertime honeysuckle and hummingbirds,” the exclusively Wisconsin brewery says, adding, “A long rest completed the spontaneous fermentation sealing forever this marriage of wine and beer!”

Oliphant Brewing Summer Squishy – This sour ale is 5% ABV and has a recipe that includes pineapple, coconut, lactose, vanilla, and sea salt.

Waldmann Brewery Maibock – On tap for Saturday’s Maifest, an amber in color, malt-forward decoction mash lager. Two limited firkin variants will also tap: a cone-hopped Maibock and a blueberry-oaked Maibock. 6.3% ABV.

New beers available this week

10K Brewing

  • Cucumber Spud – A potato cream ale that is light in body and crisp in spirit, with added cucumber too. 4.2% ABV.
  • Dry Hopped Sour – 3.2% ABV and refreshing, the brewery says.

56 Brewing

  • Hewing Kölsch – A collaboration with Hewing Hotel, this Kölsch-style ale offers white grape and melon flavors with a crisp malt finish, the brewery says, and is on tap at the brewery, the hotel, and in their minibars too. 4.6% ABV.

612Brew

  • Bubblehouse Guava Peach Hard Seltzer – Newly tapped in time for Art-A-Whirl. 5% ABV.

Bad Weather Brewing Company

  • Golden Bramble – A pineapple wheat ale at 5.3% ABV, 30 IBU.
  • Mexican Lager

Badger Hill Brewing Company

  • Lawn Flamingo – A triple IPA tapped at Hopapalooza last Saturday.

Bemidji Brewing

  • Strata Pale Ale – A limited taproom exclusive keg is on tap, as of Wednesday, with added Strata hop terpenes.

Bent Paddle Brewing Co.

  • Passion Fruit Pilsener 
  • Tropical Hop IPA

As the Duluth brewery hosts its first Festiversary party in three years, several limited beers will be available in addition to the two listed above, including:

  • Blood Orange Kanu
  • Campfire Smores Cold Press Black
  • Double Shot Double Black – Vintage releases dating back to 2019
  • Extra Baked – Pasty stout with chocolate, vanilla, and coconut.
  • Lemon Basil Kanu – Cask
  • Spruce Tip Black Ale – Cask
  • Tequila Light Lager – Cask

Bricksworth Beer

  • Neon Moon – A 5.8% ABV pale ale made with Centennial and Centennial Cryo hops.
  • Pizza Rolls – The Citra and Azacca-hopped New England-style IPA is back on tap now. 6.8% ABV.

Castle Danger Brewery

  • Lager Royale – Top Flight selection

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Nordic Key Lime Squeeze – “A traditional Norwegian farmhouse ale brewed with a base of Bohemian Pilsner malt, a bit of oak-smoked wheat, and juniper branches which were harvested from the Dangerous Man family farm,” the brewery explains. “We then conditioned this beer on a bunch of key lime juice and zest. 5.5% ABV, 15 IBU.
  • Strawberry Julius Milkshake IPA – A creamy IPA with real strawberries, raspberries, oranges, marionberries, vanilla beans, and milk sugar, hopped with Belma and Julius hops. 7.8% ABV, 36 IBU.

Disgruntled Brewing

  • 19th Hole – A New England-style IPA dry-hopped with Cascade, Simcoe, Centennial, and Mosaic. On tap in limited supply as the brewery nears its final days.

Dual Citizen Brewing Company

  • Hola, Beaches – The New England-style IPA returns, including in 16-ounce cans. Expect coconut, banana, and tropical citrus flavors.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Foamers Lime – Back for summer, this is a base of Crankin’ Foamers lager with added lime puree. Bright, zesty, juicy, and maximally crisp, the brewery says. 4.5% ABV.
  • Fruitybooms – The taproom is selling flushie beers once again, onsite and in take-home packs. Flavors include Frozelle and Passionfruit Coconut.

Fulton Brewing

  • Night Swim – A limited time double dry-hopped IPA made with Sabro and Sultana hops. Sold in 4-packs.

Elm Creek Brewing Co.

  • Wave On Wave – A new Mosaic and Simcoe-hopped West Coast-style IPA brewed in collaboration with Talking Waters. On tap at the brewery and sold in 4-packs at participating liquor stores.

Forager Brewery

  • Enchanted Slushie – Top Flight selection

Hard Mountain Dew

  • Now available in Minnesota as the alcoholic sibling to the popular soft drink hits the national market.

Inbound BrewCo

  • Citrus Crush – A 4.5% ABV lemon-lime slushie.
  • Half Circle – A juicy session West Coast-style IPA made with thiolized yeast and dry-hopped with Idaho 7, Citra, and Mosaic, for notes of passion fruit, dank pink guava, and citrus zest. 5% ABV, 45 IBU.

Lupulin Brewing Company

  • Dream Hops – A 9% ABV double IPA, on tap now.
  • Sexxxy Hops – A double dry-hopped triple IPA made with a combination of Strata, Idaho 7, and El Dorado hops. Available this Saturday as Lupulin celebrates its seventh anniversary.

Modist Brewing Co.

  • Blueberry Dive – A “tropical blueberry margarita gose” made with malted white wheat and pilsner malt then conditioned on blueberries, key lime juice, pineapple juice, agave nectar, and sea salt, the brewery explains. A collaboration with Great Notion, available beginning on Saturday.

New Glarus Brewery

  • Nectar Ale – Top Flight selection

Nouvelle Brewing

  • Star Lord – This cold IPA was brewed with North Star Pilsner malt and rice, creating a crispy clean base to showcase the flavors and aromas of dank cannabis, ripe guava and pineapple and citrus notes of Galaxy and Enigma hops,. the brewpub says. 7% ABV.
  • That Little Guy? – A 4.4% ABV session IPA with notes of tropical and citrus fruits and pine.

Oliphant Brewing

  • Summer Squishy – Top Flight selection

Pryes Brewing Co.

Previously bottle-only, Pryes is now pouring the Idyll Forest series by the glass at their river-facing brewery.

  • Champs De Framboise – Raspberry wild ale
  • Forêt De Cerise –  Cherry wild ale
  • Soirée: Cabernet Sauvignon – A wine hybrid wild ale
  • Temps De Célebration – A holiday fruit wild ale

Sauza Agave Cocktails

A new line of 8% ABV Mexican-inspired canned cocktails made by Boston Beer and Beam Suntory (tequila) are hitting the market in the following flavor lines:

  • Black Cherry Smash
  • Lime Crush
  • Strawberry Breeze
  • Tropical Twist

Surly Brewing Co.

  • 13 – This maple barrel-aged imperial milk stout with vanilla is available now in limited supply. 12.5% ABV.

This summer also sees the release of the Tropical Supreme mixed pack, featuring four different 4.5% ABV wheat ales:

  • Paradise Punch Supreme – Inspired by fruit punch.
  • Peach Supreme – Featuring notes of ripe peach and vanilla balanced by a gentle tartness, the brewery notes.
  • Pina Supreme – A pineapple and coconut concoction.
  • Pog Juice Supreme – Passion fruit, orange, and guava combine in a single beer.

Urban Growler Brewing Company

  • Mummy Dust – A hazy IPA, deep gold in color and brewed with Equinox and El Dorado hops. 6.4% ABV, 35 IBU.

Voyageur Brewing Company

  • Ogish Stout – Back on tap with a one-time recipe substitution that trades oatmeal for oat milk.

Waconia Brewing Company

  • Paddle Board Pale Ale – “A blend of Comet, Citra and Chinook hops give this pale ale a citrus forward juiciness and an approachable amount of hoppiness. It is golden in color, has herbal and spice aromas and has a medium malt body,” the brewery says.

Waldmann Brewery

  • Maibock – Top Flight Selection

Wicked Wort Brewing Co.

  • Power Sour – A sour ale with acai and blueberries, plus flaked oats and lactose.
  • White Bronco – A milk sugar imperial IPA, tapped earlier this month.

Wooden Hill Brewing Co.

  • Frozen Mojito – The house mojito-flavored hard seltzer, slushie-style.

Wooden Ship Brewing Co.

  • Black Currant Sour
  • Sister Doris’ Tripel – A Belgian-style tripel and the third release in the Staff Series, tapped earlier this month.
  • Smoked Saison – A saison made with oak and beechwood smoked malts.
  • Southside Dip Hop Project – Tapped a few weeks ago, this West Coast-style IPA is a collaboration with LynLake, Eastlake, Venn, and Arbeiter.
  • Wayward Sailor – A Captain Fatty’s Brewery (CA) collaboration, this grisette was made with lemon, mint, and rosemary and tapped in early May.
  • Wise Sailor – Another collaborative grisette collationation made with help from Captain Fatty’s.

Yoerg Brewing

  • Hefeweizen – A German-style hefeweizen with wheat, lemon, and bread dough flavors.
  • Yoerg’s – The namesake lager is back on tap at the brewery after production delays caused a temporary unavailability.

 

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