Northbound’s brewers pose on their patio • Photo via Northbound Brewpub & Smokehouse

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. 

If you’re sick of hearing about Dry January, too bad. N/As have infiltrated Freshies this week, with non-alcoholic options appearing around the state in a refreshing range of styles that include wit, sour ale, and a peanut butter porter.

But don’t fret if you’re still imbibing this month. There are a lot of big beers coming out too, such as the return of Hopslam and Size 11, a first-ever triple IPA from Toppling Goliath and, on the darker side, Lift Bridge Silhouette (and variants). And remember, the majority of the beers listed below can be purchased in to-go containers or at liquor stores, so it’s possible to try the latest beers and support your local establishments while maintaining a responsible social distance as COVID numbers continue to climb.

 

 

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

Alloy Brewing Company Honey Rhubarb Wit – A limited non-alcoholic wit beer brewed in partnership with ABV Technology. “The perfect alternative for those of you taking part in Dry January’’ (or just looking for a break from high ABV beers), this n/a wit is full of flavor and body,” the brewery says. 0.0% ABV, 15 IBU.

Beaver Island Brewing Company Revolution VII – A Chardonnay barrel-aged traditional sour ale, tapped this week in honor of the St. Cloud brewery’s seventh anniversary.

Lupulin Brewing Company CPB N/A – A non-alcoholic version of Lupulin’s ever-popular chocolate and peanut butter stout. Available at the Big Lake brewery this weekend.

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co Arcade Crusher – Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops lead the way in Toppling Goliath’s first triple IPA.

Unmapped Brewing Quatschkopf – A Doppelsticke altbier in style this malt-forward winter beer offers flavors of dark fruit, toffee, and molasses and was brewed with maple syrup and rice for extra depth.A collaboration with Noblebräu (North Carolina).

New beers available this week

10K Brewing

  • Hungry? – A Snickers candy inspired stout.
  • Lemon Drop Galaxy – A 7.4% ABV New England-style IPA made with the hop varieties in its name.
  • PB Moose Nuts – A peanut butter porter.

608 Brewing Company

  • 608 Premium Lager – The Helles-style lager with subtle cracker and light bitterness is back on tap. 5% ABV.
  • Toasted Tart – A pastry sour ale made with strawberry and inspired by the toaster pastries in the store. 6.5% ABV.

Alloy Brewing Company

  • Honey Rhubarb Wit – Top Flight selection

Arbeiter Brewing

  • Hazin’ In The Sun – A soft-bodied, hazy and citrus-forward IPA with notes of pineapple, mango, papaya, and hints of peach and pine, the brewery says. 6.6% ABV, 29 IBU. Named in honor of the late Sidney Poitier. 

Arbeiter’s Hazin’ in the Sun • Photo via Arbeiter Brewing Co.

Badger Hill Brewing Company

  • TBD F5 Ginger & Szechuan Pepper Sour – “This round of F5 is infused with fresh peeled ginger and dried Szechuan peppercorns. The combination provides a pleasant ginger aroma, tart lemony flavor with subtle notes of spice,” the brewery says of its latest Berliner Weisse sour ale. 4.4% ABV.

Beaver Island Brewing Company

  • Revolution VII – Top Flight selection

Bell’s Brewery

  • Hopslam – Now in 16-ounce cans.

 

Bent Paddle Brewing Co.

  • Roasty Toasty Porter – Winner of the 2021 MN Brewers Cup Awards’ Best in Show, this porter has dark chocolate, toasted bread, pie crust, and burnt caramel notes and is on tap now.

Boom Island Brewing Company

  • Mexican Chocolate Porter – On tap and in 16-ounce cans.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Guava Papa Lime Sour – A combination of guava, papaya, and lime make for a bright, tart sour ale.

Duluth Cider

  • Lead Dog – “A refreshing semi-sweet with subtle notes of cinnamon and black tea,” the cidery says, with collectible Beargrease/Duluth Cider pint glasses sold to raise funds for the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

Elm Creek Brewing Co.

  • Post Haste – Available in the taproom, this 7.3% ABV New England-style IPA was brewed with both Citiva and Enigma hops.
  • Rare Candy – A taproom exclusive kettle sour with blueberry and raspberry. 6.0% ABV.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Skafl – “This hazy IPA uses Strata and Sultana hops to provide a nice tropical fruit flavor, and Columbus to add a pleasant dankness and balancing bitterness,” says Innovation Brewer Zach.
  • Tmavé Pivo – Czech for “dark beer,” it’s unsurprisingly a Czech-style dark lager with roasty malt forward flavors and subtle chocolate.

Hop & Barrel Brewing Company

  • Turning Violet – A dark kettle sour with “a ton of blueberry puree and just a wee tiny hint of maple flavoring,” the Hudson, WI brewery says. 9% ABV. On draft across the river and sold in limited 4-packs of cans.

Insight Brewing

  • Dog With The Shifty Eyes – A taproom release, this double dry-hopped New England-style IPA features Cashmere, Mosaic, Citra, and Idaho 7 hops for juicy flavors of melon and citrus with resin. 7.1% ABV.
  • Out Of Season? – A 5.2% ABV New England-style pale ale where Idaho 7, Talus, and Citra hops combine for “Slightly herbal, moderately dank, and massively tropical” flavors.

Lift Bridge Brewing Company

  • Silhouette Barrel Aged Imperial Stout – Available on Saturday, coffee, molasses, chocolate, and vanilla notes combine in a rich, 11% winter seasonal. Variants include:
  • Coffee Silhouette – Made with Big Watt roasted coffee.
  • Double Barreled Silhouette – After aging in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, this batch spent its final months in 45th Parallel rye whiskey barrels.
  • Vanilla Silhouette – Last year’s popular rendition is back, but this time with twice the quantity of bourbon-soaked vanilla beans used in its making.

Lupulin Brewing Company

  • CPB N/A – Top Flight selection
  • Tropical Fun Pants N/A – Currently on tap in Big Lake.

Mankato Brewery

  • Imperial Mint Stout – A 12% ABV imperial take on the brewery’s winter seasonal stout.

New Glarus Brewing Company

  • Coffee Stout – Beer fans who cross the Wisconsin border can find this roasty stout made with cold-pressed organic coffee.

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub

  • Eisbock – The unique subzero-made beer is back. Northbound will celebrate its release with a poking party from noon until sundown on Saturday.
  • Helles Frozen Over – One of three beers to tap on Saturday.
  • Wampa – Available this Saturday at the recently remodeled brewpub.

Pantown Brewing Company

  • Seismic Shift A West Coast-style IPA tapped on Wednesday.

Several limited beers debut a Friday pre-party for the St. Cloud Craft Beer Tour, including TBD barrel-aged selections and:

  • Cinnamon Bun Milk Stout
  • Cookie Dough Milk Stout
  • Mulberry Pie
  • Orange Push-Up
  • Peanut Butter Milk Stout

Portage Brewing Company

  • Long Time Coming – “We made a beer with Corey Medina & Brothers!! Join us in North Country for a private show and special beer release this January 14,” the brewery announces.

Rogue Ales & Spirits

  • Knuckle Buster – A cold IPA collaboration with motorcycle shop Revival Cycles (Austin, TX). Available through the winter, “It opens with a delightful floral hop aroma that is followed by more hops, cracker, bread, and a soft sweetness across a very light body. The finish is crisp and refreshing with a nice bitter bite,” Rogues says. 6.1% ABV, 60 IBU.

Shakopee Brewhall

Isolator – An 8.9% ABV dobbelbock lager with sweet malt character, the brewery sacks.

  • Pillow Fight – “A soft and smooth stout. With the chocolate malt and milk sugar, this stout finishes feathery and soft,” the brewhall explains.

Steel Toe Brewing

  • Size 11 – Size 11 triple IPA is back, on draft and sold in 750-milliliter bottles. The annual big IPA presents notes of Tuscan melon, honeydew and citrus aromas, with a grapefruit and guava finishing bitterness, Steel Toe says, and pours at 11.4% ABV.

Surly Brewing Company

  • Double Bladed Axe Man – Axe Man gets even bigger, for a limited time. Made with Citra, Mosaic, and Warrior hops, this version pours at 10.8% ABV with big flavors to match.

Tin Whiskers Brewing Company

  • Bent Axis Smoothie Sour – A smoothie-style sour ale made with strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and vanilla. 4.7% ABV, 9 IBU.
  • Orange Dreamstate – The American cream ale with orange puree and vanilla is back, starting today, as a flagship brand, the brewery says. 5.4% ABV, 12 IBU.

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.

  • Arcade Crusher – Top Flight selection

u4ic Brewing, Incorporated

  • Tolling Bell – A Belgian-style tripel at 11% ABV.

Uncommon Loon Brewing Company

  • Sandhill Pils – A light German-style Pilsner.

Union 32 Craft House

  • Knuckle Puck – A light-body Kolsch-style ale with added cranberry puree. 4.5% ABV.

Unmapped Brewing

  • Quatschkopf – Top Flight selection

Urban Growler Brewing Company

  • Raspberry Farmhouse Ale – A juicy raspberry-added ale with a slightly tart and bitter finish. 5.4% ABV, 20 IBU.

Ursa Minor Brewing

  • Old School – A Munich-style dunkel with roasted malt character and “just a touch of sweetness,” the brewery says.
  • Sunday Funday – A cranberry, orange, and grape sour with both tart and sweet tones.
  • Thistle Dew – This batch of Scottish ale is rich and malty, but with warming notes form aging in rye barrels.

Wabasha Brewing Company

  • Pineapple Popper – Sweet with heat: a fruited take on the jalapeno popper cream ale.

Waldmann Brewery

  • Belgian Golden Strong – A 9.5% ABV Belgian-style strong ale with fruity complexity. 

Wooden Hill Brewing Co.

  • Cinnamon Apple Hard Seltzer – A very small batch of this 5.5% ABV seltzer tapped this week.

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