Barrel-aged series by Founders Brewing Co.

Photo via Firestone Walker Brewing Company

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. 

F

rom holiday spice to infusions, bourbon, tea, and more, the holidays are a time to savor flavors. Many dark beers with toasty, warming adjuncts are popular right now—especially robust porters, it seems—but we also see a nice contrast of bitter citrus and pine for the holiday season, highlighted by a rush of new West Coast-style IPAs in market.

But of course, that’s not all. Find fresh sour ales, traditional German-style beers, historic IPAs, and plenty of hazies on the list too.

Happy holidays from the Beer Dabbler.

 

Each week, the Beer Dabbler team highlights five of the most tantalizing new beers available around the great state of Minnesota that we’re most excited to try. Check out these Top Flights at Dabbler Depot. Stock is limited! Call for availability.

Deftones + Belching Beaver Brewery Variety Pack – An exciting collaboration between Belching Beaver Brewery and Deftones, this mixed pack includes two cans of each beer: OHMS Pale Ale, Good Morning Beautiful, Digital Bath, and Phantom Bride. Rock on!

Back Channel Brewing Birdwing – A New England-style Hazy Pale Ale that offers notes of mandarin orange and lemon. 5.5% ABV, 27 IBU.

Invictus Brewing Co. Tyrannosaurus Press – Back from extinction in collaboration with T-Rex Cookie and Folly Coffee. This pastry stout was brewed with cookies and cold brew. 8.0% ABV.

Lil Beaver Brewing Co. Holly Jolly White Peppermint Stout — A holiday white stout that evokes flavors of white chocolate and peppermint while pouring at 8.5% ABV.

Little Thistle Double Wetlands – A follow-up to the original Wetlands, this New England-style Hazy IPA contains Citra, Mosaic, and Sultana hops and gives notes of tangerine, pineapple, and mango on the palate.

Shop for the newest beer at Dabbler Depot

The beers in this gallery are now available for purchase at Dabbler Depot, 1545 7th St W, St. Paul, MN 55102

New beers available this week across Minnesota

Looking for a taste of these great new beers? The icon indicates beers available at Dabbler Depot. Keep in mind—stock is limited! Check dabblerdepot.com or text (651)-802-2112 for availability.

Brew d’État

Three new sour ales are on tap at Turtle’s in Shakopee, each a co-fermentation of lactic acid bacteria and Ebbegarden tropical Kveik stream.

  • Fast Track to Enlightenment – A 5.5% sour ale with strawberries, blueberries, and sweet cherries.
  • Flailing Tube Man – This fresh sour ale has added hibiscus and lime zest. 5.5% ABV.
  • Tube Man – A 5.5% ABV fresh sour ale with Nelson Sauvin hops.

3rd Act Craft Brewery

  • Elementary My Beer – An IPA based on recipes from London in the 1800s.
  • Embrace The Darkside – A German-style altbier.

56 Brewing

  • Eclipse Class – A triple IPA made with 8.5 pounds of hops per barrel with wildflower honey. 12% ABV, 75 IBU. On draft and sold in bottles.

612Brew

  • The Red Chimney – A slightly sweet American amber ale with toasty flavors of caramel, dried fruit, and pine. 5.2% ABV, 36 IBU.

A-Side Public House

  • Golden Lager – Light caramel and toasted toffee flavors in a medium-body lager with some bitterness and a dry finish, the brewery says. 4.2% ABV.

Alloy Brewing Company

  • GoldenRye – A roggerbier at 5.4% ABV, 15 IBU, with rich malt flavors and spice.
  • Return of the Blueberry ‘What Happened?!’ Bourbon Cream Ale – 8.4% ABV, 11 IBU.

Bent Paddle Brewing Co.

The new IPA Explorer Pack is available at liquor stores:

  • Cold IPA – A cold-fermented IPA with bright and crisp hop notes, pushing Citra, El Dorado, and Strata character to the foreground.
  • Cosmic Lounge – A hazy IPA with dank flavors of passion fruit and citrus from a blend of Strata, Citra, and Sultana hops.
  • West Coast IPA – Simcoe, Mosaic, and Centennial hops combine to offer bright citrus and medium-body malt notes.

BlackStack Brewing

  • Amarillo & Chill – A single hop cold IPA, pouring 7.0% ABV, and made with Amarillo and Amarillo Cryo hops, plus, Pilsner malt, rice, and Chico yeast.
  • Cleared For Takeoff – Strata, Talus, and Amarillo Cryo hops are the star of this 10.2% ABV triple IPA.
  • Stacking Bricks: Scramjet – A collaborative release with Bricksworth (Burnsville and soon to open in Minneapolis), this New England-style IPA is made with a large dose of Citra, Mosaic, Talus, and Nelson Sauvin hops, plus Phantasm powder. 7.2% ABV, on draft and in liquor stores.

Bobbing Bobber Brewing Company

  • Boats N’ Oats – A “bourbon, vanilla oatmeal stout,” served on nitro at the brewery now.
  • Shadow Bass – An English-style pale ale, served on draft and in a black and tan at the brewery. 5.2% ABV, 45 IBU.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Hazelnut Baltic Porter – A porter conditioned on roasted hazelnuts, adding a nutty note to this semi-dry dark beer. A collaboration with Back Channel at 10.2% ABV.

Duluth Cider

  • Raspberry Basil – “This deliciously tart semi-sweet is rounded out with fresh hand-picked Wisconsin basil and clocks in at 5.0% ABV,” the cidery says of its latest Trailside Series release.

Fair State Cooperative

  • Vestivus – Mango, pineapple, and tangerine flavors, plus a hint of coconut, abound in this hazy IPA that debuts on Saturday.

Fergus Brewing Co.

  • Krumkake Ale – A very limited seasonal ale, sold only at Fergus Liquor.

FINNEGANS Brew Co

The Celebration Pack winter sampler is available now, featuring cans of:

  • Cranberry Gose
  • Dead Irish Poet Caribou Coffee Stout
  • Pomegranate Crush Lager
  • Red Cloak Ale

Firestone Walker Brewing Company

  • Wookey Jack – Back for the first time nationally since 2016, this is a black rye IPA with dank and sticky hop notes along with dark malts and rye. 8.3% ABV.

Forbidden Barrel Brewing Co.

  • Dancing Denny – A black licorice ale, tapped on Dec. 8.
  • Peppermint Oatmeal Stout – A chocolate and peppermint oatmeal stout, tapped on Dec. 14.

Foremost Brewing Cooperative

  • Code of Hammurabi – An annually released Belgian dark strong ale, this limited beer is barrel-aged with rich malt flavors, plus notes of dark fruit and spice. The 2021 vintage also recently tapped at Foremost, in limited supply. 9.5% ABV, 23 IBU.
  • Dawn of the Red – A smooth Irish-style red ale with malty notes of toasted biscuit. 5.5% ABV, 29 IBU.

Fulton Brewing Co.

  • Strawberry Lonely Blonde – A fruited and slightly sweet variant of Lonely Blonde ale, available at the taproom only.
  • Tropical Lonely Blonde – A taproom exclusive twist on Lonely Blonde ale, previously part of the summer mix pack.

Hacienda Beer Co.

  • A Means To An End – Back for the first time in three years, available today at the brewery, “The beer is a big, boozy imperial stout inspired by Mexican hot chocolate,” Hacienda says. “We layer a complex, chocolate forward imperial stout base with cacao nibs, Mexican vanilla beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ancho and guajillo peppers.”

Junkyard Brewing Company

  • Tony’s Big Show – A New England-style double IPA, available in the Twin Cities now.

Lake Monster Brewing

  • Belgian Pale Ale – A limited pilot batch hybrid of Belgian and American pale ales. Pouring 4.7% ABV, expect Belgian yeast notes along with Canadian honey malt and American Chinook and Crystal hops.

Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

  • Stout Szn: Malted Milk Ball Imperial Stout Infusion Tapped on Friday in limited supply.

New Glarus Brewery

  • Road Slush – A winter oatmeal stout, available across Wisconsin now.

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub

  • Arms Race – A dank and piney West Coast-style IPA with a strong citrus finish and medium bitterness. 7.7% ABV, 80 IBU.

Oliphant Brewing

  • Coconut Hunkboy – This robust porter is 6% ABV with coconut.
  • Rusket Pils – A Wisconsin-made Pilsner, 5% ABV.

Saint Paul Brewing

  • Xanadu – Available since Tuesday Dec. 20, this is an orange-infused porter.

Town Hall Brewery

  • Stark Bier – A 6.2% ABV German-style power, tapped on Thursday, this dark beer presents dark fruit, rich malt, and chocolate flavors with notes of roast and molasses, the brewpub says.
  • Unthaw – “Blended from cellaring reserves of Belgian Quad, Grand Cru and American Barley Wine,” Town Hall says of its latest Christmas spiced holiday ale, finished with spices and orange peel.

Unmapped Brewing Co.

  • St. Nick’s Imperial Red Ale – A smooth and malty red ale with fruit esters, available annually. 8.4% ABV.

Urban Forager Winery and Cider House

  • Red Velvet Melomel – The 2022 batch of this melomel recipe is described as “Fruity, smooth, barrel-aged and with the warmth of Minnesota honey.”

Urban Growler Brewing Company

  • Hazy Heifer – “This lightly hazy pale ale surprises the palate with bright grapefruit, creamy guava, and tropical passionfruit. Hazy Heffer is rounded out with a comforting biscuity background, smooth oats, wheat, and just a touch of hops for the winter months,” the brewery says of its latest Hayloft Series release. 6.2% ABV, 25 IBU. Available at the the taproom.

Wabasha Brewing Company

  • Horror Frost A white chocolate stout for the coldest time of year, available in 16-ounce cans now.

Waconia Brewing Company

  • Mint Chocolate Chip Porter – On tap beginning today.
  • Pecan Porter – On tap beginning today.
  • Robust Porter – On tap, beginning today.

Waldmann Brewery

  • Weihnachtsbier – “Waldmann’s 2022 Weihnachtsbier is crafted with a bold infusion of anise, cinnamon, juniper, coriander and orange peel. It’s a tawny-colored, lightly-hopped altbier-style,” the brewpub explains. 6.0% ABV.

Wild Mind Ales

  • Ganarcha – Described as a beer/wine hybrid, Ganaracha is available on draft now. “A grist of pilsner, white wheat and acidulated malt comes together with Saaz hops with a secondary fermentation on Grenache grape must to create complex, yet soft and earthy ale with juicy undertones,” the brewery says. 9.8% ABV.
  • I Dunked Once – A bitter, piney, and dank West Coast-style IPA.

Wild State Cider

  • Cranberry Chai – Now in the taproom.

Wooden Hill Brewing

  • Snowburst – A juicy IPA with tropical fruit flavors. 6.7% ABV.

Wooden Ship Brewing Company

  • Big Basement Energy – A tea-infused saison, on tap now.
  • Runneth Up – A winter warmer stout brewed with cinnamon, chocolate, and vanilla.

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