Snappy Pilsners and Crisp Maibocks Ring in Patio Season

FINNEGANS Bella Pilz • Photo via FINNEGANS Brew Co.

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. 

For some local beer drinkers, patio season never ended between 2020 and 2021. But as the temperature soars and the sun shines, more and more light-drinking and effervescent lagers and ales are tapping across the state. There are several new Pilsners and Maibocks in the making this week, plus some tribute beers to industry inspirations, growing families, and cross-business collaborations.

Whether you’re seeking IPAs with candy-like bursts of flavor, dank and delicious West Coast-style notes, sweet and tart fruited ales, or big, bold, and bourbon barrel-aged, Freshies has collected a bit of everything as we explore what’s new this week.

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

608 Brewing Typhoon – A hazy double IPA made with Citra and Mosaic hops, which give flavors of dried cantaloupe, push-pop treats, and gummy candies, the brewery says. 7.9% ABV.

Bad Weather Due Date 4 – A bottle-conditioned West Flanders-inspired barrel-aged sour Belgian red ale. Brewed with dates, aged with Brettanomyces lambicus in port barrels, and finished on cherries, this big beer that celebrates a new child in the ownership family debuts today on tap and in 750-milliliter bottles.

Fair State Hefeweizen – Back on tap now, this is a Bavarian-style wheat beer with banana and clove notes, plus subtle vanilla. Coming in cans later this year.

Forager Stagecoach Road – “Stagecoach Road is a blended Biere de Coupage aged on two different varieties of Wisconsin-grown peaches. A wine barrel-fermented spontaneous ale and an oak fermented mixed culture young saison were blended with Door County peaches for a month-long maceration,” the brewery describes.

Waconia Women’s Day White IPA – Designed in-house for International Women’s Day, this beer returns for its third consecutive year with a portion of sales to benefit Pink Boots Society. The beer itself offers tropical, citrus, herbal, and woody notes, complemented by the addition of coriander and orange peel. 7%, 50 IBU.

New beers available this week

10K Brewing

• 21 Hop – A 7.6% ABV American IPA made with a cocktail of hop varieties: Hop List: Bitter Gold, Brewers Gold, Cascade, Cashmere, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, Comet, Copper, Crystal, Fuggle, Galena, Mackinac, Magnum, Mittelfrueh, Nugget, Saaz, Summit, Tettnang, Triple Pearl, and Wild Wolf.

608 Brewing Company

• Oh Bother – At 7.5% ABV, this stout is made with the addition of local honey, chocolate, honey graham cracks, and “just a little amount of cocoa nibs,” the brewery says. “The result is a lightly roasty stout, with strong earth sweetness.”
• Typhoon – Top Flight selection.

Alloy Brewing Company   

• Cherry Brandy Barrel Aged Cream Ale – As the name implies, this big cream ale was aged for 16 months in cherry brandy barrels (ex-bourbon barrels), giving it a sweet cherry, brandy, and bourbon finish. 7% ABV, 11 IBU. A limited release.

Arbeiter Brewing Co.   

• Hoop Jump – A “cold IPA,” inspired by new IPAs brewed in Portland, OR that seek dry, light, and clean character with the full impression of an IPA. This batch is a collaboration between Arbeiter and Bad Habit Brewing, named with a nod to Town Hall’s Mike Hoops—both of the collaborating breweries have former Town Hall brewers.  “It’s brilliantly clear, clean, has classic hop flavors yet it is rich in maltiness and packs a punch,” Arbeiter says, with soft yet intense tropical fruit flavors, restrained citrus, and a resinous finish.8.1% ABV, 80 IBU.
• Westküst – A West Coast-style IPA made with all German ingredients. 6.9% ABV, 72 IBU.

Arbeiter Hoop Jump Cold IPA • Photo by Jason Ehrreich, jasonsjourney.mn

Bad Weather Brewing Company

• Due Date 4 – Top Flight selection.

Beaver Island Brewing Co.

• Tribute – A summer seasonal IPA.

Boom Island Brewing Company

• Ice Out – The lake ice is gone and it’s mailbox season in Minnetonka.

Clown Shoes Beer

• Mango Farm – A new IPA with added mango puree to complement juicy hop notes. Available through summer.

Clutch Brewing Co.

• Lil’ Philly – Brewed as an ode to a former Schmidt brewmaster who worked in the same building as Clutch today, this is a 5% ABV easy-drinking Pilsner.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

• Belgian Blonde With Peaches – Released in 750-milliliter bottles this week, this is a Belgian-style blonde ale aged in white wine barrels with peaches.
• Road Trip Double IPA – A new beer inspired by a maltster-plus-hop farm road trip. Road Trip, the beer, features pink grapefruit, peach, tropical fruit, and citrus flavors followed by subtle spice and pine resin notes with bright candy bursts, Dangerous Man says. 9.3% ABV, 15 IBU.

Day Block Brewing Company   

• The Big Lubelski – “A traditional dry-hopped version of a true Czech Style Pilsner,” the brewpub explains.

Disgruntled Brewing

• Toasted Blonde – The American-style blonde ale is back on tap as of last Friday.

Drekker Brewing

• Pushing Daisies – A traditionally-minded witbier from Drekker, this one is made with a wheat grain bill, plus spice, orange peel, coriander, and chamomile flowers—which, to explain the name, are members of the daisy family. “It’s loaded with floral and citrus notes while being soft, delicate, and completely crushable,” the brewery says.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

• Crankin’ Foamers – The 4.5% ABV “beer that tastes like beer,” is back for 2021, and in 12-packs of cans. Made with corn grits, Pilsner malt, and low-alpha hops, it’s a lager with a hint of fruitiness in the aroma and a light body for session drinking.
• Hefeweizen – Top Flight selection.

Fargo Brewing Company

• Stimulus Czech – A new Czech-style Pilsner, available today.

FINNEGANS Brew Co.

• Bella Pilz – An Italian-style Pilsner made with German Pilsner Malt and St. Aurora hops, this 5.9% ABV, 40 IBU Pils is described as slightly hoppy with a little bite at the end.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company

• Nectaron hazy IPA – New in the Propagator series, this single-hop beer with Nectaron hops offers passion fruit, grapefruit, and pineapple flavors and is available only in the new Crafted Thru Hops IPA mixed pack (along with Mind Haze, Union Jack, and the latest Luponic Distortion recipe.

Fitger’s Brewhouse

• Homegrown Hempen Ale – The latest single-hop release from the brewery’s Propagator Series, available exclusively in the latest “ In Fitger’s own words: “This American amber was mashed, boiled, and then dry-hopped with organic hemp seeds to give a nutty flavor and aroma. A little hoppier than most ambers, the rich malty backbone is balanced by a dank grouping of American hop varieties. A beer that pairs perfectly with a couch and Cheetos.” 6.0% ABV, 58 IBU.

Forager Brewery

Today is a bottle release in Rochester, with the following new, limited offerings:

• Seasons of Change – A saison made with five types of Minnesota-grown grains and locally grown Triple Pearl hops.
• Barrel-Aged Pudding Goggles – A barrel-aged imperial porter with roasted coconut, cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, and fire-roasted cinnamon sticks. 12.8% ABV.
• Little Thimble – A collaboration with 608 Brewing, this is a triple dry-hopped double IPA made with Golden Promise malt, rolled oats, wheat, Galaxy, Citra Cryo and Strata hops.
• One Night in Bangkok – “This imperial coffee stout is brewed with loads of specialty malts, before being conditioned on toasted coconut, cocoa nibs, Ugandan vanilla beans, Thai spices, roasted Thai chilis and @mostracoffee roasted Panamanian Geisha coffee beans,” Forager says.
• Stagecoach Road – Top Flight selection.
• Vanuatu – This new beer is a barrel-aged stout with rare vanilla beans from the Republic of Vanuatu. 13.8% ABV.

Founders Brewing Co.

• All Day Vacay – Founders is extending the All Day line with a new summer seasonal session wheat ale. At 4.6% ABV the brewery describes the new offering as being slightly sweet with delicate citrus notes.
• Nemesis – A limited Bottle Shop series barleywine sold in 4-packs of 12-ounce bottles. 11.2% ABV.

Foxhole Brewhouse

• Boysenberry Wheat

Insight Brewing

• Orange Espresso Cream Ale – This limited beer was made for spring, offering espresso and orange zest flavors with a smooth finish. 5.3% ABV.

Lake Monster Brewing

• Depth Charge IPA – “Depth Charge Juicy IPA builds on a base of pale and wheat malt with a huge charge of Cryo Citra, Bravo, Idaho 7 and Strata hops. A smooth body, clean finish, and huge fruity notes of citrus zest and passion fruit make for one explosive brew,” Lake Monster says of its newest release, which is available on draft and in 6-packs/12-ounce cans.

Lakes & Legends Brewing Company   

• Sour Cherry Hard Seltzer – A gluten-free canned hard seltzer at 4% ABV and 90 calories per can.

Lift Bridge Brewing Company

• Cinnamon Bread Beer – A Lift Bridge/Cub Foods collaboration will debut. Sold exclusively at Cub liquor stores, the beer is a light ale with specialty roasted malts and natural cinnamon as a nod to Cub bakery’s popular cinnamon bread. 4% ABV.

Lupulin Brewing Company

• Citridiculous – An 8.0% ABV, 60 IBU double IPA with orange, tangerine, pineapple, and mango flavors.
• Straight Hash Homie – A double IPA made with 100% lupulin powder and then dry-hopped (aka hash-hopped), this beer is back for its limited 2020 run. 7.75% ABV, 60 IBU. Stay tuned (see the “Announced section”) for its double dry-hopped sibling.

Pryes Brewing Co.   

• Halo Halo – An “island pastry ale.”
• Stratacaster – A Small Batch series New England-style IPA showcasing Strata hops. On tap and in Crowlers, this beer has dominant melon and passion fruit flavors with a soft body.

Rogues Ales & Spirits   

• Bayfront Vodka Party Pack – Rogue will package four of its canned cocktails together this spring: Cranberry Elderflower Vodka Soda, Grapefruit Vodka Soda, Lemonade Iced Tea Vodka Soda, and Ginger Lime Vodka Mule, hitting stores in 8-packs with two of each flavor. 7.5% ABV.

Rustech Brewing

• Crystal Hippie: Bomb Pop – The cherry, lime, and blue raspberry flavored hard seltzer is currently back on tap in Monticello.

Stacked Deck Brewing Co.

• Caged Rage – A strata-hopped dank triple IPA. 10% and available now.

Steel Toe Brewing Company

• Boonay’s Fancy Pale Ale – April Beer of the Month at Bunny’s Bar & Grill, this collaboration is “A deliciously hoppy, new-age highly drinkable beer at 5.5% ABV, featuring Citra, Simcoe and Chinook hops.”

Surly Brewing Company

The Hop Pack mixed pack is out, including Furious IPA, plus three more:

• Impossible Objects – “Impossible Objects features zero hops in the kettle, relying instead on Sabro, El Dorado, Citra, and Amarillo dry-hopping to build a new vision of the IPA—massive hop flavor with almost no bitterness,” Surly says. 7% ABV.
• Mean Streets – Pineapple, lemon, citrus, and pine define this IPA built around the Sultana hop variety. 6.8% ABV.
• Screen Time – A double dry-hopped IPA, “Generously hopped with Simcoe and Centennial hops for a huge hit of citrus pith, floral grapefruit, and piney flavor,” the brewery says. 5.5% ABV.

Thousand Lakes Brewing Co.

• Barrel-Aged Swamp Buck – A 12% barrel-aged imperial stout, “Expect the same intense deep roasty, chocolate, and dark fruit flavors of Swamp Buck with the additions bourbon and oak/vanilla flavor from the barrel. Rich, velvety and boozy,” the brewery notes.
• Evil Stepsister – A Berliner Weiss with a 50/50 blend of raspberry and blueberry added for a light, dark, and fruity sour.

Tin Whiskers Brewing Company

• Baking Level: Expert – A strawberry and lemon macaron blonde ale. 5.2% ABV, 17 IBU.
• Chocolate Salted Nut Roll Ale – A new take on Salted Nut Roll ale, this one debuts today on tap and in Crowlers from the Saint Paul brewery.
• Duck, Duck, Marshmallow Duck Double Dream State – A marshmallow and vanilla cream ale.
• Melon, She Wrote – On tap now and coming to liquor stores soon, this is a watermelon, lime, prickly bear, avocado blossom honey, and sea salt collaboration with Wisconsin’s Oliphant Brewing.
• Nova Hazy IPA – Brewed with a combination of Sabro, Azacca, and Nelson Sauvin hops.

Venn Brewing Company

• Blueberry Basil – “A smoothie-style beer with blueberries, basil, lactose, and vanilla. Not a sour,” Venn says. 7.0% ABV, 15 IBU.

Waconia Brewing Company

• WBC Women’s Day White IPA – Top Flight selection.

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

• Rocket Boost – A new juicy IPA with double the oats. El Dorado hops provide tropical fruit notes. 6.7% ABV.
• Gold Top – “A classic hefe brewed with pale wheat, pilsner malt, and lightly hopped for balance,” the brewery says. 5.4% ABV.

Wooden Hill Golden Top Hefeweizen • Photo via Wooden Hill Brewing Company

Beers just announced

Bad Weather Brewing Company

• Dortmunder – Filtered and near ready, the brewery says.

Beaver Island Brewing Co.

• Maibock – Back next month with a celebration at the brewery on May 15.

Chanhassen Brewing Company

Located in Chanhassen, this new brewery has set an opening date of April 15 with the following lineup:

• Arboretum – A wheat ale made with ginger and yuzu. 4.5% ABV, 20 IBU.    :
• Chanhoppenin’ – A hazy IPA at 5.5% ABV, 55 IBU.
• Earl Grey – A rye ale with Earl Grey tea. 5.0% ABV, 25 IBU.
• Golden Prairie – A 4.5% ABV, 25 IBU golden ale.
• MN’ Go – A 4.5% ABV, 25 IBU Belgian-style ale with mango.
• Station 3 – A stout at 6.5% ABV, 40 IBU.
• Storm – Blackberry sour ale. 4.5% ABV, 5 IBU.
• Ya’ Betcha – An 8.5% ABV, 35 IBU Belgian-style Abby ale.

Invictus Brewing Co.   

• Alma Hard Seltzers – Invictus has its own brand of hard seltzers, on tap now with plans to package and distribute a berry mixed 6-pack of 12-ounce cans in the following flavors later this month: Black Cherry, Strawberry, Concord Grape.

Lupulin Brewing Company

• DDH Straight Hash Homie – Straight Hash Homie is out now, but this version is double dry-hopped (aka, double dry-hashed), including new ingredient Talus Cryo hops, this year, which adds even more grapefruit-like dank flavor. 7.75% ABV, 60 IBU. To tap at the brewery on April 20 with additional special in-house events.
• Hen Pecks – Coming mid-month, this is a wheat ale with raspberry and strawberry, described as “sweet and a little tart.” 5.5% ABV, 13 IBU.
• Maibock – A German-style Maibock lager, brewed with mostly traditional ingredients. 7.6% ABV, 35 IBU.
• Scars – Coming in approximately a month, this is a 5.5% ABV, 35 IBU traditionally-styled pale ale with a malty base and resinous Cascade hops. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Scars Foundation.

Mankato Brewery   

• Pineapple Wheat – One of two spring/summer seasons to debut toward the end of the month.
• Tropic Luv – One of two spring/summer seasons to debut toward the end of the month.

Waconia Brewing Company

• Cerveza Del Lago – Listed as “coming soon” on the brewery’s latest newsletter.
• Raspberry Seltzer TBD –Listed as “coming soon” on the brewery’s latest newsletter.

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