Within the past two years, I’ve become a fan of craft brewing. Apparently, I’ve chosen the right state to have this happen in, as Minnesota is a haven for craft beers, microbrewers, and various new and exciting forays into the world of malt, hop, and barley. However, I’ve also found that it can be a dangerous territory, filled with crazed beer traders who horde bottles for profit, stores with insanely varied product, and a large group of drinkers “in the know” who seem to make it their life’s work to belittle you if you cannot taste the “essence of (insert obscure plant here)” that may or may not have actually been used, but must be there because they say they can taste it. So, I made it my goal to hold my own in a conversation about one of the finer and more varied things in life: craft beer. I’ve used a few simple steps that hopefully everyone can utilize, even if it’s not with beer, then with something they enjoy.
- 1) Drink what you like, not what people say you should like. If you like hoppy beers, drink them, winter or summer! If all you want are lagers, go for it. Embrace what you enjoy, and tell everyone to go to hell. Politely of course. I’m not into hopped up, bitter beers. I prefer malty, thick, rich beers, barley wines, and quadrupels. And I want them any time of year.
- a. If anyone’s interested, La Trappe Quadrupel tops my favorite beer list, North Coast’s Old Rasputin is a favorite Russian Imperial Stout, and Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine, Founders’ Kentucky Breakfast Stout are favorite seasonal/rare beers. But I also enjoy a cold Leinie’s Honeyweiss or Grain Belt, especially with pizza.
2) Don’t be afraid to experiment with new and different types of beer. It’s really the only way to find out what’s out there, and to avoid getting stuck in a rut with your beers. A great way to do this is with a beer tasting, either at a liquor store that provides them, or by hosting one with your friends. Have a small group of people over, tell them to bring a couple of different kinds of beer, and provide the snacks (and a place to spend the night if you get overly involved in the tasting aspect). Many a new and delicious beer has been discovered this way in my circle of beer loving friends. And I’ve been able to eliminate beers that I was curious about but didn’t want to spend the money trying by myself, that I found weren’t to my liking. And keep a list for yourself. Rank them if you want to, but even a simple “like” and “dislike” checklist will let you know whether you should spend money on a beer again or not. Websites like Beer Advocate, though they can be filled with people who have to express each (real or imagined) nuance of flavor in a beer, can be a good guideline for finding interesting beers in the styles you prefer.
3) Find a liquor store that you’re happy with, that has knowledgeable staff, and has beer at a reasonable price. Just because you’re spending more, doesn’t mean you’re getting better product. There should be ample stock with a decent selection, and once you decide what types of beer you prefer, one that provides more of what you like. And don’t be afraid to ask questions of the staff. A good staff member should be able to give you recommendations if you tell them “I like x beer, what else do you recommend that’s similar?” If that person doesn’t know, they should be able to point you to someone who does. If you ask “What’s the difference between a lambic and a lager?” and they just stare at you blankly, head for the nearest exit.
- a. Personal favorite stores of mine are: Blue Max in Burnsville, for a wide variety of beers from around the world, and a usually very knowledgeable staff. The prices are higher than a “typical” liquor store, but there’s a great selection; Four Firkins in St. Louis Park, for a largely Belgian beer selection, a great “make your own six pack” wall, a (so far) universally knowledgeable staff, weekly tastings, and prices that are a dollar or two higher than say MGM or the city liquor stores; MGM liquors in Burnsville for a very large variety, decent prices, relatively knowledgeable employees, tastings typically on weekends, and a lot of options to make your own six packs, but finding rarer beers is a crap shoot. And they don’t sell Surly. There are many others, but those should give a large cross-section of available craft beers.
4) Once you’re comfortable trying out different beers, attending a beer fest is a great way to expand your palate. Big or small, they can be a lot of fun. Just remember a designated driver or ample time to sober up, and know that for every beer you like, there will be quite a few you won’t, and that’s okay. But a single admission fee for multiple types of beer to try is a great way to find new favorites, both of individual drafts, and of breweries as a whole. These can vary locally from just a few breweries to a large fest like the St. Paul Summer Beer Fest and Gitchee Gumee Brewfest in Superior, WI, which I personally recommend as a great time with a large variety of beer.
I don’t know if any of this will help open the wonderful and treacherous world of beer to anyone else, but I know by trial and error that these things helped me stop looking at the ever-increasing tap lists at bars with a mixture of confusion and dread, spending money unnecessarily on beers that were everything I didn’t want, not knowing what it was that I did, and thinking very seriously about giving up on the whole beer thing in general. The main thing is, if you like beer, enjoy all of the possibilities, and don’t get intimidated by names, descriptions, or reviews that are short on information. Make up your own mind, and use outside opinions as a guideline, not a rulebook.
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June 20th, 2012 at 8:13 am
Great read Bill, 3 things I’d like to mention are that (while at times seems overpriced and the place is what it is) I do like the beer tour at Old Chicago for it’s range. Also, Perrier Wines & Liquors is hit or miss but some of the staff really hits, especially for being primarily focused on wine. Finally, for any iOS devices (not sure if they’ve forayed into Android) check out Clear for any list needs on your device.
June 20th, 2012 at 8:14 am
Apologies… Great read Clarie.
June 20th, 2012 at 8:27 am
Nice write up Claire! As opinionated as I am about beer, I can’t disagree with much at all, though I have never quite been able to understand why you cannot detect the floral undertones that define the wonderfulness of Furious. Get with it.
As for beer fests, buyer beware. Make sure you are checking out the breweries that are set to be there. There was one in Minneapolis a few months back sponsored by Coors, and somehow Odell Brewing was literally the only interesting brewery there, competing with the likes of Corona, Blue Moon (Coors) and Leinie’s. Now if you like those beers, go, but you are not really getting a craft beer experience.
Also, a lot of craft brewers like to give you goofed up versions of what was a good beer to begin with. I have had a Fulton Grapefruit infused Lonely Blonde and some chili laced beers of unremembered origin at fests when I would have liked just to have a regular beer. My advice, find 3 or 4 beers that you do like out of the 100 or so you could try and stick with them.
Lastly, the Pride Beer Dabbler may have the best beer lineup I have seen in beer fests (and food truck options) ever. Check that out this weekend if you want some good stuff!
June 20th, 2012 at 9:11 am
Mmmm… beer. Has anyone ever tried Duchesse De Bourgogne? I don’t see it around a lot, but keep your eyes peeled. It is a very pleasing drink on a hot day.
I have been hitting up the Kowalski’s liquor store in Eagan. It is a small store and can’t compete with Blue Max on selection, but very little the beer is in the coors/bud/miller/crap family. Only 4 people work there so they always remember me and my tastes.
June 20th, 2012 at 9:58 am
Great article. I dont drink much, but this made me want to sample some different flavors!
June 20th, 2012 at 10:08 am
Chad,
I bet if you try some different beers, some of them may well be very good. You could then report back here how very good they are. So very good that you might even want to tell us two or three times how very good they tasted to you even though you don’t drink much.
I tell people I don’t drink much, too.
June 20th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
You are a clever man lefty.
June 20th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
I think the world just ended.
June 21st, 2012 at 8:41 am
The Cellars in Eagan has a nice craft/Belgian selection and knowledgable beer drinker workers…If you are ever up in St. Paul the Ale Jale is a great little store.
June 21st, 2012 at 5:06 pm
plenty of good suggestions on places to go with a wide variety, I even think that AV store has a great selection as well as I was suprised in the amount of Sours they had in singles.
As for keeping track of what you drink and what you like a good free app for this is Untappd! I just started using it recently and you can rate your beer that you are drinking and make any notes for future reference. very easy to use.
Another resource for some good information on new beers, events, tastings, etc. is Growler magazine (free) you can pick them up at your local liquor store or visit them online at: http://growlermag.com/
this publication is put out by the founder of the beer dabbler. Very good information for those who are unsure about certain beers and their descriptions.
June 22nd, 2012 at 8:08 am
I would also recommend The Ale Jail in St Paul. Great selection and knowledgeable staff with excellent local representation.
I’m a big fan of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild events. Winterfest is in February and is limited to 800 or so people. Hard to get tickets to but so worth it. It’s limited to guild member breweries and they bring out their best. They also do an event in the fall in Minneapolis and have a new event in July in Duluth this year.
June 22nd, 2012 at 8:23 am
Is anyone familiar with O’Dell’s 90 Shilling Ale?
I was up north a few weekends ago and someone ordered me what the resort was calling “98 Shilling” (on tap). I generally can’t stand the taste of beer unless it’s very dark, but this stuff was pretty good. Unfortunately, when I look online, there doesn’t appear to be anything called 98 Shilling. Since this resort wasn’t the kind of place where they’d have craft stuff, I assume it was O’Dell’s which seems to be the most common beer with a similar name.
The beer was sort of a reddish color, not too dark.
I’d like to know what “category” of beer this is in and if this is a good example of that genre. Sometimes I don’t like paying the extra $$$ for the dark beers and/or don’t want the one typical option (Guinness). This might be a good fall-back option.
June 22nd, 2012 at 8:38 am
http://www.lazylightning.org/90-shilling-ale-by-odell-brewing-co
June 22nd, 2012 at 8:48 am
Well…how about that. I guess that’ll teach me to automatically gloss over posts about beer, books, and board games.
So 90 Shilling is a “Scottish Ale”? In the comments, people were putting everything from Surly Furious to wheat beer to IPA to EPA to WTF. What seemed to be a common thread is that it’s a beer without much hops…correct?
What’s a GREAT Scottish Ale (that I can get at a place like Blue Max)?
June 23rd, 2012 at 12:17 am
Hey MSPD,
Central Waters’ Sláinte is quite good. Blue Max doesn’t currently have it, I don’t believe, but the MGM in Prior Lake did last week. I could drink quite a bit of that. I also think that Leinie’s Wee Heavy is awesome. Wee Heavy ales are a bit sweeter than straight Scotch ales, but it’s definitely worth trying to see what you think.
If you like darker beers and don’t want the sweetness, I’d say try out a few coffee stouts and see if one’s to your liking.
June 23rd, 2012 at 8:44 am
Wee Heavy sounds good but the name is horrible. I mean I understand barley heavy, hops heavy, or malt heavy but oy vey.
I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the recommendations!
June 23rd, 2012 at 10:55 am
You’re welcome! And if you like those, you may want to try some old ales and/or barleywines, as well. Enjoy!