Minnesota/Wisconsin beer

Fitger's Brewhouse
This summer I went to Duluth for the first time and stopped by the Fitger's Brewhouse pub. This brewpub is in one of the oldest breweries in Minnesota. The original brewery, Lake Superior Brewery was started in 1854 and survived though prohibition by making candy and soda. It returned to brewing beer after prohibition and was producing 100,000 barrels a year by 1940. It closed in 1971 and became a hotel in 1984. In 1995, the brewery complex was bought and turned into what it is now, a mixture of shops and the brewpub. I was really impressed by the old building and the variety of beers on tap. My family and I had a sampler flight that consisted of 7 beers I believe. It's been awhile since we went, so I can't remember all of the details. The sampler had an IPA, a British Bitter, a pale ale, a lager, an apricot wheat beer and a stout. Of the beers we tried, the apricot wheat stood out as the best. As someone who enjoys the regionalism and uniqueness of beers, I really loved the regionalized names of all their beers. There is a definite Lake Superior theme with names like Lighthouse Golden, Big Boat Stout, etc. I ended up buying a growler of their Saison. It was very good, a unique blend of hoppiness and complex flavors. It poured a light orange with a rocky white head. It was very good.
The most impressive thing about the brewpub for me was the 30 styles of beers they make throughout the year. There was a wide variety of the standard seasonal beers, but then there was also a variety of other styles like a Belgian Abbey Ale, a dopplebock, double IPA, etc. It was very impressive. If I lived in Duluth this place would be dangerous. They have live music and great food as well. So if you're in Duluth I recommend that you check out Fitgers.
www.brewhouse.net

Rush River
I was excited to see six packs of Rush River in my local liquor store the other day. Rush River is a brewery that was only available on tap in select bars around the cities for the last couple of years. But last winter they moved to a new brewery location in River Falls, Wisconsin and apparently bought a bottling system. Their website says that their bottles will be available for a limited time. My liquor store said it was selling really well, so if that's true throughout the Twin Cities, maybe the sixers will be a permanent addition to the local beer landscape. The two beers they have available in six packs are The Unforgiven Amber Ale and the Bubblejack IPA. Both beers are really good, but I'm a big fan of the Unforgiven. It pours a beautiful amber body and has a slight fruitiness and smooth hop character. The description from their website:
The Unforgiven Amber Ale: Our flagship beer is 5.8% ABV. Deep amber in color, and slightly cloudy, this beer is remarkably smooth. We "dry-hop" this ale in the conditioning tank meaning fresh hops are added after fermentation to steep and add a subtle fruity nose. The yeast for this beer was custom created and cultured for us by a lab in Oregon, insuring a one-of-a-kind experience found in no other micro.

I really like their IPA as well, its up there with Bell's Two Hearted as a beer I'll drink to get my hop fix. Here's their description:

BubbleJack IPA: One of our favorite styles, this ale is a hop explosion. Light in color, heavily hopped in the kettle as well as conditioned with several unique hop varieties. This creates a beautiful floral/citrusy nose which is balanced well by a smooth and full finish. 6.0% ABV.


The next blog entry will be about my love affair with another Wisconsin brewery, New Glarus. Unfortunately it's not a beer that I've been able to find in the Twin Cities, but when I'm at my parents cabin in Hayward, Wisconsin I pick some up. Its an award winning husband and wife team that produces some outstanding beers, including some excellent Belgian beers. More on them later.
The Bearded Brewer