Beer and Breweries
Mammoth Saloon
Back in the day it was sometimes tough work just to get a drink. Above is an undated stereoview reproduction from an 1875 McKenzie original. The reverse reads: “Duluth, Minn. in 1875. Mammoth Saloon, Jake Liedel, Prop. Lake Ave 2 blocks north of canal.”
Brewhouse gets new master brewer
Ted Briggs, the new brew master at Fitger’s Brewhouse
Just Take Action announced Ted Briggs as the new master brewer for Fitger’s Brewhouse this week. “Mr. Briggs will continue to build on the great legacy of quality Lake Superior craft beer first initiated by Dave Hoops and later, Frank Kaszuba,” the company stated in a news release. (more…)
South Shore Brewery expands into Washburn
After a 102-year absence, the steam plume from a brewery has returned to the Washburn skyline. On Nov. 30, South Shore Brewery’s kettle fired up its inaugural batch of Nut Brown Ale, which will be bottled on Solstice Wednesday, Dec. 21.
South Shore Brewery was founded in May 1995 with brewing facilities in the basement of the Deep Water Grille in Ashland. It was northwestern Wisconsin’s first microbrewery and the state’s seventh. Bo Bélanger, South Shore’s original brew master and president, bought the business in 2004.
In February he expanded operations into Washburn, opening the Lake Superior Tap House, a satellite tasting room and retail outlet. The recent move of the brewing facilities to the Washburn operation was done with the goal to make the brewery more efficient and competitive while increasing output.
In addition to the expanded brewing facility, the Lake Superior Tap House features a tasting room with a variety of South Shore beers on tap, windows that look into the brewery, and a shuffleboard table handcrafted from a piece of bowling lane preserved from the old Super Bowl Lanes, which previously occupied the building.
Over a Pint Interview with Brian Schanzenbach
In this interview segment, the Duluth Experience sits down with Blacklist Artisan Ales Head Brewer Brian Schanzenbach at the location of the new brewery and taproom set to open in Downtown Duluth this month.
Hoops Brewing will launch in 2017
Former Fitger’s Brewhouse master brewer and current Bev-Craft lead consultant Dave Hoops will open a beer hall in the Waterfront Plaza building in Duluth’s Canal Park business district. Hoops Brewing will occupy the former Timber Lodge Steakhouse space at 325 S. Lake Ave., opening in spring 2017.
“I’ve always wanted to build a boutique brewery and I’m doing this the way I dreamed of doing it,” Hoops told The Growler magazine, which broke the story before Hoops Brewing issued a news release. “I don’t have any aspirations of being real large. I want to be a destination beer hall, really servicing local, very limited distribution.” (more…)
Beer finally flowing in Duluth Lakeside at Amity Coffee
Prohibition has finally ended. Amity Coffee became the Lakeside neighborhood’s first seller of over-the-counter alcohol today. In June the Duluth City Council repealed a more than 125-year-old neighborhood liquor ban.
At left, barista Nate Pykkonen pours a Bent Hop Golden IPA, one of two Paddle Paddle Brewing tap beers at Amity. Bottled and canned beers are also available, as well as wine.
Farmhouse brewery under construction near Duluth
A distinctive brewery is under construction a few miles southeast of Duluth in Midway Township. Oakhold Farmhouse Brewery specializes in mixed fermentation, a method of brewing that yields a class of beers commonly referred to as “sours.” (more…)
Kaszuba leaves Brewhouse for Bev-Craft
Frank Kaszuba announced recently on Facebook he is leaving his position as head brewer at Fitger’s Brewhouse. His new employment is with Bev-Craft, a Superior-based consulting firm that helps new breweries by providing “development assistance, brewhouse planning, recipe formulation, ingredient selection, brand creation, and sales planning and assistance.” (more…)
Moose Lake Brewing selling big ol’ cans called ‘crowlers’
Moose Lake Brewing Company started selling 24 oz. crowlers this week. For those unfamiliar with the term, a crowler is an oversized can, which is filled on site, much like a growler. (more…)
Blacklist brewery aims for mid-November opening
Blacklist co-founder Jon Loss
Blacklist Artisan Ales, homeless since Sept. 1, is transitioning into its new and improved home at 120 E. Superior St. The revamped space is still under construction and is barely recognizable as the former site of the infamous Last Place on Earth head shop. If all goes well, the brewery will begin production in mid-October and the taproom will open in mid-November. (more…)
Minnesota Summer: A Drunken Retrospective
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
Cole Benson’s “Minnesota Summer” video features plenty of Duluth scenes, mostly involving craft beer consumption. Music by the4onthefloor and Bob Dylan.
Perfect Drinking Establishment: Sir Benedict’s Tavern
Area boozers and barflies have reached a general consensus: Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake is the perfect Duluth drinking establishment. The English-themed pub located at 805 E. Superior St. netted 34.5 percent of the vote in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll.
Sir Ben’s is a bit of an institution. It opened as a pub in 1978 (before that the building was a service station) with a focus on sandwiches and beer. The favored watering hole has long attracted a range of fans, from college students to musicians and business people. (more…)
Is Bottoms Up the beer pouring device of the future?
Mike Mohr in front of one of his Bottoms Up beer dispensers
Gronk’s Bar and Grill in Superior has long been known for serving burgers upside down. In February, the bar was the first in the area to install a remarkable tap-beer delivery system that fills glasses from the bottom up. Since then another Superior drinking establishment, Jack’s Place, has also added a Bottoms Up system in its beer garden.
Gronk’s owner Mike Mohr first saw the Bottoms Up system at the Wisconsin State Fair. He was impressed with its technology and speed. Later, when his daughter was advocating for more craft beer taps at Gronk’s, he thought the novelty might be a good way to draw beer fans in. (more…)
Liquor is legal in Lakeside. Who will serve it?
It’s as clear as 100-proof vodka that the first bar in the long-temperate Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth will be located on East Superior Street. The commercial corridor bends almost three miles from Northland Country Club to the Lester River. The road cuts through the heart of a bedroom community that includes close to 10,000 residents. It’s a neighborhood that has never seen a neon Leinenkugel sign or heard a last call. (more…)
On tap at Bayfront: a plethora of craft beer
Duluth’s beeriest festival, All Pints North, is coming up on Saturday. Organized by the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild, the tasting extravaganza at Bayfront Festival Park will include more than 120 breweries.
All Pints North began in 2012 and has mushroomed each successive year. In 2015, an estimated 3,500 people attended. The beer fest primarily highlights the guild’s roughly 100 members, but some national breweries participate as well. (more…)
New 7 West Taphouse on Tower Avenue could open in September
A delay in financing stalled interior design work several months, but owners of the 7 West Taphouse in Superior say they plan to open their burger and beer business in mid-September. (more…)
Moose Lake brewery opening soon
According to the Brewers Association, Minnesota had 105 craft breweries in 2015. This number continues to rise, but the majority of breweries are still heavily concentrated in bigger cities, and particularly around the Twin Cities. But the founders of Moose Lake Brewing Company are bucking this trend; they believe every small town deserves its own brewery.
The opening of Moose Lake Brewing at 244 Lakeshore Drive in Moose Lake is planned for the end of July. Moose Lake has a population of 2,787. It supports a handful of restaurants and a municipal liquor store/bar. (more…)
Thirsty Pagan opens new beer garden
Kelsey Picek and Allyson Rolph in the Thirsty Pagan beer garden
Beginning this weekend, Twin Ports beer lovers have another option for outdoor imbibing. Thirsty Pagan Brewing’s new beer garden held its soft opening on Friday. The brewpub at 1623 Broadway in Superior is known for its tasty brews and delectable deep-dish pizzas.
The beer garden occupies a space behind the building that is fully fenced and can be accessed via the parking lot. It features several oversized picnic tables and can seat about 25 people with standing room for about 25 more. (more…)
Price Check: Pint of Bent Hop
Bent Hop is a golden India pale ale brewed in Duluth’s friendly West End by Bent Paddle Brewing, a 30-barrel production brewery and taproom that uses water from Lake Superior. Bent Hop has a big citrus bitterness with a medium malt support. The alcohol by volume is 6.2 percent. Compare that to the domestics with an average ABV of 4.2%, and you have yourself a craft beer that’ll bend you over during hoppy hour.
For the purposes of this price check, we compared prices of Bent Hop on tap rather than in a can.
Here lies the sixth feature for the Price Check series where we compare prices of products — from bars and restaurants in this case — in Duluth and Superior. The prices below reflect the rate the establishment charges with tax included. For the most part, bars factor the tax into a flat, rounded off price. Many restaurants, however, don’t mind picking up pocket change. Duluth establishments charge 13.125 percent tax on alcoholic beverages; Superior establishments charge 5.5 percent tax. Since the taxes are extra complicated on this Price Check, we break them down at the end of the list. (more…)
Seasonal restaurants reopening in and around Duluth for 2016
Nothing signifies the emergence of spring quite like the reappearance of malts on the Duluth Lakewalk and the wafting scent of fried fare from seasonal burger joints. For those ready to indulge, here’s a rundown on seasonal restaurant re-openings. (more…)
Craft brewers rolling out variety of vessels
Duluth beer drinkers have more choices than ever — not just in terms of brands and styles, but also in packaging. A variety of new bottle and can styles have entered the local market, and more are on the way.
Two prominent examples are the 750ml bottles Fitger’s Brewhouse used to package its late-winter series, and the 16 oz. cans Castle Danger Brewery will soon release for its seasonal offerings. (more…)
2016 Duluth-area Beer Festival Primer
As craft beer continues to explode in popularity in the Twin Ports and beyond, local beer tastings and beer-centered festivals proliferate. Below are some highlights of beery upcoming events in the region. The name of each event links to the PDD Calendar entry for that event; the links in the event descriptions link to the official event webpages. (more…)
Bent Paddle launches new seasonal: Hop Forest Double IPA
Bent Paddle Brewing adds another seasonal beer to its rotation this week. Hop Forest Double India Pale Ale, weighing it at 8.9 percent alcohol-by-volume, will be on tap at Bent Paddle on Wednesday, available in 750-milliliter bottles on Friday and later find its way into liquor stores in 4-pack cans.
Hop Harvest will also be available at Beaner’s Central in time for Friday’s first-of-three CD release parties for the latest One Week Live compilation.
The text on the can reads: “Standing in a hop field brings forth a sense of solitude and wonder one can find in a forest. Hop Forest Double IPA provides full hop coverage with a tremendous load of tropical citrus and piney hop aromatics. Malt sweetness intertwines with the American hop varieties to create a balanced shade of flavor that invites one to sit down and enjoy the view.”
Blacklist brewery expanding to downtown Duluth
Jon Loss, Brian Schanzenbach and TJ Estabrook, the partners behind Blacklist Artisan Ales
One of the smaller Twin Ports breweries, Blacklist Artisan Ales, is earning big media attention this week after its announced expansion into the building that previously housed the infamous Last Place on Earth head shop. (more…)
Bent Paddle Double Black 750s will hit liquor stores soon
Bent Paddle Brewing announced Wednesday its Barrel-Aged Double Shot Double Black Ale will be released in 750-milliliter bottles “in a couple weeks.” The beer is a stronger version of the brewery’s Cold Press Black Ale, “aged in bourbon oak for nearly 15 months … with a ‘double shot’ of cold-press coffee and whole-bean Madagascar vanilla.”