Minnesota Brewpubs

(MB)The Lake Superior Brewing Company 600 E Superior St
Dean Cox (DCOX@UWSUPER.EDU) says : Located in the restored Fitgers brewery on east Superior Street. They have a small store with brewing supplies and T-shirts, etc. The beer is available at Augustino's lounge/restaurant next door and at other places around town. They just opened last fall and have interesting pale ale and seasonal beers.

Hops

Kirby Richter, (kirbyr@magenic.com) reports: Rather bland beers, not much selection.

(BP)Watertower Brewing Co 12200 Singletree Ln
rupert@winternet.com reports: Very bland beers (I tried the stout, porter and pale ale). Reasonable atmosphere. The extra 5 miles to Sherlock's Home is well worth the trip.

(MB)Mantorville Brewing Co 16 N Mantorville Ave

(MB)St. Croix Beer Company 1051 Quixote Ave N

(MB)Ambleside Brewing Co 727 Kasota Ave

(MB) August Schell Brewing Co P.O. Box 580414

(P) Pracna 117 SE Main St 612-379-3200

(20 on tap, food)

(BP)Brit's Pub, Nicollet Mall & ~10th St.

Daren Stotler (dstotler@pppl.gov) says: A true British pub. They have a large selection of UK beers on tap, 10 or maybe more. The atmosphere is nice with couches in some rooms, dart boards & pool tables in others. They allegedly have a full menu of British food; I didn't get a chance to eat there.

(BP)District Warehouse Brewing Co 430 1st Ave N

(MB) James Page Brewing Co 1300 Quincy St

(BP)The Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery. 1430 Washington Ave. So. (7 corners area) (612) 339-TOWN(8696)..

We opened in late Oct. and currently have 6 of our own brews on tap. We have great food, and are open for lunch Mon-Sat, and for dinner 7 nights a week. Cigars are allowed and sold in our lounge area.

(BP) Rock Bottom Brewery, LaSalle Center, (Hennepin and 9th Street)

Daren Stotler (dstotler@pppl.gov) says:This is one of a sort of "chain" of several brewpubs (eg., Boulder) around the US. This is not to say it wasn't a terrific place to visit. They had 5 ales on tap. Two were significant, both cask-conditioned and "pulled" with an English style tap: a red ale and a stout. The red ale had a head so thick you could mistake it for meringue. The stout was very rich and flavorful. My only gripe about the selection was that none of the beers could be really described as "hoppy". Note also that they were tapping their first lager on Friday (missed it by one day). The food in their restaurant was top notch as well.

(BP)Town Hall Brewery

Kirby Richter, (kirbyr@magenic.com) reports: Good selection of pretty good beers. Easy walk to the Metrodome. Combine a Minnesota Vikings or Twins game with a visit to this brew pub!

(BP)William's Pub and Peanut Bar corner of Hennepin and Lake

Brian Kamm (brian@blueline.mn.org)reports: For those people who like a selection hows 40-50 beers on tap and another 200-250 variety of bottles. Their food is typical (burgers and fries) and they always have peanuts and popcorn free of charge. They do not have pitchers of beer. It is server by the mug, pint, and of course the liter. They range in quality from Miller to Spaten. The prices range from 4.50 to 9.50 per liter. Every week they rotate theri selection. Very few (10 or so) remain week after week. If they have extra of certain brands they put it on special. These beers are regularly priced to 9.50 per liter, but are specially priced at 5.50 per liter. The atmosphere differs dramatically from upstairs to downstairs. Upstairs it is more trendy and yuppy. I can't say much else because I like the downstains too much to venture up. Downstairs they always have theri peanuts and popcorn, pinball, and of course plenty of dartboards. It is very rustic and casual. Just what you might expect when you go to drink beer in a basement.

(BP) Sherlock's Home Restaurant, Pub, & Brewery 11000 Red Circle 612-931-0203
Kirby Richter, (kirbyr@magenic.com) reports: the best brew pub in the twin cities specailizing in fine English ales. They have a Lager, a IPA, a Bitter, a Brown, a Porter and a Stout regularly with plenty of specials available. It has brewery tours on Saturday afternoons.

(BP)Trader & Trapper 617 Center Ave

(MB) August Schell Brewing Co PO Box 128

(90 miles southwest of Minneapolis)

(BP)Clubhaus Brewpub 7 Second St SW

(BP)Granite City Brewpub and Restaurant at Hwys 15 and 23.

(BP)O'Hara's Brewpub and Restaurant corner of 33rd Ave and 3rd St N.

(MB) Ausburger Brewing Co P.O. Box 64115

(BP)Great Waters Brewing Company 426 Saint Peter Street 55102

mvanwie@isd.net reports: we have 8 of our own beers on tap. 4 lines are for traditional cask conditioned ales - a bitter, mild, outmeal stout, porter. We also have 4 pushed lines with a wheat, pale, IPA and brown on tap. Our restaurant features a wide variety of items including pastas, seafood, steak and game.

(BP)Mill Street Brewing Co 57 Hamline Ave

(MB) Minnesota Brewing Co 882 West 7th St 612-290-8210

(Tours - Mon, Wed, Fri at 10am and 1pm)

(MB)Northern Plains Brewing Co PO Box 64115

(B)Pete's Brewing Co 1295 Bandana Blvd N Suite 120

(BP)Shannon Kelly's Brewpub 395 Wabasha St N

(MB) Summitt Brewing Co.: 2264 University Ave. W. 55114-1801 (651) 265-7800

Todd C. Martin(todd@lenti.med.umn.edu) says:Summit Brewing was founded in 1984 by Mark Stutrud. Ironically, he left his job as a chemical dependency councelor to start the brewery. The year round brews are an Extra Pale Ale and their Great Northern Porter. There are also several seasonal beers the most constant being their Winter Ale. They tend to experiment a little with the other seasons and try their hands at different styles. One of the most impressive aspects of the brewery and its management is their committment to high quality beers. In the book America's Best Beers by Christopher Finch and W. Scott Griffiths Summit's beers all received at least 3.5 bottles (stars) out of a possible 4. They have been able to maintain this quality while at the same time expanding the brewery's capabilities. This last summer they moved their bottling line to an adjacent building and added more fermentors to their existing facilities. They have seen a constant growth since 1990 in the number of barrels produced. 4300 in 1990 to an estimated 13500 in 1994. Even with this expansion they still have a hard time meeting demand. Especially for their draft beer. According to a tour guide at a recent tour there are usualy trucks waiting while they are filling kegs.
They reccommend calling a couple weeks in advance for tours. The tours start at 1:00 p.m. and take approximately 2 hours (you might want to call in advance). They are free and they do serve samples from their courtesy bar.

(BP)Vine Park Brewery

Kirby Richter, (kirbyr@magenic.com) reports: Good selection of pretty good beers that they brew locally. Easy walk to Excel Energy center. Combine a Minnesota Wild Hockey game with a visit to this brew pub!

(BP)Backwater Brewing Co 1429 W Service Dr