Beer Snob

​Boundary Waters Box: Summit brings one back, adds a new beer

June 28th, 2017

If you plan on celebrating the Fourth of July with friends and family in Minnesota lakes country, the new Boundary Waters Box twelve-pack sampler by Summit Brewing is a worthy companion for any of your summer adventures.

Newly released this spring, it brings two special beers alongside Summit’s most iconic summer beers, and is boxed up in a package of cans that features new summer-themed art in an easy-open box.

Both the cans themselves and the Boundary Waters Box are loaded with…

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​Take a break from bitter with fruit beers

June 21st, 2017

Here in the upper midwest we love the summer season for so many different reasons but two of the big reasons I love summer are fresh produce and being outside with a beer in my hand. Sometimes, when I’m spending the day in the hot sun, bringing both together with a refreshing beer brewed with fresh fruit can not only quench my thirst quite well but often serves as a way to give my palate a break from all the bright and bitter hops that are usually part of my summer sippers. Not all…

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Back in time for a limited time: it’s Zima!

June 14th, 2017

Riding a double wave of nostalgia and clear beverages, the “original” clear malt beverage Zima is making a very limited comeback this summer. Inspired by the recent success of new flavored and mostly clear alcoholic malt beverages like Henry’s sparkling sodas, Truly, Spiked Seltzer and Smirnoff sparkling sodas, MillerCoors is bringing back a beverage that has, for the most part, been gone from the shelves for nearly 20 years so let’s turn back the clock and give some history of…

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​Summer wine season means a variety of rosé

June 7th, 2017

One of the true pleasures of spending nearly two decades in the local beverage industry is that I have seen so many changes within our market over the years. Driven by a strong local food movement, an influx of local breweries, wineries and even a distillery, the adult beverage crowd has begun to elevate their tastebuds.

Thankfully, our great local distributors have responded to this elevation of the wine, beer and spirits scene with a new abundance of great products and this year, good…

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​Fargo Brewing launches RedHawks Red Lager

May 31st, 2017

North Dakota’s largest and oldest brewery, Fargo Brewing Company, has proudly announced a new collaboration brew with the F-M RedHawks baseball team.

While it is only available at the F-M Redhawks stadium, Newman Outdoor field, fans of beer and baseball will be able to get it on tap as well as purchase a limited edition commemorative can at the Fargo Brewing beer stand.

The can art features a large baseball with the beer name and team uniform logo on it and a prominent picture of…

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Drekker adds cans to its lineup of packaged beers

May 24th, 2017

This Memorial Day weekend, thousands of hands will be reaching into icy cold coolers for a refreshing beer to wet the whistle.

Mark Bjornstad, co-founder and president of Drekker Brewing Company hopes that at least once during the first holiday weekend of the summer you are raising a beautiful 16 oz can of Drekker beer and giving out a hearty “Skål!” That’s right, folks, for the first time ever, Drekker beer is now available in a variety of different four packs of some of the…

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​Drumconrath: A wee bit of Ireland in Mapleton

May 17th, 2017

Late in March, just barely missing the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Drumconrath opened the doors to their brewery and taproom in the rapidly growing community of Mapleton.

For Mapleton locals, being able to catch up with old neighbors or meet new ones while drinking a pint of great beer that was brewed in their own town is not only a new source of pride but also something that has never been legal in Mapleton since prohibition ended.

And while his laid back demeanor and humble persona…

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​Junkyard Brewing now available in off-sales

May 10th, 2017

There are certain brewery names that are constantly requested by customers in the local metro area. Many of them, like New Glarus, Yuengling, and Dogfish Head will probably never become available for purchase at your local retailers, though these days we have been seeing more and more of the commonly requested breweries launching into the local market.

While it’s always great to see some heavy hitters giving our smaller market a bit of attention, we really love our local beer and…

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​Mezcal: Tequila’s history makes a comeback

May 3rd, 2017

Until very recently, there was probably only one option for those who were interested in tasting non-tequila mezcal. The Mexican heritage spirit that was responsible for the creation of the subcategory of tequila was very poorly represented most places, but especially in North Dakota.

For many of us in this part of the world, the only non-tequila mezcal we knew had that nasty little worm in the bottom of the bottle and was typically purchased as a gag gift or a dare.

That is very rapidly…

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​Cooking with beer (not just in your hand)

April 26th, 2017

If you are at all like me, you have been itching to fire up the grill and get down to some outdoor cooking. If you and I are really alike, you probably almost always have a beer in one hand when there’s a grilling utensil in the other. Why not be a bit adventurous and add some extra flavor to your food by cooking with beer?

There are countless different ways to enhance your culinary creations with the flavors of your favorite beers, and searching online will easily yield a wide…

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