Surly Brewing Darkenss Day!

Darkness Day 2010 is here!

I just wanted to toss out a friendly reminder about Surly Darkness day coming up on Saturday.  I have yet to attend this awesome event but I have tried the beer and it is amazing.  The details for the day are listed below.  Hopefully I will see you there!

Cheers!

Mike

Here is the deal-
-October 23rd at Surly Brewing Company
-Gates open at 12:00, event goes to 6:00.
-We will be selling about 7500 bottles of Darkness here at the brewery
-$18 per bottle. CASH ONLY!
-Maximum of 6 bottles per person..
-If you are intoxicated, we can not sell you your bottles of beer. Please plan accordingly.
-Bottles will be for sale at local liquor stores the following week.
-Rain or shine!
-There are no tickets, no servers to crash. First come, first served. No reservations. No rainchecks.
-Food & beer available for purchase at the brewery.
-Bands will be playing
-Please plan on arranging safe transportation options.
-Under 21 can attend with parents
-Sponsored by the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation!
-Sale of beer provided by the City of Brooklyn Center Liquor Stores
-Further updates to come

Brewers and Barley and Hops, Oh My!

A couple weeks ago I was invited to check out an event that many beer lovers would consider the equivalent of OZ.  A land fully of excitement, new beers to try and a massive crowd, where most of people paid no attention to the man behind the beer taps.  With over 75 breweries, most sharing a half dozen or more beers, the 2010 Autumn Beer Review was an almost magical place to spend a beautiful fall afternoon.

As I made my way through the entry gates and past the first row of tents, I started to realize that I was going to need a plan to survive the day and keep my liver in one piece.  I took a few minutes to flip through the info booklet they give you at the gate and decided that I better chose a style and stick with it.  Even after sorting though everything and picking just the stouts that sounded more interesting than the rest, I still had a list of over 40 beers I wanted to try.

The lines move pretty fast, the people on both sides of the taps were friendly and the beers were nothing short of amazing.  After making my way thought a couple of tastings, My stomach reminded me what time of day it was.  Lunch time.  The far end of the grounds is where all the food vendors were and the selection was pretty impressive. Pizza Luce, Ruhlands Strdel Haus, Ngon Vietnamese Bistro...they had pretty much every avenue covered including the fantastic dogs from Uncle Frankie's.

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some more of my experiences for the Autumn Beer Review including some really unique beers and new breweries to go out and try.  I'll include all the information I can to make it as easy as possible to get your paws on some amazing new brews!

Cheers!

All great things have to start somewhere...

About 2 years ago, I was walking into a friend's garage to help celebrate the wonders of the good Doctor McGillicuddy and his Schnapps.  After the greeting of old friends and new, I was shown around the garage with all the extra freebie being awarded to any takers.  Nothing like offing all your unwanted junk onto you drunk friends. (it's actually a great idea now that I think about it)  There were desks and dressers, a few chairs and other furniture pieces and at the back side of the wall, a few dusty wine boxes and a couple plastic buckets.  Once I found out that it was a home brewing kit, the pieces promptly made it into the back of my car.  From there, they were transferred to my house and forgotten about for a few months.


Stumbling across the buckets one day while cleaning, I figure I should at least give this brewing thing a shot.  Worse case, I would make a batch of liquid that resembled sewer water that had been filtered through a sweaty gym sock, taste even worse, and more than likely give my friends and I diarrhea for a week.  I could then hang up my hat as a brew and pass the gear onto the next unsuspecting victim.  No (permanent) harm.


I picked up a brewing kit that was a clone of the beloved Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewing.  After flipping through the instructions a few hundred times, it turns out this brewing wasn't as had as it seemed to be.  A few week and prayers later, it came time to test my new concoction.  Cracking the first bottle was exciting.  There was a good head, it looked like beer, smelled like beer and surprising enough, tasted like beer.  Not just any beer either, it was a damn good duplicate of Fat Tire.


Since that day, I have brewed over 30 batches of beer with almost as many varieties.  Some have been a bit of a disappointment but most have turn out great.  After sharing some of these brews with friends, they have been impressed enough to actually offer me money to drink my beer.  What a great deal!


After a bit of thought, I have decided to start the work of becoming an actual brewer and plan to someday open a small brewery.  This blog is the place to follow my progress, see what I have brewing and to share your thoughts and opinions.  I hope you enjoy what I have to share and I look forward to someday sharing a brew with all of you at a grand opening!


Cheers!


Mike