While beer folks are buzzing about burgeoning beer towns like L.A. and Cleveland, the Twin Cities continue to make a name for themselves as a brewing hub. The city guide Vita.mn, run by Minneapolis-St. Paul daily newspaper Star Tribune, released a comprehensive guide to their cities’ finest. Herewith, a crib sheet on what’s what and who’s top of the class in each category (only those that received A grades are bolded):
Dark
- Brau Brothers Moo Joos Oatmeal Milk Stout
- Flat Earth Cygnus X-1 Porter
- Steel Toe Dissent (A-)
- Northbound Smokehouse Porter (A)
- Summit Oatmeal Stout
- Town Hall Black H2O Oatmeal Stout
Light
- Fulton Lonely Blonde
- Summit Pilsener
- Steel Toe Provider
- Great Water Howling Bones
- Northbound Smokehouse Honey Wheat Ale
Seasonal
- Surly Wet (A)
- Harriet Divine Oculust (A-)
- Surly Surlyfest
- Harriet Dark Abbey
- Fulton Libertine (A)
On Their Own
- Boom Island Brimstone (A-)
- Surly Coffee Bender (A)
- Lift Bridge Farm Girl
- Indeed Midnight Ryder (A)
- Barley John’s Wild Brunette
Heinously Hoppy
- Surly Furious (A+)
- Summit Saga (A-)
- Fulton Sweet Child of Vine
- Lucid Wammo
- Indeed Day Tripper (A-)
- Town Hall Masala Mama
Given the inherent subjectivity of these best-of lists, we cross-referenced the selections in the ‘A’ grades with ratings on Beer Advocate (BA). Not every A was deserved, at least if you’re willing to listen to the collective voice of the beer-nerd masses. Steel Toe Brewing’s Dissent was given an A- by Vita.mn but received an 87 (a solid B) on BA. And not every beer had a BA entry.
Nevertheless, we did find a consensus on several brews: Surly Wet (A on Vita.mn; 95 on BA); Surly Coffee Bender (A on Vita.mn; 93 on BA); Surley Furious (A+ on Vita.mn; 96 on BA); and Summit Saga (A- on Vita.mn; 90 on BA).
If only those awesome Surly cans were more widely available across the country.
[via Vita.Min; Beer Advocate]
