An entry for my beer travelogue…

Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2013 — My fall trip to Minneapolis was one of the highlights of my beer drinking adventures in 2013.  I was in town for a meeting for the first time since 2000, and I was anxious to explore the local beer scene. I was fortunate to have a local tour guide, one of my best friends in fact, and he steered me to some excellent local brew. The suds at Surly Brewing Company were among the best we sampled.

It was great to see my old friend Bruce, and even better that he was driving me to some of Minneapolis’ best breweries, starting with Surly Brewing Company.

The large tasting room was packed and it was easy to see that Surly was a favorite with the locals, probably because Surly doesn’t brew your run-of-the-mill styles. The beer menu was filled with “off-centered ales,” to borrow a phrase from another brewery (with apologies to Dogfish head).

Furious was my favorite of the beers I sampled. Brewed with a dazzling blend of American hops and Scottish malt, this crimson-hued ale delivers waves of citrus, pine and caramel-toffee. For those who favor flavor, Furious has the hop-fire your taste buds have been screaming for. That’s my kind of beer!

Besides my visit to Surly, my beer-drinking adventures in Minneapolis included:

• Sampling the beer at 612 Brew with Bruce and Todd.
• The Summit Brewing Winter Sampler 12-pack, featuring Winter Ale, Extra Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, and Extra Special Bitter.
• The many regional beers I sampled from the 40 taps at Devil’s Advocate, an awesome beer bar located just steps from my hotel. The food was amazing too – I ate (and drank) here five times during my stay in Minneapolis. Devil’s Advocate was too convenient and too delicious, and I’d call it one of my favorite beer bars ever. Here’s a partial list of the brews I sampled there:
  • Summit Pilsener, St. Paul, Minnesota
  • Miracle, Clown Shoes Beer, Ipswich, Massachusetts
  • Peach IPA, Crazy Mountain Brewing Company, Edwards, Colorado
  • Crooked Tree IPA, Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, Michigan
  • Pumpkin Porter, Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, Alaska
  • Harvestör Fresh Hop, Liftbridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota

In the 4.5 years of the Boa Beer Blog, this is the first post featuring beers from Minnesota. I have been missing out — I was extremely impressed with the beer scene in Minneapolis!

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