twin cities metro area
Wicked Wort Brewing Company
Wicked Wort opened their taproom just one year ago in January 2016. The taproom is quite large with lots of tables and there is a nice large patio outside. It has a unique layout with the center of the floor open which exposes the brewery downstairs. There are taps on both ends of the bar. There were 10 beers on tap. Even though I drank pints, their flights are served with decent sized sampler glasses. Large enough to give you a good sense of flavor of their beer which you usually can't get with a standard 4-ounce flight glass. Kudos! Even though I've been on many brewery tours, I decided to take one while I was here. Kyle was extremely informative and thorough about how they brew their beer and the brewing system, in general. I was glad I took it. For food, they have a small menu of a brat or pizza. They also have menus from local restaurants that will deliver directly to Wicked Wort. I really liked this place and each of the beers I had was very good. Location: 165 West Broadway Avenue, Robbinsdale Updated: Jan '17
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Brewing System
Main Bar
Tap Room
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Inbound BrewCo
Inbound is the taproom for North Loop Brew Co, formerly known as Lucid Brewing. the tap room is now located in the North Loop of Minneapolis after previously sharing a building with another brewer in Minnetonka. The new location holds both the brewery and taproom with a large bar. Is it quite large with ample room for expansion. There is beer garden type seating as well as a few tables and stools around the bar. They also have a stage for live music. There is a food truck parked outside most days that they are open so supplement 12 rotating taps of good beer. Location: 701 North 5th Street, Minneapolis Updated: Feb '18
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Imperial Saison
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Lake Monster Brewing
This St. Paul Brewery is located in close proximity to several other St. Paul breweries. It has a large open taproom with tables and lots of standing room. There is typically about 8 beers on tap. They don't serve food but there is a food truck on-site every day. As you can see from the photo on the right, the brewery is in plain sight providing a good look at their brewing operation. Location: 550 Vandalia Street #160, St Paul Updated: Jan '16
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Flight and Brewing System
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Bad Weather Brewing
Bad Weather moved to St. Paul in October 2015 from it's Minnetonka location which it previously shared with Lucid Brewing and Badger Hill Brewing. The new location offers 2 large seating areas, a nice long bar and an outdoor patio. They are typically pouring beer from about 12 taps which usually includes nitro and cask version of their beer. Occasionally, there offer some of their barrel-aged beers as well. No on-site kitchen but there is a food truck that stops by on their open days. There relatively close to the Hockey area downtown (!5 minutes walk) so offers a great option for enjoying a good beer before or after the game. Location: 414 7th Street West, St Paul Updated: Jan '18
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Brewing Tanks
Beer Flight
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Lift Bridge Brewing
This eastern St. Paul suburb brewery located in Stillwater near the St. Croix River offers a simplistic taproom and some very good beer flowing from 8 taps. The smallish bar with large picnic table seating are usually full in this busy brewery. The name is derived from the historic lift bridge over the river that splits Minnesota and Wisconsin. Lift Bridge has a great barrel-aging program which includes barleywines and the yearly release of the highly rated Russian Imperial Stout, Silhouette. Both of these are personal favorites. Location: 1900 Tower Drive West, Stillwater Updated: Jan '15
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Biscotti Belgian Strong Ale
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LTD Brewing
Great small-batch brewery (a mere 8-barrel brewing system) offering unique beer through frequent recipe variations and experimentations of the different styles they brew. LTD (Live the Dream) offers a friendly and fun taproom serving up to 12 taps of beer with a good variety of styles. Live music plays on Friday nights. One of the neat things they do is name some of their beer after employees. Unfortunately, there is no food or food truck available, but you can bring in your own food from any nearby restaurant. Location: 8 8th Avenue North, Hopkins Updated: Mar '18
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Brewing System
Tap List
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Lupulin Brewing
Lupulin Brewing is technically located just outside of the northern suburbs but still close enough that if you are in the metro area, it's worth a visit. It is located on a heavily traveled highway which many people drive for making their weekend trips north to their cabins or lakeside camp areas. It's a favorite spot for these travelers on Friday and Sunday as they stop to fill up their growlers on the way up and then again on their way back home. Open since the spring of 2015, this small-batch brewery offers a good variety of beer styles pouring from their 11 taps. No food served but they have menus from nearby restaurants which will deliver, or you can bring in your own. By the way, lupulin is the gland of the hop plant where all the acids and essential oils are found. Location: 570 Humboldt Drive #107, Big Lake Updated: Mar '18
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Lupulin Beer Flight
Small-Batch Brewing
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LynLake Brewery
Now Playing... LynLake Brewery! Great brewery and taproom built inside a 100-year old movie theater. It has a large open area with a large centered bar surrounded by lots of seating and tables. There is also a nice rooftop patio. Pouring up to 14 taps of beer which include a mix of their flagship beers, seasonal beers, an occasional experiment beer and occasional cask beer. Directly adjacent to Herkimer Brewery but usually much more crowded. You can actually reserve tables in the taproom, except for weekend nights. Food can be ordered from nearby restaurants which will deliver directly to you in the taproom. Trivia and games played several nights per week. Occasional live music. Location: 2934 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis Updated: 2017
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Brewing System
Lynlake Brewery
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Modist Brewing
Another recent entry into the rapidly growing Minnesota brewery industry, Modist opened their taproom in the North Loop of Minneapolis in the spring of 2016. The head brewer left the hugely popular Dangerous Man Brewing to help open Modist. They were voted the best new brewery in 2016 by beer enthusiasts. They have a unique mash filtering system, which only a handful of US breweries use, rather than using the traditional lauter tun. The mash filter will allow Modist brewers to have much more flexibility in how they brew their beer as well as the uniqueness of the beer. There is a long bar with a separate section for ordering your beer which eliminates people trying to squeeze into a crowded bar to order beer. Large community-type tables fill the bar floor. There are 16 taps but they are typically pouring around 8 - 10 different styles of beer. No food served but a food truck is hanging around most open days. Location: 505 N 3rd Street, Minneapolis Updated: 2017
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Fermenting Tanks
Custom Mash Filter
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Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub
Northbound is a little unique in Minnesota because not only are they a brewery and restaurant but they also have a full bar. The majority of the food is smoked, as the name implies. To help open the doors in 2012, they had neighborhood and crowd funded investment. It's definitely been a neighborhood hit as well as for those venturing in from other locations. They typically have about 10 of their beers on draft. Location: 2716 E 38th St, Minneapolis Updated: 2017
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Northbound Brewpub
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Tin Whiskers Brewing
Tin Whiskers is a techie-themed brewery which brings the founders' electrical engineering backgrounds into everything, including the name itself. Apparently, NASA even called them to complain that the brewery took over the number one position for the search result of tin whiskers. Since both of us (Tim and Steve) have engineering backgrounds, we can appreciate the uniqueness and novelty of this neat brewery and taproom. They haven’t put all their ingenuity into the taproom as they saved some of it for the beer which are quite tasty. Located in downtown St. Paul, Tin Whiskers is typically pouring around 9 beers on draft. They also have a small barrel-aging program. Location: 125 9th St E, St Paul Updated: 2017
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Brewery
Circuit Board Flight Holder
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