13 standout beers and 4 hot newcomers from Minnesota brewers’ Autumn Brew Review

Wondering where we might find some hope and harmony going into election season?

The answer might be in beer. Specifically, beer from the Minnesota brewers who worked together to make Saturday’s Autumn Brew Review one big happy, hoppy day.

“Collaboration” was the buzzword at what is still one of the biggest and best buzz-inducing events for Twin Cities beer lovers.

The annual fundraiser for the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild — which doubles as a sort of new-car show for breweries to test run new flavors — the one-day festival drew about 2,100 attendees to a fall-colored Boom Island Park in northeast Minneapolis for its 23rd installment.

Organizers put out a call for more collaboration beers at this year’s event, a common albeit not prevalent practice where two otherwise competing breweries team up to craft one unique beer. Think of it as the beer equivalent of the recent Post Malone and Morgan Wallen megahit “I Had Some Help,” except the results from beer makers are usually good.

The results from brewers at Saturday’s Brew Review actually were great. There were more than 20 collaboration beers on tap throughout the day. They ranged in flavor (and location) from a pistachio- and cayenne-infused dark lager made by Minneapolis’ Wooden Ship and Pine City’s 320 Brewing to a blueberry crumble-flavored blonde ale by Duluth’s Blacklist with Coon Rapids’ Alloy Brewing. How’s that for intrastate commerce?

Brewers from outside the state were brought in via collaborations, too, a first for the otherwise all-Minnesotan event.

“It’s a great chance for us to get our name out there farther, and to hang out with and learn from friends,” said James Heckathorn, brewer at Des Moines’ Lua Brewing, which collaborated with Minneapolis’ Falling Knife on a hoppy New England pilsner they named Wackadoo.

The collaborations weren’t just made between brewers. Bauhaus Brew Labs teamed with coffeemaker Silverbird Roasting Co. on the warm collaboration beer Snowpoke, a vanilla coffee stout. Two staples of the northern suburbs, Invictus Brewing Co. and barbecue eatery Jellybean & Julia’s, paired up for an apricot wheat beer humorously named Ambiguously Named.

Rochester’s Little Thistle Brewing made its collaboration beer, the hazy IPA Hands of Science, with two companies that provide its ingredients, Yakima Chief Hops and Escarpment Laboratories. The latter tipped off the beer maker to an experimental tropical yeast for the brew.

“That’s what collaborations are about: sharing knowledge and ideas,” said Little Thistle’s Jake Sales.

While Little Thistle opened in 2018 and was able to get its name out there before the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Autumn Brew Review also cast a spotlight on an impressive batch of breweries that opened in the wake of lockdown. They included: outstate outlets like one named Outstate Brewing, which opened in 2021 in Fergus Falls; Minneapolis’ Brühaven Craft Co., which just began operations in June; and Bloomington’s Nine Mile Brewing, now the only brewery in Minnesota’s fourth-largest city.

“We couldn’t wait to be here,” said Nine Mile co-founder Bob Countryman, who got a nice boost Saturday by working on a collaboration beer with one of Minnesota’s best-loved breweries, Duluth’s Bent Paddle.

Why Bent Paddle? Because Countryman had a friend there also named Bob (Kreutzer, sales rep). Hence the name of their Vienna lager collaboration, Two Bobs from Bloomington. Whatever it takes to work together.

Here’s a rundown of this year’s standouts among the new breweries, collaboration beers and newer or odder brews on tap at the Autumn Brew Review (old favorites like Summit Sága and Castle Danger Cream Ale don’t really need a mention here). Many of the breweries will have some of their Brew Review offerings on tap in the coming days, but check ahead to be sure.

Hybrid Minds Double IPA (Elm Creek Brewing + BlackStack Brewery): Champlin-based Elm Creek also made an excellent Oktoberfest-seasonal collab with Montevideo’s Talking Waters, Thunder From Dortmunder, but its ultra-hoppy collab with St. Paul’s similarly reputable BlackStack was a big wow. Available in Elm Creek’s ongoing Hybrid Minds collaboration four-pack series.

Trainyard Treasures Rosemary Lavender Saison (Trove Brewing + Rail Werks Brewing Depot). Among the handful of new breweries that had strong showings at this year’s Brew Review (see below), the suburban duo (Burnsville + Columbia Heights) paired up for what sounded like a soap flavor but was actually an enticingly bright and summery beer, fruity but not sweet.

Herencia (La Doña Cerveceria + Bad Weather Brewing): Minnesota’s first Latino-owned brewery and Minneapolis staple teamed with St. Paul mainstay Bad Weather for another in a series of brews incorporating corn — in this case, an amber lager with red-hued bloody butcher corn that will have you craving tacos.

Peach Pit (Forgotten Star Brewing + Brühaven Craft Co.): The Fridley favorite and Minneapolis newcomer nicely blended sweet peach flavor with a smokiness that when combined tasted like liquid grilled peaches.

Blueberry Crumblicious (Blacklist Brewing Co. + Alloy Brewing Co.): Both breweries — from Duluth and Coon Rapids — excel at dessert beers, and in this case they also nailed it on the fruit front, with a tartness that beautifully balanced the sweetness.

Heavy Rotation (Brooklyn Park): The two-year-old brewer stepped up with one of the event’s best but also lightest Belgian offerings, the orangy witbier Wreckless Abandon, and an ultraheavy 12% ABV (alcohol by volume) Imperial sour called Season in the Abyss, exuberantly infused with passion fruit and mango.

Trove (Burnsville): Housed in a strip mall, this newcomer came off anything but pedestrian serving the collab beer mentioned above, its pucker-up blackberry sour The Calling and its crème de la crème brew, The In-Between, a robust and fresh-tasting cherry vanilla porter.

Brühaven (Minneapolis): Loring Park residents were sad to see Lakes & Legends close last year, but Brew Review attendees were happy to learn an inventive and well-varied beer maker has taken its place. Best here included Ghost of St. Gail (a 7.8% ABV raspberry honey ale) and Festibrü (a classic festbier).

Honorable mentions: Nine Mile (Bloomington), Gambit (St. Paul), Lost Saint (Blue Earth), Nouvelle (Robbinsdale), Outstate (Fergus Falls) and Paddlefish (St. Peter) all made strong impressions.

Magic Hour Tropical Smoothie IPA (Pryes Brewing Co.): A standout in the riverfront Minneapolis brewery’s fruity series, this one is infused with passion fruit, mango and (wait for it!) marshmallow.

Lederfrozen Bock (Bauhaus): Leaning into its German architecture around its 10th anniversary, the Minneapolis beer maker brewed up the lighter and more accessible version of a doppelbock with this smooth, new seasonal offering.

Eventide Czech Lager (Bad Weather): A dark and smoky standout that’s light on alcohol, at only 3.8% ABV.

Freak Out Kettle Corn Ale (Under Pressure): The Golden Valley brewery’s cream ale was a rare dessert-style beer that was relatively light on both sweetness and ABV, but the flavor truly popped.

Salted Nut Roll Ale (Invictus): Blaine’s beloved brewery took up the recipe licensed by Pearson’s Candy and pioneered by St. Paul’s sadly defunct brew hub Tin Whiskers.

Ølsti (Arbeitier Brewing Co.): A twist on all the bourbon-barrel beers and its own German leanings, the fun Minneapolis brewer put a hearty and herbal Norwegian twist on this ultra-hoppy cold IPA by aging it in aquavit barrels.

Mole Darkness (Surly Brewing Co.): Minneapolis’ favorite barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout tastes even darker and deadlier infused with spicy, chocolaty sauce that Mexico and God blessed us with. It was served from a 2020 reserve on Saturday and should be made every year.

Deep Fried S’mores Bourbon Cream Ale (Alloy): Sure, why not? Life is short. If that all doesn’t sound decadent enough, it also rates 8.3% ABV.