Winterfest was a 29 beer blast by Joe Lencioni

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Sam and I went to Winterfest, an annual beer tasting event hosted by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, at the Landmark Center in Saint Paul a few days ago, and we had a great time. We both enjoy drinking beer and love to find rich local fare, so it was the perfect mix. And, the catering was delicious to boot.

All in all, I tasted 29 beers brewed from around the state. Here are my notes:

August Schell Brewing Company — New Ulm

Since we live so close to the Schell’s brewery, we get Schell’s all the time so we pretty much skipped over their beers at Winterfest. That’s not to say that they weren’t any good.

On the contrary, their Snowstorm this year is a fantastic beer and definitely worth trying. Hurry though, because it’s only available for a limited time and when it’s gone, it’s gone. They switch it out each year for a new style. And, this year it is a London-style sweet stout. Delicious. Stock up.

Barley John’s Brewpub — New Brighton

Barley John’s brought six different beers to Winterfest. Of those, I tried the Wild Brunette, a wild rice brown ale, and the Old 8 Porter which is a co-winner of last year’s Winterfest Snowshoe Best of the Fest Award. The Wild Brunette was nice and smooth and the Old 8 Porter had a good flavor and wasn’t too strong. I enjoyed them both.

They brought another beer, Rosie’s Old Ale, that won this year’s Snowshoe award. It spends 8 months fermenting and then an additional two years in bourbon barrels.

Unfortunately I didn’t try it that night, but since I heard so many good things about it, I went to Barley John’s the next day and bought myself a glass. It was fantastic. Somehow they managed to maintain a smoothness and sweetness to go alongside the 14% alcohol content. And, it was worth every penny at $9 for a 6 oz. glass.

Brau Brothers Brewing Company — Lucan

I tried two of the Brau Brothers’ beers, a strawberry wheat beer and another that I can’t remember what it was about. The strawberry wheat was one of the lighter beers that I tried at Winterfest, and it was very refreshing with a nice little strawberry aftertaste to it.

Fitger’s Brewhouse — Duluth

Fitger’s brought an impressive lineup of nine beers to Winterfest. I had a taste of their Edmund Imperial Stout, Jodicus Wiezenbock, Blue Label Grande Reserve, El Diablo, and the Mr Spock Eisbock. They were all very good beers and worth enjoying. The Edmund Imperial Stout was smooth and had a nice coffee flavor, while the Jodicus Wiezenbock smelled and finished with a delicious banana flavor. The best of the bunch was probably El Diablo… it smelled like pineapple and I thought that it had a nice spicy zing to it.

I also had an incredibly delicious Peace Coffee Java Stout when I was at Fitger’s in Duluth a while back. It was thick and dreamy and tasted just like a great glass of coffee-beer should taste. Dear Fitger’s, please bring back the coffee stout.

Finnegan’s — Minneapolis

Their Irish Amber Ale is pretty decent, basic ale. However, I detected a slightly chemically flavor in the beer that I didn’t really care too much for. Perhaps it is made from potatoes. Either way, all of their profits are donated to community programs for fighting poverty in Minnesota.

Flat Earth Brewing Company — Saint Paul

The newest brewery in Minnesota brought Flat Earth Pale Ale which was nice a fruity. Unfortunately, I tried to spark up a bit of conversation with the people and they came off as a little crabby and not super friendly. Maybe they were just tired or had a bad day or something, but it didn’t leave a great impression, especially compared to all of the other friendly people from all of the other breweries.

Gluek Brewing Comapny — Cold Spring

For me, Gluek brought probably the most disappointing beer that I had at the event. I tried their STITE Black & Tan and Gluek Honey Bock. Both had pretty pretty good flavors; however, neither were strong enough… at least not compared to most of the other beers at Winterfest. So, if you are a light beer lover and wanting to expand your horizons into beer that is maybe a little darker, Gluek would be they way to go. On the other hand, if you like a good, strong, dark beer, you’d be better off with another option.

Granite City Food & Brewery — St. Cloud

I tasted their Broad Axe Stout, which was pretty good.

Great Waters Brewing Company — St. Paul

The first beers of the night for me were the Yuletide Abbey Ale and the King Boreas Imperial Wit. The Yuletide was a delicious, strong beer, and the King Boreas was equally delicious with hints of nutmeggy goodness. We later came back to try the Hoompfrey Boogardt Belgian Pale Ale which was pretty good.

The Herkimer — Minneapolis

I tried the Daily Pils, which seemed to be a little sulfury, and the Bock which was good and smooth.

If you ever end up going to The Herkimer, I would seriously recommend their sweet potato fries. Mmmm.

Mantorville Brewing Company — Mantorville

I had the St. Croix Maple Ale and the St. Croix Serrano Ale. While the Maple Ale was good, I don’t really remember anything that stood out in particular. The Serrano Ale, on the other hand, was very interesting. You see, it is a beer that is made with serrano peppers which gives it a little heat and a nice peppery bite. I would definitely recommend trying this one, especially if you enjoy the flavor of hot peppers.

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery — Minneapolis

Town Hall’s Oak Aged Twisted Reality Barley Wine was absolutely delicious. I haven’t had too many barley wines, but this one seemed to be quite good. Toward the end of my sample, however, I got a little bit sick of drinking it… mostly because of its strength and because I probably drank it too quickly. Next time, I’ll remember that a good barley wine is meant for sipping. I also had their Winterstorm, which was very good.

O’Hara’s Brewpub & Restaurant — Saint Cloud

Their Dubbel Trouble actually won at Winterfest 2003, and I thought that it wasn’t too bad. It came off as sweet and smooth, overall enjoyable. The IVP, I didn’t have a chance to sample. Sam tried some and didn’t like it so much that she tossed it before I could take a sip. However, I think it sounds delicious… It’s a strong vanilla porter brewed with British pale ale.

Rock Bottom Brewery — Minneapolis

Tripel Framboise was tasty and balanced and had a nice raspberry flavor without going overboard on sweetness like Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss. I enjoy many of Rock Bottom’s beers, and this one seems to fit in well with their other offerings.

Summit Brewing Company — Saint Paul

By some twist of fate, Summit was the only brewery that I ended up not trying something from. I guess there’s next year.

Surly Brewing Company — Brooklyn Center

Finally, Surly Brewing Company. I tried three of Surly’s offerings, their Cask Bender, Darkness, and their One. I thought that all of them were good and very enjoyable. The Cask Bender was the weakest of the three, and unfortunately the sample I received was a little too warm for my taste. Thi s made it more on the okay side than the good side. The Darkness, however, was a Russian Imperial Stout and was strong, dark, and very hopsy. The One, was my favorite out of the three. It was delicious and almost seemed like a beer syrup concentrate–it was strong.

What are your thoughts?

Were you at Winterfest? Have you enjoyed any of these beers? Let me know what you think in the comments.