Drink up, save planet
What happens when you put two socially conscious entrepreneurs together? You get a beer made of all Minnesota-grown ingredients that makes use of the new, highly praised grain Kernza, a perennial with the power to reverse climate change, in this case by developing healthy soil that absorbs more carbon than those of the more familiar annual grains. The collaborators are Askov Finlayson, the retailer with a focus on "The North," and Fair State Brewing Cooperative, the brewer with a cooperative business model, who have come up with Keep the North Cold (what else?), a smooth golden ale, available in taps and liquor stores around the state. The launch is part of Askov Finlayson's business effort to have a positive net climate effect. Part of the proceeds will go to two groups that the retailer has supported in the past with grants: the Land Institute and Green Lands Blue Waters. "Celebrating the North means protecting it, too," said Adam Fetcher, vice president of environmental impact and policy for the retailer, in a news release. Fair State notes its delight at developing a beer with a single-origin terroir. The Keep the North Cold launch party will be held at Fair State's taproom (2506 Central Av. NE., Mpls., 612-444-3209, fairstate.coop) on Saturday from 3-7 p.m.
An impressive selfie
Selfies are taken every day, but few are worth more than an occasional smile. The exception may be the one that Heidi Burns of Stillwater took for a Brownberry Bread contest. As one of three winners, she received $10,000 for her Instagram photo, which cut out letters from the bread to spell its name (at 10 letters that's $1,000 a letter). Burns noted on Instagram that "@brownberrybread is like family to me. My mom and grandma bought it for us and they used it to teach us our letters. Then it changed to short words and finally she just went to full sandwiches. We couldn't wait for lunchtime at school to see our letter(s) or word. ..."
LEE SVITAK DEAN
