DULUTH – Local taprooms have reopened, and they're producing the beer to prove it.
After staying closed for more than a month due to the state's COVID-19 restrictions, restaurants, bars and breweries are once again allowed to host a limited capacity of guests indoors. Many have also kept up their outdoor setups, complete with fire pits and heated benches (see our list of some local winter patios to check out here).
Lots of new Twin Ports brews were rolled out this week to welcome back customers. Here are a few that caught our eyes.
OR CRAN
Blacklist Brewing Co.
Tyler Schiroo, Blacklist's sales and distribution manager, said he looked forward to the annual release of this 9.5% ABV Belgian strong ale years before he started working at the downtown Duluth brewery. Schiroo described the brew — made with 500 pounds of fresh cranberries —as "a more champagne-like beer." For the first time, Blacklist is selling OR CRAN in bottles, so he might buy a few to stow away in his closet to test how the beer ages (he expects it will grow more tart with time).
Details: Available in specialty wax-dipped bottles or on tap.
No. 37 Rink Rat Ale
Hoops Brewing
Billed as "a light beer and an easy drinker," this beer was brewed in honor of the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association and the city's 37 original outdoor rinks. With notes of citrus, mint and melon, pilsner and caramel malt add a dry finish and a bit of sweetness.
Details: Available on tap and in crowlers.
#FreeTheGrowler DIPA
Castle Danger Brewery
Castle Danger was forced to stop selling growlers in 2019 due to a state law that limits what breweries can sell directly from their taprooms once they hit a certain production milestone. The Two Harbors brewery has teamed up with other beermakers across Minnesota to lobby for a legislative change, and they're dedicating a new brew to the cause — a double dry-hopped, double IPA with notes of orange, apricot and papaya.
Details: Available on tap only.
Las Lajas Hot Mulled Cider
Duluth Cider
A bartender took the popular Las Lajas Coffee Cider and combined it with spices, dark berries and cocoa. According to the cidery, it is the perfect concoction for cozy winter nights.
Details: Pick up a take-home kit or enjoy a warm drink at the Lincoln Park taproom.
These offerings from the previous weeks may also still be available.
Rosemary Plum Cider
Wild State Cider
This holiday series release is a bottle of sweet-and-savory sauce the Lincoln Park cidery says is "rich, tart, piney and full of all the good vibez you're probably craving." Who doesn't need good vibez right now?
Details: Available in bottles at the cidery.
Schwarz Weather
Ursa Minor Brewing
Ursa's take on the German-style dark-colored but light-bodied schwarzbier promises "roasted malty goodness."
Details: Available on tap on the patio and in crowlers.
Lemon and Bergamot CBD Water
Bent Paddle Brewing
It's the newest flavor of the recently released CBD-enhanced bubbly water. The N/A offering proved popular when it was first released late last year and the new flavor brings a light English tea flavor to the calming bubbles.
Details: Available in crowlers at the taproom.
Grape Co-Fermented Cider
Duluth Cider
Is this the champagne of ciders? This recent release ferments locally-foraged grapes with fresh-pressed apple juice for a "bubbly bottle-popping dry cider with notes of fresh grape, crisp apple and a hint of tartness."
Details: Available in growlers and crowlers at the Lincoln Park cidery.
Wilderness Tuxedo Imperial Sour
Bent Paddle Brewing
This hefty 8.3% ABV sour dresses up blackberry, raspberry and peach with very little bitterness. Looking sharp!
Details: Available in crowlers at the taproom with wider release planned in 2021.
Sauna Beer
Ursa Minor Brewing
Move over shower beers, this spruce-tip-enhanced ale was made for steam. The brewery says it has "almost candy-like flavors, with earthy notes to pair."
Details: Available in crowlers at the taproom and at a number of liquor stores.
FU2020 shot
Vikre Distillery
Send the year out in style by taking a stiff Long Island iced tea-esque shot then smashing the glass — don't worry, it's made of ice — on the ground.
Details: Available at the Canal Park distillery's outdoor Wunderbar and as a cocktail kit to-go.
Old Fashioned
Wild State Cider
Aged five months in bourbon barrels with cherry, honey and orange peels, here's a cider for the mixed-drink lovers.
Details: Available in bottles with limited quantities available in growlers.
Pumphouse Stout
Thirsty Pagan Brewing
Head on over to Superior for some za and a hefty stout with notes of coffee and bittersweet chocolate. Don't sleep on the brewery's famous sours either.
Details: Available on tap and in growlers.
