Local Breweries

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LongLiveMilesTarver

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What are everybody's favorite local breweries (local being different for everyone)?

I kind of have a ranking system in my head that is loosely based off taste of beer, number of beers I purchase outside of the brewery, food (for those that offer that option), ambiance and then some miscellaneous system that has no clear meaning or weight (remember this is all in my head at this point).

I'm in the metro and always looking for hidden gems that may have somehow overlooked.

Off the top of my head, Surly was my favorite as they really checked all the boxes and then I'd probably go with some combination of Indeed, Day Block, Modist, and Bauhaus but I feel it is interchangeable based on the day.
 

1. Utepils. Solid beer lineup and the best brewery by far.

2. Indeed. Great beer. Good location.

3. Fulton. Great beer. Cool spot.

4. Surly. Great beer. The brewery can be a bit much but it is still impressive.

5. Tie with all others since all breweries are good.
 

Top 5 Rochester breweries:
1. Little Thistle - great set-up and the beer has grown on me
2. Thesis - great beer & ambiance
3. Kinney Creek - this used to be my #1 but consistency is lacking. Plus the ambiance is way behind other places. Largest beer list in Rochester.
4. Forager - ok beer but their selection is very limited; ambiance is best in town.
5. LTS - ok beer, subpar ambiance.
 

Duluth has by far the best beer scene anywhere, IMO. Fitger's is classic and just plain awesome. Still the best beer I've ever tasted. Bent Paddle has fantastic beer and the taphouse rivals anything in the metro. Even the smaller places like Ursa Minor are really cool and light years beyond anything in Rochester.
 

tikited said:
1. Utepils. Solid beer lineup and the best brewery by far.

2. Indeed. Great beer. Good location.

3. Fulton. Great beer. Cool spot.

4. Surly. Great beer. The brewery can be a bit much but it is still impressive.

5. Tie with all others since all breweries are good.
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Haven't been to Utepils yet, but those other three are definitely among my favorites. Glad all three distribute down to Rochester.
 


Nokomis said:
Top 5 Rochester breweries:
1. Little Thistle - great set-up and the beer has grown on me
2. Thesis - great beer & ambiance
3. Kinney Creek - this used to be my #1 but consistency is lacking. Plus the ambiance is way behind other places. Largest beer list in Rochester.
4. Forager - ok beer but their selection is very limited; ambiance is best in town.
5. LTS - ok beer, subpar ambiance.
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I like the name for number 2. I have heard good things about #4.
 

tikited said:
I like the name for number 2. I have heard good things about #4.
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Full name is Thesis Beer Project, which at first I didn't like but have gotten past it. Beer is good; taproom is nice with some really cool murals.

Yeah, everyone in Rochester loves Forager. Ambiance and food is good, but beer is seriously lacking IMO. I feel like the people who like Forager also find Zooey Deschanel charming.

This thread has made me realize how far behind the Rochester beer scene really is compared to the metro & Duluth. They're all fine, and it's nice to have them, but they all seem just a step behind those others. It's like a town full of Steel Toes.
 

Nokomis said:
Yeah, everyone in Rochester loves Forager. Ambiance and food is good, but beer is seriously lacking IMO. I feel like the people who like Forager also find Zooey Deschanel charming.
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I will never go there now!
 





Nokomis said:
Top 5 Rochester breweries:
1. Little Thistle - great set-up and the beer has grown on me
2. Thesis - great beer & ambiance
3. Kinney Creek - this used to be my #1 but consistency is lacking. Plus the ambiance is way behind other places. Largest beer list in Rochester.
4. Forager - ok beer but their selection is very limited; ambiance is best in town.
5. LTS - ok beer, subpar ambiance.
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Disagree about LTS ambience - I love sitting outside there. I had my retirement party in their tent. But my favorite SE MN brewery is now South x Southeast in Pine Island.
 

56 Brewing in NE Mpls. If your into darker beers their Dark Territory can't be beat. They also have pinball machines which I love. And in case you follow these sorts of things, they bought out the shithead owner so your money won't be going to him.
 




GopherVotary said:
Disagree about LTS ambience - I love sitting outside there. I had my retirement party in their tent. But my favorite SE MN brewery is now South x Southeast in Pine Island.
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I've only sat inside at LTS, so can't comment on the outside. Have you seen Little Thistle's new outside area? Big pavilion with heat lamps and a curling court! I haven't been to SxSE yet, but it looks cool. IIRC, the brewer/owner there was the brewer/owner at Grounds Rounds before that switched to restaurant-only.
 

Nokomis said:
I've only sat inside at LTS, so can't comment on the outside. Have you seen Little Thistle's new outside area? Big pavilion with heat lamps and a curling court! I haven't been to SxSE yet, but it looks cool. IIRC, the brewer/owner there was the brewer/owner at Grounds Rounds before that switched to restaurant-only.
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I haven’t seen Little Thistle’s outside area but I enjoy their beer. You’re correct about SxSE’s proprietor. And I agree with your assessment on Forager - beer is just OK but the food is fantastic.
 

Don't want to rain on anyone's picnic. I can take my rainclouds out of this thread, if they're not wanted.


At what point does the "novelty" of tap rooms fade away to "these are just nice bars that not only don't serve any other types of alcohols that people like than beer, they only serve one brewery's beer, and they usually don't serve food either unless a food truck is there" ??


It was cool to go check out Indeed and some of the other new fangled tap rooms, 10ish years ago, and play some board games and stuff while drinking beer. And Surly was obviously a big deal. But ... I don't know. I like going to a good bar, where you can order all the alcohols, and has good food too.

Like I said ...
 

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