Northern Minnesota (The Arrowhead/Lake Superior Circle Tour)
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2024 10:56 am
A few places I checked out in Minnesota recently; worth visiting of you're fishing or hunting on the area or find yourself stuck on Thunder Bay and wanting to have a change of scenery fo a couple days.
Grand Marais
Voyageur Brewing - fairly standard stuff. Prefer their lagers and darker offerings to their ales. Note that the brewery and town caters to tourists.
Gunflint Tavern - mostly local-ish and larger US craft brands.
Should note that the municipal liquor store here is pretty terrible, though there is a small bottle shot that specialises in non alcoholic offerings.
Two Harbors
Castle Danger Brewing - They seem to try everything at least once. Found them the opposite of Voyageur - preferred the stuff more popular with the beer geeks than the traditional stuff here, save for the Cream Ale, which is everywhere along the Northwest shore.
Duluth
Fitgers - the Apricot Wheat is still kicking around. A mix of fruit beers and IPAs for the summer. The food is quite good.
Bent Paddle - Not a fan of their kettle sours but the other stuff was solid, and the pilot batches (a cask pils, a Rye IPA and vanilla black IPA) bordered on stellar.
Lake Superior Brewing - since the Winter Barleywine is out of season it was a quick pink or Kolsch (a Duluth tradition of mine) before heading out
Ursa Minor - opened pre pandemic. An IPA brewer first and foremost, with a surprisingly solid Scotch ale (and enough hoppy offerings to make you think you were on the East Coast)
Grand Marais
Voyageur Brewing - fairly standard stuff. Prefer their lagers and darker offerings to their ales. Note that the brewery and town caters to tourists.
Gunflint Tavern - mostly local-ish and larger US craft brands.
Should note that the municipal liquor store here is pretty terrible, though there is a small bottle shot that specialises in non alcoholic offerings.
Two Harbors
Castle Danger Brewing - They seem to try everything at least once. Found them the opposite of Voyageur - preferred the stuff more popular with the beer geeks than the traditional stuff here, save for the Cream Ale, which is everywhere along the Northwest shore.
Duluth
Fitgers - the Apricot Wheat is still kicking around. A mix of fruit beers and IPAs for the summer. The food is quite good.
Bent Paddle - Not a fan of their kettle sours but the other stuff was solid, and the pilot batches (a cask pils, a Rye IPA and vanilla black IPA) bordered on stellar.
Lake Superior Brewing - since the Winter Barleywine is out of season it was a quick pink or Kolsch (a Duluth tradition of mine) before heading out
Ursa Minor - opened pre pandemic. An IPA brewer first and foremost, with a surprisingly solid Scotch ale (and enough hoppy offerings to make you think you were on the East Coast)