Archive: Month: August 2015

Burning Brothers… Now with tap handles!!!

Pyro at the MN State Fair

We’ve had a number of inquiries as to where we will be at the Great Minnesota Get Together (i.e., the MN State Fair). So, hot off the press from our distributor, here’s the list:

• Ball Park Cafe (East side of Underwood St between Dan Patch & Carnes Ave)
• Cafe Caribe (South side of Carnes Ave between Liggett & Nelson streets)
• Giggles’ Campfire Grill (Southeast corner of Lee Ave & Cooper St at The North Woods)
• LuLu’s Public House (West End Market, south of the Schilling Ampitheater)
• O’Gara’s (Just inside the main gate on Snelling Ave)

Ask the Brewer

Why do some breweries can their beer, while others use bottles?

Like anything in life, there are pros and cons to both forms of packaging. Brewers must consider costs, packaging availability, consumer perceptions and a litany of other factors. One of key elements though is how the packaging treats the beer contained within. Making sure that the beer has the taste the brewer intended is a critical factor when considering packaging.

For example, you’re unlikely to find many craft beers in clear bottles. Why? The volatile oils in hops that give different beers their distinctive flavors change with exposure to light. Too much light exposure can potentially produce some really off notes, thereby causing the beer to taste differently than the brewer intended. Most beer bottles are green or brown for a reason, as they help to reduce that exposure to light.

Cans, like kegs, completely eliminate the light exposure issue, which is great for the beer inside. Unfortunately, cans are typically a more expensive proposition for a fledgling brewery. The machinery for filling and seaming cans costs significantly more than the equivalent bottle filler and capper. Cans themselves are almost always variety specific (i.e. printed on the can) vs. bottles which can easily switch between labels. Then, when you consider that the can suppliers require order minimums of 75,000 or more, it requires a significant outlay of cash versus bottles which can be ordered in smaller quantities.

As you can see, it’s not a simple choice. (Like many things in the beer industry!)

Taproom Tidings

As the photo at the top or our newsletter shows, our new tap handles have arrived!  We are very excited to show them off, and are almost ready to have our beer available on draft at select locations starting in September. We will announce locations offering Burning Brothers on draft as soon as we have them – in the meantime, stop by the taproom to check out our spiffy new handles.

The taproom has its regular hours all weekend, with growler fills available all of the days we are open. Highlights include:

• Thirsty Thursdays is your chance for $1 off pints and $2 off growler fills (Remember, St. Paul doesn’t let us fill growlers after 8pm on Thursdays, so get here early)
• Food on Fridays (FoF) brings us Moondog, slinging their German-style bratwursts & dogs here and throughout the Twin Cities.
• Our featured cupcake from Groundswell is their Espresso Turtle. Chocolate espresso cake with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, toasted pecans and an espresso caramel sauce.
• Tap selection includes Pyro APA, Roasted Coffee Ale, Fused Orange Blossom Honey, Parched Lime Shandy and our ever popular Blackstrap IPA. Growler and grumbler fills on everything.

While the Snelling Ave. bridge is OPEN and usable, it is one of the main routes in for the MN State Fair, so take that into account as you make your weekend plans!

Final Thoughts

If you are in the neighborhood for a beer, you should also check out the Midway Murals project. This project was the Knight Arts Challenge winner for 2014, and features 4 different murals along Snelling Ave, each done by a different artist and their team of volunteers. This art installation is celebrating the unveiling of the murals this Saturday, August 29th, with an event at Hamline Park on the corner of Thomas and Snelling, from noon until 6pm. Stop in for a beer with us, and then visit this inspiring neighborhood project!

As always, if you have questions, drop us a note via Email, Facebook, Constrained Writing, Twitter or Google+.

Cheers!

<Insert your own caption here… No, really!>

Ask the Brewer

Where does India Pale Ale get it’s name from?

There are a few theories, but the most popular stems from the 19th century when India was still a British colony. In order to keep the troops stationed there content, English brewers created an extra hoppy, high alcohol pale ale specifically designed to weather the months-long journey with no refrigeration. The soldiers loved it, and upon returning home, continued to ask for it. Hence, the IPA became it’s own style.

Since then, especially in America, IPA’s have become the signature style for many craft beer drinkers. Recent statistics from the Brewers Association show that current IPA sales account for more than 25% of craft beer sales, up from just 8% in 2008.

Taproom Tidings

The taproom has its regular hours, with growler fills available all of the days we are open. Highlights include:

• Thirsty Thursdays is your chance for $1 off pints and $2 off growler fills
• Food on Fridays (FoF) brings us Hot Indian Foods who’s mission is to add spice to peoples’ lives. Are you down with brown?
• Our featured cupcake from Groundswell is their Espresso Turtle. Chocolate espresso cake with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, toasted pecans and an espresso caramel sauce.
• Tap selection includes Pyro APA, Roasted Coffee Ale, Fused Orange Blossom Honey, Parched Lime Shandy and our ever popular Blackstrap IPA. Growler and grumbler fills on everything.

In case you missed the news last week, the Snelling Ave. bridge is OPEN! Just in time for the Great MN Get Together. Woot!

Final Thoughts

This Saturday, August 22nd, we will be hosting a fundraiser for Twin Cities R.O.C.K. (Raising Our Celiac Kids), a non-profit group that provides information and support for families whose children have Celiac disease. The event is from 1-4pm at the Burning Brothers taproom and we’ll be donating $1 to the cause for each pint sold. So come out, bring the family, and support a good cause.

As always, if you have questions, drop us a note via Email, Facebook, Hydraulic Telegraph, Twitter or Google+.

Cheers!

Canning beer… everyone has their own way of coping.

Ask the Brewer

Why the heck is half a gallon of beer called a growler?

Back in the late 1800’s, beer was often carried home from local brewers in a small, galvanized pail with a lid. Rumor has it that the term “growler” comes from the sound that the CO2 made escaping through the lid of the pail, as the beer sloshed in time to the steps of the person walking home with it. During the 1930s, young people would carry buckets of beer to workers on their lunch breaks, and home to their parents for dinner, and that practice brought the term “rushing the growler” into use. By the 1950s, waxed cardboard containers were used, switching over to plastic in the 60’s. Soon after that, the use of growlers died out.

The renaissance for growlers came about in 1989 when Charlie Otto and his father wanted to offer their local customers beer in “to go” containers, yet were not in a position to begin bottling their brew. Charlie’s father remembered “growlers” from his youth, so they updated that packaging, started silk-screening their logo onto the bottles and the modern day growler was born.

Taproom Tidings

The taproom has its regular hours, with growler fills available all of the days we are open. Highlights include:

• Thirsty Thursdays is your chance for $1 off pints and $2 off growler fills
• Food on Fridays (FoF) brings us Rusty Taco, with their perfect pairing of taco(ee) goodness to go with your favorite beer
• Our featured cupcake from Groundswell is their Espresso Turtle. Chocolate espresso cake with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, toasted pecans and an espresso caramel sauce.
• Tap selection includes Pyro APA, Roasted Coffee Ale, Fused Orange Blossom Honey, Parched Lime Shandy and our ever popular Blackstrap IPA. Growler and grumbler fills on everything.

This would typically be the spot where we wax eloquently about the Snelling Ave. bridge STILL being closed. But wait! Rumor has it that our favorite exit off of I-94 will once again be usable no later than midnight this Friday. A whole week ahead of schedule!

If you are coming this Thursday or Friday, access to the brewery from the I-94/Snelling ramps is difficult to non-existent, depending on which direction you are coming from. We recommend using the Cretin/Vandalia exit. Starting Saturday, you should be able to take the more direct route from the Snelling Ave. exit. Cheers to that!

Final Thoughts

The 7th annual Summer Beer Dabbler kicks off this Saturday from 5-9pm at the St. Paul Saints new home of CHS Field. We’ll be there along with over 100 other craft breweries sampling beer, enjoying live music and just generally having a good time. Join us for one final hurrah to the summer beer season.

As always, if you have questions, drop us a note via Email, Facebook, Ouija, Twitter or Google+.

Cheers!

Dane – the guy who creates all those delicious beer recipes, posing with the Golden Firkin!

Golden Firkin

We are thrilled to have won Best in Show at the 2015 Border Battle in Somerset Wisconsin this past weekend! Yes, you heard that correctly. BEST IN SHOW! WOOT! The Golden Firkin (our lovely trophy) is proudly on display in the taproom.

Water Quality Month

August is National Water Quality Month, and nothing is more important to good beer than good water! Since beer is over 90% water, the quality of the water drastically affects the quality of the beer.  When you look at the areas that have a large number of breweries, you will find that they also have plentiful, high quality sources of water. So raise and pint and say a toast to water, buz you ain’t gonna have good beer without it. Cheers!

Ask the Brewer

So, who makes your beer?

While there are several people at Burning Brothers who brew the beer, the recipes are created by our (sometimes) illustrious Co-Founder Dane Breimhorst, pictured above.  In order to give you, our loyal followers, a little insight into what makes him tick, we did a short interview with him:

What do you do at Burning Brothers?
As little as possible (with a big grin)!  Seriously though, recipe development, running the brew floor and getting injured on a regular basis (at which point there was a cataloging of the most recent injuries).

What’s the best part of your job?
The reaction from gluten-free people when they try the beer for the first time – it’s very gratifying!

What’s the worst part of your job?
Being torn between the brewery and my family.  The brewery is a huge time commitment, and it pulls me away from my family.  I used to want to go and do things like disc golf or hanging out with friends. Now, with the hours we put in here, when I am done, I just want to go home and hang out with my kids, and see my wife for more than 5 minutes.

What’s your favorite Burning Brothers Beer?
It changes, right now it’s the Blackstrap IPA.

What is your favorite other beer?
Triple Karmeliet… (insert heavy sigh) This was before the Celiac diagnosis of course.

Pirates or Ninjas?
Ninja Pirates, Arghhh – shhhh! (This was said with a laugh)

If you could add one thing to the brewery/taproom, what would it be?
Nitro taps (said with a glint in his eyes).  They would allow us to put Stouts and similar styles on tap with that a wonderful mouth feel.

Taproom Tidings

The taproom has its regular hours, with growler fills available all of the days we are open. Highlights include:

• Thirsty Thursdays is your chance for $1 off pints and $2 off growler fills
• Food on Fridays (FoF) brings us Crazy Puppy with their gluten-free fair food that you DON’T have to die for – because it is all gluten-free!
• Our featured cupcake from Groundswell is their Espresso Turtle, delectable!
• Tap selection includes Pyro APA, Roasted Coffee Ale, Fused Orange Blossom Honey, Parched Lime Shandy and our ever popular Blackstrap IPA. Growler and grumbler fills on everything.

The Snelling Ave. bridge crossing Interstate 94 is STILL closed. Someday…it will re-open… maybe. We are beginning to lose hope.

This means that access to the brewery from the I-94/Snelling ramps is difficult to non-existent, depending on which direction you are coming from. We recommend using the Cretin/Vandalia exit for the interim.

MN Cup Video

Our MN Cup Video is done and submitted, a huge thank you to Adam, who edited all of the video clips to put together something that really reflects who we are.  Follow this link to take a look!

Final Thoughts

This weekend has the Brew at the Zoo event to tempt people into heading out and having a good time with fellow conservationists and beer enthusiasts.  This is drinking beer for a good cause!  Happening on Friday, the 7th of August, we hope you will join us!

Questions? Drop us a note via Email, Facebook, UAC, Twitter or Google+.

Cheers!