Coming Soon: Greer Brewing | Gambling on Beer as a Career

Back in the late 1990s, my wife had a habit of signing up for every contest she ran across — and winning. One day, a home brewing kit showed up at our home. It went straight into the basement and remained there until it was tossed in the trash during a spring cleaning. What a mistake, because right about that time, I discovered craft beer and fell in love with the entrepreneurial spirit it represented. Given my young age, I could have walked away from my television career and went into brewing, but I didn’t. Now years later, I’ve converged my love of responsible drinking and my love for media into writing about beer. Nevertheless, that spirit of putting one’s faith in beer continues today, such as the story attached to Chris Greer and Greer Brewing.

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Bikes and Brews: How Bicycling has Influenced the Minneapolis Craft Beer Scene

As a Minnesota native, I’ve become particularly accustomed to how passionate the craft beer community has become in the land of 10,000 lakes. One tradition that I’ve found to be so interesting about Minnesota’s craft beer scene is how intertwined bike culture is with the local breweries, especially with those in the ever-vibrant northeast area of Minneapolis. From bike racks and custom jerseys, to sponsored bike races and cycling-inspired beers, bicycling has become of an integral part of the Minneapolis craft beer scene. Here is a look at how two Minneapolis craft beer favorites have embraced this unique partnership.

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Beerology: The History of Gose

Welcome back to Beerology! After a six month hiatus due to opening The Jailhouse Craft Beer Bar, I have returned to talk about the history behind beer and booze. This edition delves into the obscure style of Gose.

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Beerology | The History of Saisons

Welcome to Beerology! Once a month, we will take a look into the origins of all things booze. In this edition of Beerology, we are going to dive into the world of Saison.

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Beerology | What Makes Beer Sour?

Welcome to Beerology! Once a month, we will take a look into the origins of all things booze. In this edition of Beerology, we are going to dive into the world of sour beers. Despite the extreme increase in number of breweries producing sour beer, there has not been an increase in knowledge for consumers. So, we’re making an effort to thwart misinformation. Read on to learn the basics of what makes beer sour.

If you’re someone who thinks that Americans created sour, let’s do a real quick crash course in the history of Lambic. What’s Lambic? Only the most important beer style that has led to the sudden explosion in number of “sour” beers on shelves across the country. Lambic is a spontaneously fermented beer that is produced in a region of Belgium called Pajottenland. In a nutshell, spontaneous fermentation is the process of inoculating wort with wild yeast and bacteria present in the brewery’s environment and letting those microorganisms have sole responsibility over fermentation, no added brewer’s yeast or commercial cultures. This is the most traditional way of creating acidity in beer and is the predecessor to modern production of sour beer. Read More

Beerology | The History of Stouts

“Studying the history of Porter is like staring into the multidimensional universe of theoretical cosmology, with multiple shifting parallel worlds constantly warping and shifting with the flow of time. The … Read More