And this completes the second stage of the barleywine oak aging adventure. We've now experimented with all sorts of sugars, fruits, oaks, and a ton of other flavors to be able to sit back, see what everyone thinks, and finally get caught up on the standard brews. Speaking of which, the Loch Ness Scottish Ale, Flying Squirrel Amber and Black Swan Stout are back on tap and better than ever! 

Both of these are available for shipping if you live in Minnesota.

Come down to try them out or get a flight with a couple more. 

Cheers,
​The Brewing Loony

It seems winter has arrived, no problem, we have barleywines!

You may be asking, what are barleywines? Well, generally they're over 8% ABV, the stronger beers. Historically they were the first running of an already strong batch, such as the wee heavy version of a Scottish Ale. Today, with the compliments of various candy sugars, honey, and maple syrup, the ABVs can easily be hitting 12% and higher.

Why are we doing this? It started last winter with our first oak aged brew, the Loch Ness Scottish Ale. The extra oak flavors really smoothed it out and ended up being what was  probably our highest rated beer of the year. And while the flavors were helped no doubt from excessive malt and extra boiled for a bit of caramelization, we were fairly convinced that the oak was mostly responsible for the end result. From this, we were determined to launch a family of oak aged brews, and similar to wines or liquor, the oak flavor especially excelled with stronger brews and with that, we put together a number of recipes that helped to make them stronger, such as with Belgian Candi Sugar, honey and maple syrup. That said, all this was happening at the beginning of summer, the busiest time of the year, so brewery priority had to go to the standard brews. Both because it's less risky and they don't take nearly as long in the fermenter, which adds an extra month or so for the oak aging. This put off getting started until the end of summer and I'm happy to say that just released the first wave of new barleywines, including the Hango Honey Mango, Ample Amber Maple, and the Black Bear-e Blackberry ale.

The Barleywines currently available:

As you've probably noticed, the portions are less than a regular pint, served in five ounce servings in Belgian Beer glasses. This being as they're simply so strong, the smaller portions allow one to pace themselves a bit more, as the ABV can be closer to or more than a standard glass of wine.

We have a couple more that will be coming out over the next month or so, otherwise will be busy getting back on track and stocked up with the standard brews, as we got cleaned out over summer, hopefully we'll be caught up by the end of the year.

In the meantime, you can try these out with a flight and if you don't live in the area but still in Minnesota, we'd be happy to ship it out to you.

Cheers,
The Brewing Loony

The Ample is our newest addition to the family of brews categorized as barleywines, this one having the special additions of northern Minnesota maple syrup and bourbon oak aged.

This brew is significant for us in a few ways including:

• The first to use Maple Syrup, which was found to be extremely fermentable, so much so that we had to add a bit more at the very end to provide a bit more maple flavor enhancements.
• The second to be oak aged, using a slightly different charred oak, producing flavors of honey, roasted nuts, and hints of coffee and spices. The oak does a great job in smoothing out pretty much everything, and having done it now twice, am confident with future experimentations for what to expect.
• The first with the oak being bourbon flavored. With every flavor change producing different results, the bourbon flavor adds a nice touch to the rest of the brew, icing on the cake you could say.
• The strongest fermented brew to date, clocking in at 15.1% ABV. This was done using a barleywine yeast, able to handle these stronger brews much better than normal beer yeast. As it was another new variable, wasn't sure how it would do and are pleasantly surprised with how well it went.
• The first to be with a serving size of 5 oz, the same as a wine serving. At 15.1%, a regular pint would be far too much and too accommodate, we've added new Belgian style brew glasses for serving.

All of the above being important as being key stepping stones for other new creations, giving a wider range of variables and ingredients to work with.

For those that would like some but not able to make the journey to the brewery, it's also available for shipping throughout Minnesota.

Cheers,
The Brewing Loony

It's been awhile since an update, been going crazy brewing up supplies for summer and even managed to crank out a few new ones.

This was our first brew that went through the oak aging process so I was a little nervous with how it'd turn out. Nothing to worry about as it ended up being one of the best brews we've ever done. Besides adding a myriad of flavors, the oak does an amazing job of really smoothing or mellowing out a beer, especially helpful with brews that have higher ABV's. It turned out so well that we'll be adding a few more different types to try, with one in the fermenter now and another to start brewing in a few weeks. For the first two batches we're using oak spirals that have been soaked or marinated with Scotch Bourbon, it doesn't to ABV as so little is soaked into the wood, but enough to infuse some more interesting or complicated flavors. Going forward we'll be getting a small quantity of oak barrels for some brews that require a much longer aging process.

Enjoy the new brews and have a great weekend!

Cheers,
The Brewing Loony

​Come on down to try it out with one of the 19 different craft brews on tap!

Stouts and porters are perfect for winter. They're a bit heavier than most but with the flaked oats or barley, have a nice, smooth finish like no other. The Shoepack adds an added twist with hints of vanilla and chocolate added to the mix. 

Come on down to try one out for yourself, with either a flight, pint, or growler to take home!

Cheers,
The Brewing Loony

We have a special treat this Friday with David Allen stopping by from North Dakota while on a brewery tour through North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

He's played here once before and it was blast, we're excited to have him back playing selections from his latest album, Lovers are Liars, Gamblers are Thieves.

Cheers,
​The Events Loony