A clean brewery is a happy brewery!
Minnesota Cup Video
A huge thank you to all of our customers who sent in video clips for our MN Cup submission. We are in the process of getting the video edited and formatted, and will be thrilled to share it on our website and through social media once it is finished.
Ask the Brewer
What do brewers have nightmares about?
Well, to be honest, that could be a rather long list. Beer kettles boiling over, tanks overflowing, valves not being closed when they should be, employees getting doused in boiling caustic, equipment failing at a crucial moment – you get the idea. For true nightmare caliber occurrences though, I think that mold tops the list.
While we can’t go into species and genus of mold, we can tell you that any mold or fungus is every brewers worst enemy (and best friend). Breweries are, by their very nature, wet and humid locations, with an abundance of organic matter, which are prime growing conditions for mold. Cleaning must be thorough and frequent, with regular dis-assembly of hoses and clamps, filtration units, tasting ports, and tap systems. Why this incessant need for cleaning? Even a small growth of mold can infect a beer, causing off flavors and the need to dump full fermenters, which no brewery wants to do.
Luckily for modern day breweries, we have a host of mold prevention measures at our disposal, both in equipment and in cleaners. The prevalence of stainless steel in the brewing industry is for much more than good looks. Stainless steel provides a surface that is easy to clean, and free of pores that can provide places for bacterial or mold growth to start. Stainless steel also holds up well to the temperature fluctuations, liquids and cleaners of the brewing industry. Cleaners consist of acids, caustics and sanitizers, with fresh water rinses as needed.
So here’s to clean breweries and delicious beer! Cheers!
Taproom Tidings
The taproom has its regular hours, with growler fills available all of the days we are open (including SUNDAYS)!
This weekends taproom highlights include:
- Thirsty Thursdays is your chance for $1 off pints and $2 off growler fills
- Food on Fridays (FoF) brings us Chef T-Bone with Tollefson Family Pork Farm who specializes in made from scratch, farm fresh offerings, customized to your particular palette
- Our featured cupcake from Groundswell is their Espresso Turtle, new this week!
- Tap selection for the weekend includes Pyro APA, Roasted Coffee Ale, Fused Orange Blossom Honey and our Parched Lime Shandy. On Friday we will tap our latest batch of our ever popular Blackstrap IPA. Growler and grumbler fills on everything.
Believe it or not, the Snelling Ave. bridge crossing Interstate 94 is STILL closed. One begins to wonder whether they realize the state fair is only weeks away. 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.
Final Thoughts
If you love the North Shore and beer, this weekend is for you! We will be in Duluth for All Pints North. Join us by the bay to meet the brewers and enjoy unlimited craft beer samples, local food vendors, beer-centered activities and educational components, live music and much more!
Questions? Drop us a note via Email, Facebook, MSDS, Twitter or Google+.
Cheers!