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All Pints North 2013

All Pints North Duluth

This past weekend, Mrs. Hopped Up Brewer and I road tripped to Duluth, Minnesota for the second annual All Pints North Summer Brew Fest organized by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild.  The 4 hour event is set in Bayfront Festival Park along the shore of the inner harbor at Duluth with the iconic aerial lift bridge in the distance.

Duluth is a fantastic setting for a beer event like All Pints, which is perhaps best described as the most laid back beer festival you’ll ever attend. The breeze coming off Lake Superior keeps the temps tolerable on even the sunniest of days, and the festival grounds are spacious enough to park a couple lawn chairs in front of the stage and take in some live music while you enjoy generous pours of some fine Minnesota beer. If you’re into something more active while you rest your lupulin-weary taste buds, you can always challenge some fellow beer drinkers to a game of giant bean bag toss!

All Pints North

As usual, the Surly tent was swamped, but some newer breweries boasted impressive lines as well. Dangerous Man was pouring a couple variations of their excellent Milk Stout. I didn’t get a chance to try the Session Pale, but I heard good things, and their coconut milk stout was surprisingly refreshing, reminding me ever so slightly of the island where I vacationed in January.

Dangerous Man Tap List - All Pints North

New to Duluth, Bent Paddle took home the award for Best Brewery, and tied with Town Hall for Best Beer with their cold press Black Ale served on nitro. Their branding work is top notch, and it’s great to see the beer holds up to the same standard.

Bent Paddle Brewery Display - All Pints North

All in all, this was a great festival, and I definitely plan on attending next year. Attendance this year was double what it was last, but things seemed to go quite smooth. Four hours was the perfect length of time. Not so long that you feel like bailing early, but not so short you feel rushed to get through the tents, either. Couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day to sit outside and drink some beer!

All Pints North - Duluth

MN Craft Brewer’s Guild Winterfest 2012

Well, Winterfest was an amazing time, there’s just no other way to put it.

We arrived at the Minnesota History Center just before six, which was early enough to put us in the first 50 people at the event. The crowd staged just inside the entrance, and it was quite a crowd. The initial 750 or so tickets that were open to the general public sold out in mere minutes, and between the extra tickets given to volunteers, brewers, etc, all told there were close to 1000 people in attendence.

Winterfest Crowd

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I’m off to Winterfest!

I was lucky enough to score tickets to the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild Winterfest event, showcasing the best of the best that the Minnesota breweries have to offer. I’m stoked to have a chance to try some of the crazy beers the brewers came up with and take some pictures to post back here.

I’ll also be stopping at Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis for some beer and a tour with one of the brewers there. Should be a great weekend – stay tuned!