The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
News and Interviews

Nine new Minnesota beers (and one from Wisconsin) to try this winter

St. Paul's BlackStack Brewing is known for packing as many flavorful hops into giant-sized ABV beers as possible.
St. Paul's BlackStack Brewing is known for packing as many flavorful hops into giant-sized ABV beers as possible.Jay Gabler

by Louis Livingston-Garcia

February 11, 2022

New brews constantly hit shelves and tap handles, and the colder temperatures haven't slowed down Minnesota beer releases. These 10 new beers are some of the most interesting recent releases - and you may even be able to find some of them at the upcoming Winter Beer Dabbler on Feb. 19 (hopefully without any of the frozen beer lines of a previous fest, though beer smoothies and slushies are quite popular these days).

Dual Citizen Brewing Company Saturday Night Kind of Pink

A mixed fermentation sour, Saturday Night Kind of Pink is made with blackberry, pineapple, and dried lemon. This is Dual Citizen's first sour to make it into cans and released in late January. While sweet and sour fruit might seem like the perfect combo for summer, nobody will judge you for sipping on this fruited sour in the warmth of your home as you dream of summer visits to the North Shore.



BlackStack Brewing Self Sabotage

This St. Paul brewery is known for packing as many flavorful hops into giant-sized ABV beers as possible. That means a lot of double IPAs, triple IPAs, and quad IPAs. This triple IPA is full of Citra, Idaho 7 Cryo, and Ekuanot Cryo hops, giving it a tangy orange flavor and will please any citrus fruit fans jonesing for the latest and greatest hazy IPA.

Earth Rider Brewery Haakon

This honey bock isn't a new beer: it just rereleased and is out for a limited time. Plus, you don't see a lot of honey bocks on shelves, so it's good to grab them while you can. Haakon has a nice underlying toasted bread with honey flavor punctuated with a tiny floral note. It is simple yet delectable. (Earth Rider is located in the Wisconsin half of the Twin Ports, but they do so much to support the Minnesota music scene that we can call them honorary Gopher Staters.)

Fulton Beer Moon Howler

This North Loop brewery is a stalwart of the Minnesota beer industry, and while longtime brands don't always shake things up, Fulton released Moon Howler as its first year-round hazy IPA. Citra, Bravo, and Ekuanot hops combine for refreshing papaya and tropical fruit flavor.

Arbeiter Brewing Co. Acid Factory Plum

Released on Friday, this is the second release of Arbeiter's plum-filled sour beer, but it's a bit different this time around. Instead of a light purple color, it's a pink-tinged yellow thanks to differently sourced fruit. And unlike the first release, this iteration is much more tart than sweet. Arbeiter quickly became a popular taproom, and Acid Factory Plum showcases why.

Dangerous Man Brewing Co. Ancestral Soil Baltic Porter

Baltic porters are unique in that they are fermented cold like a lager. They typically feature complex, malty flavors, and Dangerous Man's is no exception. A bold porter at 9.3% ABV, the brewery coaxed coffee and dark chocolate out of the malts and yeast to create a bombastic flavor worthy of the traditional style.

Nouvelle Brewing Petite Quad

Belgian beers may not be the most popular these days in a world of hazy IPAs and smoothie beers, but if you're a fan of dark cherry, fig, caramel, and cocoa flavors, you should give this Nouvelle offering a taste. This is more than a regular quad as it is fermented with Petite Syrah grapes, which give off a cocoa note and a slight blueberry.

9 Mile Brewing Swamp Thang

This newly opened Bloomington brewery is already garnering high praise. Swamp Thang, made in collaboration with just-over-the-border buddies Oliphant, is a smoked wee heavy. Okay, smoked beer is divisive. If you like smoky food, give this a try. You'll find a complex beer with not only smoke but caramel, toffee, and just a bold, big flavor for the Minnesota winter months.

Fair State Brewing Co. Tmavé Pivo

Czech-style lager is becoming a bit of a trend. Midwest breweries like Phase Three and Dovetail just released some, and Forager and Bricksworth collaborated on a recent release. Czech lager is a dark-colored lager with roasty notes highlighting the malt. You might get a slight minerality or even chocolate, too. Fair State excels at lagers, so you can't go wrong with their latest.


Falling Knife Brewing Company Lil Shaky

Falling Knife took UP Coffee and mixed it with cinnamon and Madagascar vanilla to create a beer you might confuse for your morning latte order. This beer veers into the "pastry stout" realm but isn't cloying like many of those beers can be. Instead, the adjuncts all mingle cohesively on a velvety, thick stout base.

Silhouettes of skater in front of snow globe featuring skyline.
Every now and then, winter wind takes mercy on us, creating a gentle arena for snowflakes to fall as we enjoy moving on the ice.
Marlena Myles for The Current.

This feature is part of The Current’s 89 Days of Winter series, helping you enjoy the best of the season with weekly guides to events, entertainment, and recreation in the Twin Cities.