BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
And, once again, for those in the Twin Cities area who are interested in the possibility of local pick-up, group buys, (or a new local store), connect with the local home brewing community.
Step back in time as Northern Brewer hosts a unique brewing experience: a full day of traditional Norwegian farmhouse brewing demonstrations and conversations about the history and use of kveik at our World Headquarters in Roseville, Minnesota. This is a special opportunity to participate in an international celebration of brewing featuring two Norwegian farmhouse brewers, Ivar Geithung and Johnny Ottar Pedersen.
With support from Northern Brewer, St. Paul Homebrewers Club, and other local homebrewers, Geithung and Pedersen will coordinate multiple simultaneous brewing demonstrations that showcase brewing techniques from four regions of Norway:
Date: Saturday, September 16th.
- Heimabrygg: Voss-Style Hard-Boiled Ale
- Stjordalsøl: Stjordal-Style Alderwood-Smoked Raw Ale
- Konnøl: Northwest Norwegian Style Raw Ale
- Eastern Norway Style Boiled Mash Semi-Raw Ale
Location: Northern Brewer World Headquarters – 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN (Northern Brewer HQ -- Shipping Warehouse · 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN 55113)
Stay tuned to this Facebook Event Page for more details as we get closer to the brew day.
I emailed them shortly after they closed the stores asking if that might be an option, was told they "weren't able to do that".In order to reduce shipping maybe check/email NB to see if they will offer a will call service for locals.
Man I wish there was a place to get "in-person, let me pay cash so the missus doesn't see what my beer actually costs" grain closer than Medina! Midwest's grain room was amazing!
Not sure how far it would be from you, but there's a small LHBS in Mankato. It's been a few years since I've visited, but they carried most of the essentials. My wife has family in Mankato, and we visit a lot (less than 2 hours drive for us), so I might have to drop by the store.
Mankato isn't great for me (also, their website Beer... | Brew-N-Wine Creations is a bit lacking in usefulness): google maps says it's twice as long a drive as beermeister is. I do visit La Crosse (Wisconsin) semi regularly, and Tiki Hut Home Brew Supplies | Onalaska, WI | tikihuthomebrew is on the way. Have been there a few times, prices were a little high on specialty grains (all pre-packaged LD-Carlson stuff, of unknowable age), but overall prices didn't seem outrageous.
Yeah that is steep, I think NB was $26 or something for a 20lb swap. Convenience definitely has immense value. I do know that area. I’m on the east side of the metro, but get over that way pretty often. Thanks for the tip.I use Linde on E Hennepin, it's just SW of where 35W and 280 come together if you know this area at all. As a bonus it shares a parking lot with Insight. Linde isn't cheap ($40 for 10 lbs) but it's close to me so I deal with it.
So has anyone been to Beermeister's new store in Medina? Work is taking me that direction (Plymouth), wondering if it's worth the 15 minute detour...
Things I need: a new spigot or three, some hops that I'd like to see in-person (website doesn't list AA% for anything), and maybe a 50 lb sack of base malt.
Luckily, for me, in their latest move, Beermeister moved to Hamel/Medina - which is closer to my house. This is the third move they have made in my short brewing history. One, maybe more, of their owners used to work for NB and MW. Customer service is not their strong suit, store perusing and self service is not nearly the experience it was at MW - but they are a brick and mortar store offering some quality products. Maybe things will change with this new location...maybe? I will continue to use them as long as I can keep their address updated
Kevin was great, I was shopping there back when they were by Northtown Mall and my roommate was working there. If you ever had their "American Dream" kit, that was our recipe. Looking back it probably wasn't that great, but we did actually brew it a dozen or so times to get it where we were happy regarding the ingredients - canned syrup (John Bull, I think), yeast (Wyeast 1056) and hops (Cascade). Funny that looking back it was such a simple American Ale recipe, but at the time none of these things were obvious like they are to many of us today. No beer forums yet or anything much other than try, try again.I do miss Brew & Grow, which closed up in 2019, due to flagging sales (and the owner wanting to retire). I sometimes wonder if it would thrive today, given the MW/NB move out of retail.
Sorry for the confusion. I have not been inside the new location yet. I'm going to be by there tomorrow morning and I'll swing in and report back - don't know if they are open on the weekends at the new location and I'll ask specific questions (how many grains, yeasts, hops, etc. do you stock) to get the answers to the rest of your questions: Here's what I do know from their location off of 6 and 494: Zero ingredients were able to be obtained on your own. You could buy full sacks of grains and yes you could get smaller bags of pre-packaged grains - they stock(ed) Briess, Avangard, Swaen; yes their hops and yeast were in a cooler (in another room that you could see from the checkout). MW's and NB's selection dwarfed theirs (BM's) selection at their last location. Their retail space was literally a small 20 x 30 space. I never made it in to any other area in their space. If history repeats itself, they will not hover and will leave you alone. One of the things I liked that they did during Covid was that they offered to package your order and then all you had to do was swing in there and pick it up. That was very convenient and I hope that may still be an option going forward. I'm hoping that I can get in there tomorrow. If not, I'll be a "window peeker" - so if I call any of you from jail please accept the chargesThanks for the reconnaissance! I'm not too worried about "customer service," as long as they let me browse and not hover.
Since you've been there, and you're really local, a few questions for enquiring minds:
Do they have a grain room, or do they just sell pre-packaged bags of malts like so many other small outfits?
Hops and yeast--are they stored in freezers and coolers?
How's the selection? Do they have a wide variety, or just the "top hits"?
I've been meaning to run over there, but it's close to an hour drive each way for me. If they have decent hops and yeast selections, and things are fresh, it might be the place for me to drive to in warmer months when I don't like to risk having those perishables shipped. I realize brewing ingredients isn't their primary line. Maybe they'll see the vacuum in the brew supplies market and step up to be the Twin Cities only LHBS.
I do miss Brew & Grow, which closed up in 2019, due to flagging sales (and the owner wanting to retire). I sometimes wonder if it would thrive today, given the MW/NB move out of retail.
Sorry for the confusion. I have not been inside the new location yet. I'm going to be by there tomorrow morning and I'll swing in and report back - don't know if they are open on the weekends at the new location and I'll ask specific questions (how many grains, yeasts, hops, etc. do you stock) to get the answers to the rest of your questions: Here's what I do know from their location off of 6 and 494: Zero ingredients were able to be obtained on your own. You could buy full sacks of grains and yes you could get smaller bags of pre-packaged grains - they stock(ed) Briess, Avangard, Swaen; yes their hops and yeast were in a cooler (in another room that you could see from the checkout). MW's and NB's selection dwarfed theirs (BM's) selection at their last location. Their retail space was literally a small 20 x 30 space. I never made it in to any other area in their space. I'm hoping that I can get in their tomorrow. If not, I'll be a "window peeker" - so if I call any of you from jail please accept the charges
It's the weekend - at least I wouldn't miss work.Don't get thrown in jail.
I was trying to pick your brain, thinking you'd already been in there. Don't want to send you on a wild goose chase. But if you ever stop in there, let us know your thoughts.
Enter your email address to join: