Beer

By James Figy

Lost Sanity Brewing in Madelia offers a great dark beer called Personality Disorder, which proves you don't have to go far find interesting options beyond Mankato.

So you say you don’t like dark beer?

The darkest day of the year is Dec. 21. But the darkest month when it comes to beer, at least, is January.

People’s palates will inevitably turn to lighter flavor profiles in spring. But for now, taprooms remain full of the roasted-malt styles they’ve been brewing since fall. “The second the campfire comes out, so do the dark beers,” said Caleb Fenske, brewer and co-owner of Lost Sanity Brewing in Madelia. “I wonder if that feeling, sitting around a campfire, has to do with wintertime where you cozy up to something.”

During frigid Minnesota winters, flavors of coffee, chocolate, nut and caramel, combined with a dry finish and (sometimes) higher alcohol content, offer a more substantial sip. But dark beers aren’t a monolith. They can appear jet black, brown or dark amber, with styles ranging from standard stouts and porters to black IPAs, dark lagers and more, with many variations.

As such, dark beers aren’t always heavy, full-bodied or high ABV, said Jim Parejko, brewer and co-owner of LocAle Brewing Company in Mankato. “Another common misconception is that dark beers all have an astringent roasted malt character,” he said. “The diversity of dark malts and associated flavors or aromas available for brewing is just as broad as the diversity of hop varieties.”

So if you’re one of the many who claim not to like dark beers, maybe it’s just that you haven’t found the right one yet.

My goal – with this column and going forward – is to highlight noteworthy beers, particularly from the Minnesota River Valley and throughout the state. By exploring new trends and traditions, I want to help folks fall in love with craft beer all over again.

One brewery that emphasizes dark styles each January is Finnegans Brew Co. You might be more familiar with its ubiquitous Irish Amber. However, the brewery has been hosting an annual dark beer celebration since 2020 with special releases at the Minneapolis taproom, according to CEO Jacquie Berglund.

The 2022 Dark Month will include Starry Night (barrel-aged Belgian stout with funky notes from brett yeast), BB2 (oak aged American stout conditioned on blackberry puree), Northern Arms (smoky, roasty, fullbodied export stout) and a revamped Baltic Porter. The boozy Russian imperial stout, Caorthannach, will return, along with a version aged in Pinot Noir barrels.

Dead Irish Poet, Finnegans’ flagship stout, will be available, both in its classic form and with a new twist due to a collaboration with Caribou Coffee. Mixing in cold press coffee delivers a solid, easy-drinking winter beer that’s full of flavor without sitting heavy.

“It's really on the nose, so you really smell the coffee. The bouquet is beautiful on that beer,” Berglund said. “Then it has this very subtle coffee finish. It's not overpowering, but it just leaves the best taste in your

mouth.”

Judging by how quickly I went through a six-pack of Dead Irish Poet Caribou Coffee, I’d say that’s pretty accurate.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go far to find interesting options. In Madelia, Lost Sanity will have Personality Disorder Porter and its flagship Maniacal Reality brown ale, which has been one of my favorites since they opened. To keep PDP on tap through January, Fenske had to brew a second batch. “It went twice as fast as I was used to,” he said.

This month will also see a new imperial milk stout from LocAle inspired by flavors of French toast and coffee. Later, near the brewery's anniversary, Jim and Lauren Parejko hope to tap a sessionable maltforward Czech-style dark lager. “This is one of the unique styles of beer we really enjoyed when traveling in Prague a few years back,” he said.

January might seem like a grand finale since LocAle has also been celebrating dark beers throughout the colder months. Distant Dawn, a seasonal favorite, arrived on tap for the winter solstice. And Schwarzwald, a Schwarzbier-style dark German lager, followed soon after. “That is light-medium in body but with lots of malt character and smooth coffee-like dark roast notes. Also a taproom favorite, it's a dark beer for those that don't usually like dark beers,” Parejko said.

If that describes you, maybe this is a good place to begin. Start with a sample pour, or maybe as one in a flight. But once a dark beer finally wins you over, there’s an almost endless range of styles, flavors and shades awaiting you next season.

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James Figy is a writer and beer enthusiast based in St. Paul. He is a graduate of the creative writing MFA program at Minnesota State University. Mankato | Amboy | Eagle Lake | Vernon Center | cbfg.net