Sips of the Summer

Local Brews

Paul Dols

by Corinne Stremmel

Hot summer days call for a cold beer, right? When the temperatures start to climb, you might find yourself reaching for something light with a crispy, citrusy finish. That’s what we tried to embody when we set out on a cold spring day in April in preparation for this story.

The Savour team set out to sample beers from five local breweries, and this is what we found: five beers that we would personally sip dockside on a clear July day.

Check out our picks and summer recs from the brewers themselves. Plus learn where you can pick up beer to go. If you’d rather hang around the taproom, these breweries have plenty going on all summer long.

Hop & Barrel

What’s new:

Hops & Barrel, located in Hudson, WI wants to be the brewery where you can go to just hang out. Now back to their summer schedule of events, Hop & Barrel has live music and a lot of parties lined up as well as some more unconventional entertainment like pro wrestling from Iron Heart out of St. Paul. “We’re sort of the type to try anything and see what works,” said owner Justin Terbeest. And as far as we’re concerned, beer and pro wrestling work surprisingly well.

What’s now:

For a true summer shandy, try Hop & Barrel’s Lemon Breaker, a lemon craft soda blend with a low alcohol content. The brewery sources its craft soda locally from Spring Grove Soda, making Hop & Barrel the largest distributor of craft soda in Wisconsin. For IPA lovers try the Hazy Valley, a very approachable, hazy IPA with floral notes, making it just thirst-quenching enough for a hot summer day. The 5th Triple is a West Coast IPA with a palatable, dry finish with massive notes of pineapple. Lightweights beware, this one packs an 11% ABV punch.

Consider this the only beer guide you need this summer.

Where can I get some?

Hop & Barrel distributes throughout northwestern Wisconsin including the twin ports of Duluth and Superior. They can also be found throughout the Twin Cities.

Savour’s summer picks:

We loved the Muchos Ojos, a Mexican beer crafted to not be overly Americanized. “We tried some true Mexican craft beer and it had so much body and flavor,” said Terbeest. New Zealand hops give off a nice lime flavor for easy sipping. “You gotta know the rules to break them,” said Terbeest on crafting our top pick.

Bi g Wood Brewing

What’s new:

Big Wood has a new location brewing just four miles away from their current White Bear Lake location in Vadnais Heights. The small English-style taproom, inspired by owner Jason Medvec’s trip to England, is TV-free and the perfect place to catch up with a friend. “We’ve just outgrown the space,” said Medvec. The brewery hopes to move in early 2023.

What’s now:

Big Wood knows how to do beer, but they aren’t afraid to step into the increasingly popular realm of seltzers. Every month Big Wood is introducing new seltzer flavors like mimosa and Arnold Palmer. As for beers, they’ve been getting into classic German beers like the Großes Holz, a crisp German lager as well as a kölsch style beer, which Big Wood serves extra cold. Medvec provided us with a little fun fact about kölsches: they were originally served to German farmers as a refreshing beverage during hot summer days. For you IPA people, try the colorfully named Jet Pack Armadillo, which has just a hint of tropical flavor.

Where can I get some?

Grab a crowler or growler from the taproom or pick up your favorite Big Wood beers at any major retailer in the Twin Cities.

Savour’s summer picks:

The Blood Orange Hefeweizen stood out to us. Maybe it was the slew of traditional German beers we tried, but this one was giving the summer flavor we had been looking for. Light and refreshing with a hint of banana and clove plus some blood orange, of course, made for another easy drinker.

Pitchfork

What’s new:

Owner Mike Fredricksen has over 180 beer styles under his belt, but he always has more ideas coming. The pre-prohibition style brewery, in Hudson, WI is known for keeping all things local: local hops, local ingredients, even local water from an onsite well. Feeling peckish at Pitchfork? Their menu includes pizza, sandwiches and German-style pretzels, plus their pizza is made with spent grains from the brewing process.

What’s now:

A hoppy coriander witbier is coming onto the scene this summer. It has a nice malty flavor that adheres to its German roots. Pitchfork will also have a classic summer Hefeweizen with notes of banana and clove. Its slight bubblegum flavor adds a bit of a twist.

Where can I get some?

Pitchfork distributes a few varieties, mainly their French Toast beer, in the Madison area, but you’ll have to check out the taproom for yourself to pick up some of Pitchfork’s beers

Savour’s summer picks:

Just wait until you hear the story behind our pick, Chicken Dog, but first here’s the lowdown on our summer selection. It’s a rich lager with a low ABV, clocking in at 4.5%. Fredricksen describes it as “malt forwarded.” Now for its name. The beer is named after a chicken Fredrickson owned that acted just like a dog. “I would come home from work and the chicken would be waiting for me in the driveway,” said Fredricksen. “It must have imprinted on me.” Like any good brewer, the oddly behaved chicken became a golden opportunity for a beer name. “Yeah my buddy was like, ‘you should name a beer after it.’”

Lift Bridge

What’s new:

Lift Bridge has officially made its way into Wisconsin. The New Richmond location is now open, but their Stillwater location, which is the oldest taproom in Minnesota, is still the place for live music, wrestling and brunches. “It’s just a fun place to come out and party,” said owner Brad Glynn.

What’s now:

Brad’s innovation team had been releasing a series of smaller, exclusive varieties of new brews. “We’re kind of known for our flagship ones like Farm Girl and the Mango Blonde, but our innovation team’s job is to pick out cool varieties,” said Glynn. The latest release has been a line of double dry hop IPAs, or DDH, if you’re a real beer nerd. The double hops impart lots of flavor with a nice bitter balance to sweet malt. Keep an eye out open for another new release called Your Car’s Extended Warranty. Lift Bridge has been trying to contact you about this one…

Where can I get some?

You can pick up Lift Bridge throughout the metro at independent and major retailers. “Your favorite neighborhood liquor store should have Lift Bridge,” said Glynn.

Savour’s summer picks:

What can we say? Folks love the Mango Blonde and we do too. It’s a fruit-forward blonde ale with a light golden maltiness to it. Made with mango puree, your first sniff and sip will be straight mango bliss. It’s not overly sweet and is very refreshing. The ABV is at 4.75% so “you can have a couple if you’re sweating,” said Glynn.

River Siren

What’s new:

Well, the whole place is pretty new. River Siren had its grand opening this May and is already settling into the Stillwater community. The brewery is home to “river views and rotating brews” according to Brian Carlson who owns the joint with his wife Harmony. Rent out River Siren’s mezzanine level or hang out on the patio and watch the boats go by all summer long.

What’s now:

River Siren is rolling out their newest beer, Sunshine Baby, named in honor of the couple’s son who passed away not long after he was born. This witbier has a light, crispy citrus vibe with notes of orange peel and coriander. Her Presence, Apparition Hazy IPA and Calm of Chaos are among River Siren’s refreshing summer beers despite their occult names.

Where can I get some?

River Siren isn’t currently distributing, but you can pick up crowlers and growlers from the taproom.

Savour’s summer picks:

We picked Calm of Chaos, a good middle-of-the-road beer. Medium hops, medium body, spectacular sipping. A combo of Centennial hops and East Kent Golding hops makes this pale ale a crowd-pleaser.

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Cherry-Quinoa Salad

SERVES 8

Ingredients:

2 cups 1 cup

¾ cup

½ cup

1 tbsp.

Cooked quinoa, cooled Pitted, halved fresh cherries Peeled and seeded diced cucumber Crumbled fresh cheese, such as queso fresco or feta Zest of 1 lime Finely minced fresh mint (approx.) Freshly squeezed lime juice, to taste (approx.) Kowalski’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to taste (approx.) Kosher salt (approx.) Freshly ground Kowalski’s Black Peppercorns, to taste

3 tbsp.

3 tbsp.

½ tsp. ¼ tsp. Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine first 6 ingredients (through mint). Drizzle salad with lime juice and oil; season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss until well combined.