Charatible Bike Rides & Some Fun Beer Posts
May 11th, 2010 beckelTiz the season for bike riding and as June approaches it is the time for me to heckle people for money, for a good cause of course. I don’t tend to enjoy asking people for money but these two charities are certainly worth your investment. Every year I participate in the Tour de Cure for the American Diabetes Association and the MS150 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Tour de Cure locally is a 62 mile ride around the Twin Cities and nationally raised almost $17 Million last year to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. The MS150 is a two day, 150 mile ride from Proctor to White Bear Lake, Minnesota that has a goal of raising $2 Million locally this year to help cure Multiple Sclerosis and help support those suffering from MS. Both are wonderful rides that are very well supported with local variants in many cities. If you are interested in cycling and have a passion for any of these causes I would highly recommend you see what they are doing in your community as not only will you be able to help others but also have a lot of fun yourself. If you are able I would greatly appreciate of your support in our fund raising efforts. To donate to my team(s) please check my Donations page and follow the links there. Many thanks!
Back to the beer. Here are a few recent local posts that I have enjoyed. First from the Heavy Table and local author of Land of Amber Waters; Doug Hoverson’s Let’s grab a beer chart. A handy and humorous guide to help you get what you really want to drink in times of distress.
Less humorous but equally interesting was this recent post from Twin Cities Buisness Magazine complete with various statistics including barrel production and number of employees from almost all of the local breweries and brewpubs in Minnesota; in fact even some I didn’t realize existed. See the link above for original posting. I have copied the post in it’s entirety below in case they decide to break the link.
Ranked by barrels produced in Minnesota | List information taken from the 2009-2010 Business Information Guide
Source: Company representatives and Web sites. If you were not contacted for this list but would like to be in the future, please contact research@tcbmag.com.
*See note at bottom of list.
|
Rank |
Company |
Barrels produced in Minnesota in 2008 |
Top local executive |
Employees in |
Most popular products |
|
1 |
219 North Red River Avenue |
150,000 |
Maurice Bryan |
160 / 211 |
Stite, Gluek, Northern, Cold Spring Crafts, Hard Lemonade |
|
2 |
1860 Schell Road |
92,000 |
Ted Marti |
46 / 46 |
Grain Belt Premium, Grain Belt Premium Light, Schell’s Firebrick, Schell’s Octoberfest, Schell’s Dark |
|
3 |
910 Montreal Circle |
82,371 |
Mark Stutrud |
49 / Not provided |
Summit Extra Pale Ale, Summit Pilsener, Summit Winter Ale, Summit Maibock, Summit Oktoberfest |
|
4 |
4811 Dusharme Drive |
4,637 |
Omar Ansari |
8 / 8 |
Furious, Bender, Cynic |
|
5 |
619 South 10th Street |
4,300 |
Jacquie Berglund |
1 / Not provided |
Finnegans Irish Amber |
|
6 |
Granite City Food & Brewery, Ltd. 5402 Parkdale Drive, Suite 101 |
3,893 |
Steven Wagenheim |
575 / 2,956 |
Northern Light Lager, Brother Benedicts Bock, Duke of Wellington IPA, Oktoberfest, Belgian Wit |
|
7 |
25 Dale Street North, Suite 112 |
3,600 |
Frank Yarusso |
1 / 5 |
Brewer’s Cave Golden Caramel Lager, Blue Diamond Lager, Blue Diamond Light, Riverside Light (private label) |
|
8 |
600 East Superior Street |
2,500 |
Tim Nelson |
130 / 130 |
Starfire Pale Ale, Lighthouse Golden Ale, Park Point Pilsner, Witch Tree Extra Special Bitter, Big Boat Oatmeal Stout, Apricot Wheat |
|
9 |
Lake Superior Brewing Company, LLC 2711 West Superior Street |
1,600 |
Don Hoag |
2 / 2 |
Special Ale, Oatmeal Stout |
|
10 |
201 First Street |
1,300 |
Dustin Brau |
12 / 12 |
Scotch Ale, Strawberry Wheat, Cream Stout, Sheep Head Ale, Ring Neck Braun Ale |
|
11 |
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery 800 LaSalle Plaza |
1,234 |
Jim Gose |
60 / 2,000 |
North Star Lager, Erik the Red, Stillwater Stout, Itasca Extra Pale Ale, Big Horn Nut Brown Ale, Hop Bomb IPA, Angry Hippie Ale, El Jefe Hefeweizen, Saison, Belgian Tripel Bock, Fallen Angel Abby Ale, Black Bull Imperial Stout |
|
12 |
1430 Washington Avenue South |
1,200 |
Pete Rifakes |
35 / 35 |
Masala Mama IPA |
|
13 |
2035 Benson Avenue |
750 |
Cathie Williamson |
2 / 2 |
Belgian Pale Ale, Element 115 Lager, Cygnus X-1 Porter, Black Helicopter Coffee Stout, Northwest Passage IPA |
|
14 |
426 St. Peter Street |
633 |
Sean O’Byrne |
54 / 54 |
Not provided |
|
15 |
3320 Third Street North |
422 |
Nick McCann |
30 / 30 |
McCann’s Golden Ale, High Bank Amber, Deep Seven IPA, Triple Trouble, Apricot Coriander, Prairie Porter |
|
16 |
781 Old Highway 8 Southwest |
280 |
John Moore |
15 / 15 |
Little Barley Bitter, Stockyard IPA, Wild Brunette, Old Eight Porter |
|
17 |
Wellington’s Backwater Brewing Company 1429 Service Drive |
110 |
Chris Gardner |
18 / 18 |
Wheat, Pale Ale, Nut Brown |
|
18 |
1906 Greeley Street South |
105 |
Dan Schwarz |
4 / 4 |
Farm Girl Saison, Lift Bridge Pale Ale, Harvestor, Biscotti, Kimono Girl |
|
19 |
Boathouse Brewpub & Restaurant 47 East Sheridan Street |
80 |
Mark Bruzek |
30 / 30 |
Entry Point Golden Ale, Rye Fish At All Pale Ale, Eel Pout Oatmeal Stout, Wild Rice ESB |
|
20 |
1254 West Seventh Street |
60 |
Andy Grage |
5 / 5 |
Loose Moose Lager, Red Hyena Ale, Walnut Brown Ale |
|
21 |
All American Grill & Brewhouse 101 Summerfield Drive |
50 |
Steve LaPlant |
67 / 67 |
Golden Ugly, Ugly Red |
|
22 |
Mantorville Brewing Company, LLC 101 East Fifth Street |
50 |
Tod Fyten, II |
1 / 1 |
Stagecoach Amber Ale, Stagecoach Golden Ale, Stagecoach Smoked Porter |
|
23 |
St. Croix Brewing Company, LLC 363 Webster Street |
50 |
Tod Fyten, II |
1 / 1 |
St. Croix Cream Ale, St. Croix Cream Stout, St. Croix Maple Ale, Serrano Pepper Ale |
Note: Chatterbox Pub, The Herkimer Pub & Brewery, and Pig’s Eye Brewing Company, LLC, do not appear on this list because they would not provide ranking criteria. Crispin Cider Company and McCoy’s Public House do not appear because all products are brewed in another state.
• Finnegans, Inc., is a contract brewer that gives all profits to local charities.
• Blue Diamond Brewing Company and Lift Bridge Beer Company’s products are contract brewed.
• Vine Park Brewing Company operates exclusively as a brewery in which customers create their own beer on the premises.