The Blog

Get Whirly! Same big bash, big new name. Indeed Brewing Company presents WHIRLYGIG 2015. Whirlygig is our third annual spring celebration, and it’s going down during the Northeast Arts District’s biggest weekend of the year!

Our brewery blow-out kicks off Friday May 15 through Sunday May 17. Fuel your artistic adventures all weekend long with three days of live music presented by First Avenue, food trucks, and plenty of your favorite Indeed brews.

Whirlygig hours: Friday May 15, 3-11pm. Saturday May 16 12-11pm. Sunday May 17 12-8pm. 

Fast and loose. Up for anything. That’s our Derailed Series. It’s a breeding ground for new ideas, and a welcome chance for our brewers to break out of their everyday routines and recipes. These guys are experts at brewing the beers you know and love, but they’ve each got their own backgrounds and taste and technique they bring with them; Derailed offers them a chance to test, to play, to create. If our flagship beers are our foundation, and the seasonals are our four walls, then Derailed beers are the personalized touches around the house, the things you don’t really need but which fill a place with personality. Like a vintage tiki bar in the basement. Or taxidermy.

Thanks to the Derailed Series, and our adventures in infusion and casked beer, we were able to represent at an event like the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild’s Winterfest 2015 with 12 different styles of beer poured over the course of two nights, almost all of which were rare, limited release, or otherwise unique to the festival. It was a treat for us to share these beers with this group of craft beer enthusiasts, beers like the previously retired Derailed BeCherry aged in port barrels, our newly released Derailed Bock, and big hits of the weekend like our Margarita Mexican Cousin infused with lime and salt, and the wildly popular Apricot Saison. We had a blast, and being voted Best Brewery on Friday, February 27 of Winterfest 2015 was a happy bonus! Cultivating Derailed and its spin-offs embraces exploration, and allows us to fill out our line-up with out-of-the-box brews.

So, what’s on tap for Derailed right now? Let’s revisit that Bock. Toasty and nutty, with aromas of caramel and juicy raisins, our Derailed Series Bock was masterfully crafted by brewer Dan Stavig with an all-German malt bill, German hops, and “the power of the Reinheitsgebot [German beer purity law].” Dan comes to us by way of Schell’s Brewing Company, and as he puts it, “Working at Schell's for a couple years gave me a passion for German lagers. There's never a shortage of hoppy ales at Indeed, so I figured a big but balanced lager would be a nice change of pace, both from a brewing/fermentation standpoint and from a drinking one.” Malty and satisfying, Dan’s Derailed Bock pours a deep mahogany brown and goes down smoothly with a luxurious mouthfeel. Round-bodied, well-balanced, and warming, it’s just the kind of liquid bread we need to see us through to Spring.

Thirsty yet? Then come see us in the taproom! With the exception of festivals and special tappings around town, our taproom is often the only place to get a taste of the latest Derailed Series offerings. We're hearing whispers of Derailed beers to come, from an oatmeal stout, to a session IPA, to an homage to a local donut shop's much-loved maple stick (fingers crossed). Stop in, see what's new, and stay awhile. You might just be shoulder to shoulder with the brewer behind that beer in your hand.

Brewed with an unfettered blend of Mosaic, Calypso, and El Dorado hops, LET IT RIDE is back! Our seasonal IPA drops Tuesday February 24, hitting liquor store shelves in bright green cans and the tap towers of bars and restaurants across the Twin Cities and throughout the state.

Hop-heads who had a taste of Let it Ride when it was last released have been waiting on pins and needles for this beer to reappear, and with good reason! Let it Ride is all about new American hops and showcasing their big, fruity aromas. When it comes to Let it Ride’s three foundational hop varieties, Indeed Head Brewer Josh Bischoff says, “Mosaic hops, those are all blueberry, dank, and more blueberry. From the Calypso, I get a lot of pineapple. And with the El Dorado hops, there’s a mix of tropical fruit, and pear.” With these powerfully aromatic hops, supported by a strong malt backbone, we get a big, fruity IPA with a beautiful copper color and a satisfying body.

To celebrate Let it Ride’s return we’re kicking off its season with a new kind of beer release party at the Turf Club. Live music starts at 7pm with Narco States, Flasher, and DJ Paper Sleeves! Plus, we’ll be tapping four hard-to-find barrel-aged Indeed beers in the Clown Lounge for a bonus ‘Barrel-Aged Basement’ event, sampling flights of Wooden Soul #1, Mexican Cousin, Be Cherry, and Rum King.

Just like getting back in the saddle on your two-wheeler after a long, frozen winter, you’ll pick up with Let it Ride right where you left off. Take a deep breath, and hop on!

It’s been a big year for Mexican Honey! Huge.

Since Mexican Honey was last available on draft and in 750 ml bottles, we road-tripped this Imperial Lager out to Denver for the Great American Beer Festival, and brought back a silver medal! Nothing like a little hardware to make a great beer taste that much more satisfying.

Then, we thought to ourselves, ‘Mexican Honey: that’s one remarkable lager with a mighty personality. It deserves some larger than life packaging to match.’ So we got to work designing a tallboy can for this year’s release of Mexican Honey, and starting tomorrow, Tuesday February 10, you can pick up four-packs of our Imperial Lager at liquor stores through March.

If you haven’t yet had a taste of this seasonal specialty, a little background on the beer: Mexican Honey is an Imperial Lager, similar to a classic lager but bigger and bolder, with a higher alcohol content than traditional lagers. You can expect a clean lager character, and bright mandarin citrus tamed by a subtle malt backbone. With strong aromatic notes of honeycomb and graham cracker, Mexican Honey is crisp, dry, and refreshing.

This beer pours crystal clear and golden yellow with a rocky white head. It’s delicious solo, but equally tasty with food: our Imperial Lager is a natural match for lighter fare like seafood, shellfish, and poultry, especially when prepared with a bit of citrus and a subtle sweetness. Try it alongside crab cakes with a squeeze of fresh lemon, fluffy lobster rolls, lime-spiked ceviche, or beer can chicken on the grill.

If we’ve whetted your appetite, join us for the official release party at Cocina Del Barrio in Edina on Tuesday, February 10, where they’ll be tapping Mexican Honey at 4pm along with Mexican Cousin, our Imperial Lager aged six months in Anejo tequila barrels! Barrio’s kitchen has whipped up some Latin-inspired food pairings for the beer, including beer-battered chicken tacos with tequila-orange pico de gallo, and braised pork belly with pinto beans and agave vinaigrette.

Following the official release, we’ll be pouring Mexican Honey and Mexican Honey in the taproom on Wednesday February 11, and we’ll be out and about on the town with plenty of liquor store tastings, tap takeovers, and other fun events to celebrate the triumphant return of our award-winning cerveza. Get it while you can, and see what all the buzz is about!

Beginning in early February, Indeed Brewing Company will partner with Minnesota-based beverage distributor Bernick's to expand our beer distribution territory to Northern Minnesota including Duluth, Superior, and the North Shore!

“We’re happy to officially announce this partnership with Bernick’s and look forward to a longstanding relationship,” says Nathan Berndt, co-founder at Indeed. “To be able to bring our beer to the North Shore is a huge step for us and we are thrilled to have our product on shelves and on tap ‘up north’ in Duluth, Superior, and beyond.”

Bernick’s is a fourth-generation family-owned business that proudly provides full service beverage, vending, and foodservice solutions to the Central Minnesota area since 1916.

“Bernicks is proud to partner with Indeed to bring great products to the Duluth/Superior market,” says Dean Bernick, Chief Executive Officer at Bernick’s. “Indeed’s superior quality and reputation will be a wonderful addition for us and the community.”

In addition to Bernick’s, Indeed Brewing Company currently self-distributes in the Twin Cities metro and works with J.J. Taylor Minnesota, Dalheimer Beverage, and D&D Beverage to distribute beer across the state of Minnesota. We look forward to serving our North Shore customers were a greater variety and availability of our beers as early as next month. Stay tuned in with us on Twitter and Facebook for more information on our launch week events in Duluth!