TownHall Beer Releases (Minneapolis)

[IPAfanatic]

In case you didn't know, Town Hall in Minneapolis has beer releases every couple of weeks. They are usually on Tuesday and involve$1 pints of whatever the new brew is from 5 to 6 (also happy hour). The next release is the Maibok, which is also going to involve a party i guess. It's on Saturday, May 15th You can sign up for an email notification of the releases on their mailing list at www.townhallbrewery.com.

See you on the 15th

[IPAfanatic]

Here are the details from the E-mail I got:

Hey all,
We have a beer release Thursday 5/6. Stop in at the Town Hall Brewery (1430 Washington Ave S.) and have a pint of the popular Columbus American Pale Ale for just $1/pint from 5-6 Thursday 5/6.
This beer has returned because many of you asked for it, also I kinda like it. Columbus is named for the most dominent hop, of the same name, used to make this beer.

[davesarman]

I live in the western burb's so I don't get to Town Hall as often as I'd like, especially the Thursday releases. But I am a member of their pint club. If you are not a member, I'd highly recommend becoming one. They only release a limited number of memberships each year, sometime around September or October. But you drink free every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00, along with some other cool benefits. I have this coming Thursday off from work and am going to the Twins game. Was planning on stopping at Town Hall either before or after the game, but I don't think they are doing a beer release this week. Bummer. Guess I'll have to make the Maibock party on Saturday. I actually had some of it a few weeks back during the "I Love Beer" pub crawl. It was very good, but needed a few more weeks to mature a bit. I suspect it will be very good now...

[tavernjef]

I was out of town for the big bash, which I heard was pretty busy.

So I missed trying the maibock, again, missed it last year too.

Oh well, the coffee stout is suppose to be coming back and on cask. Oh my that should be yummy!

[davesarman]

The pub crawl was indeed fun. They had the maibock only for the pub crawlers, which made a couple of the regulars a bit testy, but I just let them sample mine, so that got me in good them...they also had some of the bourbon barrell stout....WOW, that's a damn fine beer! Have never had their coffee stout, sounds good, but doesn't really seem fitting for a summer release tho...

[IPAfanatic]

I had the coffee stout and thought the flavor was pretty good. However, it wasn't nearly as thick tasting as I would have liked. The Cabernet Stout they have on cask right now is better, I think. Also, the Alt Bier exceded any expectation I had for the type. It was my first of this style and left a good impression.

As far as the pint club is concerned...I plan on joining as soon as I am no longer a broke college kid and can afford the wise investment of a $125(?) membership.

[steveh]

Originally posted by davesarman
The pub crawl was indeed fun. They had the maibock only for the pub crawlers, which made a couple of the regulars a bit testy,

Were they testy because they wanted something else, or were they apprehensive due to ABV?

In the German neighborhoods in Chicago, the bartenders have dubbed the Maibock: - for good reason. Did the regulars discover a true [i]crawl after nothing but Mindblock? ;)

S.

[davesarman]

They were definitely put off because they were unable to sample a new beer that the people on the pub crawl were having. The guys I were talking to were quite knowlegeable and passionate about their love of Town Hall's beers.

And yes, by the end of the crawl, there was quite of bit on "mindblock" going on. It's funny how the bus rides get noisier and rowdier as the day progressess...:p

[tavernjef]

The last few times while at TH over the last month I've been in - I've been enjoying the hell out of the Kolsch. Strange name though "BugDope", which I like to say too when ordering.
Yummy stuff!

[davesarman]

Haven't been to TH for about a month now...need to get there, but I think the next time I'll be able to will be the last weekend in July when a bud from SD comes to visit and we'll be going to the Twins-BoSox game. I always park next to TH when I go to a Twins game as it is much cheaper and only about a 10 minute walk to the dome. Hopefully they will still have the Kolsch on by then. But if not, I know they'll have something tasty. Plus Saturday is Pint Club day, so I'll have to make sure to get as much free beer in from 5:00 to 6:00 as possible...(game starts at 6:00 - we might miss the first inning or two...)

[davesarman]

Here's the latest Town Hall beer release info:

Hi folks,
We have a beer release this Thursday (7/29). After some research I was able to track down an English IPA recipe from the year 1800. This is made using the finest floor malted Marris Otter English pale malt and all English hops. These beers were made very stong and bitter for the long sea voyage to India. The alcohol and acidity from the hops worked to preserve the beer.
This particular recipe was hopped at a rate of 5 lbs. per barrel for the entire boil. The resulting beer was so bitter it was probably not very enjoyable until it aged for six months (the time needed to sail to India). We hopped this beer at the same rate, but spaced out the additions to make the beer enjoyable to drink now. It is also strong, about 6.8%abv. Stop by the Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery and try an intro pint for just $1 from 5-6pm Thursday.

We are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of growler sales. Many of you have gathered a large number of growlers over the year and we want to offer you the chance to redeem some of your Town Hall growlers for credit. Here is the scoop-
*Starting this Thursday at the beer release and lasting until the Pig Roast August 21 we will take your TH growler and give you back 5 Town Hall Bucks. The Town Hall Bucks are valid toward any purchase of $15 or more. You may use one $5 TH bill toward each $15 purchase, so if you have a $30 bill for example you may use two of the $5 TH bucks toward the bill. But remember, this offer is only valid this Thursday 7/29-8/21. Thanks for your participation in our growler program

Next up: PIG ROAST PARTY AUG. 21
Mark the date, we will have our annual pig roast party Aug.21st. New this year.....Our first annual Bocce Ball Tournament. Details will follow in a later email or you may talk to Tom behind the bar.

Last but not least-
In addition to our Sunday Night Burger Feast
(Burger,fries, and pint of house beer $4.95 every Sunday 4pm-10pm) we will now offer
Rueben Monday
(Rueben,fries,and pint of house beer $6.95
valid every Monday 11am-10pm)

Hope we see you Thursday
Mike


The beer sounds really interesting and I will be there Saturday afternoon before the Twins-Red Sox game.

[chazwicke]

That beer sounds interesting. Must be like the recent release of Titanic by the English brewer Freeminer. They used an old recipe as well.

[davesarman]

Had a great time at Town Hall this weekend. Tried the 1800, wow, that's a damn hoppy beer! I had a hard time getting through my pint of that one, but partly because it was such a hot humid day. I typically like the hoppy beers better in cooler, autumn weather. They also had on a hefe and a dunkel hefe. Perfect beers for the weather! (More on that later.)

We parked at TH since it's a short 10 minute walk from there to the Metrodome. But we got there early so we could go to the Ribfest downtown. We walked from TH to Ribfest, which was about 10-12 blocks. Had some great ribs and some bad beer there. (beer sponser was Miller, but they had Leinie's, which was only ok, but pretty bad after having a Town Hall hefe.) Hiked it back to TH after filling up on great ribs. Planned on stopping at Kieran's Irish Pub, but it was about 3:00 and they don't open until 4:00 on Saturdays. (How dumb is that?!?) So we walked back to TH and got a little rain shower that just made it more hot and humid. By the time we got there, the Hefe and Dunkel Hefe they had tasted so damn good, I couldn't believe it! There is nothing like a great hefe on a hot humid day. (Plus they didn't stick any damn lemons in it either! If you wanted one, you had to ask for it. That's the way it should be instead of the opposite at most other places!) Now I know why Jackson calls it a "restorative"! Plus, from 4:00 to 5:00 all my beers were free since I was a member of the Pint Club!

We then go to the game and see Mientkewicz in a Sox uniform. Since the trade just happened a couple of hours before hand, no one in the stands knew it happened and no one knew who we got in return. Great game which we won on a late inning homer by Jacque Jones, to the dismay of all the Sox fans there. Surprised by that a bit, must be a lot of Boston transplants in Mpls.

But by far the highlight of the day was the awesome hefe at Town Hall. Perfect beer for the perfect day. Amazing how sometimes the beer fits the mood just perfect and you remember it all the more. This was one of those times.