Sunday, September 30, 2007

Autumn Brew Review


Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild's Autumn Brew Review. This event quickly sold out, but I was able to purchase some tickets from Ryan at MNBeer.com-Thanks Buddy!

The local brewers were in fine form. I tasted some fantastic beers.

I was very touched by the beer fans that took time out to talk to me and let me know they missed my beers and they are excited in what's to come. You folks are the best.

I can't wait to be serving next year. Make sure you buy your tickets early.

More ABR Photos




Friday, September 28, 2007

Hop Shortage

Yesterday was a trying day. I spent the afternoon with hop suppliers and it's more bleak than I thought. Hops are virtually bought up. I was lucky to find a vender who had made room in thier supply for start up breweries, otherwise I'd be S.O.L. This reminds us all the beer just doesn't materialize out of thin air. A farmer needs to seed and care for the hops and malt, good folks in the supply chain need to do the work to get the ingredients to the brewers, and if things are tough(weather/other factors) we(brewers) do not get what we need-simple as that. Raise a pint for those guys & gals tonight. Word.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Mill Room Ready


I started cleaning and organizing the mill room about three weeks ago. The electrician accidentally snipped the wires to the light/outlet circuit, so I had to move on to other things. We finally got power back yesterday. So...the mill room is done and ready to go. Waiting for the grain scale to arrive via brown santa any day now.

My next mission today is to get my hop order sorted out. We(brewers) are in a bit of a hop crisis right now. This years supply is mostly gone and the crop isn't looking great for next year. I hope to have hops coming my way soon one way or the other.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Race Action: Pork Chop Challenge


Riders battling up one of the many climbs.

The Pork Chop Challenge

My local Bicycling club "The Mid Minnesota Cycling Club" once again hosted The Pork Chop Challenge cyclocross race. In past years O'Hara's would donate a keg to this event. Since we are not up and running yet at McCann's, Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center came through in a pinch. The club thanks Omar at Surly for providing a ample portion of yummy Bender oatmeal brown ale. Surly has been known to sponsor other cycling events, so cyclists:
Go get some Surly!
See the website for the 411:
http://www.surlybrewing.com/

Friday, September 14, 2007

Moonlighting


During this summers "down time" I landed a job as coffee roaster at Dunn Bros. in Monticello. I have a passion for coffee as well as beer and I have been home roasting for seven years or so. This here is my Diedrich IR-3 roaster. I do six pound batches. I hope to incorporate our coffee in some of McCann's future seasonals.


Side shot of the Diedrich. You can see part of the after burner to the right. This reduces smoke emissions.


Half of our green bean stock. Dunn carries a nice variety of single origin beans.


Green beans just added to roaster. These are Brasils.


Roasting-yellow stage

Dumping the beans.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Drum Roll Please...

It's time to annonuce our beer line up!
Here's the tentative brews:
McCann's Golden Ale-Our easy drinking brew-light body, clean hops, a perfect session beer.
High Bank Amber-nice middle of the road amber brewed with all Belgian malts.
Deep Seven IPA-organic English floor malted pale ale malt, two other malts and four hops.
Dark Seasonal Tap-first up will be a porter.
Seasonal Tap-first up will be a Belgian single.
Don't hold be to this, but I'm pretty sure that's the line up. I'll have more details on each beer as things develop.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Don't Forget!

Autumn Brew Review 2007
When: Saturday, September 29
Time: 1 – 6 p.m.
Where: Warehouse lot of the historic Grain Belt Brewery complex – NE Minneapolis
Website: Visit www.mncraftbrew.org/abr for more details!
The 7th annual Autumn Brew Review craft beer festival will take place on Saturday, September 29, 2007 from 1 – 6 pm at a new, exciting vintage beer venue……the historic Grain Belt Brewery complex in Northeast Minneapolis! 40+ Breweries from Minnesota and other regional breweries will be pouring well over 130+ different craft beers. This outdoor festival, produced by and benefiting the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, will feature unlimited beer samples, a commemorative tasting glass, live music all day from local bands: The Alarmists, Romantica and others. Tasty food vendors on-site, including Pizza LucĂ© and Uncle Franky's. Voting for your favorite beer and table display competitions, and a good time to be had by all at this beautiful historic beer venue on the banks of the mighty Mississippi.
Ticket Info:
$25 Advanced General Admission / $30 Door General Admission (if available)
$10 Sober Driver - no glassware / alternative wristband / access to the festival, live music and non-alcoholic drinks
To Purchase Tickets online visit the official website: www.mncraftbrew.org/abr
You can also purchase General Admission tickets in person at: (cash/check only at these outlets)
Barley John's Brew Pub - New Brighton
Great Waters Brewing Co. - St. Paul
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery - Minneapolis
Ticket price includes unlimited samples of great craft beer and a commemorative tasting glass (while supplies last). The Autumn Brew Review takes place rain or shine. All attendees must be 21+ years of age and must present their valid id at the gate.

Friday, September 7, 2007

We Have a Winner!

The shirt has been grabbed-thanks for playing.

The Sign's on the Door


First off, the shirt is still available. See the last post to win. Things are moving along well. More gets done every day, but I'm getting stoked to brew. The brewery is pretty much ready to go, just waiting for government approval. Lots of construction work to do yet.







Here is the progress on the main dining area.












The downstairs bar is now under construction.









Tuesday, September 4, 2007

T-Shirt Prize Spectacular!




The first person to email me at bikenbrew@charter.net gets this brand spanking new XL shirt. I'll pay shipping. This will not be our final logo. We just thought it would be fun to get these made.