War & Peace growlers this Saturday at noon!

Most of life's important decisions require some sort of trade-off. That decision making process can be emotionally and physically taxing. Since we're here to make your life easier, we've decided to remove one of those tough decisions for you. That's right: this weekend, you won't have to choose between drinking coffee and beer, because we're giving you both in one attractive package. (Hint: it's an imperial coffee stout in a growler).

The War & Peace growlers will be available when we open at noon on Saturday. We're expecting a good turnout, and we've only made a limited quantity, so make sure to come by earlier in the afternoon if you're dead set on getting one - they may run out before the end of the day. We'll be releasing a few kegs and casks of War & Peace to some of our bar customers, but this will be your only chance to take it home with you this year.

How did we make War & Peace? It started with our Worthy Adversary. When the rest of the batch of Worthy was done fermenting, we filtered it and sent it on to the brite tank to carbonate. But the War & Peace was just getting started, so we left it behind in the fermenter. We picked up about 15 lbs (which is approximately the same amount of coffee  Brian drinks in a week. That may sound like a lot for one person, but trust us, the alternative is worse) of whole bean Guatemalan Dark Roast from our friends over at Peace Coffee. Pete and Mikey filled two mesh bags with the coffee beans and lowered them into the fermenters with fishing lines (which is a key step, if you ever want to get the bags back out).

After about 4 days, the War & Peace took on a wicked coffee aroma and flavor. The only downside? After savoring it, you may find yourself wondering why any stout would be made without coffee.

Also, you may heard tomorrow is Valentines Day. Regardless of your opinion of this love/hate holiday, it's guaranteed to be a great day this year. Why? The good people at Republic have put together a 3-course, 3 Fulton meal, all for just $30. Those of you who have eaten at Republic will know that their food is excellent, so this deal is a steal. And, for all of you procrastinators out there, it's a great bailout for your failure to plan something nice for your sweetheart. 

Oh, by the way: we're building a taproom. We're making great progress. The bar is framed and mostly finished, the plumbing and electrical work are almost done, and the city council has approved our license. We have a little more painting to do, and we'll be putting in a window that will make it easier to keep an eye on Pete and Mikey over in the brewhouse...or for them to thirstily eye your pint of Lonely Blonde while they're busy making your next one. We intend to open the taproom for business sometime in mid-March (we'll keep you posted with an exact date), as soon as we complete the construction and our inspections are all finished. You can get a good look at the progress if you stop in this weekend; otherwise, see below for a quick preview.

Happier Hour!

Thursday, January 19th, we were lucky enough to be invited to Kitchen in the Market for their monthly Happier Hour.  If you've never been, check them out, they do a ton of fun cooking classes, or you can grab some food from one of the many awesome food vendors in the Midtown Global market, pull up a chair, and enjoy your meal as you watch caterers, food trucks, etc... preparing food in the commercial kitchen. 



For this Happier Hour, Chef Molly made a Worthy Adversary Barbeque sauce, which was just as amazing as it sounds (the recipe is below!).  She used it in black bean empanadas to pair with the Lonely Blonde, smothered chicken wings in it to pair with the Sweet Child of Vine, and finished the hour off with a Worthy Adversary Milkshake!  We had an absolute blast, good food, good beer, and fun people.  Happier hour indeed!



     




Worthy Adversary bbq sauce: 

makes about 1 pint


Ingredients:

1C Worthy Adversary russian imperial stout

6oz can tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, split

4T pomegranate molasse

4T tamari

4T honey

4T maple syrup

1/2C bittersweet chocolate chips

4T white wine vinegar

2T canola oil

black pepper to taste


Instructions:

• heat oil in saucepan

• add garlic and sauté until fragrant over med heat

• add tomato paste + stout; stir to combine

• add remaining ingredients, except for chocolate + black pepper

• bring to a simmer

• add chocolate and stir until melted

• add black pepper to taste

• remove from burner and let cool or use immediately

will keep in refrigerator for up to 4 weeks in covered container

We're open the 23rd, 30th, and 31st - and we have Worthy Adversary.

We're on the brink of Christmas, and New Year's is just around the corner. Which means, of course, that you probably have some social gatherings coming up, and nothing goes with gatherings like growlers. We've got you covered. Swing by the brewery during the following days, and we'll help you out:

Friday, December 23rd: 3 - 7

Friday, December 30th: 3 - 7

Saturday, December 31st: 12-4

We'll have growlers of Worthy Adversary, Sweet Child of Vine, and Lonely Blonde available, as well as Fulton gear for any of you last-minute shoppers out there.

Worthy Adversary growlers available on Saturday!

It's that time of year. Temperatures are dropping. Snow is falling. Days are getting shorter. The nights are getting darker...fortunately, so is the beer. Just in time for the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and New Year's, we're releasing the Worthy Adversary in growlers, beginning this Saturday at noon. Haven't had the Worthy Adversary before? Words hardly suffice, but you can expect a heavyweight Russian Imperial Stout clocking in at about 9.5% ABV. Rich, roasty, and redolent of chocolate and coffee flavors, it's surprising that a beer this big drinks this easy.

If you can't make it this Saturday, it will also be available in growlers on Friday the 23rd, Friday the 30th, and on into January. We'll be filling as many as we can for each day of sales, but we expect it to move fast, so your chances are best if you come earlier in the day rather than later. Later on in January, you'll also find it on draft in bars...but there's no reason to wait until then! A growler of the Worthy Adversary is sure to make you the hit of any holiday party. In fact, it's reason enough to start your own party. Just make sure to invite a friend or two, because this one lives up to its name.

 

 

Thanksgiving Weekend Growler Sales & Opening Weekend Recap

In case you haven't noticed, it's almost Thanksgiving. What does that mean? Among other thing: extended meal times with family, daytime football games on Thursday, Black Friday shopping, and the onset of a month-long indundation of Christmas commercials. If any of these strike fear in your heart,  fear not: we're here for you. We'll be open for growler sales no less than three days on this holiday weekend. We hope you can join us.

- Wednesday (Thanksgiving Eve), 11/23: 4:00 - 7:00 pm

- Black Friday, 11/25: Noon - 5:00 pm

- Small Business Saturday, 11/26: Noon - 4:00 pm

Also, a note on our opening last weekend. It's not really possible to fully express our gratitude for your support. After over a year of hard work building our brewery, it was amazing to have hundreds of people come to celebrate our first weekend of growler sales. Based on our turnout Friday and Saturday, it's easy for us to agree with what many are already saying -- that Minnesota is one of the hottest beer scenes in the country. While there are many factors that influence the growth of an industry, support from local government is one of the most important. Minneapolis is a perfect example this in motion. Before last year, our city hadn't had an operational packaging brewery for nearly 40 years. Now, thanks to the support of the mayor and the city council, Minneapolis is set to become one of America's great beer cities. We're honored to be in the middle of it, and most of all (in the spirit of Thanksgiving), we're thankful for Minnesota's fantastic beer enthusiasts. You make it all possible.

Cheers!

Growlers on sale tomorrow at 4!

Tomorrow is the day! We'll be opening the doors for growler sales at 4:00. We hope you're able to join us. A few notes on what to expect:

- Bring the family! All are welcome, but be sure bring an ID to partake in free samples or to purchase growlers.

- We won't be giving official tours, but the brewery will be open for walk-throughs, and we'll be hanging out to talk beer and answer questions.

- Sweet Child of Vine and Lonely Blonde fills: $13

- The Libertine (limited availability — when it’s gone, it’s gone til next year!): $18

- Refillable/exchangeable glass growlers: $5.

- Tax is included in all prices.

- We can only fill Fulton growlers (by MN law).

- Fulton merchandise will also be available for purchase.

- We accept cash and Visa/Amex/Mastercard/Discover credit cards. No checks, please.

To add to the fun, Mayor R.T. Rybak, Councilman Gary Schiff, Councilman Kevin Reich, and Councilman Don Samuels will be on hand to christen the brewery and proclaim November 18th as Fulton Beer Day in Minneapolis.

If you're unable to join us between 4 and 7 tomorrow, we're open from 12 to 5 on Saturday and 3 to 7 next Wednesday. Check out our calendar for hours on future weekends.

Visit our brewery for the first ever growlers on Friday, November 18th!

November, according to many people, is one of the most dreary and boring months in Minnesota. Well, not any more: Beginning November 18th, our new Minneapolis brewery will be open every Friday and Saturday for growler sales!

On the first weekend, we'll be open from 4-7 on Friday and 12-5 on Saturday. Come by to enjoy free samples, take a peek at the brewery, and pick up a growler or two for the weekend. We'll also have some new Fulton gear in stock if you're looking to bundle up for the winter.

Available beers, prices, and some notes:

- Sweet Child of Vine and Lonely Blonde fills: $13

- The Libertine (limited availability -- when it's gone, it's gone til next year!): $18

- Refillable/exchangeable glass growlers: $5.

- Tax is included in all prices.

- We can only fill Fulton growlers (by MN law).

- Fulton merchandise will also be available for purchase.

We'll also be open on Wednesday, 11/23 from 4-7, in case you need something to make Thanksgiving a little more interesting. We hear Sweet Child of Vine pairs well with turkey, and The Libertine may cause extended drowsiness in weird uncles and in-laws.

For a complete schedule of growler sales hours, please check out our calendar page.

Fulton Brewery Address: 414 6th Ave. N, Minneapolis MN 55401.

 

Fulton Bottles Are in Stores Now!

Today, almost two years to the day after we tapped our first keg, we're releasing Sweet Child of Vine and Lonely Blonde in bottles! Over the next few weeks, six packs of 12 oz Fulton bottles will begin to appear in liquor stores across the metro area. We'll keep a running list on the bottom of this page as we deliver to more stores this week, so check back if often if you don't see your local stop on the list.

We assume you read that last paragraph, ran out to your local liquor store, and returned to your computer, Fulton in hand. So, here's more reading material to go with your new beer...

We bottled our first batches of homebrew by hand in Jim's garage. As any homebrewer knows, cleaning, sanitizing, and filling bottles by hands is a slow, painstaking process. The process of getting our commercial beer has been an even slower process, though for altogether different reasons. Even tasks that seems relatively simple, like packaging, are deceptively complex: From designing labels, six-packs, and cases to getting set up with new vendors to going back and forth with proofs and color drawdowns to the government approval process, there's a lot to it. Let's just say we're glad that part is behind us.

Then there's operational constraints. Many of you know of -- and probably helped with -- the recent Minnesota law change to allow breweries to serve beer on-premises in a brewery taproom. The taproom will be a great opportunity, but like most opportunities, it came with a tradeoff: because of space constraints, we had to choose between installing a bottling line or putting in a taproom. We chose to pursue the taproom, which meant we still needed a place to bottle. Fortunately, contract brewing has worked well for our keg production over the last two years, and now it's helping us get Sweet Child of Vine and Lonely Blonde into six packs.

It will take several weeks, but we'll eventually have bottles in most liquor stores in the Twin Cities. If your favorite neighborhood store doesn't have them, be sure to ask them. Just try to be patient, because there's a lot of demand and they could already be waiting for an order, or may have even run out by the time you get there. In the meantime, we'll be pouring samples at several stores around town this week, so please check out our events page if you'd like to come by.

Delivered Monday, 10/24

Big Top – Moundsview
Big Top Liquor – St. Paul
Byerly’s – St. Louis Park
Cellar Wine & Spirits – Shorewood
Cellar Wine & Spirits – Woodbury
Central Ave. Liquor – Minneapolis
Chet’s Liquor – Lilydale
Cork & Barrel – Oakdale
Cub – Arden Hills
Dennis Brothers Liquor – Cottage Grove
Four Firkins – St. Louis Park
Glen Lake Wine & Spirits – Minnetonka
Haskell’s– Stilwater
Heritage Liquor – Maplewood
Jennings Liquors – St. Louis Park
Leaman’s Liquor – Hopkins
Liquor Barrel – Golden Valley
Liquor Barrel – St. Louis Park
MGM – Champlin
MGM – Coon Rapids
MGM – Hopkins
MGM – Minnetonka
MGM – West St. Paul
MGM – Woodbury
MGM Calhoun – Minneapolis
Minnehaha Liquor – Minneapolis
North Loop Wine & Spirits – Minneapolis
Northgate Liquors – Andover
Northgate Liquors – Blaine
Pairings Wine Market – Minnetonka
Premier Wine & Spirits – Osseo
Princeton’s Liquors – Maple Grove
Rapids Warehouse Liquor – Coon Rapids
Rum River Wine & Spirits – Ramsey
South Lyndale Liquor – Minneapolis
Strong Liquor – Minnetonka
Top Ten Wine & Spirits – Woodbury
Tournament Liquor – Blain
U S Liquor & Wine – Minnetonka
Village Wine & Spirits – Lakeland
Vinifera Wines & Ales – Plymouth
Zipps – Minneapolis

 

Delivered Tuesday, 10/25

Bacchus Wine & Spirits – Shoreview
Big Top – St. Paul
Cub Liquors – Bloomington
Dennis Brothers Liquor – Cottage Grove
East Lake Liquor – Minneapolis
Falls Liquor – Minneapolis
France 44 Wine & Spirits – Minneapolis
Gators Liquor – Oakdale
Haskell’s – Bloomington
Heritage Liquor – Maplewood
Lake Ridge Liquor – Vadnais Heights
Liquor Barrel – Crystal
Liquor Barrel – New Brighton
Lower Town Wine & Spirits – St. Paul
Mc Donalds Liquor – Minneapolis
McKnight Liquor – North St. Paul
MGM – Bloomington
MGM – Maplewood
MGM – Oakdale
MGM – Vadnais Heights
Nook – St. Paul
Perrier Wines & Liquors – Bloomington
Skol Liquor – Minneapolis
Thomas Beverage Co – St. Paul
Tower Glen – Roseville
United Penn Lake Liquor – Bloomington
Wine Street’s Spirits – North Oaks

Delivered Wednesday, 10/26

Big Discount – Eagan
Black Diamond Liquor – Eagan
Blue Max Liquor – Burnsville
Byerly’s Wine & Spirits – Eagan
Cellar Wine & Spirits – Eagan
Cellar Wine & Spirits – Roseville
Central Ave. Liquor – Minneapolis
Edina Liquor – Edina (York)
Fairview Wine & Spirits – Roseville
Haskell’s – St. Paul (Ford Parkway)
Haskell’s Liquor – Burnsville
Hennepin Lake Liquor – Minneapolis
Hum’s Liquor – Minneapolis
International Wine/Liquor – St. Paul
Kowalski’s – Eagan
Kowalski’s Wine Market – Woodbury
Liquor Barrel – Lino Lakes
Liquor Village – St. Paul
Lowry Hill Liquor – Minneapolis
Main Street Liquor Barrel – Centerville
Metro Liquor – St. Paul
MGM – Eagan (Pilot Knob)
MGM – St. Paul (Larpentuer)
Morellis Discount Liquor – St. Paul
Network Liquors – Roseville
North Loop Wine & Spirits – Minneapolis
Perrier Wine N Spirits – Eagan
Silver Lake Village – St. Anthony
Snelling Liquors – Roseville
Sorella Wine & Spirits – Minneapolis
St. Anthony Market – St. Anthony
Surdyks Liquor – Minneapolis
West End Liquors – Red Wing

 

Delivered Thursday, 10/27

B&G Liquors – Minneapolis
Big Discount – South St. Paul
Boozemart – West St. Paul
Buon Giorno – Lilydale
Byerly’s Wine & Spirits – Burnsville
Cub Liquors – West St. Paul
Edina Liquor – Edina (Vernon Ave.)
First Grand Ave. Liquor – St. Paul
Hasen’s Liquor – Stillwater
Haskell’s Liquor – Minnetonka
Haskell’s Liquor – Woodbury
Heritage Liquor – Maplewood
Kowalski’s Wine Market – Woodbury
Lake Wine & Spirits – Minneapolis
Liberty Village Wine – Stillwater
Liquor Time – Oak Park Heights
Little Wine Shoppe – St. Paul
Marshall Liquor – St. Paul
MGM – Hastings
MGM Calhoun – Minneapolis
Oaks Wine & Spirits – Oak Park Heights
Park Liquor – St. Paul
Ramaley Liquor – St. Paul
Rite Liquor – St. Paul
River Liquor – Minneapolis
Scotts Liquor – St. Paul
Selby Wines & Spirits – St. Paul
Sentyrz – Minneapolis
Sharrett’s Inc. – St. Paul
Williams Uptown Pub – Minneapolis
Wine Thief – St. Paul

 

Delivered Friday, 10/28

Arbor Pointe Liquor – Inver Grove Heights
Big Discount – St. Paul
Cheers Wine & Spirits – Bloomington
Chicago Lake Liquor – Minneapolis
Crossroads Liquor – Shakopee
Edina Liquor – Edina (50th St.)
Franklin-Nicollet Liquor – Minneapolis
Fridley Liquor – Fridley
Greenway Liquor – Minneapolis
Haskell’s – Minneapolis
Haskell’s Liquor – White Bear Lake
Liquor Barrel – Mahtomedi
Liquor Barrel – New Brighton
Liquor Barrel – St. Louis Park
Mc Donalds Liquor – Minneapolis
MGM – Inver Grove Heights
MGM – Prior Lake
MGM – St. Paul (White Bear Ave.)
MGM – White Bear Lake
On the Rocks Wine & Spirits – Hugo
Shakopee Wine Cellars – Shakopee
South Lyndale Liquor – Minneapolis
Tonka Bottle Shop – Minnetonka
Top Ten Wine & Spirits – Cottage Grove
Top Valu #1 – Columbia Heights
Zipps – Minneapolis


Bottles, breweries, and block parties? We're there...

Each day, the air gets colder. The leaves are about to change. Daylight savings time is drawing to a close. We've been working on our brewery for a year now. There are times when it feels like the new brewery will never be done. So why do we feel better than ever? Well, to paraphrase Joyce Carol Oates on the value of perseverance:

"I have forced myself to begin [brewing] when I've been utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul as thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes... and somehow the activity of [brewing] changes everything."

Ok, we took some liberties with her words, but her point remains, and feels applicable here. We're not sure if Joyce is a beer drinker, but we think she would agree: After a long year of persevering, October will be incredibly rewarding. We think you'll agree too -- read on.

We're happy to say that our new Minneapolis brewery is (partially) licensed and operational! Rumor has is that all four of our tanks are filled with Sweet Child, Libertine, and even Worthy Adversary. We have our TTB (federal) Brewer's Notice, which allows to produce and sell wholesale. So, as soon as our filter arrives in the next couple weeks, we'll be shipping our first kegs out of the new brewery.  We're still waiting for our retail license for growlers. We expect to have that and be ready for growler sales and tours by early November. So, even though this is a huge month, next month might be even more fun! But wait, there's still more going on in October...

...after two long years of having nothing but draft beer, we are releasing bottles this month! Starting the week of October 24th, you'll finally be able to pick up six packs of Lonely Blonde and Sweet Child of Vine at liquor store, bars, and restaurants near you. If your local stop doesn't have it, make sure to ask them! We'll do our best to keep up with demand.

In case this all sounds like a lot of work, well it is. But on the spectrum of work, it's way on the good end. Need proof? Check out the fun stuff we get to do in this cool video by our friends at Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine. Need even more proof? Come join us this Sunday at the 1st Annual 12th & Hennepin Block party. The Bullfrog and the all new Butcher and the Boar are putting on the party, and our friends at The4ontheFloor will be headlining the music act.

Hosting industry luminaries at the new Fulton brewery

In our opinion, the entire week leading up to Autumn Brew Review should be a holiday week. Specialty beer tappings abound, we can't stop at a bar without bumping into an old friend, and of course, the actual ABR festival itself culminates an incredible - and exhausting - week. One of the absolute highlights of our week, however, was completely unplanned.

Following a round-table discussion with Hohensteins (our distributor) and representatives from most of the 18 craft brewers in their portfolio, we had the opportunity to take the whole crew on a tour of our new brewery. Brewers, sales reps, founders, and owners from Bell's, Great Lakes, Founders, Left Hand, Big Sky, Furthermore, New Holland, and Two Brothers all came by to check out the brewery--and of course, share a couple pints of Sweet Child of Vine. Our journey from garage to brewery over the last couple years has had its share of "is this really happening?" moments, but this was one of the biggest. Together, these guys brew more in a day than we have in the last year, but far cooler than the volume they account for is how humble, helpful, and fun they all are. Even though we've been in the business for two years now, we still have plenty of questions about what the future holds, so meeting and talking to industry icons was both inspiring and affirming.

In a weird, "things come full circle" way, we looked around the brewery and realized that in our garage brewing days, we washed and stripped labels from every one of these brewers' bottles, in order to bottle our homebrew. Surreal.

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