When completed, our equipment will look similar to this.

After what feels like an eternity, we've finally ordered equipment for our Minneapolis brewery. Shopping for commercial brewing equipment, as the Dude would say, has a lot of ins, a lot of outs, and a lot of what-have-you's. Breweries are complicated and expensive, so we had to make sure we selected a manufacturer that would be with us for the long haul. We spoke with a number of vendors, and were impressed with more than one, but ultimately decided to purchase from DME of Prince Edward Island, Canada. We'll be getting a 20 barrel (bbl) brewhouse with four 40 bbl fermenters and one 40 bbl brite tank. Over the years, DME has built equipment for craft breweries all over the world--including one of our absolute favorite places to get a beer in Minneapolis, Town Hall Brewery. There's a lot more to it than just picking a manufacturer and the size of brewhouse, though. We spent hours on the phone with DME, poring over quotes and spec sheets, and talking to other brewers. Virtually every component can be customized. Do we want steam or direct-fired heat? Should we save money and run the whirlpool in our boil kettle, or spring for a separate whirlpool right away? Would we rather dry hop through a dosing port or a manway? Do we want to spend more on a better control panel that we might not need now, but will be better if we expand down the road? Customization is great, but every decision requires a tradeoff--either purely in brewing terms, or between brewing needs and financial realities. Right now, the equipment is in the engineering phase. In a little over a month, DME will begin fabrication of the equipment, based on the specs and layout of our brewery. If everything stays on track, we should be taking delivery of the equipment in early-mid summer. That's when the fun will really begin.

Minnesota winters build character. So do imperial stouts. Add dark roasted coffee beans to the mix, and you get a winter sipper worthy enough for even the heartiest Minnesotan.

Last year when we launched The Worthy Adversary for the first time we decided to experiment with one of our favorite coffees, Peace Coffee.  We were pleased with the results -- Peace Coffee's quality coffee flavors are a perfect enhancement to our rich and creamy stout.  This year, we again infused only four firkins with Peace Coffee's Guatemalan Dark Roast beans. We'll be tapping them at some special winter events, so stay tuned.

The name "War and Peace" was inspired by Tolstoy's classic novel.  Since we were infusing our Russian Imperial Stout with Peace coffee, it seemed like a fitting name. Later on, we found out that "Fulton" actually means "war" in Gaelic. And if you want to get philosophical, you could say it's how we feel about Minnesota winters - we're at war with the cold in the midst of a serenely peaceful snowy landscape.

The 2011 harvest will include Fulton bottles.

We're often asked when Fulton will  be available in bottles. First off: thanks for asking! We thought people would share our enthusiasm for Fulton and eventually want to take some home, but when we launched in October 2009, we never anticipated so much demand. We thought we'd be able to add bottles after six months, then a year, then 18 months. But every time we increased our production, our draft demand grew right along with it. We've spent our first year and a half just trying to make enough kegs to satisfy the thirst of all the Twin Cities bars and restaurants serving our beers. (True, it's a good problem to have, but it's still kind of a problem). And while it might seem that even a few bottles are better than none at all, we decided that it would be most fair to our customers to wait until we can brew enough to distribute them to more than just a handful of locations. That said, once our new Minneapolis brewery is up and operating in late summer or early fall 2011, we will have significantly more capacity, and we expect to start bottling Sweet Child of Vine and Lonely Blonde shortly thereafter. The Libertine and Worthy Adversary will be available in bottles during fall and winter, respectively.

Today is the first anniversary of the first Fulton ever served! It's been a whirlwind year since we debuted the Sweet Child of Vine at the Happy Gnome and six other bars. Today, you can get Sweet Child of Vine or Lonely Blonde (or sometimes, both!) at nearly 100 bars across the Twin Cities. When we launched, we would've been happy just to know that a year later, we'd still be having fun, brewing at Sand Creek, and that you'd still be able to find our beers at the same seven bars. It's fair to say that we never expected such overwhelming support from the local beer community, and we certainly didn't think we'd be building our own brewery already! So, it is with sincere gratitude that we raise a glass to all of you today. Thank you for all of your support for our first year. We can't wait to share more beers with you in the next year and beyond.

At Autumn Brew Review (ABR) 2010, we released The Libertine, our Imperial Red Ale, for the first time ever. We brewed just one batch for a seasonal release this year, but we plan to make it available for longer in the future. As Brian is fond of saying, "It's the perfect beer for sipping while sitting around a campfire in the fall and wearing a flannel." Thanks to all of you who lined up for the Libertine release.

We hope you all had as much fun as we did at ABR! It was our first time participating, and we all agreed it was among the most fun days we've had since we started Fulton. Thanks to the Minnesota Craft Brewer's Guild and all the awesome breweries for putting together such a great event--and of course, to everyone who came out to enjoy it. In case you couldn't make it, here are a few photos and pretty sweet video.

Minneapolis Brewery

We're thrilled to announce we've signed a lease for our future Minneapolis brewery! While finding the building is just the small first of many steps to building our brewery, we couldn't be more happy to have found such a great location for our future home. Our address is 414 6th Ave N, Minneapolis -- just two blocks west of Target Field. The building is about 6000 sq. ft. We're just starting to shop for equipment, but we'd like to put in a 15 or 20 barrel brewhouse. We expect it take about a year to get up and running (bear with us, the only "brewery" we've built before was 10 gallons and located in the corner of a South Minneapolis garage). Once the new brewery is operational, we'll starting producing all of our kegs there. The 414  brewery will also feature a gift shop, tours, tastings, and any other fun stuff we can think of. And, thanks to the new "Brew Beer Here" ordinance that the Minneapolis City Council just passed, we will be able to sell growlers! Now you'll never run out of beer--fresh beer--at your Twins tailgate party. We'll be posting updates on our progress here, so be sure to check back from time to time. Cheers!

Today the Minneapolis City Council took a step toward making Minneapolis a more brewery-friendly city. With the passage of the "Brew Beer Here" ordinance, sponsored by City Councilman Gary Schiff, commercial breweries within Minneapolis will now be allowed to sell growlers (half gallon jugs) and 750ml bottles of beer. Previously, only brewpubs (such as our friends at Herkimer, Town Hall Brewery and Rock Bottom Brewery) could sell growlers in Minneapolis. Meeting like-minded beer enthusiasts and chatting about new beers--and old favorites--are some of the most important (and fun!) aspects of the craft beer business, for brewpubs and packaging breweries alike. Without the ability to sell growlers, it's very difficult for packaging breweries (which are not allowed to sell pints) to connect with customers and really become a part of their community. Beer Law 101: Following prohibition, federal and state laws were created that restricted a breweries ability to offer their products directly to the consumer. These restrictions included enacting laws prohibiting commercial packaging breweries from opening a restaurant to serve their beer or sell its products directly to the public (pints, bottles, etc.). Over time, these federal laws have been relaxed and other states have taken a stand for their local economies by adopting the more relaxed laws. For example, breweries in Colorado can sell their beer on-premises in any package (6-packs, large bottles, growlers, pints, etc.), while Minnesota has opted to maintain the strict post-prohibition laws. These laws obviously make it more difficult to start a small brewery in Minnesota and explain, in part, why we have significantly less breweries compared to states such as Colorado, Washington, Oregon and even our neighbor to the east, Wisconsin. As an attorney in Minneapolis, Jim’s vision and can-do attitude once again proved incredibly helpful as Fulton worked with Councilman Schiff on drafting and presenting the Brew Beer Here legislation. Not only was it a great experience to work closely with a supportive city council in writing the legislation, but also with aspiring breweries, such as Harriet Brewing (launching late 2010) and 612 Brew (launching 2011). We all believe in craft beer, and it’s exciting to work together to create a city that is a destination for beer connoisseurs across the country. If you’re interested in watching part of this historic step for Minneapolis, here is a short video of the presentations to the council: MPLS City Council Meeting - 7.26.10 - Growler Law. Growlers are back in Minneapolis, due in large part to Gary Schiff and the Minneapolis City Council. Let's raise a glass to thank them for their efforts to support our local economy--and of course, local beer. Cheers!

We were honored, humbled  and excited to take home the Lord Dabbler Cup from the summer 2010 Highland Festival! It was a hot, humid day, so we're pretty sure the grapefruit infused Lonely Blonde we were pouring may have influenced the voting. Matt Kenevan, Joe Alton, Mikey Salo, and the rest of the kind folks organizing the Beer Dabbler awarded us with this finely polished cask as a trophy. The only way it could've been cooler is if the cask had been full. .

We had the privilege of being the featured beer at Tour De Farm's June 2010 Tangletown Garden Dinner. Like a kid in a candy shop, Brian walked onto the farm where the dinner volunteers handed him freshly picked strawberries and beet greens from the field just over yonder for our beer infusions.  (Katie's Lesson of the Day: Even if it's summer, you wear boots at a farm, not flip flops.) We had decided with head chef Scott Pampouch that a strawberry & pink peppercorn infused Lonely Blonde would be a perfect summer pairing with the brick-fired pizza apps.  And it was, if we do say so ourselves.The beet green infused Sweet Child of Vine was paired with roasted pork loin, new potatoes, and collared greens.  And it was poured, fittingly, out of giant mason jars. The food wasn't the only amazing part of the day - the farm was beautiful and we made some new friends, too. We certainly learned a thing or two about presenting a pairing with flair from Solo Vino's wine guru Chuck.  Plus he's a great guy to co-host an event bar with! Scott and Dean from Tangletown know how to create an unforgettable dinner setting, and they grow some seriously righteous food.  Lastly the Tour de Farm crew is a group of dedicated and fun people who believe in local food.  It takes a true commitment to pull off a five-course meal in the middle of a farm field, and this crew does it with passion.  We were not only grateful to be part of this day, but also inspired.