This year Winterfest has found a new home at the Union Depot in downtown St. Paul. With so many great new Minnesota breweries opening, more space was needed to host one of the best beer events of the year. As always, you can expect each brewery to bring their very best to this coveted event. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are some brews to look forward to:

Forest Fire from Big Wood Brewing: One can only guess that this will be a big smoked beer, but with so few details this one is surely intriguing. As you may know, Big Wood Brewery has won a few “Best Of” awards at ABR and it’s only fair to assume that they expect big things from this one.

Raisin Liason Saison from Borealis Fermentery: Displaying what may be the coolest pouring station at every event—a stained glass, wooden bar—Borealis is known for some damn tasty entries, and a raisin flavored Saison sounds very interesting. Belgian yeasts play well with fruity flavors and if there was ever a MN brewery to pull this off it would be the fine folks at Borealis.

Batch 500 from Lift Bridge Brewing: A Double IPA from Lift Bridge sounds great, especially when the IBU’s are listed as “pretty high.” Truth be told, Matt Hall is one of the most underrated brewers around, and it was only a matter of time before he attempted a DIPA.

Dawn Juan from Steel Toe Brewing: A Templeton Rye Barrel Aged Black Barleywine? This one screams “gonna run out fast” and with Jason’s attention to detail this is sure to be a contender for The Great Snowshoe Award. For those who don’t know, Templeton is a distillery in Iowa, famous for Rye Whiskey, which was often enjoyed by Al Capone during Prohibition.

Rum King Imperial Stout from Indeed Brewing: This complex beer is in high demand around town, and it is unique in that Jamaican rum barrels were used as opposed to whiskey barrels. Coming in at 10% ABV this one is sure to please the barrel nerds.

For those who need a ride to and from the event, there will be free rides courtesy of Metro Transit, but you will need to print your ticket from this website. Ramp parking is $3 for those who plan to drive, and cars may be left overnight.

Cheers!