Granite City to tap a 'cookie' beer

Craft beer, meet chocolate chip cookies.

A new beer blending both flavors called "John's Mom's Cookies" will debut from 4-6 p.m. at a keg tapping ceremony Sunday at Granite City Food & Brewery at 3945 Second St. S in St. Cloud.

The chocolate stout specialty ale features cocoa nibs.

The tapping event will include prize drawings with the chance to win growlers and gift cards.

"We are getting into some unique recipes and different ingredients that we haven't used in the past," said Denise Lenaghan, the general manager of the St. Cloud Granite City Food & Brewery location.

While the St. Cloud Granite City has the equipment to complete the whole brewing process, only fermentation is done on site. The wort for all of the 13-state brewpub chain is mashed at a regional site in Ellsworth, Iowa.

Granite City taps a new seasonal beer each month. The December seasonal was a dark amber called "Freezer Burn Winter Warmer."

The restaurant chain that started in St. Cloud in 1999 and is part of Central Minnesota's storied brewing past, also has four year-round beers: an American lager called the Northern, a German lager called the Bennie, an IPA called The Duke and an oatmeal stout called Broad Axe.

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Follow Times food, dining and beer reporter Jake Laxen on Twitter @jacoblaxen for the daily #Beer Fact of the Day.

You can also read about Lupine Brewing Co.'s IPA in the Jan. 8 Up Next entertainment edition. The St. Cloud brewery's inaugural product will be featured as the Drink of the Week.