One of the things people always ask since we have visited every brewery in Minnesota is something along the lines of “what’s your top 5 breweries in the state?” We thought that would be something fun to dive into but since we wanted to talk about more breweries than just our 5 favorites we broke them down by region. The first region we will be covering is Minneapolis-St. Paul. Pretty simple, if it’s in one of the two Twin Cities it qualifies. We each ranked our 10 favorites and and gave them points based on their rankings and added them up to decide our 5 favorites. Once again, since Jesse works at Modist we aren’t including Modist in this list. So it’s really our Top 5 MSP Breweries other than Modist.

Barrel Theory Beer Company

Barrel Theory came into our lives at just the right point of our beer nerdiness. At this point I was really getting into learning more about beer and Rachael was really growing her pallet. Rachael was really starting to get into IPAs (especially hazy ones) and I was starting to get more into sour beers and also learning more about the specific ingredients in beer. So Barrel Theory wasn’t just a brewery making great beer, they were a learning outlet for me. At the time they were making a lot of single hop hazy IPAs. So I loved going there and getting to know the differences in varietals that way. It became so near and dear to our hearts that I chose to propose to Rachael here. So this was a no-brainer for both of us at #1. – Jesse

3 favorite beers: Second, Purple Lamborghini, Shooter McGavin

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

Not only does Fair State make some of the best beer (in my/our opinion) but they introduced us to a new concept in the craft beer community as well – cooperatives. We were obviously familiar with what a cooperative meant, but not familiar with how that played out with craft beer. We were gifted a membership to the cooperative not long after moving up to Minnesota and we have been immensely enjoying the perks since. A highlight for me is getting to help design a beer recipe with the head brewer in a small group with other members. We ended up coming up with Melee Island, and it was so fun to get to see the process of coming up with a recipe and getting to enjoy the product of a brainstorming session! – Rachael

3 favorite beers: Spirit Foul, Pils, The Duke of Bakesfordshire: Double Maple/Vanilla

BlackStack Brewing

So, one thing that I feel the need to point out at this point in our list is that the two of us love hazy IPAs. So breweries that are well known for this style will rank higher for us. Which is where BlackStack comes in. They make every style very well but we just live in an age where if you make hazy IPAs you’re more than likely going to gather a reputation for them. And the greatest part of their taproom is how large it is. Try to go there and not find somewhere to sit. – Jesse

3 favorite beers: Loud Pack, In The Pocket, Thread Count

Dangerous Man Brewing Co

Dangerous Man holds a special place in my heart because not only was this one of the first times I got to dip my toes into the world of craft beer, but our first visit was after coming up to Minneapolis for a job interview while I was in my last year of college and getting to spend some extra time with Jesse (long distance relationship at the time) exploring a new place. This always feels like a cozy little spot in NE to hang out or to gather at, and since our first visit a few years ago, it always feels like a familiar place to come back to. – Rachael

3 favorite beers: Peanut Butter Porter, Peach Milkshake IPA, Apiary Drop

Surly Brewing Co

The #1 place to take someone who isn’t super into beer but kind of into beer is Surly’s Beer Hall. Great atmosphere and great food, especially Upstairs Pizza. Surly’s just one of those places that I struggle to tell people what’s so cool about it because atmosphere and the experience seem to be all I can say sometimes. But it’s truly a must visit for anyone who’s at least willing to drink a craft beer in Minnesota. – Jesse

3 favorite beers: Todd the Axe Man, Magic Formula For Peace, Darkness

Honorable Mentions Bauhaus Brew Labs and 56 Brewing