Fulton emerges as top Twins taproom

MINNEAPOLIS – Standing in a one-car garage in the Fulton district of Minneapolis in January 2009, four home brewers leaned upon the wisdom of college football's winningest coach to make a major life decision.

"John (Gagliardi) always says Nike stole his saying of 'Just Do It,' " said Jim Diley, the starting center for Gagliardi on the 2003 St. John's national championship football team. "Except (Gagliardi) always said 'Just do it, God damn it.'

"That was the pushing thought to start our own brewery. It was like, if we don't do it now, we are never going to do it. We agreed we would rather fail then wish we had tried."

So Fulton Beer was created.

And by the end of 2012, the Minneapolis-based brewery had already ascended to fifth in Minnesota beer production, trailing only August Schell Brewing Co. of New Ulm, Summit Brewing Co. of St. Paul, Third Street Brewhouse of Cold Spring and Surly Brewing Co. of Minneapolis.

The brewery has benefited from a taproom that's located about two blocks from Target Field.

"It really gets crazy in here the hour beforehand and the hour after a (Twins home) game," said Fulton taproom general manager Laura Preston. "If they aren't playing very good, people sometimes don't even go into the game. They just stay here where the beer is cheaper."

While the location was purchased before Minnesota passed taproom legislation in 2011, Fulton revamped its plans to take full advantage of the new laws.

A Brewers Association report said Fulton produced 1,400 barrels of beer in 2011 and 9,516 barrels in 2012 when the taproom legislation went into effect. The success has allowed the brewery to grow from the original four co-founders to a staff of 45 employees.

And as the Minnesota Twins are reporting to spring training, the Fulton Beer taproom is preparing for its busiest time of the year.

"We are close enough (to Target Field) that I think people see us as a destination when coming to Twins games," said Diley, who doubles as an attorney. "We always have the games on our taproom TVs, and someone will come up to bat and you hear the crowd roar. You know something just happened."

Rooted at St. John's

Diley, who grew up in Edina, was originally recruited to play football at the Air Force Academy. But after finding out his poor vision would prevent him from becoming a pilot, he sought an alternative.

"About two weeks before the fall semester, I visited St. John's and immediately fell in love with it," Diley said. "(Gagliardi) was a big part of it."

Diley's football locker was right next to the one used by fellow offensive lineman Ryan Petz, who is now Fulton's president. Diley's neighbor was St. John's student Brian Hoffman, now Fulton's director of sales.

Also at school, Diley met his wife Elizabeth, a College of St. Benedict graduate originally from Rice.

And in 2003, Diley and Petz were part of the Johnnies' 24-6 Division III national championship win over Mount Union in Salem, Virginia — the final of Gagliardi's four national titles.

"I remember being in Virginia and thinking 'This is unique — not everybody gets to play in the game,' " Diley said. "But what you really remember most, more than any plays or games, is the guys and the times together off the field."

Diley, Petz and Hoffman graduated from St. John's in 2005. They relocated to the Twin Cities with Diley pursuing a law degree, Petz pursuing a master's degree in marketing and Hoffman working as a cardiac research scientist.

After starting with a Mr. Beer kit, the trio began home brewing in 2006 in Diley's garage with his brother-in-law, a carpenter named Peter Grande.

Grande is now Fulton's brewmaster.

"He is one of those guys who can take apart your watch, put it all back together and it will run better than before," Diley said.

The group made home brewing a weekend tradition. Most of Fulton's beers are based off the home brew recipes they created, a fact the brewery pays tribute to with its specialty release Garage Series.

"When I first tried their beer I was pretty amazed," said Jay Diley, who is Jim's father and Fulton's tour guide. "I was like 'What do these guys know about beer?' But even the first ones I tried were really impressive."

Launching a brewery

The lives of the four home brewers became increasingly hectic by 2009.

"We were committing ourselves on the weekend and investing in equipment, but we were also getting married and starting families," Jim said. "We had to ask ourselves 'Are we really going to do this every Saturday with kids running around in the garage and going home to the wife smelling like beer and peanuts?'

"It was clear that we wanted to keep brewing, but it was clear that it wasn't on the home brewing side."

Inspired by Gagliardi's mantra, the group launched Fulton.

They approached the craft beer boom in the way coffee shops arose in the 1990s.

"If I have a choice, I'm not drinking Folgers," Jim said. "I'm going to want Peace Coffee, or Starbucks or Caribou. It's just better flavor."

They started by contract brewing with the Sand Creek Brewing Co. of Black River Falls, Wisconsin.

"With all of our different backgrounds, we all approached brewing in different ways," Jim said. "I think that's one of the reasons why we have been able to make pretty good beers. When we get into group think mode everybody attacks the problems in different ways."

And they've had Gagliardi sample their beers.

"I don't think John is a big beer drinker these days, but he has always been so supportive," Jim said. "John is a living legend."

Fulton bought its own brewery at the site near Target Field in January 2011. They continue to contract brew in Wisconsin, but the location offered a chance to brew on-site and the ability for high growler sales after Twins games.

Later in 2011, Jim used his legal background to work closely with other breweries to get passage of taproom legislation.

"It's been fun to be part of the beer community and see it grow," Jim said. "It is really a special time. It's been great for Minnesota."

Last July, Fulton purchased a warehouse in Minneapolis to expand its brewing operation. It now does all of its brewing in Minneapolis.

And Fulton Beer, known for its logo of a star made of hops, has emerged as a go-to taproom for fans at Target Field.

"One of my favorite things is at the end of August when things are quieting down," Jim said. "We open the garage, people are sitting on the patio with a beer and you can hear the Twins game in the distance.

"It just feels like a quintessential summer moment."

Follow Jake Laxen on Twitter @jacoblaxen.

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