I had the opportunity to stop by Harriet Brewing in Minneapolis this afternoon for their opening day. I was able to meet and speak briefly with head brewer Jason Sowards as well as other volunteers about the brewery and was among a handful of people to be the first to purchase a growler of their beer. Though the brew house is officially up and running, it seems like it will still be a while before they start to offer tours or focus on much else beyond production. Their main goal right now seems to be ensuring the brewery’s seven local bar accounts receive the beer they’ve ordered.

Harriet Brewing is operating on a German-built 8 bbl. system (one barrel is equal to two kegs, so they can produce 16 kegs per batch) purchased from a brew pub in Japan. They have four closed-fermentors that – if I heard correctly – can hold 10 bbl. each. Additionally, the brewery is also running two open-fermentation vessels. Apparently Jason has an affinity for sour Belgian ales that he will be bestowing on Minneapolis later this year.

I learned the beer I was purchasing from Harriet Brewing today was not exactly the same recipe as the Belgian style “West Side IPA” they plan to brew indefinitely. Jason explained the reason for this was because he underestimated the mash efficiency of his new brewhouse system, meaning he pulled more sugars out of his grains during the initial mash (to create pre-fermented beer, or “wort”) than he expected to get. These sort of trial-and-error situations are to be expected when operating a brewery on new equipment for the first time. Since he didn’t increase the amount of hops used in the recipe accordingly, he ended up with a much maltier/less hoppy version of West Side than he was aiming for. Because of this, I was informed this batch is simply being referred to as “Batch One” and not “West Side.

Based on the generous pour I received upon entering the brewery, I thought Batch One was a nice, stronger-ABV IPA with a more laid-back/forgiving hop profile than expected, allowing the Belgian yeast characteristics to shine through quite nicely. Plenty of flavor to go around. Save the big hop kick for summer, I say. A malty IPA like this is better for these cold winter months in Minnesota anyway. Glad I now have a Growler of Batch One sitting in my beer fridge.

As far as where and when Harriet Brewing beers will be available for purchase outside of the brewery, I recall they mentioned the Groveland Tap, Buster’s on 28th and the Blue Nile among the seven total bars set up as accounts. My buddy Cristof and I are planning on attending the official release party for West Side at the Blue Nile on February 9th. Here’s some more info on Harriet Brewing from a recent Southwest Journal article.

I am sincerely pumped. Today was a great day for brewing in Minneapolis.