Hopsession Super Pale Ale (Brau Brothers, Lucan, MN)

Hopsession is a pale yellow with a bright white head that leaves a thin lace  Brilliantly bright and fruity nose full of grapefruit, mango and a hint of lemon over a light, bready malt.  The sessionable part of the beer is the 4.2% ABV, but a small malt bill doesn't lead to a light mouthfeel.  Smooth and chewy with an assertive, grassy hop bite that loses some of the fruit from the nose.

Delivering a hop bite is always a relative matter.  Bigger the beer, the more hop is needed.  Brau Brothers does a nice job of creating a smooth American hop delivery vehicle without making it thin.  Hopsession is a great go-to beer to have in the fridge for the summer.  According to the website, it's only around until 100 Yard Dash comes out in the fall.  I'm going to assume from this sixpack (and some of the BA reviews), that'll it'll come back again soon.

The Rail Station Bar and Grill (Minneapolis, MN)

6/6/12

Along Hiawatha Ave is a billboard for a new-to-me multitap called The Rail Station, so decided to check it out when I had some time before One Voice's performance at the Harmony in the Park concert at Minnehaha Park.

Lucette's Slow Hand Stout

Hitting The Rail Station reminded me a lot of my recent stop at the Hopkins Tavern, including the meat raffle but minus obvious signs of gambling.  Looking around the bar, there were all ages--toddlers to grandparents and everyone seemed to know each other.  Very much a local bar that happens to serve craft beer.

I found several brews to add to the database, but only had time for two.  Started with Lucette's Slow Hand, an American Stout.  Super smooth with a light roast, it was nice on a hot afternoon.  For the second pint, I tried Brau Brothers Sheep Head from Lucan, MN.  According to the Brau website, Sheep Head is a style splitting malty IPA, which was good enough that I have to try it again some time.

For dinner, I ordered the quesadilla from the appetizer menu.  Not many veggie options plus the servings of dishes going by seemed large.  The service was fantastic, friendly and very fast.  Since I was in a hurry to make the concert, attentive service was appreciated today.  Dinner was basic but fresh and good.


The Rail Station has a nice tap list of 40 beers (according to the billboard) with a representation of macro beers to light craft with Surly Furious being the far end of the spectrum.  Not a bar to make the beer geek drool, but boundary pushing for the clientele. Looking around the TV laden bar, many of the customers in the happy hour/after work crowd were drinking mixed drinks or macro specials in a bottle.

But a significant portion of us were drinking craft.  Beers were well served, clearly very fresh and the beer clean glasses that left a lace.  There's always the fear that an out of the way multi-tap isn't serving enough to maintain freshness, but, from my short experience, there's nothing to complain about here.
Plus, I really like the concentration on Minnesota craft brews.

Great local bar that I enjoyed and made me want to live in the neighborhood.  While it's not a destination bar for the beer geek from out of town, I would encourage anyone to try The Rail Station if you find yourself in the Longfellow neighborhood.

Bancreagie Peated Scotch Ale (Brau Brothers, Lucan, MN)

According to the label, Bancreagie is named after the granite that creates the aquifer from which the brewing water comes from in Lucan. The rest of the label basically says they are trying to make an authentic Scottish ale.

Off white head bubbles up high when I tip the glass a bit too hard for the last bit of beer, which settles into a light lace. Amber to copper ale in the glass with highlights around the edge. Definite smokey peat in the nose over top of lots of malt, some hop and a mineral smell. Light and airy in the mouth, peat isn't as strong as the nose would suggest. Strong caramel and burnt biscuit. Not a lot off the back—somewhat disappears. Not a bad beer, but I'm not a huge fan at this point. Happy to drink this one but unlikely to get a six pack.

Forgotten Flem Farmhouse Ale (Brau Brothers Brewing, Lucan, MN)

Light straw gold color with a whisper thin white head on top with a hint of lace as it drains. Slight spice in the nose with a bit of biscuit and pepper. Simple, slim smell but nice. Improves as the temperature warms but the nose becomes a bit metallic. Bottled conditioned with a second yeast gives is a strong carbonic bite up front. Caramel and malt backbone for the beer is there but not strong with a light spicy yeast note. Mouthfeel is a bit watery. A straight forward saison that is clean and well done, but not overly complex.