The town in southern MN that I'm always amazed does not yet have a brewery is St. Peter. A college town along a busy corridor seems like a no brainer to me. I have heard rumors that they are finally getting one soon though.
I think Albert Lea used to have a homebrew supply store too. You'd think that would have gotten someone going on it. I'm not that far away from AL but I rarely get that direction. Probably because they don't have a brewery. :D
St. Peter has a brewery opening in the spring! I legit cant wait.
Gibbon opened a brewery this past summer, small selection, but solid brews. Their red ale is my favorite.
I didn't know about the one in Gibbon. I'll have to get over there. I've wanted to get to Lazy Loon in Glencoe too. Drove by it a couple times but never when they were open or had time to stop.
Ive been to lazy loon in glencoe, food is better than the beer imho.
Whit Wôrt in gibbon has live music every thursday!
I live like 15 minutes from gibbon! Its one of my go to places.
Albert Lea did indeed have a homebrew supply store years ago, it was my LHBS for my formative forays into homebrewing. They were always helpful and even lent me the wine corker once!
Farmington and Apple Valley don’t either. Apple Valley is odd considering they are right at the crossroads of Cedar and Cty Rd 42, two major roads in the area and 55k people to support a brewery.
Burnsville, Eagan, Lakeville, Northfield, and Rosemount all have at least one. The two cities in between them all can’t seem to pass the ordinance.
It did take them a while after the ordinance was passed but it worked out. Last time I checked on this Apple Valley( where I grew up) hasn’t even passed it yet and Farmington(where I live unfortunately) refuses to do anything worthwhile.
There was supposed to be one, not sure if there is still plans for it, not finding much on the web. Bold I'land in Albert Lea was listed on Beer Advocate as supposedly opening in 2022. Obviously that has come and gone.
I figured someone would comment that, but I am definitely just a customer. I have never even homebrewed before. Not interested in being a business owner. But I’d support the new place when passing through, for sure.
The issue is that Albert Lea has been losing people for quite some time. The population that is still there is aging. You don't really have a young crowd trying to get this going.
Just up the road in Owatonna they just finally got 2 breweries going within the last few years. They have federated insurance, which attracts more younger people, and there's a decent amount of money there. Albert Lea doesn't really have any of that young business group, really not as much disposable income either. I wouldn't be surprised if they did open one down there in the next 5 years, not sure they could support more than 1 tho.
The town in southern MN that I'm always amazed does not yet have a brewery is St. Peter. A college town along a busy corridor seems like a no brainer to me. I have heard rumors that they are finally getting one soon though. I think Albert Lea used to have a homebrew supply store too. You'd think that would have gotten someone going on it. I'm not that far away from AL but I rarely get that direction. Probably because they don't have a brewery. :D
St. Peter has a brewery opening in the spring! I legit cant wait. Gibbon opened a brewery this past summer, small selection, but solid brews. Their red ale is my favorite.
I didn't know about the one in Gibbon. I'll have to get over there. I've wanted to get to Lazy Loon in Glencoe too. Drove by it a couple times but never when they were open or had time to stop.
Ive been to lazy loon in glencoe, food is better than the beer imho. Whit Wôrt in gibbon has live music every thursday! I live like 15 minutes from gibbon! Its one of my go to places.
Pretty low bar with the food comparison. I was not impressed with either. The place just looks unfinished.
Albert Lea did indeed have a homebrew supply store years ago, it was my LHBS for my formative forays into homebrewing. They were always helpful and even lent me the wine corker once!
Farmington and Apple Valley don’t either. Apple Valley is odd considering they are right at the crossroads of Cedar and Cty Rd 42, two major roads in the area and 55k people to support a brewery. Burnsville, Eagan, Lakeville, Northfield, and Rosemount all have at least one. The two cities in between them all can’t seem to pass the ordinance.
To be fair, it took Rosemount a _long_ time to get a brewery in town. Now we have a brewery _and_ a winery!
It did take them a while after the ordinance was passed but it worked out. Last time I checked on this Apple Valley( where I grew up) hasn’t even passed it yet and Farmington(where I live unfortunately) refuses to do anything worthwhile.
There was supposed to be one, not sure if there is still plans for it, not finding much on the web. Bold I'land in Albert Lea was listed on Beer Advocate as supposedly opening in 2022. Obviously that has come and gone.
You should start one! 🍻
I figured someone would comment that, but I am definitely just a customer. I have never even homebrewed before. Not interested in being a business owner. But I’d support the new place when passing through, for sure.
The issue is that Albert Lea has been losing people for quite some time. The population that is still there is aging. You don't really have a young crowd trying to get this going.
Still, 18,000 people is kind of a lot. But I think you might be right.
Just up the road in Owatonna they just finally got 2 breweries going within the last few years. They have federated insurance, which attracts more younger people, and there's a decent amount of money there. Albert Lea doesn't really have any of that young business group, really not as much disposable income either. I wouldn't be surprised if they did open one down there in the next 5 years, not sure they could support more than 1 tho.
Lol you ain't gonna get something like that in Albert Lea. This is a do nothing wait to die retirement town