Michael Agnew of A Perfect Pint and Minnesota’s first Certified Cicerone™ stopped by the brewery this week to see how things were coming along.  Check out what he posted. 

In the January 2nd, 2010 Lifestyle section of the Star Tribune, Chris Riemenschneider wrote an piece titled, Finding nine reasons to cheer Twin Cities culture in ‘09.  Our Farm Girl Saison® got a mention.

From the article:

Lift Bridge Farm Girl Saison

Like gubernatorial 2010 bumper stickers, this Stillwater-made farmhouse ale — the best new local brew since Surly came around — is slowly showing up all over town, but in this case it’s a name people at least vaguely remember.

(Too bad so many places around town still think Blue Moon qualifies as a microbrew.)

We are glad you and so many others have enjoyed the Farm Girl Saison® in 2009.

James Norton writes about his Biscotti experience on HeavyTable.com.  Steve Rinker gives the scoop on the inspiration for the seasonal brew. 

From the Biscotti article:

The guys at Lift Bridge have sought out and located that sweet spot that appeals to both the beer novice and the jaded brewmaster; their stuff is invariably complex and satisfying without being overly hoppy or otherwise alienating.

Their Biscotti Ale is no exception. It tastes of vanilla and anise, almost like a hefeweizen with the edges sanded off, with a gentle finish and perhaps a kiss of honey or even molasses flavor to it.

Lift Bridge was also mentioned in another article on HeavyTable.com about The Bikery.  Owner and baker Olivier Vrambout has been using spent grain and wort from our brews to make craft bread. 

From The Bikery article:

In a particularly pleasing case of Stillwater synergy, Vrambout has teamed up with the brewers of Lift Bridge to make bread from the spent grain leftover after making beer. “[Spent grain] can be really wet, depending upon what time they take it out,” says Vrambout. “What you have left is saturated with all these liquids, it’s very flavorful. I try to dry it out and come up with some kind of bread recipe, usually not too involved because the grain is already very flavorful.”

In today’s Star Tribune, the 8th Annual Winterfest event was reviewed by writer Chris Riemenschneider.  The article highlighted the fine beers produced by Minnesota Breweries.

From the article:

It quickly became obvious why no desserts were offered on the Winterfest buffet tables: Many of the beers filled that role. One of the best was the Belgian Biscotti offered by Stillwater’s fledgling microbrewer Lift Bridge, a farmhouse ale that indeed tasted like its namesake treat. There were also numerous barley wines on tap that could rival fine sherry for after dinner, especially Lift Bridge’s cask-served Facemeltor and the Winter Warlock by another new microbrewer, St. Paul’s Flat Earth.

Photo Credit: CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune

Michael Agnew of A Perfect Pint, posted a bog entry recapping his experience at the Stub & Herb’s beer tasting last Wednesday.  The event was well attended with over 75 people participating.  Thanks to Stub and Herb’s for organizing and hosting this great event.

Brad Glynn speaking as Michael Agnew listens in.

A crowd of over 75 enjoyed 7 samples from Lift Bridge Brewery and Flat Earth Brewing Company.

In today’s Star Tribune, Hai Truong of Ngon’s Vietnamese Bistro shows off a glass of Lift Bridge Pale Ale™.  The article titled, Looking for beer in all the wrong places by TOM HORGEN is in the variety page.  It talks about some of the places you might not expect to find great beer, providing 10 examples.

Photo credit: David Joles, Star Tribune

Update: You can find a condensed article titled Strange Brew Spots on Vita.mn

In November, we met with Michael Agnew at Stub and Herb’s for lunch and a couple pints and to talk about Lift Bridge Brewery.  Michael took the information and wrote a brewery profile on his web-site A Perfect Pint.  Check out the profile.

Michael Agnew is a Certified Cicerone and the founder of A Perfect Pint which provides information, education and tasting events to consumers and companies.

The Lift Bridge Brewery was featured as one of the Twin Cites’ Best Cheap Eats and Drinks of 2008 by City Pages. 

From the article:

4. Lift Bridge Harvestor beer

The Stillwater-based team at Lift Bridge Brewery is doing some exceedingly cool things with their business, concentrating on making beers that hit the sweet spot in appealing to beer snobs and newbies alike. Harvestor, made from locally harvested hops, is a pleasant shock: It’s hard to believe something so hoppy can also be so smooth and mellow.

This is the second article on us this year.  It is quite an honor.

The Lift Bridge Brewery was featured in January 2009 issue of the Twin Cities Metro Magazine.  We were listed in the Metro 5.

From the article:

There’s something brewing in Stillwater. Continuing the trend of homebrewing enthusiasts taking their hobbies commercial—see Surly, Flat Earth, et al—we now have Lift Bridge to add to our tabs. Their Farm Girl Saison is summery and drinkable, reminiscent of our favorite non-Minnesota beer (and the pride of Wisconsin), Spotted Cow. The other signature brew, Lift Bridge Pale Ale, is a great local alternative for anyone with a taste for Sierra Nevada. Available at several local pubs; we get ours at the Blue Door in St. Paul and Stub and Herb’s in Minneapolis.

We are pleased and honored to be featured in the Metro 5.

James Norton and Becca Dilley came to Flat Earth during a brew day to talk to us about Lift Bridge.  Check out article and the full interview with photos.  Thanks to James and Becca for coming by.