Comments on: Great Waters Round-Up

By: Spent Grain Bread and Roggenbier Home Brew Review « The Captain's Chair

Spent Grain Bread and Roggenbier Home Brew Review « The Captain's Chair — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:21:36 +0000

[...] as some versions of the style really give you a pumpernickel bread kind of flavoring (thinking of Great Water’s Rye Pale Ale I recently had on cask). What you do get is more of a smooth, malty sweetness (maybe some light toffee?) that leads to a [...]

By: Derek

Derek — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:50:59 +0000

I was just talking to the Bearded Brewer last night and we agreed this is a great little brewpub but we rarely get there. I’d love to head over and try their cask beers sometime. Sherlock’s Home always had some great real ales on tap (in fact i think that’s all they had on tap). Boy do I miss that place.

By: American Amber

American Amber — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:20:58 +0000

totally, I love Midwesterncentric cardgames. I am dying to find a group of people in the cities that either wants to learn or knows how to play Sheeps head.

By: amm002

amm002 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:10:21 +0000

Great point Amber…I did see the sign for that when I was there. Seemed like a fun idea.

By: American Amber

American Amber — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:06:44 +0000

You forgot to mention it is home to one of the best breakfast ideas in the City, “Pegs, Kegs, and Eggs.” For a low price (I forget it now) you get a pint, some eggs, and are given a cribbage board to use for some games. A truely midwestern morning out if you ask me.

By: amm002

amm002 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:11:34 +0000

I think that’s one of the great things about going to the various festivals throughout the year too (ABR, FirkinFest, etc). It’s kind of like going to a concert, and hearing your favorite band improvise and add new twists to your favorite song off the studio recording…I think for their own sanity, some brewers welcome the opportunity to develop some of these really interesting cask versions based on their traditional stable, whether it’s a straight-up cask edition of their normal offering like Masala Mama, or something like Lift Bridge’s Kimono Girl on cask, which I think is a fantastic beer.

By: forbiddendonut

forbiddendonut — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:00:36 +0000

Yea, I really enjoy being able to try a beer both ways. I was at Grumpy’s recently when they had a firkin of Bitter Brewer along with the draft version. It’s a totally different experience. One of my favorite local casks is Town Hall’s Masala Mama, and Surly’s Mild on cask is amazing. I seriously believe this is the new trend in beer. So many local bars have bought beer engines and are having such a great response they’ll continue to expand those offerings.

I don’t think all beers are improved by being cask, but it’s always cool to try them.

By: amm002

amm002 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:51:35 +0000

I thought it was very cool half their stuff was cask conditioned. They had a pale ale in both regular and cask version, which my friend tried and was able to quickly see the differences.

By: forbiddendonut

forbiddendonut — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:46:18 +0000

Great Waters is a great place, as long as the Wild aren’t playing that night. The headbrewer is super cool, the food is good (especially for a midwestern brewpub), and they have real ale. They have emphasized cask conditioned beer for years, and people are finally catching up around the TC area.

As you note, their location is a blessing and a curse. Still, everything they brew is at the very least well made and interesting, and some of their stuff is among the best in the cities. This is one of those places, along with the Muddy Pig, that makes me think I should get over to St. Paul more often (if not just outright move there). Plus, Meritage is less than a block away…so you can go out for a pleasant evening meal and just slide on through Great Waters for a couple pints.

By: August 14 Morning Roundup « The Heavy Table

August 14 Morning Roundup « The Heavy Table — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:44:01 +0000

[...] the Strib and Mecca talk zombies (or zombie bars, anyway), and the Captain’s Chair does a Great Waters brewpub beer roundup. var addthis_pub = "heavytable"; var addthis_options = 'favorites, digg, delicious, stumbleupon, [...]