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MARCH 12th, 2016 MN HISTORY CENTER

CHOPLIVER.* CHOPLIVER.* CHOPLIVER. CHOPLIVER

Welcome Welcome to the 3rd Annual Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest. We are all here to celebrate rare and unique beers from craft breweries across the country. This program is a guide to all the wonderful craft beer being offered. Inside you will find information on the participating breweries and their beer. A big thanks go out to our sponsors, participating breweries, MN History Center, Pints For Prostates and to all you passionate beer lovers. Without all of you, this wouldn t be possible! We hope you enjoy yourselves and find something new and wonderful in your glass. Don t forget to vote for you favorite beer for the Aurora Borealis Award. Juno Choi & Mark Opdahl Chop Liver Craft Beer Festivals

Sponsors

Pints for Prostates Reaching Men Through The Universal Language of Beer Pints for Prostates is a grassroots campaign that uses the universal language of beer to reach men with an important health message. Founded by beer writer and prostate cancer survivor Rick Lyke in 2008, the campaign raises awareness among men about the importance of regular health screenings and early detection. Funds generated by the group go to fighting prostate cancer and assisting men with the disease. In addition to funding its education and awareness efforts, Pints for Prostates supports other 501(c)3 organizations involved in the fight against prostate cancer like Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network and the Prostate Conditions Education Council. The Northern Lights Beer Fest is not only a one of a kind beer event but an awareness and fundraising campaign for Pints for Prostates. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales go directly to Pints for Prostates. 100% of the proceeds from the silent auction go directly to Pints for Prostates.

Food, Water & Soda Be sure to eat the wonderful food prepared by D' Amico Catering. At the beginning of the event there will be a variety of passed cheeses available courtesy of our friends at the Caves of Faribault. Enjoy your trip through the food line, featuring a Pork Belly Slider with Pickled Red Cabbage, a Grilled Jerk Chicken Slider with Grilled Pineapple and Aged White Cheddar Cheese, a Black Bean Slider with Grilled Tomato Salsa, a Mini Philly Steak Sandwich with Herbed Beef, Swiss Cheese, Carmelized Onions and Peppers. All served on spent grain rolls. During the last hour there will be popcorn and soft pretzel bites available Coffee, Hot Cider, and Buddy's Orange, Grape and Strawberry Sodas are also available. Water Stations will be located throughout the grounds. Please take advantage of them to stay well hydrated, cleanse your palate, and enjoy your sampling experience.

Tasting Beer Tasting beer can be very rewarding. As you encounter new styles or brands it helps to know what to look for in a new beer as well as how to evaluate it. Take your time and work through the aspects of each beer, one by one. APPEARANCE: How does it look? Examine the appearance of the beer itself. Hold the glass up to the light and examine the color, clarity, and head. Is it clear or cloudy? Note whether the head is dense or thin. The color of the head is also worth noting and can range from pure white on Pilsners to light or medium brown on some stouts and porters. AROMA: Take your time with the aroma. Bring it to your nose and inhale. Try to take several good sniffs before you take your first sip. If you're taking notes, stop to write your impressions before the first sip distracts you. What does it smell like? Does it smell primarily of hops, malt, yeast, or something else? FIRST SIP: Note the initial sensation as the beer enters your mouth. Think about whether it is sweet, bitter, fruity, sour or something else. There can be quite a bit of difference between the first taste and the finish. MOUTHFEEL: This is the texture of the beer or how it physically feels in your mouth. Beer ranges from silky, dry stouts, to thick and chewy. Try to note the body, carbonation, warmth, creaminess, and astringency. FINISH: Note the lingering flavors after you swallow the drink. Often it can be bitter from the hops or it can have a lingering malty sweetness. Stop before your next drink and try to write down everything you just detected. Try to confirm it with your second drink or see if you need to rethink your conclusions. STYLES: There is a lot of variation from one beer to the next with regards to style. Some beers are brewed with style in mind and others are not. Styles can be used as a learning tool to look at historical brewing norms and to help understand where certain characteristics of beer come from. The Beer Judge Certification Program Style Guidelines and the Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines are two great sources of information to learn more about beer styles.

Bad Weather Brewing Company St Paul, Minnesota Booth 1 badweatherbrewery.com Cauld Weather Wee Heavy in Bourbon Barrels Chocolate and sweet malt flavors are apparent due to an extended boil to caramelize the sugars. Toffee and biscuit flavors also come through. The barrel aging process brings out the oak, bourbon, and vanilla. Due Date Storm Cellar Series. 3 year old Imperial Brown Ale with cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.

Six Point Brewing Company Brooklyn, New York Booth 2 sixpoint.com C.R.E.A.M. It doesn't take a PhD: Drop the Acid, Drop the Base, Drop the Mic...You started with cream in your coffee, now have coffee in your cream ale. Pour up a bright blonde coffee ale and end your day the way you started it. With a delicious craft brew. It's Mad Science. Hi-Res To see the hop cone up close, we zoomed in microscopic, and found a hi-res view. In Hi-Resolution, the hop optic was magnified; our perception, fully amplified. It's microscopic. It's telescopic. It's off-topic. It's Mad Science. Double Sweet Action Double version Sweet Action. Part pale ale, part wheat, part cream ale all Sweet Action.

Clown Shoes Brewing Company Ipswich, Massachusetts Booth 3 clownshoesbeer.com Itasca Loonidragon Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels. The base beer is Blaecon Unidragon. Hammer of the Holy Hammer the Holy is an American Imperial Stout aged in 40 year old Jamaican Rum barrels. 2014 Vampire Slayer Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels.

Green Flash Brewing Company San Diego, California Booth 4 greenflash.com Natura Morta with Cherries This refined evolution of our Belgian-style Saison is foudre-fermented with Brettanomyces, then aged and re-fermented in red wine barrels with sweet, dark cherry puree. After 6 months, a crimson ale with champagne effervescence is released, offering notes of ripe stone fruit and barrel-drawn tannins. Retaining hints of earthy wild yeast, Natura Morta Cherry finishes like a fine Beaujolais. Oculus Sauvage Our Belgian-style Trippel and American Imperial IPA hybrid ale is inoculated with Brettanomyces to create Oculus Sauvage. Highly nuanced, the resinous hops characteristics are refined by barreldrawn notes of vanilla and French oak tannins. Wild yeast imparts a barnyard funk with hints of apple orchard that linger in the finish. Fresco Sauvage/Little Freak Our Belgian-style Trippel and American Imperial IPA hybrid ale is inoculated with Brettanomyces and then aged in red wine barrels.

Indeed Brewing Company Minneapolis, Minnesota Booth 5 indeedbrewing.com Dry Hopped Wooden Soul #1 The first release from our Wooden Soul series of sour, funky, wild and barrel-aged beers, Wooden Soul #1 began as our Derailed Series Saison. Aged in white wine barrels, this beer is dry, waxy, tart, and well-balanced with fruity Brett flavors and moderate to high carbonation. Our Brett Saison hits heavy with tropical fruit and vinous character, so we selected some of our favorite American hop varieties that take the tropical fruit character even further. Fruited Wooden Soul #1 The first release from our Wooden Soul series of sour, funky, wild and barrel-aged beers, Wooden Soul #1 began as our Derailed Series Saison. Aged in white wine barrels, this beer is dry, waxy, tart, and well-balanced with fruity Brett flavors and moderate to high carbonation. After it's life in wood, we let our Brett Saison rest on fruit. Our Brett Saison has very expressive tropical, stone fruit, and vinous character, so we selected fruit to compliment these unique fruit characteristics. Wooden Soul: Ephemeral As fleeting and impermanent as the name suggests, Ephemeral releases from our Wooden Soul series are rare, limited, and one-of-a-kind. This particular Ephemeral release is a unique single keg drawn from a Port barrel, which is home to an unidentified house propagation of numerous Brett and Bacteria strains. Expect dark red fruits, vinous/port character, balanced sourness and a distinct rich funk.

Bemidji Brewing Company Bemidji, Minnesota Booth 6 bemidjibeer.com 2014 Double Porter This GABF Silver Medal winning beer pours with a rich, tan cap of foam and elicits notes of cocoa, bread crust, and roasted malts. 2015 Double Porter German Munich malt and rich English caramel malts bring layers of toast, dark fruit, and chocolate to this years porter. Sour Red on Blackberries and Raspberries We aged our entire batch of Flanders Sour Ale on a blend of blackberries and raspberries for an additional 3 months. The result is jammy, complex, and wine like with a malty, tart finish

Surly Brewing Company Minneapolis, Minnesota Booth 7 surlybrewing.com Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Pentagram 100% Brett fermented in stainless steel, aged in used red wine barrels for 20 months and then aged in High West rye whiskey barrels. Flavors of tart cherries and whiskey. Barrel Aged Darkness Russian Imperial Stout aged in High West rye whiskey barrels for 3 months. Creamy and smooth with balanced flavors of roast, raisins, vanilla, oak and rye whiskey. Eight Oat Wine style ale fermented in stainless steel then aged in High West rye whiskey barrels. Flavors of spicy vanilla marshmallow and aromas of honey and whiskey.

August Schell Brewing Company New Ulm, Minnesota Booth 8 schellsbrewery.com Apricot Vista An experimental Berliner Weisse aged for nearly a year in our cypress wood lagering tank, and then transferred onto 4,800 pounds of apricots for an additional 4 month fermentation. Orbital Drift A preview of a forthcoming release in the Noble Star Collection. This experimental red Berliner Weisse was brewed with all dark malts, aged for 16 months in our cypress wood lagering tank. Harmony of Spheres An experimental Berliner Weisse that has been aging for over 2 years. Fermented on gooseberries and then dry hopped.

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Minneapolis, Minnesota The Sophisticated Fool Our Foolish Belgian Style Quadruple aged in MN wine barrels. Booth 9 townhallbrewery.com Coconut Manhattan Reserve Our bourbon barrel aged tart cherry Belgian style Grand Cru with Coconut Chips. Saaz Pils Classic Bohemian Pilsner with a distinct hoppy character. Great palate cleanser with all the big beers at this event!

Steel Toe Brewing Company St Louis Park, Minnesota Booth 10 steeltoebrewing.com 2012 Lunker This is an English barleywine aged in Rye Whiskey barrels. The aroma and flavor have a subtle rye whiskey character followed by caramel, toffee, vanilla and toasted bread notes. The rich full bodied character and sweetness of Lunker is tempered by the moderate bitterness of this glorious brew. Before the Dawn Black Barleywine aged in bourbon barrels. Before the Dawn is a fusion of a Barleywine and a Russian Imperial Stout. Layer upon layer of complex malt character is what makes this beer so special. Caramel and toffee give way to molasses, coco and roasted malt. This rich and warming beer underwent a lengthy aging process in bourbon barrels which lends a wonderful oak and vanilla character followed by moderate tannin in the finish. Luxury in a glass.

Fitgers Brewhouse and Grille Duluth, Minnesota Booth 11 brewhouse.net 1100 Wheatwine Cognac Barrel-Aged Aromas of grapes, caramel and vanilla are present. The flavor is a very complex blend of grapes, honey, berries and wheat with spicy and smoky notes. 1100 Wheatwine Pappy Van Winkle Barrel-Aged Huge Bourbon and vanilla aromas lead to flavors of pears, grapes, bourbon, vanilla and wheat. Framboise Fermented with a mix of Pediococcus, Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces in a wine barrel for 2 years. It was then aged on raspberries for 8 months. Lactic sourness and tart fruitiness highlight the flavors in this offering.

Fulton Brewery Minneapolis, Minnesota Booth 12 fultonbeer.com 2014 Barrel Aged Libertine Old Fashioned Our 2014 Libertine aged in Heaven Hill barrels for almost 2 full years. Then infused with maraschino cherries and oranges. Barrel Aged Brett IPA Brand new IPA barrel aged and dry hopped with Equinox hops for a tropical fruit bomb.

Lagunitas Brewing Company Petaluma, California Booth 13 lagunitas.com High West Infused Imperial Coffee Stout This 2016 Draught Only Release couldn't have been without our friends at High West Distillery. We brewed a rich, malty Imperial Stout with the same Dogfather's Roar coffee beans, then vintagized it in High West Rye and Bourbon Barrels for blending. CitruSinensis We took some fresh Sanguinello Blood Oranges, juiced 'em, concentrated that down (without heat) and threw it into a wheatier version of our Dogtown Pale Ale.

New Belgium Brewing Company Fort Collins, Colorado Booth 14 newbelgium.com NBB Love Oscar Perfectly soured dark base beer, hints of green apple, plums, caramel, oak and vanilla. Mahogany hue, with a thick head and lacing. Cascara Quad Spiced with fruit and coffee bean, fruity aromas of dates and cherries. Clove and fig flavors, slight spiciness. Sweet and warm.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Chico, California Booth 15 sierranevada.com Squared Away This dunkel weizenbock pours dark brown with a tan foam head. Nutty bready caramel nose, plus bananas and molasses. Heavy banana flavor, milk chocolate & maple syrup. Sweet but balanced. Experimental Five Hop IPA Our quest for unique hop flavor led us to the Yakima Valley to explore a mix of vintage and newly developed hop varietals some so cutting edge they are known only by numbers. This blend creates compelling flavors of vanilla, cedar, coconut and orange for an IPA like we ve never tasted before.

Central Waters Brewing Company Amherst, Wisconsin Booth 16 centralwaters.com Black Gold Our limited barrel aged stout, aged for three years in used bourbon barrels. Very complex, mingling flavors of umami, chocolate and coffee meld with the barrel notes. Quad The brewery's first and only Belgian Quad, this 9.5% beer is true to style, using generous amounts of Candi Sugar and a traditional Belgian yeast strain, not bottled, limited draft availability only.

Lift Bridge Brewing Company Stillwater, Minnesota Booth 17 liftbridgebrewery.com Barrel Aged Pumpkin Porter Subtle pumpkin spices combine with light roast and chocolaty porter notes wrapped with a warming bourbon finish. 2015 Barrel Aged Silhouette Brewed in the style of a Russian Imperial Stout, notes of coffee, roasted malt, toffee, vanilla, and dark fruit provide a complex, rich and full bodied beer. 2011-2015 Commander Vertical An English styled Barleywine brewed with a small amount of cardamom and orange peel and a portion is aged in a variety of spirits barrels. The resulting blend features a complex beer with bourbon, sherry, vanilla, oak, citrus, toffee, and alcohol warmth.

Cascade Brewing Company Portland, Oregon Booth 18 cascadebrewing.com Noyaux Blended Blonde Ale aged 2 years in wine barrels with raspberries and apricot noyau. Sang Noir Blended Red Ales aged in bourbon and wine barrels with Bing Cherries. Cranberry Blend of wheat ales aged in oak wine barrels with cranberries, orange peel, and cinnamon.

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project Denver, Colorado Progenitor Dry Hopped Golden Sour Ale. Booth 19 crookedstave.com Pure Guava Pure Guava Petite Sour is an unfiltered, golden wild ale, brewed with wheat and oats and spiced with coriander and sumac. A serious sourness greets you on the nose with lingering tropical fruit aromas and bright citrus flavors created by the Brettanomyces. The finish is dry with a subtle earthy, creamy mouthfeel. Vieille Reserva Apricot 5th Anniversary beer is an Oak aged apricot sour

Odell Brewing Company Fort Collins, Colorado Booth 20 odell.com Theo's Stout Brewed with our friends at Horse and Dragon Brewing, this beer has a smooth mouthfeel of chocolate silk and roast aromas Chrome Dome Ruby Red Grapefruit, Pineapple, herby pine, tangerine, peaches, papaya, tropical fruit, onion, fresh garlic, sweaty, with medium body. Meddler Comprised of several generations of Brown Ales, barrel aged and blended. Wild Yeast and Lactobacillus meddle with the brew for over 18 months.

Left Hand Brewing Company Longmont, Colorado Booth 21 lefthandbrewing.com Ambidextrous 7 Belgian Quad Super-limited Quadrupel is an olfactory powerhouse, combining breadyness with brandy-soaked fruit aromas. A rich blend of herbal and anise flavors combine with Honey Liqueur-Like Warmth And A Dry Finish. Ambidextrous 8 Old Ale Dry hopped with experimental flowers, this mahogany-colored ale fills your nose with unanticipated fruity, citrus and blackberry notes. Caramel malt and a fig-like backbone combine with earthy overtones to round out the flavor and leave you with a complex, botanic finish. St Vrain Tripel Light In Color And Lightly Hopped Using Celeia Hops, A Touch Of Malt Sweetness Contrasts The Warm Spiciness Hidden Within.

Oskar Blues Brewing Company Longmont, Colorado Booth 22 oskarblues.com Barrel Aged Death by Coconut Chocolate and Coconut Porter aged in Bourbon Barrels. Old Juicy Bastard This Barley Wine is an amazing blend of an English Barley Wine combined with the hop flavor and bitterness of an American Barley Wine. It has a vibrant copper color and a deep malt sweetness that smooths into hops and a pleasant bitterness. Add a touch of heat from the alcohol and you get the perfect winter beer.

New Holland Brewing Company New Holland, Michigan Booth 23 newhollandbrew.com Incorrigible Incorrigible celebrates the beauty of mischief. Wild yeasts and bacteria run free in our sour-aging cellar, the House of Funk, creating vibrant sour and acidic character in this delicate, yet complex wheat beer. The refreshingly tart session beer will tease your palate with a subtle, layered nuance. 2015 Blue Sunday This unique anniversary libation, heritage-blended from our library of barrel-soured beers, exhibits deeply layered flavors of malt and oak, with a tart finish.

Boulevard Brewing Company Kansas City, Missouri Booth 24 boulevard.com Love Child No. 6 Composed of multiple vintages of a Belgian Style Blonde Ale that has been resting in wine barrels and stainless steel vessels. This release features soft lactic acidity punctuated with very slight acetic notes and a tart, fruity flavor. Raspberry Chocolate Ale We're always looking for playful ways to approach the art of brewing, and with that in mind we invited Christopher Elbow back to the brewery to re-imagine our very popular Chocolate Ale. This exciting new version adds the bright flavors and aromas of raspberry for a fresh take on an old favorite.

Grand Teton Brewing Company Victor, Idaho Booth 25 grandtetonbrewing.com Barrel Aged Dry Hopped Brett Saison Primarily fermented with Brettanomyces Drei and aged in wine barrels for nine month with Brett Bruxellensis, then dry-hopped with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin and German Hallertau Blanc hops. Cowboy Milk Stout Grand Teton Milk Stout aged in American Oak barrels with Idaho's Doma Coffee Roasters' Vito Espresso and Bacon.

Deschutes Brewery Bend, Oregon Booth 26 deschutesbrewery.com 2014 Mirror Mirror The recipe is inspired by Deschutes Brewery s best-selling beer, Mirror Pond Pale Ale Complex aromas and flavors of sweet dried fruit and cherries, subtle vanilla and oak, and caramel grace the glass.50% aged for 10 months in Oregon Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, and Malbec Barrels 2014 Not the Stoic Not the Stoic is a true American-style Belgian quad, brewed with pomegranate molasses 30% of the total liquid aged for 11 months in Pinot Noir and Rye Whiskey Barrels. Notes of dried raisin, dark fruit and sweet maltiness. Black Butte XXII First brewed to celebrate our 20th anniversary, our extreme cousin of Black Butte Porter is back for a second encore performance. Generation XXII melds Theo s cocoa nibs, whiskey barrel aging and other flights of brewer whimsy into a masterpiece 22 years in the making.

Bells Brewery Comstock, Michigan Bear Hug Imperial Stout Hop-forward aroma with bittersweet chocolate character and a warm caramel finish. Booth 27 bellsbeer.com L Appel du Vide Pear Vibrant sour session ale wood aged with pear. Traverse City Cherry Third Coast Old Ale Barleywine aged with tart Michigan Cherries in Traverse City Whiskey Barrels. Warming, oaky, light vanilla and maraschino cherry.

Ballast Point Brewing Company San Diego, California Booth 28 ballastpoint.com Victory at Sea aged in Ballast Point Devil's Share single malt barrels. Our Victory at Sea Imperial Porter is a bold, smooth brew with just the right amount of sweetness then aged in Ballast Point Devil's Share Single Malt barrels Orange Vanilla Fathom India Pale Lager with natural orange and vanilla flavor.

Stone Brewing Company Escondido, California Booth 29 stonebrewing.com Bang Bang American Amber Ale aged in Oak Barrels This red ale has a strong aroma that features input from bourbon barrels and also presents a very pronounced chocolate aroma. Lots of flavor with an excellent sweet bitter balance. The taste is sweet and malty, with some vanilla notes and hints of toffee. Soft herbal hops round out the finish along with oaky tannins. Bourbon Barrel Aged Cali-Belgique IPA Appearance of the beer is pale orange with lingering foam. Caramel, bourbon, and spicy yeast aromas on the nose. Taste is of crisply bitter hops and peach and apricot stone fruit from the aroma. The rich caramel flavors from the crystal malts, and vanilla and sweet flavors of the bourbon barrel give this beer a lot of mouthfeel and richness without being satiating. This is a bourbon barrel aged beer you can drink by the pint.

Goose Island Beer Company Chicago, Illinois Booth 30 gooseisland.com 2007 Pere Jacques Brewed with lots of malt and Belgian yeast, Pere Jacques is a wonderfully fruity Belgian Style Abbey Dubbel. 2014 Lolita Belgian Style Wild Ale aged in wine barrels with wild yeast and raspberries. Lolita is ideal for beer drinkers fond of Belgian Framboise. 2015 Bourbon County Stout Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels

Aurora Borealis AWARD The Aurora Borealis Award is given away to the brewery with the most votes for Best Brewery. Attendees have an opportunity for vote for the brewery that they feel best demonstrated the ability to make rare beers at the highest level. The winner of the award will have ownership rights for one full year at which time they will pass the award on the next winner. Please submit your vote by 9pm on the 1st Floor at the Hospitality Table. VOTE

Brewery List BOOTH August Schell Brewing Company 08 Bad Weather Brewing Company 01 Ballast Point Brewing Company 28 Bells Brewery 27 Bemidji Brewing Company 06 Boulevard Brewing Company 24 Cascade Brewing Company 18 Central Waters Brewing Company 16 Clown Shoes Brewing Company 03 Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project 19 Deschutes Brewery 26 Fitgers Brewhouse and Grille 11 Fulton Brewery 12 Goose Island Beer Company 30 Grand Teton Brewing Company 25 BOOTH Green Flash Brewing Company 04 Indeed Brewing Company 05 Lagunitas Brewing Company 13 Left Hand Brewing Company 21 Lift Bridge Brewing Company 17 Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery 09 New Belgium Brewing Company 14 New Holland Brewing Company 23 Odell Brewing Company 20 Oskar Blues Brewing Company 22 Sierra Nevada Brewing Company 15 Six Point Brewing Company 02 Steel Toe Brewing Company 10 Stone Brewing Company 29 Surly Brewing Company 07

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