Forgotten Star- Fridley . This place is just fantastic . Being a history buff , I was in awe of this building and brewery . Originally this building was Northern Pump Co . which made water pumps for firefighting from 1929 to 1941 . At this time the U . S . entered WW-2 . Operations shifted to manufacturing gun turrets for the Navy . On the smokestacks there in an " E " which stands for " excellence in production ", below are 6 stars which were awarded for continuing to maintain excellence . These were the Military ’ s highest awards for these facilities at the time . Out of 86,000 of similar manufacturing facilities country wide , only 4,200 received the " E " and only 8 received 6 or more . This is must see destination , very large taproom , huge windows , patio , bike trails nearby , rail yard next to it . One of our top places to go .
Ashby- Ashby . We are in love with this place and town . We would say this must be the smallest brewery in the State . We recommend calling ahead to see if they are open . Seems the owner kind of opens when he feels like it . The beer is spot on delish . The owner / brewer is very engaging , he worked for Apple and came back to his hometown / place .
Goat Ridge- New London . Located next to Middle Fork Crow River , a small place but comfortable . Inside is Model Citizen café , all the food is local and comes from within a 100-mile radius of here . The bacon mac and cheese are worth the trip alone and we are not kidding . Red beans and rice , cauliflower steak , jambalaya , the food is great . Almost forgot , the beers are well made and quite tasty .
Beer Club- Mora . This is one of those places to just fall in love with . It is an old Quonset hut , that was said to be used for the Military back in the day . Just right off highway 23 . The beer is excellent , the brewer / owner is usually present and very friendly . When we were there , some locals shared their pizza with us and talked about their love of home / place .
La Dona Cerveceria- Minneapolis . Very colorful , has a great feel . Plenty of artwork here . The mural in the restroom area blew us away . Beers are excellent , has a small kitchen and the food as you can imagine is fantastic .
Junkyard- Moorhead . This place is just outrageously cool . Lots of artwork , beer is great , although it is a very IPA forward brewery , which we are not fans of . Personal taste . Usually a food truck . Plenty of bicycle trails nearby .
Voyager and Gun Flint – Grand Marais . This is a 2-fer stop again . We can ’ t pick one over the other , so they both get listed . At Gun Flint , go upstairs grab a beer and look out the windows , it is like being in a painting . At Voyager , they have what must be the most beautiful deck view of Lake Superior in the State or anywhere for that matter . Go hike Eagle Mountain , or Mount Josephine while here , the views will make you cry .
He won 3 free cases of Nordeast that was delivered personally by Pohlcat to Mark at Billie Jo ’ s in Algona .
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