What comes to mind when you think of St. Paul, Minnesota? If you have never been to the Twin Cities and assuming you didn’t snooze through your high school geography class, you probably associate St. Paul with its status as the Minnesota state capital. It’s true that the city’s standing as the seat of state government does factor highly in its recognition but there is one other reason to know about St. Paul, and that reason is beer. And one of the newer brewing operations to make St. Paul its home is Tin Whiskers Brewing, located at 125 9th St. E., in downtown.
Craft Beer, Capital Style
St. Paul’s Tin Whiskers Brewing is a small to medium size craft brewery, utilizing a 15 barrel brewhouse. Opened in 2014, the brewery presently produces about 2,000 barrels annually- a figure only likely to increase in the near future.
Tin Whiskers Brewing sells growlers, cans, bottles, and draft beer and many who visit will like that the brewhouse is right there, in your face, for open viewing while you drink. For entertainment, they have games to play and long tables to make board games easy for all. The low tables and chairs give Tin Whiskers Brewing a school- like feel that is different from most other breweries I have visited.
There is no kitchen in Tin Whiskers Brewing, but they do sell snack foods and guests are welcome to bring their own food from other places. Some of the nearby restaurants will even deliver food directly to Tin Whiskers, for added convenience.
Robotic Brews
Tin Whiskers Brewing has about 10 or so beers on tap at any given time. Here is a listing of the beers I sampled, in alphabetical order, followed by the style and my Untappd rating for each:
- Daisy Chain Saison, Farmhouse Ale, 3
- Electric Love, Gruit/Ancient Herbed Ale, 3.75
- Flip Switch IPA, India Pale Ale, 3.75
- Lumen Lager, California Common, 3.75
- Short Circuit, Stout, 3.75
- Wheatstone Bridge, Pale Wheat Ale, 3.75
Overall Average Rating: 3.63
I like what I tried at Tin Whiskers Brewing. The Short Circuit Stout and Wheatstone Bridge are the two beers I would select as my overall favorites, if I had to choose. But most all of the beers served here are tasty in their own way. The Daisy Chain Saison was my least favorite of the bunch but still not bad.
St. Paul Entertainment
Tin Whiskers Brewing is a nice little brewery in downtown St. Paul and it’s a brewery with an interesting name. Tin Whiskers, some might know, are the hair- like, crystalline structures that will often grow from the surface of something made with or coated using tin. At Tin Whiskers Brewing, the name takes on a more robotic and scientific theme, and this is reflected in the décor and in the names of several of the beers.
My visit to Tin Whiskers Brewing was made based on a recommendation received from the Minnesota Brewers Guild. I wanted more St. Paul breweries to visit, in order to round out my Twin cities brewery tour, and this is one of the places I was told was worth a stop. With a name like Tin Whiskers, I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as a theme goes, but this was evident once I made my way inside.
I spent time at Tin Whiskers Brewing chatting with the personnel about the Twin Cities and the local beer industry. I learned that Minneapolis is a good deal ahead of St. Paul in terms of beer- not to mention entertainment and other things- and that St. Paul is often criticized for not being a very exciting place. There is no question that the downtown is less vibrant than that of St. Paul’s sister city, but Tin Whiskers has managed to present at least a small slice of fun here in Minnesota’s capital.
Tin Whiskers Brewing is located in a downtown city building and if you don’t look closely, you may not even realize a brewery resides in this space. I didn’t see it at first either, and I was following my gps commands closely. Once I saw it, I had to find a place to park on the city streets and it did take an effort, even if only a small one. The brewery is in downtown, so there is metered parking. Get ready to insert a credit card or spare currency/change into the meter before you step inside.
St. Paul is best known as the state capital of the great state of Minnesota but it is also home to a growing and thriving craft beer scene. Tin Whiskers Brewing is a sign of the city’s maturing craft beer landscape and while it may be located in the less thrilling of the two Twin Cities, it is still a fun place overall with solid, highly drinkable beers. Pay a visit the next time you’re in Minnesota’s capital city. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.
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