It was a beautiful weekend to head up to the North Shore of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The leaves were at peak color and the weather was cool, but not cold. I had a board meeting up that way and after the meeting, like I usually do, while everyone else headed to dinner, I hit a brewery. I had spied Warrior Brewing on my phone while looking for a new place to try before the meeting and it was directly on the way to dinner.
Warrior Brewing is just off Interstate 35 just before you get to downtown. The area is called Lincoln Park and it has several other breweries and Cider Houses. Warrior is a veteran owned brewery that supports first responders and veterans, so I'm always happy to support that. They are in a garage warehouse with a nice outdoor area. They are attached to an office building, so you need to look for the warrior on the wall outside and follow the arrow. There was some sort of craft type show going on when I arrived, but I found the taps and asked the bar keep what the flagship beer was. They have four flagships, the Barbarian Imperial Stout, Templar Pale Ale, Valkyrie Golden Honey Ale and the Samurai Red IPA. I normally wouldn't pick an IPA, but it was a red and I'm attracted to reds. As you can see in the pic above, it was a nice ruby color and smelled like victory. I liked it and found it to be hoppy and flavorful. They don't have any info on their website about their beers, so I'd have to guess on the IBU's, but it had to be 30+. It has a bitterish finish with a bit of maltiness. I've brought it up so many times, it's like beating a dead horse. IPA's are over-done, but something like a red IPA may be the trick to bring them back into my fold. A red is probably made with Cascade or Centennial hops or both and has a bitterness that brings back what IPA's originally were. Heck, they started the craft beer revolution in the US., but hazy's and West Coasts had me bailing out for more traditional styles. I've never been much for citrusy beers and the more people experimented, the less I cared. I'm in the minority, of course, as IPA have been all the rage for 25 years or more. However, the beer market is saturated and small batch breweries are struggling more than ever to keep traction. Even Warrior Brewing was once going to close the doors, reasons unknown, until a new owner stepped in. Good beers should change that and the red may be a beacon of hope. I'd picka brewery over a bar 100% of the time and I think most people would, especially if the beer is really good. I will make my way back to Warrior to try some more, but had time for one as I had dinner to get to. I really wanted their stout. My mouth is actually watering as I am thinking about it. I did buy a t-shirt, however. Their logo is cool and I liked their selections. Check out Warrior Brewing whilst in Duluth.
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