A while back, I wrote about the number of breweries in the Twin Cities and wondering how many more the area could support. I still wonder that and I can't really tell if the number opening is slowing down or not. I am starting to see a few more pop up in the suburbs though, which is going to be able to help sustain the push. In the northwest corner of the metro where I live at, the only brewery was Granite City. Not a bad place, but not local and not really part of the boom that we've been seeing.
That changed last week with the opening of OMNI Brewing in Maple Grove. I stopped in during their first week to see what it was like and get a feel for the tap room. The space is really well put together and laid out. Long table and bench seating helps bring about groups getting together and encourage meeting new people. On a Thursday night, there were 15 to 20 people sitting around talking and laughing having a wonderful time.
I got to talk to Zack, the head brewer, and hear about how they got started and hear about his love for beer. It's easy to hear the excitement in his voice as he talks about getting to do a job that he loves.
On tap that night they had their Pilot Pale Ale and the Hopfull IPA. The Pilot was a solid beer coming in just under 5%. For a pale ale, it had a stronger hop flavor than I was expecting but it lets it stand out. The Hopfull IPA was a very smooth drinking IPA at 5.9%. This would be an easy beer to get in trouble with - it goes down very easily and you don't really notice how much of it you've been drinking. I was also able to try samples of their stout and session ale.
Since I've been there, they've released even more beers. With 10 tap lines available, I'm looking forward to what they will be putting out. From what I could tell, Zack is putting together a solid line up of beer. I'm looking forward to once they get going and he's able to experiment a bit more. The IPA especially seems perfect for infusions that will really let them stand out.
Cheers to you Zack and the rest of the OMNI team! I'm looking forward to sharing many good pints with you!
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