Beer festivals are not limited to October around here. Between the new kids on the block and the established beer festivals there's beer to be sampled all year round. Here's a calendar of beer festivals in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The Minnesota Craft Brewers Association's annual Winterfest always sells out well in advance of the actual festival, so to sample all those local craft brews, get your tickets early.
The largest cask beer festival in the Midwest, so they say. Tent, heaters, and plenty of firkins of beer at this St. Paul pub.
3. City Pages Beer Festival, Late May
This veteran beer festival has been running for almost two decades. Hundreds of beers and live music draw hipsters as well as the stereotypical beer festival goers.St. Paul's answer to the annual summer beer festival in Minneapolis. This festival debuted in 2008, but a wide variety of beer and reasonable ticket prices made St. Paul's summer beer festival a big success in its first year.
Local brewers Surly have a die hard following, meaning tickets to SurlyFest sell out quickly so get yours in advance.
Almost one hundred Belgium beers of every kind at the Muddy Pig in St. Paul.
As authentic as you are likely to get - four weekends of German beer, brats, music and polka at Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit in Northeast Minneapolis.
Free and family friendly during the day, and filled with happy revelers by night, the Minneapolis Oktoberfest takes over St. Anthony main for three days in late September. The event has polka dancing, food, barrel rolling, and all kinds of Germanic entertainment.
St. Paul's Oktoberfest is actually in October, but since the original Oktoberfest in Germany was in September
and October, this festival is rated more for being a free, family friendly, community event in St. Paul's Midway.
