The Twin Cities metro beer and brewing scene continues to heat up. A while back I reported on the progress Lift Bridge is making with their new site in Stillwater. But Lift Bridge isn’t the only one moving into a space of its own. Both Fulton Beer and Harriet Brewing are pushing forward with their Minneapolis breweries. I had the opportunity to meet with Fulton’s Ryan Petz and Harriet’s Jason Sowards to get the low-down.

The Fulton space is on 6^th Ave N in the shadow of Target Field. Looking out the front window in the future brewhouse area one can almost hear the roar of the crowd. The building is currently just a nearly empty industrial space. They have a long way to go before beer will start flowing. The equipment from the Fulton garage brewery has been moved in and the initial demolition phase is nearly complete. They still have to secure financing before a brewery can be ordered.

In the center of the space will be a tasting room and gathering spot with windows looking in on the brewery. The plans for the space include a 20-barrel Newlands Systems brewhouse and five fermenters. There is plenty of room to expand add fermenters for increased capacity. Rounding the corner from the brewery there is an area for keg filling and storage. Beyond that is planned the cool-room and distribution loading dock. Ryan showed me renderings for improvements to the outside of the building. It should be an attractive space once it’s completed.

For now the plan is to eventually move kegged production and small-batch, big-bottle beers to the new space and contract bottled production of their flagship beers at Sand Creek where they currently brew.

The Harriet Brewing space in the Seward Neighborhood is further along. Jason has moved the brewery in and is in the process of getting everything plumbed and electrified. Pipes, couplers, tools, and random bits of equipment are scattered all over the large brewery area. Jason bought a German-made Wachsmann system from a defunct brewpub in Japan. Two open fermenters came along with the brewhouse and additional closed fermenters are on the way. Before moving in the brewhouse, the entire floor was sanded and coated with epoxy paint.

The brewery is in the back of the building. As you move forward there are a number of rooms that will serve as tasting room and office. A while back Jason expressed an interest in having a small art gallery where local artists could display work.

Jason had planned to have his first batch brewed by now. Local bureaucracy and regulation has delayed that goal, but he still hopes to crank things up before the end of the year. Best of luck.

Fulton Photos by Mark Roberts.