Four Firkins

Upon landing in MN, one of the first places we went to was a new little beer shop called Four Firkins. Located in St. Louis Park (childhood home of the Cohen brothers and one-time home of yours truly) the Four Firkins has an outstanding selection of craft brews to choose from in a remarkably small retail space. The defining feature of this store and what makes it so special is that it offers pretty much every beer it carries by the single bottle (100s of beers to pic from).

I took advantage of this and bought several bottles of beer that I'd never had. One brewery I focused on was Odell, out of Fort Collins, Co. I've had Odell's 90 Schilling on tap several times before (their flagship amber, biscuity and somewhat similar to Fat Tire) but have spent almost no time with their other offerings. Their IPA and 5 Barrel Pale were outstanding beers, both were filled with amazing hop aromas and characteristics. The hopping process for 5 Barrel is extremely thorough and the whole flower hops shine through. The IPA comes in at 7% so it can slow you down fast, but the heavy pineapple and orange hints keep it really drinkable.

In the end, it was a fine tasting all thanks to a fine craft beer store.