Do you like pizza? How about wings? Beer?
If you answered "yes" to any of the above, you're going to love Bricksworth Beer Co.
Like local Racket favorites Wrecktangle Pizza and Mario's, Bricksworth trades in rectangular, Detroit-style pies (Mario's calls theirs "Sicilian pan pizza," but you get it). Unlike those pizza places, Bricksworth is also a brewery; it was founded by the Blackstack Brewing folks, who opened a Burnsville brewpub in the fall of 2020 before expanding to the North Loop this February.
Bricksworth's brews are a perfect accompaniment to the menu of pizzas and wings—we've noted before that they're tactically designed to cut through pizza grease and buffalo sauce—and most are available in 5 oz, 10 oz, or 16 oz pours. That means you can try a small size of the It's Not Delivery It's Citra NEIPA, switch to the Goat Yoga fruited sour, and move on to Do You Take Checks? (a Czech pilsner, natch) without needing to summon a driver of your own to deliver you home.
But if you're not a real big hop-head, don't get turned off by the focus on beer.
For one, Bricksworth has more non-beer options than you'd expect from a brewpub, including cocktails like a mezcal old fashioned, a bootlegger, and three boozy slushies. (I'm dangerously fond of the Grape Ape slushy, $11, as popularized by Wrecktangle in its liquid form.)
For another? Alcohol aside, Bricksworth's food is really excellent. With a streamlined menu of about a dozen kinds of wings, a half-dozen pies, and some salads and starters, this beer company's cooks focus on what they do best, and what they do best is killer bar food.
Now sure, you can get some more traditional wings—buffalo, honey sriracha, brown sugar BBQ—all available boneless or bone-in, at $12 for a six-piece or $18 for 10 pieces. But seated on the sprawling patio on a recent weeknight, we were drawn to the dill pickle dry rub, and helpless to turn down the Cool Ranch Dorito wings. ("I know, right?" the menu teases.)
The dill pickle wings were delightful: A little sweet, actually, and not overwhelmingly dilly, though the house ranch served alongside them more than made up for it. But the Cool Ranch wings—and I'm not just saying this to be funny or weird—were the standout for everyone at our table of four. The Dorito-dusted flats and drummies, noticeably flecked with the bright green and red seasoning you'd see on the triangular chips, hummed with the flavor of the school-lunch favorite, made better because... it's a chicken wing. And novelty aside, both batches boasted crispy skin and tender meat, and arrived almost too hot to handle—the fundamentals that let ya know that every wing here, from chicken parmesan to the Takis-inspired chili lime fuego, is gonna be great.
The trio of pizzas we tried were similarly clever and crowd-pleasing. Our server said the Telltale Moozadell (where are our Sopranos-heads at?) was her favorite, and it was mine, too, with sweet balsamic-drizzled cherry tomatoes popping atop chewy cheese and salty proscuitto. The Box Logo, an absolute flavor bomb, arrived piled with sausage crumbles, pepperoni, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and roasted peppers, all finished off with a hearty dollop of sauce. One of my dining partners noted that it was "like Chicago pizza in a Detroit pizza costume"; all were impressed with the structural integrity of a pie so stuffed with toppings.
Of the pizzas we tried, it was the special, an elote pizza, that was the least special, if only because it was so restrained compared to the other two. A mostly mild pizza with sweet corn and cotija, it did get a nice boost from sliced jalapeños and a sprinkle of Tajín spice, the latter of which was a fun addition.
But like most pan pizzas of this style, Bricksworth's pizzas are made with pillowy, focaccia-esque dough, and the crust is a crown of toasty frico-like cheese. It'd be tough to mess it up too bad—there's a reason we're such fans of most rectangular pan pies served locally. Ah, and as for the prices: They're available in 8x10" ($19-$22) or 6x6" ($12-$14). The square size is perfect for sharing several pies between a group of four.
Located in the old Darby's Bar & Grill—where for years, fun fact, the City Pages staff played trivia on Tuesday nights—Bricksworth also has a massive, secluded patio deck along the train tracks, perfect for a summer evening. Just be prepared: You might have to pause your conversation when a train rolls by.
Bricksworth Beer Co. (North Loop)
305 N. Fifth Ave. Suite 105, Minneapolis
Sunday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-midnight
