Twin Cities bars and liquor stores are about to get a little more dangerous.
No, we're not echoing the drumbeat of crime-fetishist chuds like Alpha News—we're talking beer! Specifically, the terrific stuff from Dangerous Man Brewing Co., the northeast Minneapolis brewery/taproom that, for the first time ever, is getting into the distribution game.
In May, the 10-year-old company acquired a 9,000-square-foot production facility in Maple Lake, located about halfway between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. Currently, at its Northeast HQ, Dangerous Man is able to brew around 2,000 barrels per year; when fully operational, the new site will produce up to 5,000.
“We’ll have the ability to can our beer and keg it up, so that part we’re really excited about—to have our product in distribution for the first time ever," says co-owner/project manager Sarah Bonvallet, adding that a "pretty awful" quirk in Minnesota's infamous liquor laws means Dangerous Man is limited to just its existing taproom. Sorry, Maple Lake beer lovers.
The good news: Liquor stores from St. Cloud to Rochester will soon be stocked with Dangerous Man product. Ditto for bars and restaurants. Bonvallet says the brewery will lean into the desserty, specialty varieties it's famous for—like the current French Silk Double Stout—once cans start flying outta the (extremely under-construction) new warehouse. A regular lineup of off-sale beers is still TBD, she says, but you can expect standbys like the Peanut Butter Porter and Chocolate Milk Stout to make the cut.
Satellite production facilities are commonplace in the local suds scene, Racket beer columnist Jerard Fagerberg informs me. Favorites like Fair State and Bauhaus crank out barrels far away from their taprooms, and, though it may smack of heresy, many local beers are produced... in Wisconsin.
Business-wise, Dangerous Man endured a shaky summer, Bonvallet reports.
“In all honesty, it was a really, really rough," she says, noting that folks are likely still recalibrating to post-COVID routines. "We needed people to come out gangbusters, and it was barely enough."
But things are starting to turn around.
"Starting in September, we really saw a change," she adds. "The numbers became really hopeful for us. There are also perceptions around the city right now that keep suburban areas from coming in, and I think that’s starting to change.”
Bonvallet anticipates Dangerous Man's new brew factory will be "full-steam ahead" by this coming spring.
