Some writers—even Racket writers—would have you believe that best-of lists belong in December (and maybe January) and the rest of the year is for... other stuff. But I give y’all what I consider a “best-of” list every dang month! I know, right? I treat ya better than any of the other folks who write for Racket. Sure, the other writers might tell you what to do with your time, or about an alleged Airbnb scam house, or invite you to share personal information with strangers on the internet because of a silly social media exchange. But does anyone else give you five certified rad beers to drink every month? No. There’s just me. I alone provide this service.
However, I must admit, there are times when my powers fail me. Sometimes, I reach limits beyond which I cannot go. For example: whatever theme I set for the month, or like, the number five. And so, inevitably, some really rad beers never make it into my column. They are remembered solely by my badly written tasting notes (almost no dumb jokes in those), and my phone’s camera roll. But no more!
That’s right, it’s time to pour one out for the ones that got away in 2024.
Falling Knife Brewing Co.: 365 Days of Incidents (2024)
Hazy IPA / 8.6% ABV / ?? IBU
I didn’t cover this beer in December when I could have because the vibe was off. I was doing “boozy” beers, and at 8.6%, this one definitely hit the mark. But the rest of my list was a bit more seasonally resonant, you know?
365 Days of Incidents (2024) was just harmonically out-of-tune with the celestial chords ringing throughout the heavens at the time. And it was a shame, too, because I really liked this beer from northeast Minneapolis. My tasting notes sum it up as “like drinking grapefruit rind, but in a good way.” In addition to the grapefruit, it had notes of mango and pineapple. I remember it fondly, and as with all good anniversary beers, Falling Knife really went all-out cramming unique hop varieties in there.
You might even be able to still find this one—it’s not going to be as fresh as it ought to be, but I still see some Untappd posts about it here and there—so you could get lucky.
Wooden Ship Brewing Co.: Doppelbock
Doppelbock / 7% ABV / ?? IBU
Wooden Ship’s Doppelbock was in the running for my November column, and it nearly made it in. Here’s the deal, though: It was too boozy. Everything else on my list was below 5.5% and this gregarious friendo was at 7%. One of these things is not like the other.
Also, while a doppelbock is a great fall beer, I actually think of it more as a late winter/early spring beer, especially given its historical association with Lent. I may not be religious, or very good at doing literally anything the monks who originally brewed it would approve of (I made a deal with the devil for a Charizard Pokémon card in fifth grade, and he turned me gay—it’s all been downhill from there), but I refuse to disappoint their beer sensibilities.
Hopefully the Linden Hills brewery will revisit this one. It was lighter-bodied than many doppelbocks, making it much easier to drink.
Unmapped Brewing Co.: Paddle North Wild Rice Cream Ale
Wild rice cream ale / 5.5% ABV / 11 IBU
Back in August, this beer was the victim of circumstance. I fully intended to review it, and then suddenly I was arguing with people on the internet about hops. Did you know some people don’t like some things, and want that to just be how things are instead of treating it like an opportunity to learn and grow?
Needless to say, this Minnetonka brewery's delicious and approachable wild rice cream ale was not going to help me make my point about hops, so… yeah. But don’t worry, I made up for it a little bit by making sure everyone knew about Unmapped’s Flannel Roots Fall lager in November.
There are few beers more “Minnesotan” than a wild rice cream ale, and this one had a really nice wild rice flavor without it being over-the-top. So, I’m crossing my fingers that we get to have this one again someday.
Arbeiter Brewing Co.: Dancing Queen
Fruited wheat ale / 5.8% ABV / 12 IBU
I’m not generally a fruity wheat beer person. “Fruity,” maybe—I guess that depends on your definition. “Wheat beer person,” sure, I like me some wheat beers. But while the other gays were busy celebrating Pride (and perhaps drinking this beer), I was busy starting fights about the best American adjunct lager in Minnesota.
So, when I finally saw it on the shelves in July, and bought it because the can looked like my snazzy Minnesota Pride flag, I did it on the assumption it was just for me. That didn’t stop me from trying to figure out how to justify including the Longfellow-brewed beer in my July column, but alas, I couldn’t do it. Reviewing a beer that was no longer available? That’s January territory, not July.
Dancing Queen had apricot, pear, and ginger in it. The first two came together beautifully without being overly cloying. But the little ginger zing was what really made this one stand out.
Fair State Brewing Cooperative: Side Pull
Czech pilsner / 4.1% ABV / 30 IBU
Side Pull is a limited release by Fair State in collaboration with Bierstadt Lagerhaus, which is located in my old stomping grounds of Denver, the second-best beer scene in the U.S. (Behind Minnesota’s, of course.) Side Pull has been released a few times, and realistically, I could probably wait for this beer to become available again to cover it.
However, the anguish of missing the opportunity this last time was too great for me to take that chance. Side Pull was most recently released in April of 2024, and I should have written about it that month as one of the “shower beers” I featured... but I had another Fair State beer (Rudimentary Scrapbook) in mind already, and I try very hard not to cover two beers from the same brewery in the same month. Even if I really like them a lot a lot. And let me be clear: I do like this beer a lot a lot. Side Pull is my favorite Czech pilsner. It’s got the normal noble hop and yeast funk for the style along with a round malty body, and the carbonation breaks it up just perfectly.
Apparently, you can take a road trip to a handful of places in Nebraska or Texas that somehow have this northeast Minneapolis beer on tap—otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll have to join me in waiting for Fair State to bring it back.
