The scene outside Falling Knife Friday was nothing short of spectacular. A huge crowd had gathered, wearing Wolves jerseys and waving Naz Reid beach towels, to watch the team take on the Denver Nuggets on the big screen (the side of a box truck).
As game three of the Western Conference Semifinals wore on, with the Wolves flagging, the northern lights started dancing in the sky, backdropping the action in breathtaking display of green and blue.
Color-wise, it sure looks like Mother Nature is a Timberwolves fan.
Chief Revenue Officer Dan Herman & Co. always wanted Falling Knife to be a Timberwolves bar; as lifelong fans, it just made sense.
"We've had experiences at other bars where we're like, 'Hey, can we get the Wolves game on?' And they're like, 'You mean the Wild?'" Herman says.
Getting sound turned on? Forget it.
Those in the know have been catching Wolves games at Falling Knife for years now, ever since the Minneapolis brewery opened in October 2019. (Well, not ever since. We don't need to tell you that the world and the NBA shut down due to COVID-19 not many months after that.)
The taproom is split into two distinct spaces: In the front, there's the bar, with booths and tables, and in the back, there's a more loungey room, with pinball machines, a jukebox, and several TVs. That rear room is where Falling Knife had been screening games—until the crowds grew too big.
"It wasn't really until that first Memphis Grizzlies series that we played [in 2022], where we started really filling that back room with people and we were like, 'All right, well, now we've got this community of people and they seem to be into what we're doing here, so we're gonna need to figure out another way to do this,'" Herman says.
The Falling Knife crew still wanted the front room to function as a third space where people could gather and chat and hang out, and as a "notorious screen watcher" who struggles to focus on the conversation at hand if there's a TV in the room, Herman didn't want to load it with big screens.
Their solution was to install a projector in the rafters with retractable screens, which could come down during games and then go away. These days, the brewery is often standing-room only during Timberwolves games, even before this thrilling playoff run.
Falling Knife's Wolves bar status is all the more notable because it's... not actually a sports bar. There's beer, but no liquor, and you won't get wings or cheese curds, although it doesn't hurt that resident food truck Wrecktangle is always on hand slingin' pies.
But the vibes are immaculate, and the crowds are rowdy—and growing. Many Timberwolves fans found the brewery after Falling Knife started sponsoring The Dane Moore NBA Podcast. Many more found it when the Wolves made the playoffs this year, and the brewery started hosting viewing parties in the parking lot with truckside video thanks to AllOver Media. This past Friday's parking lot party welcomed the biggest crowd they've ever seen.
Even A-Rod knows this is the city's premiere Wolves bar.
“It’s really a cool thing to have come together for us, because we are, like, such genuine fans,” Herman says. "First and foremost, as a fan, I'm like, holy god, this is amazing. This is the second-best season we've ever had, and it's probably the most fun NBA season that the Timberwolves have ever had, so, there's joy around that."
That fans are flocking to Falling Knife's taproom to watch the games? That's just icing on the cake.
"Obviously, it's catching lightning in a bottle," Herman says—or an aurora in a parking lot. "It's completely batshit, and you get wrapped up in it. When Gobert blocks somebody or Ant skies on somebody, everybody cheers."
Tonight, the Wolves will attempt to claw their way back to 3-3 against Denver ("I still believe, Wolves in seven," Herman says), but win or lose, this potential elimination game won't be your last chance to visit the best Timberwolves bar in town.
A lot of people are getting their first exposure to Falling Knife during this postseason, Herman says, and he imagines it's only going to get wilder from here. He's already brainstorming a Wolves-themed beer for the start of next season, tentatively called "Second Apron."
"It's a lot of fun, and it's a lot more fun than it was a couple of years ago, if we're being very honest about it," Herman laughs. "It's so cool to have people jump in and be excited about what we're doing."
