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Doin’ Beers: 5 Minnesota Beers to Drink in May

  • Jerard Fagerberg
  • May 17, 2023
  • 2 min read

Updated: Aug 25, 2023


Saying goodbye to Minnesota with this beer writer’s greatest hits.

Castle Cream Ale can that is gold in color

Every month, I drink a whole scad of Minnesota beers, and I share my notes here, in this funny little column that I’ve been writing, depending how you count it, for 87 months. Now, that all comes to an end.


In that epoch, thousands of Minnesota beers have been released. Breweries have opened and closed. I got married, had two kids, and, weeks ago, bought a house in Maine. And on that last point: This edition brings an end to my tenure as the writer of Local Suds, as it was known in City Pages, and now Doin’ Beers, as it lives on in Racket.


It’s been an honor—sappy shit incoming!—to write this little list every month for these last seven-odd years, and I thank the dozens of you who bothered to read it. If this column led you to even one beer you enjoyed, hallelujah. It wasn’t in vain.

For the farewell edition, I wanted to look back at my time here and highlight some of the consistently incredible beers that propelled me from month to month. In the tide of new beers coming every day, these were the beers I’ll look back on fondly from my nine-year tenure as a Minnesotan.


BlackStack Brewing Fugazi can with a glass of Fugazi behind it

BlackStack Fugazi Italian Pilsner, 4.8% ABV, n/a IBU


BlackStack is more renowned for its big, murky IPAs and cobbler-style sours, but what makes all that maximalist shit work is that fact that the St. Paul brewery knows exactly what it’s doing. If you can’t make a beer that meets table stakes, you can’t make a beer that surges across the flavor spectrum. Fugazi, a perfectly crisp and balanced pils that breaks clean as a biscuit across the palate, is the beer that proves BlackStack is among the top of the top in Minnesota.


Read the rest of the article here!

15 Comments


driving directions
driving directions
7 days ago

This hits because it’s honest, not https://mapsdirectionsdriving.com/ performative. A goodbye wrapped in gratitude, memory, and good beer. The list isn’t just recommendations—it’s a record of time, place, and craft. If even one reader found a favorite through this column, it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

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cucep
Jan 15

Congratulations on the new opening! Your post captures the excitement and personality of the brewery really well—it makes readers feel like they’re part of the experience. I recently read a review blog that referenced platforms like https://gocollectiv.com/ for connecting local communities and sharing updates about new ventures, which added an interesting perspective to the conversation.

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pricots sistera
Jan 07

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babyish aggregate
babyish aggregate
Dec 17, 2025

It’s been an honor — and yes, here comes the sappy part — to write this little list every month for the past seven‑odd years. To the dozens of fnaf you who read along, thank you. If even one of these columns led you to a beer you loved, then hallelujah, it wasn’t in vain.

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miller chaney
Dec 17, 2025

At first glance, Dinosaur Game has surprisingly minimalist mechanics, consisting only of the player controlling a T-Rex to overcome obstacles.

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