About a Brett Bock at the Brewery Before the BS

April 3, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

Here at Klockow, we like to keep things fresh: the beer, the air, the attitude, the blog… Well, we try our best with the blog, but, heh, whatdaya do? If we get a bit repetitive talking about all the awesome things we have going on in the taproom, what else can we say but “guilty.”
So let’s get on with it! Bottle Night is Friday, April 4, and at the risk of repeating ourselves, it’s gonna be awesome. But if you wanna know more, might I suggest you read last week’s blog. As of this writing, we only have three seats left, so call now!
And back for the first time since last month, Brewery Yoga with Kelly! Whoop whoop! What more is there to say except it’s yoga in the taproom on Saturday, April 5, at 10 a.m. And this month’s non-profit benefiting from your donations is Grace House, so come do yoga and help those in need of shelter.
Let’s see, uh, Beer & BS! Now this is a bit new because it’s always a different speaker, and for April we have Ashley Brubaker, salon owner and cosmetologist extraordinaire! Ever been curious about how much regulation hair stylists are subject to? No? Well, you should, because it’s way more than you’d think. So come find out what and why and how! Starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 6.
And so concludes our weekend. Our amazing weekend! But don’t relax too much yet, because next Thursday will be the return of Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! And we’ve finally come full-circle, repeating the first game show she did on our stage, Family Feud. Just like before, “families” will be pre-chosen for your entertainment, so all you need to do is show up, order a beer, and enjoy. Show starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 10.
Now all you need to do is stay-tuned to keep hearing more about our regular programming each week.

Ok, What Is That?
You haven’t seen it on the chalkboard menu, because it has never been on tap. But if you ever perused our beer cooler for to-go beer, you likely saw a bottle with a deer on it called Sour Whitetail Bock. It’s just hanging out. Sitting there on the top left corner of the cooler. Just chillin’. Maybe you stood there, scratching your chin, wondering if you should buy it. Eh, but it’s not on tap, so you can’t try it first. Plus it says that it’s a sour. A sour bock? Hmmm… Maybe you’re tempted, but decide to just get a four-pack of Travelin’ Jack before heading on your way. But this whole experience begs the question:
Ok, what is that?
Good question, because this is a weird one. And I say that in the best possible way.
To begin with, the Whitetail Bock is our imperial maibock, which we brewed a few times in the first couple years of operation. But in 2018, when facing a large number of high ABV beers on tap, Andy Klockow figured it was time to try something new with half of the Whitetail: barrel-age it with Brettanomyces.
“So we split the batch off. I’d been wanting to play around with different yeasts and stuff for some finishing touches… just kind of experiments, really,” said Andy. “And so we got some barrels that had been used before, so they weren’t bourbon forward. And because it’s such a big beer, it does finish with a decent amount of residual sugars that most yeast won’t eat. So that’s when you introduce the Brettanomyces, which is a different type of yeast, and it eats a lot of sugars that regular Saccharomyces (“brewers yeast”) won’t eat.”
This wild yeast strain has been used for hundreds of years to achieve many unique and distinct flavors, including sourness, floral notes, and what can only be described as “barnyard.” For many brewers over the years, Brett, as it’s more commonly called, was seen as something to avoid, giving unwanted flavors. But like so many things, we slowly and collectively started embracing this wild and beastly yeast, accepting those untamed, funky flavors.
“Ours picked up a lot of the oak, I feel like, and not as sour as some sours that most people are used to,” added Andy. “But definitely more acidity.”

The Sour Whitetail Bock sat in the barrels for well over a year, taking on the Brett characteristics, before we did something else that was unexpected: we bottle conditioned it.
“And that’s when we added more Brett yeast, actually a third strain of Brett, along with some priming sugar to bottle condition it the way you would in a home brew situation.”
If you’re unfamiliar, bottle conditioning is extremely rare in the beer industry. Quite common for wine, such as champagne, but you’ll be hard-pressed to go to your average liquor store and find any beer that’s been bottled this way. And what this means is that all the carbonation in the Whitetail Bock is completely natural, a byproduct of the yeast, and also that this beer has the additional ability to continue to evolve as it ages due to the chemistry happening inside the glass. If you had one four years ago, it will definitely have some different characteristics today from what you remember.
So what are some of the characteristics?
On the nose, you’ll notice a lot of toasted notes, which is common for anything that ages on spent yeast cells. Additionally, you might be surprised by the amount of fruit character, specifically stewed apricots and apples. Almost like an apple pie, really, because there’s plenty of caramel notes as well. And once you drink it, if the nose ever convinced you that this might not be a beer, your tongue will dispel that notion. The grains and the malts come through strong, still with the caramel notes and some of the fruit, but those toasted grains from the original base maibock finally make their presence known.
Sounds good, no? But just as a word of warning for when you pick one up: the yeast sediment is still at the bottom of the bottle. They are kept upright so the yeast isn’t mixed in throughout, so be mindful about pouring the last bits of the beer out. It’ll definitely be on the hazy side, to say the least.
And we look forward to drinking it with a bunch of you on our Bottle Night!

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Frontier Liquors - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
Bob’s Country Market - Bovey
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Rocket’s - Cohasset
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Unwined Up North - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Eagle Ridge Golf Course - Coleraine
Itasca Curling Association - Grand Rapids

Duluth, etc. -

Dovetail Cafe & Marketplace - Duluth
27 Liquors - Duluth
Boulder Tap House - Superior
New Scenic Cafe - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Cloquet
Wussow’s Concert Cafe - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Pike Lake
Old Chicago Pizza - Duluth
Fitger’s Wine Cellar - Duluth
Woodland Liquors - Duluth

They Say Beer in a Bottle Is Better

March 27, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

Coinciding with the beginning of the craft beer boom in this country was the start of the Cicerone program, which is a beer training course for professionals in the industry to better know how to serve, store, and discuss that most sudsy of all beverages. It was modeled after the various sommelier programs that have trained wine professionals for decades, allowing bartenders, servers, and basically anyone who isn’t a brewer to know more about the different styles of beer out there and what to expect from them. Because, let’s face it, the age of only having to know whether or not your Budweiser tastes skunky was over by the mid-2000s, when the floodgates of ales and lagers poured forth over the unsuspecting populace who excitedly consumed it all, but had no idea what was happening.
I say all this as a bit of a segue into telling you about our upcoming Bottle Night on Friday, April 4, where head brewer and co-owner Andy Klockow will give a small group of you a bit more insight into how some of our beers are made and why they taste the way they do - specifically the two beers that we sell by the 750 ml bottle. I mean, if we’re going to have a special night of bottle service, might as well go for the biggest, most unique beers we have. And those happen to be Magic Roundabout Barrel-Aged Imperial Vanilla Stout and the 2018 White Tail Bock Imperial Sour Maibock. Andy will be talking about not just about the brewing process, but the purpose of adjuncts for different flavor profiles, the use of bacteria for souring purposes, what barrel-aging can do, and even bottle conditioning, which is extremely rare in the world of beer. And being a guided tasting, we’ll be going over specific tasting notes as we go through the different bottles. Guests will also be privy to some samples of beer still aging in the barrels, as well as a couple other surprises the head brewer has up his sleeve.

It’s sure to be a night of education, but more importantly, it’ll be one of delicious treats where we take the time to sit back and savor all the nuance that beer is capable of. Only 16 seats available, reservations required, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 4.
But before that, we still have one weekend left of March and that means Open Mic with Ditty Wish and the Klockow Bar Sing this Sunday! All day long we got music from the masses here at the brewery, whether you’re bringing a guitar or hanging out later for the group sing of classic pub ditties lead by Ditty Wish (hey, that must be where she got her name from)! But it should be noted that it’s an OPEN Mic, so it doesn’t necessitate that you have an acoustic guitar to get on stage. Perhaps you’re a hell of a juggler, or an amateur magician looking to try a trick or two (I’m sorry… illusion or two), or just composed an epic poem that will bring the people to tears. Yeah, any of that would be great! Then as for the bar sing, all you gotta bring is yourself, your voice, and your beer hoisting arm. Do all that, and it’ll be wonderful!
(Oh, and by the way, Münchkin Oktoberfest is in the tanks as of Wednesday. See ya this fall!)

OK, What Is That?
I feel like we’re getting a little casual with the whole “ok, what is that?” lately, mostly because we’re talking about beer that is pretty self explanatory. Smoked Chocolate Stout? Yeah, it’s basically what it sounds like. And this week it’s the Magic Roundabout Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Vanilla Stout. Provided you know what all those words mean, you could almost stop reading right now. But we strive for edutainment, so by all means, keep reading. You might enjoy it!
Before a beer can grow up to be a big boy like the Magic Roundabout, it typically has to start off as a more standard brew. And so it was for the Roundabout Vanilla Stout, first brewed in 2019, which ran a bit over 6%, used real vanilla beans, and was otherwise a hodgepodge of ingredients from different brewing traditions. What’s more, it was actually the first brew ever created by our former brewer Max Chamberlain, meaning his legacy here at Klockow will last for many years to come.
But we’re not talking about some standard brew. We’re talking imperial barrel-aged!
“For a 6% vanilla stout, it was super robust. It just had the body and all the right things that would make it good as a higher ABV beer capable of taking on the barrel character,” said Andy Klockow. “Plus more vanilla beans. Because why not use more when it’s bigger!”
Hence the decision to add this style to the Klockow BA pantheon along with Double Downwind, Guardians of the Beam, Decima, etc. Anyone who has ever had this beer has noticed one thing about it in particular, which puts it very much in line with every other imperial version of a beer: it’s sweet. Even before getting to any barrel character and the extra vanilla beans steeping in the barrels, simply by beefing up the malt ingredients means that there are a greater number of sugars capable of turning into alcohol, which also means that there will inevitably be a greater amount of residual sugars that find their way into the final product. This is important if what you’re looking for is a drier, cleaner beer: you won’t find that in an imperial stout. I’ve often recommended imperial IPAs to people looking to dip their toe into hoppier beers, and those that’ve taken my advice have largely come back and said they liked what they tried. A little sweetness can go a long way, but only if that’s what you want.

Once you accept that the beer is sweet and vanilla-y, you’ll then be ready to enjoy the layered nuance of this beer. Besides the vanilla, there’s light chocolate notes, a faint bit of minty-herbalness, a bit of oak, and no shortage of caramel, all flowing on a thick, malty body that coats your mouth. If you haven’t put it together yet, I’ll say it plain: this beer is dessert in a glass.
“I think, objectively, it’s one of the most full, complete barrel-aged beers we’ve done,” said Andy. “It’s got a lot of depths of flavor. A tiny bit of smoke malt in there, a lot of caramel malt, and different things to make that stout a little rounder.”
This is probably why, when asked what the best beer Klockow has ever done while sitting for an interview for this blog last year, Tasha Klockow said that Magic Roundabout is just objectively the best beer to ever be made at this brewery.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Hotel Rapids - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
S&S Bottle Shop - Deer River
Pokegama Lake Store - Grand Rapids
Pickled Loon - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Kocians - Bigfork
NoPo Coffee - Grand Rapids
Ron’s Korner Market - Bovey

Iron Range, etc -

Super Smoke Shop - Virginia
SuperOne Liquor - Hibbing
SuperOne Liquor - Virginia
Marge’s Liquor - Eveleth

Ely -

Boathouse Brewery - Ely
Mike’s Drive-In Liquor - Ely
Ely Liquor - Ely

Hallock -

Hallock Curling Club - Hallock

Blood is Thicker Than Water, and Downwind is Thicker Than Blood

March 20, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

We’d like to say sorry for canceling the drag show last Saturday. We stand by it being a wise choice though, what with travel conditions around the state. But as you can imagine, it’s easier said than done to herd together a half-dozen or so independent performers for a last-minute reschedule. After going through a few different possible dates and not seeing any of them work, a decision was made to just wash our hands of the spring show, say “c’est la vie” and “that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes,” and focus instead on the June show. That’s Pride Month, after all, and it’s very uncommon for it to snow that time of year too.
Fortunately, we were still able to have a killer Storyteller Sunday this past weekend (History edition), as well as a great Third Tuesday Trivia! There was some tough competition, what with the all confident answers and lucky guesses being thrown around, but there can only be one victor! Well, one per game. And our winners this week were Quiz Me Like One Of Your French Girls and Pins & Needles, respectively. The odds were ever in your favor, or at least the categories were.
(Honestly, some of the best parts of the night were the people who came up with their answer card, muttering how they didn’t know of any poets when the category was Poetry, only for them to drop off the correct answer. Remember, kids, pay attention in class and you too may be able to pull an answer out of your ass for bar trivia.)
Btw, we want your blood. Or at least the blood mobile does. Memorial Blood Centers will be back here this Saturday, March 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can schedule your appointment online at www.mbc.org/searchdrives, sponsor code 4858, or contact Trudy at 218-591-3000. The blood you donate will save a life. For that reason, we’re always happy to host the blood bus.

OK, What Is That?
So much of what’s on the menu here at Klockow is some sort of historical throwback, a classic style honed over the centuries. Perhaps they have a home in some storied region of Europe. And what is in the glass is just the current iteration from some long lineage; the contemporary generation that is tied to the past by an immutable culture.
And some other beers are just ones we just made up. Like the Downwind Smoked Chocolate Stout.
“It’s a big ol’ hybrid. So it is a dry English ale yeast, which brings it into the English realm of stouts, but it has a heavy German malt base,” said head brewer and co-owner, Andy Klockow. “The beechwood smoke is a big component in it.”
And on top of that, the whole batch is steeped with a sack of cacao nibs to give it that dry, bitter, dark chocolate flavor as well.
“It’s really, truly American. It’s a melting pot of a beer,” added Andy.

So what’s going on here. Well, for starters, it should be noted that this is a beer that needs little extra description, because the name kinda just explains itself. We Americans are used to just making stuff up and pitching them to the public, and the public responds by saying, “yeah, sounds great! I’ll try anything twice!” While in Europe, there are generations of a known style when it comes to beer (and wine and cheese and meats and etc. etc. etc.). Go to Bamberg, Germany, order a beer, and they’ll give you a rauchbier without a second question. In the states, we’re fully of second questions. There are no local styles here; we simply make other peoples styles and invent our own as well, but the new recipes aren’t tied to anything. Just sounded good, you know.
Which is exactly what the Downwind is. It was one of the first beers on tap when Klockow opened more than seven years ago, and it was immediately a big hit. It gave customers a taste of something big and brash, yet balanced. And it set the stage for many of the other flavor bombs that were to come, including many of the barrel aged beers. In fact, the first barrel aged beer at Klockow as an imperial version of the Downwind, which many know as Double Downwind.
This beer is also on the vanguard of some of the new revelations here at the brewery, namely that more and more of our beer is being sold to-go in cans, whether from the taproom itself or from liquor stores around the state. So when it was released again this past winter, we were all taken a-back when every single can sold out within a month. Beer batches are typically split between cans and kegs with the thought of them lasting about the same amount of time. So we broke from tradition this winter, and brewed it again just to can it!
“There’s some shifts in consumer trends that we’re seeing, where a lot of people are buying beer at liquor stores to go home vs. coming out to an establishment to drink,” said Andy. “It’s good to see some of the beers we make do better in liquor stores than the taproom. And so we have to be able to shift to cater to those needs. It’s all part of our learning and growing in running a small business!”
And we’re damn pleased to see so many people want this brew for their home fridge. Probably didn’t hurt that we got a nice shout out last month as one of the five beers to check in in February on Racket’s Doin’ Beers.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Hotel Rapids - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Rocket’s - Cohasset
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Lake Store - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s -Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids

Westworld, etc. -

Vergas Liquor Store - Vergas
Perham Lakeside Golf Course - Perham
Red River Liquor Co. - Akeley
Brew Ale’s & Eats - Perham

Metro area, etc. -

Dabbler Depot - St. Paul
Princeton’s Liquors - Maple Grove
Wine & Roses Liquors - Forest Lake
Ombibulous - Minneapolis

Saunas and Stories and Drag Shows, Oh Yay!

March 13, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

There’s a peace and serenity to this time of year, like we’re all holding our collective breath watching the snow slowly melt in order to fully embrace the upcoming spring and summer seasons. It’s in this interim where we simply wait, with a certain mindfulness, of what’s to come and what we’ve survived.
Of course, it’s still early March, so we’ll likely get a couple more heavy, wet snowfalls, but whatever. Fake spring thaw still has the same effect on us. We just have to allow ourselves our peace.
It’s been so relaxing that I nearly forgot about the fact that we have both Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW and our Mobile Sauna Residency today, Thursday, March 13! Wild how things have a way of sneaking up! Sauna will be here from 4 to 7 p.m., and you can register here or just walk up, provided you have adequate footwear and a bathing suit and there’s room (so yeah, best to register in advance). As for the GAME SHOW, we’re doing Jeopardy! this month! It’s one of the most successful game shows of all time, so why not give it a go? Come watch and be amazed at the intellectual prowess of the contestants, or laugh because you know the answer and they don’t, allowing you to have a moment of superiority and a little bit of what the Germans call schadenfreude. Plus you can do it all with a beer in hand after a sauna. Game starts today at 6 p.m.
We’ll kick back and relax on Friday. Nothing is happening, unless you consider just coming to the brewery to have Nathan serve you a beer to be noteworthy. Whether or not you consider it worth writing home about, it’s not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
And you’ll need that energy since it’s the return of Radiance on Saturday! Our quarterly drag show extravaganza is back with the changing of the season with their latest show, War on the Runway, featuring the talents of Spectrum, Dixie Diamond, Anne Noying, Pistachio Creampie, ThatQueerIsa, and Hellen Heaven. $15 at the door, show starts at 9 p.m., right after normal business hours! If it’s anything like the last couple shows, it just might be worth writing home about.

But then we relax again on Sunday. Tis the day of rest, after all. And what better way to kick back than with some cool stories? Good thing it’s Storyteller Sunday again, this time with the theme of “history” for all you history buffs out there. Who knows what kind of history people are going to talk about, but a Storyteller Sunday has yet to disappoint when it comes to the different themes each month. I’m crossing my fingers that we get a war story or two; would be nice to hear something like that from someplace other than the History Channel for once.
Then, more peace and serenity… with any luck, at least.

Where There's Smoke, There's Lager (PLUS BOOKS & GAMES)

March 5, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

Books & Brews March 5, 4 to 7 p.m.
International Women’s Day Open House, March 8, 9 to 5 p.m.
Board Games and Records, March 9
GAME SHOW! Jeopardy! March 13, 6 to 8 p.m.
Mobile Sauna Residency, March 13, 4 to 7 p.m.
Drag Show! March 15, 9 p.m.

Unlike Adrien Brody giving an Oscar speech, we’ll be respectful of your time and gracefully excuse ourselves once the music stops playing. Surely you have other things on your plate. Maybe even another blog to read. Hey, we don’t judge! What I’m saying is you’re busy, so we’ll keep things short and to the point.
And the point is that you need to clear your schedule immediately because Books & Brews is happening today, March 5!! Until 7 p.m., be sure to come by the brewery to visit this bi-annual pop-up bookshop, courtesy of our good friends at Wildflower Bookshop! Learn a bit about history. Get lost in a novel. Find thoughtful elegance in a poem. Get frustrated with the next Do-It-Yourself book. And do it all with a beer in hand.
If you find yourself reading this on Thursday and are looking to do something with your open schedule because, let’s face it, life is boring and we’re always looking for ways to fill our time and the void in our lives, you could always swing by for our brewery open house on Saturday, March 8! That’s right, it’s once again International Women’s Day, which means it’s time again for the women’s day brew. Andy will be taking a backseat from the brewing (which is convenient since it’s his birthday and all) and Tasha will be leading the annual brewing of Siduri’s Garden saison. Come by and help! Come by and see what’s happening! Come by and have a cup of coffee and ask what a saison is. Seriously, it’s an open house, so the only thing you have to do is come on by! And then in a few weeks, we’ll have some more Siduri’s Garden for everyone, thanks to you.
And then on Sunday, it’s the monthly return of Board Games and Records! You know the drill for that one by now: bring us your vinyl records and your gaming crew and conquer the world… unless Yahtzee is more your jam, of course. Or if just watching is more your jam, maybe come back next Thursday, March 13, for the next installment of Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! Jeopardy! edition!! (Sorry for all the exclamation points.) It’s one of the most beloved game shows in television history, and now it’s gonna come to the Klockow stage. Ditty Wish is assembling the contestants, so all you need to do is pull up a beer and be amazed at what the players know… or laugh at them for being so uninformed. Either way, that’s some good entertainment.
And I think the music has been playing for awhile now. Ugh, fine. We’ll be on our way now, just so long as we see you later! Just tell your bartender Brody sent you.

OK, What Is That?
It’s not very common that you see the term “rauchbier” on a menu. Slightly more common, you’ll see “smoked beer,” which is literally just the English translation of the German rauchbier. Regardless of how common they are in the world, you do see them in our taproom, attached to our Lundr’s Lager. And now we’re gonna say a few words about it.
It should be first said that prior to the advent of the drum kiln for the drying of malted grains, germinating barley and wheat and rye was dried over an open flame. And anyone who has been to a campfire is probably quite familiar with the byproduct of wood flames: smoke. So for centuries, functionally every beer was a smoked beer. The problem with that is that not all smoke tastes good. If you’re in England where they have a lot of coal, you’re going to end up with beers that have an awful sooty flavor. Even a lot of different wood out there isn’t going to bring the kind of flavors that brewers are looking for. So for most of the brewing world, the drum kiln was a godsend and they never looked back to the old ways of smoke curing their malts.

Except for in Bamberg, Germany. Brewers there not only stuck with the old ways, they sought to make them better. And in time, rauchbier became synonymous with Bamberg, the way Altbiers are synonymous with Düsseldorf and Kölschs are with Cologne and Märzens are with Oktoberfest in Munich. So if you stop into a beer hall in Bamberg and simply ask for a beer, expect a rauchbier to come your way.
In all other ways, they’re a fairly traditional and common German-style lager. They have an amber color and a crisp finish. 5ish percent alcohol. Middling sweetness. Yeah, they’re great! But they are indeed smoky, so if you have an aversion to that flavor, be warned. But even if you do, it’s still worth a taste. Maybe you had no idea how much you liked the flavor? That’s what craft brewers are for, after all! To give you new things to try.
So if you’re curious about a traditional-style rauchbier, come to our taproom and ask for a Lundr’s Lager. This beech wood smoked bad boy is one for the books!

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Bottles & Brews - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Rocket’s - Cohasset
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
NoPo Coffee - Grand Rapids
38 Outpost - Grand Rapids
Mark’s Bar - McGregor
Willey’s Sports Shop & Spirits - McGregor

Duluth, etc. -

Dovetail Cafe - Duluth
7 West - Superior
27 Liquors - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - West Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Pike Lake
Sir Benedict’s Tavern - Duluth

I Sure As Heckfire Remember What's Coming Up. Sauna and Song? Bing!

February 19, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

Mobile Sauna Residency Thursday. Feb. 20 (4 to 7 p.m.)
KBC Open Mic with Ditty Wish Sunday, Feb. 23 (12 to 4 p.m.)
Klockow Bar Sing Feb. 23 (4 to 5 p.m.)
Brewery Yoga with Kelly March 1 (10 to 11 a.m.)
The Projected Image Project by Tom Page March 1 (1 to 6 p.m.)
Beer & BS March 2 (2 to 3 p.m.)
Books & Brews March 5 (4 to 7 p.m.)

Groundhogs Day was earlier this month, but the last week or so has made me think of the scene in the movie of the same name where Phil is giving his report for the umpteenth time — tired, depressed, and ornery — saying of the weather, “It’s gonna be cold. It’s gonna be grey. And it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.”
Eventually, tomorrow DID in fact come (“What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today!”), and the sun came out and Phil got the girl. Our version of that, though, will have to be our Mobile Sauna Residency with Stonegrove Saunas, at least until spring actually comes. We had a nice start to the residency last Thursday, so make sure to make it here tomorrow, Feb. 20, especially since they won’t be back until March 13. Thank you, Stonegrove, for bringing a little extra warmth into our lives this winter!

Fun fact, Groundhog Day was adapted into a musical in 2016. I say this by means of a segue to talk about our monthly Open Mic with Ditty Wish, this Sunday, Feb. 23! Starting at noon and going until 4 p.m., we’re always impressed by the people that come out, the monthly regulars as well as the new. Not sure if we’ve ever had someone get up and sing Broadway tunes, but we have had someone do an impressive version of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, where he sang both parts! Though we’re still waiting to see someone do a whistling bellybutton trick.
Be sure also, you musical campers, to stick around after open mic for our monthly Klockow Bar Sing! In the age where you can have any kind of entertainment at any time, it’s good to think back every now and then to when the only music at a bar would have been you and your friends singing a drinking song. So that’s what we’re gonna do, this Sunday, starting at 4 p.m. BING!

I Got You Babe…
Groundhogs Day was earlier this month, but the last week or so has made me think of the scene in the movie of the same name where Phil is giving his report for the umpteenth time — tired, depressed, and ornery — saying of the weather, “It’s gonna be cold. It’s gonna be grey. And it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.”
Eventually, tomorrow DID in fact come (“What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today!”), and the sun came out and Phil got the girl. Our version of that, though, will have to be our Mobile Sauna Residency with Stonegrove Saunas, at least until spring actually comes. We had a nice start to the residency last Thursday, so make sure to make it here tomorrow, Feb. 20, especially since they won’t be back until March 13. Thank you, Stonegrove, for bringing a little extra warmth into our lives this winter!

Still from Groundhog Day, staring Bill Murray

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Hotel Rapids - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquors - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Locker Room - Coleraine
Hollywood Bait - Bovey
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Blackberry Junction - Blackberry
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids

Further & further south, etc. -

SuperOne Liquor - Crosby
Scandia Olde Towne Liquor - Scandia
Dorset Corner Off Sale Liquor - Park Rapids
Ombibulous - Minneapolis

So You Think You Know What An IPA Is, and Other Games & Stories

February 12, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

Mobile Sauna Residency Thursday. Feb. 13 (4 to 7 p.m.)
Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! So You Think You’re Smarter Than Your Bartender Thursday, Feb. 13 (6 to 8 p.m.)
Storyteller Sunday Sunday, Feb. 16 (2 to 4 p.m.)
Third Tuesday Trivia Tuesday, Feb. 18 (6 to 8 p.m.)

How about that game! We’d like to congratulate the winner of the Super Bowl, the clear victor with so much post-game interest and attraction, Mr. Kendrick Lamar! Yes, the spirit of competition lives on. Young man has a bright future ahead of him.
Closer to home, we have our own competitions we’re interested in, namely So You Think You’re Smarter Than Your Bartender and Third Tuesday Trivia! Tomorrow, my friends, Ditty Wish will be pitting various contestants against two of our most esteemed bartenders to see who comes out on top: the general public or that friendly face behind the bar. Much like the game’s television predecessor, the bartenders will have an advantage with potentially knowing more about the categories, whereas the public’s advantage will be strength in numbers. Be here, in the Klockow taproom, Thursday, Feb. 13, to see who gets crushed into their beer!
Once that’s over, for everyone who would rather get in on the action rather than watch contestants in a game show, Third Tuesday Trivia continues next week on Feb. 18! Though we had fun doing things auction style (it’s much more action oriented, as you can imagine), we’re going to change the structure so that the game is more fair to the less tenacious. Answers will from now on be written out, so don’t worry if you’re not the first to wave your paddle. Just worry whether or not you have a well-rounded trivia team!
Though, we have to admit, one of the things we’re most excited about is already sitting in our parking lot. Stonegrove Saunas will be beginning their residency at Klockow Brewing on Thursday, Feb. 13, from 4 to 7 p.m., and returning next week at the same time! This will be one of the best times to have a sauna too, because it’s freezing ass cold out this week! If you’ve never experienced negative temps while taking a break from the sauna, you’re in for a treat. How often can you stand bare skin to such conditions and have it feel good??
Walk-ins are welcome if space is available, otherwise be sure to save a seat for yourself on their website. It’ll be good for your health. As the Finnish say, if a sauna can’t cure it, it’s fatal.
Speaking of health, good or bad, that is the theme for this month’s Storyteller Sunday, coming up this weekend on Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. The more we think about it, this theme could yield any number of different stories… might we hear about someone’s battle with cancer? Or maybe someone training for their first marathon? It’s more than possible someone could share a story about how they finally quit smoking. I know my first thought when posed with the topic of health was a story about the lack thereof, but there’s no reason for that! Hell, even being in love is good for your health, so maybe we’ll get a Valentine’s story or two as well.

Ok, What Is That?
We addressed the hoppy elephant in the room last week, but what about the whole herd? That’s right, we’re talking the big hop head this week: The IPA.
For better or for worse, the IPA has become a symbol for the craft beer movement over the past two decades. Indeed, we often get people in the taproom, new to breweries, in whose eyes we can see the trepidation in even being there, telling us that they don’t want an IPA and knowing in their heart of hearts that they just committed the cardinal sin of microbrewery etiquette! For every craft beer is an IPA!!
Of course, that’s not exactly true, though they are crazy popular and every — and I do mean EVERY — craft brewery has at least one IPA. So these newbies aren’t entirely wrong in their estimation. But we’re getting off track.
What IS an IPA?

For starters, the acronym stands for India Pale Ale. Secondly, it originated in England, and so begins our story: Imperial jolly olde England had a little problem with shipping their popular pale ales via sail ship from Great Britain to India. Much of the time, the beer went bad without any type of modern stainless steel kegs, let alone proper refrigeration. What’s an empire to do? One fairly obvious option was more preservatives. And wouldn’t you know it, but it happens to be that hops, in addition to being a flavor adjunct, are a preservative! So a practical solution to a logistics problem turned into an epicurean revolution! Turns out the people had a taste for these bitter buds!
This is the story that many a craft beer snob has told over the decades to the perceived neophytes at the bar. And… it’s surprisingly accurate. Without getting bogged down in boring details about the East India Company and Napoleon’s blockade, as well as tangents like the fact that porters were also quite good at being shipped long distances, the story is short, sweet, and pretty spot on.
Despite its long history, it wasn’t until the recent craft beer boom in the U.S. that the IPA became the powerhouse in world beer that it is today. And why, you might ask? Perhaps because it is the flavor antithesis to the light lager. Maybe coffee-swilling Americans have that much more of a passion for bitter drinks. Maybe one of the gods got sucked into a bet, story of Job style, and now we all have these hop-bombs packed onto our liquor store shelves. Regardless of why, they’re here to stay, and they’re proliferating. Now we have West Coast IPAs (classic American style), Imperial IPAs (higher alcohol and hops), Hazy IPAs (unfiltered and more citrusy), and Session IPAs (lower alcohol but still very hop forward). And this is to say nothing of the styles that have come and gone from popularity, like the Black IPA (darker malt but still hoppy) or the Milkshake IPA (be thankful that you don’t know).
Maybe this is why so many people think that all craft beer are IPAs! There’s certainly a lot of them.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Pickled Loon - Grand Rapids
Zorbaz on the Lake - Grand Rapids
NoPo Coffee - Grand Rapids
Smoke On the Water - Coleraine
Bear Ridge Pizza - Cohasset
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids

St. Cloud, etc -

Westside Liquor - Waite Park
Westside Liquor - Sartell
Westside Liquor - Little Falls

Westworld, etc -

First City Liquor - Bemidji
Bemidji Curling Club - Bemidji
Happy Tree - Emily
Remer Municipal Liquor Store - Remer
SuperOne Liquor - Crosby
SuperOne Liquor - Baxter
Beehive Offsale Liquor - Bemidji

International Falls, etc -

Bootleggers Liquor - International Falls
The Rocky Ledge - Kabetogama

Shall We "Hop" in the Sauna? And Other Questions

February 5, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Upcoming events:

Board Games & Records, Sunday, Feb. 9 (all day)
Mobile Sauna Residency, Thursday, Feb. 13 (4 to 7 p.m.)
So You Think You’re Smarter Than Your Bartender, Thursday, Feb. 13 (6 to 8 p.m.)

Ever get that feeling that you’re just spinning in circles, not really going anywhere? We here at Klockow Brewing Company get you. We understand. How, you may ask? I’d like to think that as makers and sellers of beer, we’ve heard enough stories from people across the bar that we could be certified therapists, all of us.
Our advice — embrace it. Hell, it’s still the middle of winter and our bodies are doing their best to tell us to slow down and conserve energy lest we freeze, so if there were ever a time to embrace this mentality, it’s right now.
This doesn’t mean it has to be depressing or otherwise not stimulating. Heavens to Betsy no! Case in point, our Beer & BS event this past Sunday, where we all learned a bit about how a play is produced; from funding, to casting, to set design, to script rights, etc. A big thank you to John Schroeder for taking the time to talk about the process with us in the midst of his latest production, Murder on the Orient Express. Which, by the way, be sure to check it out! Opens Friday, Feb. 21.

John Schroeder talking about the process of directing Murder on the Orient Express.

Looking ahead, you could simply come in and enjoy a beer. Or if you want a bit more to think about, order the Poirot; our offering for the Orient Express Passeport: A Spirited Itinerary. It’s a Belgian Tripel with a mystery snit, and we challenge you to solve the mystery of what’s in the glass. Only about a third of people who have ordered it have successfully named their mystery beer, so it’s harder than you might think!
If games are your jam, this is your reminder that this Sunday is once again Board Games & Records Day! Sure, you could just sit and enjoy your tasty beverage, but it would be all the more enjoyable if you were sitting around a table with friends and your favorite board game while your fellow drinkers help with DJing responsibilities. All you need to do is show up with games and records, and we’ll do all the rest.
This all sounds great, like they’re the kind of days one could look forward to. But maybe you genuinely just want to sit back and relax. Like, really, truly, just sit back. Like sauna-levels of kick back. For you, we’ll be starting our Mobile Sauna Residency on Thursday, Feb. 13. We’re partnering with Stonegrove Saunas for a four-week residency in mid-February and mid-March, where they’ll be parking one of their mobile saunas in our lot on Thursdays. See the website for more information as well as to sign up!
And once you got a solid sweat on, come back inside and enjoy So You Think You’re Smarter Than Your Bartender! Yes, just like those sick days when you were a kid and you stayed home to watch game shows, we have the next installment of Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW on Thursday, Feb. 13, all for your relaxing entertainment pleasure. A variation of So You Think You’re Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, Ditty Wish has assembled contestants to be pitted against Klockow bartenders to see who is smarter on general trivia. Are you smarter? Are we even smart enough to merit a decent show?? All good questions, and we’ll find out the answers next week.

Ok, What Is That?
Maybe this is you; you’re at a brewery and you ask the bartender to describe a certain beer and they say it’s quite hoppy. So you nod, knowingly, and then ask about the next one. You know this term. You know that it applies to IPAs. But you don’t know what it actually means. This certainly describes some percentage of you out there, because we’ve been asked point blank before this very question.
So today we’re going to talk about what “hoppy” means.
One answer I know I’ve given before is just to say “bitter.” It applied to the moment, and the person asking just wanted a short answer before moving on, so I was correct in saying so. But like so many lessons you learn in elementary school, you find out later that it’s much more complicated than that. To keep it from getting too complicated, we’re mostly just going to look at three different hop varietals (out of hundreds) that many people are familiar with: Columbus, Citra, and Mosaic.
When it comes to curating the flavor of a particular beer, let’s say an IPA for the sake of this conversation, one of the choices a brewer has to make is what the hop profile is going to be. How bitter do they want it? How floral? Any earthy notes? Fruity? These are all questions that different hops can answer, and the reason there are so many different varietals out there. So if a brewer wants to make a really “hop” forward beer, like a classic West Coast Style IPA, Columbus is often the go-to hop for the job.
“That’s our main bittering hop here,” said Zach Wood, assistant brewer (and self-described janitor) at Klockow Brewing. “It’s a danker hop.”
“Piney, resiny… it’s what people think of when they say ‘hoppy beer,’ whether they like it or not,” added fellow assistant brewer, Russ Alioth.

Russ Alioth stirring a combination of Saaz, Cascade, Centennial, and Willamette full cone hops into our 22 Hop Road Wet Hop Pale Ale.

As was said, “hoppy” can be synonymous with “bitter,” and Columbus is certainly a beautiful example for that quintessential hoppy character. But if hoppy means anything, it has to mean “hop-like.” So we’re just scratching the surface of what these buds actually taste like.
Citra, as the name suggests, is widely used to bring out bright citrusy notes in a beer. Very common in hazy IPAs, which are characterized as being juicy and fruity, Citra as a hop is known for lemon and orange flavors, as well as floral.
Alioth described an interesting aspect of Citra, namely that you could use it as a bittering hop if you keep it in the boil for a long time. But it’s not usually done because it evolves into more of a grassy, green onion flavor, as opposed to the more traditional pine flavor. Clearly, it has more value in bringing the brighter, more acidic notes.
A common pairing with Citra, the peanut butter to its jelly, is Mosaic.
“I mean, it’s one of my favorites,” said Alioth.
“It seems like an industry standard at this point,” added Wood.
Stone fruit, melon, berries: these are some of the unique flavors that brewers use Mosaic for. It sneaks in tropical fruit flavors to blend with the other hops and the malts and yeast in order to give a richer flavor. Indeed, all three of the hops mentioned so far are used in our Travelin’ Jack West Coast IPA, which is likely why so many people are fans of its hop profile.
So what is “hoppiness”? You can easily get through life describing it as the bitter flavor in beer, but it’s also any vegetal notes you might get. And any citrusy notes. And tropical fruit. And grass. And just about anything else that isn’t bready or grainy. And we’ve only been talking about IPAs so far, the quote-unquote hoppy beers. Maybe another time we’ll take a look at the old world noble hops. So yeah, it’s complicated. But also kinda fun to learn about.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Zorbaz on the Lake - Grand Rapids
Bear Ridge Pizza - Cohasset
Hotel Rapids - Grand Rapids
Bottles & Brews - Grand Rapids
Locker Room - Coleraine
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Unwined Up North - Grand Rapids
NoPo Coffee Co. - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Rocket’s - Cohasset
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
Eagles Club - Grand Rapids
The Craft House - McGregor

Duluth, etc. -

27 Liquors - Duluth
Wussow’s Concert Cafe - Duluth
7 West - Superior
New Scenic Cafe -
Boulder Tap House - Superior
SuperOne Liquor - Pike Lake
SuperOne Liquor - Cloquet
Dovetail Cafe & Marketplace - Duluth
D.E.C.C. - Duluth

The Next Beer & BS, and What Would Kelly Fight?

January 29, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Let it never be said that you, the people of the greater Grand Rapids area, don’t have a song in your heart. We learned beyond a shadow of a doubt this past weekend that we’re all a musical lot indeed, what with the turnout to Open Mic with Ditty Wish and the subsequent Klockow Bar Sing!
Btw, we appreciate that no one actually told any dirty jokes on stage for Open Mic, though we’re always thankful for a decent dad joke or two (which we did get). But yeah, gotta love open mic, what with our faithful monthly regulars who always put on a hell of a show, as well as all the new folks. Especially when they perform original folk songs about poop and mortality (let’s just say you had to be there). So we knew full well that the first part of Sunday would be good for a fun crowd, but we were happy to see the amount of people who stuck around for the pseudo-debut of the Klockow Bar Sing! We technically started it last month with a group sing of Christmas carols, but that just kind of feels like something different, you know. Getting together to sing around the holidays is still something people often do. But the rest of the year? Woefully silent, we are. Which is why we’re trying to change that. Lead by Ditty Wish, with the Beer Choir Hymnal as our guide, the bar sing went great! We even got a nice compliment on our taproom vibe. I mean, let’s face it, belting out a song leads to some good feelings.
Be sure to check out the Klockow Bar sing on the last Sunday of February, starting at 4 p.m.!
Though we admit, maybe not every person wants to come to a bar to sing. Maybe you just wanna work out. And we get that. Which is why we’re so pumped to have Kelly Erickson back for Brewery Yoga with Kelly this Saturday, Feb. 1, at 10 a.m. Even if you’ve slacked on your New Years resolution, that’s no reason to give up entirely, so we’ll make sure to have a space ready for you!

Or maybe, just maybe, you only want to come here to have a drink. Perfect, because we have drinks a-plenty! Not only that, but we’re excited to be partnering with the Grand Rapids Players for their Orient Express Passport: A Spirited Itinerary. With their newest production, Murder on the Orient Express opening on Feb. 21, the play has reached out to area bars and breweries and challenged them to make a custom drink for the play, as well as to have a passport available for anyone who wants to try to hit all six locations for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Wildflower Bookshop! For here at Klockow, come and enjoy The Poirot, a Belgian Tripel with a mystery. That’s right, our drink is named after the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, so to add to the intrigue, in addition to a Billy Bumbler Belgian Tripel, you’ll be given a 5 oz pour of a beer, bartender’s choice, which you will be challenged to name. If you solve the mystery, you’ll win another 5 oz beer, this time of your choice.

This could be a good thing to order this Sunday for the next installment of Beer & BS! This month, John Schroeder, director of Murder on the Orient Express, will be giving a talk on the different aspects of directing a play, from casting, to set building, to marketing, etc. There’s no business like show business, and we’ll have a seasoned veteran of the stage to come talk about what it’s like to put on a show. For the beer special, John has named Supply Line Hazy IPA as his favorite, so come get a pint that for only $5 all that day. Talk starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 2.

We Barley Know You, But We Hop to Change That. It’s the Yeast We Can Do: Kelly Erickson
Question: How long have you been a regular here, and/or done yoga here?
Kelly Erickson: I’ve been a regular here at least three and a half years, since I moved here. I’m a transplant. But I knew about Klockow before I moved because Joel, my partner, lived here already. So we’d come to Klockow several times before then. So I don’t want to claim that I was a regular before I moved.
And then we started doing yoga… I dunno. I moved here in May and I want to say I started in October, so within five months. It was that first winter that I was here. So it was pretty quickly.
Q: But it’s been off and on?
KE: Yep, it’s more seasonal, I would say. In the summer, everyone’s busy, so we tend to take the summer off. So we’ll start in the fall and go through maybe May.
Q: How long have you been teaching yoga?
KE: Since 2016, so about eight years. I started when I was living down in the cities, at Core Power. It’s a chain studio. There’s quite a few of them. But they have a very specific type of deal; it’s a little more intense, it’s in the heat. But I’ve done my own studies through other teachers. Like I’ve studied yin yoga, which is much more passive. If power yoga is on one end of the spectrum, then yin yoga would be on the other because you just lay in one position. But it’s difficult in it’s own right because you have to hold a position for like five minutes. So anyway, I like to try and combine the two to have some more time on your mat but also working into these more intense postures, more flow, where you’re moving a lot more.
Q: What is your favorite Klockow beer?
KE: I’m a seasonal person. I definitely like to rotate through the beers. I know that Beatrice (Irish Red) is an upcoming one, so I’ll definitely be on the Beatrice train. Spawn (Pilsner) in the spring and summer. So I don’t have one true favorite.
Q: When you’re not drinking Klockow beer, what do you like to drink? Doesn’t have to be alcohol.
KE: Joel has gotten me more into whiskey, on the alcohol front. Otherwise I’m more of a pure water kind of person. Just hydrate. I don’t do it enough in general.
Q: Don’t we all! Ok, so whether it’s whiskey or Klockow beer or water, what’s your favorite food that all this stuff could wash down?
KE: Ooh, great question. Um, I predominantly eat plant-based, so I love a good taco bowl or bean burrito. Those are really easy to just throw together. Joel and I have gotten really into curries. We like to try to make things that we can’t get in town. That’s really what we’re after.
Q: That’s always a good way to go about it.
KE: Yeah, so right now, I’d say a curry with a lot of veggies it. It’s also soup season, so…

Q: What do you do for work?
KE: Also great question. I… it’s gonna be a long answer. I work for Warner Music Group in tech. I design products and tools that people working in the music industry use to do their job.
Q: What would be a brief example of what that means?
KE: One of the main tools I work on is this dashboard, essentially, where people who work in the music industry — they’re managing releases and different songs for people — it helps them move that song and the data to different streaming services: Spotify, Apple Music. So getting the music out in the world, essentially, and making sure the data is flowing in the right direction, so that in return, the data flows back and people get paid!
So I helped build that tool and refine it so that it’s easier to use and works as intended.
Q: We’ve talked about a lot of things you do, but they’re all work. What do you like to do for fun?
KE: Believe it or not, I do like to do yoga for fun.
Q: That’s a perfectly believable thing!
KE: I have a dog, Ginger, and I’ll take her on walks all the time. So getting outside, get in the woods. Now that we have snow, we finally went skiing yesterday. Looking forward to that. And I like to curl. Big in the curling community here. That’s super fun. Started doing pottery recently in the last year!
Q: Just at the MacRostie?
KE: Yep, they have a studio there, so I took a class there last April and have been hooked ever since.
Q: I’ve heard it’s a gateway art.
KE: It is, for sure! It’s so mindful! I see a lot of parallels between pottery and yoga, because you get into this flow state where you’re not really thinking about anything else. You’re not thinking about work. You’re not thinking about your to-do list. You’re just like, I’m here. Just doing this thing, with my body or with my hands.
Q: What would be a fun/interesting fact about yourself that people might not know?
KE: I don’t know if I have an answer. I feel like I’m a pretty open book. I mean, I did say that I’m in the curling community; I am the vice president of the curling club. I’m only in my third year, and I’m already vice president.
Q: You’re a climber!
KE: It wasn’t intentional. I said no several times. Then they asked again and it turned into a yes.
Q: Last question: would you rather fight 50 chicken-sized donkeys or one donkey-sized chicken? And why?
KE: You know, chickens are related to dinosaurs, so I feel like a donkey-sized chicken is essentially a dinosaur that I’m now fighting. And those have wings. So I feel like I might have more success against the 50 chicken-sized donkeys. Yeah, I think that’s my answer.
Q: And this doesn’t necessarily have to be with your bare hands. I’m assuming there’s a farm setting, so there’s whatever you might find in the barn too. If that changes anything.
KE: No, I’d keep it the same, because even if I have, like, a pitchfork or — I was going to say something gruesome like a chainsaw — I think I still fair better against the donkeys. Once again, the chicken, they have wings, and they can be pretty ferocious. So I feel like the donkeys… I might be able to manipulate them. I feel like I could manipulate the donkeys easier, like with a treat, than the chicken.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Raven Stone - Coleraine
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Lake Store - Grand Rapids
Itasca Curling Association - Grand Rapids
Ron’s Korner Market - Bovey
Balsam Store - Bovey

Iron Range, etc. -

MJ’s Resort - Pengilly
Marge’s Liquor - Eveleth
SuperOne Liquor - Hibbing
Sawmill Saloon - Virginia
SuperOne Foods North - Virginia
Silver Creek Liquor - Virginia
Crossroads Convenience Store - Iron

Ely, etc. -

Ely Liquor - Ely
Boathouse Brewery - Ely

Sing Us a Song, You're the Fondue Guy

January 22, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Theoretically, atoms themselves, the ever-active building blocks of the universe, will cease to move once the temperature hits absolute zero. Not sure why that’s been on my mind recently though. Such mystery.
But enough of the jumbled musings of a confused quadragenarian, we got stuff to talk about! Namely that we just had a couple fun and successful events the last couple days, and we’re always looking forward to a few more. Especially given the number of people whose cars inevitably wouldn’t start at some point this past weekend, it was great to see the turnout we did for Storyteller Sunday and Third Tuesday Trivia!
Like always, we had a nice slew of writers take to the stage to tell their stories of transitions in their lives, from moving to retiring to relationships. So if you’re upset that you missed it, and lets face it, you should be, cast your worries aside. Michael Goldberg of KAXE recorded the entire show and will be airing each speaker on Stay Human this weekend. So tune in to 91.7 KAXE on Saturday at 9 a.m. or Sunday at 5 p.m.

Trivia, like always, was a hit as well, and will return on Tuesday, February 18. For the first two months, we worked with the “auction” style of trivia, having people wave their paddles if they know the answer. For as much fun as it is to have more interaction with the game, we’ve spoken with organizers and players alike and will be changing the format in future months to something more traditional. So if you’re an introvert, or otherwise aren’t as quick on the draw as a Jeopardy-style trivia night would require, once again you should cast your fears aside. Third Tuesday Trivia is going to be a bit more accessible in the future.

Speaking of the future, we’re excited, as always for open mic on the last Sunday of the month! My oh my, where has the time gone? January is nearly over as we reach toward February, the month of love. But January ain’t over yet, so let’s close it out with a bit of song, at least! Ditty Wish will be hosting this monthly event, so bring your guitar, your ukulele, your poems, your castanets, your grand pianos, or even your dirty jokes… we’d love to see what you got! And following open mic, starting at 4 p.m. this Sunday, we’ll be continuing with our monthly Klockow Bar Sing! If you haven’t noticed, it’s not the holiday season anymore, so no Christmas songs this time. We’ll be consulting the Beer Choir Hymnal, vol. 2, for songs going forth, so click here to check them out! Hoist a pint to your lips with a song in your heart with us this Sunday!

EAT YOUR BEER!
There’s nothing like warming up in the chalet after a day of hitting the pristine slopes of the Swiss alps with a pot of fondue and a glass of 2013… nay, 2010 Dom Perignon. A close second would be getting inside your house in northern Minnesota after failing to jump your car, realizing you’re essentially stuck at home, and making a pot of beer fondue with a can of Travelin’ Jack. And since the later is closer to home, let’s take a minute to learn how to make that delicious beer fondue.
This is something I made after work on Sunday, hunkering down as the bitter cold put us in mind of rich and fatty foods lest we succumb to the weather. To make it, all you need is:

1 lb. of cheese (see below for options)
1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or all-purpose flour)
8 oz of beer (see below for options)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon of brown mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Before anything else is done, the big decisions you have to make are concerning your beer and your cheese. For beer, I used Angry Arms Cream Ale, but any number golden, non-hoppy ales or lagers would work. Heck, I almost used Lundr’s Smoked Lager, but decided to go Angry Arms last second. For the record, it worked amazingly. As for the cheese, it’s a good idea to do at least two varieties in order to play with the flavor and make it a little more complex. Classic fondue uses gruyere and emmentaler, and both of those are great, but this is beer fondue: use at least one cheddar. Other options could be fontina, Monterey Jack, tomme, raclette, or just another cheddar.

Whatever you decide on, grate all the cheese in a bowl and mix with cornstarch while bringing the beer to a simmer in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once simmering, add finely chopped garlic and Worcestershire sauce to beer and cook for a few minutes.
Bring burner down to medium-low and slowly add cheese one handful at a time into the beer. Stir continuously and add more cheese as it becomes integrated. This should take about 10 minutes. Once all the cheese is mixed into the saucepan, add mustard and salt and pepper, stir, and transfer to fondue pot for serving. If you don’t have a fondue pot, there is zero shame in just dipping your bread chunks/pretzel bites/cured meat/left-over cheese straight into the saucepan.
It’s quick, it’s easy, you might even have all the ingredients on hand as we speak, and it’s freakin’ delicious. It’s beer fondue.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Itasca Curling Association - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Grill - Grand Rapids
Bottles & Brews Liquor - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquors - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Eagles Club - Grand Rapids

Westworld, etc. -

Brew Ale’s & Eats - Ottertail
1894 - Perham
Vergas Liquor Store - Vergas
Continental Divide Brew Pub - New York Mills

Southward, Metro, etc. -

Northbound Liquor - Cambridge
Isanti Municipal Liquor Store
Liquor Works - Forest Lake
Stinson Wine, Beer, and Spirits - Minneapolis
Ombibulous - Minneapolis
Surdyk’s Liquor - Minneapolis
Top Ten Liquors - Roseville
South Lyndale Liquors - Minneapolis
Scandia Olde Towne Liquors - Scandia
North Country Bottle Shop - Mora

Early 2000s Music References and Smoked Chili is How We Roll

January 15, 2025 Tasha Klockow

Well, we hope you’re happy. Talking specifically to the skiers and snowmobilers amongst you, for we finally have achieved a good half-foot of snow and therefore are properly situated for a bit of winter recreation! Of course, that’s all thirsty work, so we’re doing our part by having a few cold pints waiting after all your cold play (is that how they got their name? Are they skiers?).
So when you’re done “viva la vida” in the great outdoors, under “a sky full of stars” while dodging the “yellow” snow, come to “my universe” where the beer flows like “magic” (apologies to all non-Coldplay fans. Heck, apologies to everyone). What I’m trying to say is we got some awesome beer, and a few decent reasons to swing by the tap room as well.
First reason is, well, the taproom is just a nice chill place to hang out with your beer. We’re told this all the time, how people like the cut of our jib. Between that and the wide selection of beer styles, you don’t really need another reason.
But we’ll give you some anyway. Second reason is this Sunday, Jan. 19, is Storyteller Sunday! Starting at 2 p.m., the theme this month is Transitions, where we hope to hear tales on all the ways we’ve made it onto the next chapters of our lives. As per usual, Micheal Goldberg will be on hand to record the speakers, all of whom will be candidates for inclusion on the weekly KAXE show, Stay Human.

On your average Storyteller Sunday, you can expect a few people with prepared pieces, plus a couple people who take the stage to tell a story off the cuff, usually inspired by previous stories. It’s all open mic this month, so come tell us of a transition in your life.
And yet another reason is Third Tuesday Trivia on Tuesday, Jan. 21! It’s bar trivia, so what more is there to even say?! I suppose I could add that the Trivia Master this month will be from Itasca Indivisible. That we’re once again doing trivia “auction style,” so you best practice being quick with your name paddle! Also that there are five categories, each with three levels per game, but it’ll take wild horses to get the category names out of me. For that, you’ll just have to show up on Tuesday (and because everyone asks, no, the categories don’t necessarily have anything to do with the participating non-profit each month). And furthermore, it should be said that teams can be comprised of up to six people, and the winners of each game get a free round of beer.

First of two games starts at 6 p.m., so get here early to sign up and be ready to answer obscure questions on life, the universe, and everything.*

EAT YOUR BEER!
We’re about due to check in with Zach to see how he likes to cook with beer. The dude didn’t disappoint. We’re talking Smoked Chili levels of didn’t disappoint! So without further adieu, here’s Zach Wood’s “Over the Top Chili.” First, the ingredients:

2 lbs beef
1 lb sausage (Zach prefers hot Italian, though breakfast sausage works great, too)
1-3 jalapeños (if you like more heat)
3 medium red onions
3 tablespoons garlic minced
5 cans tomatoes with juice (14 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
7oz Chipotles in Adobo sauce
2 cans Lundr’s Lager Smoked Lager (1 for the chili and 1 for you.)
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
3-5 tablespoons of your favorite chili seasoning to taste
Cayenne pepper if you'd like more heat (optional)

Zach uses a Dutch oven for everything, but you can use whatever works best. First, on the stovetop, sauté onions, garlic, and Chipotles until onions are translucent. After about 10 min, add in all your cans of tomatoes, beer, and chili seasoning and bring to a simmer.
For the meat, mix the beef and sausage together into a meatloaf to cook over the top of the chili for the day on a smoker. The meatloaf goes on a second rack or a cooling sheet above the chili (see picture below). Be sure to salt the meat and/or use a BBQ seasoning of your choice. If you don’t have a smoker or a grill, you can also just brown your meat and add that right into your pot and let it simmer two to four hours (or all day. The longer it simmers, the more the flavors come together).

Back to the smoker, set the smoker to 225 until the meat hits 165, which could take up to four hours. Once finished, crumble the meat into the chili and then let it simmer for a few more hours
Make sure to stir the chili every 30-40 minutes, especially in the smoker to help integrate any amount of “smoke crust.”
From there, as the French say, c’est done. Garnish however you prefer but to do it the Zach way, use shredded cheese and some jalapeños.

*42

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Raven Stone - Coleraine
Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pickled Loon - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Sugar Lake Lodge - Cohasset
Itasca Curling Association - Grand Rapids
Gosh Dam Place - Deer River

Westward, etc. -

Lakeview Liquor - Bemidji
First City Liquor - Bemidji
Northern Off Sale Liquor - Bemidji
Beehive Offsale Liquors - Bemidji
Bemidji Curling Club - Bemidji
Remer Municipal Liquor Store - Remer
Boulder Taphouse - Baxter
SuperOne Liquor - Crosby
SuperOne Liquor - Baxter
Westside Liquor - Baxter

Northward, etc. -

SuperOne Liquor - International Falls
The Rocky Ledge - Kabetogama
Ash Trail Lodge - Orr

It's About New Dawns, NA Brews, and Newlyweds

January 8, 2025 Tasha Klockow

It’s a new dawn,
it’s a new day,
it’s a new life for me,
and I’m feeling good.
- Nina Simone

With luck, you and Nina have something in common with this new year so far! And why not? The sun is shining, the… uh, um… Boy, I thought I’d have more positives to share off the top of my head. But after that gloomy December, the sun poking out ain’t nothing!
Maybe you’re feeling good because all those New Years Resolutions you made are making you a better person? There’s at least a few happening here amongst the Klockow crew. Starting with Jamie, she’s doubling down on last year’s progress on protecting her mental health. For Tasha, this year is going to be more about “all or something” rather than “all or nothing.” Don’t let not doing it perfect stop you from doing it all together, you know. Kyle and Amanda were very cryptic about some big project they plan on completing this year. I dunno, we’ll all have to wait and see, I suppose. And Adrianne always chooses a word of the year as a theme, or maybe to haunt her, which she said she figures out later what it more or less means for her. This year’s word is “peace.” We should probably all pray for her.
Then there’s Andy with these words of wisdom: “You don’t have to wait until 4/20 to get high, you can NOT drink months other than January, and you can start a resolution anytime.” The smug bastard has been hitting the gym since October.
But if there’s one thing that New Years is good for, it’s looking ahead. And that’s my segue to talk about upcoming events, specifically the next iteration of Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! We’ve been looking forward to this one, because it’s the Newlywed Game! Seriously, do I even need to say it? Local couples, all pre-chosen (yeah, if anyone is worried about getting called out of the audience to play, fear not. That’s not how these games are set up), will be put to the test and potentially subjected to public embarrassment all for your entertainment! Do these couples, these life partners, have what it takes to answer basic questions about one another?? We’ll all find out on Thursday, Jan. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m., only in the Klockow taproom.

It’s also the second weekend of the month, which means Board Games & Records on Sunday, Jan. 12. Time to assemble your crew for a solid RISK campaign, or whatever game tickles your fancy, as well as your finest vinyl for a chill day of, well, board games and records. It’s relaxed. It’s easy going. It’s all day. And it’s at the Klockow taproom.

Ok, What Is That?
Despite what Andy said about having a dry month whenever you want (and, let’s face it, April is clearly the best month for that), January is widely recognized as the time to do it. Dry January, they call it! And we don’t know whether you know this or not, but we do actually have a number of non-alcoholic options if you still wanna go out for a beverage this chilly month. Naturally there is root beer and cream soda, as well as a few different flavors of kombucha. We’ve been making our Dukka Water for some time now, and we can’t forget the Shrubbery line (dry just means no alcohol; it says nothing about THC).
But we also have our BHK-NA, our non-alcoholic nut brown ale. Which begs the question: Ok, what is that?
No doubt you’ve seen non-alcoholic beer in the grocery store or in television commercials, but have you stopped to ask yourself what this means? If so, you’re in luck, because we’re going to tell you how our BHK-NA is made, as well as why it was.
“I felt like there was a demand for that. Definitely had people asking about NA options,” said Andy Klockow, co-owner and head brewer. “And we saw an opportunity in the marketplace, because no one is really doing a dark beer.”
Mid-dark, to be more specific. But that’s still darker than the various pale lagers that are most prevalent in the NA market. Even NA IPAs, with their greater hop flavor, are still mostly relegated to golden malts. And our customer base has definitely noticed this, given the number of compliments we’ve received for putting out a different style for the NA brew crowd.

But the question remains, how is this done? Well, since water and alcohol boil at different temperatures, one way is to throw the beer back in the kettle, bring it to 172 degrees F, and boil off all that alcohol. Whereas this is definitely a way to do it, and has been done by many companies before, it has a few big problems. For one, all your alcohol is lost unless you set up an additional coil to catch it. What’s more, if you don’t bring it down to less than .5%, you can’t actually call it NA, so it’s difficult and costly if you get it wrong. And last but certainly not least, boiling your beer kinda makes it taste like garbage. There’s a reason people haven’t historically been huge NA beer fans.
So what is a brewer to do if they want to have a good tasting brew that has functionally zero booze?
“There’s a company in St. Paul that came up with their own technology to vacuum distill alcohol out of beer,” said Andy.
Using the same principle of alcohol boiling at a lower temperature, the aptly named ABV Technology created a process whereby they put the beer batch under pressure so that they can boil the alcohol off without actually increasing the temperature. The result is a beer that is functionally the same as it was before, just missing an ingredient.
“It allows the alcohol to be driven off without affecting the flavor of the beer. Which is huge!”
And what of this alcohol that’s been distilled away from the beer at room temperature? It is captured, sent back to us in a separate container, and eventually turned into our Itsa Selzer (in a way, this is like a double “Ok, What Is That?” since now you know where the alcohol in our hard seltzer comes from, too!).
Throughout the upper midwest, if you have an NA beer, you likely have enjoyed a product thanks to ABV Technology. In addition to processing onsite, they actually manufacture the same equipment for use at larger breweries and smaller, dedicated NA breweries. So besides BHK Nut Brown Ale just being a tasty beer to begin with, if you’ve enjoyed one of our BHK-NAs before, you can thank this ingenious process and the folks at ABV Technology.
Whether you’re doing dry January, dry April, or dry whatever, fear not for we have you covered!

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Zorbaz on the Lake - Grand Rapids
NoPo Coffee Co. - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Lake Store - Grand Rapids
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Raven Stone - Coleraine
38 Outpost - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids

Duluth, etc. -

Dovetail Cafe - Duluth
Corktown Deli & Brews - Duluth
7 West - Superior
SuperOne Liquor - Cloquet
SuperOne Liquor - Pike Lake
Old Chicago Pizza - Duluth
Boulder Tap House - Superior
Fitger’s Wine Cellar - Duluth
D.E.C.C. - Duluth

McGregor -

Mark’s Bar - McGregor
The Craft House - McGregor
Big Zandy Zorbaz - McGregor

Happy Solstice Drag, Donate Blood, and have a Merry Beery Christmas!

December 23, 2024 Tasha Klockow

If you’re reading this, it probably means that you’re doing your best to take a break from your family get-together, and we respect that. But we’re going to keep it brief all the same, because all we really want to do this week is wrap some presents, have a pint or two, enjoy some eggnog, and look for our own excuses to take a little break from extended family.
But we’d be remiss if we didn’t say thank you to everyone who came out Saturday for our Winter Solstice Radiance Drag Show! It was a fantastic night with some incredible acts (who knew someone in high heals could dive into a roll on a cement floor and make it look safe?) and an audience who ate up every minute of it! We even got to play a little game of “who was it who left the religious pamphlets on the tables and bathroom?” at the end of the night! Seriously, you had to pay a cover to get in, and no one stood out to us as someone who might be there for a covert protest of sorts. Whatever, we enjoy a little mystery as much as the next person. Whoever it was, we hope they enjoyed the show!
For now, we’re gearing up for Festivus tonight, Dec. 23! Ditty Wish will be hosting with music by Sam Miltich, and there’ll be feats of strength and an airing of grievances and, with luck, a few Festivus miracles. Music starts at 5 p.m. and additional shenanigans around 6 p.m.

Later in the week, make sure to take a break from the eggnog long enough to come to the taproom for our blood drive! There’s always a need for blood, so your donation just might save a life. You can schedule online here, sponsor code 4858, or contact Trudy at 218-740-1542 or tyoungren@mbc.org. The blood bus will be here on Thursday, Dec. 26, from 12 to 7 p.m., and Friday, Dec. 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Be sure to hydrate before hand!
We’re also excited to have our very own McKeon Roberts gracing the Klockow stage on Friday, Dec. 27 as well! We’re going to start the last weekend of the year with a little bit of style, charm, and rhythm. Music starts at 7 p.m., no cover.

And with that, we have nothing else to add except have a merry Christmas! With luck it’ll be merry and bright, full of delicious food and drink, and surrounded by the best of friends and family.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

S&S Bottle Shop - Deer River
Frontier Liquors - Grand Rapids
Hotel Rapids - Grand Rapids
Bottles & Brews - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Lake Store - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Red Eye - Swan River
Blackberry Junction - Blackberry
Bear Ridge Pizza - Cohasset
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine

Iron Range, etc. -

MJ’s Resort - Pengilly
Marge’s Liquor - Eveleth
The Great Outdoors Bottle Shop - Pengilly
SuperOne Liquor - Hibbing
Keyboard Liquor - Chisholm
SuperOne Liquor - Virginia
Sawmill Saloon - Virginia

Da Nort, etc. -

Ely Liquor - Ely
Frontier Sports - Marcell
Bigfork Wilderness Bar - Bigfork

Bemidji -

Northern Off Sale Liquor - Bemidji
Tara Bemidji - Bemidji

The Many Holidays at Klockow Brewing

December 18, 2024 Tasha Klockow

There are times when I’m proud to be a member of the human race, and this is one such occasion. I mean, not to put too fine a point on it, but it is a great week! Not only do we have the great fortune of being able to look back at the likes of Storyteller Sunday with Stay Human, Ridley and the Rascal: 2 Chaotic to Christmas, Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAMESHOW, as well as the debut of our Third Tuesday Trivia, but we’re happy, nay, privileged to be able to look ahead to such things as the return of the Radiance Drag Show, Open Mic, and Festivus!
But I’m sorry, I appear to be burying the lead. My main point on why it’s such a great week is because Thursday, Dec. 19, is the grand return of Magic Roundabout, our Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Vanilla Stout. Why is this so exciting, you may ask? To quote Tasha, the brewery co-owner and good taste impresario, “So here’s the thing, the best beer we’ve ever done, hands down, is Magic Roundabout. I’m going to say that on the record, it is Magic Roundabout.”

Yes, it will be back. It’ll be back on tap. It’ll be back in cans. And it’ll be back in bottles! We’ve taken a little hiatus on imperial beer bottling, but it looks like supply chain issues have resolved themselves enough to get some 750 ml bottles again. So crank up the heat on that colored wax, we got some bottles to seal!

Which, I should add, is right on time for Christmas. The only question is, who do you like enough to give a bottle of Magic Roundabout to?? Hopefully the answer is: yourself.
But it ain’t Christmas yet! We got another holiday this Saturday; Winter Solstice! For all you pagans or just those of you who enjoy turning points on the solar cycle, we present to you Radiance! Our first drag performance three months ago was an amazing night, one we knew we had to replicate. And what better time than Winter Solstice to bring those fabulous queens and kings back?! The performance, which is 21+ and $15 at the door, starts at 9 p.m. and will go past midnight as our own Malachy Koons (who is more well known for his work at KAXE) will be DJing a dance party following the show. The energy was just too infectious at the last show, so we figured we’d channel that into an after party this time!
If dancing the night away ain’t your thing, maybe singing in the afternoon is more your cup of tea. With Solstice out of the way, might as well sharpen your caroling skills because we’re going to be doing an old fashioned bar sing following Open Mic on Sunday, Dec. 22. We normally do Open Mic on the last Sunday of the month, but the fourth Sunday will just have to do for December. Works out nice though, since it would feel weird to sing Christmas Carols after Christmas! This is likely going to be a monthly thing, the bar sing, since there’s an ocean of bar shanties out there just dying to be sung with a pint in hand. So c’mon out for the inaugural sing; I guarantee you know at least a few of these classic songs!
Though if Christmas just ain’t your thing at all, and you’ve rained blows down on your fellow shopper over a doll for your son for the last time, maybe you should come celebrate Festivus with us. On Monday, Dec. 23, the traditional day of Festivus, we are going to have a day of music by Sam Miltich, a potluck dinner, an airing of grievances, feats of strength, and of course, plenty of Festivus miracles. Hosted by Ditty Wish, there will be joy and merriment in abundance, particularly when it comes to the leg-wrestling.
After that… Merry Christmas!
But in case you’re looking for an extra dish to share for the holiday…

EAT YOUR BEER!
You don’t have to look too long before you find a recipe that requires a pint of beer. Some of them even have you put it in the food (slaps knee). Case in point, you could look in the Minnesota Brewers Cookbook and find a ridiculous amount of them. One such recipe is from our very own Tasha Klockow, and is for Asparagus Risotto. All you need is:

6 cups broth
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion
1 pound asparagus, cut
2-4 cloves of garlic
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup Crosswind Kölsch, or any other light, dry beer
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the broth into a pot and bring to a boil. Chop the onion and asparagus, and put the asparagus ends in the broth for added flavor. Reduce heat and simmer.
In a large pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add onion and salt, cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add rice, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. The edges of the grains will start to turn translucent.
Add 1 cup of beer and continue to stir for about two minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Then, using a strainer, carefully pour 5 cups of the hot broth into a measuring cup and add to the rice. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for 18 minutes, stirring every 6 minutes. Add more broth if it absorbs too quickly.
With 6 minutes left, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan and add asparagus. Cook for 5 minutes, then add peas and cook for 1 minute then remove from heat. Asparagus should still be crunchy.
Add 1/2 cup more of the hot broth to the rice and stir constantly to get a creamy texture. Add Parmesan and stir until well combined. Remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes.
Finally, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the juice from the lemon (as little as half the lemon, or the entire thing). Fold in the asparagus and peas add salt and pepper to taste.
Then enjoy! May your Christmas feast be full of great eats, delicious drinks, and plenty of good cheer! Prost!!

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Locker Room - Coleraine
Hotel Rapids - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Lake Store - Grand Rapids
Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Eagles Club - Grand Rapids
Pickled Loon - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
NoPo Coffee - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Itasca Curling Association - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Rocket’s - Cohasset

Metro, etc. -

Northbound Liquor - Cambridge
Isanti Municipal Liquor Store - Isanti
Lexington Liquors - Lexington
61 Liquors - Maplewood
Ombibulous - Minneapolis
Top Ten Liquors - Roseville
Stinson Wine, Beer, and Spirits - Minneapolis
South Lyndale Liquors - Minneapolis

West world, etc. -

Landmark Liquors - Perham
Brew Ale’s & Eats - Perham
Dorset Corner Off Sale Liquor - Park Rapids
Red River Liquor Co. - Akeley

Game Shows and Comedy Christmas Albums and Storytelling and Trivia and Belgians, Oh myyy

December 11, 2024 Tasha Klockow

Ok, this week is a doozy, so if TL,DR…

GAME SHOW
Ridley and the Rascal
Storyteller Sunday
Third Tuesday Trivia
What’s a Belgian Tripel? (No hyper-link, just stroll to “Ok, What Is That”)

But before any of that, hope you’re all having a delightful holiday season so far! Ice and snow ain’t getting you down or nothing. Winter doldrums at a minimum so far? Good. We like to check in from time to time.
Now that we’ve gotten the pleasantries out of the way, down to business. Tomorrow, Dec. 12, is the next installment of Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! This month is Ditty’s take on the $10,000 Pyramid! Now, we know what you’re thinking. Inflation has made the name a bit dated. But on the other hand, contestants of Thursday’s game are playing for drink tokens, so let’s just say it’s a moot point. And since there are no “celebrities” to play against the contestants, those playing will be paired with Klockow staff!
I hear you saying, “But it’s the holidays! Don’t you have anything Christmas related going on??” Glad you asked, because if you remember last year, we had on our stage an after-hours show featuring a number of Christmas music hits. It was Ridley & the Rascal’s Very Chaotic Christmas, and the musical comedic duo brought down the house! And they’re back this Saturday, Dec. 14, with a sequel: 2 Chaotic to Christmas.

Ok, we don’t need to pretend that these are strangers. Ridley and the Rascal are respectively Emily Slaubaugh (aka, Ditty Wish) and Nathan Bergstedt (aka, the guy literally writing this blog post). This whole thing started when the two friends made a joke about doing a Christmas album, and the idea just kinda stuck. Characters were developed, songs picked, and voila. Now it’s happening again, with new songs but the same ol’ motivation: to kickstart their music careers and make more money!! The new album is now available on Apple Music.
The show is free but tips for performers are encouraged. Performance starts after normal business hours at 9 p.m. And, like last year, the show is not family friendly.
If NSFW Christmas comedy concept albums aren’t your jam, perhaps we can interest you in something more… intellectual? Something thoughtful? Something like Storyteller Sunday?

This Sunday is a special edition of our monthly event since it is co-produced with Stay Human on 91.7 KAXE, the weekly radio story show hosted by Michael Goldberg. In addition to the open mic aspect of your typical Storyteller Sunday, Goldberg has invited a number of accomplished storytellers from around the state to grace the Klockow stage. The theme this month is “endings,” which means we’ll be hearing stories about being at the end of the road, about divorce, a Dear John letter, and wrapping up a year of ups and downs. Each story, including those for open mic, will be recorded live and be eligible for future airing on Stay Human at a future date.
Show begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15.
But maybe you want something even MORE intellectual? Good, because we have that too. On Tuesday, Dec. 17, will be our first Third Tuesday Trivia, hosted by a rotating trio of community non-profits: Itasca Pride, Grand Rapids Area Freethinkers, and Itasca Area Indivisible. Each month will have time-relevant and general trivia, with categories chosen between the non-profit of the month and Klockow staff. Being December, you can expect to hear some Christmas-related questions, but that’s enough for teasers. Don’t wanna give too much away, after all.

Trivia is free to play, with drink tokens for winning teams of each game (two games per night). First game starts at 6 p.m., so get here early to sign up your team (no more than 6 people per team).
Hope you like great beer, because you’re going to have plenty of it while hanging out with us all week! Speaking of which…

Ok, What Is That?
We have an award-winning beer that has been turning heads here in the brewery ever since it was first brewed. It’s called Billy Bumbler, and it’s a Belgian Tripel. I’ve often referred to it as a gateway beer since I’ve seen, more than once, someone curiously order it before joining their table, only to have everyone at the table drinking it for their next round.
But what is it that these people are drinking? What makes it unique? And where the heck is Belgium??
The last question is the easiest. It’s a small country wedged between France and Germany to the west and east, with the Netherlands and the North Sea to the north. And the world of beer owes them a debt of gratitude for two reasons: their farmhouse ales and their monastic ales.
We’ve talked here before about what a Saison is, so it’s time we talked monastic beers. In addition to prayer and general monastery upkeep, the job of the Belgian monks for centuries has been to brew beer. And they’ve been doing it like crazy! Seriously, these mad scientists or artists or whatever have been brewing with complete abandon in stark contrast to their German neighbors and their beer purity laws.
A few things to get out of the way before we get much deeper, there’s a misconception that “Belgian” beer means “wheat” beer. We can thank brands like Blue Moon and Shock Top for that, with their popular and widely available Belgian Witbier (which translates to “white beer,” and are made from wheat). The short answer, and what I tell many of our customers when they infer that our Tripel is made from wheat, is that Belgian is a broad category and only some of them are made from wheat. Most are barley based, same as their counterparts in Germany and Great Britain.
“A lot of wheat beers have similar phenols and ester profiles to a lot of Belgian beers that are just brewed with barley. Which a lot of that has to do with the yeast,” said Andy Klockow, co-owner and head brewer here at Klockow Brewing Company.

The brief history of yeast evolution was that the German yeast strains were accustomed to cooler temperatures and were cold fermenters. This was encouraged by the Germans even before they knew what yeast were because they nearly universally brewed in the winter and stored beer in caves, giving us the clean, crisp lager beers we know of today. The Belgians, conversely, brewed all the time and had yeast strains that became excellent at handling warmer temperatures, allowing them to live and eat sugar and make copious amounts of alcohol even in the middle of the summer without the aid of modern refrigeration to help regulate things.
“They’d brew many different types of beer. In Germany, a town would brew their beer, and that’s the only beer that would be brewed. [The Belgian monks] would brew a whole bunch of different styles for the different seasons. Like a lighter beer for the summer, to drink while working. Especially for farmers and what-not, because the water might not be able to be trusted,” said Andy. “Then during lent, they’d brew fasting beers. They’d fast for 40 days and so they’d get all their caloric intake from drinking these higher ABV, higher sugar content, beers.”
Tripels are a form of these monastic beers, specifically brewed with golden malts and, this is key, added sugar in order to give these high-temp lovin’ Belgian yeast strains a lot of easily digestible food for them to produce a very high ABV beer. They’re part of a family of brews referred to as Belgian Strong Ales, but of course have their unique attributes. A Belgian Golden Strong will tend to be clearer to a Tripel’s cloudiness, and will have more pronounced fruit character to a Tripel’s phenolic spice. That being said, expect notes of banana and coriander when drinking either (bit more banana on the Golden Strong and more coriander on a Tripel).
Which brings us to the name. There are many theories and legends and mis-told stories as to how these beers got their names, specifically the Dubbel, Tripel, and the Quad. One (that I know I’ve sadly told before) is that they were named after numbers for the number of times grain was reused with just the addition of sugar. Another story, which seems much more believable, is that the barrels used to hold these brews were marked with Xs, with more Xs added to signify how strong the beer in each one was. So the strongest, what we today call a Quad, would be in a barrel marked XXXX.
We encourage you to come by and try our Belgian Tripel, the award-winning Billy Bumbler, next time you’re in our taproom. And while you’re at it, if you dare, give our Decima Christmas Ale a try! This rum-barrel-aged brew is additionally flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, cocoa nibs, nutmeg, and cloves, but the base of it is a classic Belgian Quad! This monster has the spice of a Belgian, the texture of a Russian Imperial Stout, and the ABV of a wine (13%). But let’s face it, it does kinda tastes like Christmas.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

NoPo Coffee - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Pickled Loon - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquors - Grand Rapids
Bottles & Brews - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Zorbaz - Grand Rapids
Hollywood Bait - Bovey

South, etc. -

Scandia Olde Towne Liquor - Scandia
Westside Liquor - St. Cloud

North and West, etc. -

SuperOne Liquor - International Falls
Bootleggers Liquor - International Falls
Beehive Offsale Liquors - Bemidji
Bemidji Curling Club - Bemidji
Liquor Lodge - Turtle River
SuperOne Liquors - Baxter

Upcoming Games with a Light Lager

December 4, 2024 Tasha Klockow

Anyone else miss the sun? I swear it still exists somewhere, but it’s been so long I’ve all but forgotten what it even looks like! If you told me with enough confidence that it was a purple square in the sky, I just might believe you.
So what are we going to do about it?? The obvious answer is probably to have a drink, and we could make a few recommendations to you, but maybe you want a healthier option. Again, we could tout some of the various health benefits that have been foisted onto beer over the years, but let’s go for some more obviously healthy options. Like exercise. Like yoga!
Brewery Yoga with Kelly is back this Saturday morning, Dec. 7, starting at 10 a.m.! This one-hour vinyasa yoga is open to the public prior to regular taproom hours and only costs a donation to the local non-profit of Kelly’s choice, this month being Great Tails Animal Rescue. Suggested donation amount is $15, but individuals are welcome to pay what they can.

This will be the start of a new monthly routine for us. So mark your calendars for the first Saturday of the month, dust off your yoga mats (or simply roll up your well-used yoga mats), and come early to Klockow for a refreshing and healthy start to the day. THEN have a beer.
We’re starting things off slow this month, but stay tuned because it’s gonna be a busy one! We of course have our second Sunday Board Games and Records Day coming up this weekend, which sounds like an amazing way to spend a day given the weather lately. Honestly, take a look outside and tell me with a straight face you’d rather do something out in the dreary cold than to hang out with friends, playing a game while kicking back a couple pints and listening to random vinyl records. Can’t be done. So, yeah, see ya’ll this Sunday.
And of course there’s the next installment of Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! Always the second Thursday of the month, for December she’ll be doing her vision of the $10,000 Pyramid, where contestants will be paired up with Klockow staff to win fabulous prizes (ie, free pints). Which is why we’re also dubbing it the $10,000 Beer-amid. That’s from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12. Come see the ridiculousness!

Ok, What Is That?
American Light Lager. We’ve all had one. Even if you don’t know it, you’ve had one. Pretty sure red-blooded American babies have one as their second bottle ever.
But you may ask, “what are you even talking about? Isn’t this section about things most customers haven’t even heard of? We all know what an American Light Lager is.” Surely, and I would have guessed that too. At one time at least. But let’s just say it’s happened too many times where a customer, dragged into the taproom by his craft-beer buddy, has asked for whatever is closest to a Bud Light. And once I’ve said, “oh good, we have an American Light Lager on tap,” I didn’t see a knowing grin. No, surprisingly often, I see a blank-stare shrug and then “Ok, can I try it?” as a response. At least at that point they try it, like it, and then order it. So let’s take a second to talk a bit about what they are!
The birth of the “American Lager” goes back a long ways, so for convenience we’ll start at the beginning of the big-beer era: the founding of Anheuser-Busch. In the mid-1800s, A.B. was one of many regional breweries, but was beginning to make a big splash that no-one could’ve seen coming. Most breweries were making heavier, maltier beers, but many of the German immigrants, especially those who moved to warmer climates like around St. Louis, Missouri, found that it was more enjoyable to drink some of the light, crisp lagers of their home country. By 1876 when they released their flagship, a scaled-back version of an old-country golden lager called Budweiser, it was the beginning of the end of the regional breweries that had peppered the landscape, paving the way for the big national players. Americans had fallen in love with this simple, German-influenced, golden lagers, and they couldn’t get enough of them. In the United States, the style had all but taken over, with Budweiser being the single most sold beer. Before we knew it, you could say “beer-flavored beer” and people knew what you were talking about. They meant a Budweiser.
And it stayed this way for a long time. Other breweries competed for dominance, such as Coors and Miller, but the beer style remained the same. That was, until 1973, when Miller Lite hit the scene, an even lighter, crisper, version of the beer we all knew and loved. All we needed to hear was John Madden say “tastes great, less filling,” and there was a new major beer style. The idea was that it wasn’t a “diet” beer, even though it had less calories, but that it was just a “light” beer, so you could have more of them. Very similar to its predecessor, the American Light Lager is defined by having lower alcohol content, a light, almost watery body, no hop character, and a very simple aroma and palate mostly characterized by corn, rice, and other grains. They’re light straw colored. And at most you’re going to get a touch of apple sweetness. But short of someone attempting to give a description on what these beers taste like, no one actually cares about any of that. What fans of the style typically care about is that they’re cold, they’re crushable, they’re plentiful, and just plain taste good. They’re simple and crisp for a reason, and that reason is we’re drinking them while watching the game and not at an organized beer tasting.

If you want one at Klockow, you can either ask for whatever is closest to Mich Golden, or you can be more direct and ask for a Stranger Ranger! It is our answer to all those customers who were maybe brought here by their beer-connoisseur buddies but just want something familiar, or to the folks who know they’re going out to eat and just want something light, or for anyone who wants just one more so a low ABV crisp lager simply hits the spot. Have it on tap or take home a four-pack!

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Unwined Up North - Grand Rapids
Locker Room - Coleraine
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids

McGregor -

Mark’s Bar - McGregor
Willey’s Sports Shop & Spirits - McGregor

Duluth, etc. -

Woodland Liquors - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Pike Lake
27 Liquors - Duluth
Duluth Tap Exchange - Duluth
7 West - Superior
Dovetail Cafe & Marketplace - Duluth

South, etc. -

Scandia Olde Towne Liquor - Scandia
Northbound Liquor - Cambridge

Happy Thanksgiving from the Klockow Brewing Staff

November 27, 2024 Tasha Klockow

Here we are, the big day just around the corner, Thanksgiving! Hope you remembered to thaw your turkey and picked up enough green beans from the store! Yes, it truly is one of the great holidays (history and origin notwithstanding), for it is the one holiday in our country with no pretense other than to feast! That doesn’t mean we don’t individually have our favorite little traditions outside of stuffing our gobs. Just means that there aren’t any other socially mandated activities, like gift giving, church services, etc. Heck, there aren’t even Thanksgiving cards!
So we thought we’d take a moment to share with you some of our favorite Thanksgiving foods and traditions, straight from the mouths of the Klockow staff.
It’s not a competition, but if there’s a winner for most popular food to eat amongst those that work here, potatoes take the trophy (Tasha, Andy, Adrianne, and Nathan). This is followed by green bean casserole, which both Jamie and Nathan named as a favorite to make/share for those big family gatherings. And why not? It’s easier than it looks, tastes better than you’d guess, and is generally a fan-favorite. (Side note: does anyone else find it odd that we call everything “hot dish” in Minnesota except for green bean casserole?)
Though if passion for a favorite is what it takes to make a food a winner, that would have to go to cranberry sauce, which Malachy named as his “answer for everything.”
Some other notable favorite dishes include ham (Zach the “ham man”), stuffing (Andy and Jamie), pistachio pudding (Amanda), and of course, turkey (funny enough, only Andy said turkey).

But what is a big feast without people to share it with?! Some of our staff’s favorite traditions and memories involve bringing people together. Having long worked in the restaurant industry, Amanda shared how she and her husband Kyle have “hosted what we called transplant thanksgiving. So all the line cooks and servers who didn't have a place to go would all come over and we'd cook rich, decadent meals like truffle butter turkey. Always loved that feeling of community with industry folks.” This is similar to what Tasha said about “having a ‘Lost Boys’ Thanksgiving for Andy and his friends who had to open Guitar Center at 4 a.m. on Black Friday when we lived in the cities.”

Amanda dreaming of future leftovers with Kyle and friend Ashley.

I know it’s crazy to say, but sometimes the people you’re eating with are actually family! Nathan noted “though I have enjoyed personally cooking an entire spread for just Rachelle and I (like last year’s Cornish Game Hen feast), we do tend to see extended family this day too.” One of Zach’s favorite memories of Thanksgiving was “playing flag football up at grandma and grandpa's with all the cousins and uncles, ice skating if the lake was safe, and listening to all the stories when everyone was together.” Jamie looks fondly on her running tradition of having “a sleep over at my BIL and SIL Wednesday night to mentally prepare for hosting Thanksgiving; AKA we drink and eat appetizers and play games.”

Some of us looked back fondly at the Thanksgivings of old, when we were kids. Sometimes we helped out, like Amanda recalling back when “my sister and I used to wake up at like 4 a.m. with my grandma to stuff the turkey (that had been brining the previous day) and she always made us sew it shut!” Or maybe we didn’t help, like Adrianne: “I would color in the Star Tribune turkey while watching the parade; AKA staying out of the kitchen.” Or maybe it was something else entirely, like Nathan’s “the Tuna Thanksgiving.”
Admittedly, some of us have better Thanksgiving memories than others. Good thing this isn’t a competition, because Andy and Tasha would take the pumpkin pie on this one. Quoth Andy, “Thanksgiving is when I proposed to Tasha! She had been frantically cleaning the house and almost found the ring I’d cleverly hidden in my jacket pocket. I waited until she was in the middle of making s'more pie and proposed! The pie is now forever known as ‘Engagement Pie.’"
The day will ultimately come to a close though, and you’ll be divvying up the leftovers amongst guests. That’s when you’re going to have to talk to Amanda, who named as her favorite food “Post-thanksgiving leftovers, stoner food edition. Lefse quesadillas with turkey, stuffing, and mac. Pan fried. Dip in cranberry sauce and gravy. Ima leftover queen. Challenge me!” So yeah, she might have some ideas on what to do with your leftovers.

And with that, we hope that you have a wonderful holiday! Make sure it’s filled with good cheer (and maybe more than a couple beers), a full plate, and a bunch of new memories. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Frontier Liquors - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquors - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
Itasca Curling Association - Grand Rapids
38 Outpost - Grand Rapids
S&S Bottle Shop - Deer River
Balsam Store - Bovey
Ron’s Korner Market - Bovey

Bigfork, etc. -

Kocian’s - Bigfork
Big Fork Wilderness Bar - Big Fork
North Star Lake Resort - Marcell
Hayslips Corner - Talmoon

The Range, etc. -

SuperOne Liquor - Hibbing
Rocket Liquors - Virginia
Silver Creek Liquors - Virginia
KM Corner Store - Nashwaulk
Keyboard Liquor - Chisholm

Ely, etc. -

Insula - Ely
Zup’s Food Market - Ely
Stinky Pete’s Tiny Weed Shop - Ely

A Look at Reoccurring Events, and Some Thanksgiving Suggestions

November 20, 2024 Tasha Klockow

As I write this first sentence, the first snowfall of the year is happening; and much like this first snow fall, this sentence isn’t amounting to much.
But this little dusting is just a further reminder that the seasons are changing and we need to be prepared for the winter months ahead. That could be making sure your snow tires are put on your car. Maybe it means you finally have to tune up your winter commuter bicycle, if that’s your thing. Any amount of home winterizing is dangerously close to being too late to do, and you should probably pull that box of hats and gloves out of the garage.
Ahh, but how wonderful it was, not even that long ago! Temperatures around 50. Sun shining. And Ditty Wish held her first game show in the Klockow taproom, the beginning of the new monthly series Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! Last Thursday we had a live production of Family Feud on the Klockow stage, with four different “families” competing against each other, all trying to figure out the most popular answers to some truly ridiculous questions (seriously, how many different things have teeth? Especially when the number one answer was simply “animals”?!?)

Ditty Wish, in her sparkling dress, did her best Richard Dawson impersonation, and all the contestants did a wonderful job of not only playing the game, but coming up with back stories for how their “families” were composed. A highlight was the team comprised of long-lost sisters, all named Ditty, who were there to reunite with their last sister, Ditty Wish.
Game show nights will be consistently on the second Thursday of the month, though the specific game will rotate. Next month will be the $10,000 Pyramid (or Beer-amid, if you will)! So pop it on your calendar, from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 12.
Another lovely thing to look back on with a tinge of anticipation was last weekend’s Storyteller Sunday! It’s one of those days here in the brewery where we all chill out a little bit for an afternoon of spoken word art, as some of the finest voices in the greater Grand Rapids area gather to tell us all a little tale. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always a little curiously entertaining, we’ve been excited to bring back Storyteller Sunday on the third Sunday of the month following its summer hiatus. And if you missed it, fear not: Michael Goldberg of Stay Human on 91.7 KAXE was on hand to record the stories, making them all eligible for broadcast on an upcoming show.

Which brings us to the tinge of anticipation. Next month, on Sunday, Dec. 15, Michael Goldberg and Stay Human will be co-organizing Storyteller Sunday with a line-up of amazing writers from around the state, as well as from here at home. So since you’re already putting things on your calendar next month, might as well pencil this one in as well!
All this talk of anticipation for upcoming events this next month or so brings something else to mind: the holiday season is approaching! We’re right on its doorstep, in fact. News of this may bring about mixed emotions, but rest assured, it will be ok. Maybe even great. For coupled along with all the family gatherings and the gift exchanges and travel, etc., is the most glorious part of any holiday: the eating and drinking.
Now, as you may have guessed, we have a few opinions on the best drinks for all your holiday affairs. And since we allow mix-and-match four packs, you’ll definitely be able to have something for everybody at your Thanksgiving feast. Want to try to pair something with the turkey? Have a Schönfeld Honey Wheat Ale. Want to pair something with the entire spread? You could do worse than a Ryetasca Roggenbier. Need to appease your trendy cousin who fancies themselves a hop head? Supply Line Hazy IPA is clearly the right choice. Are your parents worried that you brought local brewery beer because they’re convinced that “craft beer” just means “hoppy beer”? Better include a couple Stranger Ranger American Light Lagers. Got an especially picky relative and you don’t know where to start? Just ask whoever is behind the bar and we’ll ply our trade to get you the best beer for your crew as possible.
And of course, if you’re daunted by the scope of the food spread, not to mention how you’re going to handle a whole day with extended family, we do have our Klockow Shrubbery line of THC seltzers. At 10 mg per can, it shouldn’t take long until the edge is taken off and the munchies kick in.

EAT YOUR BEER!
So what about the eating? We’d like to think you already have that under control being Thanksgiving and all, but maybe you’re joining a larger group and have been tasked with bringing a dish and you still just don’t know what that might be. Assistant Brewer Russ Alioth actually has you covered with a recipe he enjoys making from time to time: Beer Bread! All you need is…

3 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 oz of BHK Nut Brown Ale
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and beer until just combined and pour into a greased loaf pan. Pour melted butter over the mixture. Bake for one hour, then remove from pan and allow to cool at least 15 minutes. And what you have is a hearty and crumbly bread! Russ definitely recommends the BHK Nut Brown Ale, though he feels confident that the Ryetasca Roggenbier (German Rye Ale) and the Woodland Legacy (Amber Lager) would be quite good as well.
If you want to go for an even bigger, richer flavor, try our Downwind Smoked Chocolate Stout. And if you want to get a little crazy, there’s always Travelin’ Jack IPA on one side and Mlinar Delight Raspberry Smoothie Sour on the other. Though let us be clear, we do not actually recommend the IPA or the sour for your beer bread. But if you’re feeling oddly adventurous, we’d love to hear if they turn out at all!

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Eagles Club - Grand Rapids
Pickled Loon - Grand Rapids
Zorbaz on the Lake - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Locker Room - Coleraine
Bottles & Brews - Grand Rapids
Frontier Liquors - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
NoPo Coffee Co. - Grand Rapids

West world, etc.

Dorset Corner Off Sale Liquor - Park Rapids
1894 - Perham
Continental Divide Brew Pub - New York Mills

Minneapolis, etc.

Ombibulous - Minneapolis
Isanti Municipal Liquor Store - Isanti
Stinson Wine, Beer, and Spirits - Minneapolis
South Lyndale Liquors - Minneapolis
Liquor Works - Forest Lake
Princeton’s Liquors - Maple Grove

Remembering Brian Crowe

November 13, 2024 Tasha Klockow

It rained the day of your funeral,
so all we saw was gloom.
But all these drops innumerable;
they made the flowers bloom.

This week’s blog is going to be a little different. Of course we want to do things like highlight and hype upcoming events, such as Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW on Thursday and Storyteller’s Sunday this weekend. That’s what the blog is for, after all. But last week, as you may have heard, a frequent regular and friend of brewery, Brian Crowe, passed away unexpectedly. So we’d like to spend a little time remembering our friend.
As a bartender here, I’ve spent a lot of time talking with Brian about all sorts of things. The running joke is that regardless of the topic, it always came back to food. At one point, there was a discussion that since cheese cake exists, shouldn’t it be logical that there should be a cheese pie as well? As it happens, this turned into a more-than-a-year long running conversation, involving multiple people. But Brian was the only one who made the mistake of saying that he was going to make one! To date, there has never been a satisfactory definition of what a proper “cheese pie” should even be; the best sounding recipes ended up being closer to a quiche, and we were specifically going for a dessert.
I’d like to think Brian would roll his eyes and say something like, “really, you’re going to bring that up again now?” if he could see that we’re talking about the cheese pie again. But that’s just the stuff you think about when someone is gone. The whole eye-rolling thing would be just for show, though. He’d actually love that this is what we’re talking about.
Another thing one tends to think about when someone dies so young is what they haven’t done yet. Brian said he’d make the pie because he loved to cook, so much so that he had plans of quitting Pepsi to run a food truck. Issues surrounding health insurance and the initial investment gave him pause, but these were things that he just knew he had to work around. The food truck was going to happen. He regularly would show me trucks and trailers he found for sale that would be a good platform for this new business venture. He even had a list of locations to park where he knew he’d get a good influx of people for lunch.
We just have to make peace with the fact that his food truck will never park outside the brewery. And that’s hard. We don’t want to think that.
But what is easier is being thankful for the time we had with Brian. We’re fortunate enough to be able to remember the good times and the laughs. All the times he would say “ok, one more” after he swore he was on his last beer, all because another friend came in. And all the little things that we don’t even remember today, but will be reminded of because he left enough minor impressions to always have a call back.
Speaking of call backs, Brian was the first non-employee to be interviewed for this blog. So we’ll leave you with a few of his own words…

We Barley Know You, But We Hop to Change That. It’s the Yeast We Can Do: long-time regular at the taproom, Brian Crowe
Question: How long have you been a regular here?
Brian Crowe: I think only about three years, as a regular. It hasn't been that long. It took me awhile to actually come here, and I don't know why.
Q: What's your favorite Klockow beer?
BC: I don't necessarily have a favorite. I have multiples that I like a lot. Supply Line (Hazy IPA), One Aught (Cold IPA), Siduri's Garden (Saison); depends on the season, depends on the day.
Q: If all those are on tap, which one would you pick?
BC: Probably Siduri's Garden, because it's the least likely to be on tap! Or just for a short amount of time, I mean.
Q: When you're not drinking Klockow beer, what do you like to drink?
BC: Mountain Dew Kickstart Fruit Punch. It's my coffee.
Q: Sticking with the theme, what are some of your favorite foods?
BC: A lot of smoked barbque. Ribs. I like smoked fish. And I've become a fan of sushi!

Q: What do you do for work?
BC: I'm employed by Pepsi Cola as a service technician. Which means I fix anything that dispenses Pepsi products; bar guns, fountain machines, coolers, vending machines. I've done just about every job in the company over 25 years.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
BC: Camping, curling, and hanging out by a bonfire!
Q: What's a fun/interesting fact about yourself?
BC: That's difficult. I can't think of anything... Only thing I can think of is that I've participated in BBQ contests, rib contests. In three years, we went from 9 out of 10, to third. It was ribs.
Q: Was there a secret to your success?
BC: Yeah, and it's a secret! But we did change the recipe. We went from 9th, to 7th, to 3rd, and it was the last year that we changed the recipe.
Q: And lastly, if you could be transported back to any time or place in history, when and where would it be and why?
BC: Oh gosh... Actually, the land rush days when everybody was claiming their lands, where it was a free-for-all run to stake your land, I'd like to go back and see that. That's kind of a cool thing; now it takes so much to get a piece of property. Back then, well, you had to work hard on it to make it work, but you worked for what you got. Now you work for everything but you can't get as much.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc -

Raven Stone - Coleraine
Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Hotel Rapids - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquors - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Blackberry Junction - Blackberry
Red Eye - Swan River
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Unwined Up North - Grand Rapids
KM Corner Store - Nashwauk
Timberwolf Inn - Marcell

Bemidji, etc. -

Bemidji Curling Club - Bemidji
First City Liquor - Bemidji
Lakeview Liquor - Bemidji
Tara Bemidji - Bemidji
Beehive Offsale Liquors - Bemidji

International Falls, etc. -

SuperOne Liquor - International Falls
The Rocky Ledge - Kabetogama
Revelation Ale Works - Hallock

Cuyuna, etc.

Happy Tree - Emily
Deer Haven - Remer
Grizzly’s Wood-Fired Grill - Baxter
Remer Municipal Liquor Store - Remer
SuperOne Liquor - Crosby
SuperOne Liqour - Baxter

Rocky (in a good way) Past and Gamey (also in a good way) Future

November 7, 2024 Tasha Klockow

We did the Time Warp… for the first time. And we look forward to doing it again next year, but we’re just going to have to wait on that. In the meanwhile, we’ll bask in the glow of the beauty that was last week and remember what it’s like to have that kind of fun. Because it was fun. It was fun as hell!
If you don’t know what we’re talking about, that means you missed our Rocky Horror Picture Show viewing party! We took part in that long tradition of interactively watching this cult classic, with all the noisemakers, bells, jeers, newspapers, and even toast that have made the movie the unique legend that it has become! The night began with an amazing set by local psychedelic groove band, the aptly-though-temporarily named The Time Warp, which brought people down on the dance floor and set the right mood for what the rest of the night would offer.

And when it was all over, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the taproom more messy than I did when the lights came back up around midnight. But as they say, many hands make light work, and there were no shortage of Good Samaritans to help with the cleanup.
All of this was the day after MN Beer Day, when the throngs of the thirsty crowded the taproom in order to get their hands on this year’s annual Beer Day pint glass! We’re no stranger to busy days, but damn… we seem to have underestimated how many people wanted this glass! We had about 80 glasses for sale, which we thought was a safe amount to procure in order to sell out of but not run out of too early. Given the fact that the glasses were gone by a quarter to 5 p.m., we clearly did our math wrong.
More important than bad math, what this means is that we owe you a thank you! MN Beer Day is the day set aside to celebrate local brews and the people that make them, and you all came out in force to make it a worth while celebration! We felt the love with every pull of the tap handles, every gulp of the suds. It was just another example of the beauty of last week that we want to hold on to. It’s one of those things that sustains us in more ways than one.
Looking to the future… we still have plenty of that great beer we’ve been celebrating! But if you want more than that, (sigh) fine. How about a game? Or, even better, a game show! Next Thursday, Nov. 14, starting at 6 p.m., Ditty Wish will be hosting a new series happening here in the taproom: Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! You may know her from our monthly Open Mic, or from her various musical appearances at a venue near you, but Ditty Wish… well, maybe I’ll just let her explain the show, as well as introduce herself a bit:

We Barley Know You, But We Hop to Change That. It’s the Yeast We Can Do: Emily Slaubaugh AKA Ditty Wish
Question: How long have you run Open Mic at Klockow Brewing?
Emily Slaubaugh: I… has it been three years now? Three years. Two and a half, maybe. That sounds about right.
Q: And in all that time, what is your favorite Klockow beer?
ES: I really like Siduri’s Garden (Saison). That’s probably one of my favorites.
Q: When you’re not drinking Klockow beer, what do you like to drink?
ES: Well, right now I’m drinking root beer! I drink a lot of tea; a lot of black teas and green teas. Really any kind of tea.
Q: You’re a big tea person.
ES: A big tea person.
Q: What are some of your favorite foods that you like to pair with these teas?
ES: It’s often in the morning, so I’ll have it with eggs. Or toast. Or hash browns.
Q: Any other favorite foods in general?
ES: I like a good taco. Singing Chihuahua Tacos especially are my favorite. I miss them.

Q: So what do you do for a living?
ES: Right now I’m working at running my own business where I’m freelancing fully. That involves a lot of performing. I’m still playing under the name Ditty Wish. So trying to do more performing. I’m going to be hosting more stuff coming up at Klockow…
Q: Yes, I understand some of this new business involves not just music but other things.
ES: Other fun things! Starting next week, on Thursday, Nov. 14, I will be hosting a live game show at Klockow! So we’re going to have contestants come up. We’re doing Family Feud for this first one, but in the future we’ll be doing different ones: The Newlywed Game, the $10,000 Pyramid… or Beeramid, if you will.
So it’s gonna be a lot of fun! It’ll be a fun community event, I think. We’re going to have contestants come up to play the game, I’ll be up in a sparkly dress hosting, and at the end I’ll have some games that anyone can come up and try, like Minute to Win it.
Q: So how will that work for people who will just be showing up?
ES: Well, it’s going to be fun to watch, even if you’re not participating. Our contestants are pre-selected this time around. So if you come and watch, it’ll be a good time. And when we get to the last 30 to 40 minutes, we’ll ask for volunteers to come up to play these other games.
Q: Speaking of fun, what do you like to do for fun?
ES: You already know I like to play music. That’s a fun thing I like to do. I also enjoy being outside. I like going on hikes and riding my electric scooter around. Oh, and I like playing games: board games, card games, that kind of group games is what I’m into.
Q: What is a fun/interesting fact about yourself, perhaps something not too many people know?
ES: A lot of people already know this, but I don’t think everyone does. I was born in Canada, and so I am a Canadian citizen as well as a U.S. citizen.
Q: That is interesting. Don’t know if it’s fun, but it’s definitely interesting.
ES: It’s fun for me!
Q: Ok, last question: if you could wake up tomorrow and be amazing, as in world-class, at one thing without having to train for it, what would it be and why?
ES: Hmm, well I need to decide between giving a fun answer and a practical answer.
Q: You could give both if you like.
ES: Ok, my fun answer would be improv. Because it looks very fun but I don’t think I could ever do it. It’s just something that… I enjoy taking it in, so I feel like I would enjoy performing it as well. Just seems like a fun skill to have.
Q: You need to be quick-witted, so yeah. How about the practical one?
ES: I’ll say picking up languages. So to be able to learn all the languages really fast.
Q: That’s almost a super power.
ES: And very practical. Some people have a good knack for it.

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer and Shrubbery Drops this Week:

Local, etc -

Raven Stone - Coleraine
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquors - Grand Rapids
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Bob’s Country Market - Bovey
Bottle’s & Brews Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Frontier Liquors - Grand Rapids
Timberwolf Inn - Marcell
NoPo Coffee - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge Hotel - Grand Rapids

KLOCKOW BLOG COMING SOON!