Best Breweries in Minneapolis-St. Paul

56 Brewing
Minneapolis

56 believes in diversity, equity and inclusion, hosting multiple events for all to feel welcome, including Pride celebrations. Its ’Ssippi Squeeze Citra and Mosaic IPA is rife with tropical fruit, and Razzy Lil’ Pucker is brewed with more than 300 pounds of raspberries, replicating the joy of eating freshly picked berries.

Arbeiter Brewing Co.
Minneapolis

Arbeiter prides itself on being open to people of all backgrounds and beliefs. It’s also kid- and dog-friendly, and one of the most relaxing spots to have a pint. Two of its claims to fame are Bee Sting cream ale and Tokki rice lager. Both are light, crisp, easy-drinking beers.

Bad Weather Brewing
St. Paul

Hopcromancer IPA is a Bad Weather staple. Its biscuit and cracker malt flavor pairs well with a nice, slightly pithy citrus note. The brewery has plenty of rotating lagers and ales, along with a large taproom featuring free arcade games. Food trucks visit regularly, and you’re welcome to bring your own food.

Bang Brewing
St. Paul

Bang might be one of the most distinctive breweries in the Midwest. The brewery and taproom are inside a custom-built grain bin, and its patio sits among wild grasses and plenty of butterflies. Bang is focused on sustainability, brewing organic ales and lagers, including beers made with the perennial grain Kernza. Farina Rossa serves pizza seasonally, weather permitting.

Barrel Theory
St. Paul

Barrel Theory is best known for its IPAs, especially Rain Drops, which highlights one of the beer industry’s most popular hop combos: Citra and Mosaic. Heavily fruited sour beers and barrel-aged stouts are also popular here. The brewery’s new, expanded taproom and patio space is at Vandalia Tower in St. Paul’s South St. Anthony Park neighborhood. Outside food is welcome.

Bauhaus Brew Labs
Minneapolis

Bauhaus is brimming with color and personality, with a reputation built on lively beers like Wonderstuff, its Czech-style pilsner, and Guavatron, a pink guava gose. After reopening under new ownership in August 2026 (local NA leader ABV Technology), the Northeast Minneapolis taproom expanded its beverage program to include full-strength, low-alcohol and nonalcoholic options, alongside THC drinks, sangria, cold brew and cocktail-inspired creations.

Big Wood Brewery
Vadnais Heights

Once a White Bear Lake staple, Big Wood Brewery is now based in the nearby suburb of Vadnais Heights. The brewery built its following on beers like Forest Fire smoked imperial rye and Morning Wood, long one of the state’s finest coffee stouts.

BlackStack Brewing
St. Paul

BlackStack’s knack for hoppy fruit flavors covers up the intense ABV of its big double, triple, quad and even quintuple IPAs. The taproom is cavernous and comfy with couches and soft-cushioned chairs. BlackStack often plays sports on its gigantic projector, too. And if you like mini golf and old arcade games, Can Can Wonderland is on the lower level of the old canning factory BlackStack is located in.

Bricksworth Beer Co.
Minneapolis / Burnsville / Mendota Heights

Located right across the street from Modist — with additional locations in Burnsville and Mendota Heights — Bricksworth is actually from the same family that brought us BlackStack. Meaning you’ll find plenty of hazy IPAs to pair with its Detroit-style pies. The scratch kitchen is as much a draw as the beer, with thick, crisp-edged pizzas and wings.

Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative
Minneapolis

A member-owned brewing cooperative with board games and special events for the entire family, Broken Clock offers a variety of familiar beer styles but isn’t afraid to get creative. Past creations include Caught in the Rain, an imperial cream ale with pineapple and coconut aged in rum barrels. Its Northeast Minneapolis taproom overlooks the Mississippi River, and the permanent Twice A Day food truck supplies something to eat. 

Dual Citizen Brewing
St. Paul

A great spot before or after Minnesota United matches, Dual Citizen features a rotating range of styles, including its oat-forward GoodGood hazy IPA. Grab a pint, hop on the Green Line at nearby Raymond Avenue Station and catch a Loons match.

Falling Knife Brewing Co.
Minneapolis

Filled with pinball machines, a CD jukebox and many TVs, Falling Knife almost feels like a callback to bowling alleys from the ’90s. The brewery has excelled at lagers and New England IPAs since its 2019 opening, but if you’re lucky enough to find a release from its Ancient barleywine series, you’ll experience a master class in malt and oak barrels. Timberwolves fans should also look out for Falling Knife’s lively watch parties, which have drawn crowds big enough to bring their own folding chairs.

Forgotten Star Brewing
Fridley

Curling, kubb and bocce leagues are all part of Forgotten Star’s seasonal programming. If curling in the cold isn’t your thing, Forgotten Star has several U.S. Open Beer Championship-winning beers, including its North Star Cream Ale, Schwarzbier and Bonspiel Bock. 

Plus, if you have kids, Forgotten Star has plenty of board games and coloring sheets. Its resident Hodgepodge food truck is a collaboration with hit recipe blog Fit Foodie Finds; check the brewery’s food calendar for hours and visiting trucks.

Fulton Beer
Minneapolis

Chorizo queso dip and a Lonely Blonde American blonde ale hit the spot at Fulton. Located a short walk from Modist in the North Loop and just a few blocks from Target Field, Fulton is one of the old guards in Minnesota craft beer. Its expanded kitchen serves smoked brisket quesadillas, wings, cheese curds and smashburgers, while the rotating beer list gives fans of both classic and contemporary styles plenty to consider.

Indeed Brewing Co.
Minneapolis

One of the earliest breweries to set up shop in Northeast Minneapolis — a hotspot for hops — Indeed has been cranking out crowd-pleasing beers since 2012. Its Pistachio Cream Ale sounds simple, but that simplicity holds a complex menagerie of pistachio nuttiness with a hint of bready malt. One of its core beers, Day Tripper, is styled after West Coast hoppy beers of yesteryear. Pizzeria Lola serves wood-fired pizzas and shareables in the Beeryard, making it easy to turn a pint into a meal.

La Doña Cervecería
Minneapolis

How many breweries can claim to have salsa nights, a cozy 3-on-3 soccer pitch and a full-on beer league? If fútbol isn’t your thing, La Doña Cervecería’s Mexican-style lager will be. The Harrison neighborhood brewery’s Latin influences extend through its beer, food and events, with a rotating lineup that has included a serrano-spiked lager and a mole stout.

Lift Bridge Brewing
Stillwater

Farm Girl might be the most well-known beer at Lift Bridge, but the Stillwater brewery makes several great beers. Its taproom is on Tower Drive West, a short drive from downtown and the St. Croix River. The brewery’s lineup has included Irish Coffee Stout, a sweet milk stout with hefty caramel whiskey and French-pressed coffee flavors. And don’t miss the Mini Donut Beer at the Minnesota State Fair, served in a sugar-rimmed cup. It’s delightful and a State Fair staple.

Lupulin Brewing
Big Lake

Hooey and Blissful Ignorance were two of the best hazy IPAs in Minnesota available in cans and stores before the style took off in the Midwest. Lupulin has continued to push its beers as others have caught up, adding the Scribbled Lines brand of barrel-aged sours. These complex releases have featured fruit like citrusy yuzu or a cutting-edge combo of cherry and coffee. Check the Big Lake taproom’s calendar for events and food trucks.

Modist Brewing Co.
Minneapolis

Modist is a bit punk rock, offering pop-up parties in its special-event space and serving beer on its own terms. What helps with the latter is the mash filter the brewery uses. In addition to saving water, the device allows Modist to brew with unusually high percentages of grains such as oats and wheat. Beers like Dreamyard have a fluffy mouthfeel thanks to all those oats. Modist also makes oak-aged lagers — a rarity in taprooms — and a MELT THC beverage series that carries its creative approach beyond beer.

Nine Mile Brewing
Bloomington

Nine Mile Brewing makes technically sound and creative beer, with a rotating lineup that has included Lithuanian farmhouse ale and thick, heavily fruited sours. Mall of America is a short drive from the cavernous Bloomington taproom, meaning you can visit the local icon and stop for a beer on your way home.

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub
Minneapolis

Northbound has been repeatedly featured on Food Network for a good reason: The food and beer are well done and pair perfectly. Smoke is the star of the show, whether it’s in chicken wings, the 18-hour porketta sandwich or Southern-style barbecue. The theme has also extended to beers like Smokehouse Porter, with sweet caramel and subtle cocoa flavors. 

This is a full-service brewpub, with a full bar alongside the house-brewed beer.

Pig Ate My Pizza
Robbinsdale / Bloomington

Travail’s Pig Ate My Pizza is back in Robbinsdale, with a second location in Bloomington and small-batch beers from Nouvelle at both. The pizza shop’s detour into Nouvelle Kitchen and Brewery hasn’t dulled its appetite for creative pies or inventive food-and-beer pairings. Expect the same playful approach that built its following, with house-brewed beers to match.

Pryes Brewing Company
Minneapolis

Located near the mighty Mississippi River and its walking trails, Pryes makes it easy to enjoy the outdoors before a beer — and finish the night laughing with a comedian at Acme Comedy Company. While many restaurants are nearby, like the popular downtown location of Parlour, Pryes makes delicious wood-fired pizza on-site. Royal Raspberry sour is a fan favorite, and the taproom’s feather bowling lane gives you another reason to stick around.

Saint Paul Brewing
St. Paul

Saint Paul Brewing has perhaps the best patio in all of Minnesota. Part of the old Hamm’s brewery complex, the beer garden sits in the brewery’s stable ruins, with an eclectic mix of decor like surfboard tables, a canoe fire pit with pint glass holders welded to the side, and more. Tasty wood-fired pizzas pair well with Shamm’s, an ode to Hamm’s. Or you can just grab a can of the good stuff — a local icon since 1865.

Steel Toe Brewing
St. Louis Park

Arguably Minnesota’s most underrated brewery, Steel Toe has three beers you need to try: Size 7, Size 11 and Sticker Fight. Size 7 is a flagship IPA; Size 11 and Sticker Fight are seasonal releases worth watching for. In addition to these hoppy offerings, Lunker, an English-style barleywine aged in whiskey barrels, is one of the state’s finest beers to rest in oak.

Summit Brewing Company
St. Paul

An OG of the Minnesota beer scene like Schell’s, Summit makes an incredible pilsner — Twins Pils, formerly Keller Pils — that’s perfect lake-cabin beer. Summit’s beer hall, or Ratskeller, is large, and the taproom often has something special on tap. Sága IPA is a seminal hoppy beer for the state. Tours and guided tastings are informative and totally worth it; book ahead through the brewery’s website.

Surly Brewing Co.
Minneapolis

Surly has been synonymous with Minnesota’s beer scene ever since its Furious IPA debut. Its vast beer hall is a true cathedral of beer, boasting a beer garden and two different food menus: a wide range of brewpub offerings downstairs and New Haven-style pizza upstairs. 

It even hosts free shows on its spacious patio and major concerts in an open field. Past acts have included The National, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, Tame Impala and former Minnesotans The Hold Steady.

Surly may be more mainstream than ever, but it’s still pushing out big, creative beers. Check the rotating tap list for releases beyond the familiar flagships.

Town Hall Brewery
Minneapolis

A boon for beer and food lovers, Town Hall is a lunch and dinner destination. Blackened walleye and wild rice hot dish with Masala Mama IPA is a winning combo. Town Hall is also a destination for cask-conditioned beer, with its softer carbonation and creamy mouthfeel. Its barrel-aged releases are worth seeking out, too.

Urban Growler Brewing
St. Paul

Minnesota’s first women-owned microbrewery? Check. A Cowbell Cream Ale that will delight neighboring Wisconsin’s Spotted Cow fans? Check. A Friday fish fry giving off Wisconsin supper club vibes? Check, check, check. While fish and cream ale are great, Urban Growler — practically a stone’s throw from Bang — features a full food menu, rotating beers and a spacious beer garden.

Utepils Brewing
Minneapolis

This brewery’s massive taproom and creekside beer garden evoke the feeling of drinking in Germany, which makes sense as many of its beers are interpretations of traditional European styles, like Bavarian hefeweizen and Czech pilsner. Utepils sits along Bassett Creek between Minneapolis’ Harrison and Bryn Mawr neighborhoods. Check the food truck calendar if you’d like something to eat with your beer.

Venn Brewing Co.
Minneapolis

Venn’s logo depicts an arctic fox, a fitting mascot for this Minnesota neighborhood brewery. Located near the mighty Minnehaha Falls, Venn makes beer and coffee, with a rotating lineup that spans traditional styles and hazy IPAs. Swing by for a honey-kissed miel during coffee service and return for a pint in the evening. Venn is also near the Blue Line’s 46th Street Station if you’d like to leave your car at home.

Wabasha Brewing
St. Paul

You can tour the nearby Wabasha Street Caves for some local history and stop at Wabasha Brewing afterward for its delectable West Side Popper, a jalapeño cream ale. Close to downtown St. Paul, this West Side neighborhood brewery also offers rotating beers, outdoor seating and visiting food trucks.

Wandering Leaf Brewing Co.
St. Paul

Live plants and huge windows transform this strip-mall brewery into a place of wonder. The ambiance and liveliness of Wandering Leaf’s green taproom are made better while enjoying a pint from its rotating beer list. With both a dog- and kid-friendly environment, it’s an easy place to settle in. Swing next door to Soul Lao for takeout to enjoy with your beer; outside food is welcome.