56 Brewing

It was so difficult to find the entrance! Parking is kinda all over the place which is perfect for people who can never stay between the lines anyway. Walked in on a cold Saturday winter afternoon.
Groupon led us to this place. I love beer tasting. We were greeted immediately and started sampling as soon as we showed our IDs. I loved their NE nectar and got a growler. It’s a cool spot.
They are an off-​sale brewery so they cannot serve you pints. If you have a problem with standing around and tasting beer, don’t go here. If you’re looking for some great tasting locally brewed IPAs, Ales, and lagers, this is for you.

I just wanted to post an update since I was here over the weekend. Compared to when they first opened, I can say that the beer quality and taste has definitely improved. They’re coming into their own as a new budding brewery. Keep up the good work guys!

Our first visit was good. Friendly and talked about beers. So we invited my sister & husband to join us to try it. When we arrived I believe the owner was there pouring. He was not friendly, acting like we were an inconvenience and we did not feel welcome we had our tastes and each bought a growler but don’t feel like we want to go back.

I still haven’t quite decided how I feel about 56. I really want to like them more than three stars, but I just can’t quite do it.
On one hand (we’ll start with the positives) THEY ARE SO DOG FRIENDLY! Not only did pup get to join us, but he also got to get spoiled rotten. One of the owners uses the spent hops to make dog treats. Idk. Tyson says they’re delicious.
Further, the only beer I found un-​drinkable was the lager, but I find most lagers undrinkable so I can’t really blame them for that.
They sell itty bitty 750ml growlers. Perfect for those afternoons that no one wants to share with you and you don’t want to try to drink a gallon of a stout. I will legit probably return just for this purpose.
My beef comes in where the ambiance is concerned. There weren’t many people there when we were there, but there still wasn’t anywhere to be. There’s counter space for about six people to stand. I think there was a seating area off to the side, but they can’t sell pints because of some licensing technicality so what’re you going to do? Walk away from the bar with your little tasting glass? It stinks because it’s really not their fault, just a matter of timing. But it would be significantly nicer to be able to sit and relax.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how this place develops over the next year.

Island Boy and I ventured off to this little brewery tucked away in an industrial area of NE Mpls last week. We had called ahead to make sure our dog was welcome to join us, and we were assured they were dog-​friendly, so we put paws to the pavement and headed over.
Not only are they dog-friendly…they actually have a dog… there…IN THE BREWERY!!! How cool is that?! Zeus, who belongs to one of the owners, is an 8 month old German Shepard puppy (and I use the term «puppy» loosely, because he’s a big boy), and he was incredibly friendly and welcoming of our dog, Haley. 56 Brewing also makes their own «56 Brew Bites», which are dog treats made from the spent grains they use in the brewing process. Haley couldn’t have been happier – I think she suckered them into giving her at least 3 from the sample jar, and we bought 2 bags for later.
Thankfully while Haley was scarfing down brew bites and palling around with Zeus, they had beer for us human folk to sip on. They don’t yet have a taproom license, so you can’t actually buy flights or pints yet, but they’ll gladly give you free (yes, FREE!) samples so you can determine which beer you might want to purchase a growler of. We tasted the following signature brews during our visit:
Lake Sandy Rye — Rye Lager
NE Nectar — Honey Kolsch
Polonaise APA — American Pale Ale
Dark Territory — Dark Chocolate Coconut Stout
All 4 were what I would consider «drinkable», which is saying a lot, because usually there’s at least one «dog» in the bunch (no offense to my canine friends). The only one I probably wouldn’t order a pint of is the NE Nectar. Dark Territory was our favorite, so we took a growler home with us. After all, the dog got brew bites… how could we go home empty handed? The Polanaise APA is a very good pale ale (not too hoppy), and the Lake Sandy Rye was surprisingly delicious for how light it is (in color, not ABV… it actually has one of the highest alcohol contents of any of their beers). I would happily order a pint of either one of them when they get their taproom license (which is expected to come through in late July/​early August).
The owners are very sociable and you can tell they’re really passionate about what they’re doing, which is awesome to see. We’ll definitely be back and are excited for the taproom to open! In the meantime, we’ll probably grab a pint or two at one of the local bars pouring their beer. (Check out the «On Tap» link on their website if you want to grab one too). Cheers!
At a glance:
*Good beer
*Awesome people
*Dog-​Friendly
*Only samples and growler fills for now, hope to be serving pints come midsummer.
*They pre-​fill their growlers, but will accept growlers from other breweries so you don’t have to pay the deposit with a fill, and they’ll fill souvenir growlers (like the stainless steel ones)!

A great addition to the NE Brew scene! Free samples, growler sales, and super nice people ready to share their story… 5 stars when we come back for an IPA

A sense of adventure — that’s what I was feeling when approaching and trying to find this new brewery addition to NE Mpls. The St. Anthony Blvd. bridge over the RR tracks was closed. California St looked like it hadn’t been repaved since California became a state. Where are the signs for 56 Brewery? There they are! Would my adventure be rewarded? Yes!!! There it is!!!
This new brewery (opened in early May 2015) reminds me why we liked starting to visit breweries in the first place. Unexpected location, great people (very friendly), great beer. It felt like driving up to a friend’s garage. Although in this case, the beer kegs were a bit bigger. :)
When I was there they had 4 beers available, provided free samples, growlers and mini-​growlers for sale, no on-​sale just yet. They stated their taproom will be ready/​open this summer — date TBD. I bought a ‘mini’ of the Lake Shandy Rye. Quite tasty.
So, my adventure was rewarded. I think yours will be too if you dare to take on the California St pot hole challenge.