If you want to find a brewery in Minnesota, there is no better place to start looking then in our own West 7th Neighborhood which has been a popular area for brewing since the beginning of Minnesota. Brewing was going on as early as the 1850′s in what is now the Twin Cities metro area.  Tours can be a great way to spend and afternoon and find out more about one of America’s favorite pastimes.  But without further ado, here are some of the local brewery tours (and one further away if you have time on your hands.)

Summit Brewing Company

910 Montreal Circle, St. Paul, MN 55102

Phone: (651) 265-7800 Business Hours are 8 am – 5pm.

The good news is you can sign up for these tours online. The bad news is the tour times are Tues or Thurs at 1:00 Pm. Or Saturday at 10:30 am or 1:00 Pm.  Reserve a Tour HERE! Reservations are required for all tours, with many of the Saturday tours being booked well into the future several months out. The tour usually takes less than an hour then you get to sample 3 – 8 oz beers which is usually enough to make the rest of your day non-productive.

Rating: I would rate this brewery tour somewhere in the two – three stars range due to the very short tour with very modernized equipment. It’s worth going to, but definitely more of a high-end brewing setup than some of the giants in the business.

Flat Earth Brewing Company

2035 Benson Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55116

Phone: (651) 698-1945

This is another staple brewery open for tours in the West 7th Area. They also require reservations online by emailing tour@flatearthbrewing.com. Probably better suited to the workers schedule, their tours are on 4pm on Saturdays. Not as well known as Summit just located up Ford Road, you can usually sign up for a brewery tour 2 weeks away instead of months in advance.  They offer up a unique series of  beer, with very few if any being of the watered down variety.

Rating: I would like to rate this tour, but I haven’t been able to make it to a tour yet. Hopefully, I can accomplish this in the next few weeks and get back to you with the ups and downs of the tour.

August Schell Brewing Company

1860 Schell Road New Ulm, MN 56073
Phone: (800) 770-5020

Brewery Tours:
September – May
Friday 3:00 pm
Saturday: Noon, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00
Sunday (Sept. – Dec.): 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00
Sunday (Jan. – May): 1:00

Cost: $3.00

This is a larger scale brewery, and with that comes the higher quality tour. Due to most of the areas being built to make beer, not for tours, you don’t get to see many parts of the actual factory. As most tours though it’s quite informative and is a it’s a nice drive down to New Ulm if you have the time.

Rating: I would put this in the 3 stars category. It is done quite well and something to see if you are looking to tour a major brewery in Minnesota.

If you are looking for a specific MN brewery tour, you can find out more information here.