Castle Danger Brewery -- Two Harbors, MN

[Smithy]

20 years ago, or more, when I lived in the unincorporated community of Castle Danger, a neighbor started up a brewery in his garage. He and his wife made good beers: lagers, ales, stouts, always in small batches (as befits a garage startup!) and always interesting to taste. My husband and I became fans. Eventually they expanded their microbrewery and opened a taproom in the nearby town of Two Harbors. We stop by there once in a while to see what's out, maybe buy a growler or two worth of different beers, and decide whether to indulge in a keg.

 

I didn't think to take a photo of the exterior! My excuse is that I didn't think about doing a post like this until we were inside and enjoying ourselves for the umpteenth time. The place is worth showing off.

 

This was the first surprise to us:

 

 

 

12 years! I had no idea they'd been in that location so long. And we were there for party weekend! And the weather was nice!

 

The taproom is spacious. The wall lists their current offerings, some seasonal and some year-round. Check out the taps!

 

 

The interior has a lot of tables where folks can sit, sip and eat food if they've brought it in. A nearby pizza joint delivers. A bistro is across the street. There's usually a food truck outside in the courtyard.

 

The interior decorations feature labels from their various brews. I've always loved the artwork. 

 

Two of my favorite labels:

 

 

 

Outside, on the deck, they have a wall listing brews they no longer make:

 

 

The deck has a stairway to a lawn-level courtyard where people can be close to the food truck. There are games to be played (bean bag toss; board games like Scrabble) and the place is very family-friendly as well as dog-friendly. 

 

 

 

These women are my heroes! They kept busy the whole time we were there. They weren't showing off for my camera, either: this is the way they generally carried the glasses.

 

One was good enough to stop and let me get the back of her shirt. Then, because I was a bit slow on the uptake, she explained the joke to me. 🙂

 

 

(It really is their middle name!)

 

Gotta love a place with a monthly literary event in a town of 3600 people.

 

 

We enjoyed our glasses of Castle Danger Cream Ale (a year-round brew) and their Oktoberfest offering, that had just come out: Maple Märzen. I would haven't selected that if I'd known about the maple, so I'm glad I ordered in ignorance. The maple flavoring is subtle, giving just a bare hint of sweetness to the brew.

 

We came home with a growler of each of those. We'll be picking up a keg of the Castle Danger Cream Ale today.

 

If you're ever up this way, I highly recommend a stop at the Castle Danger Brewery. I have no financial interest in them, but I love to see a local business make good.

[lindag]

Definitely my kind of place.  Wish I was there.