Beer of the Weekend #433: Mankato Original
While stranded in Faribault, I browsed the pages of an alternative paper and found a profile of the Mankato Brewery in Mankato. It piqued my interest because Bobblehead and his wife met and studied in Mankato. Though I assumed the brewery only distributed kegs, I found sixers of Mankato brew at the nearby Haskell’s in the morning. Woo hoo! (Lame story, but whatever. Autobiography via beer!)
The beer of the weekend is Mankato Original, brewed by the Mankato Brewery Inc. of North Mankato, Minnesota.
My stange comes in handy once again!
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The “ENJOY BY” date printed on the label is “02.10.13.”
Appearance: Poured into a stange. The color is clear, golden straw. Two-and-a-half fingers of fluffy, white foam settled unevenly to form a billowy cap and eventually a spotted lacing. Trails of foam remained stuck to the glass.
Smell: It smells like grainy, Minnesota lager. Metallic, floral, earthy, and a touch fruity. It also has a nice splash of lemon zest. This bottle is at the end of its shelf life and there is a hint of cardboard. Honestly, the smell is neither appealing nor enticing.
Taste: The flavors are still pretty sharp. Pale malts, floral and earthy hops, lemon, and strawberry. It has a nice, astringent bitterness that coats the mouth along with the lemon citrus.
Drinkability: I really wish I would have been more vigilant and bought a fresher sixer. This is not the best first impression, but at some point I will have an opportunity to try M.O. again and will definitely take it.
Fun facts about “M.O.” (as the brewery calls it):
-Style: The beer’s webpage says it is “an homage to the traditional top-fermented beers of Cologne, Germany” — i.e., kölsch.
-Price: $8.99/sixer at the Haskell’s on Lavender Parkway in Faribault, Minnesota.
-Serving temperature: 40-45ºF.
-Alcohol content: 4.8 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: The beer’s webpage says “it will compliment a wide variety of foods from pizza to sausages and sauerkraut. It will also pair well with cheeses like Muenster, Edam and Gouda.”
-Founded in 2010, the Mankato Brewery is the first brewery in the Key City since 1967.
-Also noteworthy is the fact that the label shows the ideal glassware, which is of course a stange.
The Quiet Man’s grade: C+.
The beer of the weekend is Mankato Original, brewed by the Mankato Brewery Inc. of North Mankato, Minnesota.
My stange comes in handy once again!
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The “ENJOY BY” date printed on the label is “02.10.13.”
Appearance: Poured into a stange. The color is clear, golden straw. Two-and-a-half fingers of fluffy, white foam settled unevenly to form a billowy cap and eventually a spotted lacing. Trails of foam remained stuck to the glass.
Smell: It smells like grainy, Minnesota lager. Metallic, floral, earthy, and a touch fruity. It also has a nice splash of lemon zest. This bottle is at the end of its shelf life and there is a hint of cardboard. Honestly, the smell is neither appealing nor enticing.
Taste: The flavors are still pretty sharp. Pale malts, floral and earthy hops, lemon, and strawberry. It has a nice, astringent bitterness that coats the mouth along with the lemon citrus.
Drinkability: I really wish I would have been more vigilant and bought a fresher sixer. This is not the best first impression, but at some point I will have an opportunity to try M.O. again and will definitely take it.
Fun facts about “M.O.” (as the brewery calls it):
-Style: The beer’s webpage says it is “an homage to the traditional top-fermented beers of Cologne, Germany” — i.e., kölsch.
-Price: $8.99/sixer at the Haskell’s on Lavender Parkway in Faribault, Minnesota.
-Serving temperature: 40-45ºF.
-Alcohol content: 4.8 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: The beer’s webpage says “it will compliment a wide variety of foods from pizza to sausages and sauerkraut. It will also pair well with cheeses like Muenster, Edam and Gouda.”
-Founded in 2010, the Mankato Brewery is the first brewery in the Key City since 1967.
-Also noteworthy is the fact that the label shows the ideal glassware, which is of course a stange.
The Quiet Man’s grade: C+.
