1. Padraigs Brewing

945 Broadway St NE
Parking: Lot and street
Food: Rotating food trucks, frozen pub pizza, snacks

We begin at The Broadway Building with the newest brewery in Northeast, Padraigs is an Irish-themed brewery that makes modern craft beer with traditional ingredients from Ireland and the UK. The space is artsy-industrial inside The Broadway Building (with neighbors that include the eco-friendly Tare Market, Spyhouse coffee, and yoga). The brewhouse on the south side of the taproom is roped off, while a classic wooden bar lines the northern wall. At Padraigs you’ll get a pub experience with simple ambiance that feels relaxed and jovial, tucked into a cozy urban corner, with just enough quirk to set it apart. The brewery has four year round beers and a rotating variety of small batch and seasonal options, as well as Coke products, THC drinks, and other nonalcoholic options.

What to drink

You almost have to start your Irish flight with a stout, right? The brewery’s Honey Almond Dry Stout was recognized in the 2024 Minnesota Brewers Cup awards. This mostly traditional stout offers a body of toasted malt and bitter coffee flavors with a milky body, complemented by notes of rich cocoa, nuttiness, and cappuccino, fitting the style while offering subtle depth. Honey Blonde is a light-hued option that is bready with flavors of biscuit and cracker that finishes with a pleasant blend of light honey, mild citrus, and a slightly bitter bite.

2. Bauhaus Brew Labs

1315 Tyler St NE
Parking: Large lot and street
Food: Food trucks (Animales Barbeque, April-November)

Set off the main road of Tyler Avenue, Bauhaus offers a unique industrial beer garden space that is both modern, vibrant, and social while maintaining its railside industrial history. Making American craft-inspired takes on German-style beer, the brewery has four core beers and varied rotating seasonal offerings. They also serve the Nah brand of nonalcoholic beers, Tetra THC/CBD drinks, plus draft root beer and a kombucha option.

What to drink

Play Grade is their newest year round beer, a bubbly and bright cream ale with easy drinking bread and corn flavors and a quick flash of citrus at the start. It’s a seemingly simple beer with a delicate hop touch at the start and finish: light in body but big in flavor. Guavatron gose is a fruited sour ale that’s naturally tart with a salty finish. Peach in color, it’s sour but with a natural guava sweetness for balance. Lounge Wizard juicy pale ale is also a good representation of the style with a little lower ABV than many hazies.

3. Indeed Brewing Company

711 NE 15th Ave
Parking: Small lot and street, plus nearby paid/validation parking options
Food: Thunder Chicken by Revival food truck residency (spring-summer), snacks, Donut Trap vending machine

Indeed is a senior member of the Northeast brewery scene, located in the Solar Arts Building, a historic and eco-friendly building that also hosts artist studios and an events space. Between its historic brick charm and railroad adjacent setting, it sets a cozy yet unique experience with an old fashioned bar and brick décor adorned by the work of artist Chuck U. In addition to five core beers, the brewery has the rotating Wooden Soul mixed culture sour line of beers, multiple THC options, in-house nonalcoholic beers, hop water, and kombucha. The brewery also hosts frequent charity events and offers early bird and late night specials

What to drink

Perhaps their most unique beer, Pistachio Cream Ale is a traditional cream ale made with pistachio flavoring to compliment its naturally nutty profile. This beer is light and easy drinking on tongue, but with a new twist that brings out a bigger, richer, earthier element. It is soothing and toasty, but not so heavy like the malt-forward beers that usually get that description. An imperial version is also available. Another highly unique beer with both a regular and imperial version is Mexican Honey. Mexican Honey Light Lager is a bit misleading, as the brewery began with the bigger imperial version and then made this “light” 5.2% ABV lager. The Mexican orange blossom honey perfectly merges with the dry cracker bite of a lager, adding slightly sweet wildflower and orange notes. Indeed also does hoppy very well. Day Tripper pale ale launched their brand, and Flavorwave IPA is a resinous, citrus-forward offering.

4. Sociable Cider Werks

1500 Filmore St NE
Parking: Lot and street
Food: So & So's resident food truck (MN Street Food)

Sociable Cider Werks has a central bike theme throughout its branding and its taproom, with bike wheel light fixtures and a lineup of beverages named after the timeless activity. They are also unique as they are both a cidery and a brewery, making their own cider with fresh pressed apples and also serving a selection of housemade beers. Continuing the diverse lineup, Sociable also serves hard seltzer, their own THC products, and nonalcoholic beverages. The exact details vary based on timing, but they have 16 taps with approximately 12 ciders, plus beer and nonalcoholic options. All their ciders are gluten free.

What to drink

As their name implies, the theme at Sociable is welcoming and accessible. Their core ciders aim to please both cider aficionados and first timers, with semi-sweet and semi-dry profiles. They make more ciders at each extreme, plus experimental and fruited ciders like the pink raspberry-ish Road Rash Raspberry Lemon or the seasonal cucumber and habanero pepper Burnout, and the rotating fruited De Tour series. Freewheeler is the core brand, a dry apple cider with a touch of hopped sorghum. It’s golden in color and very bubbly. The first and last impressions are both quite dry, with a slightly sweeter point in the middle, balanced with subtle earthy and citrus notes. It’s light and crisp, apple-y without overpowering. Training Wheels is a hazy cider with tart, acidic notes, pear sweetness, and a jammy blueberry component. It’s fruity and flavorful.

5. Fair State Brewing Cooperative

2506 Central Ave NE
Parking: Street
Food: Francis Burger Joint delivers, hot dogs and pub pizza

Less than one mile north from the breweries in central Northeast you’ll find Fair State, a neighborhood brewery nested positioned between a wide variety of locally owned restaurants, bike shops and more. The cooperative-model brewery boasts more than 2,000 members and also has a larger brewery where they make more beer for distribution. Fair State is rooted in German-style brewing but makes a variety of styles from lager to sour to hazy IPA. They have six year-round beers and release new taproom beers weekly. The taproom also has a backyard-style beer garden in the warming months. On select dates, discounts are available to coop members and union members. They also make Chill State THC seltzer and multiple hop water recipes.

What to drink

Fair State has three regular IPAs. Big Doinks is a dank West Coast-style IPA. Mirror Universe is a bold hazy IPA. Party Forward hazy is big and juicy, but somewhat pithy, with a seamless transition from sweet and tropical flavors toward more bitter citrus at the finish with a thick and fizzy body. Meanwhile, Roselle is a hibiscus kettle sour. This reddish-copper beer is sour and tart, but with a natural hibiscus balance of herbal sweetness. It’s both fruity and floral, but with a definitive beer base.

6. 56 Brewing

3055 NE Columbia Ave Suite 102
Parking: Street
Food: Rotating food trucks and vendors

Located in the Marshall Terrace neighborhood and just off the Mississippi River, 56 is a neighborhood taproom that offers a comfortable atmosphere that merges the aesthetic of a fancy garage workshop with the spirit of the outdoors, primarily stainless steel and natural woodworking. WIth a large bar, an upper mezzanine, and an overflow event space, it has something for everyone (including pinball), all centered around an L-shaped bar with the brewhouse in back. There is an open courtyard/patio, and Marshall Terrace Community Garden next door, giving a green touch to the industrial surroundings. In addition to a diverse lineup of beer, they also serve hard seltzer, Acre THC seltzer, nonalcoholic beer, and kombucha and soda. They also have a Monday-Thursday afternoon happy hour.

What to drink

‘Ssippi Squeeze is their most popular beer, also selling a double Super Squeeze double IPA at times. Regular ‘Ssippi Squeeze is a juicy IPA made with Citra and Mosaic hops, giving it notes of orange juice, grapefruit, and citrus peel with a light medley of tropical fruit flavors as well. Razzy Lil’ Pucker is a raspberry sour ale that is effervescent and crisp with tartness to start and finishing berry sweet. Other regular beers include a West Coast-style IPA and cream ale.

7. Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative

1712 Marshall St NE Suite 100
Parking: Lot and street parking
Food: Unidos Food Co

Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, this cooperative brewery has a local, almost family feel with an in-house kitchen, board games, pinball, darts and more activities in an open floorplan that allows a build-your-own experience, whether you’re there for a pint or a a party. They also have a full coffeeshop onsite, plus nonalcoholic beer, NA cocktails, kids juice boxes, and more, besides their four core year round beers and several seasonals and one-offs.

What to drink

The beer covers American craft styles, ranging from IPA to kettle sour ales to lagers. Red Coats is an original recipe that has stuck around. This New England-style IPA with blood orange is thick and hazy with a soft body. The juicy IPA offers a medley of fruity flavors, blending tropical and citrus flavors seamlessly. Down By the River is a full body golden lager that doesn’t hold back on flavor. It’s a classic lager with additional toasty flavors, plus light citrus and floral notes. Onsite, Mic Czech Pilsner is available via side pull tap.

8. HeadFlyer Brewing

861 E Hennepin Ave #100
Parking: Lot and street
Food: Rotating food trucks, snacks

In the Beltrami neighborhood of Northeast, HeadFlyer is arguably the closest to downtown and is easily accessible from the Hennepin Ave exit off I-35W, with a street facing brewery and patio in the historic Miller Textile Building. The building also hosts Five Watt coffee and Northland Visions, a Native American goods shop. Inside, HeadFlyer offers a modern pub vibe with equally modern craft beer. They also serve Everyday THC seltzers, canned nonalcoholic beer, locally made soda, sparkling lemonade, and hard seltzer cocktails.

What to drink

The brewery pours many styles, but their hazies stand out. Wicked Jump Shot is a hazy pale ale at 5.8% ABV. It Was All A Dream is a bigger option. This 7.2% AHV double dry-hopped IPA with big juicy notes and a soft, pillowy body that combines flavors of pineapple, papaya, grapefruit, and citrus in a big, bold beer. On the malty side, Vanilla Bean Porter is dark in color with an unmistakable vanilla addition that compliments without defining the beer. Expect malty coffee and toast flavors, but with a sweet creamy vanilla presence and a light enough body that makes this porter suitable for any season.

9. Insight Brewing

2821 E Hennepin Ave
Parking: Lot and street
Food: Rotating food trucks, frozen pub pizza, snacks

This space near the Roseville and Saint Paul border in a more industrial pocket, has an open, spacious atmosphere with a colorfully displayed brewhouse behind windows. Nearby residential hosts both University of Minnesota students and long-term residents, with a neighborhood feel inside. The midsized space suits individuals and groups well. In addition to beer, they also serve soda and kombucha nonalcoholic options in addition to five year-round beers and several rotating options.

What to drink

Generally speaking, Insight’s beers are inspired by traditional recipes, while embracing innovative technology and international ingredients. Avant is a dry-hopped Pilsner lager. At 5.0% ABV this crisp and bubbly beer has an accessible lager flavor. The dry-hop twist gives it a modestly hoppy finish. Drift is a West Coast-style IPA that offers a hoppy experience but with malt balance. The beer is bitter and crisp, with toasted malt meets piney hop flavors and subtle orange and resin notes. Banshee Cutter golden ale on nitro is a smooth and light coffee beer that offers something different.

10. Falling Knife Brewing Company

783 Harding St NE #100
Parking: Lot and street
Food: Wrecktangle Pizza food truck residency (Tuesday-Sunday year-round)

Set apart from the core commercial corridors, Falling Knife is an oasis among industry near Highways 36 and 280 and I-35W. The brewery pours an even mix of traditional lagers and hype-worthy IPAs, plus everything in between. They also serve several nonalcoholic options and have their own THC drinks. The atmosphere is a classic, comfortable pub with a free jukebox full of classic indie hits. They frequently host Timberwolves-themed events during NBA season.

What to drink

Verbal Tip New England-style IPA is popular, as is Daydreaming hazy citra pale ale. Going even bigger, All Sunshine is a similar offering, a juicy double dry-hopped double IPA that features Citra hops. It’s fizzy with bold tropical fruit flavors and notes of pineapple, guava, passion fruit, and mandarin orange, finished with a papaya-like sweetness and just a hint of bitterness to bite it off. Going as classic as it gets, Tomm’s “Classic American Lager Beer,” has a cursive baseball jersey font that highlights its familiar flavors. Light gold in color and bubbly, this crisp lager has notes of bread, cracker, and cereal grain. It’s a classic barley pop, but with a fresher, cleaner flavor that you remember.