Utepils Brewing Company

Visited on a Wednesday evening. Located in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood, right next to the abandoned Glenwood grain silo. The parking is by the brewery, or on the street up above the brewery. First thing you notice about Utepils is how massive it is. Food truck in the parking lot, a room full of people watching soccer to the right, and a long ramp up to the main beer hall. Just past the beer hall is a massive beer garden, with seats scattered about and a view over a pond. The beer selection was 16 house beers, about half of which are German styles, the rest more traditional American brewpub. Order at the inside bar, or in the beer garden. Place was crowded, service was attentive and quick. Well worth the visit, this was an ambitious project. Locals should check it out, visitors with extended time. I only use the total score, not the component parts.

I have been here before, but apparently forgot to rate it, so here goes. This is a bit out of the way, large lot, huge space if you include the brewing area. Large bar and a plenty of table seating as well. Bathrooms down the hall back toward the entrance. Friendly waitstaff. I was waiting patiently for one guy to wash a growler and when he looked up he apologized for the delay and gave me a free pour(!) They must have a large fraction of "regulars" in the lineup, because most of the beers were on tap when I was here two years ago. I did find a few new ones tho, and was generally impressed with the overall quality. Lager specialists are not common in the IPA-crazed craft beer scene these days - kudos for having success off the beaten path.

Decent sized brew hall with plenty of seating and decent sized bar area. Beers were very solid and fairly priced. Their brewski flight is rack is pretty cool. The only drawback is the parking lot is shared with there industrial neighbors and in poor condition. There is some additional parking a short walk away though. No food but they have regular food trucks. Nice place and definitely worth a visit.

A cavernous industrial factory that is then decorated in a way to make it feel like you’re on a cozy patio. Beer quality is pretty great. Nothing is poorly made, at worst a little light on flavor/aroma. A fair complaint is a limited variety. Their first seasonal is a filtered version of thei Hefe. But what they do, they do well. Prices are excellent. $14 for a flight of five, but they seem like 5 or 6 oz pours. A ’short pour’ is $3.50 and seems like 12 oz. I can see them stagnating and not branching into enough different beers, but then again, they will probably be great at making the beer they do and having a beer hall full of people there for the vibe.

Absolutely huge room. Weird folksy paintings in a Scandinavian theme of sorts. The beer garden should be one of the nicest environments to enjoy a pint in the city, given the building’s location on an old long-unused road that is now within Bassett Creek park. The tap lineup remains limited and will likely stay that way; solidly done German styles, but making a not-great Belgian IPA is trying to make a circle a square in this situation. I probably don’t feel as positive about the high quality of their German offerings as others, but their isn’t anything negative here by any means.

Stopped in opening day to a packed brewpub. Warehouse setting. Live music today. Beers were reasonable priced at $5. I did not care for the IPA, the other beers were solid. it is a nice place, and I look forward to the beer garden.

A huge taproom with nice finishes. Clearly a lot of money in this place. Service was good once you realize there are two lines. They had 5 beers on tap but they ranged from solid to very good. No food on site but they have food trucks. Prices were decent. Excited to see what this place can be.

Utepils is an impressive, expensive operation that has hit the ground running at admirable speed. My visit during their soft-opening left me very encouraged about their prospects of becoming one of the Twin Cities’ best beer destinations. The taproom itself is massive, yet warm and comfortable. The warehouse setup allows space for a couple of hundred people. It looks like a patio will be available for the summer months, too. Beers on tap were limited during my visit (Belgian IPA, Hefe, Kolsch), though all were impressively sound and well executed. The Hefeweizen in particular was the standout – it’s easily one of the best new local beers I’ve had this year, and I say that as someone who generally doesn’t like the style. I can’t wait to see what other old world German recipes these guys roll-out in the coming months. Overall, this place is definitely one to keep an eye one. Strongly recommended.

Off the top of my head I can’t think of another Minnesota tap room that has better ambiance than Utepils. Assuming they have plans to develop an outdoor patio this will be one of the more enjoyable places to drink locally made craft beer in the Twin Cities. All 3 of the beers they had on, hefeweizen, Kolsch and Belgian IPA, were excellent, with the hef the best example of the style. Their tap list is due to expand significantly in the coming months. They already have a full schedule of food trucks, and at least during the winter months have somebody inside taking your order and then bringing your food to your table. As long as their future beers stay at or above the quality of the initial offerings, this place is sure to be big success.

Just opened, only 3 beers on now, but this will be a gem of a spot and my rating will be updated once they are rolling. Sweet taproom - so much character for a ’big beer hall’ kind of space. Seating is right around the equipment. The top of a monster brew kettle was repurposed as a light over the bar. The Hefeweizen is excellent. This is going to be a great place.