Former Town Hall Brewer to Lead New NE Mpls. Brewery

Indeed Brewing Company expects to open a 12,000-square-foot brewery this summer, as well as a 1,500-square-foot "taproom," from which it will sell pints of its beer.

Yet another microbrewery is gearing up to launch in Minneapolis-a city with a seemingly endless appetite for craft beer.

Indeed Brewing Company announced Monday that it is setting up shop in the heart of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District this summer.

The brewery will be located at 711 15th Avenue Northeast in Minneapolis, in what is known as the Solar Arts Building. It will have an initial capacity of 3,800 barrels.

Indeed intends to open a 12,000-square-foot brewery, from which it will self-distribute its flagship craft beers to retailers and restaurants, as well as a 1,500-square-foot “taproom” with an adjoining patio, from which it will serve pints to patrons.

Such an operation was previously prohibited under longstanding Minnesota liquor laws, which didn't allow breweries that produced beer commercially to also sell pints of beer on their premises. Brooklyn Center-based Surly Brewing Company led the charge to change the law, and Governor Mark Dayton signed the so-called “Surly Bill” in May, creating a new “taproom license” that allows the state's beer makers to sell pints at their breweries.

“We want our taproom to be a hub for all things Indeed, like a living room for our brewery, so we can invite people in to get to know us and our beer,” Indeed co-founder Tom Whisenand said in a statement.

Indeed said it will brew “hop-forward, adventurous beers for adventurous drinkers-think chipotle-smoked porter.” The beers will be sold in six-packs of 12-ounce cans, unlike most micro-brews but not unprecedented: Surly's beers come in four-packs of 16-ounce cans.

The brewery's three co-founders—Whisenand, Rachel Anderson, and Nathan Berndt—brought on Josh Bischoff to lead production. He was a lead brewer at Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery for eight years and received numerous awards for his often experimental concoctions.