Surly Brewery - (Malcolm Avenue & 5th Street SE)

[mattaudio]

What's the reason for the new building anyways? To squeeze a taproom into the same facility as a medium sized production brewery? It seems like the small tap rooms in old industrial spaces have character and are actual destinations.

[mamundsen]

I was expecting something closer to what Stone Brewing has in San Diego.

Amazing photos.

https://www.google.com/search?q=stone+b ... 65&bih=725

[talindsay]

I dunno. I think the dark color scheme and gloomy atmosphere is interesting. It's almost angry, maybe even a bit annoyed. Unfortunately, slightly off-putting, bad-tempered, and unfriendly doesn't necessarily scream "beer party time!"

Wait, you mean their architectural rendering looks... SURLY?

[mister.shoes]

*ding ding ding!*

Achievement unlocked: mild internet sarcasm successfully detected.

[lordmoke]

Site plans and renderings from the CoW agenda:
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 113335.pdf

[MNdible]

They need to buy those silos next door -- I always assumed that they were part of the Surly parcel.

[Nathan]

Me too!

I think the design looks great, now build it already!!! I want some beer in me!

[talindsay]

Gotta love how they dedicate lots of space to parking for individual private cars in a place dedicated to drinking that's also two blocks from a major transit station. I'm not pointing the finger at Surly specifically, as this is the norm and the expectation in the Midwest, but to me it's absurd to design a facility primarily aimed at *DRINKING* for people to drive themselves to and from the facility. Downplay (don't eliminate) the parking, play up the public transit options, maybe put up a small taxi stand.

[MNdible]

Considering that the capacity of the facility is 850 people, excluding employees, I don't think that the parking is excessive.

[mullen]

this is cool to see construction in a couple months. the site is huge. walked down there in that area a few weeks ago.

i don't find this parking proposal out of the ordinary for a destination of this size and reach.

[woofner]

It is supposed to be an event center, so hopefully the parking lot will be mostly empty when there is no event (yeah right). But do they really expect hundreds of tourists a day to drive to this site? I'd bet that there are people who've lived in Minneapolis city limits their whole lives who will get lost trying to find this place.

On a related note,does anyone know if the U of M plans to add a bus stop on the transitway at 29th Ave?

[seanrichardryan]

They have a large event center and restaurant planned in addition to the beer hall. They'll probably need the parking if they plan on renting those spaces out. Besides, I'm sure many of the spots will be occupied by party buses & pedal pubs.

[MNdible]

They (Surly) clearly see themselves in competition with the likes of Stone Brewing, located (well) outside of San Diego in an unremarkable suburban office park. In spite of its location, the place was surprisingly full of tourists on the random weekday when I visited.

Destination Brewery!

[woofner]

And I don't doubt it will be a destination in a part of the country where beer is the closest thing to culture. I just mean that I think this location will be difficult to find. Start by taking the freeway in the Cities that people are least likely to have heard of. Then take a left at the exit - no, not onto Franklin, take the 2nd left - then go 3/4 mile up a street with a freaking train through the middle of it, then turn right at an unsignalized intersection with no distinguishing characteristics. Try not to get distracted by the 6-story wood frame student ghettos under construction all around you. It might get a bit stressful for Dave from Starbuck.

It would probably be better for them (and us) if they built the parking lot only big enough to accommodate their everyday drunk driver customer base, and contracted with the State Fair or Rosedale for their event parking, then ran shuttles down the transitway to get them to the brewery.

[Nathan]

And I don't doubt it will be a destination in a part of the country where beer is the closest thing to culture. I just mean that I think this location will be difficult to find. Start by taking the freeway in the Cities that people are least likely to have heard of. Then take a left at the exit - no, not onto Franklin, take the 2nd left - then go 3/4 mile up a street with a freaking train through the middle of it, then turn right at an unsignalized intersection with no distinguishing characteristics. Try not to get distracted by the 6-story wood frame student ghettos under construction all around you. It might get a bit stressful for Dave from Starbuck.

It would probably be better for them (and us) if they built the parking lot only big enough to accommodate their everyday drunk driver customer base, and contracted with the State Fair or Rosedale for their event parking, then ran shuttles down the transitway to get them to the brewery.

This was so much ridiculous.

Minnesota/The Twin Cities, is chalk full of culture.

Everyone knows how to drive, and those who don't have a GPS these days, they'll figure it out.

I've been to soooo many breweries across the country on road trips and most if not all were in cool back alley kinds of places. It's a part of the "ambiance"

Also, just because people are going to a beer tasting and dinner doesn't mean they are going to get completely bombed and not be able to drive home.

[woofner]

Everyone knows how to drive, and those who don't have a GPS these days, they'll figure it out.

You know that "they'll figure it out" is the rhetorical equivalent of "nuh-uh" right?

I've been to soooo many breweries across the country on road trips and most if not all were in cool back alley kinds of places. It's a part of the "ambiance"

I acknowledge that you are the once and future king of the breweries. All hail!

Also, just because people are going to a beer tasting and dinner doesn't mean they are going to get completely bombed and not be able to drive home.

I just want to make sure you know that you're claiming here that people who go to a place specifically to drink alcohol are unlikely to get drunk in the process.

Minnesota/The Twin Cities, is chalk full of culture.

Sure, Don Shelby and cat videos, culture, whatever. Plus I'm pretty sure hip hop was invented here.

So, to summarize, everything will be ok because people will be driving drunk while squinting at tiny screens.

[Didier]

I think it's an overstatement to suggest that most people visiting Surly will be there to get completely sloshed.

And anybody who has trouble finding their way to 280 is an idiot.

[talindsay]

I think it's an overstatement to suggest that most people visiting Surly will be there to get completely sloshed.

And anybody who has trouble finding their way to 280 is an idiot.

I agree with you; BUT it's not "completely sloshed" that I, as a road user (on foot, two wheels, four wheels, and transit) am worried about. Those people are pretty obvious. It's the guy who had two or three beers and thinks he's probably fine but isn't quite responding as quickly as he should be. I've never lived in a place that excuses or enables drunk-driving anything like Minnesota; I'd just like to see code and construction acknowledge that we should be discouraging people from driving to a place where they intend to drink more than one drink with a meal. I'm not suggesting people shouldn't be allowed to drive to a place that sells alcohol, or that everybody who drinks gets ripped; 0.08% is a point where many adults believe their judgment is still fine, and we should be encouraging people to consider how they'll get home *before* they start drinking. Making parking more limited should help.

Of course, the counter argument would be to look at the way Psycho Suzie's has almost no parking and lots of space for heavy drinkers, is on a major bus line and close to another, and yet still people block traffic for blocks finding places to park so they can get their drink on. Still, it's at least a start.

[Nathan]

to summarize, everything will be ok because people will be driving drunk while squinting at tiny screens.

All hail the king of snark.

You didn't actually refute anything I said, your whole response was a 'na na na na boo boo'

you should probably get out and learn about some of that MN culture before you become a complete curmudgeon.

I have, as a 26 year old driven through 23 states (in my past 5 legal years, I've been to 49 states total, so cultured.) with the goal of hitting up as many breweries (to TRY their beer and NOT get drunk, but maybe buy some beer to get drunk later) as I could, so maybe yes, I do have some insight on brew pubs. (sorry I didn't qualify myself better.)

[woofner]

I had nothing to refute. I provided 3 reasons why this location would be difficult for people to find, and you just said don't worry about it. You literally wrote "they'll figure it out" without explaining why they'll figure it out. Frankly, your experience with other breweries is not relevant, because a) this location is not those other locations and b) a destination brewery will not be a success if only 26 year old hipsters who grew up with smart phones can find it.

And I'm not saying Surly will be a failure, I'm just saying it might be better for both them and us they find a more creative way to accommodate their out-of-town visitors than paving a quarter of their enormous lot.

As for MN culture, I happen to have 31 years of experience with it and my family has 151 years of experience with it, mostly in the town that has the state's original destination brewery (which is very hard to find, I'll admit, even if your grandparents live just up the hill from it). But the people in that town no longer have informal sausage-making contests on Saturday nights, hardly anyone plays Sheep's Head any more, and one by one the old family shops are closing up Downtown. There's not even a fucking sausage shop left in the whole town! Things are of course even worse in the Cities, most of which never had anything to distinguish it from any other suburb in the country in the first place. Yes it's curmudgeonly, but it's also true and one of the boringest things about the USA that its culture is so heterogeneous. MN is less and less an exception.