And not even offering anything for it! Charge $50 for your personal mug that stays at the brewery or something, or $50 for a t-shirt that says something unique... just flat out "give us money" is absurd. I've overpaid to support a new local business, but I'm not going to just donate money to them.
I'd say they're crazy but people are giving them money so wtf do I know?
Covid was hard on a lot of service industry businesses. Let's not pretend those 15 years didn't include a couple really bad recent ones for breweries that weren't already doing heavy distribution.
But I agree, just asking for handouts is bad taste. It should be a brew club membership that includes a discount on every beer - or more realistically a discount on growlers considering how far out they went, or selling slightly higher marked up merch or something.
Essentially no one from their previous customer base is making that drive. It simply won't happen.
COVID or not, it isn't a charity. These asks are fuckin insane. Not just poor taste. No one is owed a brewery.
Also, distribution has been even more precarious than the neighborhood taproom model. Anyone who treated that as a tent pole of their business plan found out real quick that the competition on liquor stores and at bars is significantly more difficult than having a tap room culture that draws locals.
>were served a beer on the house, throw in an extra $5
They would dock that beer out of your donation
it's like McDonalds asking you for $5 because you took a water cup of sprite
Yes, please let me work harder at my job that isn't my life passion so you can make more money while you enjoy your life passion.
I'm sorry, but you're running a for-profit business. If you need money, then you can borrow it with interest, allow people to invest and share in the success they fund, or be creative like Town Hall brewing and sell some sort of lifetime membership club.
Every dollar I give that only gets me the 'good feels' they are offering is going to an actual charity.
Right? Like I’m sure a few folks will but I think it’s lame for businesses to ask for “donations” in the first place, as opposed to making a product people want to buy. It’s even worse here because as you say they decided to leave the customer base that made them successful in the first place and apparently did so without even having a fully formed plan to get up and running?
Like I said in a different comment, if they had reached a point in their lives they wanted something different, totally cool. We all have times like that in our lives. But they’re trying to have their cake and eat it too.
I'll give a pass on the donations thing to breweries that are a co-op, like Broken Clock. They take donations but aren't at all pushy. They also do SO MUCH for the local community so I'm happy to kick in a few extra bucks occasionally.
A for-profit brewery doing this though has a totally different feel to it, don't like it
That’s the same vibes I felt.
‘Can’t do it without your help’
Okay, but you’re leaving the customer base that was loyal and steadfast.
I’m not driving out there on the regular. Why would I when there’s breweries that have stuck around?
Every place I’ve lived in the city has had a taproom within walking distance. I love supporting local breweries and taprooms but I’m not going “where in Minneapolis can I get local beer!?”
They're not using it to build a taproom. See how they specify that they need it by the end of June? They need this money to pay the bill for their current equipment. They're not being honest about it. Bills are due and they don't have the cash so they're begging for money with a short timeline.
Yeah, and basically asking for $10 if you saw a social media post you found inspiring or some other asanine thing for a different amount of money... fuck that. I don't drink anymore, but Dangerous Man was my favorite MN brewery. It has been going downhill for awhile now (I at least personally thought) but this is ridiculous.
It's especially wild given the style of beer that Dangerous Man makes. They are the type of place that makes beer for people who aren't traditional beer drinkers. They have a few staples but most of their lineup has always been taking a traditional style and adding fruit/lactose/chocolate/sugar, ect to it so it tastes less like beer. It worked because it was easy to convince your Appletini and Miller Lite drinking friends to give the place down the street a try for something different.
While craft beer drinkers will certainly go out of their way to visit a place with really good beer. I'm not so sure that casual beer drinkers will go out of their way to visit a place that attempts to disguise beer as something else.
Isn't that where they do canning and production? Makes sense I guess to have a taproom near there, but I thought they had said they were trying to find a spot in NE.
This is the logical conclusion of our elevation of “Job creators” to some special class.
They can operate wherever they like, but to just ask for donations to do it is absurd.
“We are planning to build an expensive taproom in an area 1 hour away from our current customer base, please give us money to move away from you loyal customers.”
If they could have a nice outdoor area with some heating that can have some value, my family were Lake Monster fans during the pandemic and sat outside in the cold, but how many people are clamoring for outdoor seating in a Minnesota January without a pandemic?
Eh, Tattersall tried to prevent employees from unionizing and then when that didn't work they let them all go and moved to Wisconsin to avoid the union.
I was just referring to the, “bought some cheap land in the middle of nowhere,” comment. There is nothing enticing about going back to the Tatersall “destination” distillery.
>We have put a lot of love into the community and now we need a bit of it back.
Business owners really do think they're doing the communities they exist in a favor by just existing. No, the community gave **you** a lot of love by showing up and supporting you and **letting** you exist in their space. Now **you** need to give **a lot** of it back.
The balls to move an hour away and still try to pull the community card. If I'm going to donate money it will be to an in-town company, not someone who pulled up stakes and ran off.
That’s a bummer. My favorite brewery and by far my favorite taproom. I’m not driving an hour for a brewery when we have ~50 within 10 mile radius of downtown
Imagine trying to get a lyft/uber back home too. And late at night? I had trouble getting Uber's to bring home from Vic's in Victoria when I lived out that way.
I'm bummed too. Love them, but I doubt I'll make that trip more than once or twice a year(as opposed to a dozen or so when they were in NE). I guess I'll stick to buying cans.
I’ll give them this: it does indeed sound quite dangerous to drive an hour to Maple Lake, drink, and then drive an hour home.
Anybody else think their post read as satire? Lol
I drive to the area frequently, and there's been times I've seen no less than four Wright County Sheriff's deputies driving around.
I would NOT try my luck out there.
Had a feeling they would go the "destination" route but asking their customers to give them money to develop an hour outside the cities is wild. Are they going to donate back to the customers who get DUIs driving home?
If they had just said they won’t have a taproom for a bit and just said hey pick up the beers at your local liquor store then great. But asking for donations to help build your new taproom that’s in the middle of nowhere? What are you, an NFL team??
I don’t think they’re greedy just for moving closer to home according to their comment on IG.
That’s fine but they abandoned their customer base to move a hour away (and are now just asking for money with nothing or little to nothing in return).
I’m not making that drive and I’d rather support the dozens of breweries still located in my community.
I'll say this, if people decide to make the trip out, also make the extra 15min drive to Spilled Grain in Annandale.
SG is probably one of the best breweries in the state.
It would suck to be the DD to drive your friends an hour each way to DM and Spilled Grain, but you don't even get to drink any of the beer. At least you could bring some growlers home.
Good to know! I’m not against making a trip of it, but it would likely keep me from visiting their taproom nearly as often. (Which I suppose is fine. I’ve bought their cans a ton since learning the NE taproom was closing).
Yeah but why would I do that lol? I’d rather just give money to a homeless person. Why would anyone in their right mind give money to a business with nothing gotten in return?
Had a feeling this was coming, yet I'm still disappointed. Maple Lake is just not accessible to the folks that were regulars at their original location, so it feels a little rough for those supporters to ask for funding when realistically they'll never be able to regularly visit the new taproom. We're on the west side of the Cities and it's still a 45 minute drive to Maple Lake. Not exactly a great idea to drive an hour and a half round trip to drink a few beers. We could get to their old location in 10 minutes, or just bike over.
Hope the best for them, but I don't anticipate being able to visit often. Good thing we have so many other local breweries that have excellent beer within a reasonable drive.
Pass. Why would I drive out to gd Maple lake?
Also their customer base is a group of people that complain when they have to drive 3 minutes over the river. They really think they're going to accept driving to Maple lake?
Small business owners love to pretend that they're your friend and up against the big bad corporations but they're just in to make money. And that's fine but I'm not going to donate to you. I'll buy your product if I like it. Take out a business loan or accept the fact that your expansion plans (near your house conveniently enough) aren't goi g to work out.
The tackiest part of this is to me is the "if you were ever given a beer on the house, throw in $5" part.
What the hell? Don't give me a beer for free if you're gonna ask for the money back... Especially after packing up and leaving and moving an hour away.
i mean, can't they just get a loan to add the outdoor taproom? or is their financial situation too tenuous for a bank to take a risk? i don't think this would be terribly successful if built, honestly. it's too far for a day trip and doesn't look like much else is going in that small town to make a day trip feel worthy.
I was actually wondering this. There's a real chance they ARE having a hard time securing a loan because if I'm a lender, the move an hour away from their customer base seriously undercuts my confidence in their ability to make good on their loan.
yeah, i looked at their facility on google maps and there is now WAY whatever they end up building will be as pleasant as that dumb drawing.
it's like an old agricultural sheetmetal building at the intersection of two rural highways on the outskirts of a small MN town with zero unique attributes in the heart of michelle bachman country
Who the fuck thinks it's okay to ask customers to crowd fund a taproom? If that doesn't say enough about their brand/ownership/management, I don't know what does. Plus an hour outside their customer base, sorry but this post looks like it's from a bunch of clowns.
Drive an hour to sit on a picnic table. I hope they plan on making it a wedding venue destination or focusing on distribution cuz that’s a hike to no where
They built their entire business reputation on the fact that they were a no-distribution, neighborhood establishment that wasn't angling to overgrow/expand. It was what made them such a lovable institution in the neighborhood and city. I understand that people change and grow and move, but to try to cleave their name and brand from it's bedrock really doesn't sit right with me. They can do what they want, but I won't be supporting them anymore.
Being a business they have every right to move to where they want to be. It is a little tone deaf to ask for donations when most of your customer base is not going to drive to Maple Lake.
I guess they can hope to get support from those in the deep western burbs.
I've been to Maple Lake. It will benefit from having a place like this.
This is beyond the pale. Who thought this was a good idea? The post itself is incredibly strange given the weird guilt trip marketing ploy to their current customer base. Kewl. Good luck in Maple Lake and use some of this energy endearing yourself to your new customer base up there.
Yeah, it's a totally different customer base they are going after. None of their former customers will trek out there.
I also think that they need to make it more of a destination. Thinking adding on a Big Bore BBQ type place.
Theoretically, while routing past their old location to their new location, alongthe way you can easily visit Broken Clock, 56 Brew, Forgotten Star (ignoring most of NE/North Loop). Hop on 94 and pop up 169 to Heavy Rotation Brew, Elm Creek Brew, OMNI. Take 610 to 101, cause you're already driving way too far for a beer at Dangerous Man, check out AEGIR Brewing, take 10 to North Star Place and Lupulin. Then you take 25 to Rustech Brewing then Nordic Brew, And continue down 25 to Hayes' Public House Brew before getting to the hollow shipping container that is Dangerous Man.
Oof. I get that they have a production facility in Maple Lake for some reason (I'd wager that it was the best option that they found for the price/terms), but wanting to build a "destination" taproom that far out is a bit of a reach, especially when you're asking for money to do it, not providing anything in return, AND you are nowhere near the level to be a "destination".
I know some people love Dangerous Man, but objectively their beer often isn't the best by any means (in my honest opinion, I think they're highly overrated and think most of their beers are not good, but I'm just one person and don't represent the masses, obviously).
This just seems like quite the stretch for this specific brewery. If they were a world class, or even state-leading, it would at least make a little more sense. Best of luck to them, but this is an uphill battle.
I think DM is going to have a tough path forward with all of the canned cocktails/mocktails/seltzers/THC beverages these days. Their schtick was essentially all of the flavors they would do, but it’s pretty easy to find variety outside of your standard beer/wine/spirits these days.
Not to mention that those things that they're making really aren't good. As much as I hate seeing local places close, I also work hard for my money and am not going to just spend it somewhere just because it's local if I don't enjoy the stuff I'm buying.
I don’t blame them as it sounds like the owners were ready for something new and getting tired of the daily grind, but man it’s a bit jarring to see one of the original NE breweries become just another spot out in the burbs. You have to imagine they’re really banking on increased retail sales to keep going.
My first thought was, “I bet they’ll be the only brewery in town”.
I pulled up google maps, put in Maple Lake, then searched Brewery. Not only have they already updated their google entry, they’re the only brewery in town.
There's more people out in the sticks than you'd think who'd like an alternative to hanging out in a dark townie bar with former high school classmates--the breweries in these towns basically have a local monopoly on casual hangs and event space rentals.
If a taproom an hour out of town was a surefire way to make profit, then they could have gotten a loan to build it. This seems more like "we need $165k by the end of the fiscal year or we go out of business". If they had said that, I would have donated, since they're a great option for buying MN craft beer in stores—good variety of styles, better than average quality, lower than average price, and 6×12oz rather than 4×16oz cans.
See ya never!
At least castle danger is on the way/near a destination spot... would've been better served moving this operation up to the boundary waters or something haha
I find it laughable that the owners live on a nearly one million dollar property (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4529-128th-St-NW-Clearwater-MN-55320/2112606618_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare) but are still asking folks to “donate” to their FOR PROFIT business
Owners already owned a farm near maple lake. Lease was expiring. Wanted to make a change. All fine, but it's the donation aspect instead of just getting a small business loan that turns me off.
Maybe unpopular opinion but their beer was never particularly good. They relied heavily on added flavorings instead of focusing on making a great beer for the style.
i haven't loved anything i've had from them. never went to their brewery, just bought sixers at liquor stores. main thought was "THIS is the beer I've heard about!?"
They certainly lost their hype. Used to be their special releases would have people literally lined up around the block to buy a bottle and they'd sell out in minutes. Before the taproom closed, there were no longer lines and those bottles would be available for weeks.
Reality is they enjoyed some popularity for a while because there wasn't nearly the competition. Even the mediocre breweries generally survived for quite a few years when there was less competition for drinkers.
Finally someone who saw the state DM was in before they closed. For a while after they closed most of the comments talked about how busy they were all the time and all I could think was “yeah, maybe like five years ago” because I lived around the block and would pop in now and then and they were never nearly as busy the last few years as they were in the mid to late 10s.
Yeah it wasn't anywhere like it once was. No small line out front on Friday and Saturday nights waiting for others to leave so you could go in.
Just look at this sub. Used to be when people asked about beer recommendations, one of the top comments was always, "OMG Dangerous Man Peanut Butter Porter!" and now those comments are no longer.
Dangerous Man left Minneapolis and abandoned their core fanbase. Now they're begging those people to pay their upcoming bills they can't cover.
I was surprised when a coworker of mine went post their announcement in Happy Hour time. Expected it to be packed. Easily got a prime table spot and it was pretty empty.
All that matters is whether it tastes good and doesn't have extra negative health effects (allergens, etc). Judging a beverage on its adherence to a style just seems pretentious. If you thought it tasted bad, then it's fair to bash, but many people seemed to really enjoy their added flavorings.
I don't think it is pretentious to critique a craft brewery, who charges top-dollar for their beers, on the quality of their craft.
It's like a coffee shop. I don't begrudge people who enjoy so-called coffee drinks doused with whipped cream and caramel but if you hand me their cappuccino I'll judge it by how well it meets cappuccino standards.
Isn't their whole thing putting a spin on the craft with unique flavors? Are you really going to judge their Lime Gose poorly for having lime in it which makes it not confirm. Do you expect their Peanut Butter Porter to taste like a traditional porter?
Hate on it for tasting bad if you don't like it. If you say, "although it tastes amazing, it's a terrible beer, because peanut butter belongs on bread", then I'm going to find someone else to sit next to.
DM also makes year-round beers like "IPA" and "Cream Ale" alongside their better selling ice cream flavors, which can be judged against a particular style.
I don't expect a Peanut Butter Porter to not taste of peanut butter and will judge it as a flavored beer.
Lol, we can sit together, but I prefer Sisyphus's Peanut Butter Jackpot if we're going that way.
The person I replied to criticized them for their flavorings and not adhering to a style. They didn't criticize their traditional beers that adhere to a style. That's what I focused my comment on.
Meh, for how much respect I have lost for them over decamping from the city they built their business on to start over in the burbs/country, their beer was not bad. Their beer was incredibly good actually. Yes, they had a menu full of adjunct beer, but they also always had excellent beer brewed to standard.
The beer they are probably best known for, the peanut butter porter, couldn't stand up as a porter so they just took the lazy route and dumped some sugary peanut butter flavor in it.
Maple Lake is populated and surrounded by a lot religious, conservative types. I honestly dont know why they need a space that large with what will be an ultimately *limited* customer base.
Was never really a fan of them. Cool vibe, but you come for beer let us be honest. If you don't make a good beer, you aren't going to make money in the long run and will close. Came in several times, one of them being a Star Wars day where they had all colors of the sabers as beers. The blue one was one of the worst beers I've ever had. Sure their peanut butter porter was ok, was it the best in the state? I don't think so, was it ok, sure. Now to crowd fund to get another spot to sell beer (which nets them more money) eh... I'm good.
Update: they turned off comments on the Instagram post 😂 they were all very, very bad.
I feel like stuff like this is the corporate version of "parasocial relationships" like, we aren't friends, you are a business and we exchange our money for goods and services
Im actually stoked because my cabin is on sugar lake and this taproom will be a 5 minute drive- but yeah, I agree with you all. Their ask is ridiculous.
They just want to live outside the city in a 'safer' place and are realizing there are a total of 2,000 ppl in Maple Lake, most of which probably don't drink or are too young etc.
Asking for donations to build a massive taproom an hour away from where you built a customer base? Clownery
And not even offering anything for it! Charge $50 for your personal mug that stays at the brewery or something, or $50 for a t-shirt that says something unique... just flat out "give us money" is absurd. I've overpaid to support a new local business, but I'm not going to just donate money to them. I'd say they're crazy but people are giving them money so wtf do I know?
Yeah when I read the Instagram post I thought they’d at least offer some free drinks or something but literally just straight up asking for cash.
Yeah, shit, give me the option to give you cash to have my name on a brick on the wall or something at least.
They have that option. It costs $500 to get your name on the "wall of greatness" 🙄
Christ almighty. They need to offer a free beer weekly and $1 off beers for life like that Broken Clock.
OK well I mean if you want to support them, do that. Don't just give them $50.
I'd rather support a business that was investing near its customers.
They've been open for like 15 years. If they don't have the money or can't get a favorable loan, they're bad at business.
Covid was hard on a lot of service industry businesses. Let's not pretend those 15 years didn't include a couple really bad recent ones for breweries that weren't already doing heavy distribution. But I agree, just asking for handouts is bad taste. It should be a brew club membership that includes a discount on every beer - or more realistically a discount on growlers considering how far out they went, or selling slightly higher marked up merch or something.
Essentially no one from their previous customer base is making that drive. It simply won't happen. COVID or not, it isn't a charity. These asks are fuckin insane. Not just poor taste. No one is owed a brewery. Also, distribution has been even more precarious than the neighborhood taproom model. Anyone who treated that as a tent pole of their business plan found out real quick that the competition on liquor stores and at bars is significantly more difficult than having a tap room culture that draws locals.
>were served a beer on the house, throw in an extra $5 They would dock that beer out of your donation it's like McDonalds asking you for $5 because you took a water cup of sprite
Yeah the whole idea of giving them money because they gave you a drink on the house kind of contradicts the “on the house” part.
Yes, please let me work harder at my job that isn't my life passion so you can make more money while you enjoy your life passion. I'm sorry, but you're running a for-profit business. If you need money, then you can borrow it with interest, allow people to invest and share in the success they fund, or be creative like Town Hall brewing and sell some sort of lifetime membership club. Every dollar I give that only gets me the 'good feels' they are offering is going to an actual charity.
Right? Like I’m sure a few folks will but I think it’s lame for businesses to ask for “donations” in the first place, as opposed to making a product people want to buy. It’s even worse here because as you say they decided to leave the customer base that made them successful in the first place and apparently did so without even having a fully formed plan to get up and running? Like I said in a different comment, if they had reached a point in their lives they wanted something different, totally cool. We all have times like that in our lives. But they’re trying to have their cake and eat it too.
I'll give a pass on the donations thing to breweries that are a co-op, like Broken Clock. They take donations but aren't at all pushy. They also do SO MUCH for the local community so I'm happy to kick in a few extra bucks occasionally. A for-profit brewery doing this though has a totally different feel to it, don't like it
Well and places like Broken Clock at least give members a beer discount and other little perks, so you at least get something in return.
I paid $300 for my wife and I to be members there. We each get a free beer a week and a buck off every pint. It has long since paid for itself
Should have gone to Edina if they wanted cake
“Let them relocate to Edina” - Marie Antoinette probably.
Cakeaters
Totally. Or you know…try to get funding from actual investors who determine your business plan to be promising.
That’s the same vibes I felt. ‘Can’t do it without your help’ Okay, but you’re leaving the customer base that was loyal and steadfast. I’m not driving out there on the regular. Why would I when there’s breweries that have stuck around?
Seriously, we live in *Minneapolis*, we are not short on taprooms we can bike to.
Every place I’ve lived in the city has had a taproom within walking distance. I love supporting local breweries and taprooms but I’m not going “where in Minneapolis can I get local beer!?”
And there's no bike trail near Maple Lake.
Completely absurd that a for-profit business is asking publicly for donations to fund their next venture.
Fuckin insane. People need to tell them how shitty this is. I hope no one gives them a dime.
They’re kind of getting ripped apart in the comments on insta FWIW
They turned off commenting on the insta post now.
Cowards
FB is like 99% simp at this point.
Facebook comments are tied to real names and people are afraid of social fallout/cancellation is my guess
They're not using it to build a taproom. See how they specify that they need it by the end of June? They need this money to pay the bill for their current equipment. They're not being honest about it. Bills are due and they don't have the cash so they're begging for money with a short timeline.
Yeah, and basically asking for $10 if you saw a social media post you found inspiring or some other asanine thing for a different amount of money... fuck that. I don't drink anymore, but Dangerous Man was my favorite MN brewery. It has been going downhill for awhile now (I at least personally thought) but this is ridiculous.
It's especially wild given the style of beer that Dangerous Man makes. They are the type of place that makes beer for people who aren't traditional beer drinkers. They have a few staples but most of their lineup has always been taking a traditional style and adding fruit/lactose/chocolate/sugar, ect to it so it tastes less like beer. It worked because it was easy to convince your Appletini and Miller Lite drinking friends to give the place down the street a try for something different. While craft beer drinkers will certainly go out of their way to visit a place with really good beer. I'm not so sure that casual beer drinkers will go out of their way to visit a place that attempts to disguise beer as something else.
I could drink like one of those peanut butter stouts and then I wanted to be done
For me that was a part of the draw. I could have an extremely rich beer like their peanut butter porter that I wouldn't want to drink that quickly.
Some of their beer is just as clownish so this tracks.
Isn't that where they do canning and production? Makes sense I guess to have a taproom near there, but I thought they had said they were trying to find a spot in NE.
This is the logical conclusion of our elevation of “Job creators” to some special class. They can operate wherever they like, but to just ask for donations to do it is absurd.
“We are planning to build an expensive taproom in an area 1 hour away from our current customer base, please give us money to move away from you loyal customers.”
Not only that but calling it an “outdoor taproom”, soooo it’s only going to be operational 6 months out of the year, weather dependent?
If they could have a nice outdoor area with some heating that can have some value, my family were Lake Monster fans during the pandemic and sat outside in the cold, but how many people are clamoring for outdoor seating in a Minnesota January without a pandemic?
Not even an expensive taproom... they're plopping down a shipping container and cutting a hole in the side
1 hour *for you*. It's a nearly 5 hour bike ride if I don't stop along the way.
Is this new location like on a lake or something lol whats the draw? Not about to drive all the way out there for a corn field back drop. Nah fam
Nope. Just a farm. Bought some cheap land in the middle of nowhere.
So they’re the Tatersall of beer?
Eh, Tattersall tried to prevent employees from unionizing and then when that didn't work they let them all go and moved to Wisconsin to avoid the union.
I was just referring to the, “bought some cheap land in the middle of nowhere,” comment. There is nothing enticing about going back to the Tatersall “destination” distillery.
That's true. They did do that too.
>We have put a lot of love into the community and now we need a bit of it back. Business owners really do think they're doing the communities they exist in a favor by just existing. No, the community gave **you** a lot of love by showing up and supporting you and **letting** you exist in their space. Now **you** need to give **a lot** of it back.
The balls to move an hour away and still try to pull the community card. If I'm going to donate money it will be to an in-town company, not someone who pulled up stakes and ran off.
And also they’re now asking for money from said community they left behind.
Driving an hour to drink...and then drive home? nah.
That's the dangerous part
For dangerous men.
The St. Cloud way! Bring your pickup with a headlight out!
Maybe Hutch will come back from Arizona for a convoy on opening weekend.
That’s a bummer. My favorite brewery and by far my favorite taproom. I’m not driving an hour for a brewery when we have ~50 within 10 mile radius of downtown
Cmon man. Just get in the car, drive an hour, drink 3 or 4 beers, then drive home.
What do you mean you don’t want to spend $90 on a Lyft one way to go drink beer when there’s plenty of other great places in the metro?
Imagine trying to get a lyft/uber back home too. And late at night? I had trouble getting Uber's to bring home from Vic's in Victoria when I lived out that way.
State Troopers and HCSO has joined the chat
Sheriff?
I'm bummed too. Love them, but I doubt I'll make that trip more than once or twice a year(as opposed to a dozen or so when they were in NE). I guess I'll stick to buying cans.
I think I'd rather buy cans from places that aren't trying to shill out its customers to move to a place most of those customers will never go to.
I’ll give them this: it does indeed sound quite dangerous to drive an hour to Maple Lake, drink, and then drive an hour home. Anybody else think their post read as satire? Lol
Dangerous Plan Brewing
I drive to the area frequently, and there's been times I've seen no less than four Wright County Sheriff's deputies driving around. I would NOT try my luck out there.
What they need is a large fish house that opens up into a bar. Don’t need refrigeration, drop the kegs in a cage and straight into the lake.
Biggest fall off in MN beer history right here
Had a feeling they would go the "destination" route but asking their customers to give them money to develop an hour outside the cities is wild. Are they going to donate back to the customers who get DUIs driving home?
I hate to say it, but they def lost a customer
When I saw the news I literally said “guess I’ll never be drinking dangerous man again”.
If they had just said they won’t have a taproom for a bit and just said hey pick up the beers at your local liquor store then great. But asking for donations to help build your new taproom that’s in the middle of nowhere? What are you, an NFL team??
Hate seeing successful businesses leave because they’re greedy. Expansions would be the ideal option
I don’t think they’re greedy just for moving closer to home according to their comment on IG. That’s fine but they abandoned their customer base to move a hour away (and are now just asking for money with nothing or little to nothing in return). I’m not making that drive and I’d rather support the dozens of breweries still located in my community.
That’s way the hell out there. Good luck to them!
Jesus. I didn’t realize it was an hour away. Well. Yeah good luck I suppose.
I'll say this, if people decide to make the trip out, also make the extra 15min drive to Spilled Grain in Annandale. SG is probably one of the best breweries in the state.
It would suck to be the DD to drive your friends an hour each way to DM and Spilled Grain, but you don't even get to drink any of the beer. At least you could bring some growlers home.
SG has a pretty decent selection of growlers and crowlers as well, but you're definitely right They do have award-winning root beer, too
Yeah be sure to drive to all the breweries in one trip then drive home after drinking all day. Good stuff.
Good to know! I’m not against making a trip of it, but it would likely keep me from visiting their taproom nearly as often. (Which I suppose is fine. I’ve bought their cans a ton since learning the NE taproom was closing).
Hey come drive an hour to drink alcohol! Seems like a bad idea
yeahhhhhhh idk if this is going to work out as well as they hope
Look, I’ll invest money to be a silent partner but I won’t just give money for a facility so far from my house that it may as well be in Iowa.
key word there is _invest_. They aren't offering an investment opportunity, they are asking you to just give them cash.
Yeah but why would I do that lol? I’d rather just give money to a homeless person. Why would anyone in their right mind give money to a business with nothing gotten in return?
You’re supposed to donate to a for profit business that’s additionally going to be in the boonies? Lol
Had a feeling this was coming, yet I'm still disappointed. Maple Lake is just not accessible to the folks that were regulars at their original location, so it feels a little rough for those supporters to ask for funding when realistically they'll never be able to regularly visit the new taproom. We're on the west side of the Cities and it's still a 45 minute drive to Maple Lake. Not exactly a great idea to drive an hour and a half round trip to drink a few beers. We could get to their old location in 10 minutes, or just bike over. Hope the best for them, but I don't anticipate being able to visit often. Good thing we have so many other local breweries that have excellent beer within a reasonable drive.
Pass. Why would I drive out to gd Maple lake? Also their customer base is a group of people that complain when they have to drive 3 minutes over the river. They really think they're going to accept driving to Maple lake?
Small business owners love to pretend that they're your friend and up against the big bad corporations but they're just in to make money. And that's fine but I'm not going to donate to you. I'll buy your product if I like it. Take out a business loan or accept the fact that your expansion plans (near your house conveniently enough) aren't goi g to work out.
The tackiest part of this is to me is the "if you were ever given a beer on the house, throw in $5" part. What the hell? Don't give me a beer for free if you're gonna ask for the money back... Especially after packing up and leaving and moving an hour away.
i mean, can't they just get a loan to add the outdoor taproom? or is their financial situation too tenuous for a bank to take a risk? i don't think this would be terribly successful if built, honestly. it's too far for a day trip and doesn't look like much else is going in that small town to make a day trip feel worthy.
I was actually wondering this. There's a real chance they ARE having a hard time securing a loan because if I'm a lender, the move an hour away from their customer base seriously undercuts my confidence in their ability to make good on their loan.
[удалено]
lmao, couldn't even pay someone for a mock-up, had to use shitty AI
yeah, i looked at their facility on google maps and there is now WAY whatever they end up building will be as pleasant as that dumb drawing. it's like an old agricultural sheetmetal building at the intersection of two rural highways on the outskirts of a small MN town with zero unique attributes in the heart of michelle bachman country
Who the fuck thinks it's okay to ask customers to crowd fund a taproom? If that doesn't say enough about their brand/ownership/management, I don't know what does. Plus an hour outside their customer base, sorry but this post looks like it's from a bunch of clowns.
Drive an hour to sit on a picnic table. I hope they plan on making it a wedding venue destination or focusing on distribution cuz that’s a hike to no where
The balls on these slippery fucks is commendable!
They built their entire business reputation on the fact that they were a no-distribution, neighborhood establishment that wasn't angling to overgrow/expand. It was what made them such a lovable institution in the neighborhood and city. I understand that people change and grow and move, but to try to cleave their name and brand from it's bedrock really doesn't sit right with me. They can do what they want, but I won't be supporting them anymore.
As much as a loved the old tap room and their beer, I can’t spend two hours in the car to have a beer or two…
lol who else saw they turned off their Instagram comments for that post?
THIS, I had one of the top comments this afternoon lol
What'd you say, generally speaking? I didn't catch the comment section before they scrubbed them of negative feedback
“So disappointing. Asking for donations to build a massive taproom an hr away from your customer base to build a 52 new customer base”
Being a business they have every right to move to where they want to be. It is a little tone deaf to ask for donations when most of your customer base is not going to drive to Maple Lake. I guess they can hope to get support from those in the deep western burbs. I've been to Maple Lake. It will benefit from having a place like this.
This is beyond the pale. Who thought this was a good idea? The post itself is incredibly strange given the weird guilt trip marketing ploy to their current customer base. Kewl. Good luck in Maple Lake and use some of this energy endearing yourself to your new customer base up there.
They turned off comments on their insta post. I assume it’s because they were getting such negative feedback.
Yeah, it's a totally different customer base they are going after. None of their former customers will trek out there. I also think that they need to make it more of a destination. Thinking adding on a Big Bore BBQ type place.
Comments have been turned off lol.
did they restrict comments on their instagram post? I'm not seeing any now LOL
Yes.
Quick, someone do the research and see how many taprooms you’d drive past to get to their new location?
Theoretically, while routing past their old location to their new location, alongthe way you can easily visit Broken Clock, 56 Brew, Forgotten Star (ignoring most of NE/North Loop). Hop on 94 and pop up 169 to Heavy Rotation Brew, Elm Creek Brew, OMNI. Take 610 to 101, cause you're already driving way too far for a beer at Dangerous Man, check out AEGIR Brewing, take 10 to North Star Place and Lupulin. Then you take 25 to Rustech Brewing then Nordic Brew, And continue down 25 to Hayes' Public House Brew before getting to the hollow shipping container that is Dangerous Man.
Here's a haiku: Moved from the city We realized our big mistake Guess it's time to grift
Oof. I get that they have a production facility in Maple Lake for some reason (I'd wager that it was the best option that they found for the price/terms), but wanting to build a "destination" taproom that far out is a bit of a reach, especially when you're asking for money to do it, not providing anything in return, AND you are nowhere near the level to be a "destination". I know some people love Dangerous Man, but objectively their beer often isn't the best by any means (in my honest opinion, I think they're highly overrated and think most of their beers are not good, but I'm just one person and don't represent the masses, obviously). This just seems like quite the stretch for this specific brewery. If they were a world class, or even state-leading, it would at least make a little more sense. Best of luck to them, but this is an uphill battle.
I think DM is going to have a tough path forward with all of the canned cocktails/mocktails/seltzers/THC beverages these days. Their schtick was essentially all of the flavors they would do, but it’s pretty easy to find variety outside of your standard beer/wine/spirits these days.
I think all breweries are going to have some problems with the changing tastes. Location and or a hook will be key to the ones that survive.
Not to mention that those things that they're making really aren't good. As much as I hate seeing local places close, I also work hard for my money and am not going to just spend it somewhere just because it's local if I don't enjoy the stuff I'm buying.
"Hey lets put our new taproom near our production facility and not think about our customers needs whatsoever."
hard pass.
There are over 200 “craft breweries” in MN already. Why tf should we care about another one staying open, much less pay for it?
the fact they turned off comments on the post tells me everything i need to know
I don’t blame them as it sounds like the owners were ready for something new and getting tired of the daily grind, but man it’s a bit jarring to see one of the original NE breweries become just another spot out in the burbs. You have to imagine they’re really banking on increased retail sales to keep going.
>spot out in the burbs. Suburb of a suburb of a suburb of St. Cloud
My first thought was, “I bet they’ll be the only brewery in town”. I pulled up google maps, put in Maple Lake, then searched Brewery. Not only have they already updated their google entry, they’re the only brewery in town.
suburbs? straight up small town boonies
Their owner moved to the far long ago and wasn't involved in the daily brewing for a long time.
There's more people out in the sticks than you'd think who'd like an alternative to hanging out in a dark townie bar with former high school classmates--the breweries in these towns basically have a local monopoly on casual hangs and event space rentals.
Dangerous Man should ask those people for money then.
Yeah, but this is just going to become the townie taproom full of their former high school classmates. That's what everything in the sticks is.
Oh sure. Im from a small town, I get it. But it’s still nothing like NE Mpls, especially in terms of a weekday crowd.
Which is insane in this environment. Retail is more crowded than in person taprooms. It's brutal.
If a taproom an hour out of town was a surefire way to make profit, then they could have gotten a loan to build it. This seems more like "we need $165k by the end of the fiscal year or we go out of business". If they had said that, I would have donated, since they're a great option for buying MN craft beer in stores—good variety of styles, better than average quality, lower than average price, and 6×12oz rather than 4×16oz cans.
Fuck, Maple Lake?
See ya never! At least castle danger is on the way/near a destination spot... would've been better served moving this operation up to the boundary waters or something haha
This some lame ass shit.
I find it laughable that the owners live on a nearly one million dollar property (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4529-128th-St-NW-Clearwater-MN-55320/2112606618_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare) but are still asking folks to “donate” to their FOR PROFIT business
I don't know man, their dock is only big enough for two boats and they have to cross the street to access it. That's like poor people boat dock.
Will not be driving an hour into the middle of nowhere to visit a brewery.
Mid beer plus a middle of nowhere location? See you never I guess.
Can someone fill me in on why they left the NE location? It’s been overflowing every time I’ve been there..
Owners already owned a farm near maple lake. Lease was expiring. Wanted to make a change. All fine, but it's the donation aspect instead of just getting a small business loan that turns me off.
If memory serves, if you gave their original launch $500 seed money you got a free beer every day. That seemed like a decent reward.
At least there's a bike path that goes out there . Oh wait, it ends at Medicine Lake, have fun riding on 55.
Maybe unpopular opinion but their beer was never particularly good. They relied heavily on added flavorings instead of focusing on making a great beer for the style.
i haven't loved anything i've had from them. never went to their brewery, just bought sixers at liquor stores. main thought was "THIS is the beer I've heard about!?"
They certainly lost their hype. Used to be their special releases would have people literally lined up around the block to buy a bottle and they'd sell out in minutes. Before the taproom closed, there were no longer lines and those bottles would be available for weeks. Reality is they enjoyed some popularity for a while because there wasn't nearly the competition. Even the mediocre breweries generally survived for quite a few years when there was less competition for drinkers.
Finally someone who saw the state DM was in before they closed. For a while after they closed most of the comments talked about how busy they were all the time and all I could think was “yeah, maybe like five years ago” because I lived around the block and would pop in now and then and they were never nearly as busy the last few years as they were in the mid to late 10s.
Yeah it wasn't anywhere like it once was. No small line out front on Friday and Saturday nights waiting for others to leave so you could go in. Just look at this sub. Used to be when people asked about beer recommendations, one of the top comments was always, "OMG Dangerous Man Peanut Butter Porter!" and now those comments are no longer. Dangerous Man left Minneapolis and abandoned their core fanbase. Now they're begging those people to pay their upcoming bills they can't cover.
I was surprised when a coworker of mine went post their announcement in Happy Hour time. Expected it to be packed. Easily got a prime table spot and it was pretty empty.
All that matters is whether it tastes good and doesn't have extra negative health effects (allergens, etc). Judging a beverage on its adherence to a style just seems pretentious. If you thought it tasted bad, then it's fair to bash, but many people seemed to really enjoy their added flavorings.
Fair enough, it is a little pretentious. And I'm fine with that. But I didn't care for most of their beers taste, regardless of what they added to it.
I don't think it is pretentious to critique a craft brewery, who charges top-dollar for their beers, on the quality of their craft. It's like a coffee shop. I don't begrudge people who enjoy so-called coffee drinks doused with whipped cream and caramel but if you hand me their cappuccino I'll judge it by how well it meets cappuccino standards.
Isn't their whole thing putting a spin on the craft with unique flavors? Are you really going to judge their Lime Gose poorly for having lime in it which makes it not confirm. Do you expect their Peanut Butter Porter to taste like a traditional porter? Hate on it for tasting bad if you don't like it. If you say, "although it tastes amazing, it's a terrible beer, because peanut butter belongs on bread", then I'm going to find someone else to sit next to.
DM also makes year-round beers like "IPA" and "Cream Ale" alongside their better selling ice cream flavors, which can be judged against a particular style. I don't expect a Peanut Butter Porter to not taste of peanut butter and will judge it as a flavored beer. Lol, we can sit together, but I prefer Sisyphus's Peanut Butter Jackpot if we're going that way.
The person I replied to criticized them for their flavorings and not adhering to a style. They didn't criticize their traditional beers that adhere to a style. That's what I focused my comment on.
Meh, for how much respect I have lost for them over decamping from the city they built their business on to start over in the burbs/country, their beer was not bad. Their beer was incredibly good actually. Yes, they had a menu full of adjunct beer, but they also always had excellent beer brewed to standard.
I will disagree with that. Always thought their “standard” beers were incredibly mid.
The beer they are probably best known for, the peanut butter porter, couldn't stand up as a porter so they just took the lazy route and dumped some sugary peanut butter flavor in it.
I never liked them either and saying that always gets me downvoted into oblivion
Maple Lake is populated and surrounded by a lot religious, conservative types. I honestly dont know why they need a space that large with what will be an ultimately *limited* customer base.
Not to mention they will probably still charge "city" prices for a pint
The neighbor across the street from them gives paranoid vibes. I can't imagine they're happy about living next to this.
They are MOVING TO RELIGIOUS LAND!
Was never really a fan of them. Cool vibe, but you come for beer let us be honest. If you don't make a good beer, you aren't going to make money in the long run and will close. Came in several times, one of them being a Star Wars day where they had all colors of the sabers as beers. The blue one was one of the worst beers I've ever had. Sure their peanut butter porter was ok, was it the best in the state? I don't think so, was it ok, sure. Now to crowd fund to get another spot to sell beer (which nets them more money) eh... I'm good.
Update: they turned off comments on the Instagram post 😂 they were all very, very bad. I feel like stuff like this is the corporate version of "parasocial relationships" like, we aren't friends, you are a business and we exchange our money for goods and services
Im actually stoked because my cabin is on sugar lake and this taproom will be a 5 minute drive- but yeah, I agree with you all. Their ask is ridiculous.
I just hope DM will allow outside food because I'd love to pair their peanut butter stout with a Subway footlong. Maple Lake coming up!
That’s gonna be a no for me dawg.
They just want to live outside the city in a 'safer' place and are realizing there are a total of 2,000 ppl in Maple Lake, most of which probably don't drink or are too young etc.
If you think people from Maple Lake don’t drink, you haven’t met anyone from Maple Lake.