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Minnesota is home to some great craft beers, and now another brewery here in the North Star State has just been ranked as one of the best in the country.

If you're a craft beer fan, like I am, Minnesota is a great place to live. We have a TON of incredible craft breweries producing some and serving some amazing craft brews at their taprooms across the state. In fact, the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild says there are currently 183 craft breweries scattered around the Bold North, including several here in Rochester and southeast Minnesota.

And now, another Minnesota brewery has just been named one of the best in the country, placing in the Top 10 at the 2022 U.S. Open Beer Championships, which, as its website notes, is 'One of the top 3 beer competitions in the USA.' The competition, which took place in Oxford, Ohio featured more than 9,000 brews representing over 150 styles of beer. Winners were announced earlier this week.

So, shout-out to the crew at Forgotten Star Brewing Company up in Fridley (in the Twin Cities north metro, just under two hours north of Rochester.) They just won a silver medal for the U.S. Open for their Schwarzbier, a gold medal for the Bonspiel Bock, a silver medal for the Northstar Cream Ale, and a gold medal for the Nut-N-Honey Nut Beer. Well done!

Meanwhile, several other Minnesota breweries also won awards at the 2022 U.S. Open Beer Championships as well, including:

  • Silver, Spilled Grain Brewhouse in Annandale – Grapefruit Highest Point
  • Gold, Pantown Brewing in St. Cloud – Drop Forge Milk Stout
  • Silver, Pantown Brewing in St. Cloud – Black Flag Black IPA
  • Bronze, Lupulin Brewing Company in Big Lake– Belgian Quad
  • Gold, Spilled Grain Brewing in Annandale – No More Mr. Rice Guy
  • Bronze, Wabasha Brewing Company in Wabasha – West Side Popper
  • Gold, Spilled Grain Brewhouse in Annandale – False Hope
  • Silver, Spilled Grain Brewhouse in Annandale – Root Beer

And, as I said earlier, there are some AWESOME craft breweries right here in our own backyard in southeast Minnesota. Keep scrolling to check out 20 of them, all located within an hour of Rochester.

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Delicious Beers Await at These 22 Breweries Within an Hour of Rochester

Craft breweries are incredibly popular right now and it doesn't seem like they'll be going anywhere. Right here in southeast Minnesota, there are 22 breweries all within an hour for Rochester and more are being added!

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