Where bike trails and breweries meet: The 13 best Twin Cities area beer hubs for bicyclists

When his team was touring sites for their popular west metro taproom in 2020, Luce Line Brewing founder Tim Naumann wasn’t sold on their final destination at first. Until he got to the end of the parking lot.

“I saw the entryway to the bike trail and said, ‘This is it!’” Naumann recounted.

Luce Line in Plymouth — named after its neighboring trail, built on a former railroad line — wasn’t the first Twin Cities brewery to be located near a bike path.

The brewery that ignited the taproom boom around Minnesota, Surly, specifically sought a trailside site for its $30 million “destination brewery” in 2014. Surly wound up next to the biking-centered University of Minnesota Transitway, which connects to the citywide Grand Rounds Trail — a virtual lovers’ lane for cyclists who enjoy craft beer.

Luce Line (the brewery), meanwhile, is on a network of regional trails out near Lake Minnetonka that connects with the Dakota Line LRT, where Back Channel Brewing opened on the western end of the lake in 2017. Both breweries see a rotating caravan of bicyclists wheeling between them.

“We’ve always believed that beer brings people together, and the biking community here is one of the most tight-knit and welcoming out there,” said Naumann, whose brewery also started an in-house bike club and is hosting Ride Hiawatha July 6 at 8 a.m.

The love is mutual from the bikers’ end. Cyclists appreciate both the physical and mental refreshment that comes with drinking a beer after a good, long and/or rugged ride, said Leigh Kramarczuk, who co-founded Stöke MTB, which hosts mountain biking instructional clinics around town (including a monthly class at Bauhaus Brew Labs).

“After you get your adrenaline and heart rate up on a ride, then you want to wind down drinking a good, cold beer or nonalcoholic option and talk about the ride with others,” Kramarczuk said.

“Breweries are such great meeting places anyway. They’re especially great after a ride to rehash whatever you saw or faced.”

Here’s a rundown of what you can see, face and taste among the many great pairings of off-road riding and in-house brewing around the Twin Cities.

OFF-THE-RAIL TRAILS

8 8th Av. N., Hopkins, ltdbrewing.com

The taproom: A mainstay of both the Minnesota brewing scene and Hopkins’ historic downtown district since its 2014 inception, LTD offers a little bit of everything among its ever-rotating beer taps. The accessible twofer Patio Slammer (American IPA) and Patio Crusher (blonde ale) are excellent post-ride options, as are its several fruity options, including the Muffin Top (blueberry blonde) and rotating seltzer.

The ride: Kitty-corner from Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail’s eastern terminus, it’s also just a few blocks north of a midway stop on the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT. The former goes west for 15 miles past lakeside stops and Carver Park Reserve in Victoria, connecting you to two other breweries, Excelsior and Omni (see below).

421 3rd St., Excelsior, excelsiorbrew.com

The taproom: Another older fave of Minnesota beer lovers, the brewery opened in 2012 in a historic Ford dealership building amid Excelsior’s walkable downtown corridor (with good dining options, too). Core beers include the Big Island Blonde Ale, Hop Waves Hazy IPA and an excellent coffee stout, Spresso.

The ride: Also housed along the Lake Minnetonka LRT, its route will take you past the St. Albans Bay Bridge and Minnetonka Yacht Club going east, or past Tonka Bay and a woodsy stretch going west. Can’t go wrong either way.

12901 16th Av. N., Plymouth, lucelinebrewing.com

The taproom: Bikers only have to cross a parking lot past the Trailhead Cycling bike shop to access the big patio or pinball-lined interior. Highlights among the 15-plus brews on tap include the seasonal Maibock (best in show runner-up at this year’s Minnesota Brewers Cup), Dos Lobos Vienna lager and several IPAs, including the Foggy Bottom Hazy – named by bicyclists after a misty morning ride.

The ride: Medicine Lake is to the east, and a scenic stretch of boggy terrain is to the west on the way toward the Dakota Rail Regional Trail and Back Channel Brewery, which can be paired for a 26-mile loop or a 13-mile one-way route.

4787 Shoreline Drive, Spring Park, backchannelbrewing.com

The taproom: What a nice contrast to the industrial setting of most other breweries. There’s a lake view from the patio and even a sauna (pre-book for $49). IPAs are at the top of the list here and can be served in bowls, which brings out the hoppy aroma. There’s also an excellent fruited wheat (Empress), award-winning Czech lager (Jagr) and a lot of nonalcoholic and non-beer options, including the rotating Brian Seltzer, named after a certain rockabilly revivalist who lives nearby.

The ride: Besides the option of going east toward Luce Line past lakeshore, take the Dakota Rail trail west 9 miles toward Gale Woods Farm and Lake Waconia.

NEAR PARK TRAILS

1495 Stieger Lake Lane, Victoria, omnibrewing.com

The taproom: After 12 years as the excellent mom-and-pop brewery Enki, the brewery is changing hands to Omni, which will offer many of the same hearty beers and pizza as their original taproom in Maple Grove. They’re keeping some of Enki’s beers on tap, though, including the golden Tailfeather IPA and one of the best hefeweizens around, Hootenanny. The grand reopening is scheduled July 12.

The ride: Head straight into Carver Park Reserve for some of the most scenic paved trail riding near the Twin Cities, a 9-mile loop through prairieland, woods and shoreline. The park also boasts a gnarly mountain biking course, the 10-mile Monarch Singletrack Trail.

11469 Marketplace Drive N., Champlin, elmcreekbrewing.com

The taproom: A pedestrian bridge over Hwy. 169 connects the strip-mall location to the trail coming out of Elm Creek Preserve, another sprawling unit in the Three Rivers Park District family. You can sit under the bridge on the big patio and enjoy the crushable Elm Creek Light lager or more robust Rejuvenator doppelbock or Through the Woods brown ale.

The ride: The namesake preserve offers another great paved loop and/or mountain biking combo, with 18 miles of the former and 13 of the latter, each through woodsy or marshy terrain.

225 Main St. N., Stillwater, riversirenbrewing.com

The taproom: You say you want a view of a lift bridge with your beer? You’ll have it on one of historic downtown Stillwater’s favorite patios, where the brews on tap usually include the Arcane Maiden (New Zealand-style pilsner) and Stillwater Red among its highlights.

The ride: Lots of great options here. Bike over the lift bridge (now pedestrian-only) and down the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, then back over the stunning St. Croix Crossing bridge. Or take the gorgeous Brown’s Creek State Trail north of town and then west to the Gateway State Trail, which stretches 18 miles to the State Capitol. A side trip to Lift Bridge’s taproom via side streets can be tacked on, too.

124 1st Av. E., Shakopee, shakopeebrewhall.com

The taproom: Housed next to the popular Turtle’s Bar & Grill in another historic downtown district, the seven-year-old brew hall also just won a Minnesota Brewers Cup Award with its Cinco de Shako gluten-reduced Mexican lager. Other good light-drinking options include the Sin Bin (a French pilsner) and blueberry mojito seltzer, or try the Silky Squirrel brown ale for something darker.

The ride: The various units of the Minnesota River Valley parkland and bird-watching refuges are accessible via the Minnesota Valley State Trail just across the street from the brewery, heading west toward Chaska or east toward Bloomington. Be careful to keep your eyes on the path and not the birds.

These breweries and their brews don’t need any introduction to Twin Cities beer lovers, so we’ll just stick to describing their riding options.

Surly Brewing Co. (520 Malcolm Av. SE., Mpls., surlybrewing.com): The venerable maker of Furious and Axeman IPAs can be reached via the University of Minnesota, which connects to the Grand Rounds trail near campus and the river.

Utepils Brewing (225 Thomas Av. N., Mpls., utepilsbrewing.com): Arguably the best option for urban bicyclists — with easily the most scenic beer garden in town, overlooking Bassett Creek — it connects to Theodore Wirth Park, where the Loppet Foundation’s winter ski trails double as 12 miles of singletrack in summer. The park’s paved trails also connect to the Grand Rounds, Cedar Lake and Luce Line trails.

Pryes Brewing Co. (1401 West River Road N., Mpls., pryesbrewing.com): The Miraculum maker’s riverfront patio just north of the North Loop is optimal for biking along the Mississippi through downtown. It abuts the Grand Rounds trail’s riverfront stretch and can be paired with streetside trips to northeast Minneapolis’ many breweries, including Broken Clock and HeadFlyer.

Steel Toe Brewing (4848 W. 35th St., St. Louis Park, steeltoebrewing.com): Another of the OG brewers and finest IPA makers in town is just a block off the Cedar Lake Regional Trail coming out of downtown Minneapolis, with Bass Lake Park a nice nearby side trip.

Summit Brewing Co. (910 Montreal Circle, St. Paul, summitbrewing.com): And don’t forget the Grand Poobah of Twin Cities craft brewers, which started welcoming bicyclists in droves when it opened its Ratskeller taproom at its longtime brewing facility in 2018. The nearby paved city trail heads northeast toward downtown St. Paul, west toward Fort Snelling State Park and Crosby Farm, and south over the river to the Big Rivers Regional Trail.

If your bike is part of your vacation plan, here are some options: