There are a lot of sour notes to go along with the sour beers in the craft brewing industry these days, but you wouldn’t really know it looking at the summer festivals on tap around Minnesota in 2025.
Beer fests remain a popular draw for summertime fun, despite the financial downturn that many breweries are facing. Those economic strains might even be all the more reason for these big brewing events to exist.
“It’s nice for brewers to get outside their bubble and show off their work to people around the state,” said Bob Galligan, director of government and industry relations at the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild.
The Brewers Guild has seen steadily rising ticket sales in recent years for its main summer event, All Pints North. On July 26 at Duluth’s scenic Bayfront Festival Park, breweries from around the state will be pouring samples of their brews. Among the showcasing beermakers are Twin Cities area newcomers such as Haggard Barrel and Heavy Rotation — who have defied the sad trend of brewery closures in recent years amid an overall decline in alcohol consumption and a rise in production costs.
First up for Minnesota summer beer fests, though, is an event that has been going on for 13 years and defied more than just trends.
“Breweries in Minnesota operate like community centers and good places to hang with your neighbors,” said Sam Steen, event coordinator for the Pride Beer Dabbler. “It makes sense they would serve marginalized people in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Happening June 27 in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden outside Walker Art Center, the Pride Dabbler will also incorporate craft brewers from around the state, many of which make special brews for the event.
Here’s more info on that first summer beer fest and the other big ones happening this year.