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  • The first beer from Mankato Brewery is being rolled out in some area bars this week. Pictured (left to right) are head brewer Mike Miziorko, with Tim Tupy and Tony Feuchtenberger, the co-founders of the brewery. John Cross

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December 31, 2011

Mankato Original beer ready for rollout this week

By Tim Krohn Free Press Staff Writer

NORTH MANKATO — If Benjamin Franklin was right — that beer is proof God loves us — the region will be blessed this week as Mankato Brewery rolls out its first kegs.

“Mankato Original” is the first brand to be introduced by the start-up brewery in North Mankato, begun by Tim Tupy and Tony Feuchtenberger.

“We’ll have 30 barrels, 31 gallons per barrel ready,” Tupy said. “We’re just limiting it to 16 accounts at first to see how it goes and make sure we can keep them supplied.”

Only draft beer will be available initially, with bottles coming later. Over the coming year, they plan to add more places that will sell the brew and add three more brands. “We’ll roll them out over time, we don’t want a new one to affect the production of the others.”

The beer will be available Thursday at: Big Dog, Blue Bricks, both Buffalo Wild Wings, Buster's, Circle Inn, Hooligans, Jake's Pizza, Number 4, Pagliai's Pizza, Pub 500, Red Sky, Spinner's, Tav on the Ave and Wine Cafe. On Friday night, the beer will be available at Patrick's on Third in St. Peter.

On Thursday, Feuchtenberger and head brewer Mike Miziorko will be at Pub 500  from 5-7 p.m., while Tupy will be at Number 4 from 5-7 p.m. to meet with customers and talk about the brewery. On Friday, all three will be at Patrick’s from 6-8 p.m.

In 2009, Tupy and Feuchtenberger began working to revive the brewing industry in Mankato, which hasn’t had a brewery since 1967.

They brought in Miziorko earlier in 2011. He has a brewer’s degree and sits on the boards of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild and the Master Brewers Association.

Tupy has a family tie to the brewing industry as his great, great, great-grandfather started a brewery in New Prague in 1884.

Tupy said the startup of the brewery, located on the far north end of Center Street in North Mankato, went off with out any major hitches. “There are always things that come up, but there was no big problems. It’s just exciting to be releasing the first beer.”

The brewery describes Mankato Original as “homage to the traditional ales of Cologne, Germany; it is light and refreshing with a crisp bitterness, delicate hop aroma, subtle malt flavor and a hint of fruitiness.”

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