John Carroll
Google
Tucked between the bustling Lyndale-Hennepin mess by the Basilica and Dunwoody college sits Sisyphus Brewing, a hidden gem of Minneapolis. With their comically named delicious beer and their weekly comedy nights, this brewery is sure coming up in the Minneapolis brewery scene and finding its niche. In this reviewer's opinion, Sisyphus is consistently a top 3 brewery in Minneapolis.
If the taproom looks like it used to be some kind of gutted warehouse or factory, it's because it is. But not without its charm. The exposed brick walls offers a classic vintage feel, the bar itself is an old bowling lane (I think), and they recently put in some rather spacious wooden booths. The shuffle boards and board game offerings make it the perfect place to hangout with friends and family.
Sisyphus is still a smaller brewery, but I think that comes with a big advantage for them: an ever-changing tap list. They typically only have 6-9 beers on tap, but when one runs out, they almost always have a backup ready to go, so you might see a changed list over one weekend. This, of course, has some drawbacks. If you really REALLY like one of their beers, there's always a chance it won't be on tap for a few weeks. But that means you get to try one of their another delicious beer. And that you have to come back, because it will be different again and again (gotta catch 'em all!).
They always try to offer a tap list with varying styles and strengths so that every kind of beer drinker gets what they want. What kind of beers do they make?
They make lighter beers like their "Anitsocial Apple Ale" (named by Sociable Ciderwerks), the traditional Belgian blond (recently made with various fruit infusions), or the citra hop session ale. And drinkable malty beers, like their Kentucky Common, or the "Argyle Penguin Amber" ale. And dark beers, like the "Safe Lady Peanut Butter Stout" (get it?), a traditional chocolatey-sweet porter, or their imperial brown. They make a whole slew of IPAs (I like to think that Sam, the head brewer, is a wizard with hops), like their all citra hopped IPA "The First Beer We Named," the west coast IPA made with wheat called "Isaac the Fax Man," an east-coast style that can only be named "Cloudy with a Chance of Yeastballs," or my personal favorite the "Bottlecap Mosaic" which is a pilsner brewed with mosaic hops (it is real good). They make amazing barrel-aged and imperial beers, like their birthday "Cake" beer, which is actually made with chocolate cakes.
I could go on and on here, but the point is, they make traditional beers that are perfect within their own style, they play around with different hops and make vibrant IPAs highlighting each hop's unique flavors, they try and tackle all sorts of styles, and watch out because some of them are higher in ABV than you might think (delicious and dangerous).
The staff are always friendly, the managers are awesome, the owners are so kind, the brewers know their stuff. I walked into Sisyphus on their opening day two and a half years ago and was stunned by how delicious their first beers were and they've been making some of the best beer in the city ever since.