This is the fifth iteration of U-Pick, our (quasi) annual celebration of local fruit and mixed fermentation, oak-fermented beer. For the 2021 version we used raspberries from Lorence’s Berry Farm outside of Northfield, MN, and added them to mature barrel-fermented beer at a rate of 2.25lbs of berries per gallon of beer. In other words, a lot of fruit. The beer was then allowed to rest on the berries for four weeks, prior to getting packaged and allowed to condition naturally in bottles.  

U-Pick is one of the most special beers we do every year. Whole fruit, picked and added directly to mixed fermentation beer, results in the most direct and authentic expression of what wine growers refer to as terroir —the literal taste of place—that we can manage as brewers. Bright, vibrant, with intense raspberry character, acidity, and funk, U-Pick is a beer we look forward to.