By Morchella
Perhaps you are looking for something fun to do on a Friday evening before a Twins game or Saturday after a morning of shopping? Yes? Well, pop in to the Fulton Brewery tap room! Fulton is tucked into the back side of the North Loop. If you’re a northsider you’ll know where it is when I say it is located across the street from the old T & Y car wash. If you’re more of a north loop type, you’ll know it’s on the other side of the freeway from the Bookmen Lofts. And if you’re from the suburbs or southside, you could just look at the map on their website and figure it out.
The taproom is loud and gray and minimalist- a smattering of tables and chairs and a bar. The coolest thing in the room is the huge chalk logo behind the bar. We sidled up to the bar next to a hearty man (who, to my delight, is employed as a US Mail carrier) and his wife and sister-in-law from Apple Valley. They’d made the trip downtown in honor of their birthdays. They were happy, friendly and loud with bottle-blond hair and bedazzled jeans. And honestly, they are the kind of people who you’d want in your tap room to liven up the vibe of understated hipsters who came on their fixies in earth toned skinny jeans.
For beer, we compared a cask conditioned Sweet Child of Vine with a regular tap version. Truth is, I don’t know enough about brewing to comment intelligently on the difference except to say the cask conditioned ale had more nuanced flavors and someone told be subsequently that you can drink more because it’s not carbonated, if that’s your goal. The carbonated version has the nice floral hoppiness that one has come to expect from Minnesota microbrews. Fulton’s version is balanced and crisp. NateDogs hot dog cart was set up in the parking lot– which is very important because there’s no food in the taproom. If you’re vegetarian or don’t eat pork, Nate doesn’t have much for you beyond potato chips and a sympathetic ear (sidenote: since the T & Y is now a Super America, you can run across the street for sustenance.)
You can’t help but love Nate- if not only because when the tornado hit the northside, he parked his hotdog cart in the wreckage handing out food to families whose lives had just been devastated. His pride in his product is infectious. He serves all pork hot dogs from MN farms. They have a bright juicy snap and rich flavor and are only three bucks. Nate also makes his own condiments. That particular day he had homemade Sweet Child of Vine mustard and caramelized marinated onions. You can find Nate on 6th and Nicollet weekdays during lunch weekdays. He said to watch for his homemade bottled mustards based on local beers soon.
Fulton is working on a patio. So, if I were you, I’d wait until a hot summer day when sitting outside downtown Minneapolis drinking a local brew sounds like the very best way to spend a few hours. And don’t forget to bring a coupla’ bucks for a hot dog from a guy whose life’s work is to serve you the very best hot dog in our fair state of Minnesota.
Morchella’s interest in food is an unintended consequence of her hardworking mother having raised three children on the food of the ‘70s and ‘80s: Banquet Fried Chicken, Tuna Helper, and Creamettes with Ragu. To this day neither Morchella nor her brothers eat spaghetti. Morchella likes to start her day counting breaths in salamba sirsasana and finish it biking home in the dark.